Leviticus 25:38

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Yahweh addresses Israel during the promulgation of land and economic regulations. The declaration functions as a covenantal preamble to the preceding lending restrictions and the following indentured servant laws.

The words — אֲנִי (ani) translates literally as "I," and הוֹצֵאתִי (hotze'ti) means "I brought out." These terms establish direct divine agency in the exodus event.

The thread — This formula recurs in Exodus 20:2, Leviticus 11:45, and Numbers 15:41. Each passage pairs the deliverance from Egypt with the stipulation that Yahweh is Israel's covenant God.

Why it lands — The text states that Yahweh liberated Israel from Egypt specifically to establish His ownership and presence among them. Readers must align their financial practices with the reality that the land and its people belong to Yahweh, not to human creditors or masters.

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

אֲנִ֗י'a.NiI יְהוָה֙Yah.weh[am] Yahweh אֱלֹ֣הֵיכֶ֔ם'e.Lo.hei./KhemGod/ your אֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-who הוֹצֵ֥אתִיho.Tze.tiI brought out אֶתְכֶ֖ם'et./Khem<obj.>/ you מֵאֶ֣רֶץme./'E.retzfrom/ [the] land of מִצְרָ֑יִםmitz.Ra.yimEgypt לָתֵ֤תla./Tetto/ giveלָכֶם֙la./Khemto <the>/ youאֶת־'et-<obj.>אֶ֣רֶץ'E.retz[the] land of כְּנַ֔עַןke.Na.'anCanaan לִהְי֥וֹתli/h.Yotto/ becomeלָכֶ֖םla./Khemfor <the>/ youלֵאלֹהִֽים׃ סle./lo.Him<into>/ God

King James Version

I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.

Cross-references

Leviticus 11:45 For I am the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt so that I would be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
Exodus 20:2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Numbers 15:41 I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD your God.”
Genesis 17:7 I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
Leviticus 22:32 You must not profane My holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy among the Israelites. I am the LORD who sanctifies you,
Jeremiah 31:1 “At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be My people.”
Jeremiah 31:33 “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.
Jeremiah 32:38 They will be My people, and I will be their God.
Hebrews 11:16 Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.