◄ Exodus 21:2 ►
If 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.
Study Bible
If you buy
The phrase "If you buy" introduces a conditional law regarding the purchase of a Hebrew servant. The Hebrew word used here is "קָנָה" (qanah), which means to acquire or purchase. In the ancient Near Eastern context, this was a common practice, often due to economic hardship. The law provided a framework for servitude that was distinct from slavery as understood in other cultures, emphasizing a temporary and regulated service rather than permanent ownership.

a Hebrew servant
The term "Hebrew servant" refers specifically to an Israelite who has sold themselves into servitude, often due to debt or poverty. The Hebrew word "עִבְרִי" (ivri) denotes a member of the Hebrew people, emphasizing the familial and covenantal relationship among the Israelites. This servitude was not meant to be dehumanizing but rather a means of economic recovery and social stability within the community.

he is to serve you
The phrase "he is to serve you" indicates the nature of the relationship between the servant and the master. The Hebrew word "עָבַד" (avad) means to work or serve, suggesting a role of labor and responsibility. This service was to be conducted with dignity and respect, reflecting the broader biblical principle of loving one's neighbor and treating others as one would wish to be treated.

for six years
The specification "for six years" sets a clear limit on the duration of servitude. This time frame reflects the biblical pattern of work and rest, paralleling the six days of labor followed by the Sabbath rest. It underscores the temporary nature of the servitude and the anticipation of release and restoration, aligning with God's rhythm of creation and redemption.

but in the seventh year
The phrase "but in the seventh year" introduces a significant transition, echoing the biblical theme of the Sabbath year, a time of release and renewal. The number seven in Hebrew culture symbolizes completion and perfection, pointing to God's design for freedom and restoration. This provision ensured that servitude did not become a perpetual state, but rather a temporary condition with a hopeful conclusion.

he shall go free
The declaration "he shall go free" is a powerful statement of liberation and justice. The Hebrew word "חָפְשִׁי" (chofshi) means free or released, signifying the servant's return to autonomy and full participation in the community. This release reflects God's heart for freedom and dignity for all His people, reminding the Israelites of their own deliverance from Egypt and their call to embody God's justice and mercy.

without paying anything
The phrase "without paying anything" emphasizes the grace and generosity inherent in this law. The servant's release was not contingent upon further payment or obligation, highlighting the principle of unmerited favor. This provision mirrors the biblical theme of grace, where God's people are called to extend the same mercy and kindness they have received from Him, fostering a community marked by compassion and equity.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Hebrew Servant
A fellow Israelite who, due to poverty or debt, sells himself into servitude. This was a common practice in ancient Israel as a means of survival or debt repayment.

2. Six Years of Service
The period during which the Hebrew servant is obligated to serve his master. This reflects a structured and limited time of servitude, emphasizing the temporary nature of this arrangement.

3. Seventh Year
The year of release, symbolizing freedom and restoration. This reflects the broader biblical principle of Sabbath rest and liberation.

4. Israelite Society
The cultural and legal context in which these laws were given, reflecting God's covenant relationship with His people and His concern for justice and mercy.

5. Mosaic Law
The body of laws given to Moses on Mount Sinai, which includes civil, ceremonial, and moral laws for the Israelites.
Teaching Points
God's Concern for Justice and Mercy
The law reflects God's heart for justice and mercy, ensuring that servitude is not perpetual and that individuals are restored to freedom.

The Principle of Rest and Release
The seventh year of release mirrors the Sabbath principle, reminding us of the importance of rest and renewal in our lives.

Freedom in Christ
Just as the Hebrew servant is set free, believers are reminded of the spiritual freedom they have in Christ, who liberates us from the bondage of sin.

Generosity and Compassion
The release of servants calls us to practice generosity and compassion, ensuring that we treat others with dignity and respect.

Trust in God's Provision
The law encourages trust in God's provision, as releasing servants requires faith that God will provide for both the servant and the master.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the concept of a Hebrew servant's release after six years reflect God's character and His intentions for His people?

2. In what ways does the principle of the seventh year of release challenge our modern understanding of work and rest?

3. How can the practice of releasing Hebrew servants inform our approach to issues of debt and financial hardship today?

4. What parallels can we draw between the physical freedom of Hebrew servants and the spiritual freedom offered through Christ?

