What is the meaning of Deuteronomy 15:13?

And when you release him

Deuteronomy 15 looks ahead to the seventh-year release of a Hebrew servant (see Exodus 21:2; Leviticus 25:39-41; Jeremiah 34:14). Release is not optional—it is commanded. God sets the timetable and expects obedience.

• The action is timely: “At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts” (Deuteronomy 15:1).

• The action is compassionate: God’s people mirror His redemption, freeing others just as He freed Israel from Egypt (Deuteronomy 15:15; Exodus 20:2).

• The action is a testimony: obedience declares trust that the Lord will provide for both master and servant afterward (Malachi 3:10; Matthew 6:33).

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do not send him away

Release is more than unlocking a door; it is active involvement in the servant’s future. Ignoring his needs would contradict both justice and love.

• Masters were warned against oppression (Deuteronomy 24:14; Colossians 4:1).

• The “Golden Rule” principle applies: treat others as you would want to be treated (Luke 6:31).

• Real faith expresses itself through tangible deeds, not empty words (James 2:15-16).

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empty-handed

The servant leaves not merely free but equipped. Verse 14 details the specific gifts—flocks, grain, and wine—drawn “from that with which the LORD your God has blessed you.”

• Generosity flows from gratitude: remember past deliverance (Deuteronomy 15:15; Psalm 116:12).

• Giving blesses both giver and receiver (Proverbs 11:24-25; Acts 20:35).

• Providing resources helps break cycles of poverty and dependence (Ephesians 4:28; 1 John 3:17).

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summary

Deuteronomy 15:13 calls God’s people to a freedom that is full, fair, and funded. The servant is to walk away released, respected, and resourced—an earthly picture of the way God liberates us in Christ and supplies “everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).