If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.
Parallel Translations
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If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.
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And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.
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If thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, he shall serve thee six years; and in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.
Cross-references (5)
Passages linked to Deuteronomy 15:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Jeremiah 34:14 At the end of seven years, every man of you shall release his brother who is a Hebrew, who has been sold to you, and has served you six years. You shall let him go free from you; but your fathers didn’t listen to me, and didn’t incline their ear.
- Exodus 21:2-6 “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free without paying anything. If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself. If he is married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. But if the servant shall plainly say, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I will not go out free;’ then his master shall bring him to God, and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him forever.
- Leviticus 25:39-41 “ ‘If your brother has grown poor among you, and sells himself to you, you shall not make him to serve as a slave. As a hired servant, and as a temporary resident, he shall be with you; he shall serve with you until the Year of Jubilee. Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and shall return to his own family, and to the possession of his fathers.
- Deuteronomy 15:1 At the end of every seven years, you shall cancel debts.
- John 8:35-36 A bondservant doesn’t live in the house forever. A son remains forever. If therefore the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Deu 15:12 [And] if thy brother, an Hebrew man,…
Deu 15:12 [And] if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.
Ver. 12. In the seventh year,] viz., Since he was sold unto thee.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain If thy brother be sold unto thee. See Poole…
If thy brother be sold unto thee. See Poole "Exo 22:3".
Six years; to be computed, either,
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1. From the year of release; as they gather from hence that personal and real debts were both released together. But that seems to be supposed rather than proved; nay, there is a manifest difference between them, for the release of real debts is expressly mentioned and required in the year of release, but so is not the release of the personal debt of servitude, either here or elsewhere. Or rather,
2. From the beginning of this servitude, which is every where limited unto the space of six years, as here and below, Deu 15:18; Exo 21:2; Jer 34:14. And it seems a strange and forced exposition, to take these six years for so much of the six years as remains until the year of release, which possibly might not be one quarter of a year, whereas a hired servant serves for a far longer time, and this is said to be worth a double-hired servant, in regard of the longer time of his service, Deu 15:18. Add to this, that it is mentioned as the peculiar privilege of the year of jubilee, that such servants were then freed, though their six years of service were not expired.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Here is, I. A repetition of the law that…
Here is, I. A repetition of the law that had been given concerning Hebrew servants who had sold themselves for servants, or were sold by their parents through extreme poverty, or were sold by the court of judgment for some crime committed. The law was, 1. That they should serve but six years, and in the seventh should go out free, Deu 15:12. Compare Exo 21:2. And, if the year of jubilee happened before they served out their time, that would be their discharge. God's Israel were a free people, and must not be compelled to perpetual slavery; thus are God's spiritual Israel called unto liberty. 2. That if, when their six years' service had expired, they had no mind to go out free, but would rather continue in service, as having less care, though taking more pains, than their masters, in this case they must lay themselves under an obligation to serve for ever, that is, for life, by having their ears bored to the door-posts, Deu 15:16, Deu 15:17. Compare Exo 21:6. If hereby a man disgraced himself with some, as of a mean and servile spirit, that had not a due sense of the honour and pleasure of liberty, yet, we may suppose, with others he got reputation, as of a quiet contented spirit, humble, and diligent, and loving, and not given to change.
II. Here is an addition to this law, requiring them to put some small stock into their servants' hands to set up with for themselves, when they sent them out of their service, Deu 15:13, Deu 15:14. It was to be supposed that they had nothing of their own, and that their friends had little or nothing for them, else they else they would have been redeemed before they were discharged by law; they had no wages for their service, and all they got by their labour was their masters', so that their liberty would do them little good, having nothing to begin the world with; therefore their masters are here commanded to furnish them liberally with corn and cattle. No certain measure is prescribed: that is left to the generosity of the master, who probably would have respect to the servant's merit and necessity; but the Jewish writers say, "He could not give less than the value of thirty shekels of silver, but as much more as he pleased" The maid-servants, though they were not to have their ears bored if they were disposed to stay, yet, if they went out free, they were to have a gratuity given them; for to this those words refer, Unto thy maid-servant thou shalt do likewise, Deu 15:17. The reasons for this are taken from the law of gratitude. They must do it, 1. In gratitude to God, who had not only brought them out of Egypt (Deu 15:15), but brought them out greatly enriched with the spoils of the Egyptians. Let them not send their servants out empty, for they were not sent empty out of the house of bondage. God's tender care of us and kindness to us oblige us to be careful of, and kind to, those that have a dependence upon us. Thus we must render according to the benefit done unto us. 2. In gratitude to their servants, Deu 15:18. "Grudge not to give him a little out of thy abundance, for he has been worth a double hired servant unto thee. The days of the hireling at most were but three years (Isa 16:14), but he has served thee six years, and, unlike the hired servant, without any wages." Masters and landlords ought to consider what need they have of, and what ease and advantage they have by, their servants and tenants, and should not only be just but kind to them. To these reasons it is added, as before in this chapter (Deu 15:4, Deu 15:6, Deu 15:10), The Lord they God shall bless thee. Then we may expect family blessings, the springs of family-prosperity, when we make conscience of our duty to our family-relations.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an…
And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee,.... By others, as by the sanhedrim for theft, for which a man might be sold, but not a woman, as Jarchi observes; but then a father might sell his daughter for an handmaid, if little and under age; and to such cases this law is supposed to refer; see Exo 21:2 though a man on account of poverty might sell himself:
and serve thee six years; as he was bound to do, if his master lived so long; if he died before the six years were out, he was obliged to serve his son, but not his daughter, nor his brother, nor his heirs, as the Jewish writers affirm (g): then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee; that is, at the end of the sixth, and beginning of the seventh year; see Exo 21:2.
