Commentary - Exodus 21:1-11

Bird's-eye view

In this section of Exodus, we move from the foundational principles of the Ten Commandments to the practical, case-law application of those principles in the life of Israel. God is not an abstract philosopher; He is a king legislating for His people in the nitty-gritty of their daily lives. The first topic He addresses is that of "slavery," or more accurately, bond-service. This is immediately jarring to our modern, democratic sensibilities, and so we must be careful to read what the text actually says, and not what our cultural prejudices want it to say. The Mosaic law regarding servitude was a radical and humane departure from the brutal chattel slavery practiced by all the surrounding pagan nations. It was not a system based on race or kidnapping (which was a capital crime), but was rather a form of indentured servitude, usually entered into voluntarily as a way to pay off debts and escape poverty. This was God's safety net for the poor. The regulations here are designed to protect the servant, limit the master's authority, and provide a clear path back to freedom. The entire system is framed by the reality of redemption, culminating in a remarkable provision for the servant who, out of love, chooses to bind himself to his master permanently, a beautiful picture of our relationship to Christ.

The laws concerning female servants are likewise protective, preventing them from being treated as mere property. A daughter sold into servitude was not to be discarded like a male servant at the end of his term, but was to be treated with the dignity of a potential wife, either for the master or his son. Her essential rights, food, clothing, and conjugal affection, were guaranteed. If these were not provided, she was to be set free. Far from endorsing exploitation, these laws hedge in the institution of servitude with covenantal obligations, reflecting the character of a God who defends the vulnerable and whose service is perfect freedom.

Outline

Context In Exodus

Exodus 21 follows immediately on the heels of the giving of the Ten Commandments in chapter 20. This is crucial. The Ten Commandments are the summary principles of God's covenant with Israel. What follows, beginning here in chapter 21, is what is often called the "Book of the Covenant" (see Exod 24:7), which runs from 20:22 to 23:33. This section is the detailed case law that fleshes out what it means to love God and love your neighbor in the context of their agrarian society. It is not an exhaustive legal code covering every possibility, but rather a series of representative "judgments" or "ordinances" (mishpatim) that establish legal precedent and reveal the righteous character of God. The placement is intentional: first the great principles, then the specific applications. The first application deals with the most basic relationships in society, those between master and servant, demonstrating from the outset that God's law is concerned with justice for all, especially the lowly.

Key Issues

Not Your Professor's Slavery

We have to get this straight at the outset. When the Bible speaks of a "Hebrew slave," it is not talking about the race-based chattel slavery that was practiced in the American South. To confuse the two is a categorical error of the first order. The slavery of the antebellum South was a wicked man-stealing enterprise, built on the capital crime of kidnapping (Exod 21:16; 1 Tim 1:10), and it was a gross violation of God's law. What is described here in Exodus is a system of voluntary indenture. In a world with no bankruptcy laws or social safety nets, a man who fell into deep debt could sell his labor for a fixed period of time to pay it off. It was a merciful provision that kept him from starving and allowed him to work his way back to solvency. The master did not own the man; he owned the man's labor for a set time. The servant had legal rights, protections, and a guaranteed release date. The entire system was designed to lead to freedom. This was not chattel slavery; it was a glorified form of indentured servitude, regulated by God to protect the poor and needy. To read this passage as an endorsement of the kind of slavery our history books rightly condemn is to slander the Word of God.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 “Now these are the judgments which you are to set before them:

The Lord is speaking to Moses. After the thunder and lightning of Sinai, after the foundational Ten Words, comes the detailed work of building a society. These are the judgments, the ordinances, the case laws. God is not content to give abstract principles; He shows how they are to be worked out on the ground. Moses is to "set before them" these laws. They are not to be hidden away in some legal archive, but are to be publicly declared so that everyone, from the highest to the lowest, knows the rules of the game. Justice is to be open and known.

2 “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment.

The very first case law deals with protecting the most vulnerable. A "Hebrew slave" is a fellow covenant member who has fallen on hard times. The word "buy" here refers to buying his contract for labor, not his person. The term of service is strictly limited. Six years. This is a direct application of the Sabbath principle. Just as the land was to rest on the seventh year, so the debtor-servant was to be released. On the seventh year, he goes free, and he owes nothing further. His debt is canceled. This is a built-in jubilee, a regular reset button for the economy, preventing a permanent underclass from developing.

3 If he comes alone, he shall go out alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall go out with him.

The law protects the family unit. If a man entered servitude as a single man, he leaves as a single man. But if he was married when he became a servant, his master has no claim on his wife. The family he came in with, he leaves with. His wife's freedom is tied to his. A master could not use a man's debt as leverage to break up his marriage. This is a fundamental protection of the covenant of marriage, established by God at the beginning.

4 If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out alone.

This is a hard saying for us, but we must understand the context. If the master provides a wife for his servant (who would have been a female servant belonging to the master), that woman and her children remain part of the master's household. The servant entered alone, and his contract is now up. He is free to go. The woman and children were never part of his original household. This seems harsh, but it sets up the remarkable provision that follows. It creates a tension, a test of love. Where do this man's ultimate loyalties lie? With his own personal freedom, or with the new family God has given him within his master's house?

5-6 But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. Then his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.

Here is the gospel heart of the passage. The servant has a choice. He can walk away a free man, alone. Or, motivated by love, love for his master, love for his wife, love for his children, he can choose to become a bondservant for life. This is not a coerced decision. He must "plainly say" it. It is a public declaration of love and loyalty. The ceremony that follows is deeply symbolic. He is brought "to God" (or, to the judges who represent God) at the door of the house. His ear, the organ of hearing and obedience, is pierced against the doorpost. This is a permanent mark of his willing, loving submission. He is now bound to this house forever, not by debt, but by love. Is this not a picture of the Christian? We were slaves to sin, and Christ set us free. But having been freed, we look at our loving Master, and we say, "I love my Master! I will not go out free." We willingly have our ears pierced, becoming His bondservants forever. True freedom is found not in autonomy, but in joyful submission to the Lord Jesus.

7 “And if a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to go free as the male slaves do.

This sounds shocking, but the difference in the law is actually for the woman's protection and elevation. A man might sell his daughter into servitude out of extreme poverty. But this was not for general labor. This was a form of betrothal. She was being placed in a household with the expectation that she would eventually become a wife for the master or his son. Therefore, she is not simply to be cast out after six years like a hired hand. Her situation is more permanent and carries with it covenantal obligations on the part of the master.

8 If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people because of his treachery to her.

The master's authority is limited. If he had intended to take her as a wife but then changes his mind ("she is displeasing in his eyes"), he cannot treat her as mere property. He cannot sell her off, especially not to a foreigner outside the covenant community. That would be "treachery," a breaking of faith. He has a covenantal obligation to her because he has taken her under his roof with marital intent. His only option is to allow her family to redeem her, to buy back her contract. He must deal with her honorably.

9 And if he designates her for his son, he shall do to her according to the custom of daughters.

If the master betroths this young woman to his own son, his obligation is even clearer. He must treat her not as a servant, but as a daughter-in-law. She is to be fully incorporated into the family, with all the rights and privileges that come with that status. She is to be treated "according to the custom of daughters." Her status is elevated from servant to family.

10-11 If he takes for himself another woman, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights. And if he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.

This verse provides three foundational, non-negotiable rights for a wife, and applies them to this woman if the master (or his son) marries her and then takes another wife as well. Polygamy was tolerated in the Old Testament, but it was regulated. A husband could not neglect his first wife in favor of a new one. He still owed her three basic things: food, clothing, and conjugal rights. These represent sustenance, provision, and intimate companionship. They are the bedrock of a husband's duty. If the master fails to provide these three essential things, he forfeits all claim to her. She goes free, immediately, and he gets no money back. This is a powerful protection for women, ensuring that they are not brought into a household only to be used and then discarded.

Application

These ancient laws, which seem so foreign to us, are dripping with gospel truth. First, they teach us that God cares about economic justice. He hates oppression and has built protections for the poor right into the fabric of His law. The sabbatical release is a constant reminder that all we have is ultimately from God, and we are not to build our fortunes by grinding the faces of the poor.

Second, we see a profound picture of our own redemption. We were all slaves, not to debt, but to sin. The price of our freedom was not something we could ever pay. But Jesus Christ, our kinsman-redeemer, paid the price in full with His own blood. He bought us, not for six years of service, but for eternity. And having been set free from sin's tyranny, we are now faced with a choice, like the servant at the doorpost. Will we take our "freedom" and walk away into the emptiness of autonomy? Or will we, out of overwhelming love for the Master who freed us, say, "I love my Master. I will not go out free." The Christian life is the life of the pierced-ear bondservant. We joyfully and willingly bind ourselves to Christ forever, because in His service we find our perfect freedom.

Finally, these laws about marriage and servitude remind us of Christ's love for His bride, the Church. He did not save us to treat us like hired hands. He saved us to make us His own bride. He provides for all our needs, our food, our clothing, and our intimate fellowship with Him. He will never neglect us for another. He has treated us according to the "custom of daughters," making us co-heirs with Himself. Our response should be one of loving, grateful, and permanent service to Him, our Master, our Husband, and our King.