Leviticus 25:15 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 25:15 mean?

Leviticus 25:15 instructs the Israelites to base the price of land or property on the number of years remaining until the next Jubilee, when all property would return to its original family owners. The closer it is to the Jubilee, the lower the price should be, since the buyer is really purchasing only the use of the land’s produce for those years.

In this verse, God is speaking to Moses, who is relaying laws to the Israelites about fair dealings during land sales. The context is the Year of Jubilee, a special time every fifty years when land and property were restored to their original families. This law ensured that no one could permanently lose their family inheritance and that prices reflected the actual value of what was being sold—the harvests until Jubilee, not the land itself.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 25:15

• יוֹבֵל (yovel, “Jubilee”): This word refers to the special fiftieth year when property was returned. The use of יוֹבֵל (yovel) highlights that all land sales were temporary, with a built-in reset.
• פְּרִי (peri, “fruits”): Here, the word means the produce or harvests of the land. The price was based on how many harvests the buyer could expect before the Jubilee, clarifying that what was sold was not the land itself, but its productive use.
• מִסְפַּר (mispar, “number”): This word emphasizes that the calculation was to be precise, counting the exact years until Jubilee. This prevented unfair pricing and protected both buyer and seller.

Why Leviticus 25:15 matters

• Leviticus 25:15 clarifies that land in Israel was never to be sold permanently, which protected family inheritances and prevented generational poverty.
• The verse shows that God’s law cared about fairness in economic transactions, making sure neither buyer nor seller took advantage of the other.
• This instruction connects to the wider theme of Leviticus 25, where God reminds the Israelites that the land ultimately belongs to Him, and they are only stewards for a time.