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(g) Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Kiddushin. c. 1. sect. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain If thy brother be sold - Either by himself,…
If thy brother be sold - Either by himself, or his parents, or as a criminal. Six years - To be computed from the beginning of his servitude, which is everywhere limited to the space of six years.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Deu 15:12. If thy brother be sold — Either…
Deu 15:12. If thy brother be sold — Either by himself or his parents, or as a criminal. Six years — To be computed from the beginning of his servitude, which is everywhere limited to the space of six years.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Free. The Hebrews might sell themselves only to their…
Free. The Hebrews might sell themselves only to their own countrymen; and the judges might condemn those who had committed a theft, and had not wherewith to make restitution, to be sold to their brethren. See Exodus xxi. 2.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain HEBREW SERVANTS' FREEDOM. (Deu 15:12-19)
HEBREW SERVANTS' FREEDOM. (Deu 15:12-19)
if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee--The last extremity of an insolvent debtor, when his house or land was not sufficient to cancel his debt, was to be sold as a slave with his family (Lev 25:39; Kg2 4:1; Neh 5:1-13; Job 24:9; Mat 18:25). The term of servitude could not last beyond six years. They obtained their freedom either after six years from the time of their sale or before the end of the seventh year. At the year of jubilee, such slaves were emancipated even if their six years of service were not completed [see on Lev 25:39].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 12. In the seventh year thou shalt let him…
12. In the seventh year thou shalt let him go free — The seventh year was not of necessity the sabbatical year, but the seventh year from the beginning of his servitude. The humane features of the Hebrew law in respect to slavery was very marked. The slave was not only manumitted, but he was not allowed to go away in poverty.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 12. thy brother] See on Deu_15:2.
12. thy brother] See on Deu_15:2.
an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman] E, Exo_21:2, an Hebrew slave. In O.T. Hebrew is used either when foreigners are speaking of Israelites, or in order to distinguish Israelites from foreigners. Here the Heb. gives only the adj. masc. and fem., Hebrew and Hebrewess, without adding man (so Jer_34:9; Jer_34:14; cp. Gen_14:13, Abram the Hebrew and Gen_39:17 (J) the Hebrew slave). The fuller phrase Hebrew man occurs in J and E (Gen_39:14; Exo_2:11), also the plur. Hebrews (Gen_40:15; Exo_2:6; Exo_2:13, etc.). Fem. sing. only here and Jer_34:9, plur. in E (Exo_1:15, etc.). Not found in P. On the addition Hebrew woman, see Introd. § 3.
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be sold unto thee] Lev_25:39 A.V.: but the vb. equally means sell himself. E, Exo_21:2, has if thou buy.
and serve] more probably he shall serve (cp. Exo_21:2).
in the seventh year thou shalt let him go] send or dismiss him. Neither in E nor D is there any hint of this number being suggested by the weekly sabbath; this association first appears in H’s law of the seventh fallow year, Lev_25:2 ff.
free] the same adj. in Exo_21:2; Exo_21:5, and elsewhere of freedom from slavery.
12–18. The Year of Remission: (2) of Slaves
If a Hebrew, man or woman, serves as a slave for six years, in the seventh he shall not only go free but be liberally equipped from his owner’s property; as Israel was a slave and redeemed by God (Deu_15:12-15). If, however, the slave elects to remain with his owner because he loves him, then he shall be bound to his service for ever (Deu_15:16 f.). Nor must his emancipation seem hard to the owner: six years’ profit from a slave is double the hire of a hireling (Deu_15:18).—Sg. throughout. Whether there are any editorial additions is uncertain: the prevailing use of the masc. for slave seems to some to point to the phrase or an Hebrew woman (Deu_15:12; Deu_15:17 b) as such [Holzinger, Einleitung, 313, n. 1; cp. Steuern.).
The corresponding law in E, Exo_21:1-6 (see Driver’s notes), also directs the emancipation of a Hebrew bondman after six years’ service, does not mention bondwoman (for the slave-concubine he has a further law, Deu_15:7-11) but provides (as D does not) for the bondman’s wife: if he has entered service married he takes his wife out; if his master has given him a wife she and their children remain his master’s property; and to his love for his master E adds that for his wife and children as a motive for his electing to remain. The ceremony of binding him to the service is the same as in D with an addition (see on Deu_15:17). E does not provide equipment for the freed slave.
The law in Lev_25:39-55 (H expanded by P) deals with both the Hebrew and the foreign bondman. The former is not to serve as slave but as a hired servant, up to the year of jubile (when all land returns to its original owners), and then go free with his children to his own family and his father’s possession; nothing, therefore, is said of a provision for him from his master’s goods, nor of manumission in the seventh year. Thus practically no Israelite is to be a slave: one Israelite shall not rule over another with rigour. But slaves of foreign birth or from among the gçrîm are their purchaser’s possession for ever and heritable property. If a poor Hebrew sell himself to a foreigner, he may be redeemed by himself or his family, and a scale is fixed for his price, but if he be not redeemed by the year of jubile, he and his children shall then go free. Throughout nothing is said as to the bondman’s wife.
The gradation of these laws, though not so marked as in the case of some others, is sufficiently clear. E’s is the most primitive; D’s dependence on E is probable but not so evident as in other cases; it might be a different codification of the same consuetudinary law. Besides stating the law in his own phraseology (more particularly that of the Sg. address) and pleading motives for it which are characteristic of him (e.g. Deu_15:15; Deu_15:18), D has the equally characteristic addition about the equipment of the freed slave. Lev_25:39-55, with its addition upon Hebrew slaves sold to foreigners, reflects conditions which may sometimes have happened before the Exile, but were more prevalent only after it.
