Bible Strands
Leviticus 25:55
For the Israelites are My servants. They are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks to the Israelites through Moses during the Jubilee legislation that follows the release of unredeemed Hebrew servants. This declaration occurs immediately after the rule that servants who are not redeemed earlier remain in service until the Jubilee year.
The words — עֲבָדִים ('a.va.Dim) literally means "servants" or "slaves," and הוֹצֵאתִי (ho.Tze.ti) translates as "I brought out." These terms directly state the verse's claim of divine ownership and historical deliverance.
The thread — This rationale for covenantal servitude appears in Leviticus 25:42 and mirrors the Exodus deliverance claims of Exodus 13:3 and Exodus 20:2. Each reference ties Israel's legal status to the foundational act of redemption from Egypt.
Why it lands — The text states that Israel's status as servants derives from God's prior action of bringing them out of Egypt, not from human achievement. It establishes a legal boundary against permanent chattel slavery by grounding human freedom in divine redemption.
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
For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 25:42 Because the Israelites are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, they are not to be sold as slaves.
- Exodus 13:3 So Moses told the people, “Remember this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; for the LORD brought you out of it by the strength of His hand. And nothing leavened shall be eaten.
- Exodus 20:2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- Psalms 116:16 Truly, O LORD, I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have broken my bonds.
- Isaiah 43:3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.
- Luke 1:74 deliverance from hostile hands, that we may serve Him without fear,
- Romans 6:14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
- Romans 6:17 But thanks be to God that, though you once were slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were committed.
- Romans 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life.
- 1 Corinthians 7:22 For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman. Conversely, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave.