LEV 25

Leviticus 25:5

WEB

What 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.

BSB

You 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.

KJV

That 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.

Matthew Henry

Verses 1–7

Leviticus 25:1–7

The law of Moses laid a great deal of stress upon the sabbath, the sanctification of which was the earliest and most ancient of all divine institutions, designed for the keeping up of the knowledge and worship of the Creator among men; that law not only revived the observance of the weekly sabbath, but, for the further advancement of the honour of them, added the institution of a sabbatical year: In the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, Lev 25:4. And hence the Jews collect that vulgar tradition that after the world has stood six thousand years (a thousand years being to God as one day) it shall cease, and the eternal sabbath shall succeed - a weak foundation on which to build the fixing of that day and hour which it is God's prerogative to know. This sabbatical year began in September, at the end of harvest, the seventh month of their ecclesiastical year: and the law was, 1. That at the seed-time, which immediately followed the end of their in-gathering, they should sow no corn in their land, and that they should not in the spring dress their vineyards, and consequently that they should not expect either harvest or vintage the next year. 2. That what their ground did produce of itself they should not claim any property or use in, otherwise than from hand to mouth, but leave it for the poor, servants, strangers, and cattle, Lev 25:5-7. It must be a sabbath of rest to the land; they must neither do any work about it, nor expect any fruit from it; all annual labours must be intermitted in the seventh year, as much as daily labours on the seventh day. The Jews say they "began not to reckon for the sabbatical year till they had completed the conquest of Canaan, which was in the eighth year of Joshua; the seventh year after that was the first sabbatical year, and so the fiftieth year was the jubilee." This year there was to be a general release of debts (Deu 15:1, Deu 15:2), and a public reading of the law in the feast (Deu 31:10, Deu 31:11), to make it the more solemn. Now, (1.) God would hereby show them that he was their landlord, and that they were tenants at will under him. Landlords are wont to stipulate with their tenants when they shall break up their ground, how long they shall till it, and when they shall let it rest: God would thus give, grant, and convey, that good land to them, under such provisos and limitations as should let them know that they were not proprietors, but dependents on their Lord. (2.) It was a kindness to their land to let it rest sometimes, and would keep it in heart (as our husbandmen express it) for posterity, whose satisfaction God would have them to consult, and not to use the ground as if it were designed only for one age. (3.) When they were thus for a whole year taken off from all country business, they would have the more leisure to attend the exercises of religion, and to get the knowledge of God and his law. (4.) They were hereby taught to be charitable and generous, and not to engross all to themselves, but to be willing that others should share with them in the gifts of God's bounty, which the earth brought forth of itself. (5.) They were brought to live in a constant dependence upon the divine providence, finding that, as man lives not by bread alone, so he has bread, not by his own industry alone, but, if God pleases, by the word of blessing from the mouth of God, without any care or pains of man, Mat 4:4. (6.) They were reminded of the easy life man lived in paradise, when he ate of every good thing, not, as since, in the sweat of his face. Labour and toil came in with sin. (7.) They were taught to consider how the poor lived, that did neither sow nor reap, even by the blessing of God upon a little. (8.) This year of rest typified the spiritual rest which all believers enter into through Christ, our true Noah, who giveth us comfort and rest concerning our work, and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed, Gen 5:29. Through him we are eased of the burden of worldly care and labour, both being sanctified and sweetened to us, and we are enabled and encouraged to live by faith. And, as the fruits of this sabbath of the land were enjoyed in common, so the salvation wrought out by Christ is a common salvation; and this sabbatical year seems to have been revived in the Christian church, when the believers had all things common, Act 2:44.

Cross-references: Lev 25:4 · Lev 25:5 · Deut 15:1 · Deut 15:2 · Deut 31:10 · Deut 31:11 · Matt 4:4 · Gen 5:29 · Acts 2:44

Hebrew interlinear

H853

אֵתʼêth/ayth/

prt — self, even, namely

Derivation: apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity;

properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)

KJV: [as such unrepresented in English].

אֵת

mark of the accusative

אֵת the mark of the accusative, prefixed as a rule only to nouns that are definite

H5599

סָפִיחַçâphîyach/saw-fee'-akh/

n-m — falling, self-sown, freshet

Derivation: from 5596;

something (spontaneously) falling off, i.e. a self-sown crop; figuratively, a freshet

KJV: (such) things as (which) grow (of themselves), which groweth of its own accord (itself).

סָפִיחַ

n.[m.] — growth from spilled kernels

סָפִיחַ n.[m.] growth from spilled kernels

סָפִיחַ

n.[m.] — outpouring

[סָפִיחַ] n.[m.] outpouring(?)

H7105

קָצִירqâtsîyr/kaw-tseer'/

n-m — severed, harvest, crop, time, reaper, limb

Derivation: from 7114;

severed, i.e. harvest (as reaped), the crop, the time, the reaper, or figuratively; also a limb (of a tree, or simply foliage)

KJV: bough, branch, harvest (man).

קָצִיר

n.m — harvesting

קָצִיר n.m. harvesting, harvest

1. process of harvesting

2. what is reaped, harvested, crop

3. time of harvest

קָצִיר

n.m — boughs

קָצִיר n.m. usually coll., boughs, branches

H3808

לֹאlôʼ/lo/

adv — not, no

Derivation: or לוֹא; or לֹה; (Deuteronomy 3:11), a primitive particle;

not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles

KJV: × before, or else, ere, except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (× as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, surely, as truly as, of a truth, verily, for want, whether, without.

