And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.

LEVITICUS 25:46KJV
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Leviticus 25:46 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 25:46 mean?

Leviticus 25:46 states that Israelites could pass down foreign servants as an inheritance to their children, keeping them as permanent servants, but they were not to treat fellow Israelites harshly or rule over them with severity. The verse draws a clear line between how Israelites were to treat foreigners versus their own people in matters of servitude.

In this passage, God is speaking to the Israelites through Moses, giving instructions about the treatment of servants during the time when Israel was to live in the Promised Land. The context is the laws of the Jubilee year, which included rules about freeing Israelite servants but allowed foreign servants to be kept as property and passed down to descendants. The verse emphasizes a distinction in social status and treatment between Israelites and non-Israelites.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 25:46

  • "Inheritance" (נַחֲלָה, nachalah): This word means something received as a possession from a previous generation. Here, it highlights that foreign servants could be legally passed down like property.
  • "Bondmen" (עֶבֶד, eved): This term refers to a servant or slave. The use here underlines the permanent status of these servants, in contrast to Israelite servants who were to be released.
  • "Rigour" (פֶּרֶךְ, perek): This word means harshness or severity. The command not to rule over fellow Israelites with "rigour" stresses the importance of humane treatment among the people of Israel.

Why Leviticus 25:46 matters

  • Leviticus 25:46 clarifies that the laws about servitude in ancient Israel made a distinction between Israelites and foreigners, which shaped social and economic relationships in that society.
  • The verse highlights the value placed on kinship among Israelites, insisting on fair and gentle treatment of fellow countrymen, especially in contrast to the treatment of foreigners.
  • Understanding this verse helps explain the broader context of the Jubilee laws, which were designed to prevent permanent poverty and oppression among Israelites, while still permitting a different standard for outsiders.

Where else these words appear

“rigour” Hebrew H6531 · used in 6 verses

  • Exodus 1:13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:
  • Exodus 1:14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.
  • Leviticus 25:53 And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight.

“rule” Hebrew H7287 · used in 25 verses

  • Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
  • 1 Kings 4:24 For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him.
  • Psalms 110:2 The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.

“possession” Hebrew H272 · used in 58 verses

  • Genesis 17:8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
  • Leviticus 25:41 And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.
  • Joshua 22:4 And now the LORD your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side Jordan.

“inheritance” Hebrew H5157 · used in 59 verses

  • Exodus 23:30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
  • Deuteronomy 19:14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.
  • Proverbs 3:35 The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.