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.” ¹  But your ancestors did not obey me or pay any attention to me.

Yeremia 34:17

34:17 So I, the Lord, say: “You have not really obeyed me and granted freedom to your neighbor and fellow countryman. ²  Therefore, I will grant you freedom, the freedom ³  to die in war, or by starvation or disease. I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁴  I will make all the kingdoms of the earth horrified at what happens to you. ⁵ 

Keluaran 21:2-4

Hebrew Servants

21:2 ⁶ “If you buy ⁷  a Hebrew servant, ⁸  he is to serve you for six years, but in the seventh year he will go out free ⁹  without paying anything. ¹⁰  21:3 If he came ¹¹  in by himself ¹²  he will go out by himself; if he had ¹³  a wife when he came in, then his wife will go out with him. 21:4 If his master gave ¹⁴  him a wife, and she bore sons or daughters, the wife and the children will belong to her master, and he will go out by himself.

Keluaran 23:10-11

Sabbaths and Feasts

23:10 ¹⁵ “For six years ¹⁶  you are to sow your land and gather in its produce. 23:11 But in the seventh year ¹⁷  you must let it lie fallow and leave it alone so that the poor of your people may eat, and what they leave any animal in the field ¹⁸  may eat; you must do likewise with your vineyard and your olive grove.

Imamat 25:10

25:10 So you must consecrate the fiftieth year, ¹⁹  and you must proclaim a release ²⁰  in the land for all its inhabitants. That year will be your jubilee; ²¹  each one of you must return ²²  to his property and each one of you must return to his clan.

Imamat 25:39-46

25:39 “‘If your brother becomes impoverished with regard to you so that he sells himself to you, you must not subject him to slave service. ²³  25:40 He must be with you as a hired worker, as a resident foreigner; ²⁴  he must serve with you until the year of jubilee, 25:41 but then ²⁵  he may go free, ²⁶  he and his children with him, and may return to his family and to the property of his ancestors. ²⁷  25:42 Since they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt, they must not be sold in a slave sale. ²⁸  25:43 You must not rule over him harshly, ²⁹  but you must fear your God.

25:44 “‘As for your male and female slaves ³⁰  who may belong to you – you may buy male and female slaves from the nations all around you. ³¹  25:45 Also you may buy slaves ³²  from the children of the foreigners who reside with you, and from their families that are ³³  with you, whom they have fathered in your land, they may become your property. 25:46 You may give them as inheritance to your children after you to possess as property. You may enslave them perpetually. However, as for your brothers the Israelites, no man may rule over his brother harshly. ³⁴ 

Ulangan 15:12

Release of Debt Slaves

15:12 If your fellow Hebrew ³⁵  – whether male or female ³⁶  – is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you must let that servant ³⁷  go free. ³⁸ 

Nehemia 5:1-13

Nehemiah Intervenes on behalf of the Oppressed

5:1 Then there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their fellow Jews. ³⁹  5:2 There were those who said, “With our sons and daughters, we are many. We must obtain ⁴⁰  grain in order to eat and stay alive.” 5:3 There were others who said, “We are putting up our fields, our vineyards, and our houses as collateral in order to obtain grain during the famine.” 5:4 Then there were those who said, “We have borrowed money to pay our taxes to the king ⁴¹  on our fields and our vineyards. 5:5 And now, though we share the same flesh and blood as our fellow countrymen, ⁴²  and our children are just like their children, ⁴³  still we have found it necessary to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. ⁴⁴  Some of our daughters have been subjected to slavery, while we are powerless to help, ⁴⁵  since our fields and vineyards now belong to other people.” ⁴⁶ 

5:6 I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these complaints. ⁴⁷  5:7 I considered these things carefully ⁴⁸  and then registered a complaint with the wealthy ⁴⁹  and the officials. I said to them, “Each one of you is seizing the collateral ⁵⁰  from your own countrymen!” ⁵¹  Because of them I called for ⁵²  a great public assembly. 5:8 I said to them, “To the extent possible we have bought back our fellow Jews ⁵³  who had been sold to the Gentiles. But now you yourselves want to sell your own countrymen, ⁵⁴  so that we can then buy them back!” They were utterly silent, and could find nothing to say.

5:9 Then I ⁵⁵  said, “The thing that you are doing is wrong! ⁵⁶  Should you not conduct yourselves ⁵⁷  in the fear of our God in order to avoid the reproach of the Gentiles who are our enemies? 5:10 Even I and my relatives ⁵⁸  and my associates ⁵⁹  are lending them money and grain. But let us abandon this practice of seizing collateral! ⁶⁰  5:11 This very day return to them their fields, their vineyards, their olive trees, and their houses, along with the interest ⁶¹  that you are exacting from them on the money, the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil.”

