The law of the seventh and of the fiftieth year of jubilee.
The law of the seuenth yeare, 8. and fiftith yeare, which is the Iubilie. 13. when al enheritance sold returneth to the former owner. (24. as also it may in the meane time be redeemed) 35. Vsurie prohibited, 39. and seruitude among the Israelites, only they may be hyred til the Iubilie yeare. 47. and may be redeemed from seruitude of strangers: 54. at least they shal be free in the yeare of Iubilie.
1And the Lord spoke to Moses in mount Sinai, saying:E il Signore parlò a Mosè sul monte Sinai, e disse:AND our Lord spake to Moyses in the mount Sinai, saying:Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen in monte Sinai, dicens: 2Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: When you shall have entered into the land which I will give you, observe the rest of the sabbath of the Lord.Parla a' figliuoli d'Israele, e di' loro: Quando voi sarete entrati nella terra, di cui darovvi il dominio, (la terra) faccia il sabato in onor del Signore.Speake to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: When you shal be entred to the land which I wil geue you, thou shalt sabbatize the sabbath to the Lord.Loquere filiis Israël, et dices ad eos: Quando ingressi fueritis terram quam ego dabo vobis, sabbatizes sabbatum Domino. 3Six years thou shalt sow thy field and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and shalt gather the fruits thereof.Per sei anni seminerai il tuo campo, e per sei anni poterai la tua vigna, e ne raccorrai i frutti:Six yeares thou shalt sowe thy field, and six yeares thou shalt cut thy vineyard, and shalt gather the fruites therof:Sex annis seres agrum tuum, et sex annis putabis vineam tuam, colligesque fructus ejus: 4But in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath to the land, of the resting of the Lord. Thou shalt not sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.Ma il settimo anno sarà per la terra il sabato del riposo del Signore: non seminerai il campo, e non poterai la vigna.but in the seuenth yeare a sabbath shal be to the earth, of the resting of the Lord: the field thou shalt not sowe, and the vineyard thou shalt not cut.septimo autem anno sabbatum erit terræ, requietionis Domini: agrum non seres, et vineam non putabis. 5What the ground shall bring forth of itself, thou shalt not reap: neither shalt thou gather the grapes or the firstfruits as a vintage. For it is a year of rest to the land.Non mieterai quello che la terra spontaneamente produrrà: e non raccoglierai, come per farne vendemmia, le uve, delle quali tu offerivi le primizie: perocché egli è l'anno di requie per la terra:The thinges that the ground shal bring forth of it self, thou shalt not reape: and the grapes of thy first fruites thou shalt not gather as a vintage: for it is a yeare of the resting of the earth:Quæ sponte gignet humus, non metes: et uvas primitiarum tuarum non colliges quasi vindemiam: annus enim requietionis terræ est:
6But they shall be unto you for meat, to thee and to thy manservant, to thy maidservant and thy hireling, and to the strangers that sojourn with thee.Ma ve ne ciberete tu, e il tuo servo, la serva, e gli operai tuoi, e i forestieri, che dimoran tra voi.but they shal be vnto you for meate, to thee and thy manseruant, to thy woman seruant and hyreling, and to the stranger that seiourneth with thee:sed erunt vobis in cibum, tibi et servo tuo, ancillæ et mercenario tuo, et advenæ qui peregrinantur apud te: 7All things that grow shall be meat to thy beasts and to thy cattle.E servirà tutto quello che nasce, a nudrire i tuoi giumenti, e bestiami.to thy beastes and cattel al thinges that grow shal giue meate.jumentis tuis et pecoribus, omnia quæ nascuntur præbebunt cibum. 8Thou shalt also number to thee seven weeks of years: that is to say, seven times seven, which together make forty-nine years.Conterai parimente sette settimane di anni, vale a dire, sette volte sette, che fanno in tutto quarantanove anni.Thou shalt number thee also seuen weekes of yeares, that is to say, seuen times seuen, which together make fourtie nine, yeares:Numerabis quoque tibi septem hebdomadas annorum, id est, septies septem, quæ simul faciunt annos quadraginta novem: 9And thou shalt sound the trumpet in the seventh month, the tenth day of the month, in the time of the expiation in all your land.E il settimo mese a' dieci del mese nel tempo della espiazione farai sonare la tromba per tutto quanto il paese.and thou shalt sound with the trumpet the seuenth moneth, the tenth day of the moneth, in the time of propitiation in al your land.et clanges buccina mense septimo, decima die mensis, propitiationis tempore, in universa terra vestra. 10And thou shalt sanctify the fiftieth year, and shalt proclaim remission to all the inhabitants of thy land: for it is the year of jubilee. Every man shall return to his possession, and every one shall go back to his former family:E santificherai l'anno cinquantesimo, e annunzierai la remissione a tutti gli abitanti del tuo paese: perocché egli è l'anno del giubileo. Ognuno tornerà alle sue possessioni, e ognuno tornerà alla sua famiglia,Thou shalt sanctifie the fifteth yeare, and shalt proclaime remission to al the inhabitantes of thy land: for it is the yeare of Iubilie. Euerie man shal returne to his possession, and euerie one shal goe backe to his old familie:Sanctificabisque annum quinquagesimum, et vocabis remissionem cunctis habitatoribus terræ tuæ: ipse est enim jubilæus. Revertetur homo ad possessionem suam, et unusquisque rediet ad familiam pristinam:
11Because it is the jubilee and the fiftieth year. You shall not sow, nor reap the things that grow in the field of their own accord, neither shall you gather the firstfruits of the vines,Perché l'anno cinquantesimo è l'anno del giubileo. Voi non farete la sementa, e non mieterete quello che sarà nato spontaneamente pe' campi, e non coglierete le primizie della vendemmiabecause it is the Iubilie and the fifteth yeare. You shal not sowe nor teape the thinges that growe in the field of their owne accord, and the first fruites of vintage you shal not gather,quia jubilæus est, et quinquagesimus annus. Non seretis neque metetis sponte in agro nascentia, et primitias vindemiæ non colligetis, 12Because of the sanctification of the jubilee. But as they grow you shall presently eat them.Per santificare il giubileo; ma voi mangerete quello che vi si parerà davanti.because of the sanctification of the Iubilie, but forth with as they grow you shal eate them.ob sanctificationem jubilæi: sed statim oblata comedetis. 13In the year of the jubilee all shall return to their possessions.L'anno del giubileo tornerà ciascuno ne' suoi beni.In the yeare of Iubilie al shal returne to their possessions.Anno jubilæi, redient omnes ad possessiones suas. 14When thou shalt sell any thing to thy neighbour, or shalt buy of him: grieve not thy brother. But thou shalt buy of him according to the number of years from the jubilee.Quando venderai qualche cosa a un tuo concittadino, o comprerai da lui, non affliggere il tuo fratello, ma regolerai la compra sul numero degli anni, che vi sono sino al giubileo,When thou shalt sel anie thing to thy neighbour, or shalt buy of him, presse not thy brother, but according to the number of the yeares of Iubilie thou shalt buy of him,Quando vendes quippiam civi tuo, vel emes ab eo, ne contristes fratrem tuum, sed juxta numerum annorum jubilæi emes ab eo, 15And he shall sell to thee according to the computation of the fruits.E quegli venderà a te a ragione del prodotto.and according to the supputation of the fruites he shal sel to thee.et juxta supputationem frugum vendet tibi. 16The more years remain after the jubilee, the more shall the price increase: and the less time is counted, so much the less shall the purchase cost. For he shall sell to thee the time of the fruits.Quanto più anni vi restano dopo d'un giubileo; tanto sarà maggiore il prezzo; e quanto il tempo sarà minore, tanto calerà il prezzo della compra; perocché quegli vende a te il tempo di raccogliere i frutti.The moe yeares remaine after the Iubilie, so much more shal the price increase: and the lesse time that thou shal account, so much the lesse shal the purchase: be valued. for the time of the fruites he shal sel to thee.Quanto plures anni remanserint post jubilæum, tanto crescet et pretium: et quanto minus temporis numeraveris, tanto minoris et emptio constabit: tempus enim frugum vendet tibi.
17Do not afflict your countrymen: but let every one fear his God. Because I am the Lord your God.Non vogliate affliggere gli uomini della stessa vostra tribù, ma ognun di voi tema il suo Dio; perocché io il Signore Dio vostro.Doe not afflict your contrimen, but let euerie one feare his God, because I the Lord your God.Nolite affligere contribules vestros, sed timeat unusquisque Deum suum, quia ego Dominus Deus vester. 18Do my precepts, and keep my judgments, and fulfil them: that you may dwell in the land without any fear.Eseguite i miei precetti, e osservate i miei giudizii, e adempietegli, affinché possiate abitare senza timore sulla terra,Do my preceptes, and keepe my iudgementes, and fulfil them: that you may dwel in the land without anie feare,Facite præcepta mea, et judicia custodite, et implete ea: ut habitare possitis in terra absque ullo pavore, 19And the ground may yield you its fruits, of which you may eat your fill, fearing no man’s invasion.E questa produca a voi i suoi frutti, de' quali vi cibiate, e vi satolliate senza temere di prepotenza.and the ground may yeld you her fruites, which you may eate vnto your fil, fearing no mans inuasion.et gignat vobis humus fructus suos, quibus vescamini usque ad saturitatem, nullius impetum formidantes. 20But if you say: What shall we eat the seventh year, if we sow not, nor gather our fruits?Che se voi direte: Che mangerem noi l'anno settimo, se non semineremo, e non raccorremo le nostre biade?But if you say: What shal we eate the seuenth yeare, if we sowe not, nor gather our fruites?Quod si dixeritis: Quid comedemus anno septimo, si non severimus, neque collegerimus fruges nostras ? 21I will give you my blessing the sixth year: and it shall yield the fruits of three years.Io darò a voi la mia benedizione l'anno sesto, e la terra fruttificherà per tre anni:I wil geue you my benediction the sixt yeare, and it shal yeld the fruites of three yeares:dabo benedictionem meam vobis anno sexto, et faciet fructus trium annorum: 22And the eighth year you shall sow, and shall eat of the old fruits, until the ninth year: till new grow up, you shall eat the old store.E seminerete l'anno ottavo, e mangerete il grano vecchio sino all'anno nono: mangerete il vecchio, fino che sia venuto il nuovo.and the eight yeare you shal sowe, and shal eate of the old fruites, vntil the ninth yeare: til new be growne, you shal eate the old.seretisque anno octavo, et comedetis veteres fruges usque ad nonum annum: donec nova nascantur, edetis vetera. 23The land also shall not be sold for ever: because it is mine, and you are strangers and sojourners with me.Parimente la terra non si venderà per sempre: perocché ella è mia, e voi siete in essa stranieri, e miei coltivatori.The land also shal not be sould for euer: because it is mine, and you are my strangers and seiourners.Terra quoque non vendetur in perpetuum, quia mea est, et vos advenæ et coloni mei estis:
24For which cause all the country of your possession shall be under the condition of redemption.Per la qual cosa tutti i fondi, che voi possederete, si venderanno colla condizione del riscatto.For the which cause al the countrie of your possession shal be sould vnder the condition of redemption.unde cuncta regio possessionis vestræ sub redemptionis conditione vendetur. 25If thy brother being impoverished sell his little possession, and his kinsman will: he may redeem what he had sold.Se impoverito il tuo fratello vende il suo poderuccio, il parente prossimo può, se vuole, riscattare quello che il primo ha venduto:If thy brother impouerished sel his litle possession, and his kinseman wil, he may redeme that which he had sould.Si attenuatus frater tuus vendiderit possessiunculam suam, et voluerit propinquus ejus, potest redimere quod ille vendiderat. 26But if he have no kinsman, and he himself can find the price to redeem it:Che se egli non ha parente prossimo, ma trovar può il prezzo per fare il riscatto,but if he haue no kinseman, and him self can finde the price to redeme it:Sin autem non habuerit proximum, et ipse pretium ad redimendum potuerit invenire, 27The value of the fruits shall be counted from that time when he sold it. And the overplus he shall restore to the buyer, and so shall receive his possession again.Si computeranno i frutti dal tempo della vendita: e quel che rimane, lo renderà egli al compratore, e rientrerà nel suo in tal guisa.the fruites shal be accounted from that time when he sould it: and the residue he shal restore to the buier, and so he shal receiue his possession againe.computabuntur fructus ex eo tempore quo vendidit: et quod reliquum est, reddet emptori, sicque recipiet possessionem suam. 28But if his hands find not the means to repay the price, the buyer shall have what he bought, until the year of the jubilee. For in that year all that is sold shall return to the owner, and to the ancient possessor.Che se non può egli trovar modo di rendere il prezzo, riterrà il compratore l'effetto comprato fino all'anno del giubileo: perché in quest'anno tutte le cose vendute ritorneranno al padrone, e possessore primiero.but if his hand finde not to repay the price, the buier shal haue that he bought, vntil the yeare of Iubilee. For in it al sale shal returne to the owner, and to the old possessour.Quod si non invenerit manus ejus ut reddat pretium, habebit emptor quod emerat, usque ad annum jubilæum. In ipso enim omnis venditio redibit ad dominum et ad possessorem pristinum.
