Welcome to my Hebrew reading & language series.

Exodus 21:1-6

Welcome to chapter 21 ! The chapter numbers were added when the Bible was translated and put into English (plus other languages). For that reason, we find ourselves at a chapter break while in the middle of the Ten Commandments. Today the topic is Buying Slaves.

We have to revisit two topics before going into this section of the Commandments.

• Servants
  There is no word in Hebrew for "Slave."
• Loans
  If someone needed money, they could sell the servitude of a relative. It could be that a guy wants to buy a house, so he sells himself into servitude and invests the money to earn interest. He could buy the house when he gets out. (see six year rule below).

Everything in the Hebrew uses the word for 'servant' and 'serve' which, at some point, was translated 'slave'. In my opinion, that has more to say about the people who translated the text than the times of the day of Moshe (Moses).

Today's Hebrew text, in summary, says that when you buy a servant, he shall serve for six years and in the seventh year, he shall go for free (and) for nothing. One body in, one body goes out. If his wife comes in with him, she goes out with him.

If the master gives him a wife and she bears children, the wife and children are the Master's. He shall go out alone. If he expresses love for his master, his wife, and his children, him not wanting to go out free, the master will bring him to Elohim and to the doorpost. V'ra-Tsah (and he shall pierce) his ear va-mar' Tsay-ah (with an awl)

There will be more rules next week to specify other situations related to people being sold as servants. So far I see Elohim not wanting to separate families and especially mothers and their children. If the man passes up freedom in that seventh years, he has to get his ear pierced and he will serve for free and stay with his wife and kids.

So, as I said at the top, we are in the middle of the giving of the Ten Commandments and we are getting rules for buying servants -- and incidentally -- this is not mentioned in the Ten Commandments of the Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, or other standard Christian churches.

We left off numbering the 613 commands of the Torah at 14 last week. We can add...
15 ) When you buy a servant, he serves for six years and is to go free. plus all stipulations included.

But if every order from The Almighty is to be counted, we would continue from 17 and add...

• if the wife comes in with him...
• if the master gives him a wife, she and the children are his...
• he can decide to stay...
• but he must profess love for the master, wife, and his kids...
• he has to have his ear pierced...
• and must serve the master for eternity.

Our account of General /topical commandments is then 15
and our Strict /detailed list is at 23

Sometimes I wonder if today's Hebrew sons of Y'acov (Jacob) have a book somewhere with 613 underlined commands.

Today's Reading

English

"Now these are the rules that I you shall set before them. When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in 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 alone. But if the slave plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,' then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.

Hebrew

Next week, more detail on servants...

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Thanks for reading.

Shabbat Shalom