Deuteronomy 15

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The shemittah ('release') is introduced with the simplest possible formula: miqqets sheva shanim ta'aseh shemittah ('at the end of seven years, make a release'). The word shemittah comes from the root shamat ('to let drop, to release, to let go') and describes the cancellation or suspension of debts. This seven-year cycle connects to the sabbatical pattern throughout the Torah — six days of work and one of rest, six years of labor and one of release. The sabbatical principle extends from time (Sabbath) to economics (debt release).

Translator Notes

1. The mechanics are spelled out: shamot kol ba'al mashheh yado ('every owner of a loan of his hand shall release' — every creditor must let go of what he has lent). The phrase lo yiggosh et re'ehu ve'et achiv ('he shall not press his neighbor or his brother') uses the verb nagash ('to press, to exact, to oppress') — aggressive debt collection is forbidden during the release year. The theological basis is ki qara shemittah laYHWH ('because a release has been proclaimed for the LORD') — the release belongs to God; it is His decree, not a voluntary act of human generosity.

Translator Notes

1. A distinction is drawn between the nokhri ('foreigner' — a non-Israelite who has no covenant relationship) and the ach ('brother' — a fellow Israelite bound by the same covenant). The debt release applies within the covenant community. Commercial debts with foreigners operate under different rules because the foreigner does not participate in the sabbatical cycle. The phrase tashmeit yadekha ('your hand shall release') personalizes the action — your own hand must let go of the claim.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The statement efes ki lo yihyeh bekha evyon ('there should be no needy person among you') expresses the divine ideal: in a fully obedient Israel, God's blessing would eliminate poverty entirely. The infinitive absolute barekh yevarekekha ('blessing He will bless you') intensifies the promise. Yet verse 11 will acknowledge that the poor will never fully disappear — creating a deliberate tension between the ideal (no poverty in a blessed land) and the reality (poverty persists because obedience is imperfect). This tension drives the legislation that follows.

Translator Notes

1. The condition is emphatic: raq im shamo'a tishma ('only if listening you listen' — only if you truly, deeply listen). The infinitive absolute intensifies the demand. The elimination of poverty (v 4) is conditional on perfect obedience — something the text implicitly acknowledges will not be fully achieved (v 11). The phrase kol hammitsvah hazzot ('this entire commandment') treats the debt-release law not as one regulation among many but as a complete commandment demanding whole obedience.

Translator Notes

1. The blessing of obedience is described in economic and political terms: veha'avatta goyim rabbim ('you will lend to many nations') and umashalta begoyim rabbim ('you will rule over many nations'). Lending implies surplus; ruling implies strength. The negative counterparts — ve'attah lo ta'avot ('you will not borrow') and uvekha lo yimsholu ('they will not rule over you') — describe independence from foreign economic or political domination. The setumah marks the transition to the specific laws about generosity to the poor.

Translator Notes

1. Two vivid metaphors prohibit indifference: lo te'ammets et levavekha ('do not harden your heart' — do not make your heart rigid, unyielding) and lo tiqpots et yadekha ('do not close your fist' — do not clench your hand shut). The heart controls the will; the hand controls the action. Both interior attitude and external behavior must remain open. The phrase me'achad achekha be'achad she'arekha ('from one of your brothers in one of your gates') makes the obligation specific and local — this is not abstract charity but concrete response to a known person in a nearby community.

Translator Notes

1. The counter-command reverses the metaphor: patoach tiftach et yadekha ('opening you shall open your hand' — fling your hand wide open). The infinitive absolute intensifies the command — this is not tentative charity but generous, wholehearted giving. The phrase dei machsoro asher yechsar lo ('sufficient for his lack, what he is lacking') calibrates the giving to the actual need — not a fixed amount but whatever is required. The loan must be adequate to the borrower's specific situation.

Translator Notes

1. Moses exposes the specific temptation created by the shemittah system: as the seventh year approaches, a lender knows that any loan will soon be cancelled — creating a financial incentive to refuse lending. The phrase davar im levavekha veliyya'al ('a worthless/wicked thought in your heart') uses the same beliyya'al term from 13:14, connecting economic stinginess with the same moral category as idolatrous rebellion. The phrase ra'ah einekha ('your eye is evil/hostile') describes looking at the poor person with resentment rather than compassion. The consequence is dire: the poor person will qara alekha el YHWH ('cry out against you to the LORD') — the cry of the oppressed always reaches God (cf. Exod 22:22-23).

Translator Notes

1. The infinitive absolute naton titten ('giving you shall give') demands generous, unhesitating action. The phrase velo yera levavekha ('let your heart not be evil/resentful') addresses the interior attitude: grudging compliance is not enough. The motivation is pragmatic as well as moral: ki biglal hadavar hazzeh ('because of this very thing') the LORD will bless you. Generosity is not financial loss but investment — God returns blessing in response to obedience. The phrase bekhol ma'asekha uvkhol mishlach yadekha ('in all your work and in everything your hand is sent to') extends the blessing to every sphere of economic activity.

Translator Notes

1. The tension with verse 4 is deliberate: there, Moses says there should be no poor; here, he says ki lo yechdal evyon miqqerev ha'arets ('the needy will never cease from the midst of the land'). The ideal (v 4) is conditional on perfect obedience; the reality (v 11) acknowledges that obedience will be imperfect. Jesus quotes this verse in Mark 14:7, not to justify indifference to poverty but to affirm the ongoing obligation to give. The command patoach tiftach ('open wide your hand') is repeated from verse 8, framing the entire section. Three terms describe the recipients: achikha ('your brother'), aniyyekha ('your afflicted/poor one'), and evyonekha ('your needy one') — escalating levels of deprivation.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The law now addresses debt-slavery — a person who, unable to repay debts, sells their labor. The parallel law in Exodus 21:2-6 mentions only male servants; Deuteronomy explicitly includes ha'ivriyyah ('the Hebrew woman'), extending the six-year limit and seventh-year release to women as well. This is a significant expansion of protection. The term chofshi ('free') describes a person released from all service obligations — legally unencumbered. The seven-year cycle echoes the shemittah principle: just as debts are released, so are debt-servants.