29He that selleth a house within the walls of a city, shall have the liberty to redeem it, until one year be expired.Colui che vende una casa posta dentro le mura della città, avrà la libertà del riscatto per un intero anno:He that selleth a house within the walles of a citie, shal haue licence to redeme it, vntil one yeare be expired,Qui vendiderit domum intra urbis muros, habebit licentiam redimendi, donec unus impleatur annus. 30If he redeem it not, and the whole year be fully out, the buyer shall possess it, and his posterity for ever, and it cannot be redeemed, not even in the jubilee.S'ei non la riscatta, passato il giro d'un anno, la possederà il compratore, e i discendenti di lui in perpetuo, e non potrà farsene il riscatto, neppur nel giubileo.if he redeme it not, and the compasse of the yeare be fully out, the buier shal possesse it, and his posteritie for euer, and it can not be redemed, no not in the Iubilee.Si non redemerit, et anni circulus fuerit evolutus, emptor possidebit eam, et posteri ejus in perpetuum, et redimi non poterit, etiam in jubilæo. 31But if the house be in a village, that hath no walls, it shall be sold according to the same law as the fields. If it be not redeemed before, in the jubilee it shall return to the owner.Ma se la casa è in un borgo non murato, si venderà colle condizioni stesse de' poderi: tornerà al padrone nel giubileo, ove non sia stata prima riscattata.But if the house be in a village, that hath not walles, it shal be sould according to the law of fieldes. if it be not redemed before, in the Iubilee it shal returne to the owner.Sin autem in villa domus, quæ muros non habet, agrorum jure vendetur: si ante redempta non fuerit, in jubilæo revertetur ad dominum. 32The houses of Levites, which are in cities, may always be redeemed.Le case de' Leviti, che sono nelle città, potran sempre riscattarsi:The houses of Leuites, which are in cities, may alwaies be redemed:Ædes Levitarum quæ in urbibus sunt, semper possunt redimi: 33If they be not redeemed, in the jubilee they shall all return to the owners: because the houses of the cities of the Levites are for their possessions among the children of Israel.Se non saranno state riscattate, torneranno a' padroni nel giubileo; perché le case de' Leviti nella città sono tutto quello ch'essi hanno tra' figliuoli d'Israele.if they be not redemed, in the Iubilee they shal returne to the owners, because the houses of the cities of the Leuites are for possessions among the children of Israel.si redemptæ non fuerint, in jubilæo revertentur ad dominos, quia domus urbium Levitarum pro possessionibus sunt inter filios Israël.
34But let not their suburbs be sold, because it is a perpetual possession.Il terreno, che essi hanno intorno alle città, non potrà vendersi; perché è di ragion loro in eterno.But let not their suburbes be sould, because it is a perpetual possession.Suburbana autem eorum non veneant, quia possessio sempiterna est. 35If thy brother be impoverished, and weak of hand, and thou receive him as a stranger and sojourner, and he live with thee:Se il tuo fratello è impoverito, e impotente a sostentarsi, e tu lo hai ricettato come ospite e forestiero, ed ei vive con te,If thy brother be empouerished, and weake of hand, and thou receiue him as a stranger and seiourner, and he liue with thee,Si attenuatus fuerit frater tuus, et infirmus manu, et susceperis eum quasi advenam et peregrinum, et vixerit tecum, 36Take not usury of him nor more than thou gavest. Fear thy God, that thy brother may live with thee.Non prendere usura da lui, né più di quel che gli hai dato. Temi il tuo Dio, affinché possa vivere il tuo fratello in casa tua.take not vsuries of him, nor more then thou gauest. feare thy God, that thy brother may liue with thee.ne accipias usuras ab eo, nec amplius quam dedisti: time Deum tuum, ut vivere possit frater tuus apud te. 37Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury: nor exact of him any increase of fruits.Non darai a lui il tuo denaro a interesse, e de' commestibili non esigerai oltre quello che hai dato.Thou shalt not geue him thy money to vsurie, and an ouer plus of the fruites thou shalt not exact of him.Pecuniam tuam non dabis ei ad usuram, et frugum superabundantiam non exiges. 38I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that I might give you the land of Chanaan, and might be your God.Io il Signore Dio vostro, che vi ho tratti dalla terra di Egitto per darvi la terra di Chanaan, ed essere vostro Dio.I the Lord your God, that brought you out of the Land of Aegygt, that I might geue you the Land of Chanaan, and might be your God.Ego Dominus Deus vester, qui eduxi vos de terra Ægypti, ut darem vobis terram Chanaan, et essem vester Deus. 39If thy brother constrained by poverty, sell himself to thee: thou shalt not oppress him with the service of bondservants.Se astretto da povertà si venderà a te il tuo fratello, non lo strazierai, facendolo servire come schiavo;If thy brother constrained by pouertie, sel him self to thee, thou shalt not oppresse him with the seruitude of seruants,Si paupertate compulsus vendiderit se tibi frater tuus, non eum opprimes servitute famulorum, 40But he shall be as a hireling, and a sojourner: he shall work with thee until the year of the jubilee.Ma egli sarà come un mercenario, e un lavoratore: faticherà in casa tua fino all'anno del giubileo,but he shal be as an hireling, and a seiourner: vntil the yeare of Iubilee he shal worke with thee,sed quasi mercenarius et colonus erit: usque ad annum jubilæum operabitur apud te,
41And afterwards he shall go out with his children: and shall return to his kindred and to the possession of his fathers.E poi se n'andrà co' suoi figliuoli, e tornerà a' suoi parenti, e all'eredità de' padri suoi:and afterward he shal goe out with his children, and shal returne to his kinred and to the possession of his fathers.et postea egredietur cum liberis suis, et revertetur ad cognationem, ad possessionem patrum suorum. 42For they are my servants, and I brought them out of the land of Egypt: let them not be sold as bondmen.Imperocché eglino sono miei servi, e io li trassi dalla terra d'Egitto: non debbon vendersi in qualità di schiavi.for they are my seruantes, and I brought them out of the Land of Aegypt. let them not be sould by the condition of seruantes:Mei enim servi sunt, et ego eduxi eos de terra Ægypti: non veneant conditione servorum: 43Afflict him not by might: but fear thy God.Non gli affliggere con prepotenza, ma temi il tuo Dio.afflict him not by might, but feare thy God.ne affligas eum per potentiam, sed metuito Deum tuum. 44Let your bondmen, and your bondwomen, be of the nations that are round about you:Schiavi, e schiave avrete voi di quelle nazioni che vi stanno all'intorno;Let your man seruant, and woman seruant, be of the nations that are round about you.Servus et ancilla sint vobis de nationibus quæ in circuitu vestro sunt: 45And of the strangers that sojourn among you, or that were born of them in your land. These you shall have for servants:E de' forestieri che vengon tra voi, o che sieno stati generati da questi nel vostro paese, questi terrete per schiavi.And of the strangers, that seiourne with you, or that were borne of them in your land, these you shal haue for seruantes:et de advenis qui peregrinantur apud vos, vel qui ex his nati fuerint in terra vestra, hos habebitis famulos: 46And by right of inheritance shall leave them to your posterity, and shall possess them for ever. But oppress not your brethren the children of Israel by might.E li lascerete per diritto d'eredità a' vostri posteri, e saran vostri in eterno: ma i fratelli vostri i figliuoli d'Israele non gli opprimerete con prepotenza.and by right of inheritance shal leaue them to your posteritie, and shal possesse them for euer. but your brethren the children of Israel doe ye not oppresse by might.et hæreditario jure transmittetis ad posteros, ac possidebitis in æternum: fratres autem vestros filios Israël ne opprimatis per potentiam. 47If the hand of a stranger or a sojourner grow strong among you, and thy brother being impoverished sell himself to him, or to any of his race:Se uno straniero tra voi si arricchisce, e un tuo fratello caduto in basso stato si vende a lui, o ad alcuno della famiglia di esso,If the hand of a stranger or seiourner grow strong among you, and thy brother empouerished sel him self to him, or to any of his stocke:Si invaluerit apud vos manus advenæ atque peregrini, et attenuatus frater tuus vendiderit se ei, aut cuiquam de stirpe ejus:
48After the sale he may be redeemed. He that will of his brethren shall redeem him:Dopo la vendita potrà essere riscattato. Lo riscatterà chiunque vorrà de' suoi fratelli,after the sale he may be redeemed. He that wil of his brethren shal redeme him,post venditionem potest redimi. Qui voluerit ex fratribus suis, redimet eum, 49Either his uncle, or his uncle’s son, or his kinsman, by blood, or by affinity. But if he himself be able also, he shall redeem himself:E il zio, e il figliuolo del zio, e un parente da canto del padre, o da canto della madre: e s'egli stesso potrà riscattarsi, lo farà,both the vncle by father, and the vncles sonne, and the kinsman, and the allied. But and if him self be able also, he shal redeme him selfe,et patruus, et patruelis, et consanguineus, et affinis. Sin autem et ipse potuerit, redimet se, 50Counting only the years from the time of his selling unto the year of the jubilee: and counting the money that he was sold for, according to the number of the years and the reckoning of a hired servant.Contati però gli anni dal tempo della sua vendita sino all'anno del giubileo; e dalla somma, per cui fu venduto, deducendo quello che gli si dee come a mercenario secondo il numero degli anni.accounting onlie the yeares from the time of his selling vnto the yeare of Iubilee: and accounting the money, that he was sould for, according to the number of the yeares and the reckning of an hyreling.supputatis dumtaxat annis a tempore venditionis suæ usque ad annum jubilæum: et pecunia, qua venditus fuerat, juxta annorum numerum, et rationem mercenarii supputata. 51If there be many years that remain until the jubilee, according to them shall he also repay the price.Se molti anni rimangono fino al giubileo, a proporzione di questi sarà il prezzo:If they be more yeares that remaine vntil the Iubilee, according to these also shal he repay the price.Si plures fuerint anni qui remanent usque ad jubilæum, secundum hos reddet et pretium: 52If few, he shall make the reckoning with him according to the number of the years: and shall repay to the buyer of what remaineth of the years.Se pochi, farà i conti col compratore secondo il numero degli anni, e renderà a lui a proporzione degli anni, che restano,if few, he shal make the reckning with him according to the number of the yeares, and shal repay to the buyer for that which remaineth of the yeares,si pauci, ponet rationem cum eo juxta annorum numerum, et reddet emptori quod reliquum est annorum,
53His wages being allowed for which he served before: he shall not afflict him violently in thy sight.Computato il salario del tempo che ha servito: il compratore nol tratterà crudamente sotto i tuoi occhi.his wages being allowed for the which he serued before: he shal not afflict him violently in thy sight.quibus ante servivit mercedibus imputatis: non affliget eum violenter in conspectu tuo. 54And if by these means he cannot be redeemed, in the year of the jubilee he shall go out with his children.Che se in nissuno di questi modi può essere riscattato, se n'andrà co' suoi figliuoli l'anno del giubileo.And if by these meanes he can not be redemed, in the yeare of Iubilee he shal goe out with his children.Quod si per hæc redimi non potuerit, anno jubilæo egredietur cum liberis suis. 55For the children of Israel are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt.Perocché servi miei sono i figliuoli d'Israele, i quali io ho tratti dalla terra d'Egitto.For the children of Israel are my seruantes, whom I brought forth out of the Land of Aegypt.Mei enim sunt servi filii Israël, quos eduxi de terra Ægypti.
