JUBILEE, among the Jews, denotes every fiftieth year; being that following the revolution of seven weeks of years; at which time all the slaves were made free, and all lands reverted to their ancient owners. The jubilees were not regarded after the Babylonish captivity. — The word, according to some authors, comes from the Hebrew, jobel, which signifies fifty; but this must be a mistake, for the Hebrew שָׁנָה, jobel does not signify fifty; neither do its letters, taken as cyphers, or according to their numerical powers, make that number; being 10, 6, 2, and 30, that is, 48. — Others say, that jobel signifies a ram, and that the jubilee was thus called, because proclaimed with a ram's horn, in memory of the ram that appeared to Abraham in the thicket. Masius chooses to derive the word from Jubal, the first inventor of musical instruments, which, for that reason, were called by his name; whence the words jobel and jubilee came to signify the year of deliverance and remission, because proclaimed with the sound of one of those instruments which at first was no more than the horn of a ram. Others derive jobel from יָבֹא, jabal in hiphil יָבֹא, hobal, which signifies to recall or return; because this year restored all slaves to their liberty, &c. The institution of this festival is in Lev. xxv. 8, 17.
The learned are divided about the year of jubilee; some maintaining that it was every forty-ninth, and
others that it was every fiftieth, year. The ground of the former opinion is chiefly this, that the forty-ninth year being of course a sabbatical year, if the jubilee had been kept on the fiftieth, the land must have had two sabbaths, or have lain fallow two years, which, without a miracle, would have produced a dearth. On the other hand, it is alleged, that the Scripture expressly declares for the fiftieth year, Lev. xxv. 10, 11. And besides, if the jubilee and sabbatical year had been the same, there would have been no need of a prohibition to sow, reap, &c. because this kind of labour was prohibited by the law of the sabbatical year, Lev. xxv. 4, 5. The authors of the Universal History, book i. chap. 7. note R, endeavour to reconcile these opinions, by observing, that as the jubilee began in the first month of the civil year, which was the seventh of the ecclesiastical, it might be said to be either the forty-ninth or fiftieth, according as one or other of these computations was followed. The political design of the law of the jubilee was to prevent the too great oppressions of the poor, as well as their being liable to perpetual slavery. By this means a kind of equality was preserved through all the families of Israel, and the distinction of tribes was also preserved, that they might be able, when there was occasion, on the jubilee-year, to prove their right to the inheritance of their ancestors. It served also, like the Olympiads of the Greeks, and the Lustra of the Romans, for the readier computation of time. The jubilee has also been supposed to be typical of the gospel state and dispensation, described by Isaiah, lxi. ver. 1, 2. in reference to this period, as the "acceptable year of the Lord."