Leviticus 25:1-7 · Bible study
Leviticus 25:1-7 Commentary: The Land's Sabbath Rest
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
A study of the sabbatical year law in Leviticus 25:1-7, exploring its setting at Mount Sinai, theological meaning, and application for rest and trust.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The land must rest every seventh year as a Sabbath to Yahweh, with all spontaneous produce shared freely among people and animals.
- Key words: shabbat (sabbath), shabbaton (solemn rest), nazir (untrimmed vine), sefiach (self-grown grain), tevuah (produce).
- Main debate: Whether the heading “on Mount Sinai” reflects a chronological note or a theological emphasis on the covenant’s authority.
- Theological theme: God’s sovereignty over the land and His provision for His people.
- Best use: Teaching on trust, rest, care for the poor, and creation stewardship.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
1Then the LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai,
2“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the LORD.
3For six years you may sow your field and prune your vineyard and gather its crops.
4But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land—a Sabbath to the LORD. You are not to sow your field or prune your vineyard.
5You are not to reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your untended vines. The land must have a year of complete rest.
6Whatever the land yields during the Sabbath year shall be food for you—for yourself, your manservant and maidservant, the hired hand or foreigner who stays with you,
7and for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. All its growth may serve as food.
WEB World English Bible 2000
1Yahweh said to Moses on Mount Sinai,
2“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to Yahweh.
3You shall sow your field six years, and you shall prune your vineyard six years, and gather in its fruits;
4but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to Yahweh. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.
5What grows of itself in your harvest you shall not reap, and you shall not gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land.
6The Sabbath of the land shall be for food for you; for yourself, for your servant, for your maid, for your hired servant, and for your stranger, who lives as a foreigner with you.
7For your livestock also, and for the animals that are in your land, shall all its increase be for food.
KJV King James Version 1769
1And the Lord spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying,
2Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord.
3Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;
4But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
5That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.
6And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee,
7And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
1And Jehovah spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying,
2Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto Jehovah.
3Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruits thereof;
4but in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath unto Jehovah: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
5That which groweth of itself of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, and the grapes of thy undressed vine thou shalt not gather: it shall be a year of solemn rest for the land.
6And the sabbath of the land shall be for food for you; for thee, and for thy servant and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant and for thy stranger, who sojourn with thee.
7And for thy cattle, and for the beasts that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be for food.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
1And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, in mount Sinai, saying,
2`Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, When ye come in unto the land which I am giving to you, then hath the land kept a sabbath to Jehovah.
3`Six years thou dost sow thy field, and six years thou dost prune thy vineyard, and hast gathered its increase,
4and in the seventh year a sabbath of rest is to the land, a sabbath to Jehovah; thy field thou dost not sow, and thy vineyard thou dost not prune;
5the spontaneous growth of thy harvest thou dost not reap, and the grapes of thy separated thing thou dost not gather, a year of rest it is to the land.
6`And the sabbath of the land hath been to you for food, to thee, and to thy man-servant, and to thy handmaid, and to thy hireling, and to thy settler, who are sojourning with thee;
7and to thy cattle, and to the beast which is in thy land, is all thine increase for food.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
1And Jehovah spoke to Moses in mount Sinai, saying,
2Speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them, When ye come into the land that I will give you, the land shall celebrate a sabbath to Jehovah.
3Six years shalt thou sow thy field, and six years shalt thou prune thy vineyard, and gather in the produce thereof,
4but in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest for the land, a sabbath to Jehovah. Thy field shalt thou not sow, and thy vineyard shalt thou not prune.
5That which springeth up from the scattered seed of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, and the grapes of thine undressed vines thou shalt not gather: a year of rest shall it be for the land.
6And the sabbath of the land shall be for food for you, for thee, and for thy bondman, and for thy handmaid, and for thy hired servant, and for him that dwelleth as a sojourner with thee, and for thy cattle,
7and for the beasts that are in thy land: all the produce thereof shall be for food.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
1And the Lord spoke to Moses in mount Sinai, saying:
2Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: When you shall have entered into the land which I will give you, observe the rest of the sabbath of the Lord.
3Six years thou shalt sow thy field and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and shalt gather the fruits thereof.
4But in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath to the land, of the resting of the Lord. Thou shalt not sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
5What the ground shall bring forth of itself, thou shalt not reap: neither shalt thou gather the grapes or the firstfruits as a vintage. For it is a year of rest to the land.
6But they shall be unto you for meat, to thee and to thy manservant, to thy maidservant and thy hireling, and to the strangers that sojourn with thee.