25:1
Year of the World 2514.
25:2
Calmet
The rest (sabbathises sabbatum). The land was to enjoy the benefit of rest every seventh year, to remind God's people that he had created the world, and that he still retained dominion over it, (St. Augustine, q. 91, 92,) requiring the spontaneous fruits of that year as a tribute, part of which he gave to the poor. In the mean time, all creatures rested from their labours, and the people were taught to have an entire confidence in Providence. (Calmet)
25:5
Reap entirely, but only take a part, ver. 6.
Tirinus
First-fruits. None shall be this year presented to the Lord. Hebrew has the word Nezireka, "Nazareat," alluding to the custom of those who, out of devotion, let their hair grow; as here only the spontaneous fruits of the unpruned vine were to be eaten; they were separated, as the word also means, or "sanctified," (Septuagint) being abandoned indifferently for the use of any one that pleased to eat of them, and no longer fenced in by the proprietor, (Calmet) though he might take the first, or choicest fruit, for his own use, (Menochius,) or at least he might take his share like the rest. (Tirinus)
25:7
Calmet
Cattle. This last term in Hebrew, Septuagint, etc., means "wild beasts," which must also live. At this period of the seventh year, debts were to be remitted, the law read, etc., Exodus 21:2 and Deuteronomy 15:2, and 31:10. But in the jubilee year, even those Hebrew slaves, whose ears had been pierced, and those who had sold their land, regained their liberty and possessions. (Calmet)
25:8
Calmet
Years. It is dubious whether the 49th or the 50th year was appointed for the jubilee. The former year is fixed upon by many able chronologers, who remark, that if two years of rest had occurred together, it would have been a serious inconvenience; and Moses might have said the 50th year for a round number, or comprise therein the year of the former jubilee, as we give five years to the olympiad, and eight days to the week, though the former consists only of four years, and the latter of seven days. (Rader; Scaliger; etc.) But others decide for the fiftieth year, ver. 10. (Philo; Josephus, [Antiquities] 3:10.; St. Augustine, q. 92.; Salien; etc.) (Calmet)
Menochius
On the feast of expiation of the 49th year, they promulgated the following to be the year of jubilee. (Menochius)
Haydock
Usher places the first in the year of the world 2609, 49 years after the partition of the land by Josue in 2560: Salien dates 50 years from the entrance (ver. 2,) of the Hebrews into Chanaan, in the year of the world 2583, six years sooner; and places the first jubilee [in] 2633, immediately after the sabbatic year, which fell in the 32nd year of Othoniel. He supposes that both were proclaimed at the same time, on the 1st of Tisri, Ros Hassana, "the head of the year;" though the heralds went about the country only on the 10th. The writers both of the Synagogue and of the Church generally adopt the 50th for the year of jubilee; and the pretended inconvenience of two years' rest is nugatory, since God promised a three years' crop, ver. 21. (Haydock)
25:10
Challoner
Remission; that is, a general release and discharge from debts and bondage, and a reinstating of every man in his former possessions. (Challoner)
Calmet
Jubilee: Hebrew jubol means "liberty" (Josephus); "re-establishment" (Philo); (Calmet)
Calmet
"deliverance" (Abenezra). The Rabbins falsely assert, that a ram's horn was used on this occasion: but Bochart shews that it is solid and unfit for the purpose. (B. 2:42.) They also maintain, that from the 1st of this sacred month, as it is called by Philo, till the 10th, the slaves spent their time in continual rejoicings in their master's house, and on the latter day they were set free. Cunaeus (Rep., 1:6,) observes, that the jubilee was discontinued after the captivity, though the sabbatic year was still kept. (Calmet)
Haydock
Indeed the Jews were often very negligent in these respects, and God complained and punished them for it, Leviticus 27:32.; etc. The avarice of the great ones chiefly caused these wise regulations to be despised, though, from time to time, God enforced their observance, that it might be clearly known from what family the Messias sprung. After his birth they were abrogated, as no longer necessary. (Haydock)
Menochius
Something similar was instituted by Solon, and styled "the shaking off burdens," for the redemption both of men and goods. (Laertius) (Menochius)
Calmet
The Locrians could not alienate their patrimony. (Aristotle, polit. 2:7, and 6:4.) The Rabbins deviate from the spirit of their lawgiver, when they assert, that persons might sell their inheritance for a greater number of years than 50, if they specified how many, etc. (Selden, Succes. 3:24.) In the Christian dispensation, the jubilee denotes a time of indulgence, in consequence of the power left by Jesus Christ, Matthew 16:19 and 2 Corinthians 2:10.) The first was given by Pope Boniface VIII in 300; and others were granted every century, till Pope Clement VI reduced the space to 50 years, 1542. Pope Gregory XI would have them dispensed to the faithful every 33 years, and Pope Paul XI every 25th, that more might partake of so great a benefit. This has been done since his time, and the Popes often grant them when the Church is in great danger, and also in the year when they are consecrated. (Calmet)
Haydock
They are designed to promote the fervour of piety, and the remission of punishment due to sin. (Haydock)
Calmet
Family. Slaves shall obtain their liberty. This law set a restraint upon the rich, that they might not get possession of too much land, or oppress the poor. Lycurgus, with the same view, established an equality of lands among the Spartans, and Solon acknowledged the propriety of the regulation, which he probably saw practised in Egypt. (Diodorus I.) (Calmet)
Haydock
The Agrarian laws at Rome, were often proposed; but they caused nothing but confusion and riot. (Haydock)
25:12
Eat them. No wine was to be made of the grapes, nor the corn heaped up, to the detriment of the poor. All is claimed by God, as his own property.
25:14
Selden
Grieve. Hebrew, "deceive not." St. Chrysostom observes, that to engage another to sell us any thing for what we know is beneath its value, is theft. (Grotius, Jur. 2:12.) The Rabbins also decide that, if an Israelite be defrauded a sixth part, restitution must be made, ver. 17. (Selden, Jur. 6:6.)
25:21
Haydock
Three years. After the harvest of the sixth year was gotten in, the land rested from September to September, the beginning of the 8th year, when it was tilled again. Nothing would be ripe till about March; yet the harvest of the 6th year would suffice to furnish food till that time, or even for a year longer, as it would be requisite, when the year of jubilee succeeded that of rest, ver. 8. (Haydock)
25:23
Calmet
For ever. Samaritan version, "absolutely." The only exception to this law is, when a person makes a vow to give some land to the Lord, and will not redeem it, chap 27:20. In that case, God re-enters upon his property, and it belongs to his priests. (Calmet)
25:27
Haydock
Fruits. An estimation shall be made of what the buyer would probably have gotten for the fruits of the land, till the year of jubilee, and that sum shall be given to him; (Calmet) or what benefit he has already derived from the land shall be computed; so that, if he purchased it for 100 sicles, and had received the value of 80, he should be content with the addition of 20 more, ver. 53. (Haydock)
25:29
Menochius
City. These houses are of greater consequence, and therefore God dissuades his people from selling them; though if they think proper to do so, he holds out an encouragement to those who buy, that they may afford a better price, on the prospect of keeping possession for ever. (Menochius)
25:33
Owners. The Levites had no other possessions, but these cities and 2000 cubits of land around them. The priests might buy of one another, Jeremias 31:7.
25:35
Calmet
And thou. Hebrew, "thou shalt receive him: and of the stranger....(36) take no usury." There are two precepts; to relieve those in distress, and not to injury any one. (Calmet)
25:40
Haydock
Hireling, who has engaged to work for a term of years, either of six, or at most 49. After the year of the jubilee, he might enter into fresh engagements with his late master. (Haydock)
The Hebrews have always hated slavery. We have never been slaves to any, John 8:33. They were not allowed to part with their liberty, except from absolute distress; (Maimonides) and then they do not submit to what they call intrinsical slavery.
Selden
[Ver. 41.] Children. His wife and children were not made slaves with him. But if his master gave him a second wife, her children belonged to their common master. (Selden, Jur. 6:1.)
25:45
Servants, or slaves, whom you may treat with greater severity than the Hebrews, and keep for ever, even though they may have embraced the true faith. But still you must remember that they are your brethren.
25:47
Haydock
Stranger, or Gentile, who engages at least to keep the precepts given to Noe[Noah]. (Haydock)
25:49
Calmet
Himself. He might have saved up something by greater industry. The Athenians allowed their slaves the same privilege. (Calmet)
25:53
Haydock
Wages. Hebrew, "as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him." What was customarily given to a hired servant for a certain number of years, might be a rule to judge how much was to be paid for redemption. (Haydock)
Calmet
Thus if a man had engaged to serve 20 years for 100 sicles, and at the expiration of 10 years wished to redeem himself, he might do it for half that sum. Some think, that those Hebrews who had sold themselves to a Gentile, sojourning among them, could not take the benefit of the sabbatic year, (Exodus 21:6,) because Moses is silent on this head. But this argument is not satisfactory. (Calmet)
25:10
Remission.... That is, a general release and discharge from debts and bondage, and a reinstating of every man in his former possessions.
25:9
Of sounding with trūpets, which is pleasant & ioyful, cometh the name of Iubilie: the effect of it is remission of al bondes, restauration of former libertie, and recouerie of enheritāce. In the old Testament of tēporal things in the new of spiritual, praefigured therby: as remissiō of sinne; deliuerie frō bondage therof; recouerie of grace; and preparation to eternal glorie.
25:36
Iewes for their aduātage hold it lawful, to take vsurie of strangers, not obseruing that it is also commanded often in scripture, not to afflict, but to loue strangers. Exod. 22. 23. Leuit. 19
25:4
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 2.17
… thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not bear false witness; thou shalt not covet what is thy neighbour’s; honour thy father and thy mother; and, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. To these prime counsels of innocence, chastity, and justice, and piety, are also added prescriptions of humanity, as when every seventh year slaves are released for liberty;
25:8
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 130.10
… These are “the fiery darts” with which the devil wounds men and sets them on fire, and it was these which the king of Babylon used against the three children. But when he made his fire forty-nine cubits high he did but turn to his own ruin the seven weeks which the Lord had appointed for a time of salvation.
25:10
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 260.3
… After seven years the Hebrew used to be freed from slavery. Seven weeks of years used in old times to make the famous jubilee,
25:13
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 2.10
… The truth is that a good tree does not bear evil fruit, nor an evil tree good fruit, so long as they continue in their goodness, or badness. And if we read that every Hebrew keeps the same Passover, and that in the seventh year every prisoner is set free, and that at Jubilee, that is the fiftieth year,
25:21
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.14.4
… Again, the Patriarch Jacob said to Joseph, ‘And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which became thine in Egypt, before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine .’ And Scripture says about Job, ‘And there came to him seven sons and three daughters .’ As Moses too has said in the Law, ‘If sons become to any one,’ and ‘If he make a son
25:55
Tertullian † AD 220 Scorpiace 2
… “The children of Israel are my household servants; these are they whom I led forth from the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. Ye shall not make you idols fashioned by the hand, neither rear you up a graven image. Nor shall ye set up a remarkable stone in your land (to worship it): I am the Lord your God.”