Besides, the postponement of the emancipation from the 7th year to that of the jubile seems to imply that E’s and D’s laws which fixed it for the former had been found impracticable; P (or H?) therefore prolongs the period of service, but compensates for this by commanding that the Hebrew slave shall be treated as a free man (Driver, Deut. 185). Calvin’s explanation—that the term jubile is extended to mean every seventh year; or that the slaves to be freed at the jubile were those who refused enfranchisement in the seventh year and being so fully in their owner’s power needed the Levitical directions for their humane treatment—is impossible.
On the neglect of the law see Jer_34:8 ff.; Neh_5:5.
Two other things need to be noted:—(1) The causes by which Israelites fell into slavery were mainly poverty and crime. A man unable to pay the mohar or purchase money for a bride might serve for her a term of years, like Jacob (Gen_29:18); a father might sell his children, especially his daughters (Exo_21:7), either for poverty or from the wish to connect his house with that of an influential neighbour; the insolvent debtor might be sold (2Ki_4:1; Amo_2:6; Amo_8:6; Neh_5:5; Neh_5:8), or, though not a debtor, might be driven by sheer want to sell himself (Lev_25:39); or a man might be sold for theft, which he could not make good (Exo_22:2 f.; Josephus, iv. Antt. viii. 2); and there were born slaves (Gen_14:14). Stealing and selling a slave was punishable by death (Exo_21:16). (2) The condition of slaves was good. The slave of an Israelite was a member of the family, who enjoyed its religious fellowship and took part in the rites and benefits of this, e.g. the Sabbath (Deu_5:12, Deu_12:18, Deu_16:11; Exo_23:12) and must therefore have been circumcised (P expressly commands this, Gen_17:12). He had sometimes great influence and authority in the household and might marry his master’s daughter, or even become his heir (Gen_15:2 ff; Gen_24:1 ff.; 1Sa_25:14 ff.; 1Ch_2:34 f.). Even the oldest law, though it considers slaves to be their master’s property (Exo_21:21; Exo_21:32), does not allow him to kill them (id. 20), and if he destroy the eye or tooth of a slave he must set him free (Exo_21:26 f.).
Similarly in Arabia to-day, where the condition of slaves well illustrates their condition in Israel and especially their religious standing. The treatment of course varies according to the character of the master, and in particular slaves seem less well-treated in the large towns. But on the whole the conditions of service in Arabia are good. Snouck-Hurgronje, Mekka, ii. 12 ff., 18 f.: ‘even the “slave of all work” has no hard time and all are members of the family they serve’: ‘take it all in all the condition of the Moslem slaves is one only technically different from that of the European servant and workman.’ Doughty (Ar. Des. i. 554): ‘the condition of a slave is always tolerable and often happy in Arabia; bred up as poor brothers of the sons of the household, they are a manner of God’s wards of the pious Mohammedan householder, who is ammy, the “eme” of their servitude and abûy “my father.” … The patrons who paid their price have adopted them into their households, the males are circumcised and—that which enfranchises their souls, even in the long passion of home-sickness—God has visited them in their mishap; they can say, “it was His grace” since they be thereby entered into the saving religion. This therefore they think is the better country where they are the Lord’s free men, etc.’ Musil (Ethn. Ber. 224): ‘Among the Ṣḥûr and Ḥwêṭât the slave is almost always married to a slave-girl and serves his lord, sleeps in his tent and accompanies him to war and on forays. Also he guards his flocks and enjoys almost perfect freedom; therefore only the very few run away. My escort, the slave ‘Abdallah, told me that he had several times visited his relatives in Egypt, but had always returned to his master, since it was better for him with the latter than at home.’ See further the notes below.
The Code of Ḫammurabi has this law (§ 117):—If a man owes a debt and he has given his wife, his son or his daughter [as hostage] for the money, or has handed some one over to work it off, the hostage shall do the work of the creditor’s house; but in the fourth year he shall set them free (C. H. W. Johns, Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, etc. 52).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (12) If thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an…
(12) If thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee.—This law is expressly referred to in Jer_34:9; Jer_34:13-14, as given in the time of the Exodus, and as applicable both to men and women. It first appears in Exo_21:2-11, where it occupies the first section of the Sinaitic code. There is no need to suppose that anything enacted here is contradictory to the Law as given there; but there are certain peculiarities about the case of the female slave which create exceptions. (See below on Deu_15:17.) Rashi notes two fresh points in the Law as given in Deuteronomy: one concerning the Hebrew woman (an Hebrew “or an Hebrewess”—Deu_15:12; Jer_34:9) and another concerning the “furnishing” (Deu_15:14).
(12) In the seventh year.—This is to be understood of the Sabbatical year whenever it came. It would rarely happen that the Hebrew slave would serve for the full period of six years.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 12-18. From injunctions regarding the treatment of the…
Vers. 12-18. From injunctions regarding the treatment of the poor and of debtors the transition is easy to the law concerning slaves, inasmuch as it was through the stress of poverty that any became such from among their brethren. The law, as here laid down, is the same as that in Exo_21:2-6, somewhat expanded; the most important addition being that the slave is not only to go free after six years of service, but is to be furnished by his master with the means of setting up a home for himself. The six years here specified are not to be confounded with the years ending at the sabbatical year; they are any six years during which the individual has been in bondage.
Vers. 12-18. The rights of the slaves.
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By some who are but slightly acquainted with the subject, and who have too strong an animus against the Old Book to deal fairly with it, it has been made a matter of complaint against our Lord and his apostles that they did not put down slavery with a strong hand. The same may be said of Moses. If, however, without prejudging the case, we reverently ask, Why was it that he, as a divinely commissioned legislator, tolerated the institution of slavery? we are but proposing a question which opens up a field for thoughtful study, and we shall not be left without a satisfactory answer. And in the answer which the facts will supply there will be contained a world of instructive teaching to the devout and thoughtful mind. (The student would do well to examine the articles of Michaelis on this subject.) Putting the case generally, so as to prepare the reader for the details which follow, we would say Moses found slavery existing; he permitted its continuance, but he placed the slave-holder under such restrictions that the slaves would become conscious of their rights as men and as brethren; he so limited slavery itself, that no Hebrew could be a slave for life, except of his own voluntary will; and in his elevated ethical code, he repeatedly insisted on the equality of men before God; thus dropping in men"s minds such seeds of truth that, when they germinated and brought fruit, the institution of slavery would cease, because the peoples would come to be educated out of it!
