Leviticus 25:40

Study note

Setting — God speaks to the Israelite community through Moses, establishing land and labor regulations following the Sinai covenant. The directive immediately follows the command not to enslave a destitute countryman who has sold himself.

The words — The text defines the servant's status with כְּשָׂכִיר (kəśāḵîr, "like a hired laborer") and כְּתוֹשָׁב (kətōšāḇ, "like a resident alien"), establishing a contractual rather than ownership relationship. The verb יַעֲבֹד (ya‘ăḇōḏ, "he will serve") explicitly limits his labor obligation to a fixed period.

The thread — This temporary servitude framework runs parallel to Exodus 21:2, which mandates release after six years of service, though Leviticus 25 extends the term to the Jubilee cycle. Both passages restrict Hebrew bondage to a finite, non-permanent arrangement.

Why it lands — The verse requires the employer to treat a destitute countryman as a protected laborer rather than property, enforcing a hard deadline for release. It demands practical restraint by converting economic desperation into a time-bound contract with guaranteed termination.

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.