25:2
2. When you shall have entered the land which I will give you, you shall keep sabbath to the Lord, -- that is, observe the sabbath or rest of the land, cause the land to rest in the seventh year. Whence the Hebrew, Chaldean, Septuagint and some Latin texts have, let the land keep sabbath, that is, rest, on the sabbath of the Lord, that is, in the rest ordained for the honor and worship of the Lord. For this was a ceremonial law regarding divine worship, and commanding all to celebrate in common the seventh year just as the seventh day: therefore every seventh year was a sabbath, that is, rest of the land; hence these years were called sabbatical. God instituted this sabbath of the land, so that, as St. Augustine says, Questions LXXXIX, the very rest of the land itself would be as it were the reward of habitation, and as it were the price of redemption from him to whom it belongs, that is, from its creator God, so that the Hebrews, for the land given to them by God, would render to him this sabbath, as it were a certain worship and homage. Note on when you shall have entered the land: for before entry, namely in the desert, this law of the seventh year, as also the jubilee, was not observed. For the seventh year and the jubilee were instituted to remit debts, labors and servitudes; there were already no debts in the desert, since there was no want there; nor did they labor there or till the land, since all were equally nourished from heaven by manna, and were clothed in the same garments always remaining whole and incorrupt, as is evident from Deuteronomy VIII, 4. In the desert also there were no servitudes, which among the Jews were instituted on account of these debts and bodily necessities, as is hinted at in verse 39. When you shall have entered the land, -- supply and shall have possessed it, so that you might till it; for, as follows: "Six years you shall sow your field, but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath," that is, rest, "of the land." Therefore the numbering of both the sabbatical years and the jubilee (for it depends on the sabbatical years, and the year of jubilee is to be reckoned from them, as I shall say presently) could not begin before the Hebrews received possession of the promised land, and having obtained peace and quiet could till it: for how could fields not yet occupied be tilled? or how could the sabbatical year be reckoned from fields not yet cultivated? Whence it is clear that the beginning of the sabbatical years and jubilees is to be begun from the year in which the land was divided by lot to the Hebrews by Joshua; for then the people, introduced into possession of it, began to till the fields; but this happened in the year 47 from the exodus from Egypt, as is gathered from Joshua XIV, verse 10, which was the seventh year after the death of Moses for Joshua, but the 2500th year of the world; therefore from the seventh month, tenth day of that same year, the numbering of the sabbatical years and jubilees is to be begun. Thus Serarius in Joshua cap. XIII, Question XIV, at the end, where he refutes the Rabbis in Seder Olam, who begin these years from a later division of the land, which was made in the year not 7, but 14 in Shiloh. From this therefore, computing from the year of the world 2500 onwards, the 105th sabbatical year fell in the year 15 of King Hezekiah, as is evident both from chronology and from IV Kings XIX, 29, compared with IV Kings XVIII, 13. And consequently the 121st sabbatical year fell in the year 9 of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, so that the first year of Zedekiah was the fourth year of the 121st sabbatical week, as is evident from Jeremiah XXVIII, 1. Thus Vatablus there, and Scaliger in Emendation of Times. Some therefore wrongly begin the sabbatical years from the first year of Joshua, when the Hebrews entered Canaan, fighting against Jericho, when they should be begun from the seventh year of Joshua when the land, subdued by so many wars, they began to divide and till it: hence the following seventh year was the sabbath of the land, and it should be tilled as a sabbath, and from it consequently every seventh year was sabbatical; and after seven sabbatical years, namely after 49 (for seven times seven are 49) complete years, the following fiftieth year was jubilee, as is evident from verse 8. The first jubilee therefore began to be numbered from the year of the world 2500, which year was the fiftieth jubilee of the world; for fifty times 50 make 2500; therefore in this year of the world 2500, the fiftieth jubilee of the world ends and the 51st begins. The fiftieth jubilee of the world having ended, there succeeds the numbering of the jubilee years of Moses, so that the fifty-first jubilee of the world is the beginning and origin of the first jubilee of Moses; so that from then in the fiftieth year, namely in the year of the world 2550, the first jubilee of Moses was celebrated. From this it follows that Christ was born at the end of the twenty-ninth jubilee of Moses. For the first jubilee of Moses began in the year of the world 2500, from which, if you number jubilees through 50 years, up to the year of the world 3950 in which Christ was born, you will find that up to Christ there elapsed precisely 29 jubilees. Concerning these sabbatical years, whether they were observed or neglected by the Jews, mention is made in Jeremiah cap. XXXIV, 14, and IV Kings XIX, 29, and I Maccabees VI, 53, and in Josephus, lib. XIII, cap. XV, and lib. XIV, cap. XXVIII.
25:5
5. Thou shalt not gather the grapes of thy vintage. -- "The grapes of thy vintage," which namely in the seventh year, as it were the first of the following septennium, thou leavest untouched for the Lord, as it were as firstfruits, that is, so that they may be gathered by the poor, in honour of God. Whence in Hebrew these grapes are called nezirecha, that is, a Nazarite vow, that is sanctification, as the Septuagint translates it, or separation, as the Chaldean, which namely in this seventh year they left untouched, and as it were separated to God.
Four privileges of the sabbatical year There were therefore four notable features and privileges of the seventh year, or sabbatical year. First, that in that year the Jews could not sow, not reap, not prune, not gather grapes, but rest was given to the fields and vineyards, and the fruits springing up from them of their own accord were common to all men and animals; see what is said Exod. XXIII, 11. Second, that in this seventh year there was a remission of all debts, if he who owed was of the Jewish race, but not if he were a foreigner and a Gentile; this is clear from Deut. XV, 2 and following. Which law indeed was unusual and wonderful. Whence Deut. XV, 9, it is said: "Beware lest thou think in thy heart: The seventh year of remission draweth nigh, and thou turn away thy eyes from thy poor brother, being unwilling to lend him what he asketh, but thou shalt give to him, and shalt do nothing craftily in relieving his necessities;" and he adds a reward, saying: "That the Lord thy God may bless thee at all times, and in all things to which thou shalt put thy hand." If thou keep this law of remission of debts, God shall abundantly repay thee all thy debt with his blessing. For, as the Wise Man saith, Prov. XIX, 17: "He that hath mercy on the poor lendeth to the Lord, and he will repay him." Third, that in this year there was remission and release of servitude: for Hebrew servants were manumitted, as is clear from Exod. XXI, 2. See what is said there. But if the servant were not Hebrew, but foreign, he remained a servant perpetually, as is said here verse 46. Fourth, in this year it was commanded that Deuteronomy be read before all the people, Deut. XXXI, 10.
25:8
8, 9 and 10. Thou shalt also number to thee seven weeks of years, etc., and thou shalt sound the trumpet in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, and thou shalt sanctify the fiftieth year. -- The jubilee year is described here: it is commanded here therefore that in the year not 50, or of jubilee, as Serarius wishes, but 49 preceding the jubilee they sound the trumpet, and proclaim that the following fiftieth year will be a jubilee, so that each one may prepare himself for it; for the year 49 was not a jubilee year, but was a sabbatical year. Therefore Ralph, Cardinal Hugo, Gerard Mercator in his Chronology, and Joseph Scaliger, book V, appear to err, who think that the year 49 was a jubilee, although it is said to be, and is the fiftieth, if in this number you comprehend the fiftieth year, or the preceding jubilee: for this ought to be numbered, and from it the numbering of the year 50, or the following jubilee ought to be begun. They err, I say, because thus this year 50 would be numbered twice, namely first, when it is the last and 50, or jubilee; secondly, as it is the same the beginning of the following jubilee. Whence St. Cyril, Ambrose, Clement, Bede, St. Jerome, Cassiodorus, Isidore, Abulensis, Oleaster, and from these at length Serarius in Joshua XIII, Question XIV, refute this opinion. Hence the same err secondly, while they think the jubilee year coincided with the sabbatical, lest two, they say, years of rest should concur; for hence it would follow, either that the jubilee was celebrated in the year not 50, but 49, or that the sabbatical year was celebrated, not in the seventh, but in the eighth year, either of which is contrary to this ordinance of God. The year 49 therefore was sabbatical, and the following 50 was jubilee: understand this of the first jubilee, for in the following, or second jubilee, one year intervened between the sabbatical year and the jubilee, and in the third jubilee two years intervened, in the fourth three, and thus consequently, until by the return of the seventh jubilee the sabbatical year and jubilee coincided. The reason and origin of this matter was, that the following jubilee was always numbered from the preceding jubilee, or year 50, but the sabbatical year was always computed from the prior sabbatical, or seventh year. Hence it comes about that each jubilee is separated from 7 sabbaticals, or 49 years, by one year, which you will see with your own eyes, if you double these years; for twice 49 makes 98: therefore the year 98 was the fourteenth sabbatical, when the second jubilee was the hundredth year. In like manner if you triple 49, you will make 147, so that the year 147 was the twenty-first sabbatical, when the third jubilee was 150; where you clearly see two years intervening between the sabbatical and jubilee, which in order was the third. Therefore in every eighth jubilee, the sabbatical year and jubilee followed each other immediately: and so then the Jews had two consecutive years of rest, in which it was not permitted to sow or reap; but the Lord had promised that He would give to the Hebrews in those years double, indeed triple the usual harvest, as is clear here in verse 21. The same would happen to Christians, if they kept feasts, as they ought. Symbolically, Francis Valesius, On Sacred Philosophy, chapter XXI: God, he says, described the jubilee through seven sevens of years, appropriately to the climacteric years, that is, the scalar years. These are those which are closed at each septennium, namely the year 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, but especially 49 and 63, because 49 is made up of seven septenniums, 63 of nine septenniums. These years are called scalar, because in them the life of man, as it were by the steps of a ladder, ascends. For the steps are the septenniums themselves, in each of which singular changes in every age and condition of life occur, and many are tried by diseases, and indeed it happens that they die, especially in the year 49 and 63, which therefore Augustus Caesar with good reason so feared. The jubilee therefore was appropriately established after the seventh septennium, as if after the life of one man and generation a new age should succeed, and a new age and generation, in which therefore all things ought to be renewed, and reduced to ancestral possessions. I shall bring the mysteries of the septenary (which the sabbatical year and jubilee contain) from Deuteronomy V, 12.
25:9
Note: The other feasts of the Jews began from Nisan, that is March; for this was the first month of the sacred year, as is clear from Exodus XII, 1. But the sabbatical year and the jubilee did not begin from Nisan, as Abulensis wishes, but from Tishri, or the seventh month, which was the beginning of the common and profane year. Thus Burgensis, Pererius, Scaliger, and from them Serarius in Joshua XIII, Question XIV. The reason was, that if these years had begun with the other feasts from March, then the Jews would have lost the harvest of that year which followed March: for in these years, being sabbatical, there was a sabbath, that is rest of the land, so that it was permitted neither to reap nor to sow; wherefore the Jews would then have lost the harvest of the present and also of the following year: for since in that year they could not sow, consequently in the following year's summer they could not reap. Wherefore in the eighth jubilee, when the sabbatical year and jubilee would concur, so that the jubilee immediately followed the sabbatical, they would have lost the harvest of three years. But now beginning from Tishri, or the seventh month, they lost both the sowing and the harvest of that one year only, but of two if the sabbatical year and jubilee concurred. At the time of propitiation,—namely on the day and feast of Expiation, which was celebrated on the tenth day of the seventh month, as was said in chapter XXIII, verse 27: for on that day throughout all the land of Israel, as is here said, in individual cities there were trumpeters, who by the blast of the trumpet would proclaim that the jubilee would be in the following year. This was fittingly done at the feast of propitiation, because in the jubilee there would be full remission and propitiation.
25:10
And thou shalt sanctify (that is, thou shalt declare sacred and dedicated to me the coming) fiftieth year.—See Canon 11. Otherwise Ribera: "thou shalt sanctify," he says, that is thou shalt prepare the people for the celebration of the 50th year. Thus to sanctify is taken for to prepare, in Isaiah XIII, 3: "I have commanded my sanctified ones," that is, the Persians and Medes, whom I have prepared to destroy the empire of the Chaldeans. And thou shalt call a remission,—that is, thou shalt proclaim in that year that there will be remission of servitudes, of debts and of alienated goods. For if in the seventh year there was a remission of debts, as is clear from Deuteronomy XV, 2, much more ought that remission to be made in the 50th year, or jubilee, which was the year of the fullest remission. It is itself the jubilee.—Hebrew, it is itself jobel, or jobelus. For thus with other points placed beneath they read Josephus, St. Jerome in chapter I to the Galatians, the Chaldean and the Masoretes. You will ask, whence is this year called jobel, jobelus, jubilee? Andreas Masius in Joshua chapter VI thinks jobel is derived from Jubal, the first inventor of the cithara and organs, Genesis chapter IV. Others following the Chaldean and Rabbis everywhere, such as Lyra, Pagninus, Vatable and Augustine of Gubbio, in the last chapter of Numbers, hold that jobel signifies a ram's horn, and hence the jubilee year is called so, because in that year they would sound with rams' horns. Some add that jobel is an Arabic name, and signifies a ram: whence the Chaldean sometimes translates it dichra, that is ram.
Jobel and jubilee, whence is it called? Others hold different opinions, as Serarius reviews in Joshua XIII, Question XIV. But it is much more certain in this matter to follow the ancient and most learned Hebrews.
