Leviticus 25:35-36

Debt and Slave Regulations

25:35 “‘If your brother ¹  becomes impoverished and is indebted to you, ²  you must support ³  him; he must live ⁴  with you like a foreign resident. ⁵  25:36 Do not take interest or profit from him, ⁶  but you must fear your God and your brother must live ⁷  with you.

Leviticus 25:40

25:40 He must be with you as a hired worker, as a resident foreigner; ⁸  he must serve with you until the year of jubilee,

Leviticus 25:44

25:44 “‘As for your male and female slaves ⁹  who may belong to you – you may buy male and female slaves from the nations all around you. ¹⁰ 

[25:35]  ¹ tn It is not clear to whom this refers. It is probably broader than “sibling” (cf. NRSV “any of your kin”; NLT “any of your Israelite relatives”) but some English versions take it to mean “fellow Israelite” (so TEV; cf. NAB, NIV “countrymen”) and others are ambiguous (cf. CEV “any of your people”).

[25:35]  ² tn Heb “and his hand slips with you.”

[25:35]  ³ tn Heb “strengthen”; NASB “sustain.”

[25:35]  ⁴ tn The form וָחַי (vakhay, “and shall live”) looks like the adjective “living,” but the MT form is simply the same verb written as a double ayin verb (see HALOT 309 s.v. חיה qal, and GKC 218 §76.i; cf. Lev 18:5).

[25:35]  ⁵ tn Heb “a foreigner and resident,” which is probably to be combined (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 170-71).

[25:36]  ⁶ tn The meaning of the terms rendered “interest” and “profit” is much debated (see the summaries in P. J. Budd, Leviticus [NCBC], 354-55 and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 178). Verse 37, however, suggests that the first refers to a percentage of money and the second percentage of produce (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 421).

[25:36]  ⁷ tn In form the Hebrew term וְחֵי (vÿkhey, “shall live”) is the construct plural noun (i.e., “the life of”), but here it is used as the finite verb (cf. v. 35 and GKC 218 §76.i).

[25:40]  ¹¹ tn See the note on Lev 25:6 above.

[25:44]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “And your male slave and your female slave.” Smr has these as plural terms, “slaves,” not singular.

[25:44]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “ from the nations which surround you, from them you shall buy male slave and female slave.”