Chapter Fifteen
Debt Cancellation and Other Ways to Help the Poor
15:1 “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release. 2 And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the LORD’s release has been proclaimed. 3 Of a foreigner you may exact it, but whatever of yours is with your brother your hand shall release. 4 But there will be no poor among you; for the LORD will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess— 5 if only you will strictly obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all this commandment that I command you today. 6 For the LORD your God will bless you, as he promised you, and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow, and you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you.
Every seven years they were to grant a release (Hebrew ‘šemiṭ·ṭā(h)’,[1] a remission, a cancellation of debt). This is the first time this word is used in Scripture (all five appearances occur in Deuteronomy, four in this chapter alone) and should not be confused with the release referenced in Leviticus 25:25-28 regarding the year of Jubilee (often aligned, timing wise, with the agricultural year of release).[2] If anyone loaned money to a fellow Israelite (could possibly be other valuables), they are to forgive that debt at the end of the year of release (see verse nine). They could require the loan to be paid back if they were loaning to a foreigner but not with another Israelite, to minimize the burden on the poor. They would need to trust God to bless them to compensate for the loss of the loan.[3]
Moses again emphasizes the need to strictly obey God if they want to be blessed by Him. Moses then explains that they are allowed to loan to other nations, but they are not allowed to borrow from them. He expands that explanation by pointing out that a borrower can be controlled or dominated by the lender. Therefore, they are allowed to rule other nations, however, they are not to be put in a position to be ruled by them.
15:7 “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. 9 Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the LORD against you, and you be guilty of sin. 10 You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. 11 For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’
Once they are living in the Promised Land, if a fellow Israelite becomes poor, Moses tells them to not ignore or deny them aid. They are to loan to them whatever they need. They are not to rationalize regarding the timing of the year of release being potentially near (this negates any argument that the above seven-year period begins at the time the loan was given) and not give them what they need, knowing they will soon be required to release and forgive the loan. That, like any other disobedience to God, would be considered a sin. They are to give to the person what they need freely, as God will bless them in their work and be productive in everything they do. But because there will always be poor people in the land, Moses tells them to give generously to those in need. The statement of always having the existence of the poor, is similar to what Jesus said when He justified having His feet anointed with expensive ointment (see Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-8).
15:12 “If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. 14 You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the LORD your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. 16 But if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is well-off with you, 17 then you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave forever. And to your female slave you shall do the same. 18 It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for at half the cost of a hired worker he has served you six years. So the LORD your God will bless you in all that you do.
If an Israelite becomes poor and is sold or sells themselves to another, they are to serve for a maximum of six years and be released in the seventh year (see also Leviticus 25:39-46). This is not related to the seven-year period referenced earlier in verse nine, this period begins at the beginning of the sale and ends at the end of the sixth year if not paid off by that time.
When they are released, being set free from being a slave (or servant),[4] they are to give them generously from their flock (a reference to the smaller livestock, such as goats, sheep, etc.), threshing floor (grain) and from their winepress. They are to remember that they were once slaves themselves.
If a person wishes to remain in the service to their owner after six years, they are to have their ear pierced with an awl in a ritual that penetrates the ear and then into the main door of the house to claim their allegiance to the family for the rest of their lives.[5]
Moses tells them that when the slave is freed, it shouldn’t be a major burden on the one that is releasing the slave as they had the benefit of their services for half the amount of a hired worker for six years. Moses again reminds them that God will continue to bless them if they obey and follow His regulations.
Firstborn Male Livestock
15:19 “All the firstborn males that are born of your herd and flock you shall dedicate to the LORD your God. You shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 You shall eat it, you and your household, before the LORD your God year by year at the place that the LORD will choose. 21 But if it has any blemish, if it is lame or blind or has any serious blemish whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD your God. 22 You shall eat it within your towns. The unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as though it were a gazelle or a deer. 23 Only you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.
After the first Passover the people of Israel were to consecrate all firstborn, both man and animal (see Exodus 13:1-2), the process is summarized in Numbers 18:15-19. Here, Moses amplifies the process pertaining to any firstborn males born in their herd or flock. Those animals are not to do any labor, nor are they to be sheared. When they are sacrificed (per Numbers 18:17-18) they are to be eaten at the place where God chose to locate the Tabernacle. But, if the animal has a defect such as any blemish, disability, blindness, or any serious problem, it is not to be sacrificed to YHWH, it shall be eaten without any restrictions, much like that of eating a wild animal. But the requirements of pouring the blood out on the ground and not drinking the blood are still to be followed.
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 8059.
[2] See commentary under Leviticus 25:25-28.
[3] See Considerations under Exodus 23:19.
[4] See Considerations under Exodus 21:32.
[5] See Considerations under Genesis 9:28 regarding slavery.