Celebrated in the fiftieth year as the culmination of seven sabbatical years. During this year property was restored and Hebrew slaves were released. This year of liberation gave opportunity for a new start, and is alluded to as a type of the Messianic age.
The institution of the Year of Jubilee
And you shall count off seven Sabbaths of years — seven times seven years — so that the seven Sabbaths of years amount to forty-nine years. Then you are to sound the horn far and wide on the tenth day of the seventh month, the Day of Atonement. You shall sound it throughout your land. So you are to consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be your Jubilee, when each of you is to return to his property and to his clan.
Land was left fallow in the Year of Jubilee
See also Leviticus 25:11–12, Leviticus 25:20–22 These instructions apply to the sabbatical year. The Year of Jubilee may have been an additional fallow year, or may have coincided with the seventh sabbatical year.
The restoration of property in the Year of Jubilee
In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his own property.
Regulating the value of property
See also Leviticus 25:15–16, Leviticus 27:16–19, Leviticus 27:23
Underlining the fact that God is the true owner of the land
Leviticus 25:23–24 The restoration of property to those to whom God had originally entrusted it is a reminder that the land belongs to him. See also Joshua 21:43; 1 Chronicles 29:15; Hebrews 11:13
The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me. Thus for every piece of property you possess, you must provide for the redemption of the land.
A means of preserving the inheritance from God
Leviticus 25:25–28 Families are urged to buy back land assigned to them by God. As a last resort, land is restored in the Year of Jubilee. See also Leviticus 25:32–33, Leviticus 27:24; Numbers 36:4, Numbers 36:7–9; 1 Kings 21:3; Ezekiel 46:16–18
If your brother becomes impoverished and sells some of his property, his nearest of kin may come and redeem what his brother has sold. Or if a man has no one to redeem it for him, but he prospers and acquires enough to redeem his land, he shall calculate the years since its sale, repay the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and return to his property. But if he cannot obtain enough to repay him, what he sold will remain in possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. In the Jubilee, however, it is to be released, so that he may return to his property.
The release of Hebrew slaves in the Year of Jubilee
Deuteronomy 15:12–15 The release of slaves reflects God's redemption and preserves the freedom he has given; Leviticus 25:54–55 The Israelites may not be held permanently as slaves because they belong to God. See also Leviticus 25:39–43, Leviticus 25:50–52; Jeremiah 34:8–9, Jeremiah 34:13–14
If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you must set him free. And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed. You are to furnish him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. You shall give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you. Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today.
Even if he is not redeemed in any of these ways, he and his children shall be released in the Year of Jubilee. For the Israelites are My servants. They are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.[’’]
The Year of Jubilee is the year of the Lord's favour
Luke 4:18–19 Jesus Christ alludes to the Year of Jubilee in proclaiming spiritual release and restoration. See also Isaiah 61:1–2
“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.