Why does Exodus 21:8 permit selling a female servant? Passage and Translation “‘If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as the male servants do. If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who has designated her for himself, he must allow her to be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he has acted deceitfully toward her.’” The verb “sells” (Heb. mākar) in v. 7 describes a contractual transfer of service, not an irreversible sale of personhood; the goal is provision and future marriage (v. 8, “designated … for himself”). Verse 8 explicitly forbids an onward sale to outsiders and mandates a redemption option. Historical-Social Setting: Dowry, Bride-Price, and Survival a. Poverty Safety Net In an agrarian Bronze-Age economy (c. 1446 BC), a destitute father could offer a daughter as an ʼāmāh (“female servant”) to a wealthier household. Archaeological tablets from Nuzi, Alalakh, and Mari show analogous adoption-marriage contracts designed to secure food, shelter, and future marriage for the girl. b. Bride-Price Structure The payment functioned like a deferred dowry (Heb. mohar, cf. Genesis 34:12), guaranteeing her eventual status as wife/concubine. Should the arrangement sour, Exodus 21:8 provides the daughter a legal exit and economic restitution. Protections Unique in the Ancient Near East Compared with the Middle Assyrian Laws §41-45 or Code of Hammurabi §§146-149—which allowed unrestricted resale—Exodus shields the girl by: 1. Banning sale “to foreigners” (v. 8). 2. Requiring full bridal rights if taken as wife (v. 10—food, clothing, marital love). 3. Granting automatic freedom without payment if rights are withheld (v. 11). Scholars such as Raymond Westbrook (Comparative Studies in Biblical and ANE Law, 1990) note the Torah’s unprecedented humanitarian tilt. Covenant Theology and Progressive Revelation The Mosaic civil code addressed an already-entrenched institution, regulating it toward justice. Later revelation tightens the trajectory: • Prophets condemn exploitation (Isaiah 58:6; Jeremiah 34:13-17). • Jesus places women under the protective ethic of the Kingdom (Matthew 19:8-9; Luke 8:1-3). • In Christ “there is neither slave nor free … male nor female” (Galatians 3:28). Thus Exodus 21:8 is an incremental, Spirit-breathed step that anticipates gospel freedom (Acts 17:26). Ethical and Philosophical Clarifications a. Servitude ≠ Chattel Slavery Biblical servitude was time-limited (Exodus 21:2), debt-oriented, and legally safeguarded—worlds apart from the race-based, perpetual slavery later practiced and rightfully abolished by scripturally motivated believers (e.g., William Wilberforce citing 1 Timothy 1:10). b. Divine Accommodation without Endorsement of Oppression God meets fallen societies where they are (Matthew 19:8) while embedding redemptive correctives that culminate in the cross and empty tomb. Contemporary Application • Biblical charity: churches today mirror the Exodus principle by providing jobs, safe-houses, and adoption for those economically vulnerable. • Gospel typology: the maidservant’s gāʾal foreshadows our own redemption “not with perishable things … but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19). • Moral impetus: followers of Jesus combat modern human trafficking, armed with the same scriptural mandate to protect the powerless. Summary Exodus 21:8 does not license the abuse of women. It establishes a regulated form of indentured servitude intended as a marriage pathway and economic refuge, surrounded by safeguards unique in the ancient world, and prophetically pointing to the ultimate Redeemer who liberates every believer—male and female alike. |
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