5:12 They replied, “We will return these things, ⁶²  and we will no longer demand anything from them. We will do just as you say.” Then I called the priests and made the wealthy and the officials ⁶³  swear to do what had been promised. ⁶⁴  5:13 I also shook out my garment, ⁶⁵  and I said, “In this way may God shake out from his house and his property every person who does not carry out ⁶⁶  this matter. In this way may he be shaken out and emptied!” All the assembly replied, “So be it!” and they praised the LORD. Then the people did as they had promised. ⁶⁷ 

Yesaya 61:1

The Lord Will Rejuvenate His People

61:1 The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me,

because the Lord has chosen ⁶⁸  me. ⁶⁹ 

He has commissioned ⁷⁰  me to encourage ⁷¹  the poor,

to help ⁷²  the brokenhearted,

to decree the release of captives,

and the freeing of prisoners,

[34:14]  ¹ sn Compare Deut 15:12-18 for the complete statement of this law. Here only the first part of it is cited.

[34:17]  ² tn The Hebrew text has a compound object, the two terms of which have been synonyms in vv. 14, 15. G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, and T. G. Smothers (Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 189) make the interesting observation that these two terms (Heb “brother” and “neighbor”) emphasize the relationships that should have taken precedence over their being viewed as mere slaves.

[34:17]  ³ sn This is, of course, a metaphorical and ironical use of the term “to grant freedom to.” It is, however, a typical statement of the concept of talionic justice which is quite often operative in God’s judgments in the OT (cf., e.g., Obad 15).

[34:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[34:17]  ⁵ sn Compare Jer 15:4; 24:9; 29:18.

[21:2]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn The adverb חִנָּם (hinnam) means “gratis, free”; it is related to the verb “to be gracious, show favor” and the noun “grace.”

[21:3]  ¹¹ tn The tense is imperfect, but in the conditional clause it clearly refers to action that is anterior to the action in the next clause. Heb “if he comes in single, he goes out single,” that is, “if he came in single, he will go out single.”

[21:3]  ¹² tn Heb “with his back” meaning “alone.”

[21:3]  ¹³ tn The phrase says, “if he was the possessor of a wife”; the noun בַּעַל (ba’al) can mean “possessor” or “husband.” If there was a wife, she shared his fortunes or his servitude; if he entered with her, she would accompany him when he left.

[21:4]  ¹⁴ sn The slave would not have the right or the means to acquire a wife. Thus, the idea of the master’s “giving” him a wife is clear – the master would have to pay the bride price and make the provision. In this case, the wife and the children are actually the possession of the master unless the slave were to pay the bride price – but he is a slave because he got into debt. The law assumes that the master was better able to provide for this woman than the freed slave and that it was most important to keep the children with the mother.

[23:10]  ¹⁵ sn This section concerns religious duties of the people of God as they worship by giving thanks to God for their blessings. The principles here are: God requires his people to allow the poor to share in their bounty (10-11); God requires his people to provide times of rest and refreshment for those who labor for them (12); God requires allegiance to himself (13); God requires his people to come before him in gratitude and share their bounty (14-17); God requires that his people safeguard proper worship forms (18-19).

[23:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and six years”; this is an adverbial accusative telling how long they can work their land. The following references to years and days in vv. 10-12 function similarly.

[23:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and the seventh year”; an adverbial accusative with a disjunctive vav (ו).

[23:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “living thing/creature/beast of the field.” A general term for animals, usually wild animals, including predators (cf. v. 29; Gen 2:19-20; Lev 26:22; Deut 7:22; 1 Sam 17:46; Job 5:22-23; Ezek 29:5; 34:5).

[25:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the year of the fifty years,” or perhaps “the year, fifty years” (GKC 435 §134.o, note 2).

[25:10]  ²⁰ tn Cf. KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV “liberty”; TEV, CEV “freedom.” The characteristics of this “release” are detailed in the following verses. For substantial summaries and bibliography on the biblical and ancient Near Eastern material regarding such a “release” see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 427-34, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 270-74.

[25:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “A jubilee that shall be to you.” Although there has been some significant debate about the original meaning of the Hebrew word translated “jubilee” (יוֹבֵל, yovel; see the summary in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 434), the term most likely means “ram” and can refer also to a “ram’s horn.” The fiftieth year would, therefore, be called the “jubilee” because of the associated sounding of the “ram’s horn” (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 172, and the literature cited there).

[25:10]  ²² tn Heb “you [plural] shall return, a man.”

[25:39]  ²³ tn Heb “you shall not serve against him service of a slave.” A distinction is being made here between the status of slave and indentured servant.

[25:40]  ²⁴ tn See the note on Lev 25:6 above.

