And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.
Exodus 21:7 belongs to the additional precepts, statutes and judgments and specific instructions given privately to Moses, unlike the Decalogue spoken openly, for him to communicate to Israel to illustrate, explain and apply the principles of the Ten Commandments so that their obligations would be more fully understood and enforced. These added laws were needed because the minds of the people, blinded and debased by slavery, were not prepared to fully appreciate the far-reaching principles of the ten precepts. They were meant to guard the sacredness of the commandments by making clear what the people were required to do in their relations with one another and preventing them from confusing God's requirements with human customs.
In particular, the verse belongs to the laws regulating servants that were intended to protect servants' rights, guide fair judgments, and guard them against injury and abuse, requiring that their treatment be merciful rather than harsh. Hebrew service was not to be lifelong but was limited to six years, with freedom in the seventh year. Those sold into bondage because of poverty or sentenced to it for crimes were not to be kept as bondservants for more than seven years, at which point they received freedom or could choose to remain with their master, so the law encouraged liberty rather than a spirit of bondage. Israel's memory of its own servitude in Egypt was to lead the people to treat servants with kindness and compassion.
As part of the laws given through Moses for the children of Israel to regulate their dealings with one another, the verse instructs people in how to treat one another and guard against injustice. It shows that God gave special directions to guard the interests of His people, including the poor, and that His requirements were impartial and exalted. These laws remain relevant for instruction. If all would read the commandments in Exodus 21-23 carefully and obey them, the bad condition of things now seen in the world would not exist.
Exodus 21:7 belongs to the additional precepts, statutes and judgments and specific instructions given privately to Moses, unlike the Decalogue spoken openly, for him to communicate to Israel to illustrate, explain and apply the principles of the Ten Commandments so that their obligations would be more fully understood and enforced. These added laws were needed because the minds of the people, blinded and debased by slavery, were not prepared to fully appreciate the far-reaching principles of the ten precepts. They were meant to guard the sacredness of the commandments by making clear what the people were required to do in their relations with one another and preventing them from confusing God's requirements with human customs.
In particular, the verse belongs to the laws regulating servants that were intended to protect servants' rights, guide fair judgments, and guard them against injury and abuse, requiring that their treatment be merciful rather than harsh. Hebrew service was not to be lifelong but was limited to six years, with freedom in the seventh year. Those sold into bondage because of poverty or sentenced to it for crimes were not to be kept as bondservants for more than seven years, at which point they received freedom or could choose to remain with their master, so the law encouraged liberty rather than a spirit of bondage. Israel's memory of its own servitude in Egypt was to lead the people to treat servants with kindness and compassion.
As part of the laws given through Moses for the children of Israel to regulate their dealings with one another, the verse instructs people in how to treat one another and guard against injustice. It shows that God gave special directions to guard the interests of His people, including the poor, and that His requirements were impartial and exalted. These laws remain relevant for instruction. If all would read the commandments in Exodus 21-23 carefully and obey them, the bad condition of things now seen in the world would not exist.