Exodus 21:2

If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
buy	תִקְנֶה֙ tik.Neh	H7069	to erect · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
Hebrew	עִבְרִ֔י 'iv.Ri	H5680	an Eberite (i.e. Hebrew) or descendant of Eber · noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
servant	עֶ֣בֶד 'E.ved	H5650	a servant · noun, common masculine singular absolute
six	שֵׁ֥שׁ shesh	H8337	six (as an overplus beyond five or the fingers of the h… · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
years	שָׁנִ֖ים sha.Nim	H8141	a year (as a revolution of time) · noun, common masculine plural absolute
serve	יַעֲבֹ֑ד ya.'a.Vod	H5647	to work (in any sense) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
seventh	וּבַ֨שְּׁבִעִ֔ת u.Va.she.vi.'It	H7637	seventh · conjunction + preposition with the article + ordinal number, feminine singular absolute
out	יֵצֵ֥א ye.Tze'	H3318	to go (causatively · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
free	לַֽחָפְשִׁ֖י la.cha.fe.Shi	H2670	exempt (from bondage · preposition with the article + adjective, masculine singular absolute
nothing	חִנָּֽם chi.Nam	H2600	gratis · adverb

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

Deuteronomy 15:12-15 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…
Exodus 12:44 But every man’s servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.
Deuteronomy 15:18 It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee, in servi…
Exodus 22:3 If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be s…
Leviticus 25:39-45 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.
Deuteronomy 31:10 And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,
Nehemiah 5:1-5 And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 21:1-11

The first verse is the general title of the laws contained in this and the two following chapters, some of them relating to the religious worship of God, but most of them relating to matters between man and man. Their government being purely a Theocracy, that which in other states is to be settled by human prudence was directed among them by a divine appointment, so that the constitution of their government was peculiarly adapted to make them happy. These laws are called judgments, because they are framed in infinite wisdom and equity, and because their magistrates were to give judgment according to the people. In the doubtful cases that had hitherto occurred, Moses had particularly enquired…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 21:2

If thou buy an Hebrew servant--Every Israelite was free-born; but slavery was permitted under certain restrictions. An Hebrew might be made a slave through poverty, debt, or crime; but at the end of six years he was entitled to freedom, and his wife, if she had voluntarily shared his state of bondage, also obtained release. Should he, however, have married a female slave, she and the children, after the husband's liberation, remained the master's property; and if, through attachment to his family, the Hebrew chose to forfeit his privilege and abide as he was, a formal process was gone through in a public court, and a brand of servitude stamped on his ear (Psa 40:6) for life, or at least till…

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Adam Clarke on Exodus 21:2

If thou buy a Hebrew servant - Calmet enumerates six different ways in which a Hebrew might lose his liberty: 1. In extreme poverty they might sell their liberty. Lev 25:39 : If thy brother be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee, etc. 2. A father might sell his children. If a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant; see Exo 21:7. 3. Insolvent debtors became the slaves of their creditors. My husband is dead - and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen, Kg2 4:1. 4. A thief, if he had not money to pay the fine laid on him by the law, was to be sold for his profit whom he had robbed. If he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft; Exo 22:3, Exo 22:4. 5. A Hebrew…

The Church Fathers

We read that every Hebrew keeps the same Passover, and that in the seventh year every prisoner is set free, and that at Jubilee, that is, the fiftieth year, every possession returns to its owner. All this refers not to the present but to the future. For being in bondage during the six days of this world, on the seventh day, the true and eternal sabbath, we shall be free. If we wish to be free, we will be free even while still in bondage in the world. If, however, we do not desire it, our ear will be bored in token of our disobedience. We shall, with our wives and children, remain in perpetual slavery if we prefer the flesh and its works to liberty.
— Jerome, AGAINST JOVINIAN 2.25

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

Crucifixion — A common mode of punishment among heathen nations in early times. It is not certain whether it was known among the ancient Jews; probably it was not. The modes of capital punishment according to the…
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”…
Law of Moses — Is the whole body of the Mosaic legislation (1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:25; Ezra 3:2). It is called by way of eminence simply “the Law” (Heb. Torah, Deut. 1:5; 4:8, 44; 17:18, 19; 27:3, 8). As a written…
Loan — The Mosaic law required that when an Israelite needed to borrow, what he asked was to be freely lent to him, and no interest was to be charged, although interest might be taken of a foreigner (Ex.…
Slave — Jer. 2:14 (A.V.), but not there found in the original. In Rev. 18:13 the word “slaves” is the rendering of a Greek word meaning “bodies.” The Hebrew and Greek words for slave are usually rendered…
Creditor · LAWS CONCERNING — LAWS CONCERNING
Creditors · Often exacted debts: By selling the debtor or taking him for a servant — Often exacted debts: By selling the debtor or taking him for a servant
Debtor · LAWS CONCERNING — LAWS CONCERNING
Feast Of Sabbatical Year, The · Enactments respecting: Release of all Hebrew servants — Enactments respecting: Release of all Hebrew servants
Israel · .Al — .Al
Sabbatic Year · Israelite bondservants set free in — Israelite bondservants set free in

Exodus 21:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 21:1-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 21:2

Adam Clarke on Exodus 21:2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Exodus 21:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 21:1-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 21:2

Adam Clarke on Exodus 21:2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Exodus 21:2

John Calvin on Exodus 21:1-6

Keil & Delitzsch on Exodus 21:2

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Exodus 21:2

Rashi on Exodus 21:2