Biblical Jubilee did not redistribute land

Christian socialists try desperately to squeeze socialism out of a few Bible passages, especially those in the Torah on Jubilee (Leviticus 25:8–13  and debt forgiveness (Deuteronomy 15). But they only expose their superficial grasp of the passages. 

Jubilee did not involve land redistribution. In modern terms it prevented the permanent sale of land. It only allowed others to lease the land until Jubilee, 49 years at most. The price paid was the value of the produce of the land for the years remaining until Jubilee. So, if the land could produce 1,000 bushels of wheat in a year and there were 10 years left to Jubilee, the lease price was the value of 10,000 bushels of wheat. The lease ended at Jubilee. The owner didn't sell the land then get it back for free at Jubilee as socialists think. 

In a similar way, socialists get wrong debt forgiveness every seven years. New kings in the ancient Middle East often began their reigns with a surprise decree canceling all debts to buy the favor of those in debt at the expense of lenders. But such decrees work in the favor of debtors only when they surprise lenders. The Torah scheduled debt forgiveness every seven years. Since lenders knew the date, they wouldn't loan more than the borrower could repay in the remaining time to debt forgiveness. That protected enders from loaning too much and protected borrowers from borrowing too much. 

Scholars debate whether Israel practiced either. The historical evidence is sparse. If it didn't, that may be because the judges understood them to be part of the religious law that they left to God to enforce. According to Joseph Lifshitz in Judaism, Law & the Free Market: An Analysis, judges adjudicated only the civil laws, such as Thou shalt not steal and Thou shalt not commit murder. They left the moral and religious laws to God to enforce. After all, how could judges enforce the prohibition of coveting?

Judges understood that God had given government one job, to establish justice. That meant providing courts in which citizens could peacefully settle disputes and punishing criminals. Judges couldn't favor the poor. "You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly" (Leviticus 19:15.

Helping the poor in the Bible is always a free will act of believers that demonstrates obedience and love for God and neighbors. It loses all virtue when forced by the state. And it corrupts government because politicians use it to buy votes. Helping the poor is the church's job, not the state's.