If now we briefly enumerate the several provisions connected with slaves and slave-holding, we shall see, in detail, the proof of the above general remark.
1. The Hebrew slave might be held for six years only; in the seventh he was to be permitted his freedom: excepting as provided in the eleventh detail.
2. There were other provisions, e.g. those connected with the year of jubilee, for ensuring the freedom of the slave, given in Leviticus
25.
3. Rigorous exaction and harshness were distinctly and sternly forbidden. (Lev_25:39-43) If these injunctions and the reasons for them are considered, it will be seen that Hebrew slavery was unlike any other that the world has known.
4. If a master by revengeful treatment inflicted serious bodily injury on the slave, such slave was to have his freedom. (Exo_21:26)
5. Undue punishment was avenged by the judges. (Exo_21:20, Exo_21:21)
6. The slave might acquire property of his own, and might even amass enough to buy his own freedom. (Le 25)
7. There were special decrees for the benefit of the slave. They were to be free from all manner of work on the Sabbath day. They had a right to fruit which grew spontaneously during the sabbatical year. They were to have their share of the feasts at the great national festivals.
8. If they accepted freedom at the end of the sixth year, they were not to be sent away empty, but were to be furnished by their master, liberally and gladly, with a sufficiency wherewith to "start on their own account.
9. The idea of freedom was ever kept before them. They might not sell themselves for life to any one. They were the Lord"s freemen, and they were not to pervert the Divine thought by becoming life-long bondmen. (Lev_25:42)
10. As the nation rose in intelligence, their laws became more and more liberal. Provisions which were intended at first only for the menservants, were extended, even in the lifetime of Moses, to the maidservants likewise. (Exo_21:7 and Deu_15:17)
11. If a slave did not accept his freedom when he might have it, he was to have his ears bored, that so he might bear about with him the brand that he had chosen servitude for life (vers. 16, 17). Surely the object of this apparently strange enactment was to create among the people a disrespect for self-chosen servitude, and so, silently yet powerfully, to lift them above it. And yet one more feature should be noted, viz.:
12. When a foreign slave escaped from his master, the moment he touched the Hebrews" soil he was a free man! (Deu_23:16) Surely no one can study all these details without seeing that the entire tendency of the Mosaic Law was to lift up the people, to advance their happiness, their freedom, their intelligence, and their mutual regard!
If now for a little we pass to the New Testament, to see how the apostles of Jesus Christ regarded and dealt with slaves and slavery, and what their teachings were on this subject, we find that very little is said. There is no denunciation of the institution, notwithstanding the very wide difference between slavery under the Hebrews and under the Greeks and Romans. But we find:
1. Rules for masters, demanding that they render unto their slaves, that which is just and equal, since even they, with all their power, are not irresponsible, but have themselves a Master in heaven, to whom the slave is as precious as his owner.
2. They taught at the same time loyalty and obedience on the part of the slave, and urged on him the duty of so serving an earthly master that, in the very act thereof, he should serve a heavenly one.
3. That both master and slave would receive from their common Lord a reward according to their measure of fidelity; "knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
4. They laid down afresh, in the name of the Lord Jesus, the old Mosaic law, that "there is no respect of persons with God;" thus teaching the equality of all men in the eye of him "who judgeth according to every man"s work.
Now, comparing the Old and New Testament treatment of slavery, what do we see? In the Old Testament a number of details which would work in the direction of freedom, and thoughts dropped which would bring slavery to an end. In the New Testament the details are not repeated.
1. Because, having been given once, repetition would have been of little service.
2. Because the apostles were not laying down laws for a commonwealth in the same sense that Moses was. But, though we have no repetition of details, we have
(1) such an inculcation of kindness on one side and of loyalty on the other, as, when mutually heeded, would make slavery cease to be slavery in all save the name; and
(2) such a clear enunciation of the truth, that in Christ there is neither bond nor free, that, when the power of this Divine impartiality was felt, slavery would ultimately cease both in fact and in name the wide world over!
Thus we see that the Divine Being in his infinite wisdom has seen fit to adopt a similar process under both the Jewish and Christian dispensations, viz. that of educating men by the power of truth and goodness up to such a level, that they voluntarily put down this or that social wrong, instead of thrusting it out at once by a violent hand. Had e.g. this wrong of slavery been forcibly put down, the spirit of enslaving would have still existed on one side, and an opening for unbridled lawlessness might have been created on the other. But by the Divine process, slower though it be, the master is lifted up above the level of the tyrant, the slave comes to be regarded as a man and a brother, and ultimately the last letter shall be snapped, and men brought unto the glorious liberty of the children of God!
Nor can we do justice to our theme unless we point out, for practical use and fervent exhortation, the spiritual significance of the whole.
I THE EQUALITY OF MEN BEFORE GOD. The Divine love and regard embrace all, The overshadowing wing of mercy covers all, and the free offers of mercy are made to all. (Isa_55:1-7)
II BECAUSE OF THE VALUE GOD SETS ON EVERY MAN, HE FORBIDS ANY MAN TO TAKE ANOTHER CAPTIVE, AND FORBIDS MAN SELLING HIMSELF INTO CAPTIVITY OF ANY KIND. "Ye are bought with a price; be ye not the slaves of men.
III WE ARE FREE FROM HUMAN FETTERS THAT WE MAY BE ABSOLUTELY FREE TO SERVE GOD. "As free, but not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness; but as the servants of God.