5. How can we apply the principles of generosity and compassion found in this passage to our relationships and communities today?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Leviticus 25
Discusses the Year of Jubilee, which expands on the concept of release and restoration, emphasizing God's provision and care for His people.

Deuteronomy 15
Provides further instructions on the release of Hebrew servants, highlighting the importance of generosity and compassion in the process.

Galatians 5
Speaks to the spiritual freedom believers have in Christ, drawing a parallel to the physical freedom granted to Hebrew servants.

Isaiah 61
Prophesies the coming of the Messiah who will proclaim liberty to the captives, reflecting the ultimate fulfillment of freedom in Christ.
Sermons
Regulations for the Treatment of SlavesD. Young Exodus 21:1-11
Attachment to a MasterGreat ThoughtsExodus 21:2-6
Love for a MasterH. O. Mackey.Exodus 21:2-6
Slavery and SovereigntyW. Burrows, B. A.Exodus 21:2-6
The Ear Bored with an AulSpurgeon, Charles HaddonExodus 21:2-6
Hebrew Bond-ServiceJ. Orr Exodus 21:2-12
People
Moses
Places
Mount Sinai
Topics
Anything, Bondman, Buy, Buyest, Depart, Free, Freeman, Hebrew, Money, Nothing, Nought, Paying, Payment, Servant, Serve, Seventh, Six, Slave
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Exodus 21:2

     1653   numbers, 6-10
     4978   year
     5242   buying and selling
     5483   punishment
     8242   ethics, personal

Exodus 21:2-6

     5358   judges
     7447   slavery, in OT
     8343   servanthood, in society

Exodus 21:2-11

     5504   rights

Exodus 21:2-14

     5378   law, OT

Library
The Development of the Earlier Old Testament Laws
[Sidenote: First the principle, and then the detailed laws] If the canon of the New Testament had remained open as long as did that of the Old, there is little doubt that it also would have contained many laws, legal precedents, and ecclesiastical histories. From the writings of the Church Fathers and the records of the Catholic Church it is possible to conjecture what these in general would have been. The early history of Christianity illustrates the universal fact that the broad principles are …
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

The Kinsman Redeemer
'After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him.'--LEV. xxv. 48. There are several of the institutions and precepts of the Mosaic legislation which, though not prophetic, nor typical, have yet remarkable correspondences with lofty Christian truth. They may be used as symbols, if only we remember that we are diverting them from their original purpose. How singularly these words lend themselves to the statement of the very central truths of Christianity--a slavery …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Non-Resistance
'Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39. But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.'--MATT. v. 38-42. The old law …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Discourse of the Building, Nature, Excellency, and Government of the House of God; with Counsels and Directions to the Inhabitants Thereof.
BY JOHN BUNYAN, OF BEDFORD. 'Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.'--Psalm 26:8 ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Beautiful in its simplicity is this treatise on the Church of Christ, by John Bunyan. He opens, with profound knowledge and eminent skill, all those portions of sacred writ which illustrate the nature, excellency, and government of the house of God, with the personal and relative duties of its inhabitants. It was originally published in …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Appeal to the Christian Women of the South
BY A.E. GRIMKE. "Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not within thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place: but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this. And Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer:--and so will I go in unto the king, …
Angelina Emily Grimke—An Appeal to the Christian Women of the South

The Doctrine of Non-Resistance to Evil by Force Has Been Professed by a Minority of Men from the Very Foundation of Christianity. Of the Book "What
CHAPTER I. THE DOCTRINE OF NON-RESISTANCE TO EVIL BY FORCE HAS BEEN PROFESSED BY A MINORITY OF MEN FROM THE VERY FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIANITY. Of the Book "What I Believe"--The Correspondence Evoked by it-- Letters from Quakers--Garrison's Declaration--Adin Ballou, his Works, his Catechism--Helchitsky's "Net of Faith"--The Attitude of the World to Works Elucidating Christ's Teaching--Dymond's Book "On War"--Musser's "Non-resistance Asserted"--Attitude of the Government in 1818 to Men who Refused to …
Leo Tolstoy—The Kingdom of God is within you

