Thematic Bible: In real estate


Thematic Bible



Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the well of water that the servants of Abimelech had seized.

Then Isaac dug the water wells that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham. The Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He gave them the same names his father had given them. Isaac's servants dug in the valley (wadi) (torrent-valley) and found a well of running water. The herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac. They said: The water is ours! So he named the well Esek, because they argued with him. read more.
They dug another well. And they quarreled over that one too. So Isaac named it Sitnah (Accusation). He moved on from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over this one. So he named it Rehoboth (Roomy). He said: Now Jehovah has made room for us. We will prosper in this land.


Zelophehad, son of Hepher, grandson of Gilead, descendant of Machir, whose father was Manasseh, belonged to the families of Manasseh, son of Joseph. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They came to Moses and stood in front of him, the priest Eleazar, the leaders, and the entire congregation at the entrance to the tent of meeting. They said: Our father died in the desert. He was not a part of Korah's followers who joined forces against Jehovah. He died for his own sin and left no sons. read more.
Why should our father's name be allowed to die out in his family because he had no son? Give us property among our father's relatives. So Moses brought their case to Jehovah. Jehovah said to him: Zelophehad's daughters are right. You must give them property of their own among their father's relatives. Turn their father's property over to them. Tell the Israelites: 'If a man dies and leaves no sons, turn his property over to his daughters. If he has no daughters give his property to his brothers. If he has no brothers give his property to his uncles on his father's side of the family. If he has no uncles, give his property to the nearest relative in his family. That relative will take possession of it. This will be a rule for the Israelites, as Jehovah commanded Moses.'

The heads of the families in the clan of Gilead the son of Machir and grandson of Manasseh son of Joseph, went to Moses and the other leaders. They said: Jehovah commanded you to distribute the land to the people of Israel by drawing lots. He also commanded you to give the property of our relative Zelophehad to his daughters. Remember, if they marry men of another tribe, their property will then belong to that tribe, and the total allotted to us will be reduced. read more.
During the Year of Restoration, when all property that has been sold is restored to its original owners, the property of Zelophehad's daughters will be permanently added to the tribe into which they marry and will be lost to our tribe. So Moses gave the people of Israel the following command from Jehovah. He said: What the tribe of Manasseh says is right, and so Jehovah says that the daughters of Zelophehad are free to marry anyone they wish but only within their own tribe. The property of every Israelite will remain attached to his tribe. Every woman who inherits property in an Israelite tribe must marry a man belonging to that tribe. In this way all Israelites will inherit the property of their ancestors, and the property will not pass from one tribe to another. Each tribe will continue to possess its own property.


The herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac. They said: The water is ours! So he named the well Esek, because they argued with him.

Ephron's field at Machpelah, east of Mamre, was sold to Abraham. His property included the field with the cave in it as well as all the trees inside the boundaries of the field. The Hittites together with all who had entered the city gate were the official witnesses for the agreement.


Do not move your neighbor's boundary mark. The ancestors have set this in your inheritance. You will inherit this in the land Jehovah your God gives you to possess.



Jezebel, hearing that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, said to Ahab: Get up and take as your heritage the garden of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he would not give you for money. Naboth is dead. When he heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab went down to the garden of Naboth the Jezreelite to take it as his heritage.


If anyone sells a home in a walled city, for one year after selling it he has the right to buy it back. He may buy it back only within that time. If he does not buy it back during that year, the house in the city belongs to the buyer for generations to come. It will not be released in the jubilee.


Houses in villages without walls are regarded as belonging to the fields of the land. They can be bought back. They will be released in the jubilee. The Levites always have the right to buy back their property in the cities they own. If any Levite buys back a house, in the jubilee the purchased house in the city will be released. This is because the houses in the Levite cities are their property among the Israelites.


If you give your house to Jehovah as something holy, the priest will determine what its value is. The value will be whatever the priest decides. If you want to buy it back, you must pay its full value plus one-fifth more.

If a person gives part of a field to Jehovah as something holy, its value will be based on the seed planted on it. Ground planted with two quarts of barley will be worth twenty ounces of silver. If you give your field in the jubilee year, it will have its full value. Should you give the field after the jubilee year, the priest will estimate its value based on the number of years left until the next jubilee year. read more.
If you want to buy it back, you must pay its full value plus one-fifth more. If you do not buy it back and it is sold to someone else, it may not be redeemed. When the field is released in the jubilee year, it will be holy like a field claimed by Jehovah. It will become the property of the priest. You may give a field you bought, not one that was a part of your family property, to Jehovah as something holy. The priest must figure out the field's value until the jubilee year. You will pay its value on that day as something holy, belonging to Jehovah. In the jubilee year the field will go back to the person from whom it was bought, to whom it belongs as family property. All values will be set using the standard weight of the holy place.


Elisha told the woman who lived in Shunem, whose son he brought back to life: Jehovah is sending a famine on the land. It will last for seven years. Leave with your family and go live somewhere else. She followed his instructions and left with her family to live in Philistia for the seven years. When the seven years ended she returned to Israel. She went to the king to ask that her house and her land be restored to her. read more.
The king was talking with Gehazi, Elisha's servant, when she found him. The king wanted to know about Elisha's miracles. Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had brought a dead person back to life. The woman made her appeal to the king. Gehazi said to him: Your Majesty, here is the woman and here is her son whom Elisha brought back to life! She responded to the king's question by confirming Gehazi's story. The king called an official and told him to give back to her everything that was hers. This included the value of all the crops that her fields produced during the seven years she was away.


The only land he did not buy was the land that belonged to the priests. The king gave the priests an allowance to live on. So they did not have to sell their lands.


Because there is a man whose work has been done with wisdom, with knowledge, and with an expert hand. But one who has done nothing for it will have it for his heritage. This also is vanity and a great evil.