Topical Bible: Children: Sold in Marriage, Law Concerning

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In the ancient Near Eastern context, the practice of selling children, particularly daughters, into marriage was not uncommon. The Mosaic Law, as given to the Israelites, includes specific regulations concerning this practice, reflecting both the cultural realities of the time and the ethical standards set by God for His people.

Biblical Context

The primary biblical reference concerning the sale of a daughter into marriage is found in Exodus 21:7-11. This passage is part of the Covenant Code, a section of the Torah that outlines various civil and social laws for the Israelite community. The Berean Standard Bible renders these verses as follows:

"If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as the menservants 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 broken faith with her. And if he has designated her for his son, he must deal with her as with a daughter. If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife. If, however, he does not provide her with these three things, she is free to go without payment of money."

Interpretation and Application

This passage addresses the situation where a father, due to economic hardship or other reasons, sells his daughter into a form of servitude that often led to marriage. The law provides specific protections for the daughter, ensuring her rights and dignity are upheld even in such circumstances.

1. Status and Rights: Unlike male servants, a daughter sold in this manner was not to be released after six years of service. Instead, her status was more akin to that of a wife or concubine, with specific rights and protections.

2. Redemption and Protection: If the master was displeased with her, he was required to allow her to be redeemed, meaning she could be bought back by her family. Importantly, he was prohibited from selling her to foreigners, which would have been a breach of faith and a violation of her rights.

3. Treatment as a Daughter: If the master intended her for his son, she was to be treated as a daughter, highlighting the expectation of familial respect and care.

4. Provision and Rights: The law mandates that if the master took another wife, he must not diminish the first wife's food, clothing, or marital rights. This provision underscores the importance of maintaining her well-being and status.

5. Freedom for Neglect: Should the master fail to provide these essentials, the woman was granted her freedom without any financial obligation, ensuring her protection from neglect and mistreatment.

Cultural and Theological Considerations

The laws concerning the sale of daughters into marriage reflect a balance between the cultural practices of the ancient world and the ethical demands of the Israelite covenant community. While the practice itself may seem foreign or harsh to modern readers, the regulations provided by the Mosaic Law were progressive for their time, offering protections and rights that were not commonly afforded to women in other ancient cultures.

Theologically, these laws demonstrate God's concern for justice and the protection of the vulnerable. They reveal a divine mandate for the fair and compassionate treatment of individuals, even within the constraints of societal norms. The emphasis on redemption, familial treatment, and provision highlights the value placed on human dignity and the sanctity of marriage as a covenant relationship.

Nave's Topical Index

Exodus 21:7-11
And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.
Nave's Topical Index

Library

Skirting the Abyss
... Another of our children sold by auction in the Village of ... this custom of infant marriage
and child marriage, whether to ... to think and the hands of the law to act ...
/.../wilson-carmichael/things as they are/chapter xxv skirting the abyss.htm

Concerning Esther and Mordecai and Haman; and How in the Reign of ...
... for a whole month, on account of this his marriage. ... us, be destroyed, with their
wives and children, and that ... given order that they should be sold into bitter ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 6 concerning esther and.htm

Concerning the Sacrament of Baptism
... that the water of baptism would be sold no cheaper ... and wonderful in His dealings
with the children of men. ... again, in decreeing that the bond of marriage may be ...
/.../first principles of the reformation/concerning the sacrament of baptism.htm

The Cavils of the Pharisees Concerning Purification, and the ...
... to sleep, not speak to their wives or children, not have ... as on the part of one who
sold a thing ... should share in the festivities at his marriage, proposed to ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xxxi the cavils of.htm

The Book of Jubilees
... birth is set AM2134, he is sold when seventeen ... to Abraham and transmitted by him
to his children; and Judah's sin ... or he who gives his sister, in marriage to a ...
//christianbookshelf.org/deane/pseudepigrapha/the book of jubilees.htm

Appendix iv
... Therefore, we the children of God must also be pitiful and ... right of second marriage,
and (3) of marriage with heathen ... One may eat anything that is sold at the ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/harnack/the origin of the new testament/appendix iv.htm

Letter Liii. To Paulinus.
... finally led to his capture by pirates who sold him into ... Tyre, of Idum??a, of Moab,
of the children of Ammon ... and the church, and sings a sweet marriage song [1511 ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter liii to paulinus.htm

Faustus States his Objections to the Morality of the Law and the ...
... in his irrational craving to have children, and not ... that, in sacrilegious profanation
of his marriage, he on ... occasions, from avarice and greed, sold his wife ...
/.../faustus states his objections to.htm

Job's Sure Knowledge
... a person fell into debt, and was sold into slavery ... you to his heavenly home at the
marriage supper of ... treatment; there are some of God's best children who lie ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 50 1904/jobs sure knowledge.htm

Against Publishing the Errors of the Brethren.
... grace of the Spirit; pray inquire not about nature and laws of marriage. ... in order
that, his wife having been sold and his house and his children, he might ...
/.../chrysostom/on the priesthood/against publishing the errors of.htm