And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubile.
But if the house is not bought back within a full year, then the house in the walled city will belong permanently to the person who bought it and to their descendants forever. It will not be returned during the jubilee year.
This verse explains that unlike farmland, houses in walled cities had only a one-year grace period for the original owner to buy them back - after that, they became permanent property of the new owner.
📚 Historical Context
This law was part of God's economic system for ancient Israel, designed during their time in the wilderness before entering the Promised Land. The jubilee year occurred every 50 years when most debts were forgiven and ancestral lands were returned to original families, but this verse shows that urban real estate in fortified cities followed different rules than rural farmland.
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