The third and true opinion, from jabal, that is, to bring, to lead back I say therefore: Jobel or jubilee is derived from the root jabal, that is to bring, to lead, and that with joy and gladness, whether of him who leads or of him who is led, as Serarius shows with various examples in Joshua VI, Question V. The year jobel therefore is the same as the year bringing all good things, and leading each one back to his former freedom and inheritance. Thus Oleaster, Ribera, Serarius and others. And Cajetan favors this, who derives jobel from jobel, that is germ, so that the year jobel is the same as the year producing all good. Cajetan is agreed with by Angelus Pientinus, book III On the Jubilee, chapter IV, and Bellarmine, book I On Indulgences, chapter I. That this is the origin and etymology of jobel and jubilee is clear first from Josephus, who, in book III of the Antiquities, x: The word, he says, jobeli signifies freedom, that is, a leading back into freedom. Second, because the Septuagint everywhere for jobel translates aphesis, that is remission. Third, because Philo and his interpreter St. Jerome, in the book On Hebrew Names in Genesis, translates jobel as releasing. The same Jerome, in book II on Isaiah, at the beginning: "Jubilee," he says, "that is, the year of remission." Fourth, because this passage entirely proves it, for thus it reads: "Thou shalt call a remission; it is itself the jubilee," as if to say, It itself is the year of remission. Whence also follows: "Man shall return to his possession and to his family." Hence we too call the year of the fullest Indulgences a jubilee, as Serarius shows in Joshua chapter VI, Question VII. Jobel therefore signifies remission: hence secondly, jobel signifies a trumpet, or rather the blast of a trumpet, which sounded festively in that year. Whence also Jubilum and jubilare of the Latins appears to be derived, as Eugubius teaches above. Hence also the blast of the trumpet sounding on Sinai, when the law was given, is called jobel in Hebrew by anticipation, Exodus XIX, 13.
He himself is indeed the jubilee Hebrew: he himself is indeed jobel, or jobelus. For thus with other points placed beneath they read Josephus, St. Jerome in chapter 1 to the Galatians, the Chaldean and the Masoretes. Jobel signifies the year in which complete remission was made, which was the fiftieth year. Moreover, these trumpets of the jubilee were not those two silver trumpets, as the Abulensian thought, by which the people were summoned to feasts, of which Numbers x. For in Joshua vi, 13, seven trumpets of the jubilee are said to have been, which also have another name in Hebrew, and were never used in feasts and years except in the jubilee; for this reason indeed it is said: "Whose use is in the jubilee." These trumpets therefore were not silver, but of horn. For thus St. Jerome interprets the Hebrew word scophar, which is found in this place, in chapter v of Hosea, and the Septuagint, Psalm xcvii, 6. But these trumpets were not from the horn of a ram, because they sounded only that horn at the feast of trumpets, in remembrance of the ram substituted for Isaac, to be sacrificed by the father; but they were from the horn of cattle. For St. Jerome above: "A trumpet, he says, is pastoral." But shepherds sound the horns not of rams, but of oxen; such also as the ancients had teaches Varro, book IV On the Latin Language: "Horns, he says, which now are of bronze, then were made from the horn of cattle," and he adds that buccina is said from cattle, or from the sound of cattle bou bou, which sings to cattle and calls cattle. Whence also afterwards bronze and military trumpets were called horns, as: "The horns resounded with hoarse song," Aeneid VIII. From this it is clear that the sound of this trumpet was harsh and hoarse (for such is the sound of horns), which however at feasts, the sharp and excited sounds of other instruments, as if a graver sound moderated and tempered them. In the seventh year remission of debts was made, as is clear from Deuteronomy xv, 2; much more should that remission be made in the year 50, or jubilee, which was the year of the fullest remission.
The anagogical sense: Jubilee and resurrection Anagogically, just as the sabbath and the seventh year or sabbatical year, so the jubilee signifies the resurrection and the eternal rest of the whole year, that is of eternity; for then first, all servants and hired workers, beasts also and cattle, that is all simple ones will be free from labor: because the praise and vision of God will be the leisurely occupation of the Blessed. Second, the trumpet will sound in the preceding year, namely 49, because horrible signs proclaiming the approaching judgment will precede the resurrection. Third, they will sound also in the jubilee itself, because on account of the consummated victory, throughout all the streets of heaven perpetual alleluia will be sung. Fourth, we will return to the first possession, that is to paradise, from which we were cast out with the first parent, having now received full remission of sins; which because it is inestimable, hence it is repeated here so many times. Fifth, the earth will not be sown, because then there will be no satisfaction of new merits, but we will most sweetly enjoy the fruit of the old. Thus nearly Radulphus, Isychius and Ribera, book V On the Temple, chapter xxv.
The tropological sense: Jubilee and remission Tropologically Rupertus: "This, he says, is truly a holy and most beautiful feast of jubilee, to be celebrated with the trumpet of evangelical preaching sounding, so that man returns to the possession and family of his own, when namely we remit the offense against us, so that with all discord removed, all return to the former family of peace and concord, and have one heart and one soul, and sing: Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"
The allegorical sense: Jubilee and the time of Christ Allegorically, the jubilee is the time of Christ and grace, as Isaiah foretold, and from him Christ, Luke IV, 19, and St. Paul, II to the Corinthians vi, 2.
The Christian Jubilee Finally, among Christians Pope Boniface VIII instituted a jubilee year by this name in the year of Christ 1293, to be celebrated in the year of Christ 1300, and he ordered it to be renewed every hundredth year, and he granted full remission of all sins to those who came to Rome and visited the tombs of SS. Peter and Paul; and he did this in order to turn the Roman people away from the vain celebration of worldly games to true solemn sacred worship. Fifty years later, Clement VI decreed that the jubilee be celebrated every fiftieth year (because the span of human life could scarcely reach that jubilee in a hundredth year), which was the true jubilee. He decreed this in the year of Christ 1345, as Volaterrius testifies, lib. XXII. The jubilee therefore of this kind was first in the year of Christ 1350, in which year there was such a multitude of people in Rome, as Petrarch, an eyewitness, testifies, that it was no wonder that from this arose so grave a pestilence throughout all Italy, that of a thousand scarcely ten survived, as Crantzius testifies, lib. IX Metrop. cap. XLIII. Again under Nicholas V, in the jubilee year of Christ 1450, there was such a throng of people in Rome that many were suffocated and perished in it, as Platina and Sabellius testify, lib. V Enn. cap. x. Finally Sixtus IV reduced the jubilee to every twenty years, and was the first to celebrate it in the year of Christ 1475; he did this so that every generation might share in his office. Moreover in the jubilee the Pontiff opens the golden door, as it is called, to which an immense multitude runs together, for the sake of obtaining remission of sins. The prayers, alms, penances, and other exercises of piety, which are performed in that year both in Rome and elsewhere, are beyond description. And in these the Roman Prelates and nobles take the lead. If Jews bought fields outside of it, even from their own Jews, these yielded to them in perpetuity, nor did they return to the first heir in the jubilee. Thus Oleaster. From this it follows that in Judaea no one was rich in immovable goods unless he was born rich, or unless by hereditary right, when other heirs died, they devolved upon him. In movable goods therefore the Jews could only become wealthy.
For by this that he returns to his former possession, as it was before, he also returns to his family, because to individual families possessions were distributed and assigned by Joshua in the promised land.
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You shall not sow on account of the sanctification (holiness) of the jubilee (that is, so that you may observe this year in religious rest), but immediately the produce (thus it should be read with the Roman text, not "removed," that is the fruits of the field springing up of their own accord and obvious, in the jubilee year) you shall eat, by gathering only, not however by reaping or harvesting them for yourself. The Hebrews give this reason for this law, namely that the rich might lift their eyes to heaven, and think of the necessities of the poor, so that, when they themselves in the seventh year ask: What shall we eat, or what shall we drink? they may remember that the poor are always in that anxiety and care, who never sow or reap, and therefore learn to have compassion on them and come to their aid.
Five reasons for the return of goods in the jubilee God ordained this return of goods to the first owner in the jubilee, first, for this reason, lest the tribes of Israel be confused, but through inheritances and hereditary successions, in the dominions and possessions assigned to each tribe, it might be known from which tribe each person was; and this on account of the Messiah, so that it might certainly be established to the Jews according to the prophecy of Jacob, Genesis XLIX, 10, that Christ was born of the tribe of Judah. Thus Abulensis. Second, so that honorable and noble families might remain in their honor, lest anyone, a spendthrift, squander ancestral estates and goods, and thus overturn his family. For this evil was provided against through this return of goods in the jubilee. Third, so that they might set a limit to avarice and greed, lest anyone, avaricious, buying up all goods become immensely wealthy. Fourth, so that a certain equality might be preserved among the Jews, lest some become very rich, others very poor, and thus envy, pride, and murmuring be given place; but each one, content with his own lot, equally divided among all by Joshua, might lead a social and friendly life. Fifth, so that the Jews might know that they had not so much dominion over their land as use of it, and that God had reserved its dominion to himself, concerning which verse 23. Finally for this reason the Jews, already from the time of their destruction, do not observe the jubilee, because namely the distinction of possessions and tribes among them has already been abolished, nor do they have possessions themselves, on account of which the return of which the jubilee was chiefly instituted.
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Namely to a field, house and similar immovable goods; for the discourse is only about these. For these, even if sold a thousand times, at the time of the jubilee returned to the first owner by themselves, without any price. Hence it came about that, the nearer the fiftieth year was, the less immovable things were sold for. The sale of these goods therefore among the Jews was not absolute, but only for a certain time, so that this sale seemed to be a lease of the thing for fifty years, rather than an absolute sale, although it truly transferred dominion of the thing to the buyer. Understand these things concerning goods situated in Judaea itself.
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If you wish contrary to the law prescribed here by me to buy, or to retain what has been bought from him beyond the jubilee, in perpetuity; or if you wish to sell a thing for more, or to buy for less than the thing is worth, or its use and fruit up to the jubilee. For this is what follows: "But according to the number of years of the jubilee you shall buy of him, and according to the computation of fruits he shall sell to you," namely so that, if few years remain until the jubilee, the thing shall be sold for less; if more, for more: for the thing ought to be sold according to the computation of its fruits and produce; therefore if the buyer is about to receive the fruits of few years, let him buy the thing for less, if more, for more. For this is what follows: "The time of fruits shall sell to you."
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From this it is evident that the fertility of the holy land was not natural in part, but divine, and from the gift of God. For God here promises to the Jews, if they keep the law, especially concerning the observance of rest in the seventh or sabbatical year, that He will give them in the sixth year fruits for three years, namely for the sixth year, and the seventh or sabbatical year, and the eighth, in which they sowed again. Let Christians hear this, and learn not to seek their gains by violating feasts through labors, sales, etc. For if God promises to the Jews here, keeping rest throughout the whole sabbatical year, provisions for three years, much more will He provide for Christians keeping rest on a few feasts, with sustenance and gains. By this so great a benefit of God, namely the triple harvest of the sixth year, the Jews were deprived in the time of the Maccabees, as is evident from I Maccabees vi, 49 and 53.
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In Hebrew it is: The land shall not be sold unto destruction, loss, or cutting off, that is, so that it be perpetually cut off and alienated by the seller. The Chaldean translates it, the land shall not be sold into ownership; the Septuagint, into confirmation, so that namely it be appropriated and confirmed to the buyer in perpetuity. The reason follows: "Because it is mine," as if to say, I God have a high and transcendent dominion over your land: wherefore it is permitted to me to impose upon its sale such conditions as I will, especially since I have brought you into it as sojourners and colonists. "All the region of your possession" (that is, all the possession of the region of your land. It is a hypallage; we have seen a similar one, cap. XII, 4) "shall be sold under the condition of redemption." This is another law from the former; for it arranges and ordains that in every alienation of land there be understood to be added the faculty of redeeming it; this is evident from the Hebrew, which thus has it: And in all the land of your possession you shall give redemption of the land, and this so that by this also the stability of the possessions of each tribe might be helped. Thus Cajetan, and it is evident from what follows. Beautifully Philo, in the book On the Cherubim, from this place teaches that God alone is the lord and possessor of all things; men however have only the use and fruit of them for life, not dominion. "Hence it is clear," he says, "that we are able to use others' possessions, nor do we possess glory, nor riches, nor honors, nor empires, nor anything else either of body or of mind as our own, as if these were of our right and dominion, but we have only the use and fruit, while we live here." Wherefore in passing through this world we ought to use it only, just as dogs drink from the Nile; for in Egypt dogs, lest they be caught by crocodiles, do not delay in drinking, but lap and flee, as Pliny testifies, lib. VIII, cap. xl. Whence after the flight from Mutina, when some asked what Antony was doing, someone answered: "What a dog in Egypt, drinks and flees." Thus necessary things are to be snatched from the world by us hastily, lest we be caught by the demon, the rest are to be passed through. "Whatever things lie around you, regard as the baggage of a lodging place: it is to be passed through," says Seneca, book XVII, epistle 103.
