Jubilee and Sabbatical Years Mike Sanders

Jubilee and Sabbatical Years
Mike Sanders

The Mosaic legislation prescribed that on every seventh year was to be a Sabbath rest for the land. No sowing or planting of the land on the seventh year. After seven sabbatical years, on the day of atonement of that year, a trumpet was blown to announce the Jubilee year. The Jubilee occurred every 50 years after seven sabbatical cycles. It was a year of liberty that was proclaimed throughout the land. Sowing in the Jubilee year was also not permitted as a Sabbath rest for the land was observed. The land was returned to it's rightful owner and those in bondage were set free. The Jubilee became synonymous for deliverance from bondage and captivity. (See Leviticus 25) If a date could be determined for a sabbatical or jubilee observance from a time prior to the departure of Lehi from Jerusalem, it should then be easy to determine if the Book of Mormon contains any internal evidence that this portion of the Law of Moses was indeed practiced among the Nephite peoples.

Ahaz, the father of Hezekiah, had previously entered into a covenant of vassalage with Tiglath-pileser of Assyria as a way of obtaining military assistance to defend against his enemies (2 Kings 16:5-9). Fortunately, Hezekiah walked not in the ways of his father and soon after his ascension to the throne he began to institute reforms aimed at turning Judah back to her God. He then broke off relations with Assyria by seeking to establish an alliance with Egypt (Isaiah 30:1-7;31:1-3). As a result, the new Assyrian King Sennacherib dispatches his Rabshakeh-the chief cupbearer of the Assyrian king-to deliver a lawsuit message for Judah's breaking of their treaty. The Assyrian commander acts as an ambassador of Sennacherib in conducting a lawsuit speech (2 Kings 18:17-35) which was coupled with a punitive campaign calculated to restore order to his kingdom. Upon hearing of these events, Hezekiah seeks out the counsel of the prophet Isaiah on the matter. Isaiah's counsel was to fear not the threatenings of the Assyrain king, for the Lord would deliver in the time of trouble. Another dispatch was sent to the Judean king in an attempt to intimidate him into submission. Hezekiah then places this correspondence before the Lord and makes an appeal unto the God of heaven to deliver his people that the nations might see who is truly the God of all the earth. The answer to Hezekiah's prayer comes forth through the prophet Isaiah in which deliverance from his enemies is assured. The Assyrian king will fall and Judah shall be spared, for God will fight her battles. During this discourse a sign was given that has extreme significance in determining a sabbatical and jubilee year. In 2 Kings 19:29 we read these words:

"And this shall be a sign unto thee. Ye shall EAT THIS YEAR SUCH THINGS AS GROW OF THEMSELVES, AND IN THE SECOND YEAR THAT WHICH SPRINGETH OF THE SAME; AND IN THE THIRD YEAR SOW YE, AND REAP, AND PLANT VINEYARDS, AND EAT THE FRUITS THEREOF."

Notice the phrase "this year" ye shall eat whatever the land yields of itself. This must have been a sabbatical year or a year in which the land was at rest and was not to be sown. Then the Lord declares that "in the second year" you shall only harvest what the land yields as in the previous year. This demonstrates that the very next year was a Jubilee year. The provisions for the Jubilee year in relation to the land was the same as in a sabbatical year. The sign that was given was that the people would observe the sabbatical year, followed by the observance of the Jubilee. Two consecutive years in which the land would rest followed by the resumption of sowing, planting, and reaping in the third year. This scripture provides an important clue to the observance of a seventh sabbatical year followed by a Jubilee year. The parallel verse in Isaiah 37:30 reads:

"And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall EAT THIS YEAR SUCH AS GROWETH OF ITSELF; AND THE SECOND YEAR THAT WHICH SPRINGETH OF THE SAME; AND IN THE THIRD YEAR SOW YE, AND REAP, AND PLANT VINEYARDS, AND EAT THE FRUIT THEREOF."

If the "this year" of the passage could be determined then we could line up this chronology and look for evidence in the Book of Mormon. The first year mentioned corresponds to the 15th year of the reign of Hezekiah as determined from the biblical chronology, extra-biblical materials, and the records of the Assyrian campaigns. This was the sabbatical year and corresponds to the year 701/700 B.C. The following year was the Jubilee. The 16th year of Hezekiah's reign was a Jubilee and was also the year ( possibly on Passover) in which the Lord destroyed the Assyrian army and provided a miraculous deliverance for Judah. This Jubilee observance would have been in the year 700/699 B.C. This is very close historically to the exodus of the Lehites out of Jerusalem a couple of generations later. In fact, Lehi's departure from Jerusalem around 600 B.C. could have been during a Jubilee year.

