Keluaran 21:2

Hebrew Servants

21:2 ¹ “If you buy ²  a Hebrew servant, ³  he is to serve you for six years, but in the seventh year he will go out free ⁴  without paying anything. ⁵ 

Keluaran 22:3

22:3 If the sun has risen on him, then there is blood guilt for him. A thief ⁶  must surely make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he will be sold for his theft.

Ulangan 15:12

Release of Debt Slaves

15:12 If your fellow Hebrew ⁷  – whether male or female ⁸  – is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you must let that servant ⁹  go free. ¹⁰ 

Ulangan 15:1

Release for Debt Slaves

15:1 At the end of every seven years you must declare a cancellation ¹¹  of debts.

Kisah Para Rasul 9:22

9:22 But Saul became more and more capable, ¹²  and was causing consternation ¹³  among the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving ¹⁴  that Jesus ¹⁵  is the Christ. ¹⁶ 

Kisah Para Rasul 9:2

9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues ¹⁷  in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, ¹⁸  either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners ¹⁹  to Jerusalem. ²⁰ 

Kisah Para Rasul 4:1

The Arrest and Trial of Peter and John

4:1 While Peter and John ²¹  were speaking to the people, the priests and the commander ²²  of the temple guard ²³  and the Sadducees ²⁴  came up ²⁵  to them,

Nehemia 5:5

5:5 And now, though we share the same flesh and blood as our fellow countrymen, ²⁶  and our children are just like their children, ²⁷  still we have found it necessary to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. ²⁸  Some of our daughters have been subjected to slavery, while we are powerless to help, ²⁹  since our fields and vineyards now belong to other people.” ³⁰ 

Yeremia 34:14

34:14 “Every seven years each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you for six years, you shall set them free.” ³¹  But your ancestors did not obey me or pay any attention to me.

[21:2]  ¹ sn See H. L. Elleson, “The Hebrew Slave: A Study in Early Israelite Society,” EvQ 45 (1973): 30-35; N. P. Lemche, “The Manumission of Slaves – The Fallow Year – The Sabbatical Year – The Jobel Year,” VT 26 (1976): 38-59, and “The ‘Hebrew Slave,’ Comments on the Slave Law – Ex. 21:2-11,” VT 25 (1975): 129-44.

[21:2]  ² tn The verbs in both the conditional clause and the following ruling are imperfect tense: “If you buy…then he will serve.” The second imperfect tense (the ruling) could be taken either as a specific future or an obligatory imperfect. Gesenius explains how the verb works in the conditional clauses here (see GKC 497 §159.bb).

[21:2]  ³ sn The interpretation of “Hebrew” in this verse is uncertain: (l) a gentilic ending, (2) a fellow Israelite, (3) or a class of mercenaries of the population (see W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:431). It seems likely that the term describes someone born a Hebrew, as opposed to a foreigner (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 210). The literature on this includes: M. P. Gray, “The Habiru-Hebrew Problem,” HUCA 29 (1958): 135-202.

[21:2]  ⁴ sn The word חָפְשִׁי (khofshi) means “free.” It is possible that there is some connection between this word and a technical term used in other cultures for a social class of emancipated slaves who were freemen again (see I. Mendelsohn, “New Light on the Hupsu,” BASOR 139 [1955]: 9-11).

[21:2]  ⁵ tn The adverb חִנָּם (hinnam) means “gratis, free”; it is related to the verb “to be gracious, show favor” and the noun “grace.”

[22:3]  ⁶ tn The words “a thief” have been added for clarification. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 224) thinks that these lines are out of order, since some of them deal with killing the thief and then others with the thief making restitution, but rearranging the clauses is not a necessary way to bring clarity to the paragraph. The idea here would be that any thief caught alive would pay restitution.

[15:12]  ⁷ sn Elsewhere in the OT, the Israelites are called “Hebrews” (עִבְרִי, ’ivriy) by outsiders, rarely by themselves (cf. Gen 14:13; 39:14, 17; 41:12; Exod 1:15, 16, 19; 2:6, 7, 11, 13; 1 Sam 4:6; Jonah 1:9). Thus, here and in the parallel passage in Exod 21:2-6 the term עִבְרִי may designate non-Israelites, specifically a people well-known throughout the ancient Near East as ’apiru or habiru. They lived a rather vagabond lifestyle, frequently hiring themselves out as laborers or mercenary soldiers. While accounting nicely for the surprising use of the term here in an Israelite law code, the suggestion has against it the unlikelihood that a set of laws would address such a marginal people so specifically (as opposed to simply calling them aliens or the like). More likely עִבְרִי is chosen as a term to remind Israel that when they were “Hebrews,” that is, when they were in Egypt, they were slaves. Now that they are free they must not keep their fellow Israelites in economic bondage. See v. 15.

