As regards _property in slaves_ (Lev. xxv. 35-55) the Hebrew whom necessity has compelled to sell himself into the service of his brother Hebrew is to be treated as a hired servant and sojourner, and to be released absolutely at the jubilee; non-Hebrew bondmen, on the other hand, are to be bondmen for ever. But the Hebrew who has sold himself to a stranger or sojourner is entitled to freedom at the year of jubilee, and further is at any time redeemable by any of his kindred--the redemption price being regulated by the number of years to run between the redemption and the jubilee, according to the ordinary wage of hired servants. Such were the enactments of the Priestly Code--which, of course, represents the latest legislation of the Pentateuch (post-exilic). These enactments, in order to be understood rightly, must be viewed in relation to the earlier similar provisions in connexion with the sabbatical (seventh) year. "The foundations of Lev. xxv. are laid in the ancient provisions of the Book of the Covenant (Exod. xxi. 2 seq.; xxiii. 10 seq.) and in Deuteronomy (xv.). The Book of the Covenant enjoined that the land should lie fallow and Hebrew slaves be liberated in the seventh year; Deuteronomy required in addition the remission of debts" (Benzinger). Deuteronomy, it will be noticed, in accordance with its humanitarian tendency, not only liberates the slave but remits the debt. It is evident that these enactments proved impracticable in real life (cf. Jer. xxxiv. 8 seq.), and so it became necessary in the later legislation of P, represented in the present form of Lev. xxv., to relegate them to the 50th year, the year of jubilee. The latter, however, was a purely theoretic development of the Sabbath idea, which could never have been reduced to practice (its actual observance would have necessitated that for two consecutive years--the 49th and 50th--absolutely nothing could be reaped, while in the 51st only summer fruits could be obtained, sowing being prohibited in the 50th year). That in practice the enactments for the jubilee-year were disregarded is evidenced by the fact that, according to the unanimous testimony of the Talmudists and Rabbins, although the jubilee-years were "reckoned" they were not observed. The conjecture of Kuenen, supported by Wellhausen, that originally Lev. xxv. 8 seq. had reference to the seventh year is a highly probable one. This may be the case also with Ezek. xlvi. 16-18 (cf. Jer. xxxiv. 14). A later Rabbinical device for evading the provisions of the law was the _prosbul_ (ascribed to Hillel)--i.e. a condition made in the presence of the judge securing to the creditor the right of demanding repayment at any time, irrespective of the year of remission. Further enactments regarding the jubilee are found in Lev. xxvii. 17-25 and Num. xxxvi. 4. (W. R. S.; G. H. Bo.) FOOTNOTE: