Bible Strands
Leviticus 25:16
You shall increase the price in proportion to a greater number of years, or decrease it in proportion to a lesser number of years; for he is selling you a given number of harvests.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God addresses Moses and the Israelites while regulating land sales within the Jubilee cycle. The instruction establishes a pricing formula tied to the agricultural timeline between Jubilee years.
The words — The phrase לְפִי (lefi) literally means “to the mouth of,” functioning as a proportional marker. The verb תַרְבֶּה (tarbeh) translates directly as “you will increase,” directing the price adjustment based on the count of years.
The thread — This proportional pricing principle recurs in Leviticus 25:15, which ties the sale to harvest years remaining, and Leviticus 25:27, which mandates calculating the years elapsed to repay the land’s excess value. Leviticus 25:51 applies the same proportional standard when a landowner redeems his property.
Why it lands — The text states that land value corresponds directly to the number of usable harvest years, not to permanent ownership. A reader must calculate fair pricing based on remaining agricultural utility and adjust redemption payments proportionally to the original purchase price.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it: for according to the number of the years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 25:27 he shall calculate the years since its sale, repay the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and return to his property.
- Leviticus 25:51 If many years remain, he must pay for his redemption in proportion to his purchase price.