Leviticus 25:33

33 And whatever [anyone] redeems from the Levites then must go out [of the buyer's hand] in the Jubilee, [including] a house's selling {in his city's property}, because the houses in the cities of the Levites [are] their property in the midst of the {Israelites}.

Leviticus 25:33 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 25:33

And if a man purchase of the Levites
An house or city, as Jarchi, and which the following clause confirms, that is, if a common Israelite made such a purchase, then it was redeemable, but if a Levite purchased of a Levite, then, as the same writer observes, it was absolutely irredeemable: then the house that was sold, and the city of his possession, shall go
out in [the year of] jubilee;
to the original owner of it, as fields and houses in villages sold by the Israelites for the houses of the cities of the Levites [are] their possession
among the children of Israel;
and their only possession, and therefore if those, when sold, were irredeemable, they would entirely be without any; and hence care is taken they should not; so Jarchi observes, that the Levites had no possession of fields and vineyards, only cities to dwell in, and their suburbs; wherefore cities were to them instead of fields, and their redemption was as that of fields, that so their inheritance might not be broken off from them.

Leviticus 25:33 In-Context

31 However, village houses that have no surrounding wall shall be considered {open country}; [there] is redemption for it, and in the Jubilee it shall go out [of the buyer's hand].

32 " 'As for the cities of the Levites, [that is], the houses in their property's cities, it shall be {a lasting redemption} for the Levites.

33 And whatever [anyone] redeems from the Levites then must go out [of the buyer's hand] in the Jubilee, [including] a house's selling {in his city's property}, because the houses in the cities of the Levites [are] their property in the midst of the {Israelites}.

34 But a field of their cities' pastureland must not be sold, because {it is their property for all time}.

35 " 'And if your countryman becomes poor and {if he becomes dependent on you}, then you shall support him [like] an alien and [like] a temporary resident, and he shall live with you.

Footnotes

• [a] Or "and"
• [b] Meaning derived from context; an alternative translation could be "shall not be released" (cf. NKJV, NRSV, ESV, NJPS) or "shall not revert" (NASB, NET)
• [c] Literally "the city of his property"
• [d] Hebrew "of"
• [e] Literally "sons/children of Israel"