Jeremiah 34:9
That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother. That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother.
In the verse “Jew” denotes a member of the kingdom of Judah and stands alongside “Hebrew.” The chapter belongs to the history of the two years before Jerusalem fell. It records the covenant and proclamation made in Jerusalem under Zedekiah requiring everyone holding a Hebrew manservant or maidservant to let them go free, so that no one would keep a fellow Jew, his brother, in servitude.
The release commanded was liberty itself, not merely a change in treatment, and it barred continuing to compel a fellow Jew to serve as a slave. The requirement belonged to the law and was connected with the jubilee and the freeing of debtors and the oppressed. Those laws limited masters’ power, secured freedom at appointed times, affirmed equality among people, and opposed chattel slavery.
The covenant of liberty in this setting was ratified by dividing a sacrifice into pieces and passing between the separated parts. That pattern shows God’s covenant with Abraham was a covenant of liberty, and the sacrifice pointed to Christ, who gives freedom from the bondage of sin. The proclamation was right, but enslaving a fellow Jew was an offense against God, and failure to carry out the release polluted the Lord’s name.
The observance had been neglected since the time of Moses; Israel disobeyed these commands, adopted slavery, and oppressed and enslaved laborers. That oppression and violation formed part of God’s indictment of Judah, and judgment came through Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction and captivity of the state. The holding of slaves, including Hebrew servants, was a temporary special concession to a people corrupted in customs and morals; though permitted, it was not pleasing to God and violated the moral law, and it was later set aside when Jesus brought every act under the standard of God’s moral law.