[15:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “your brother, a Hebrew (male) or Hebrew (female).”

[15:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “him.” The singular pronoun occurs throughout the passage.

[15:12]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text includes “from you.”

[15:1]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew term שְׁמִטָּת (shÿmittat), a derivative of the verb שָׁמַט (shamat, “to release; to relinquish”), refers to the cancellation of the debt and even pledges for the debt of a borrower by his creditor. This could be a full and final remission or, more likely, one for the seventh year only. See R. Wakely, NIDOTTE 4:155-60. Here the words “of debts” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied. Cf. NAB “a relaxation of debts”; NASB, NRSV “a remission of debts.”

[9:22]  ¹² tn Grk “was becoming stronger,” but this could be understood in a physical sense, while the text refers to Saul’s growing ability to demonstrate to fellow Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. The translation “to become capable” for ἐνδυναμόω (endunamow) is given in L&N 74.7, with this specific verse as an example.

[9:22]  ¹³ tn Or “was confounding.” For the translation “to cause consternation” for συγχέω (suncew) see L&N 25.221.

[9:22]  ¹⁴ tn Or “by showing for certain.”

[9:22]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “that this one”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:22]  ¹⁶ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” Note again the variation in the titles used.

[9:22]  sn See the note on Christ in 2:31.

[9:2]  ¹⁷ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[9:2]  ¹⁸ sn The expression “the way” in ancient religious literature refers at times to “the whole way of life fr. a moral and spiritual viewpoint” (BDAG 692 s.v. ὁδός 3.c), and it has been so used of Christianity and its teachings in the book of Acts (see also 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). It is a variation of Judaism’s idea of two ways, the true and the false, where “the Way” is the true one (1 En. 91:18; 2 En. 30:15).

[9:2]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “bring them bound”; the translation “bring someone as prisoner” for δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά (dedemenon agein tina) is given by BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b.

[9:2]  ²⁰ sn From Damascus to Jerusalem was a six-day journey. Christianity had now expanded into Syria.

[9:2]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “While they”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:1]  ²² tn Or “captain.”

[4:1]  ²³ tn Grk “the official of the temple,” a title for the commander of the Jewish soldiers guarding the temple (thus the translation, “the commander of the temple guard”). See L&N 37.91.

[4:1]  sn The commander of the temple guard was the title of the officer commanding the Jewish soldiers responsible for guarding and keeping order in the temple courts in Jerusalem.

[4:1]  ²⁴ sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 3:7; 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.

[4:1]  ²⁵ tn Or “approached.” This verb often denotes a sudden appearing (BDAG 418 s.v. ἐφίστημι 1).

[5:5]  ²⁶ tn Heb “according to the flesh of our brothers is our flesh.”

[5:5]  ²⁷ tn Heb “like their children, our children.”

[5:5]  ²⁸ tn Heb “to become slaves” (also later in this verse).

[5:5]  ²⁹ tn Heb “there is not power for our hand.” The Hebrew expression used here is rather difficult.

[5:5]  ³⁰ sn The poor among the returned exiles were being exploited by their rich countrymen. Moneylenders were loaning large amounts of money, and not only collecting interest on loans which was illegal (Lev 25:36-37; Deut 23:19-20), but also seizing pledges as collateral (Neh 5:3) which was allowed (Deut 24:10). When the debtors missed a payment, the moneylenders would seize their collateral: their fields, vineyards and homes. With no other means of income, the debtors were forced to sell their children into slavery, a common practice at this time (Neh 5:5). Nehemiah himself was one of the moneylenders (Neh 5:10), but he insisted that seizure of collateral from fellow Jewish countrymen was ethically wrong (Neh 5:9).

[34:14]  ³¹ sn Compare Deut 15:12-18 for the complete statement of this law. Here only the first part of it is cited.