7All things that grow shall be meat to thy beasts and to thy cattle.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Leviticus 25:1
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this passage institutes a sabbatical year for the land, extending the weekly Sabbath principle to a seven-year cycle. The law is given prospectively: it will apply once Israel enters Canaan. The repeated phrase “a Sabbath to Yahweh” (vv. 2, 4) indicates the land’s rest is an act of worship. Adam Clarke calls the divine provision for the sixth year “astonishing and convincing,” proof of the law’s origin. Keil and Delitzsch note that the land was to be sanctified to the Lord by this rest. The produce of the fallow year was for everyone, owner, servants, foreigners, and animals, making the land’s rest a provision for the whole community. Barnes adds that the institution rests on moral rather than strictly religious ground. The Cambridge Bible describes it as a transference of the sabbatical idea from the week to the year. There is consensus that the law demanded radical trust in God’s provision and reinforced God’s ownership of the land.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Historical Marker View: The phrase "Mount Sinai" provides a chronological anchor, showing that this law was given within the Sinai encampment after the tabernacle was completed, underlining its place in the covenant.
- Theological Emphatic View: The Sinai reference serves a theological purpose: it ties the sabbatical year to the foundational covenant events, emphasizing divine authority regardless of the exact chronological sequence.
What is clear: The law commands a year of complete rest for the land every seventh year, with all spontaneous produce available to everyone, and it requires trust in God's provision.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Location and timing of the law | The law is given at Mount Sinai, after the tabernacle has been erected but while Israel is still encamped there. | Some see the Sinai reference as a precise chronological marker; others view it as a theological emphasis placing these laws within the covenant given at Sinai. |
| Observance in Israel’s history | The sabbatical year was often neglected, as reflected in 2 Chronicles 36:21 and later repentance in Nehemiah 10:31. | It is debated when counting the sabbatical years began, whether after the conquest of Canaan or after the land was fully settled. |
| Theological significance | The law teaches trust in God’s provision and reinforces that the land belongs to the Lord. | Some emphasize the agricultural and economic benefits; others see its primary purpose as worship and spiritual formation. |
| Applicability to Christians | The principle of periodic rest and reliance on God is enduring. | Christians differ on whether the sabbatical year should be observed literally or understood spiritually as a pattern for rest and generosity. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The heading “Yahweh said to Moses on Mount Sinai” (v. 1) raises the question of timing. By this point in the narrative (Exodus 40), the tabernacle has been built and dedicated. Yet Israel remains at Sinai for nearly a year after the exodus (Numbers 1:1, 10:11-12). Commentators like Gill and Wesley note that the Hebrew particle beth can mean “near,” so “on Mount Sinai” may indicate the region rather than the summit. The location is a theological anchor: these laws belong to the covenant made at Sinai. The law is prospective (“When you come into the land which I give you,” v. 2), looking ahead to settlement in Canaan. This is the fourth such prospective law in Leviticus (cf. 14:34, 19:23, 23:10).
The sabbatical year extends the weekly Sabbath to the land. The phrase “a Sabbath of solemn rest” (v. 4) uses the Hebrew shabbaton, a term otherwise used for the Day of Atonement (shabbat shabbaton, Lev 16:31). The prohibition on reaping self-grown grain (v. 5) and gathering from “undressed vines” (the term nazir compares the unpruned vine to a Nazirite’s untouched hair) underscores that the land is not to be exploited. All spontaneous produce becomes common food for owner, servants, hired workers, foreigners (v. 6), and even livestock and wild animals (v. 7). The law thus combines worship, trust, and social justice into a single institution. It required faith that God would provide a triple harvest in the sixth year, a promise spelled out later in the chapter (vv. 20-22).
Textual Notes
The supplied translations and commentaries identify no significant textual variants in Leviticus 25:1-7. The Hebrew text is consistent across the major manuscripts and versions represented in the sources.
Reception History
In Jewish tradition, the sabbatical year was observed at various periods, as evidenced by Josephus (Antiquities 11.8.6) during Alexander’s time and later under the Hasmoneans (1 Maccabees 6:49, 53). Its neglect is noted in 2 Chronicles 36:21, and the post-exilic community renewed the commitment in Nehemiah 10:31. Early Christian interpreters, such as Origen, read the land’s rest as a type of the soul’s rest in Christ. Medieval Jewish exegetes like Rashi highlighted the trust required. Protestant Reformers, including Matthew Henry and John Wesley, saw the institution as a test of obedience and a reminder of God’s ownership of all creation. More recent readings emphasize the social and ecological dimensions of the law.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Land’s Worship. The rest is “a Sabbath to Yahweh.” The land itself participates in honoring God; the people’s abstention from cultivation becomes an act of devotion.
- Shared Provision. The spontaneous produce is not owned by the landowner. It is for everyone, servants, foreigners, animals. The year of rest levels the social order around a common table.
- Trust in the Giver. The law only works if God provides abundantly in the sixth year. Observing the sabbatical year is a concrete act of reliance on divine faithfulness.
