The word “redeemer” carries three primary meanings. One who acts as a kinsman in redeeming a near relative’s name. To buy back or deliver, which typically involves reclaiming property or personal possessions. And to avenge by settling a debt.
The “kinsman-redeemer” go’el (גֹּאֵל) is governed by the legal and social role defined in the Torah. The Mosaic Law outlines the obligations of the nearest male relative to preserve the integrity of the family line and estate.
The duty to provide an offspring for a deceased brother is recorded in Deuteronomy 25:5–10. The surviving brother is to take his brother’s wife as his own to raise a seed for his brother. The firstborn son that she bears will bear the name of his dead brother to ensure his name is not blotted out of Israel.
The right to redeem property is laid out in Leviticus 25:25–28; a man or one of his relatives has the right to buy back land sold out of necessity to ensure the estate remains within the tribe. If the man can redeem it himself, he is legally allowed to buy it back from the one he sold it to. Otherwise, a relative may step in and buy back the land. If no one can redeem the land, it is to be returned to the man in the year of Jubilee.
The year of Jubilee occurs after seven Sabbatical cycles, as prescribed by Mosaic Law, resulting in a fifty-year interval. During the Jubilee, all land in Israel is liberated, property is returned to its original clan, and individuals in slavery are released (Leviticus 25:9-10).
The obligation for a relative to redeem a man who has sold himself into slavery due to poverty is explained in Leviticus 25:47–55. When a man sells himself into slavery to a stranger or sojourner, his brothers or kin may redeem him. The price of his release will be from the number of years that he was sold until the year of Jubilee.
The avenging of a brother’s blood is explained in Numbers 35:19–21. The relatives of a man who has been accidentally killed have the right to demand vengeance on his behalf. In the case where a man strikes or pushes another with hostility or lies in wait and as a result the other person dies, the relatives have the right to seek blood vengeance; the avenger is to kill the murderer himself.
The Redeemer is not confined to a legal system. In Exodus 6:6, God says that He will take Israel out of the oppression of the Egyptians and redeem them from slavery. The prophet Isaiah records what the Lord said to Israel, telling them not to fear because He has redeemed them (Isaiah 43:1). The LORD is acting like a relative who steps in to claim his own from their transgressions (Isaiah 59:20).
