Exodus 21:1-11

Justice for Servants

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1“These are the ordinances that you are to set before them:

2If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free without paying anything.

3If he arrived alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrived with a wife, she is to leave with him.

4If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.

5But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children; I do not want to go free,’

6then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for life.

7And if a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as the menservants do.

8If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who had designated her for himself, he must allow her to be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he has broken faith with her.

9And if he chooses her for his son, he must deal with her as with a daughter.

10If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife.

11If, however, he does not provide her with these three things, she is free to go without monetary payment.

Berean Standard Bible

Read aloud

The LORD begins these ordinances with a Hebrew servant's release. After six years of service, he is to go free in the seventh without paying. If he entered with a wife, she leaves with him. But if the master gave him a wife during his service, she and their children remain with the master when he leaves.

That distinction is painful. We should not describe the arrangement as though every family can leave together. A servant who declares that he loves his master, wife, and children and does not want to leave can enter lifelong service. His ear is pierced at the door or doorpost after he is brought before the judges. The decision is formal and lasting, but it is made within conditions that constrain his options.

The next cases concern a daughter sold as a servant with marriage in view. If the master who designated her for himself rejects her, he must allow her redemption and cannot sell her to foreigners. If she is designated for his son, he must treat her as a daughter.

If another wife is taken, her food, clothing, and marital rights must not be reduced. If those duties are not met, she may go free without payment. The master's preference does not erase obligations to her.

These laws regulate servitude rather than abolishing it. They preserve difficult inequalities while also imposing real limits on those who hold power. Reading them faithfully means attending to both, especially to the people whose freedom and family life depend on another person's decisions. The Lord requires their claims to be heard.

Questions

1 When must a Hebrew servant be released without payment?

AnswerIn the seventh year, after six years of service. A wife who entered with him leaves with him.

2 What happens if the master gave him a wife during his service?

AnswerShe and their children remain with the master when the man leaves. This makes the choice about departure difficult and prevents us from describing every family as free to leave together.

3 What protection is given to the woman rejected by the master who designated her for himself?

AnswerHe must allow her to be redeemed and cannot sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her.

4 What happens if her food, clothing, and marital rights are withheld?

AnswerShe is free to go without payment. Taking another wife does not remove those obligations to her.

What This Means for Us

These are difficult laws, and we should not hide the restrictions faced by the people within them. Nor should we turn them into permission to control another person's freedom or family. Pay attention to the duties imposed on the person who has power, not only to what that person is allowed to receive.

In your own relationships, ask whether someone can raise a concern without losing necessary support. Make expectations clear, honor commitments, and allow access to trustworthy help. A person's dependence on you increases your responsibility to treat them faithfully.

Prayer

We pray: God of justice, teach us to see the person inside every position of dependence. Limit our use of power, protect freedom and family bonds, and make us trustworthy when another person must rely on us. Amen.

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