The Bitter Fruit of a Soul Sold Away

There is a word spoken only once in all the Holy Scriptures, a single utterance that carries the weight of a covenant betrayed. That word is mimkereth, a feminine noun that appears but one time in the Tanakh. Yet in that solitary occurrence, it reveals a transaction so profound that it echoes through the generations. The word itself derives from mimkar, meaning "a sale" or "that which is sold," and its root reaches back to the verb makar—to hand over, to deliver, to sell. When you hear mimkereth, you are not hearing about a casual exchange of goods. You are hearing about a soul that has been priced and traded, a life that has been marked with the stamp of a transaction.

The Paleo-Hebrew Picture: A Hand Releasing Its Grip

In the ancient script, the letters of mimkereth paint a vivid image. The mem speaks of waters, chaotic and deep, but also of the flow of life. The kaf is the open palm, the hand that gives or receives. The resh is the head, the seat of intention and will. Together, these letters form a picture of a head that has opened its hand to let something go—a deliberate release, a willful surrender of what was once held dear. The sages of old taught that every sale in Scripture carries a spiritual weight, for when you sell something, you are not merely exchanging property; you are declaring that thing no longer belongs to you. Mimkereth takes this truth and presses it into the human soul. It is the word used when a person is sold as a slave, when their freedom is no longer their own. In Leviticus 25:42, the LORD declares, "For they are My servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as mimkereth—as a sale of slaves." Here the word stands as a boundary, a divine prohibition against treating the children of Israel as mere chattel.

The First and Only: A Prohibition Woven into Redemption

This single usage of mimkereth appears in the context of the Jubilee, that great fiftieth year when liberty was proclaimed throughout the land. The LORD had just reminded His people that they were His servants, redeemed from the house of bondage. And then He speaks this word: they shall not be sold as mimkereth, as a common sale. Why does the Holy One insist on this distinction? Because the rabbis of old observed that a slave purchased from the nations could be held in perpetuity, passed down as an inheritance. But an Israelite could never be treated that way. They belonged to God, not to any human master. The word mimkereth marks the difference between a possession and a person. When you are a servant of the Most High, you cannot be sold like a field or a flock. Your soul carries the seal of the covenant. This is not merely a legal statute; it is a spiritual reality. The very word that describes a sale is used here to forbid the ultimate sale—the selling of a soul that has been bought by the blood of the Passover lamb.

From the Field of Possession to the Field of Blood

There is another thread woven through this word, a thread that connects the marketplace of men to the mystery of redemption. The prophet Jeremiah speaks of a field purchased with silver, a deed sealed and witnessed (Jeremiah 32:10-12). That transaction was a sign of hope, a declaration that houses and fields would again be bought in the land. But the word for that sale is not mimkereth—it is a different term, one that speaks of rightful purchase. Mimkereth carries a darker shade, the hue of a forced or forbidden transaction. It is the word that the ancient Hebrew writers would associate with Joseph, sold by his brothers for twenty pieces of silver (Genesis 37:28). Though the exact word differs, the root is the same: makar. Joseph was sold, and that sale became the means by which God preserved a remnant. The betrayal of a brother became the seed of salvation. The early church understood this pattern, seeing in Joseph a shadow of the One who would be sold for thirty pieces of silver, handed over by a friend, and yet through that transaction bring deliverance to the world.

The Gematria of 700: The Fullness of Completion

The Holy One does nothing without number and measure. The gematria of mimkereth is 700, a number that speaks of perfection multiplied by covenant. The number seven is the number of completion, the Sabbath rest, the fullness of divine order. Seven hundred is seven multiplied by one hundred—a hundred being the number of the congregation, the fullness of the children of Israel. Jewish tradition holds that the number 700 appears in the lifespan of the patriarchs and in the measurements of the Tabernacle, always pointing to a completed work. What words share this value? The ancient sages noted that the word for "the secret" or "the mystery" in certain forms carries the same numerical weight. And here is the mystery: that which was sold as a slave, that which was handed over for silver, becomes the very means by which the fullness of redemption is accomplished. The number 700 whispers that the sale of a soul is not the final word. The completion of the work is coming.

The Messianic Transaction: Sold That We Might Be Free

And now we come to the One who fulfills every shadow. Yeshua, the Messiah, was sold. The Gospels record that Judas Iscariot bargained for thirty pieces of silver, and from that moment, the Son of Man was handed over—makar in the Greek tongue, but the root is the same. He was sold as a slave, led to the cross, stripped of His garments, and numbered with the transgressors. Yet in that sale, a greater purchase was accomplished. The apostolic tradition teaches that we were bought with a price, not with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of the Lamb (1 Peter 1:18-19). The very word that forbade the sale of an Israelite as mimkereth becomes the word that describes the voluntary surrender of the Messiah. He was not taken against His will; He laid down His life. And because He was sold, we are set free. The Tabernacle of old had a curtain woven with cherubim, a veil that separated the holy from the most holy. That veil was torn when the final price was paid. The sale of the Lamb became the redemption of the world.

The Field of Your Heart: What Have You Sold?

Now I must speak to you directly, dear reader. The word mimkereth appears only once in the Scriptures, but it stands as a question for your soul. Have you sold yourself? Have you traded your birthright for a bowl of stew, your freedom for a fleeting pleasure, your covenant for a moment of ease? The rabbis of old taught that every person has a yetzer, an inclination, that whispers that the sale is worth it. But the voice of the LORD thunders through Leviticus: "You shall not be sold as a slave." You belong to the King of the universe. You were bought with the blood of the Messiah. No transaction of this world can undo that purchase. When the enemy comes to you with his silver and his bargains, remember the word mimkereth. Remember that the Holy One has set His seal upon you. You are not a commodity. You are not a possession. You are a child of the covenant, and your soul is too precious to be priced by the marketplace of men. Let this single utterance of Scripture be a wall around your heart, a reminder that the One who sold Himself for you has made you His own forever.