לֹא

adv — not

לֹא or לוֹא adv. not

H7114

קָצַרqâtsar/kaw-tsar'/

v — dock off, curtail, harvest

Derivation: a primitive root;

to dock off, i.e. curtail (transitive or intransitive, literal or figurative); especially to harvest (grass or grain)

KJV: × at all, cut down, much discouraged, grieve, harvestman, lothe, mourn, reap(-er), (be, wax) short(-en, -er), straiten, trouble, vex.

קָצֵר

vb — be short

[קָצֵר], I. קָצַר vb. be short

Qal be short

Pi. shorten

Hiph. id.

קָצַר

vb — reap

[קָצַר] vb. reap, harvest

Qal reap

Hiph. Jb 24:6 Kt

H6025

עֵנָבʻênâb/ay-nawb'/

n-m — grape

Derivation: from an unused root probably meaning to bear fruit;

a grape

KJV: (ripe) grape, wine.

עֵנָב

n.m — grape

עֵנָב n.m. grape(s)

H5139

נָזִירnâzîyr/naw-zeer'/

n-m — separate, consecrated, unpruned vine

Derivation: or נָזִר; from 5144;

separate, i.e. consecrated (as prince, a Nazirite); hence (figuratively from the latter) an unpruned vine (like an unshorn Nazirite)

KJV: Nazarite (by a false alliteration with Nazareth), separate(-d), vine undressed.

נָזִיר

n.m — one consecrated

נָזִיר n.m. one consecrated, devoted

1. of prince, ruler, as consecrated

2. specif. of one dedicated to י׳ by vow involving abstinence fr. intoxicants, fr. touching corpse, and fr. cutting hair, devotee, Nazirite

3. = untrimmed vine

H1219

בָּצַרbâtsar/baw-tsar'/

v — gather grapes, be isolated

Derivation: a primitive root; to clip off; specifically (as denominative from 1210)

to gather grapes; also to be isolated (i.e. inaccessible by height or fortification)

KJV: cut off, (de-) fenced, fortify, (grape) gather(-er), mighty things, restrain, strong, wall (up), withhold.

בָּצַר

vb — cut off

[בָּצַר] vb. cut off, make inaccessible (esp. by fortifying), enclose

Qal cut off, grape-clusters; hence grape-gathering, -gatherer; fig. cut off (= take away)

Niph. be withheld

Pi. fortify

H8141

שָׁנֶהshâneh/shaw-neh'/

n-f — year, revolution

Derivation: (in plural or (feminine) שָׁנָה; from 8138;

a year (as a revolution of time)

KJV: whole age, × long, old, year(× -ly).

שָׁנָה

n.f — year

שָׁנָה 877 n.f. year (etym. v. √[v.ek.aa])

H7677

שַׁבָּתוֹןshabbâthôwn/shab-baw-thone'/

n-m — sabbatism

Derivation: from 7676;

a sabbatism or special holiday

KJV: rest, sabbath.

שַׁבָּתוֹן

n.m — sabbath observance

שַׁבָּתוֹן n.m. sabbath observance, sabbatism

H1961

הָיָהhâyâh/haw-yaw/

v — exist, be, become, come to pass

Derivation: a primitive root (compare 1933);

to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)

KJV: beacon, × altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, follow, happen, × have, last, pertain, quit (one-) self, require, × use.

הָיָה

vb — fall out

הָיָה 3570 vb. fall out, come to pass, become, be

Qal

I.

1.

a. Fall out, happen

b. occur, take place, come about, come to pass

2. esp. & very oft., come about, come to pass

a.

(1). וַיְהִי and it came to pass that, most often (c. 292 t.)

(2). rarely also Pf. c. וְ conj. וְהָיָה

b. less oft. וְהָיָה Pf. consec. and it shall come to pass, or frequentat. came to pass (repeatedly, etc.)

II. Come into being, become

1.

a. abs., in lively narrative, arise, appear, come

b. sq. prep.

2. become

a. sq. pred. noun (to be viewed as implicit accus.)

b. sq. pred. adj.

c. become like

d. sq. pred. לְ pers.

e. sq. לְ pred.

f. oft. c. לְ pred. לְ pers.

g. with עַל and לְ

h. sts. c. לְ pers. only = became the property of, come into the possession of

III. Be (often with subbordinate idea of becoming)

1. exist, be in existence

2. abide, remain, continue

3. with word of locality, be in or at a place, be situated, stand, lie

4. as copula, joining subj. & pred.

5. periphrastic conjug.

Niph.

1. either be done, be brought about, or occur, come to pass

2. be done, finished, gone

H776

אֶרֶץʼerets/eh'-rets/

n-f — earth, land

Derivation: from an unused root probably meaning to be firm;

the earth (at large, or partitively a land)

KJV: × common, country, earth, field, ground, land, × natins, way, + wilderness, world.

אֶ֫רֶץ

n. f — earth

אֶ֫רֶץ n. f. & (seld.) m. earth, land

1.

a. earth, whole earth (opp. to a part)

b. earth, opp. to heaven, sky

c. earth = inhabitants of earth

2. land =

a. country, territory

b. district, region

c. trial territory

d. piece of ground

e. specif. land of Canaan, or Israel

f. = inhabitants of land

g. used even of Shᵉʼôl

3.

a. ground, surface of ground

b. soil, as productive

4. אֶרֶץ in phrases

a. people of the land

b. in measurements of distance

c. the country of the plain, level or plain country

d. land of the living

e. end(s) of the earth

5. pl. אֲרָצוֹת is almost wholly late; it denotes lands, countries, often in contrast to Canaan, lands of the nations, etc.

Bible49 app

Get translation compare, commentary, and interlinear study — offline, on iPhone and Mac.

See Bible49