This will also help us understand the kind of society the Israelites orgainzed following their entry into Canaan. In peasant societies, the family is the central economic unit. Community life is organized around villages. Village leaders assume particular responsibilities. As we have seen in some of the examples, they do not view land as private property in the modern, Western sense.
Land is family property.
The broader community can impose obligations on its use. These includes help during personal crisis. These mutual assistance arrangements also provide a system for redistributing time, labor, money, and other resources, including food, among the community members. Social equality is considered normative. Although peasant societies tend to be very poor, they care for the needy, especially widows and orphans.