upon you
The phrase "upon you" indicates a direct and personal action from God to His people. It suggests an intimate relationship where God's blessings are not just general but specifically targeted to the needs of His people. In the Hebrew context, this personal attention from God would have been a source of great comfort and assurance, reinforcing the idea that God is actively involved in the lives of His covenant people.

in the sixth year
The sixth year is significant in the context of the sabbatical cycle described in Leviticus 25. Every seventh year was to be a Sabbath year, a time when the land was to rest and not be sown or harvested. The sixth year, therefore, required a special provision from God to sustain the people through the Sabbath year. This highlights the faith required to trust in God's provision, as the Israelites had to rely on the abundance of the sixth year's harvest to carry them through the seventh year. It also points to the rhythm of work and rest ordained by God, teaching reliance on His timing and provision.

so that it will yield
The phrase "so that it will yield" indicates a cause-and-effect relationship between God's blessing and the productivity of the land. The Hebrew root "עָשָׂה" (asah) means to do, make, or produce, emphasizing that the land's ability to yield is a direct result of God's intervention. This reflects the biblical principle that human effort alone is insufficient without God's blessing. It serves as a reminder that while humans are called to work and steward creation, it is ultimately God who grants success and fruitfulness.

a crop sufficient for three years
This promise of a "crop sufficient for three years" is a miraculous provision that underscores God's power and faithfulness. The number three in biblical terms often signifies completeness or divine perfection. In this context, it assures the Israelites of God's complete provision during the Sabbath year and beyond. Historically, this would have been a profound assurance to an agrarian society dependent on the land for survival. Spiritually, it serves as a metaphor for God's abundant grace, which is more than sufficient to meet the needs of His people, encouraging believers to trust in His provision even when circumstances seem uncertain.

It shall bring forth fruit for three years.--Better, it shall bring forth produce. This special blessing will be manifested in the abundant crop of the harvest preceding the sabbatical year. Just as at the institution of the weekly Sabbath, when God enjoined abstention from labour, He sent down a double portion of manna every sixth day to make up for the day of rest (Exodus 16:22-27), so He will exercise a special providence every sixth year by blessing the soil with a treble crop to compensate for giving the land a septennial sabbath. As the sabbatical year began the civil year, viz., 1 Tishri, which was in the autumn or in September, the three years here spoken of are to be distributed as follows: (1) the remainder of the sixth year after the harvest; (2) the whole of the seventh year; and (3) the period of the eighth year till the harvest is gathered in from the seeds sown in the eighth year. It will thus be seen that the question anticipated in Leviticus 25:29, viz., "What shall we eat the seventh year?" properly applies to the eighth year, since the requirements for the seventh year are supplied by the regular harvest of the sixth year, and it is the eighth year for which the harvest of the seventh is wanted. To meet this difficulty, one of the most distinguished Jewish expositors of the Middle Ages translates Leviticus 25:20 : "And if ye shall say in the seventh year 'What shall we eat'" i.e., in the eighth year. It may, however, be that the question expresses the anxiety which the people might feel in eating their ordinary share in the seventh year, lest there should be nothing left for the eighth year, since in all other years the harvest is ripening for the next year whilst the fruits of the past year are being consumed. . . .

Parallel Commentaries ...