Deuteronomy 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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
brother	אָחִ֣יךָ 'a.Chi.kKha	H251	a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
man	הָֽעִבְרִ֗י ha.'iv.Ri	H5680	an Eberite (i.e. Hebrew) or descendant of Eber · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
woman	הָֽעִבְרִיָּ֔ה ha.'iv.ri.Yah	H5680	an Eberite (i.e. Hebrew) or descendant of Eber · definite article + noun, gentilic feminine singular absolute
sold	יִמָּכֵ֨ר yi.ma.Kher	H4376	to sell · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
serve	וַעֲבָֽדְךָ֖ va.'a.va.de.Kha	H5647	to work (in any sense) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
six	שֵׁ֣שׁ shesh	H8337	six (as an overplus beyond five or the fingers of the h… · noun, common both genders singular construct
years	שָׁנִ֑ים sha.Nim	H8141	a year (as a revolution of time) · noun, common masculine plural absolute
seventh	הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔ת ha.she.vi.'It	H7637	seventh · definite article + ordinal number, feminine singular absolute
year	וּבַשָּׁנָה֙ u.va.sha.Nah	H8141	a year (as a revolution of time) · conjunction + preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
go	תְּשַׁלְּחֶ֥נּוּ te.shal.le.Che.nu	H7971	to send away · verb, piel imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
free	חָפְשִׁ֖י cha.fe.Shi	H2670	exempt (from bondage · adjective, masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Jeremiah 34:14 At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years,…
Exodus 21:2-6 If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
Leviticus 25:39-41 And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:
Deuteronomy 15:1 At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.
John 8:35-36 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 15:12-18

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 rat…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 15:12

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].

John Gill on Deuteronomy 15:12

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 Exodus 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; tha…

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The Church Fathers

But if your Hebrew or Hebrew brother has been sold to you, he will serve you for six years, and in the seventh you will let him go free. The Lord has not wanted these purchased servants to be free the year of the remission, which all should observe the seventh year, but in the seventh year after the purchase, whatever this year.
— Augustine of Hippo, QUESTIONS ON DEUTERONOMY, Q. 22 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Debtor — Various regulations as to the relation between debtor and creditor are laid down in the Scriptures. (1.) The debtor was to deliver up as a pledge to the creditor what he could most easily dispense…
Freedom — The law of Moses pointed out the cases in which the servants of the Hebrews were to receive their freedom (Ex. 21:2-4, 7, 8; Lev. 25:39-42, 47-55; Deut. 15:12-18). Under the Roman law the “freeman”…
Hebrew — A name applied to the Israelites in Scripture only by one who is a foreigner (Gen. 39:14, 17; 41:12, etc.), or by the Israelites when they speak of themselves to foreigners (40:15; Ex. 1:19), or when…
Poor — The Mosaic legislation regarding the poor is specially important. (1.) They had the right of gleaning the fields (Lev. 19:9, 10; Deut. 24:19, 21). (2.) In the sabbatical year they were to have their…
Beneficence · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Feast Of Sabbatical Year, The · Enactments respecting: Release of all Hebrew servants — Enactments respecting: Release of all Hebrew servants
Fraternity · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Hebrew · .And his — .And his
Liberality · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Poor · DUTY TO — DUTY TO
Sabbatic Year · Israelite bondservants set free in — Israelite bondservants set free in
Servant

Deuteronomy 15:12

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 15:12-18

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 15:12

John Gill on Deuteronomy 15:12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Deuteronomy 15:12

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 15:12-18

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 15:12

John Gill on Deuteronomy 15:12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Deuteronomy 15:12-18

Keil & Delitzsch on Deuteronomy 15:12-14

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Deuteronomy 15:12

Rashi on Deuteronomy 15:12