The Liberty Bell: Ringing in an American Jubilee?

“Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof” reads the famous inscription encircling the top of the Liberty Bell. Borrowed from Leviticus 25:10, which describes the biblical Jubilee law, the inscription sounds like a call to independence, very much in keeping with the rhetoric of the American Revolution. And, in fact, the inscription may have more to do with American ideals than with the biblical law it quotes—or misquotes.

As Michael Hudson points out in the accompanying article, the Jubilee law was essentially an economic law, requiring that every 50 years all land be returned to its original owners, all debts be canceled and all bond servants be set free. A more accurate translation of Leviticus 25:10 highlights this deliverance from economic inequity: “You shall proclaim release throughout the land for all its inhabitants” (New Jewish Publication Society translation).