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John Sietze Bergsma, «The Jubilee: A Post-Exilic Priestly Attempt to Reclaim Lands?», Vol. 84 (2003) 225-246
The article examines the hypothesis that the jubilee legislation of Lev 25 was a post-exilic attempt on the part of returning Judean exiles — particularly the priests — to provide legal justification for the reclamation of their former lands. This hypothesis is found to be dubious because (1) the jubilee did not serve the interests of the socio-economic classes that were exiled, and (2) Lev 25 does not show signs of having been redacted with the post-exilic situation in mind. A comparison with Ezekiel’s vision of restoration points out the differences between Lev 25 and actual priestly land legislation for the post-exilic period.
interests of the returning exiles, priestly or lay? Realizing this, Habel even suggests the non-exiled rural population as a possible Sitz-im-Leben for the origin of the jubilee legislation34.
2. The "Inhabitants"?
There is also phraseology in Lev 25 that would be particularly awkward for returning urban exiles. Lev 25,10 mandates "You shall proclaim release throughout the land for all its inhabitants [hyb#$y]." This wording would have the potential to backfire against the exiles, who in fact were not "inhabitants" of the land, and largely had not been for more than sixty years35. Ironically, it would favor those whose lands the exiles wished to repossess, especially since — as we will demonstrate below — the inhabitants of the land regarded themselves has having been confirmed in their right to the land by the divine action of the exile36. If the text was augmented or redacted for post-exilic "land-reclamation" purposes, we would expect hyb#$y to be replaced with something more generic, such as l)r#&y-ynb.
3. The "Priests"?
But perhaps it was not the exiled population per se that was meant to benefit from the jubilee, but only the priestly caste. This position has been put forward forcefully by Ringe:
The priestly compilers of the laws ... would not only have established their own authority over the regulation of the land and its inhabitants, but at the same time would have legitimized their administration by a reaffirmation of its basis in God’s sovereignty. The religious sanction that such legislation would have lent to their authority would have been crucial in the consolidation of their power and in the establishment of the holy and righteous people under God which was their aim37.
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