Bible Strands
Leviticus 25:48
he retains the right of redemption after he has sold himself. One of his brothers may redeem him:
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites in the wilderness regarding the Jubilee regulations. The verse intervenes in a legal sequence detailing protections for a destitute Israelite who has sold himself to a foreign resident or clan member.
The words — The text highlights גְּאֻלָּה (geʾullâ), meaning a right of redemption, and יִגְאָלֶֽנּוּ (yigʾalennû), meaning he will redeem him. These terms establish the legal mechanism that preserves the seller’s familial and economic standing.
The thread — The text establishes a redemption mechanism in Leviticus 25:48 that extends to property in Leviticus 25:25 and addresses the same debt distress in Nehemiah 5:5. Hebrews 2:11 later references the familial unity that undergirds this redemption theme.
Why it lands — The text states that economic desperation does not erase a person’s inherent claim to restoration. A reader must apply this by actively participating in or supporting the restoration of those bound by debt or servitude.
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
After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:
Cross-references
- Nehemiah 5:5 We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless to redeem them because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”
- Hebrews 2:11 For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.
- Leviticus 25:25 If your brother becomes impoverished and sells some of his property, his nearest of kin may come and redeem what his brother has sold.
- Leviticus 25:35 Now if your countryman becomes destitute and cannot support himself among you, then you are to help him as you would a foreigner or stranger, so that he can continue to live among you.
- Nehemiah 5:8 and said, “We have done our best to buy back our Jewish brothers who were sold to foreigners, but now you are selling your own brothers, that they may be sold back to us!” But they remained silent, for they could find nothing to say.
- Galatians 4:4 But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,