Deuteronomy15

Deuteronomy 15 outlines laws concerning the sabbatical year, requiring the release of debts among Israelites and the freeing of Hebrew servants after six years of service, providing for them generously. It emphasizes compassion for the poor, commanding open-handed giving and lending without grudging. The chapter concludes with instructions for sanctifying and consuming firstborn male animals, prohibiting the consumption of their blood.
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The Sabbatical Year and Debt Release

1
At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. ​
2
This is the manner of remission: Every creditor shall cancel what he has loaned to his neighbor. He is not to collect anything from his neighbor or brother, because the LORD’s time of release has been proclaimed. ​
3
You may collect something from a foreigner, but you must forgive whatever your brother owes you. ​
4
There will be no poor among you, however, because the LORD will surely bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, ​
5
if only you obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commandments I am giving you today. ​
6
When the LORD your God blesses you as He has promised, you will lend to many nations but borrow from none; you will rule over many nations but be ruled by none. ​

Generosity to the Poor

7
If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother. ​
8
Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs.
9
Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought in your heart: “The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” so that you look upon your poor brother begrudgingly and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin. ​
10
Give generously to him, and do not let your heart be grieved when you do so. And because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything to which you put your hand.
11
For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your land. ​

Release of Hebrew Servants

12
If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you must set him free. ​
13
And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed. ​
14
You are to furnish him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. You shall give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you.
15
Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today. ​
16
But if your servant says to you, ‘I do not want to leave you,’ because he loves you and your household and is well off with you,
17
then take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he will become your servant for life. And treat your maidservant the same way. ​
18
Do not regard it as a hardship to set your servant free, because his six years of service were worth twice the wages of a hired hand. And the LORD your God will bless you in all you do. ​

The Law of the Firstborn Animals

19
You must set apart to the LORD your God every firstborn male produced by your herds and flocks. You are not to put the firstborn of your oxen to work, nor are you to shear the firstborn of your flock. ​
20
Each year you and your household are to eat it before the LORD your God in the place the LORD will choose.
21
But if an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the LORD your God. ​
22
Eat it within your gates; both the ceremonially unclean and clean may eat it as they would a gazelle or a deer. ​
23
But you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.

Study Notes for Deuteronomy 15

Verse 1

This law establishes the Sabbatical Year (Shemitah), requiring an economic reset every seven years. Its purpose was to prevent permanent stratification and ensure that wealth did not accumulate excessively, reflecting God’s ownership of the land and the people.

Verse 2

The 'release' applied specifically to debts owed by fellow Israelites ('brother'), ensuring that the covenant community maintained internal economic stability and mutual aid.

Verse 3

The distinction between an Israelite 'brother' and a 'foreigner' (non-Israelite resident or merchant) highlights the unique covenant obligations Israel had toward its own members regarding charity and debt relief.

Verse 4

This verse presents an ideal state: the provision of the release is conditional upon Israel's obedience, implying that if the nation were perfectly faithful, poverty necessitating the release would not exist.

Verse 5

Deuteronomic theology clearly links national blessing, prosperity, and military success (V. 6) directly to faithful adherence to the covenant stipulations.

Verse 6

Lending to nations but not borrowing signifies the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant promise, establishing Israel as the favored and supreme nation among the peoples.

Verse 7

Moving from the mandatory Sabbatical release, Moses addresses the year-round, personal obligation to aid the poor. The command focuses on attitude ('thou shalt not harden thine heart') as much as action.

Verse 9

This verse warns against cynical self-interest—refusing a loan because the Sabbatical Year is imminent. Such calculation is considered a 'wicked heart' and a sin against God.

Verse 11

This provides a realistic counterpoint to the ideal of V. 4. Because of the reality of human failure, poverty is expected to be a persistent condition, necessitating continuous, open-handed generosity.

Verse 12

This law concerns indentured servitude, where a Hebrew person might sell themselves (or be sold) due to debt. The service is capped at six years, echoing the pattern of the Sabbatical cycle (Exod. 21:2).

Verse 13

Unlike the earlier law in Exodus, Deuteronomy explicitly requires the master to provision the released servant liberally, ensuring they are not sent away empty-handed and have the means to restart their lives.

Verse 15

The command is rooted in Israel's theological history: God redeemed Israel from slavery in Egypt and provisioned them. This act establishes the ethical precedent for how Israelites must treat their own servants.

Verse 17

The ritual of piercing the ear with an 'aul' (awl) against the doorpost symbolized a voluntary, lifelong bond to the household, marking the servant as permanently dedicated to that family. The law applies to both men and women.

Verse 18

The master should not resent the cost of the release, as the servant's six years of labor were considered economically valuable, equivalent to the wages and upkeep of a 'double hired servant.'

Verse 19

This section shifts to cultic law, recalling the consecration of the firstborn as a perpetual memorial of God sparing Israel’s firstborn during the tenth plague in Egypt (Exod. 13:11-16).

Verse 21

Animals offered for sacrifice must be without blemish. However, if a firstborn animal had a defect, it was disqualified from being sacrificed but could still be eaten domestically by the owner.

Verse 22

A blemished firstling, unfit for the sacred altar feast, was treated as common meat, like venison (roebuck/hart), and could be eaten by anyone in the household, regardless of ritual cleanness.

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