John Calvin Commentary Leviticus 25:47

"And if a stranger or sojourner with thee be waxed rich, and thy brother be waxed poor beside him, and sell himself unto the stranger [or] sojourner with thee, or to the stock of the stranger`s family;" — Leviticus 25:47 (ASV)

And if a sojourner or a stranger. A caution is here introduced regarding the Israelites who had enslaved themselves to strangers. But by "strangers," understand only those who inhabited the land of Canaan; for if anyone had been carried away into other countries, God would have enacted this law for their redemption in vain.

Therefore, the power to redeem the slave is granted to his relatives. Or, if he himself had obtained enough to pay his price, the same permission is granted to him. The mode and form of this are then expressed: a calculation of the time remaining before the Jubilee was to be made, and the period that had already elapsed was to be subtracted from the sum. For example, if he had been sold for fifty shekels, he would only pay ten shekels in the fortieth year, because only a fifth of the time remained.

But if none of his family aided him, and the unfortunate man’s hope of redemption was frustrated, God commands that he should be set free in the Jubilee year, when a general emancipation took place for the children of Abraham.

The object of the law was that none of those whom God had adopted should be alienated from their race and thus depart from the true worship of God Himself.

The whole of this is contained in the last verse, where God declares that the children of Abraham were His property, because He had led them forth from the land of Egypt and, on the other hand, that He is their own God.

For while it was just that they should enjoy His blessing, it was also fitting that they should be kept sound in His pure and undivided worship. If they had been the slaves of Gentiles, not only would the elect people have been diminished in number, but circumcision would have been corrupted, and a door opened to impious perversions.

Yet God so mitigates His law as not to lay an unjust burden upon sojourners, since He grants more to them regarding Hebrew slaves than to the natives of the land. For if Hebrews had sold themselves to their fellow Israelites, they were set free in the seventh year, while their slavery under sojourners was extended to the fiftieth year.

This exception only was introduced: that the stranger who had bought slaves should set them free upon payment of their value.

Since God had previously promised His people a large and varied abundance of all good things, the poverty referred to here could only occur from the curse of God.¹⁵⁵ We see, therefore, that in His incomparable loving-kindness He stretches forth His hand to the transgressors of His law. And while He chastises them with poverty, He still looks upon them, unworthy as they are, and provides a remedy for the troubles their own guilt had brought upon them.

¹⁵⁵ Addition in Fr., “Et d’un juste chastiment de leurs pechez;” and as a just chastisement of their sins.., “Et d’un juste chastiment de leurs pechez;” and as a just chastisement of their sins.