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That is to say, He who sells a house situated within a city may redeem it within a year by returning the price; but if he does not do so, he can never redeem it, not even in the jubilee, or recall it to himself. God ordained this, first, so that by this means cities would become populous; for this attracts buyers and inhabitants to cities, if in them they can acquire for themselves a house that is stable and firm. Second, lest someone easily and rashly sell his house in a city, knowing that he would never recover it. Third, because through possessions or houses that were within cities, tribes and families were not distinguished: hence also the Levites were able to possess them, who nevertheless were said to have no possession in the promised land. Excepted from this law are the houses of the Levites: for these, if not redeemed, returned to their masters in the jubilee; because, as it is said in verse 33: "The houses of the cities of the Levites are possessions among the children of Israel," that is to say, the Levites have no other possession than houses, and therefore it is just that these return, as other possessions of laymen return. But houses situated outside cities in villages, together with their fields, were reckoned by the same right, and returned at the time of jubilee to the first master, whether they were of the Levites or of others. See Abulensis, Question XX. Tropologically, he who is in mortal sin can, in the time of the year, that is of this life, redeem his house, that is charity, by the price of penance; but if he neglect it, he will not be able to redeem it in the future. Within the walls of the city. From this it is clear that the Jews surrounded their cities with walls, nor does this contradict trust in God; rather the contrary would be to tempt God: for it often happened that enemies far superior in number and strength invaded citizens and cities, who unless they protect themselves with walls cannot resist. Whence Aristotle, in book VII of the Politics, condemns the vain opinion of some, who thought that cities ought not to be fortified with walls, but by the strength and courage of soldiers. And the counsel of Nestor was salvation to the Greeks, commanding a wall to be drawn around the camp, to ward off the attacks of the Trojans. Hence also the Jews, with the Lord's approval, built the wall of Jerusalem, II Esdras, chapter IV.
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In Hebrew, the cities of the Levites, and the houses of cities. Thus also the Chaldean and the Septuagint; but our Interpreter, under houses, left cities also to be understood. For if the houses of the Levites can always be redeemed, then much more their cities.
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Because the possession (of the Levites) is perpetual, that is to say, I forbid the suburbs of the Levites to be sold, because these are their perpetual possession, and necessary for feeding their flocks, nor do the Levites have any other among the Jews. Mystically and tropologically by this matter it was signified that the Levite ought before all to be free for himself and for God, and therefore to withdraw from time to time outside the city and the noise of the people and to be free for holy quiet, solitude and contemplation in the suburbs; wherefore they could sell houses in the city, not in the suburbs. Hence let Religious and Clergy learn to prefer Mary to Martha, that is contemplation to action. In this many err: for they occupy themselves with studies and other business in such a way that they neglect prayer. Let them learn from this that it is better to sell houses in the city than in the suburbs; better to diminish studies, conversations and actions, than the appointed prayers. Whatever business therefore occurs at the time of prayer, let all of it yield to prayer, let the morning meditation be preserved unharmed: let action and study rather be harmed. Although it will not be harmed, because prayer will obtain light from God, so that one hour may profit more than otherwise two would have done. For wisdom is a gift of God; it must therefore be sought from God through prayer, as St. James says, chapter I, verse 5. Thus St. Thomas Aquinas confessed that he learned more through prayer than through study. Finally let us all hear and follow that word of Christ: "Martha, Martha, thou art careful, and art troubled about many things. But one thing is necessary: Mary hath chosen the better part, which shall not be taken away from her," Luke x, 41. But if he shall have sold a house in a village, that is, perfection, to which he was not bound, he shall receive it in the jubilee, that is, in heaven he shall receive the merits which he acquired for himself living in his perfection. A similar tropology is of the Levites, who signify the perfect, and those endowed with singular charity. Thus from Radulphus and Rupert Ribera, book V On the Temple, chapter xxv.
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Infirm in hand (Septuagint, if thy brother be impotent in hands (any Jew, namely, so that he cannot gain by the labor of his hands the necessities of life, and is forced to ask a loan from thee): thou shalt not take usury of him, etc., and thou shalt not exact an abundance of fruits, that is to say, thou shalt not exact more fruits from him as usury than thou gavest him, that is, lent to him.
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A Jew who had sold himself as a slave to another Jew could go forth free from the service of his master in the seventh year, which was a year of liberty and sabbatical; but if he did not go forth in that year, he went forth in the jubilee, nor could he be detained in servitude beyond it. Concerning which note from Exodus xxi, 2 and seq.: if a master had given a Gentile handmaid to a Hebrew slave (for he could not give a Hebrew daughter; for he himself or his son was bound to take her as a wife, either purchased or otherwise), and the slave had begotten children from her, the slave could, if he wished, go forth free in the seventh year, but alone, that is to say, so that the children with their mother would pass to the master, or lord, and remain his slaves: but if the slave, captivated by love of his wife and children, did not wish to go forth alone from his master's house free in the seventh year, he was bound to serve until the year of jubilee, and then he led forth his wife and children with him into liberty. See Abulensis here, Question XXI.
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Hebrews, namely, and that not only by creation, but also by redemption from the servitude of Egypt. Wherefore I do not wish you to sell them to any other person under the condition of servants, that is, so that they be slaves in perpetuity; but rather hold them as it were hired servants, who namely for a price accepted from you, let out their labors to you until a certain time, and serve until the jubilee. Here, says Radulphus, masters are admonished not to oppress slaves tyrannically; but remembering to show reverence to them as servants of God, and therefore to treat them kindly and mercifully. M. Crassus, says Plutarch in his Life, maintained a great multitude of slaves at home, and took special care of them, standing by those learning and teaching them, and he said: "This ought to be the principal care of the father of a family, to know how many are the animate instruments of his property." Demonax, seeing a certain slave of his being beaten cruelly: "Stop," said he, "lest you become like your slave." That most prudent man judged truly that he is really a slave who cannot command his own passions. Diogenes said that between bad slaves and bad masters, apart from the names, there is nothing different, except that slaves serve masters, masters serve their desires, that is many masters, which are base and merciless. Laertius is witness, book VI. Hear also Seneca, epistle 47: "Consider," says he, "whom you call your slave, born from the same seeds, enjoying the same sky, breathing equally, living equally, dying equally. For you can see him as a free man, he can see you as a slave. I have seen one standing before the threshold of Callista his master, and being shut out while others entered. The Marian disaster depressed many most splendidly born by fortune: it made one a shepherd, another a keeper of a house. Do you not know at what age Hecuba began to serve, at what age Croesus, at what age the mother of Darius, at what age Plato, at what age Diogenes?" Finally Ecclesiasticus cap. vii, 23: "Let a wise servant," says he, "be dear to you as your own soul: do not defraud him of liberty, nor leave him destitute."
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A male slave and a female slave (who namely be absolutely a slave and a slave-woman) shall be to you from the nations, -- that is to say, Take slaves and slave-women from the Gentiles, and buy them from them; because I do not wish you to buy or have Jews, who are my servants, as perpetual slaves. Gentiles therefore, even if they had been converted to Judaism, remained slaves forever; so also their children, as is said in verse 45. For God did not wish Gentile proselytes to be made equal to Jews by origin and descent in these privileges of the jubilee, lest envy and sedition should arise among them. That this is so is evident: for otherwise all slaves of Jews would have gone forth free in the jubilee; which however is here denied. For, as I said on Exodus XII, 41, every slave of Jews, even if he were a Gentile, was bound to be circumcised, and to become a proselyte.
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And of the sojourners (proselytes already mentioned) you shall have servants (slaves) and shall possess them forever, -- that is until the jubilee, says St. Augustine; and, if the rule were true, which some hand down from St. Jerome, namely that olam, that is age or eternal, signifies the jubilee when written without vau, the Hebrew would convince it: for olam without vau is written here. But, as I have already said, the context seems to require another and true eternity, so that namely the proselyte always, and for his whole life be and remain a slave, so that when his master dies he passes to his heirs, and serves them as long as he lives. In this indeed a proselyte slave is distinguished from a Hebrew slave, in that this one is a slave until the jubilee, that one for his whole life. And thus also the rule of St. Jerome concerning olam has place here: for olam here does not signify absolute eternity, but only the time of the slave's life. St. Jerome however only says that olam with vau signifies absolute eternity, but without vau signifies finite time; such however is the time of a man's life.
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That is to say, If a foreign Gentile proselyte shall have become rich and powerful among you, so that he might buy a Jew who, pressed by poverty, has sold himself as a servant: he shall have him as a servant, not only until the seventh or sabbatical year, but until the jubilee: unless this servant, by paying back the price at which he was bought, redeems himself. A Jew therefore serving a proselyte would go out free in the year of jubilee alone, nor is this surprising: for if conversely such proselytes were to sell themselves to Jews as servants, they would remain servants for their whole life.
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The meaning and case of these verses up to verse 54 is this, that is to say, I wish that, just as wages are reckoned and paid to a hired laborer in proportion to the time, for example the days or years in which he has worked in a garden, field, or house, so also here the wages of a Hebrew servant shall be reckoned when he offers a price to his master, even a Gentile proselyte, so that he may redeem himself and assert his freedom; let the wages be reckoned, I say, in proportion to the years in which he served, and let that amount be deducted from the price, so that, for example, if a Jew has sold himself as a servant for 40 shekels, when 40 years remained until the jubilee, and then he served 10 years, and soon thereafter redeems himself, let 10 shekels be reckoned to him as wages for the ten years in which he served, and therefore let him add to his master only 30 shekels by which he may redeem himself: but if he served 20 years, let 20 shekels be reckoned to him as wages, and let him add only 20 to these, which being paid to his master he may redeem himself and go out free, and thus proportionally for others. This meaning is more clearly evident in the Hebrew, Chaldean, and Septuagint. Thus Abulensis.
A summary of the privileges of the jubilee From what has been said in this chapter it is clear that these were the privileges of the jubilee. First, that in it all debts were remitted; for this reason indeed this year was called the year of remission, as is evident from verse 10. Second, that in it servants were manumitted and became free. Third, that ancestral possessions returned to the legitimate and first heirs, without any price or compensation. By this institution of the jubilee, besides the reasons set forth in verse 10, God first consulted the welfare of the poor, lest they be perpetually excluded from goods and paternal inheritance, but with the bond of debt released in the jubilee they might return to their possessions. Second, God wished the jubilee and the seventh year to serve chronology; for according to the sabbatical years and jubilees all things were sold, enumerated and reckoned, just as among the Greeks according to Olympiads, and among the Romans according to lustra.
