Text: Jeremiah 34:14
OT Text Referred to: Leviticus 25:35
Subject: releasing slaves
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): None
Significance: Both Jeremiah 34:14 and Leviticus 25:35 address the treatment of impoverished Israelite brothers within the covenant community. Leviticus 25:35 commands "If your brother becomes destitute... you are to sustain him" and prohibits permanent servitude because "they are My servants" (עֲבָדַי, avadai) — redeemed from Egypt, they belong to God. Jeremiah invokes this same covenantal logic when condemning the re-enslavement of freed Hebrews: the people had proclaimed a release (דְּרוֹר, deror) but then reversed it, violating the Levitical principle that covenant brothers are God's possession, not objects of permanent human ownership. The violation becomes the basis for God's ironic judgment: having refused to release their brothers, God "releases" them to sword, plague, and famine (34:17).
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Text: Leviticus 25:35
OT Text Referred to: Jeremiah 34:14
Subject: slave release mandate
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Longitudinal Theme
Significance: Leviticus 25:35-46 mandates care for impoverished Israelites: "If your brother becomes poor... you shall sustain him" and prohibits enslaving fellow Israelites harshly, "for they are My servants (עֲבָדַי, avadai) whom I brought out of Egypt." Jeremiah 34:14 cites this law during the Babylonian siege, condemning Judah for violating the slave-release mandate: each man was to "set free his Hebrew brother who has been sold to him." Jeremiah's context reveals that Zedekiah briefly enacted a slave release during the siege, but the owners reneged and re-enslaved the freed Hebrews. God's response equates this violation with covenant-breaking: because they did not proclaim liberty, God will proclaim "liberty" to sword, plague, and famine against them (34:17).