Land Agreement: A Perfect Example In The Holy Bible (Deed of Conveyance)

By Leesi Ebenezer Mitee

Land Agreement (Deed of Conveyance)

Land agreement is an important issue that every person should know about. Land is one of the most precious and most valuable assets in the human society, right from the beginning of human civilisation. It is therefore absolutely necessary to sell or buy land in strict compliance with the applicable laws that regulate such transactions to ensure a proper sale and a safe acquisition.

This article is part of the information resources of the Nigerian Citizen Legal Education (Know Nigerian Law) Project published by this Nigerian Legal Research website. It presents what may well be a perfect example of land agreement which is usually in the form of a formal deed of conveyance between the seller and the buyer of land, as chronicled in the Holy Bible. Its relevance is based on the importance of historical developments in jurisprudence and the use of references to authoritative texts in legal scholarship, advocacy, and judicial analysis.

According to the Black’s Law Dictionary (Free Online Legal Dictionary edition), a “deed” may be defined as a “sealed instrument, containing a contract or covenant, delivered by the party to be bound thereby, and accepted by the party to whom the contract or covenant runs. A writing containing a contract sealed and delivered to the party thereto. . . . In its legal sense, a ‘deed’ is an instrument in writing, upon paper or parchment, between parties able to contract, subscribed, sealed, and delivered.”

Jeremiah 32:6-15 (New International Version, UK English, 1979)

⁶ Jeremiah said, ‘The word of the Lord came to me: ⁷ Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, “Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.”

⁸ ‘Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, “Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.”

‘I knew that this was the word of the Lord; ⁹ so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver. ¹⁰ I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales. ¹¹ I took the deed of purchase – the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy – ¹² and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

¹³ ‘In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: ¹⁴ “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so that they will last a long time. ¹⁵ For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”

Jeremiah 32:6-15 (King James Version, 1611 A.D.)

⁶ And Jeremiah said, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

⁷ Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.

⁸ So Hanameel mine uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the Lord, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.

⁹ And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle’s son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.

¹⁰ And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.

¹¹ So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open:

¹² And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.

¹³ And I charged Baruch before them, saying,

¹⁴ Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.

¹⁵ For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.

Editor’s Note

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Leesi Ebenezer Mitee