Any thoughts?

If the year 700/699 B.C. is in fact a Jubilee year then the following years are probable times of Jubilee observance: 700/699 B.C., 650/649 B.C., 600/599 B.C., 550/549 B.C., 500/499 B.C., 450/449 B.C., 400/399 B.C., 350/349 B.C., 300/299 B.C., 250/249 B.C., 200/199 B.C., 150/149 B.C., 100/99 B.C., 50/49 B.C., 0/1 B.C., etc...If these dates are accurate then we can look to the Nephite record for possible correlations.

1. Jarom 1:10-13 [400 B.C.]...Law of Moses kept...laws of the land very strict. This would have obviously included sabbatical and jubilee observances.
2. Omni 1:20-25 [200 B.C.]...another possible Jubilee as Mosiah is directed by the Lord to lead the righteous away from the wicked in an exodus to the land of Zarahemla. Could this exodus have occurred on a sabbatical or jubilee year?
3. Mosiah 1:30-31[possibly 100 B.C.]...King Benjamins speech, Could this Sukkot gathering have been on a jubilee year? It says that they brought offerings that they might give thanks to the Lord who had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem (a deliverance) and delivered them from their enemies...Is this possible jubilee language? Notice in Mosiah 4:4-6 that King Mosiah causes his people to again "till the earth." Why would Mosiah direct his people to till the earth unless there was a stoppage of agricultural activity, in other words a sabbatical or jubilee observance? I know that John Tvedtnes has suggested that a sabbatical or jubilee occurrence could have taken place at this time. I've also ready Terrence Szink has built upon this earlier research. Could Benjamin's speech provide a benchmark at one end of the spectrum to compare to the Isaiah prophecy to attempt a reconciliation of the calendars?
4. Alma 30:5-14...[55-53 B.C.]...migrations north that need much provisions (i.e. grain)? A storage of grain might suggest an upcoming sabbatical or jubilee observance?
5. Helaman 1:15 [51 B.C.]...are there any connections to this warfare pattern and sabbatical / jubilee observance? No wars during harvest time but possible during a sabbatical year or jubilee? In ancient cultures, soldiers were also farmers. During times of planting and reaping warfare was non-existant because of harvest necessities. Wars would typically be fought during the year when farming activities were slowed.
6. Helaman 1:37 [50 B.C.]...possible Jubilee?
7. 3 Nephi 1...the sign of the birth of Christ could this have been a Jubilee year? Possibly another Passover experience as the faithful Nephites were delivered from their enemies at the giving of the sign? Also the fulfillment of Lehi's 600 year prophecy or 12 jubilee cycles?

We know the Nephites observed the Law of Moses which included this legislation. Some questions that I throw out for discussion that are potential problems in identifying sabbatical or jubilee observances in the Book of Mormon.

1. These mosaic prescriptions are intimately linked to the Israelite agricultural season, if followed by the Nephites would there have been a shift in their observance due to different seasons or climate? Or could this have been discarded all together?
2. Reconciling the calendrical evidence is a task in an of itself and poses potential problems and I am no expert on any singular calendar system, let alone multiple systems. Randall Spackman has written an article on this in the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 7/1 "The Jewish/Nephite Lunar Calendar" and John Pratt has contributed as well. Further complications may arise due to errors in the record by the record keepers and/or the abridgers as mentioned by Moroni. Any ideas?
3. The Book of Mormon itself is an abridgment and these details might not be forthcoming from the record as the abridgers may have assumed that there audience knew this things and didn't include them in the abridgment we have today.
4. Could changes in how the Nephites observed Israelite customs dealing with slavery and agriculture have made these laws obsolete?

If my hypothesis is correct, there would be 12 Jubilee observances from the departure of Lehi till the birth of Christ (i.e. 12 X 50 years =600). This may be significant. The textual clue found in Isaiah, if it could be absolutely pinned down as I have suggested may provide a key to unlocking this mystery!