The Perpetual Jubilee of Christians Thirdly, He willed that the jubilee be a type of the most complete liberty, grace and joy, which Christ our Redeemer brought and in which He established us in the new law, as is evident from Luke chapter IV, verse 19. The perpetual jubilee of Christians is situated, first, in the remission of sins and in a good and holy conscience. "What is richer," says St. Bernard, in the book On Consideration, "what is sweeter in the heart, what is more quiet and secure on earth than a good conscience? It fears no loss of things, no insults of words, no tortures of the body, which indeed it rises above rather than is depressed by, even more than by death itself." And even the pagan Cicero, in book VI of his letters to Torquatus: "A conscience," he says, "of right will is the greatest consolation in the inconveniences of things." And Seneca, epistle 24 to Lucilium: "I do not wish," he says, "that joy should ever be lacking to you; I wish it to be born for you at home. It is born, if only it be within yourself. Other kinds of cheerfulness do not fill the breast, but only relax the countenance." And further on: "The desire for true good is safe. What is this, you ask, or whence does it arise? I will tell you: from a good conscience, from honest counsels and right actions, from contempt of chance things, from a calm and continuous course of life pursuing one path." This then is the jubilation and perpetual jubilee of the Christian mind. Secondly, the same is situated in the fear and worship of God. "The fear of the Lord," says Ecclesiasticus, chapter I, verse 11, "is glory and glorying, and joy and a crown of exultation. The fear of the Lord will delight the heart, and will give joy and gladness and length of days." And Malachi chapter IV, verse 2: "And there shall arise unto you that fear my name the sun of justice, and health in his wings: and you shall go forth, and shall leap like calves of the herd." Whence St. Chrysostom, homily 18 to the People: "The fear of the Lord," he says, "is stable and unmoved, and furnishes such great joy that no sense of the evils of others can seize us; for he who fears God as he ought and trusts in Him has gained the root of pleasure and has every fountain of joy." Thirdly, it is situated in firm hope of eternal happiness. Hence Christ, Matthew chapter V, 12: "Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven." And: "Rejoice, that your names are written in heaven." St. Basil, homily On Giving Thanks: "Hope," he says, "of retribution makes those things which are sad in this life lighter. Has someone brought you ignominy? Yet do you lift your eyes to that glory which is laid up in heaven, prepared for you by the merit of patience. Have you suffered loss of your things? Fix your eyes more firmly on the heavenly riches and the incomparable treasure which you have set aside for yourself by the price of good works. Have you been shut out from your native land? Yet you have that heavenly fatherland, Jerusalem." Rufinus and Palladius relate in the Life of Blessed Apollonius concerning his monastery and monks: "There was," he says, "in them joy and gladness beyond measure, and such exultation as can be had by any man on earth. No one was found sad among them; but if anyone appeared somewhat sorrowful, Apollonius would inquire the reason and would say: We ought not to be sad, we to whom salvation is in God and hope in the kingdom of heaven. Let the Gentiles be sad, let the Jews mourn, let sinners weep without ceasing, but we who have hope of such great glory and exultation of eternity, why should we not rejoice with all exultation?" Fourthly, it is situated in friendship and union with God. "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice," says the Apostle. St. Basil inquires in the Brief Rules, Question CXCIII: "What is joy in the Lord;" and he answers: "To rejoice in those things which are done according to the commandment of the Lord is to rejoice in the Lord. Wherefore whenever we fulfill the commandments of God or suffer something for the name of the Lord, we ought to rejoice and be glad." St. Augustine in On Saving Doctrine chapter X: "If," he says, "we delight in possessing something in this world, it is expedient that we possess in mind God who possesses all things, who created all things, and in Him have whatever we happily and holily desire. But since no one possesses God unless he is possessed by Him, let us be ourselves God's possession, and God will become our possession. And what can be happier in the world than he for whom his Emperor and Redeemer becomes his wealth and deigns to be his very inheritance, divinity itself? What more does he seek, for whom all joy and all things ought to be his Redeemer?" And St. Bernard, epistle 114 to a certain nun: "It is great joy to me," he says, "that I have found you willing to strive toward true and perfect joy: which is not of the earth but of heaven, that is, not of this valley of tears but of that which the impetus of the river makes glad, the city of God. And truly that alone is true and only joy which is conceived not from a creature but from the Creator, and which when you possess it no one will take from you: compared to which all other pleasantness from elsewhere is sorrow; all sweetness is pain; all that is sweet is bitter; all that is comely is foul; and finally whatever else can delight is troublesome." Fourth, it is situated in friendship and union with God. "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice," says the Apostle. St. Basil inquires in the Brief Rules, Question CXCIII: "What is joy in the Lord;" and he answers: "To rejoice in those things which are done according to the commandment of the Lord is to rejoice in the Lord. Wherefore whenever we execute the commandments of God, or suffer anything for the name of the Lord, we ought to rejoice and be glad." St. Augustine in the Book of Salutary Doctrine, chapter X: "If," he says, "we delight in possessing something in this world, it is expedient that we possess God, who possesses all things, who created all things, in our mind, and in Him have whatever we happily and holily desire. But because no one possesses God except he who is possessed by Him, let us ourselves be God's possession, and God will become our possession. And what can be happier in the world than he for whom his Emperor and Redeemer becomes his wealth, and deigns to be his very inheritance the divinity itself? What more does he seek, for whom all joy and all things ought to be his Redeemer?" And St. Bernard, epistle 114 to a certain nun: "Great," he says, "is my joy, that I have found you willing to strive toward true and perfect joy: which is not of the earth, but of heaven, that is, not of this valley of tears, but of that which the impetus of the river makes glad, the city of God. And truly that alone is true joy, which is conceived not from a creature, but from the Creator, and which, when you shall have possessed it, no one will take from you: compared to which all other pleasantness from elsewhere is sorrow; all sweetness, pain; all that is sweet, bitter; all that is comely, foul; in short, whatever else is able to delight, is troublesome."
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
25:1
v. 1 « Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen in monte Sinai dicens » T 3 — locus rursum demonstratur, quia narratio 24,10-23 interruperat elenchum legum sinaiticarum (Di/Ím.) —
25:2
v. 2 « Loquere filiss Israel. et dices ad eos : Quando ingresst fueritis terram, quam ego dabo vobis, - sabbatizes sabbatum Domino », Hebr. sabbatizabit terra sabbatum Do-. mino. Cf. Ex. 93,10 sq. Et omne eius requiel ratio
25:3
v. 3 : « Sex. annis seres agrum tuum, et sez annis putabis vineam tuam, colligesque fructus eius » : v. « septimo autem anno sabbatum erit terrae , requietionis Domini », « h. e. quiescere permittetur terra in Dei hono-. 1 rem et symbolum dnodd o memorativum divinae illius quietis septimo | die » (Bonfr.). « Agrum non seres et vineam non putabis ». v. 5« Quae pore, i. e. autumno. Sed annus iubilaei in eodem contextu atque annus sabbaticus descriptus evidenter est eiusdem cum anno sabbatico rationis, ergo incipit mense Tisri. 3. Annus iubilaei incipiebat die prima mensis Tisri, illud quippe erat initium anni civilis. Neque obest, v. 9 sq. clangorem tubarum praescribi pro die mensis decima. Eo quippe clangore » annuntiabatur « non ipsissimum anni initium, sed simpliciter iubilaei annus. Die prima 23, 24 clangebantur tubae pro sabbato memoriali, ergo alio die clangendae erant pro iubilaeo. Pro iubilaeo, qui annus esset nequaquam iubilationis, sed restitutionis, aptissime tubae clangebantur v. 9 « die propitiationis ». Neque periculum erat, ne quis inter diem primam et decimam aut sereret aut meteret, cum et messis ante diem primam esset plane absoluta, et sementis ante diem decimam certe non inchoaretur. |
25:8
v. 8 « Numerabis quoque tibi septem hebdomadas annorum », — Hebr. : septem sabbata annorum, sed cum omne sabbatum suum praecedat hexaemeron, efficiuntur anni 49, quod illico explicat textus — « [2 e.] septies septem » annos, « quae simul faciunt annos quadragintanovem».
25:9
v. 9 « Et clanges buccina » — EY cf. Ex. 19,16, pro quo Ios. 6,5 (cf. v. ^. 6. 8. 13) substituitur 13?p, unde vera esse dignoscitur explicatio Hier. (in Os. 5,8; .M. 25. 86) : « buccina pastoralis est et cornu recurvo efficitur, unde et proprie hebraice Sophar, graece xsga-- xiv appellatur » — « mense septimo, decima die mensis, propitiationis tempore », seu verius die (23,27), « in universa terra vestra ».
25:10
v. 10 « Sanctificabisque annum quinquagesimum ». Cum vero sint varii modi sanctificationis, illico qui modus intelligatur exponitur (Ca?.): « et vocabis », seu proclamabis, « remissionem », 1. e. liberationem seu manumissionem, « cunctis habitatoribus terrae tuae : ipse est enim p. 530 sq. ostendemus probabilius esse expungendam. -.
25:13
V. 13 « Anno tubilaet » huius « redient omnes ad possessiones suas ». Arg. — Emitur non ager ipse, sed fructus agri usque ad iubilaeum proxime sequens. Hine pretium crescit vel decrescit proportione numeri annorum maioris vel minoris usque ad illud iubilaeum. Qua in re iuste agendum est, non dolose. veniendorum ; tota haec redemptionis lex extraneos minime attingit. teriissent. Nam si viginti anni elapsi essent, triginta solum superessent; si decem, quadraginta. 51 ergo plures supersint anni a 1ubilaeo, pluris dunt : nam, sicut pretium minuitur pro annis ab ultimo iubilaeo turum.
25:15
v. 45 « Et iuxta supputationem frugum vendet tibi ». Hebr. :. plures annt remanserint [post zubilaeum|, tanto crescit et pretium, eb tibi » tamquam colonus; ager quippe nunquam venditur, sed Dei est (v. 93).
25:17
v. 17 « Nolite affligere contribules vestros, sed timeat unusquisque Deum suum, quia ego Dominus Deus vester ». Admonitionem hane(v. 14) apte repeti censet Ca?. « propter facilitatem decipiendi indigentes, qui vendunt in huiusmodi aestimationibus ».
25:18
v. 18 « Facite praecepta mea et iudicia custodite et amplete ea, «ut habitare | possitis in. terra absque ullo pavore ». tantum sed vel tribus annis foret satis. Potuit tandem ea. vox trium etiam esse oceasio aliqua transferendorum v. 19-22 in eum, ubi nunc leguntur, locum. Arg. — Hos versus immediate iungendos esse versui 7, supra docebamus. Deus tantam anni sexti fertilitatem promittit, quae septimi el
25:23
v. 93 « Terra quoque non vendetur in perpetuum », absolute, quem demptionis conditione vendetur ». Quae conditio beneficium imprimis confert ei, qui paupertate pressus suum invitus vendidit agrum v. 95 : 582 S uM LIBER LEGUM. E, siunculam suam », — Hebr. : de possessione sua, non necessario totam — « et voluerit propinquus eius, potest redimere quod ille ven- | diderat ». Hebr. : et veniat redemptor eius proximus illi. Propinquiores propinquius redimendi ius habebant (Ruth 4,3 sqq.), « salvo. iure, ut in anno iubilaei rediret possessio ad venditorem » (Sylv.), vel etiam ante eum annum, si venditor dilior factus pretium offerret.
Arg. — v. 93 stabilit prineiptum non agrum vendi, quippe qui Dei sit, sed solum 1us frugum; quod ius v. 24 redimi queat. S1 quis pauditior factus (v. 26 sq.), soluto frugum pretio pro numero eorum annorum, qui supersunt usque ad iubilaeum proxime sequens.
25:26
v. 96 « Sin autem non habuerit proximum » , qui aut posset aut vellet redimere agrum (Kn.), « ef ?pse pretium ad redimendum. potuerit invenire », post aliquod tempus ditior factus, v. 97 « computabun-. fur [fructus| ex eo tempore, quo vendidit, et quod reliquum est »,
25:29
v. 99 « Qui vendiderit domum intra urbis muros, habebit licentiam redimendi, donec unus impleatur annus ». Licentia haee concedebatur in favorem eorum, qui aut egestate pressi aut fraude decepti sua divendissent.
Arg. — Domus urbanae redimi possunt, sed primo tantum post venditionem anno v. 29 sq.; domus rusticanae v. 31 redimuntur eadem conditione atque agri fruges; item v. 32 sq. levitarum domustam in levitarum urbibus quam ruri; ager has urbes contingens divendi | nequit v. 34. |
25:30
v. 30 « S? non redemerit et annt circulus fuerit evolutus, emptor possidebit eam et posteri eius àn perpetuum , et redimt non poterit , etiam in zubilaeo ». Dum ergo in agro patente tribus et familiae | distinctae servabantur, in urbibus muratis eaedem confundebantur. Ibi providebatur, ne plures in egestatem dilaberentur, sed mediocris - omnium esset opulentia; huc ut multi confluerent efficiebatur et, qui confluxissent, permanerent (Bonfr.). « Hoc enim allicit emptores et incolas urbis, si in ea domum stabilem et firmam comparare possint » (Sylv.).
