Sabbatical year

A sabbatical year is a prolonged, typically one-year, hiatus in the career of an otherwise successful individual taken in order to fulfill some dream, e.g. writing a book or climbing Mount Everest. Some universities and other institutional employers of scientists, physicians and/or academicians offer a paid sabbatical as an employee benefit.

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The following is an article from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897. This article is written from a nineteenth century Christian viewpoint, and may not reflect modern opinions or recent discoveries in Biblical scholarship.

Sabbatical year - every seventh year, during which the land, according to the law of Moses, had to remain uncultivated (Lev. 25:2-7; comp. Ex. 23:10, 11, 12; Lev. 26:34, 35). Whatever grew of itself during that year was not for the owner of the land, but for the poor and the stranger and the beasts of the field. All debts, except those of foreigners, were to be remitted (Deut. 15:1-11). There is little notice of the observance of this year in Biblical history. It appears to have been much neglected (2 Chr. 36:20, 21).

From Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)