JUBILEE
Wild Word Friday!
Our word today – JUBILEE – comes to us from the ancient Hebrew via a long journey through Europe. Every fifty years, according to a law that has been recorded in the Old Testament book of Leviticus (chapter 25, verse 10): “And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you.” (KJV), slaves were set free and the land was left fallow for a year. It was truly a celebration, and that celebration year was called yobhel, a word taken from the word for a ram’s horn trumpet, which was used to announce the advent of the fiftieth year.
When the Bible was translated into Greek, the translators didn’t have a comparable word so simply “Greekanized” yobhel, which became iobelaios and that word eventually found its place as the expression for any joyful celebration. When the Greek Old Testament was translated into Latin, those translators used a similar sounding Latin word already in use – jubilare – which meant to shout out in joy. Jubilare became JUBILEE when John Wycliffe translated the Bible into English.
So there you have it, a long journey that gave us a wonderful word.
Have you had any recent JUBILEEs in your life?
Blessings!
Sue
This is a very interesting history. My most recent Jubilee is that my family and I will be moving back to Michigan this summer! I can’t wait to be home 🙂
I enjoyed this so much. When I was a young girl, my dad was intrigued with the ancient Hebrew Jubilee celebration. He was also a steam train fanatic, and knew that the engine with a 4-4-4 wheel arrangement is called a Jubilee engine. With both of those concepts working in his brain, he decided to use “Jubilee” as his CB “handle” as we traveled on our many camping trips across the country. After he died, we had a phrase from the old hymn, “Jubilee,” engraved on his tombstone… “I’ve gone to that happy Jubilee.” I can’t wait for our family reunion in the sky! 🙂