Imamat 25:23-25

25:23 The land must not be sold without reclaim ¹  because the land belongs to me, for you are foreigners and residents with me. ²  25:24 In all your landed property ³  you must provide for the right of redemption of the land. ⁴ 

25:25 “‘If your brother becomes impoverished and sells some of his property, his near redeemer is to come to you and redeem what his brother sold. ⁵ 

Imamat 25:47-49

25:47 “‘If a resident foreigner who is with you prospers ⁶  and your brother becomes impoverished with regard to him so that ⁷  he sells himself to a resident foreigner who is with you or to a member ⁸  of a foreigner’s family, 25:48 after he has sold himself he retains a right of redemption. ⁹  One of his brothers may redeem him, 25:49 or his uncle or his cousin ¹⁰  may redeem him, or anyone of the rest of his blood relatives – his family ¹¹  – may redeem him, or if ¹²  he prospers he may redeem himself.

[25:23]  ¹ tn The term rendered “without reclaim” means that the land has been bought for the full price and is, therefore, not subject to reclaim under any circumstances. This was not to be done with land in ancient Israel (contrast the final full sale of houses in v. 30; see the evidence cited in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 174).

[25:23]  ² tn That is, the Israelites were strangers and residents who were attached to the Lord’s household. They did not own the land. Note the parallel to the “priest’s lodger” in Lev 22:10.

[25:24]  ³ tn Heb “And in all the land of your property.”

[25:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “right of redemption you shall give to the land”; NAB “you must permit the land to be redeemed.”

[25:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “the sale of his brother.”

[25:47]  ⁶ tn Heb “And if the hand of a foreigner and resident with you reaches” (cf. v. 26 for this idiom).

[25:47]  ⁷ tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.

[25:47]  ⁸ tn Heb “offshoot, descendant.”

[25:48]  ⁹ tn Heb “right of redemption shall be to him.”

[25:49]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the son of his uncle.”

[25:49]  ¹¹ tn Heb “or from the remainder of his flesh from his family.”

[25:49]  ¹² tc The LXX, followed by the Syriac, actually has “if,” which is not in the MT.