“If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave:
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Leviticus 25:39
What does Leviticus 25:39 mean?
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Leviticus 25:39
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What's easy to miss here is that the command isn't just about not making an impoverished brother do the harshest labor. It's about recognizing that even in servitude, he remains your brother, not a mere possession. God declares them His servants first, so anyone who holds them is essentially borrowing from God, with the expectation of treating them with dignity, not as property to be exploited.
“If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave:
English Standard Version (ESV)
This passage comes as God is outlining detailed laws for Israel's land and community, specifically concerning the year of Jubilee and how people should treat each other during times of hardship. Just before this, God commanded that the poor among them be supported and treated with dignity. Now, He addresses the dire situation where an Israelite might fall into such extreme poverty that they sell themselves into servitude, laying out specific protections for them within the community.
Imagine being so desperate that selling yourself into service is your only option. The law here doesn't just address when a brother goes free, but how he's treated in the meantime.
God's heart beats for the vulnerable, and this law shows it. When an Israelite fell into such deep poverty that he had to sell himself into servitude to another Israelite, he wasn't to be treated like a mere chattel, a thing to be used and abused.
No Harsh Labor, No Disgrace
Instead of the hardest, most menial tasks, he was to be treated as a 'hired servant.' This meant:
Why such specific rules about how an Israelite serves another Israelite? It’s rooted in who truly owns everyone – including the master.
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The entire system of Israelite law was built on a foundational truth: God is sovereign, and His people belong to Him. This principle profoundly impacted how servitude was viewed.
Redeemed from Egypt, Redeemed for God
God reminds them: 'For the children of Israel are servants to me; they are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt' (Leviticus 25:55).
Understand the original words
muk · Hebrew Adjective
One who is destitute or lacking the necessary means of support; in the biblical context, it often calls for compassion and protection from the community.
ebed · Hebrew Noun
A person held in bondage or servitude to another, often lacking personal freedom and subject to the will of their master.
This passage sets the precedent for Hebrew servants, establishing that they could be held for a maximum of six years, highlighting the temporary nature of servitude for Israelites which Leviticus 25 expands upon.
Nehemiah 5:5This passage from Nehemiah vividly illustrates the dire poverty that could lead Israelites to sell themselves and their children into servitude, showing the real-world consequences of the situation described in Leviticus.
Matthew 18:25Jesus' parable of the unforgiving servant, where a vast debt is forgiven, speaks to the principle of immense obligation and the grace that can release someone from it, paralleling the concept of redemption from servitude.
Ephesians 6:9Paul's instruction to masters to treat their slaves justly, 'knowing that both your Master and theirs is in heaven,' echoes the Levitical principle that all are ultimately servants of God, and no human master has absolute dominion.
calvinLeviticus 25:39-55: "And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:"
Moreover, of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land; and they shall be your possession:
Et etiam de filiis incolarum qui versantur apud vos, emetis: et de familia eorum qui apud vos sunt, quos procreaverunt in terra vestra: e…
pooleLeviticus 25:39: "And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:"
Neither for the time, for ever, nor for the manner, with the hardest and vilest kinds of service, rigorously and severely exacted from him.
What's easy to miss here is that the command isn't just about not making an impoverished brother do the harshest labor. It's about recognizing that even in servitude, he remains your brother, not a mere possession. God declares them His servants first, so anyone who holds them is essentially borrowing from God, with the expectation of treating them with dignity, not as property to be exploited.
This passage comes as God is outlining detailed laws for Israel's land and community, specifically concerning the year of Jubilee and how people should treat each other during times of hardship. Just before this, God commanded that the poor among them be supported and treated with dignity. Now, He addresses the dire situation where an Israelite might fall into such extreme poverty that they sell themselves into servitude, laying out specific protections for them within the community.
This passage comes as God is outlining detailed laws for Israel's land and community, specifically concerning the year of Jubilee and how people should treat each other during times of hardship. Just before this, God commanded that the poor among them be supported and treated with dignity. Now, He addresses the dire situation where an Israelite might fall into such extreme poverty that they sell themselves into servitude, laying out specific protections for them within the community.
"“If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave:" — What's easy to miss here is that the command isn't just about not making an impoverished brother do the harshest labor. It's about recognizing that even in servitude, he remains your brother, not a…
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Last reviewed October 2026