IV ABSOLUTE LOYALTY TO GOD IS THE SUREST AND BEST GUARANTEE OF FIDELITY TOWARDS MEN. Nothing would be wanting between master and servant now, if both were purely loyal to the Great Supreme. He who is bound by the vow of a holy consecration to serve a holy God, may be trusted with any department of human service.
V TO THIS OUR GOD WOULD WIN AND LEAD US, BY PATIENT TEACHING AND GRACIOUS TRAINING. It takes long to perfect a world or even a class.
Vers. 12-19. Bondmen.
No argument in favor of modern slave-holding can be drawn from Hebrew bend-service. The Hebrew bondmen, unlike modern slaves, were incorporated as part of the nation; had legal rights; took part in the religious feasts; if mutilated or injured, thereby obtained their freedom. On the sabbatic year the Hebrew bondman regained his freedom, going out, not simply free, but loaded with presents. We learn
I THE NATURAL RIGHT OF MAN TO HIS FREEDOM. (Vers. 12, 13.) Freedom is man"s birthright. It cannot be bartered. He must not be robbed of it by violence. If from temporary causes the use of it is lost, the right itself is not destroyed. So the Jews were taught by the return of every Hebrew to his freedom in the seventh year. It is a primary and unalienable right of man, which here, like underlying rock, juts to the surface.
II THE RIGHT OF SERVANTS TO EQUITABLE AND GENEROUS TREATMENT. (Vers. 13-16.) Bondmen were not to be regarded as mere "hands," still less as chattels. They were to be kindly treated, and dismissed with presents. It is a principle of equity which comes to light in ver. 18. We may apply it to modern times by saying that if servants are worth more to us than their wages, it is but fair that they should participate in profits. The principle is already being recognized, and has in it the germ of the solution of many difficult problems in political economy.
III THAT LOVE IS THE TRUE RECONCILER OF SERVICE AND FREEDOM. (Vers. 17, 18.) It made the service no service no real bond-service. Compare Jacob"s service for Rachel. (Gen_29:20) Were the law of love to rule more than it does in the relations of servants and masters, of employers and employed, it would greatly sweeten trade, commerce, manufactures, and domestic life. There are doubtless faults on the side of servants as well as of masters but how seldom is any earnest attempt made to break down feelings of antagonism, and to bring in healthier relations! The law of Christ is the true cure for strikes, lock-outs, combinations, etc. Apply to the service of God in Christ. Law here, but also love, and through the love freedom in obedience. The highest freedom is in obedience to the law of holiness. J.O.
Vers. 12-18. The freedom of the slave.
The seventh year was the year of personal release as well as release from debt. Slavery among the Jews was utterly unlike the slavery of modern times. It arose when a Jew became bankrupt; he might then sell his services to his creditor, and pay off his debt by honest work. But beyond sis years his service need not continue. As soon as the sabbatic year came round he could claim his liberty. In such. a case, his master is counseled to be generous when he goes, that he may have something with which to begin the world again. "Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy, floor, and out of the winepress of that wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him." On the other hand, if the service was so delightful to him that he would rather not leave, it was allowable to bore his ear through with an awl, that he might be recognized as a servant forever.
I LIBERTY IS RECOGNIZED IN GOD"S LAW AS EACH MAN"S RIGHT. It may be conditioned upon certain services, just as the liberty of Israel was conditioned upon God"s redemption of them from Egypt; but come at last it will. No property in persons is recognized, merely in services for a certain definite period. Man-stealing, as we know from Exo_21:16, was a capital crime, punishable with death, so that there is really no warrant in the Jewish institution for modern slavery. Under Jewish law no involuntary servitude was allowed; and there was always the right to freedom in the sabbatic year.
And is there not underlying this arrangement for each man"s liberty an undertone of gospel truth? What is the gospel but a great provision for conferring spiritual liberty upon those who have sold themselves to sin, and are in bondage? The present dispensation is, in fact, the sabbatic year, wherein liberty is preached to the captives. (Isa_61:1, Isa_61:2; Luk_4:17, Luk_4:18)
II FREEDOM WAS TO BE CONFERRED IN A SPIRIT OF GENEROUS JOY. The ransomed one was not to be sent out empty-handed, but furnished liberally. Emancipation was not to be given with a grudge, but to be granted with joy and love-tokens besides. It was not to be something in which the master reluctantly acquiesced, but in which he gladly co-operated. In fact, God"s joy in emancipating Israel from Egypt was to be the type of the joy of the Jewish master in liberating the slave.
And here again we have the type of the spiritual joy which the emancipation of souls should ensure in all who help therein. "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." When he "drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing". (Luk_15:10-25) No joy should be so deep as this of helping the slaves of sin to spiritual freedom.
III LOVE ALONE COULD MAKE SERVICE PERPETUAL. For it is supposable that sometimes a slave found himself so happy with his master, especially if the master had made him his son-in-law, (Exo_21:4, Exo_21:5) that he preferred slavery with love to liberty with separation. In such a case it was allowed him to have his car bored and to become a perpetual slave, because a son. Such a service was indeed perfect freedom, because its spirit and motive were devotedness and love.
And it is this which is taken in Psa_40:6 as the prophetic type of the relation of Jesus Christ to his Father. He became by voluntary and loving contract the Father"s Servant or Slave forever. He found his service such a delight that liberty and independence could not be thought of.
And in this we surely follow in his steps. We are the Lord"s slaves after having become the Lord"s freemen. He delivers us from the slavery of sin, and then he introduces us to his service; and lo, we find it so blessed that we insist on our ears being bored, and our being made his slaves forever. Now obedience is the slavery of love. When Law is delighted in, it is a "law of liberty," and the soul feels freedom perfect "under Law.
Anywhere with Jesus, says the Christian heart; Let him take me where he will, so we do not part; Always sitting at his feet, there"s no cause for fears; Anywhere with Jesus in this vale of tears.