[25:41]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have adversative force here.

[25:41]  ²⁶ tn Heb “may go out from you.”

[25:41]  ²⁷ tn Heb “fathers.”

[25:42]  ²⁸ tn Or perhaps reflexive Niphal rather than passive, “they shall not sell themselves [as in] a slave sale.”

[25:43]  ²⁹ tn Heb “You shall not rule in him in violence”; cf. NASB “with severity”; NIV “ruthlessly.”

[25:44]  ³⁰ tn Heb “And your male slave and your female slave.” Smr has these as plural terms, “slaves,” not singular.

[25:44]  ³¹ tn Heb “ from the nations which surround you, from them you shall buy male slave and female slave.”

[25:45]  ³² tn The word “slaves” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied here.

[25:45]  ³³ tn Heb “family which is” (i.e., singular rather than plural).

[25:46]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and your brothers, the sons of Israel, a man in his brother you shall not rule in him in violence.”

[15:12]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ tn Heb “your brother, a Hebrew (male) or Hebrew (female).”

[15:12]  ³⁷ tn Heb “him.” The singular pronoun occurs throughout the passage.

[15:12]  ³⁸ tn The Hebrew text includes “from you.”

[5:1]  ³⁹ tn Heb “their brothers the Jews.”

[5:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “take” (so also in v. 3).

[5:4]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “for the tax of the king.”

[5:5]  ⁴² tn Heb “according to the flesh of our brothers is our flesh.”

[5:5]  ⁴³ tn Heb “like their children, our children.”

[5:5]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “to become slaves” (also later in this verse).

[5:5]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “there is not power for our hand.” The Hebrew expression used here is rather difficult.

[5:5]  ⁴⁶ 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).

[5:6]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “words.”

[5:7]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “my heart was advised upon me.”

[5:7]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “nobles.”

[5:7]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “taking a creditor’s debt.” The Hebrew noun מַשָּׁא (masha’) means “interest; debt” and probably refers to the collateral (pledge) collected by a creditor (HALOT 641-42 s.v.). This particular noun form appears only in Nehemiah (5:7, 10; 10:32); however, it is related to מַשָּׁאָה (masha’ah, “contractual loan; debt; collateral”) which appears elsewhere (Deut 24:10; Prov 22:26; cf. Neh 5:11). See the note on the word “people” at the end of v. 5. The BHS editors suggest emending the MT to מָשָׂא (masa’, “burden”), following several medieval Hebrew MSS; however, the result is not entirely clear: “you are bearing a burden, a man with his brothers.”

[5:7]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[5:7]  ⁵² tn Heb “I gave.”

[5:8]  ⁵³ tn Heb “our brothers, the Jews.”

[5:8]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “your brothers.”

[5:9]  ⁵⁵ tc The translation reads with the Qere and the ancient versions וָאוֹמַר (va’omar, “and I said”) rather than the MT Kethib, וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyo’mer, “and he said”).

[5:9]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “not good.” The statement “The thing…is not good” is an example of tapeinosis, a figurative expression which emphasizes the intended point (“The thing…is wrong!”) by negating its opposite.

[5:9]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “[should you not] walk.”

[5:10]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “brothers.”

[5:10]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “lads.”

[5:10]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “this debt.” This expression is a metonymy of association: “debt” refers to the seizure of the collateral of the debt.

[5:11]  ⁶¹ tc The MT reads וּמְאַת (umÿ’at, “and the hundredth”) which is somewhat enigmatic. The BHS editors suggest emending to וּמַשַּׁאת (umasha’t, “and the debt”) which refers to the interest or collateral (pledge) seized by a creditor (Deut 24:10; Prov 22:26; see HALOT 641-42 s.v. מַשָּׁא). The term מַשַּׁאת (masha’t) is related to the noun מָשָּׁא (masha’, “debt”) in 5:7, 10.

[5:12]  ⁶² tn The words “these things” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:12]  ⁶³ tn Heb “took an oath from them”; the referents (the wealthy and the officials, cf. v. 7) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:12]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “according to this word.”

[5:13]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “my bosom.”

[5:13]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “cause to stand.”

[5:13]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “according to this word.”

[61:1]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.

[61:1]  ⁶⁹ sn The speaker is not identified, but he is distinct from the Lord and from Zion’s suffering people. He possesses the divine spirit, is God’s spokesman, and is sent to release prisoners from bondage. The evidence suggests he is the Lord’s special servant, described earlier in the servant songs (see 42:1-4, 7; 49:2, 9; 50:4; see also 51:16).

[61:1]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”

[61:1]  ⁷¹ tn Or “proclaim good news to.”

[61:1]  ⁷² tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”