Sabbatical and Jubilee

Ndikho Mtshiselwa, “The Sabbath Year and Socio-Economic Issues in Lev 25:2–7,” Old Testament Essays 36 no. 2 (2023): 384–411, 2023

Leviticus 25:2–7 has its closest parallel in the Pentateuchal and other post-exilic texts, namely Exod 23:10–11; Deut 11:8–17; 15:7–18 and Neh 5; 9:32–37 and 13. The texts are about the Sabbath year, YHWH, the land and socio-economic issues. A convincing consensus on the directionality of influence and dependence between Lev 25:2–7 and these texts is hardly reached. In addition, there is room for further research on the function and significance of Lev 25:2–7. The article argues that inner-biblical exegesis shows that Lev 25:2–7 depended on some Pentateuchal texts and served to legitimise the Sabbath tradition and to address socio-economic issues in the Persian period. In addition, the text influenced the production of some texts in the book of Nehemiah. First, the essay considers the grammatical features, style and content of Lev 25:2–7. Second, the article discusses the dating of the Pentateuchal scribal activity with specific focus on the Covenant Code (CC), versions of Deuteronomy and the Holiness Code (H). Third, the reception of Exod 23:10–11 and Deut 11:8–17; 15:7–18 in Lev 25:2–7 is examined. Lastly, the study probes the reception of Lev 25:2–7 in Neh 5; 9:32–37; and 13 and submits that Lev 25:2–7 depended on earlier Pentateuchal texts and subsequently influenced post-exilic texts on the subject of the Sabbath year in order to address the socio-economic issues of the time.

This article examines the innovative focus on sabbath observance that characterizes the Holiness legislation (“H”). By comparing H’s conception of the sabbath with what is known about this sacred time from other biblical and extrabiblical sources, the article demonstrates that H creatively blends two aspects of the sabbath that were not always connected; first, the idea, already present in the Decalogue and Gen 2:2–3, that the sabbath is a time of cessation held every seventh day, and second, more traditional associations of sabbath with sacrificial rites at the shrine. The article concludes by assessing the implications of H’s dual requirements of the sabbath observance—that is, both the cessation of labor and the accompanying sanctuary rituals—for contextualizing the H materials in the history of ancient Israel. It suggests that the prominence of sabbath in Lev 17–26 may not reflect H’s origins in the “templeless” situation of the Babylonian exile, as is often argued. H’s distinctive concept of sabbath may rather reflect a Persian period context, when collective obligations to the cult were renegotiated to ensure the success of the Second Temple.

Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2019

Leviticus 25 details legislation for the jubilee, the year concluding seven cycles of seven years in which real property returns to its original family allotment. Many understand the jubilee as an impracticable fantasy while others have sought to uncover evidence of its observance in ancient Israel. In this essay, I move the conversation away from this binary of scholarly perception and instead engage the jubilee from the horizon of its plausibility as an institution in ancient Israelite society. By “plausible,” I do not mean that this legislation’s enactment was likely or actual; evaluating the institution’s “plausibility” is a determination of whether it was credible within the structures of Israelite and Judahite society. I contend that the jubilee was theoretically conceivable in this society because of analogous practices in the ancient Near East and the agrarian society that the Levitical jubilee presumes and in which it makes sense as a plausible institution.

The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Daily Life in Roman Palestine (ed. C. Hezser; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), 566–586

Both 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees portray the Sabbath law as a central point of contention during the struggle over Judean law and tradition in the second century bce (e.g., 1 Macc 1:41-50; 2 Macc 6:4-6). The Hasmonean family in particular is at times highlighted as holding the Sabbath in high regard (2 Macc 5:27). In every available source, there is no question of the commitment to the inherited traditions concerning the Sabbath. However, in two passages, 1 Macc 2:29-41 and 9:43-53, the Hasmoneans are portrayed as acting in a way supported by few extant writings associated with Judean legal tradition: they engage in battle on the Sabbath. First Maccabees presents this as innovation on the part of the Hasmoneans. Josephus, who summarizes these events based upon 1 Maccabees, even recognizes this decision as the basis for normative practice (Ant. 12.272-277). As several scholars (e.g., Bar Kochva, Weiss, Scolnic) have pointed out, this event could hardly have been the first time in Judean history the issue arose. They argue against this reading of the sources. This paper contends that the plain reading of the texts is correct and 1 Maccabees is being used as the basis for legal practice in Josephus’ writings.

