Leviticus 25:13-17·~1 min

Return of Property

Each person is to return to his property in the Jubilee, so buying and selling must be measured by the number of harvest years left. That structure keeps neighbors from exploiting one another and places the whole exchange under the fear of God.

I¹³n this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his own property. ¹⁴If you make a sale to your neighbor or a purchase from him, you must not take advantage of each other. ¹⁵You are to buy from your neighbor according to the number of years since the last Jubilee; he is to sell to you according to the number of harvest years remaining. ¹⁶You shall increase the price in proportion to a greater number of years, or decrease it in proportion to a lesser number of years; for he is selling you a given number of harvests. ¹⁷Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.

Section summaryJubilee means that land transactions are never final transfers but timed exchanges shaped by the years left until release. Because price follows the number of harvests remaining, neighborly dealings must be governed by fairness and the fear of God.

Role in the chapterThis section translates Jubilee into ordinary economic practice. It prevents permanent dispossession by redefining sale as temporary use rather than absolute ownership.