Anywhere with Jesus, though he leadeth me Where the path is rough and long, where the dangers be; Though he taketh from me all I love below, Anywhere with Jesus will I gladly go.
Anywhere with Jesus, for it cannot be Dreary, dark, or desolate where he is with me; He will love me always, every need supply; Anywhere with Jesus, should I live or die. R.M.E.
Vers. 12-18. Slaves to be regarded as brethren.
Quiet revolutions are the most permanent and the most successful. Sudden and violent assaults upon social institutions are sure to provoke reaction. All great changes must commence in the thought and feeling of the people.
I SOCIAL USAGES, THOUGH EVIL, MUST BE TEMPORARILY TOLERATED. It is difficult to realize the conditions of human life in the earlier ages of the world. Many found a livelihood: by the use of the sword and by violent plunder. The honest poor found very precarious opportunities for labor. Coin was almost unknown, and therefore wages must be paid in the form of food and raiment. Amid these circumstances, personal servitude became almost a necessity. It was a social usage liable to great abuse, and gradually degenerated into a system of evil oppression. Yet, as God patiently tolerates on his earth so many forms of evil, and quietly provides his remedy, so we should learn, not to connive at evil, but patiently to endure it, until a real remedy can be set in motion.
II JEWISH SLAVERY WAS CURTAILED BY LIMITS OF TIME. In this way the back of the burden was broken. The bondage, which must terminate within a fixed period, was endurable. It inspired the oppressed with hope. It checked the violence of the oppressor. The slave-holder, if severely exacting, would earn an unenviable reputation, and every device would be resorted to by the emancipated to avoid that man"s service. His lands might remain untilled, his flocks neglected, his vineyards unpruned, because of his oppressive treatment of former slaves. Divine wisdom had fixed this short term of service as a barrier against human cruelty.
III JEWISH SLAVERY WAS FURTHER RELIEVED BY A SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY. It is possible to show a spirit of kindness everywhere. If we have an unpleasant duty to perform, firmness may be always tempered with kindness. God would not allow the Hebrews to deal with their bondmen on terms of mere justice. They were not permitted to extort all that was in the bond. To make the largest possible gain out of human flesh and blood was strictly prohibited. They might continue the usage of slavery for a time, but the system should be relieved and penetrated and embellished by acts of kindness. The day of release was not to be a day of mourning for the masters. They were to share in the gladness of the emancipated, to send them away laden with flocks and with fruit. In proportion as had been the industry and fidelity of the bondman, would be (unless his master were a brute) the bountiful reward. This new spirit of fraternal benevolence would speedily undermine and overthrow the old usage of slavery. Such is God"s process of change.
IV GENEROUS KINDNESS MIGHT SECURE THE LIFELONG SERVICE OF THE SLAVE. There was no necessity that the condition of the bondman should be one of hardship. Love might surmount all custom, rise above law, and transcend all considerations of gain. The spirit of religion can find its way down to the root of all wrong, eradicate all the evils that curse society, and make human life beautiful as heaven. In the very midst of slavery, it is possible for love to operate, to soften asperities, and lighten burdens. To this practical affection the hearts of slaves would soon respond. Their service would rise in quality, and would increase in indefinite measure. Kindness is a most remunerative investment. And at the close of the term of service, many a bondman would decline his freedom, and prefer the service of such a master for the possible drawbacks and risks of liberty.
V REMEMBRANCE OF OUR OWN OBLIGATION SHOULD MAKE US INDULGENT TO OTHERS. (Ver. 15.) If adversity has not made us tender-hearted, it has been wasted upon us. God has redeemed us from the bondage of sin, and redeemed us at costly price, and it is plain that we do not prize our redemption if we oppress others. The love of our heart, which God rightly claims for himself, he commands us to express in the form of practical kindness. God has identified his interests with the interests of humanity, so that we either promote both or neither. D.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Remember that thou wast a bondman.
Deu_15:12-18
Remember that thou wast a bondman.
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Remember
In an autobiography of William Jay we read that on one occasion he called to see the famous Mr. John Newton at Olney, and he observed that over the desk at which he was accustomed to compose his sermons he had written up in very large letters the following words: Remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee. To my mind this story invests the text with considerable interest; it was most fitting that such a remarkable convert as he should dwell upon such a theme, and place such a text conspicuously before his own eyes. Might it not with great propriety be placed in a similar position by each one of us? Mr. Newton lived and acted under the influence of the memory which the text commands, as was seen that very morning in his conversation with Mr. Jay. Sir, said Mr. Newton, I am glad to see you, for I have a letter just come from Bath, and you can perhaps assist me in the answer to it. Do you know anything of So-and-so (mentioning the name)? Mr. Jay replied that the man was an awful character, had once been a hearer of the Gospel, but had become a leader in every vice. But, sir, said Mr. Newton, he writes very penitently; and who can tell. Perhaps a change may have come over him. Well, said Mr. Jay, I can only say that if ever he should be converted I should despair of no one. And I, said Mr. Newton, never have despaired of anybody since I was converted myself. So, you see, as he thought of this poor sinner at Bath he was remembering that he also was a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord his God had redeemed him; and why should not the same redemption reach even to this notorious transgressor and save him? The memory of his own gracious change of heart and life gave him tenderness in dealing with the erring, and hopefulness with regard to their restoration.
I. First let us consider our bondage. It was exceedingly like the bondage of the children of Israel in Egypt.
1. First, when we were unregenerate, and sold under sin, we were enslaved to a mighty power against which we could not contend. If man had been capable of his own redemption there would never have descended from heaven the Divine Redeemer; but because the bondage was all too dire for man to set himself free, therefore the eternal Son of God came hither that He might save His people from their sins. The prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, held us beneath his iron sway, and sin exercised a tyrannical dominion over us, from which we could not break.