25:31
v. 34 « Sin autem in villa fuerit domus, quae muros non. habet , agrorum iure vendetur » , tamquam agri accessoria (Bonfr.) Ad « si ante redempta non fuerit , in dubilaeo revertetur |ad dominum] ». v. 82 incipit absolute; E wrbes levitarum. dein pergit : domus urbium levitarum etc. Non agitur de domibus, quas levitae possiderent in urbibus non suis (Ca?.), quaeque communi subessent iuri. « Aedes 08 » — pro yw) ma lege, uti v. 32, vy ^na. Additur eius MM ratio : « quia domus urbium dun pro possessionibus sunt inter | filios Israel ». « Cum levitis nulli essent fundi, res utique poscebat, ; ut urbibus eorum et domibus ea darentur Pun quae lex conce- - lit agris reliquorum Israelitarum » (Calm.).
25:34
v. 34 « Suburbana autem. eorum »,i. e. ager eorum urbibus immediate attributus, « non veneant » , non plena venditione alienentur uti aliorum in urbibus mu- . ratis d nus, « quia possessio sempiterna. est ». —.— Arg. — Hebraeus pauper et decrepitus, propria domo carens domi . "amice suscipiatur; necessaria ei absque usura praebeantur. . |
25:35
v. 35 « S attenuatus fuerit frater tuus » (cf. v. 25) « et infirmus manu, et susceperis eum quasi advenam et peregrinum , et vixerit. (LXX); voci illico (Hebr.) adscribitur /ecum, quo discat quisque sub- — veniendum sibi esse infirmis illis, qui prope ipsum reperiantur (Kn.). - 'Construetio 3:5 *3 est abrupta : merito LXX Vulg. supplevissequasi, . misi forte ea vox primitus erat in textu, docet collatus v. 40, qui idem . :etiam evincit immerito Sy. adscripsisse negationem (non suscipies etc.) ; ib. docemur utroque loco premi diserimen inter serowum et inter inb: uf servum, sed w/ advenam et inquilinum , et vivet tecum tamquam — aequalis, non tamquam inferior.
25:36
v. 36 « Ne accipias usuras ab eo, - nec amplius quam dedisti ». Cf. Ex. 22,95 (24) ; Deut. 23,19 sq. (20sq.); esse usuram sumptam pro argento, n'aon Mol r235$ (ef. Chald. Sus esse usuram impositam eibo, v. g. s! quis paeiscatur pro ephi hordei E — sibi fore reddendum ephi cum dimidio. « 77me Deum tuum, ut vi- - . vere [possit] frater tuus apud. te ». Hebr. uti v. 35 : et vivat tecum. d
25:37
v. 91 « Pecuniam tuam non dabis ei ad usuram, et frugum super- — abundantiam non exiges ». Hebr. - et cibum eius non dabis ei qd. s | fenus. yd (3) Clausula Lev. 25,98, bilaei definiret. Id iam suppletur. Cum tota lex de iubilaeo a. Moyse lata sit nonnisi 1n terra promissa tandem observanda , dubitaverit quis, utrum harum appendicum desiderium iam in deserto in animis Hebraeorum natum sit : quodsi is defenderit, posteriore aliquo tempore esse adiectas, equidem non repugno. Arg. — Is habeatur non ut servus, sed ut necessarius ; anno iubilaei dimittatur liber cum suis. |
25:39
v. 39 « Si paupertate compulsus » tecum (ef. v. 35) « vendiderit se (ibi frater tuus, non eum opprimes servitute famulorum », Hebr. : non laborabis per eum laborem mancipii; v. A0 « sed quasi mercenarius et colonus erit. Usque ad annum ubilaeum operabitur apud cognationem et ad possessionem patrum suorum ». Porro ratio redditur, cur Hebraeus nequeat pleno sensu Hebrael esse servus,
25:42
v. 429 : « Met enim servi sunt, et.ego eduzi eos de terra Aegypti : non veneant condurum (v. 40).
25:43
v. 43 « Ne affligas », conculces « eum per potentiam », — eadem vox, qua Ex. 1,13 sq. servitus aegyptiaca describebatur — « sed metuito Deum tuum ». Veri nominis servi ex alienigenis petendi sunt, ad quos iubilaei privilegium non extenditur.
25:44
v. &4 « Serous et ancilla sint vobis de nationibus , quae in circuitu vestro. sunt »,
25:45
v. &5 « et de advenis , qui peregrinantur apud vos , vel qui ex his nati fuerint in terra vestra. Hos habebitis famulos »
25:46
v. &6 « et haereditario iure transmittetis ad. posteros, ac possidebitis in. aeternum ;. fratres autem vestros filios Israel ne opprimatis per potentiam ». Cf. v. 49.
25:47
Arg.— Cum Hebraei omnes (similiter atque agri) Dei sint, non se fratribus suis, redimet eum », v. 9 « et » — pro hisce et corrige aut.— E patruus et patruelis » uie eum, « et consanguineus » (cf. 48, ,6) 5 « [et] affinis » redimet eum; sine copula additur de cognatione etus, — — e BE aut limitans illud propinquus carnis ; « sin autem et ?pse pe fuerit » (cf. v. 96), « redimet se », — Ps. lon. addit « ecclesiam »; redade verbo Hebr. clarius effert varias propinquorum classes, ad . quos ea redemptio spectet — v. 50 « supputatis [dumtaxat| annis a. — - tempore venditionis suae usque ad annum iubilaeum, et pecunia, qua. venditus fuerat, iuxta annorum numerum et rationem mercenarii supum putata ». Hebr. : et erit argentum venditionis eus proportionatum - numero annorum , secundum dies mercenarii erit cum ipso. Pretium, |» quod in venditione vendenti se solvebatur, erat in proportione annorum servitutis, quae a venditionis die ad iubilaeum pertingebat, ac | pro singulis diebus computabatur pretium illud, quod erat mercenarii merces diei. Servus erat mercenarius, qui pro certo annorum. numero . . uni domino se obstrinxerat. Porro, pretio tempore venditionis ea pro- - . portione computato, pro redemptione restituebatur emptori pretium | correspondens annis, qui supererant usque ad iubilaeum, quibus 3 emptor servi labore cariturus iam erat. v. 51 « Si plures fuerint anni, ; | qui remanent [usque ad iubilaeum], secundum hos reddet et pretium » —.—— 2 de argento emptionis suae. v. 92 « S: pauci, ponet rationem », com- (e putabit « cum eo », sc. emptore, « ?uzta annorum numerum [et| red- —. det emptori quod reliquum est annorum] », redemptionem suam, v. 53.— —.« [quibus ante servivit mercedibus imputatis| ». Pro quo Hebr. repetit | — ultimum v. 50 incisum : Szcut mercenario de anno in annum ipsi merces — — eomputabitur. « Non affliget eum violenter in conspectu tuo » (cf. v. (ER —. A3. h6). v. 5 « Quods? per haec redimi non potuerit »,Si solvendo . — haee impar, « anno ?ubilaeo egredietur cum liberis suis ». v. 58 « Mei x: sabbata mea, et 1d dd ad sanctuarium meum. Ego Dominus ». i. e. insignitum picturis seu symbolis. Prov. 25,11 est textus valde obscurus. promissionibus et minis, ita leges Lev. 11,1-26,2 clauduntur pericope 26,3-h15, quae primum v. 3-13 benedictiones servaturis legem, dein potissimum constaret legibus iam in deserto observandis, promittitur Totum caput in illa ludit usitatissima formula « Custodite mandata mea etc. ». tis, et praecepta mea custodieritis, et ea feceritis »; v. 14 facundius ita repetitur ; « Si non audieritis me, et non feceritis omnia praecepta mea ista, et si statuta mea despexeritis, et si iudicia mea abiecerit anima vestra, et non feceritis omnia praecepta mea, sed ad irritum perducatis pactum meum etc. » ; brevius v. 18. 21. 23. 27. 40. Reapse mandatorum observatione foedus constat (cf. ER. 24); mandatorum vero potissima utique ea sunt, quae ad sabbatum et divinum cultum spectant, quod patet
25:7
The law is repeated in Lev. 25:7-7 with a small variant: the spontaneous fruits could be consumed by anyone, even by the owner and the stranger, not only by the poor and the beasts. …
25:9
The first day of T. (whose name does not occur in the Bible) marks the beginning of the year, in accordance with Lev. 23:23 and Num. 29:1; whereas according to Lev. 25:9 the first day of the year is the 10th of T. This fluctuation is held by some to be due to the foreign origin of the custom of beginning the year in autumn. …
25:11
… the grapes of the untended vineyard, because it is a J., a sacred time for you; but you may eat the produce taken from the field, that is, you may eat the spontaneous produce that sprouts from the roots or from the grains that fell the previous year" (Lev. 25, 11 ff.). …
25:23
Cabul (Heb. Kābhūl; Flavius Josephus Χαβούλων or Χαβώλων)
to Solomon that zone) is to be explained not as a whim of the chronicler based on Lev. 25:23 (the prohibition against ceding Hebrew territory to others), but by Hiram's displeasure with that district, considered "almost a nothing" (kābah); the Phoenician root χαβώλω is not …
… persons attached to it. The cultic tithe, alongside which there also existed a royal tithe (I Sam. 8, 15.17), represents an ancient institution (Gen. 14, 20; 28, 22) and is based on the concept of an offering directed to the deity as owner of the land (Lev. 25, 23; Deut. 26, 1 ff.).
… The restoration of landed property in the seventh year and in the jubilee year and other juridical institutions of the kind were based on the principle that the inhabitants and owners of the fields were "protected and dependents of the Lord" (Lev. 25, 23 ff.).
25:25
… Ex. 23, 19; 34, 26; Deut. 14, 21 and Deut. 22, 6. d) Bēkhōrōth "first-born", in 9 chapters: it concerns the precepts of Ex. 13, 2.12 f.; 34, 19 f.; Lev. 27, 26 f.; Num. 8, 16 f.; 18, 15 f. and Deut. 15, 19 f. e) 'Arākhīn "valuations": concerning vows (Lev. 25, 25 f.; 17, 2-20) and the persons who make the vows. f) Tēmūrāth "exchange", 7 chapters: substitution in the offering of animals (Lev. 27, 10). g) Kērīthōth "cutting off": premature natural …
25:35
… followed from it. Among the Hebrews the idea of gratuitous lending was deeply rooted, but violations were continuous, until, under the pretext of conforming to the practice of foreigners, they did not hesitate to openly violate the law (cf. Ex. 22:25; Lev. 25:35-37; Ezek. 18:8, etc.). …
25:39
… Indeed, he was required to grant freedom to his fellow-countrymen slaves after six years of service, assuring them a minimum essential for living (Lev. 25:39-54; Ex. 21:2; Deut. 15:12-18). The slave was permitted to renounce his freedom; in that case he remained the property of the master (Ex. 21:5, 6). Freedom could also be regained through …
25:42
Moses (Mōšeh, Μω[θ]σῆς, Vulg. MoySES, Ancient Latin Moses)
The attempts to remove his figure from the Egyptian framework (how else would the name M. be explained, and more generally the Egyptian names Hur, Ophni, Phinees, Phutiel, etc., and all the reminiscences, such as Ex. 20:2; Lev. 19:34; 25:42; 26:45; Num. 15:41; Deut. 5:6, 15, etc.?) and the Sinaitic framework, in which biblical tradition places him, have been recognized even by non-Catholic critics as contrary to historical …
… 30:3; Am. 1:9; Ez. 27:13; I Mach. 3:41). Moreover, all the children of a slave were considered the property of the master (Ex. 21:4). An Israelite could not be sold as a slave to foreigners; indeed, he should never have been reduced to such a condition (Lev. 25:42-46). In practice, however, often, for financial reasons or for insolvency toward a creditor, even Israelites were subjected to slavery (II Reg. 4:1; Neh. 5:5, 8). A thief who could not …
25:47
… is forced to sell himself as a slave, a relative of his, or he himself, if he manages to procure the necessary money, has the right of redemption (gê'ullâh), restoring the purchase price in proportion to the years during which he has rendered service (Lev. 25:47 ff.; Ruth 2:20; 3:9; 4:1, 14).
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.