Translator Notes

1. The prohibition lo teshallechennu reqam ('you shall not send him away empty') prevents the released servant from being cast out with nothing. Freedom without resources is precarious — the person would likely fall back into debt and servitude. This law addresses the systemic problem: mere legal release is insufficient without economic provision. The verse establishes the principle; the next verse specifies the provision.

Translator Notes

1. The infinitive absolute ha'aneq ta'aniq ('supplying you shall supply' — furnish generously) demands lavish provision. Three sources are specified: tsonekha ('your flock' — livestock), garnekha ('your threshing floor' — grain), and yiqvekha ('your winepress' — wine). These three represent the full range of agricultural wealth: animals, grain, and wine. The principle is proportional: asher berakekha YHWH Elohekha titten lo ('from what the LORD your God has blessed you, give to him'). The released servant receives a share of God's blessing on the master's prosperity.

Translator Notes

1. The exodus motivation grounds the entire slave-release law: vezakharta ki eved hayita be'erets Mitsrayim ('remember that you were a slave in Egypt'). Israel cannot hold permanent power over fellow Israelites because Israel itself was once enslaved. The verb padakh ('He redeemed you') uses the kinsman-redeemer concept — God paid the price to free Israel from Pharaoh's service. Having been redeemed themselves, Israelites must extend freedom to others. Ethical obligation flows from experienced grace.

Translator Notes

1. The exception case: a servant who chooses to stay. The reasons are positive — ki ahevekha ve'et bedeutekha ('because he loves you and your household') and ki tov lo immakh ('because things are good for him with you'). This is not coercion but genuine preference — the servant's quality of life with the master exceeds what he could achieve independently. The law assumes that some masters treat their servants well enough to inspire voluntary permanent attachment.

Translator Notes

1. The ear-piercing ceremony: the martse'a ('awl, pointed instrument') is driven through the servant's ear against the door, creating a permanent mark of voluntary servitude. The ear — the organ of hearing and obedience — is symbolically pierced, indicating permanent commitment to hearing and obeying the master. The phrase eved olam ('permanent servant') describes lifelong service. The extension ve'af la'amatekha ta'aseh ken ('also for your female servant you shall do likewise') again includes women in the same legal framework as men — a distinctive feature of Deuteronomy's legislation.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase lo yiqsheh ve'einekha ('let it not be hard in your eyes') addresses the master's potential resentment at losing a servant's labor. The economic argument follows: ki mishneh sekhar sakhir avadekha ('because he has served you at double a hired worker's value' — or alternatively, 'at half the cost of a hired worker'). A debt-servant costs less than a hired laborer because the servant receives no wages. After six years of below-market labor costs, the master has already benefited significantly. The petuchah paragraph marker signals a major section break.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The firstborn law: kol habbekhor asher yivvaled bivqarkha uvtsonekha hazzakhar taqdish laYHWH ('every firstborn male born in your herd and flock you shall consecrate to the LORD'). Consecration means setting the animal apart from ordinary use — hence the two prohibitions: lo ta'avod ('do not work' — the firstborn ox cannot be used for plowing) and lo tagoz ('do not shear' — the firstborn sheep's wool cannot be harvested). The animal belongs to God from birth; using it for human benefit would violate that consecration. This law connects to the foundational principle of the exodus: God claimed Israel's firstborn because He spared them in Egypt (Exod 13:2).

Translator Notes

1. The firstborn animal is consumed as a sacred meal — lifnei YHWH Elohekha ('in the presence of the LORD your God') at the central sanctuary. The phrase shanah veshanah ('year by year') indicates an annual pilgrimage obligation. The inclusion of uveitikha ('your household') makes this a family celebration. The firstborn offering thus serves double duty: it honors God's claim on the firstborn and provides an occasion for communal worship and feasting.

Translator Notes

1. The exception for blemished firstborn: an animal with a mum ('defect, blemish') cannot be offered as a sacrifice. Two specific examples are given — pisseach ('lame') and ivver ('blind') — followed by the catch-all kol mum ra ('any serious/bad defect'). The principle is that only the best may be offered to God — a defective sacrifice insults the one receiving it (cf. Mal 1:8). This does not mean the animal is wasted; the next verse provides for its consumption.

Translator Notes

1. The blemished firstborn reverts to the status of ordinary food: it may be eaten locally (bisharekha — 'in your gates/towns') by anyone regardless of ritual purity status (hattamei vehattahor yachdav — 'the impure and the pure together'). The comparison to gazelle and deer (tsevi and ayyal) echoes the secular slaughter permission of 12:15, 22 — blemished firstborn are treated like wild game, not like sacred offerings.

Translator Notes

1. The blood prohibition appears once more (cf. 12:16, 23-25), applying specifically to the blemished firstborn eaten locally. Even when a consecrated animal is consumed as ordinary food due to a blemish, the universal blood prohibition remains in force. The instruction to pour it out kammayim ('like water') — as disposal, not as ritual — maintains the distinction between sacred and secular slaughter. The petuchah paragraph break marks the end of the firstborn legislation and transitions to the festival calendar in chapter 16.