2. Our slavery had so degraded us that we had no heart to desire an escape. One of the worst points of slavery is, that it frequently degrades men into contentment with their condition. That would be thought by some to be a benefit, but it is a giant evil, for a man has no right to be satisfied in slavery. Such contentment is an ensign of debased manhood.
3. Remember, again, that you were in a bondage similar to that of Egypt, for while in that condition you toiled hard and found that all the service wherein Satan made you to serve was with rigour. The Israelites built treasure cities for Pharaoh, and they are supposed to have erected some of the pyramids; but their wage was very small, and their taskmasters were brutal. Could not many a sinner tell of horrible nights and woeful mornings, when under the power of his passions? Who hath woe? who hath redness of the eyes? who is filled with dread of death? who flees when no man pursueth? Of all tyrants, sin and Satan are the most cruel. If men were but in their senses, drunkenness, gambling, gluttony, wantonness, and many other vices would be rather punishments than pleasures, and yet they abide in them.
4. There was a time when, in addition to our hard toil, our bondage brought us misery. Do you not remember when you dared not think a days conduct over for the life of you? I recollect also when a sense of sin came over me; and then, indeed, my life was made bitter with hard bondage.
5. All this while our enemy was aiming at our destruction. This was what Pharaoh was driving at with Israel; he intended to cut off the nation by severe tasks, or at least to reduce its strength. As his first policy did not succeed, he set about to destroy the male children; and even so Satan, when he has men under his power, labours by all means utterly to destroy them; for nothing short of this will satisfy him. Every hopeful thought he would drown in the river of despair, lest by any means the man should shake off his yoke. The total overthrow of the soul of man is the aim of the great enemy. What a mercy to have been redeemed out of the hand of the enemy!
6. And like Israel in Egypt, we were in the hands of a power that would not let us go, Your sins captivated you. Then came the reading of the Scriptures, or a mothers exhortation, or another earnest sermon, and again the voice was heard, Thus saith the Lord, let My people go You began to feel uneasy in your condition, and to venture somewhat into the border country, but you could not escape, the iron had entered into your soul, your heart was captive. Blessed was the day when the strong man armed that kept you as a man keeps his house was overcome by a stronger than he and cast out forever. Then Jesus took possession of your nature, never to leave it, but to hold His tenancy world without end. We were bondmen in Egypt, but the Lord our God redeemed us, and let His name be praised.
II. The blessed fact of our redemption: The Lord thy God redeemed thee. Here again there is a parallel.
1. He redeemed us first by price. Israel in Egypt was an unransomed nation. God claimed of that nation the firstborn to be His. That portion had been His claim from the first, and the law was afterwards carried out by the setting apart of the Levitical tribe to take the place of the firstborn; but Israel in Egypt had never set apart its firstborn at all, and was therefore an unredeemed people. How was all that indebtedness to be made up? The nation must be redeemed by a price, and that price was set forth by the symbol of a lamb which was killed, and roasted, and eaten, while the blood was smeared upon the lintel and the two side posts. You and I have been redeemed with blood (Rev_5:9; 1Pe_1:18).
2. But there would not have been a coming out of Egypt unless there had been a display of power as well as a payment of price, for with a high hand and an outstretched arm the Lord brought forth His people. Greater than Moses rod was Christs pierced hand. Our tyrant hath no more power to hold us in chains, for Christ hath vanquished him forever.
3. Another form of redemption was also seen by Israel, namely, in the power exerted over themselves. I think sufficient stress has never been laid upon this. That they should have been willing to come out of Egypt was no small thing,--universally willing, so that not a single person remained behind. Marvellous display of power this; and so we will tell it to the praise of God this day, that He made us willing to come out of the Egypt of our sin to which we were rooted; and making us willing, He made us able too; the power of the Spirit came upon us and the might of His grace overshadowed us, and we did arise and come to our Father. Let grace have all the glory. Shall I need to press upon you, then, to let your minds fly back to the time when you realised your redemption, and came up out of the land of Egypt?
(1) It was Divine interposition. The Lord thy God redeemed thee.
(2) And it was personally experienced, for The Lord thy God redeemed thee. It was a matter of clear consciousness to your own soul. Thou wast a bondman; thou didst know it and feel it: the Lord thy Cod redeemed thee, and thou didst know it and feel that also.
III. The influence which this double memory ought to have upon you.
1. We should naturally conclude, without any reference to Scripture, that if a Christian man kept always in mind his former and his present state it would render him humble. Thou wouldst have been in hell now if it had not been for sovereign grace; or if not there, perhaps thou wouldst have been among drunkards and swearers, and lewd men and women, or at least among the proud, self-righteous Pharisees. When thou art honoured of the Lord and happy in the full assurance of faith, still remember that thou wast a bondman, and walk humbly with thy God.
2. In the next place, be grateful. If you have not all the temporal mercies that you would desire, yet you have received the choicest of all mercies, liberty through Jesus Christ, therefore be cheerful, happy, and thankful.
3. Being grateful, be patient too. If you are suffering, or if sometimes your spirits are cast down, or if you are poor and despised, yet say to yourself, Why should I complain? My lot may seem hard, yet it is nothing in comparison with what it would have been if I had been left a prisoner in the land of Egypt. Thank God, I am no longer in bondage to my sins.
4. Next, be hopeful. What may you not yet become? It doth not yet appear what we shall be. You were a bondman, but grace has set you free. Who knows what the Lord may yet make of you?
5. Then be zealous. Here earnestness should find both fire and fuel; we were bondmen, but the Lord has redeemed us. What, then, can be too hard for us to undertake for His sake? John Newton persisted in preaching even when he was really incapable of it, for he said, What, shall the old African blasphemer leave off preaching Jesus Christ while there is breath in his body? No, never. He felt that he must continue to bear testimony, for our text was always before him, Remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee.
