Leviticus 25:8-12 · Bible study
Leviticus 25:8-12 Commentary: The Year of Jubilee
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Analysis of the Jubilee year: counting forty-nine years, the fiftieth year, the Day of Atonement trumpet, and the proclamation of liberty and restoration.
Research Summary
- Meaning: A sacred year of release every fifty years, restoring property, freedom, and rest.
- Key words: Sabbath, trumpet, liberty (דְּרוֹר), jubilee (יוֹבֵל), return (שׁוּב).
- Main debate: Whether the Jubilee fell on the forty‑ninth or fiftieth year.
- Theological theme: God as owner of the land and redeemer of people.
- Best use: Foundation for teaching on rest, release, and restoration in God’s redemptive plan.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
8And you shall count off seven Sabbaths of years—seven times seven years—so that the seven Sabbaths of years amount to forty-nine years.
9Then you are to sound the horn far and wide on the tenth day of the seventh month, the Day of Atonement. You shall sound it throughout your land.
10So you are to consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be your Jubilee, when each of you is to return to his property and to his clan.
11The fiftieth year will be a Jubilee for you; you are not to sow the land or reap its aftergrowth or harvest the untended vines.
12For it is a Jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You may eat only the crops taken directly from the field.
WEB World English Bible 2000
8“‘You shall count off seven Sabbaths of years, seven times seven years; and there shall be to you the days of seven Sabbaths of years, even forty-nine years.
9Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land.
10You shall make the fiftieth year holy, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee to you; and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family.
11That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee to you. In it you shall not sow, neither reap that which grows of itself, nor gather from the undressed vines.
12For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat of its increase out of the field.
KJV King James Version 1769
8And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
9Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.
10And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
11A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.
12For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
8And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and there shall be unto thee the days of seven sabbaths of years, even forty and nine years.
9Then shalt thou send abroad the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month; in the day of atonement shall ye send abroad the trumpet throughout all your land.
10And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
11A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of the undressed vines.
12For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
8`And thou hast numbered to thee seven sabbaths of years, seven years seven times, and the days of the seven sabbaths of years have been to thee nine and forty years,
9and thou hast caused a trumpet of shouting to pass over in the seventh month, in the tenth of the month; in the day of the atonements ye do cause a trumpet to pass over through all your land;
10and ye have hallowed the year, the fiftieth year; and ye have proclaimed liberty in the land to all its inhabitants; a jubilee it is to you; and ye have turned back each unto his possession; yea, each unto his family ye do turn back.
11`A jubilee it is , the fiftieth year, a year it is to you; ye sow not, nor reap its spontaneous growth, nor gather its separated things;
12for a jubilee it is , holy it is to you; out of the field ye eat its increase;
Darby Darby Bible 1890
8And thou shalt count seven sabbaths of years, seven times seven years; so that the days of the seven sabbaths of years be unto thee forty-nine years.
9Then shalt thou cause the loud sound of the trumpet to go forth in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month; on the day of atonement shall ye cause the trumpet to go forth throughout your land.
10And ye shall hallow the year of the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty in the land unto all the inhabitants thereof; a [year of] jubilee shall it be unto you, and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family;
11a year of jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap its aftergrowth, nor gather [the fruit of] its undressed vines.
12For it is the jubilee; it shall be holy unto you; out of the field shall ye eat its produce.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
8Thou shalt also number to thee seven weeks of years: that is to say, seven times seven, which together make forty-nine years.
9And thou shalt sound the trumpet in the seventh month, the tenth day of the month, in the time of the expiation in all your land.
10And thou shalt sanctify the fiftieth year, and shalt proclaim remission to all the inhabitants of thy land: for it is the year of jubilee. Every man shall return to his possession, and every one shall go back to his former family:
11Because it is the jubilee and the fiftieth year. You shall not sow, nor reap the things that grow in the field of their own accord, neither shall you gather the firstfruits of the vines,
12Because of the sanctification of the jubilee. But as they grow you shall presently eat them.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Leviticus 25:8
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 these verses institute a year of extraordinary release. After seven sabbatical cycles totaling forty-nine years, the fiftieth year was to be set apart. Gill and Wesley affirm that the plain statement 'a jubilee shall that fiftieth year be' (vv. 10, 11) fixes it as the fiftieth. Keil and Delitzsch argue that this year completes the sabbatical idea. Clarke notes the ambiguity created by the counting in verse 8 but concludes that 'the fiftieth was the real jubilee.' The word 'jubilee' (יובל) is debated: some link it to a ram's horn (shophar) used to proclaim the year, while others derive it from a verb meaning 'to bring back' (Clarke). Despite these debates, the core, a holy year of freedom, return to property, and land rest, is undisputed.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- 49th year view: R. Jehuda and some later scholars argue the Jubilee coincides with the 49th year to prevent two successive fallow years (mentioned by Keil & Delitzsch).
