Leviticus 25:11
in Leviticus 25The fiftieth year will be a Jubilee for you; you are not to sow the land or reap its aftergrowth or harvest the untended vines.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of the undressed vines.
KJV
A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.
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This verse in Leviticus 25
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA jubilee shall that fiftieth year be - The literal meaning of the word jubilee, יובל yobel in Hebrew, and יוביל yobil in the Samaritan, has not been well ascertained. Josephus and the rabbins have caused many to err; the former says the word signifies liberty; Ελευθεριαν δε σημαινει τουνομα, Antiq., l. 3, cap. 12, edit. Haverc., vol. 1, p. 184; but the word liberty signifies rather the intention of the institution, than the meaning of the Hebrew term.
This site's exposition
you are to consecrate the fiftieth year
on Leviticus 25:10-11
Verse 10 sends each man back to his property and clan, so the year restores land and household together. The words "proclaim liberty" occur here first and again at Isaiah 61:1 and Jeremiah 34:8, where Zedekiah proclaims it and the nobles take their servants back. Luke 4:18-19 has Jesus reading that Isaiah verse in the synagogue, and writers including Chuck Missler read it as jubilee language.
This site's exposition
The fiftieth year will be a Jubilee
The Hebrew word is yobel, and Adam Clarke judged its literal meaning uncertain. Josephus explained it as liberty, and Clarke answered that liberty names the purpose of the year and leaves the word itself unexplained. The fallow rules of verse 5 apply again.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), and the release of personal debts ( Deut. xv. 2, 3 ), there was to be the legal restoration of every Israelite to all the property, and all the liberty, which had been alienated from him since the last jubilee; so that never was any people so secured in their liberty and property (those glories of a people) as Israel was.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you,....
By our law indeed, if lands be granted to a man and his heirs, upon condition that he should never sell or alienate them, the grant is good, but the condition is void and repugnant: Iniquum est ingenuis hominibus (say the lawyers) non esse liberam rerum suarum alienationem--It is unjust to prevent free men from alienating their own possessions.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The land, as on the sabbatic year, was neither sowed nor reaped, but allowed to enjoy with its inhabitants a sabbath of repose; and its natural produce was the common property of all. Moreover, every inheritance throughout the land of Judea was restored to its original owner.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
“This [the fiftieth] year is distinguished from all other years by being given a special name. And what is that name? Its name is yoveil [literally: ‘the ram’s horn’] on account of the blowing of the Shofar.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יוֹבֵ֣ל | yovel | a jubilee | H3104 → | 27 times |
| הִ֗וא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| שְׁנַ֛ת | shenat | [the] year of | H8141 → | 877 times |
| הַחֲמִשִּׁ֥ים | hachamishim | the fifty | H2572 → | 163 times |
| שָׁנָ֖ה | shanah | year | H8141 → | 877 times |
| תִּהְיֶ֣ה | tihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָכֶ֑ם | lakhem | to <the> you | ||
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִזְרָ֔עוּ | tizrau | you will sow | H2232 → | 56 times |
| וְלֹ֤א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִקְצְרוּ֙ | tiktzeru | you will harvest | H7114 → | 49 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| סְפִיחֶ֔יהָ | seficheiha | self-sown grain its | H5599 → | |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִבְצְר֖וּ | tivtzeru | you will gather grapes | H1219 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נְזִרֶֽיהָ׃ | nezireiha | untrimmed vines its | H5139 → |
יוֹבֵ֣לa jubilee
yovelH3104 →27 times
הִ֗ואit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
שְׁנַ֛ת[the] year of
shenatH8141 →877 times
הַחֲמִשִּׁ֥יםthe fifty
hachamishimH2572 →163 times
שָׁנָ֖הyear
shanahH8141 →877 times
תִּהְיֶ֣הit will be
tihyehH1961 →3559 times
לָכֶ֑םto <the> you
lakhem
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִזְרָ֔עוּyou will sow
tizrauH2232 →56 times
וְלֹ֤אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
תִקְצְרוּ֙you will harvest
tiktzeruH7114 →49 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
סְפִיחֶ֔יהָself-sown grain its
seficheihaH5599 →
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
תִבְצְר֖וּyou will gather grapes
tivtzeruH1219 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
נְזִרֶֽיהָ׃untrimmed vines its
nezireihaH5139 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
On this verse
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Andrew Bonar, A Commentary on Leviticus; Chuck Missler, Learn the Bible in 24 Hours; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.