6. But now follow me while I show you the Lords own use of this remembrance; and the first text I shall quote will be found in chap. 5:14. You were a bondman. What would you have given for rest then? Now that the Lord has given you this hallowed day of rest, guard it sacredly. Rest in the Lord Jesus yourself, but endeavour to bring all your family into the same peace, that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. In chap.
7. we have another use of this remembrance. Here the chosen people are commanded to keep separate from the nations. They were not to intermarry with the Canaanites, nor make alliances with them. Israel was to be separated, even as Moses said, thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God. And the reason he gives in the eighth verse is this: the Lord redeemed thee out of the house of bondmen. Ah, if we are redeemed from among men, then as the specially blood-bought ones we are under solemn obligations to come out from the world and to be separate from it. In the eighth chapter redemption is used as an argument for obedience, and they are exhorted not to forget the laws and statutes of the Lord, and above all warned lest in the midst of prosperity their heart should be lifted up so as to forget the Lord their God, who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. The same argument runs through the eleventh chapter, and is a very clear one. We ought to render glad obedience to Him who has wrought us so great a deliverance. We find in the thirteenth chapter that the redemption from bondage is used as an argument for loyal attachment to the one and only God. Our own text is set in the following connection. If a man entered into forced servitude, or came under any bonds to his fellow man among the Jews, he could only be so held for six years, and on the seventh he was to go free. The Lords people should be considerate of those who are in their employment. The recollection of their own bondage should make them tender and kind to those who are in subservience to themselves, and never should a Christian man be ungenerous, illiberal, severe, churlish with his servant, or with any who are dependent upon him. There should be in a man redeemed with the blood of Christ something like nobility of soul and benevolence to his fellow men, and so even this stern book of law teaches us. I remind you that they were bound to keep the Passover because of their deliverance from Egypt as we find in the sixteenth chapter at the first verse. So let us also take heed unto ourselves that we keep all the statutes and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. Let us keep the ordinances as they were delivered unto us, and neither alter nor misplace them. Again, in the sixteenth chapter, verses 10 to 12, you have the great redemption used as an argument for liberality towards the cause of God: they were to give unto the Lord rejoicingly of that which the Lord had given to them. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which He hath given thee; and that because of the twelfth verse, Thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes. In the twenty-sixth chapter the same teaching is reduced to a set form, for they were there commanded to bring each one a basket of first fruits and offer it unto the Lord, saying, The Lord brought us forth out of Egypt, etc. Last of all, in the twenty-fourth chapter there remains one more lesson. We are there exhorted to be careful concerning the fatherless and the widow (Deu_24:17). A generous spirit was to be exhibited towards the poor. Be ye thoughtful of all your fellow men. You that have been redeemed with price, be ye tender-hearted, full of compassion, putting on bowels of mercy. In spiritual things take care that you never rake the corners of your fields. Do not rob the Gospel of its sweetness. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The release of bond-servants
In this ordinance we may see--
I. An encouraging emblem. It represents--
1. The redemption which God vouchsafes to His people.
2. The mercy which He exercises towards His redeemed.
II. An instructive lesson. We are to regard Gods mercies as--
1. A pattern for our imitation.
2. A notice for our exertion. (C. Simeon, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Release of Hebrew Servants
The Release of Hebrew Servants
v. 12. And if thy brother, an Hebrew man or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee and serve thee six years, then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. Exo 21:2-6. This was a form of serfdom, rather than slaver?, brought about by such a condition of poverty as to oblige a person to sell his services to his neighbor in order to live.
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v. 13. And when thou sendest him out free from thee, having given him his liberty in the seventh year as God commanded, thou shalt not let him go away empty;
v. 14. thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock and out of thy floor, of the grain of the threshing-floor, and out of thy winepress; of that wherewith the Lord, thy God, hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him, lay it upon him in rich measure, as the opening words say.
v. 15. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord, thy God, redeemed thee; therefore I command thee this thing today. The continual remembrance of the redemption out of the house of bondage was to produce in every Israelite disposition to practice kindness and liberality.
v. 16. And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee, because he loveth thee and thine house, the entire household, including, perhaps, his own family, because he is well with thee, being fully satisfied to stay with his master,
v. 17. then thou shalt take an awl and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant forever. And also unto thy maid-servant thou shalt do likewise. Cf Exo 21:5-6. This covered all the cases in which freedom might have been a hardship to the servant concerned, because the latter might have been unable to find employment elsewhere and would therefore once more have been reduced to extreme poverty.
v. 18. It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee, in case the servant desires his freedom; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee, for that was the result of his position in the household, where he was available for work at any time, day or night, in serving thee six years; and the Lord, thy God, shall bless thee in all that thou doest, as a reward for the kindness shown.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Moses continues speaking to the people of Israel.
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If your brother
Here "brother" means an Israelite in general, whether a male or female. AT: "If a fellow Israelite" or "If a fellow Hebrew" (See: When Masculine Words Include Women)
is sold to you
If a person could not repay their debts, they sometimes sold themselves into slavery to pay what they owed. This can be stated in active form. AT: "sell themselves to you" (See: Active or Passive)
six years
"6 years" (See: Numbers)
seventh year
"year 7." This "seventh" is the ordinal number for seven. (See: Ordinal Numbers)
you must not let him go empty-handed
A person who has no possessions to provide for himself or his family is spoken of as if his hands were empty. AT: "you must not let him leave without having anything to provide for himself and his family" (See: Metaphor)
liberally provide for him
"generously give to him"
translationWords
brother
Hebrew
servant
year
free
hand
flocks
thresh
winepress
bless
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 15:12 If a fellow Hebrew sells himself or herself…
15:12 If a fellow Hebrew sells himself or herself to be your servant: This arrangement allowed a debtor to work off financial obligations to a creditor. The limit of this arrangement was seven years (but see 15:16-17).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.