- 50th year view: The plain reading of vv. 10–11 (the fiftieth year), supported by Wesley, Gill, and Keil & Delitzsch.
What is clear: The institution commands a year of liberty, return to family property, and rest for the land, initiated by the trumpet blast on the Day of Atonement.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Year of Jubilee timing | All agree the passage requires a year of release after seven sabbatical cycles. | Some argue the Jubilee coincides with the 49th year to avoid two consecutive fallow years; the majority (Wesley, Gill, Keil & Delitzsch) hold it is the 50th year based on the explicit text. |
| Etymology of 'jubilee' | The Hebrew יובל is linked to sound and release. | Josephus and the rabbis derived it from 'liberty'; Clarke notes connection to a verb 'to bring back'; the Cambridge Bible links it to the ram’s horn. |
| Observance in Israel's history | The law was given prospectively, meant for life in Canaan. | Clarke observes it was 'little regarded after the Babylonish captivity.' Some traditions hold it was observed in ideal periods; others see it as a largely unfulfilled ideal. |
| New Testament fulfillment | Christians across traditions see the Jubilee as a type or foreshadowing of Christ’s redemption. | Some interpret Jesus’ reading in Luke 4 as a direct proclamation of Jubilee, fulfilled in His ministry. Others view the full restoration as eschatological, awaiting the final return. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The Jubilee rests on the sabbatical-year cycle. Every seventh year the land was to lie fallow (Leviticus 25:4, 7). After seven such cycles, forty-nine years, the fiftieth year became a super-Sabbath. The count echoes the counting of weeks to Pentecost (Leviticus 23:15), showing a pattern of seven culminating in a new beginning.
The trumpet blast on the tenth day of the seventh month, the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:30), linked atonement for sin with social release. Barnes notes that the sound of the shophar recalled the descent of Yahweh on Sinai when Israel entered covenant (Exodus 19:13,16). The same sound now announced the year that restored each Israelite to the freedom and blessings of that covenant.
The geographical and economic context matters. Land was the primary livelihood; it belonged ultimately to God and could not be sold permanently. The return of property prevented permanent poverty and preserved the family inheritance as allocated in Joshua's time (Numbers 26:52, 56). The land itself rested, not sown or pruned, and the people lived from its spontaneous growth, a trust in God's provision.
The Jubilee was a prospective law, given before Israel entered Canaan (Ellicott). It was meant to shape a society where economic differences were periodically reset, slavery was limited, and every family had a stake in God's gift of the land.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants in this passage.
Reception History
Interpreters have long read the Jubilee as a shadow of the coming redemption. John Wesley described it as typifying the true liberty purchased by Christ. John Calvin emphasized its role in renewing the people’s separation to God and stimulating Sabbath observance. In Jewish tradition, the Jubilee was remembered as the year when land returned to original families, a safeguard of God’s inheritance. Early Christian writers allegorized the trumpet blast as the gospel’s proclamation. The Jubilee continues to inspire social-justice movements and reflection on debt forgiveness and ecological rest.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Counting the Years, The command to count seven sabbaths of years shows that deliverance comes on a schedule set by God.
- Sounding the Trumpet, The trumpet on the Day of Atonement announces that forgiveness and freedom arrive together.
- Returning to Rest, Return to property and family restores what was lost: identity, provision, and community.
Five-point outline
- Count: Seven cycles of seven years lead to a year of culmination.
- Signal: Trumpet blast on the Day of Atonement marks the beginning.
- Proclaim: Liberty is declared to all inhabitants of the land.
- Return: Each person goes back to his ancestral property and his family.
