Leviticus 25:51

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Leviticus 25:51 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “If there be yet many years, according unto them he shall give back the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

If there be yet many years, according unto them he shall give back the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.
Leviticus 25:51 — American Standard Version

Context — Leviticus 25

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
51If there be yet many years, according unto them he shall give back the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“If [there be] yet many years behind, etc.] To the year of jubilee, and more than he had served: according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption, out of the money that he was bought for; suppose, for instance, when a man sold himself, there were twenty years to the year of jubilee, and he sold himself for twenty pieces of money, gold or silver, be the value what it will; and when he comes to treat with his master about his redemption, or a relation for him, and he has served just as many years as there are to the year of jubilee, ten years, then his master must be paid for the price of his redemption ten pieces of money; but if he has served but five years, and there are…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“A sojourner or stranger - Rather, a foreigner who has settled among you. See Leviticus 16:29, note; Exodus 20:10, note. Leviticus 25:54 In these years - More properly, by one of these means. The extreme period of servitude in this case was six years, as when the master was a Hebrew Exodus 21:2. Looking at the law of the Jubilee from a simply practical point of view, its operation must have tended to remedy those evils which are always growing up in the ordinary conditions of human society. It prevented the permanent accumulation of land in the hands of a few, and periodically raised those whom fault or misfortune had sunk into poverty to a position of competency. It must also have tended to…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification