Hebrew Slaves
Deuteronomy 15:12-18
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Deu.15.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- ימכר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- אחיך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- העברי: ADJ,m,sg,def
- או: CONJ
- העבריה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ועבדך: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs-2ms
- שש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שנים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ובשנה: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- השביעת: ADJ,ord,f,sg,def
- תשלחנו: VERB,qal,impf,2,pl
- חפשי: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- מעמך: PREP+PRON,2ms
Parallels
- Exodus 21:2 (verbal): Nearly identical legal formulation: a Hebrew servant serves six years and goes free in the seventh—close verbal parallel to Deut 15:12.
- Deuteronomy 15:13 (verbal): Immediate continuation of the same regulation: the released servant is not to be sent away empty-handed (ties directly to the seventh‑year release).
- Leviticus 25:39-41 (thematic): Addresses the status and release of impoverished Israelite servants and release at the year of Jubilee—shares the theme of limited servitude and eventual freedom.
- Deuteronomy 15:1-6 (structural): The broader sabbatical‑year legislation in which 15:12 is embedded—commands periodic release of debts and indentured servants and frames the social ethic behind the law.
- Jeremiah 34:8-22 (allusion): Prophetic denunciation that cites the law of releasing Hebrew slaves (the covenant to free them) and condemns Judah for breaking that obligation—explicitly invokes the practice of releasing servants.
Alternative generated candidates
- If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, sells himself or herself to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall send that person away free from you.
- If your fellow Hebrew, whether male or female, sells himself to you, he shall serve you six years; and in the seventh year you shall send him away free from you.
Deu.15.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכי: CONJ
- תשלחנו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- חפשי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מעמך: PREP+PRON,2ms
- לא: PART_NEG
- תשלחנו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- ריקם: ADV
Parallels
- Exodus 21:2 (verbal): Gives the basic regulation for a Hebrew servant’s release after six years — language about going out "free" (or "for nothing") parallels Deut 15:13's command about sending a servant away free.
- Deuteronomy 15:14-15 (structural): Immediate context: verses that specify what to give the departing servant (livestock, grain, wine) and repeat the motif of the LORD's graciousness; they complete and specify Deut 15:13's command.
- Leviticus 25:39-41 (thematic): Regulates the treatment of impoverished fellow Israelites who become servants and mandates their humane treatment and eventual release — shares the theme of protective provisions for Israelite servants.
- Jeremiah 34:8-22 (allusion): Jeremiah condemns Judah’s failure to uphold the covenantal release of Hebrew servants and recounts promises and punishments tied to that release, echoing the social and covenantal expectations behind Deut 15:13.
- Nehemiah 5:10-13 (thematic): Records a communal reform in which nobles restore fields, vineyards and freed their fellow Jews from servitude and debt — echoes Deut 15:13’s concern that released dependents not be sent away destitute.
Alternative generated candidates
- And when you send them away free from you, you shall not send them away empty-handed.
- And when you send him away free from you, you shall not send him away empty-handed.
Deu.15.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- העניק: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,sg
- תעניק: VERB,hiphil,impf,2,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- מצאנך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- ומגרנך: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- ומיקבך: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- ברכך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg,obj2ms
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- תתן: VERB,qal,imprf,2,_,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Deut 15:11 (verbal): Same chapter command to 'open your hand' to the poor/needy; provides the immediate instructional context for generous provision to those released or in need.
- Leviticus 25:35-38 (thematic): Law requiring support of poor/afflicted kinsmen—provision for their needs and protection from usury—parallels the social-ethical obligation to supply subsistence.
- Deut 24:19-22 (thematic): Gleaning-law ordering landowners to leave grain for the alien, fatherless and widow; both statutes institutionalize provision from one's harvest/produce for the vulnerable.
- Ruth 2:2-3, 2:15-16 (structural): Narrative enactment of the grain‑giving/gleaning practice: Ruth gathers in the fields and Boaz instructs his reapers to leave extra for her—concrete illustration of provision from harvest resources.
- Prov 19:17 (thematic): Ethical proverb linking generosity to the poor with divine favor ('he who is generous to the poor lends to the LORD'), echoing the theological motive behind giving provisions as in Deut 15:14.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall furnish them liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress; you shall give to them what the LORD your God has blessed you with.
- You shall surely give him from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress; of that with which the LORD your God has blessed you you shall give to him.
Deu.15.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וזכרת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- עבד: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- היית: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- מצרים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ויפדך: VERB,piel,impf,3,m,sg+PRON,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- על: PREP
- כן: ADV
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- מצוך: VERB,piel,part,1,sg,obj:2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הדבר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Deut 5:15 (verbal): Nearly identical wording in the Decalogue: commands remembrance of Israel's slavery in Egypt and God’s redemption as the basis for the command (same verbal formula).
- Deut 24:18 (verbal): Direct echo of the injunction to 'remember you were a slave in Egypt' used to ground fair treatment and legal protections for the vulnerable—same rhetorical move as Deut 15:15.
- Lev 25:42 (thematic): Leviticus ties the status of Israel as servants whom God brought out of Egypt to regulations about treating fellow Israelites (servitude, jubilee)—the redemption-from-Egypt motif grounds social obligations.
- Deut 10:19 (thematic): Commands love and fair treatment of the sojourner because Israel were sojourners in Egypt; parallels Deut 15:15’s appeal to past slavery/redemption as the moral rationale for compassionate conduct.
Alternative generated candidates
- And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this matter today.
- And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this matter today.
Deu.15.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- יאמר: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- אצא: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- מעמך: PREP+PRON,2ms
- כי: CONJ
- אהבך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg+obj,2,m,sg
- ואת: CONJ
- ביתך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- כי: CONJ
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- עמך: NOUN,m,sg,suff-2m
Parallels
- Exodus 21:5-6 (verbal): Gives the same provision for a Hebrew servant who declares love for his master and chooses to remain, including the ear‑piercing motif — close verbal and legal parallel.
- Deuteronomy 15:12-15 (structural): Immediate context setting out the law of release in the sixth year, the humane treatment of released servants, and the background for the verse's exception when a servant elects to stay.
- Deuteronomy 15:17 (structural): Direct continuation of v.16 describing the ritual of piercing the servant's ear as a sign that he will remain in service — the legal consequence of the voluntary declaration.
- Leviticus 25:39-43 (thematic): Addresses the status and treatment of impoverished Israelites who become servants and mandates humane treatment and eventual release (Jubilee), reflecting the broader legal concern with Israelite servitude.
- Jeremiah 34:14-16 (thematic): Prophetic reflection and critique concerning the release and re‑enslavement of Hebrew servants under covenant law, showing how the release statutes (like Deut 15) were applied and violated in practice.
Alternative generated candidates
- And if that person says to you, ‘I will not go out from you, because I love you and your house and it is good for me with you,’
- And it shall be, if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your house, for it is good for him to be with you,
Deu.15.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ולקחת: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- המרצע: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ונתתה: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- באזנו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- ובדלת: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- עבד: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואף: CONJ+ADV
- לאמתך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- תעשה: VERB,qal,imf,2,m,sg
- כן: ADV
Parallels
- Exodus 21:5-6 (verbal): Gives the same ritual: if a Hebrew servant declares he will remain, the master pierces his ear to the door and he becomes a servant forever — nearly identical legal wording and act.
- Exodus 21:7 (structural): Law concerning the sale of a daughter as a maidservant; related legal material on female servitude and the treatment/terms of household servants (connected to Deut.15:17's extension to the maidservant).
- Deuteronomy 15:12-15 (structural): Immediate context: rules for releasing Hebrew servants in the seventh year and the case where a servant voluntarily chooses to remain — verse 17 gives the ceremonial sign for that voluntary, permanent status.
- Leviticus 25:39-46 (thematic): Regulates Israelite servitude and distinguishes between Israelite servants (to be treated as hired workers) and foreign slaves (may be held permanently) — parallels concerns about duration and status of servitude.
- Jeremiah 34:8-11 (thematic): Narrates a covenant to free Hebrew slaves and the people's failure to keep it; thematically linked to laws about releasing servants and the social/ethical obligations surrounding servitude and freedom.
Alternative generated candidates
- then you shall take an awl and thrust it through their ear into the door, and that person shall be your servant forever; you shall do the same for your maidservant.
- then you shall take an awl and put it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your bondservant forever; likewise you shall do to your female bondservant.
Deu.15.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- יקשה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בעינך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs,2ms
- בשלחך: PREP+VERB,qal,inf,2,m,sg
- אתו: PRON,3,m,sg,acc
- חפשי: ADJ,m,sg
- מעמך: PREP+PRON,2ms
- כי: CONJ
- משנה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שכר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שכיר: ADJ,m,sg
- עבדך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,ms
- שש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שנים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- וברכך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- תעשה: VERB,qal,imf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Exodus 21:2 (verbal): Same legal rule: an Israelite servant goes out free after six years (shared wording and legal framework about release in the seventh year).
- Exodus 21:5-6 (verbal): Provides the parallel provision for a servant who elects to remain with his master (ear‑piercing), closely related to Deut.15's treatment of voluntary lifelong service.
- Deuteronomy 15:12-15 (structural): Immediate context in the same chapter: commands not to send the servant away empty‑handed, to treat him generously, and the reminder of Israel’s own slavery in Egypt as the motive for mercy.
- Leviticus 25:39-43,46 (thematic): Laws on servitude and the treatment of poor kinsmen (and distinction with foreign slaves/Jubilee release) — a related legal tradition governing servitude and freedom.
- Jeremiah 34:8-22 (allusion): Prophetic narrative recalling the command to free Hebrew slaves and condemning Judah for reneging on that release — invokes Deut.15’s release obligation and its moral rationale.
Alternative generated candidates
- Do not be hard-hearted when you send them away free from you, for they have served you six years as a hired servant; and the LORD your God will bless you in all that you undertake.
- You must not be hard toward him when you send him away free from you; for he has served you six years as a hired worker, and the LORD your God will bless you in all that you do.
If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, sells himself to you, he shall serve you six years; and in the seventh year you shall send him away free from you.
When you send him away free from you, you shall not send him away empty-handed.
From your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress you shall give to him; you shall grant him generously what the LORD your God has blessed you with.
Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today. And if he says to you, 'I will not go out from you,' because he loves you and your house, and it is good for him with you,
then you shall take an awl and pierce his ear at the door, and he shall be your servant for life; and to your maidservant you shall do likewise.
You shall not be harsh in letting him go free from you; for he has served you six years and has been to you the worth of hired labor — and the LORD your God will bless you in all that you do.