In addressing the concern that a food shortage could occur due to not sowing and reaping during a Sabbatical-Jubilee fallow period, Lev 25:20-22 mentions the years on either side of the seventh year: the sixth, eighth, and ninth years. What type of years were the sixth, eighth, and ninth years? Were they agricultural years that began in autumn, like the Sabbatical and Jubilee years? This study concludes that they were Hebrew calendar years, which began in spring. A further conclusion of this study is that the Jubilee year followed a 49-year cycle. It coincided with the seventh Sabbatical year. This study also examines the debated question: When did counting for Sabbatical and Jubilee years begin?

Oksident, 2025

It is widely acknowledged in academic scholarship that the Jewish religious tradition has undergone significant cultural, legal, and theological transformations across its long and complex history. ese shis are oen tied to moments of political disruption, exile, and reinvention, which necessitated new religious articulations and structures of authority. One of the clearest reflections of this historical dynamism is the institution of the Sabbath (Shabbat), whose evolving function and meaning serve as a valuable lens through which broader patterns of change in Judaism can be traced and analyzed. Originally instituted-at least according to tradition-during the Mosaic period as a divinely ordained day of rest marked by the cessation of labor, the Sabbath began as a simple ritual of pause embedded within a covenantal relationship between God and Israel. However, over time, this day of rest evolved into a highly codified legal framework governed by intricate halakhic rulings and interpretive traditions. e Shabbat attributed to Moses can thus be viewed not as a static institution but as the foundational model upon which later, more detailed ritual and legal systems were constructed. Importantly, this transformation did not occur in a single moment or under a unified authority; rather, it unfolded gradually across multiple historical stages and sociocultural contexts. e early textual traces of this evolution are partially preserved in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), where Sabbath is presented in various registers-from a creation-oriented cosmological pattern in Genesis to a socially ethical commandment in Deuteronomy. Yet these texts lack the complex legal infrastructure that would later characterize rabbinic Sabbath observance. It was during the Talmudic period that the Sabbath attained its fully developed halakhic form, shaped through the interpretive efforts of rabbinic sages responding to shiing communal needs, theological concerns, and the realities of post-Temple Jewish life. is study explores the historical transformation of the Sabbath by examining its scriptural origins and tracking its gradual legal and theological elaboration through the rabbinic corpus. In doing so, it positions the Sabbath as a paradigmatic case through which to understand how Jewish law, ritual, and identity were renegotiated and redefined in response to the evolving historical conditions of the Jewish people.

Bible and Spade, 2008

Tyndale Bulletin

Debt in the Old Testament economy was problematic, and our understanding of it is even more problematic, especially with respect to debt slavery. It is suggested that several common misunderstandings have contributed greatly to the problem. First, the Hebrew word 'ebed can be translated servant or slave and in the latter case it can denote both debt slave and chattel slave. In many cases there is a failure to make these distinctions. Second, there is a tendency to categorise all debt the same, regardless of the size. Third, a misunderstanding of the purpose of the jubilee has led to confusion regarding its role with respect to slavery and the manumission of slaves. Specifically, while the sabbath year guidelines included debt slavery, the jubilee by its nature did not involve slavery at all. Because the land 'sale' was really a land-lease, there was no debt involved, and the Israelite who 'sold' his land was not enslaved. It is then suggested that one option for the Israelite who 'bought' the land was to employ the 'seller' to work the land as a hired hand, which would explain the admonition that he was not be viewed as a slave.

Religious Studies Review, 2016