The Year of Jubilee occurred every fiftieth year, releasing people from obligations and slavery. This year was also a Sabbath year, meaning no farming took place.
Some scholars believe the forty-ninth year was both a Sabbath (seventh) and Jubilee (fiftieth) year. Counting fifty years would place the Year of Jubilee right after the seventh Sabbath year, leading to two years without harvests.
During each Year of Jubilee, the land returned to the original clan or tribe that received it under Joshua (Joshua 13–21).
Land had two purposes:
It provided an economic foundation for living.
It connected the landowner to ancestors. Through them it connected the land distribution under Joshua and the covenant with Moses.
Returning the land intended to prevent powerful land monopolies that could exclude the poor.