- Rest: The land lies untilled; the people eat from the field, trusting God.
Illustration hooks
- A family receives notice that their mortgage is completely forgiven. The weight of years of debt disappears.
- A soldier returns home after a long deployment to find his farm overgrown but waiting for him. He steps onto the land he almost lost.
- A community agrees to take an entire year off from planting and harvesting, living only from what grows wild. They must trust that enough will come.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Did Israel ever actually keep the Jubilee? What evidence do we have?
- How does the Jubilee connect to Jesus reading “the year of the Lord’s favor” in Luke 4?
- If we don’t live in an agrarian society with family land, what does “return to your property” mean for us?
Leading a Discussion
Leviticus 25:8, 12 paints a picture of a society built on periodic liberation. Every fifty years, the land rests, slaves go free, and families return to their ancestral holdings. This is not just charity, it is a confession that the land belongs to God and that every Israelite is a sojourner with Him.
Discussion questions
- What catches your attention in the actions commanded: counting, trumpeting, proclaiming, returning, resting?
- Why does the Jubilee begin on the Day of Atonement? What does that connection suggest about the foundation of freedom?
- The word “liberty” (d’ror) in verse 10 suggests a flowing release. How is this different from simply canceling debts?
- What would it have felt like for a family that had lost its farm to walk back onto it after fifty years?
- How does the land rest (no sowing, no reaping) challenge the people’s trust in God? Where do you see a similar challenge in your own life?
- How does the Jubilee shape your understanding of God’s character, as owner, redeemer, and rest-giver?
- If we take the principle of the Jubilee (periodic release and restoration) into our context today, what might that look like in your church or community?
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)
| Genesis 2:2 | On the seventh day God finished his work which he had done; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. |
| Leviticus 23:15 | “‘You shall count from the next day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. |
| Leviticus 16:20 | “When he has finished atoning for the Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he shall present the live goat. |
| Leviticus 16:30 | for on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you. You shall be clean from all your sins before Yahweh. |
| Leviticus 23:24 | “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, there shall be a solemn rest for you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. |
| Leviticus 23:27 | “However on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement. It shall be a holy convocation to you. You shall afflict yourselves and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. |
| Leviticus 27:17 | If he dedicates his field from the Year of Jubilee, according to your valuation it shall stand. |
| Leviticus 27:24 | In the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land belongs. |
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
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes highlights the connection between the trumpet sound at Sinai, when God made covenant with Israel, and the same sound at the Jubilee, which restored each family to its ancestral land and freedom. He notes that "jubile" originally referred to the sound of the cornet, not the year itself.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin's emphasis falls on the Jubilee as the most illustrious Sabbath because its visible social renewal—emancipation, property return—was a powerful memorial of sacred rest. This renewal signified Israel being separated as a holy nation, redeemed anew in the great Sabbath to devote themselves entirely to God their Deliverer.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator notes the difficulty of the trumpet being sounded on the Day of Atonement, offering several explanations, including that the tenth day sometimes began the year. It also explains that "jubile" originally meant "ram's horn," the instrument used for proclamation.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill reads the Jubilee as a detailed prophetic picture of redemption in Christ. The trumpet sounded on the Day of Atonement typifies the joyful Gospel proclamation, while the release of servants and restoration of property prefigure spiritual liberty, adoption into God's family, and the believer's heavenly inheritance.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown highlight the Jubilee as the most extraordinary civil institution ever given, named from the Hebrew for a horn or trumpet. It began on the Day of Atonement with trumpets proclaiming universal redemption: freedom for prisoners, slaves, and debtors, and the restoration of all inherited land. They note the debate over the year but accept the traditional fiftieth-year view.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch stress that "jubilee" means the loud blast of a trumpet, not a time of jubilation. They insist the fiftieth year, not the forty-ninth, is the true year of liberty, announced on the day of atonement to show that only through full forgiveness can the blessed freedom of God's children begin.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange sees the Sabbatical and Jubilee years as a comprehensive system for keeping holy
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry ties the Jubilee directly to the Day of Atonement, noting that the same day that brought pardon also proclaimed liberty, restoring every person to their family and property. This design, he argues, prevented lasting inequality and enforced the command not to oppress, since the land and its inhabitants belonged to God.