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.

passing (Ezek 46,16-18)⁶⁴, but for him it is a provision for periodic restoration of ancestral land, not a blueprint for post-exilic reallocation.

        The problems attending any use of Lev 25 as a blue-print for land restoration in the post-exilic period do not pertain to Ezekiel’s vision. He does not single out "inhabitants" as the subject of his legislation, nor is urban property excluded from distribution. The problems of when to hold a jubilee, what do if one is missed, and the implications of the exile vis-à-vis land claims do not apply: the people are authorized to divide up the land completely anew, respecting the ancient tradition of distribution by tribe (and presumably smaller family units), but not bound to a now-irrecoverable state of affairs obtaining in previous generations.

        Ezekiel’s vision of land redistribution looks like — and claims to be — a blueprint for the restoration of Israel’s land, written by a priest (or priestly school) in the Holiness tradition in the exile. While the restoration did not take the exact form Ezekiel envisioned⁶⁵, and