LEV1078 Assisting the poor in biblical times took the form not only of direct aid, but also of relief from servitude, and that too was rooted in respect for God's ownership of the world. Although an Israelite could be sold into slavery to pay a debt, the master was required to set the slave free within six years, even if the debt was not totally redeemed by that time. If the slave chose to remain in servitude, he could do so, but only until the Jubilee year, when even the reluctant had to go free. Moreover, the master could not abuse the slave. The Bible clearly specifies that the rationale behind these commandments is that all Jews are God’s servants, and consequently they may not be perpetually the slaves of any human being: “If your kinsman under you continues in straits and must give himself over to you, do not subject him to the treatment of a slave. He shall remain with you as a hired or bound laborer; he shall serve with you only until the Jubilee year. Then he and his children with him shall be free of your authority; he shall go back to his family and return to his ancestral holding. For they are My servants, whom I freed from the land of Egypt; they may not give themselves over into servitude (Leviticus 25:39-42). Thus care for the poor, including those enslaved to pay off their debts, is required because ultimately God owns us all, together with the world in which we live.