The Fifth Book of Moses: Deuteronomy

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- Kapitel 15 -

(Exodus 23:10–13; Leviticus 25:1–7)

“In the seventh year, you shall perform a remission,

which shall be celebrated according to this order. Anyone to whom anything is owed, by his friend or neighbor or brother, will not be able to request its return, because it is the year of remission of the Lord.

From the sojourner and the new arrival, you may require its return. From your fellow countryman and neighbor, you will not have the power to request its return.

And there shall not be anyone indigent or begging among you, so that the Lord your God may bless you in the land which he will deliver to you as a possession.(a)

But only if you heed the voice of the Lord your God, and keep to all that he has ordered, that which I am entrusting to you this day, will he bless you, just as he has promised.

You shall lend money to many nations, and you yourselves shall borrow in return from no one. You shall rule over very many nations, and no one shall rule over you.

Generosity in Lending and Giving

(Matthew 6:1–4)

If one of your brothers, who dwells within the gates of your city, in the land which the Lord your God will give to you, falls into poverty, you shall not harden your heart, nor tighten your hand.

Instead, you shall open your hand to the poor, and you shall lend to him whatever you perceive him to need.

Take care, lest perhaps an impious thought might creep within you, and you might say in your heart: ‘The seventh year of remission approaches.’ And so you might turn your eyes away from your poor brother, unwilling to lend to him what he has asked. If so, then he may cry out against you to the Lord, and it will be a sin for you.

Instead, you shall give to him. Neither shall you do anything craftily while assisting him in his needs, so that the Lord your God may bless you, at all times and in all things to which you will put your hand.

The poor will not be absent from the land of your habitation. For this reason, I instruct you to open your hand to your indigent and poor brother, who lives among you in the land.

Hebrew Servants

(Exodus 21:1–11)

When your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, has been sold to you, and has served you for six years, in the seventh year you shall set him free.(b)

And when you grant his freedom, you shall by no means permit him to go away empty.

Instead, you shall give to him, for his journey, from your flocks and threshing floor and winepress, with which the Lord your God has blessed you.

Remember that you yourself also served in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God set you free. And therefore, I now command this of you.

But if he will say, ‘I am not willing to depart,’ because he loves you and your household, and because he feels that it would be good for him to stay with you,

then you shall take an awl and pierce his ear, at the door of your house. And he shall serve you even forever. You shall also act similarly toward your woman servant.

You should not avert your eyes from them when you set them free, because he has served you for six years, in a manner deserving of the pay of a hired hand. So may the Lord your God bless you in all the works that you do.

Firstborn Animals

(Exodus 13:1–16)

Of the firstborn, those born from your herds and sheep, you shall sanctify to the Lord your God whatever is of the male sex. You shall not put the firstborn of the oxen to work, nor shall you shear the firstborn of the sheep.

In the sight of the Lord your God, you shall eat these, each year, in the place which the Lord will choose, you and your household.

But if it has a blemish, or is lame, or is blind, or if it is in any part deformed or debilitated, it shall not be immolated to the Lord your God.

Instead, you shall eat it within the gates of your city. The clean as well as the unclean alike shall feed on these, such as the roe deer and the stag.

This alone shall you observe: that you do not eat their blood, but pour it upon the ground like water.”

Fußnoten

(a)15:4 There shall be no poor, etc:It is not to be understood as a promise, that there should be no poor in Israel, as appears from ver. 11, where we learn that God’s people would never be at a loss to find objects for their charity: but it is an ordinance that all should do their best endeavours to prevent any of their brethren from suffering the hardships of poverty and want.(Challoner)

(b)15:12 Notice that the term brother is to be taken broadly, applying to men and women. Also, this does not refer to slavery, but to indentured servitude. This type of indentured servitude was necessary because there were few jobs and few occupations. If one did not have land or family to depend upon, one would need to attach one’s self to a landowner. A six year term of work was job security, at a time and in a culture with no police, nor hospitals, no government assistance programs for the poor. One could easily die without such an indentured servitude. This is also why the option to stay on permanently was offered, because there may be few other opportunities in that society at that time, and many dangers for those who would be on their own.(Conte)

(Exodus 23:10–13; Leviticus 25:1–7)

At the end of every seven years, you shall cancel debts.

This is the way it shall be done: every creditor shall release that which he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not require payment from his neighbor and his brother, because the LORD’s release has been proclaimed.

Of a foreigner you may require it; but whatever of yours is with your brother, your hand shall release.

However there will be no poor with you (for the LORD will surely bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance to possess)

if only you diligently listen to the LORD your God’s voice, to observe to do all this commandment which I command you today.

For the LORD your God will bless you, as he promised you. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. You will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.

Generosity in Lending and Giving

(Matthew 6:1–4)

If a poor man, one of your brothers, is with you within any of your gates in your land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your poor brother;

but you shall surely open your hand to him, and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need, which he lacks.

Beware that there not be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, “The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,” and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing; and he cry to the LORD against you, and it be sin to you.

You shall surely give, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because it is for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you put your hand to.

For the poor will never cease out of the land. Therefore I command you to surely open your hand to your brother, to your needy, and to your poor, in your land.

Hebrew Servants

(Exodus 21:1–11)

If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.

When you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty.

You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your wine press. As the LORD your God has blessed you, you shall give to him.

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 thing today.

It shall be, if he tells you, “I will not go out from you,” because he loves you and your house, because he is well with you,

then you shall take an awl, and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise.

It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for he has been double the value of a hired hand as he served you six years. The LORD your God will bless you in all that you do.

Firstborn Animals

(Exodus 13:1–16)

You shall dedicate all the firstborn males that are born of your herd and of your flock to the LORD your God. You shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock.

You shall eat it before the LORD your God year by year in the place which the LORD shall choose, you and your household.

If it has any defect—is lame or blind, or has any defect whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.

You shall eat it within your gates. The unclean and the clean shall eat it alike, as the gazelle and as the deer.

Only you shall not eat its blood. You shall pour it out on the ground like water.