Five-point outline
- The Rhythm of Rest. As the week ends with a Sabbath, the agricultural cycle ends with a year of rest. Creation is not a machine to be endlessly exploited.
- God’s Ownership. The land is the Lord’s; Israel are tenants. The seventh year reminds them that the ultimate provider is not their labor but God.
- Care for the Vulnerable. The poor, the hired worker, and the foreigner all have equal access to the land’s spontaneous yield. The law builds a safety net into the economic calendar.
- Environmental Renewal. Letting the land lie fallow restores its fertility. The command has built-in ecological wisdom.
- A Sign to the Nations. The year of rest displayed Israel’s trust in God to surrounding peoples. It was a witness that their security came from heaven, not from hoarding.
Illustration hooks
- A gardener who lets a plot lie fallow for a season and is surprised by the richness of the soil the following spring.
- A church that gives its staff a sabbatical month, with the congregation stepping up to cover duties, discovering gifts they did not know they had.
- A neighborhood “free pantry” where excess garden produce is shared, creating community across economic lines.
Questions your congregation is asking
- “If God commanded a whole year without farming, did the people starve? How did that work?”
- “Does this sabbatical year law apply to Christians, or was it only for Old Testament Israel?”
- “I can barely take one day off a week; how could anyone rest for a whole year? What does that say about my trust?”
Leading a Discussion
This passage invites Israel to stop working the land for a full year and trust God to provide. The law is practical, it gives the soil rest and feeds the poor, but it is also a test of faith. As you read, consider what rhythms of rest God might be asking of you or your community.
Discussion questions
- What does the phrase “a Sabbath to Yahweh” add to our understanding of this law? What does it mean for land to keep a Sabbath?
- Why do you think the law was given prospectively, before Israel had even entered Canaan? How does that shape the way they (and we) hear it?
- Look at verses 6-7. Who is included in eating the produce of the sabbatical year? What does that reveal about God’s concern for different groups?
- How might the sabbatical year have strengthened Israel’s faith in God’s provision? What would have been the hardest part of obeying it?
- This law connects worship, economics, ecology, and social justice. Which of these connections is most striking to you? Why?
- In what ways might the principle of a sabbatical year apply to your own work, finances, or use of resources?
- What would it look like for a church or a Christian community to practice a “sabbatical year” in some form today?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 19:1 | In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. |
| Numbers 1:1 | Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, |
| Numbers 10:11 | In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle of the covenant. |
| Numbers 10:12 | The children of Israel went forward on their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud stayed in the wilderness of Paran. |
| Galatians 4:24 | These things contain an allegory, for these are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children to bondage, which is Hagar. |
| Galatians 4:25 | For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answers to the Jerusalem that exists now, for she is in bondage with her children. |
| Exodus 23:10 | “For six years you shall sow your land, and shall gather in its increase, |
| Leviticus 14:34 | “When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put a spreading mildew in a house in the land of your possession, |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke points to the miraculous provision of the sixth year, which produced enough for three years to carry Israel through the seventh and into the eighth. He argues that no sane lawgiver would invent such an impractical ordinance without divine authority. The miracle itself proves the law came from God.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes sees the sabbatical and Jubilee years as resting on moral rather than formal religious grounds. Their core lesson is that no one holds absolute ownership of the land; it belongs to God and must be used for the good of every creature, with its untended produce shared by all without distinction.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible observes that
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The land itself is commanded to observe a Sabbath rest for the Lord, during which the owner may not sow, prune, or harvest the spontaneous growth. Instead, that freely growing produce belongs as common food for the owner, household, servants, hired workers, foreigners, and even the livestock.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill explains that the sabbatical year was a rest for the land, acknowledging God as its true owner and teaching Israel to depend on His providence for food. He views it as a type of the spiritual rest that remains for God's people, and notes this law applied only within the land of Canaan.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB notes a debate over whether the sabbatic year began seven or fourteen years after entering Canaan, since six years of conquest preceded agricultural settlement. They emphasize that this year of complete fallowness, with its produce for everyone and the land's rest, was designed to teach the people God's constant providence.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
For Keil-Delitzsch the sabbatical year is not mainly about giving the land or people a physical rest. Its real purpose is theological: the land itself is to keep a holy Sabbath to the Lord, free from human exploitation, and Israel is to learn that God's people exist not for endless labor but for peaceful enjoyment of His provision.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry observes that the law gave the sabbatical year to honor the Creator by extending the Sabbath rhythm to the land. He rejects a later Jewish tradition that the world would end after six thousand years, calling it a weak foundation for fixing a day only God knows.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley clarifies that "in mount Sinai" means near the mountain, not on its summit, removing a historical difficulty. He then explains the sabbatical year as a divinely ordained rest for the land, designed to test Israel's obedience, teach dependence on God's provision, and anticipate the eternal rest prepared for the faithful. The spontaneous harvest was to be shared freely by all.