The Sermon on the Mount - the Kingdom of Christ and Rabbinic Teaching.
It was probably on one of those mountain-ranges, which stretch to the north of Capernaum, that Jesus had spent the night of lonely prayer, which preceded the designation of the twelve to the Apostolate. As the soft spring morning broke, He called up those who had learned to follow Him, and from among them chose the twelve, who were to be His Ambassadors and Representatives. [2500] [2501] But already the early light had guided the eager multitude which, from all parts, had come to the broad level …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Deputation from Jerusalem - the Three Sects of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes - Examination of their Distinctive Doctrines.
APART from the repulsively carnal form which it had taken, there is something absolutely sublime in the continuance and intensity of the Jewish expectation of the Messiah. It outlived not only the delay of long centuries, but the persecutions and scattering of the people; it continued under the disappointment of the Maccabees, the rule of a Herod, the administration of a corrupt and contemptible Priesthood, and, finally, the government of Rome as represented by a Pilate; nay, it grew in intensity …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Sixth Commandment
Thou shalt not kill.' Exod 20: 13. In this commandment is a sin forbidden, which is murder, Thou shalt not kill,' and a duty implied, which is, to preserve our own life, and the life of others. The sin forbidden is murder: Thou shalt not kill.' Here two things are to be understood, the not injuring another, nor ourselves. I. The not injuring another. [1] We must not injure another in his name. A good name is a precious balsam.' It is a great cruelty to murder a man in his name. We injure others in …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

That Deep Things Ought not to be Preached at all to Weak Souls.
But the preacher should know how to avoid drawing the mind of his hearer beyond its strength, lest, so to speak, the string of the soul, when stretched more than it can bear, should be broken. For all deep things should be covered up before a multitude of hearers, and scarcely opened to a few. For hence the Truth in person says, Who, thinkest thou, is the faithful and wise steward, whom his Lord has appointed over his household, to give them their measure of wheat in due season? (Luke xii. 42). …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

In Death and after Death
A sadder picture could scarcely be drawn than that of the dying Rabbi Jochanan ben Saccai, that "light of Israel" immediately before and after the destruction of the Temple, and for two years the president of the Sanhedrim. We read in the Talmud (Ber. 28 b) that, when his disciples came to see him on his death-bed, he burst into tears. To their astonished inquiry why he, "the light of Israel, the right pillar of the Temple, and its mighty hammer," betrayed such signs of fear, he replied: "If I were …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia.
Part I. History of the Councils. Reason why two Councils were called. Inconsistency and folly of calling any; and of the style of the Arian formularies; occasion of the Nicene Council; proceedings at Ariminum; Letter of the Council to Constantius; its decree. Proceedings at Seleucia; reflections on the conduct of the Arians. 1. Perhaps news has reached even yourselves concerning the Council, which is at this time the subject of general conversation; for letters both from the Emperor and the Prefects …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

The Section Chap. I. -iii.
The question which here above all engages our attention, and requires to be answered, is this: Whether that which is reported in these chapters did, or did not, actually and outwardly take place. The history of the inquiries connected with this question is found most fully in Marckius's "Diatribe de uxore fornicationum," Leyden, 1696, reprinted in the Commentary on the Minor Prophets by the same author. The various views may be divided into three classes. 1. It is maintained by very many interpreters, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Blessing of Jacob Upon Judah. (Gen. Xlix. 8-10. )
Ver. 8. "Judah, thou, thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; before thee shall bow down the sons of thy father. Ver. 9. A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey, my son, thou goest up; he stoopeth down, he coucheth as a lion, and as a full-grown lion, who shall rouse him up? Ver. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto Him the people shall adhere." Thus does dying Jacob, in announcing …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Exodus
The book of Exodus--so named in the Greek version from the march of Israel out of Egypt--opens upon a scene of oppression very different from the prosperity and triumph in which Genesis had closed. Israel is being cruelly crushed by the new dynasty which has arisen in Egypt (i.) and the story of the book is the story of her redemption. Ultimately it is Israel's God that is her redeemer, but He operates largely by human means; and the first step is the preparation of a deliverer, Moses, whose parentage, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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