What are the “judgments” God tells Moses to set before Israel in this passage?

The “judgments” are God’s civil laws for Israel, meant to guide how people treat each other. In this passage they focus on servants and family. God sets limits on how long a Hebrew may serve, explains what happens if a servant marries, and gives rules to protect daughters sold as maidservants. These laws are not random; they show God cares about fairness, mercy, and the dignity of people who could easily be mistreated. They were to be the standard by which judges and masters made their decisions.

What does it mean that a Hebrew servant serves six years and goes free in the seventh?

A Hebrew who became a servant, usually because of debt or poverty, was not to stay in that condition forever. He would serve for six years, and in the seventh year he was to be released without paying anything to buy back his freedom. This kept one Israelite from holding another in endless slavery and reminded them that they themselves had been freed by God from Egypt. It also pictured that God does not mean his people to live in bondage, but to know real freedom under his care.

Why would a servant choose to stay and have his ear bored with an awl?

If a servant had been given a wife by his master and they had children, the law said the wife and children still belonged to the master. When his six years ended, he could leave alone or choose to stay with his family. If he plainly said, “I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,” his ear was bored at the door as a sign he would serve permanently. It showed a willing, love-based choice to remain, not forced slavery, and marked him publicly as belonging to that household.

Why did the wife and children stay with the master if he had given her to the servant?

In this system, if the master gave a servant a wife, she and any children were counted as part of the master’s household. Her own term of service might not be finished when the man’s six years ended. So by law, when his time was up, he could leave, but she and the children stayed. This is hard for modern readers, and it was a painful tension even then. The law then offers another path: the servant may choose, out of love for his family and his master, to stay and serve so they remain together.

What does this passage say about selling a daughter as a maidservant?

The passage describes a poor father selling his daughter as a maidservant, usually with the hope she would later be married into that family. She is not to be treated like a male servant who simply leaves after six years. If the man who took her is not pleased and does not keep his promise to marry her, he must allow her to be redeemed. He is not allowed to sell her off to a foreign people. If he gives her to his son, he must treat her like a daughter. God is putting boundaries around a practice that could easily become harsh.

How is a maidservant protected if her master or his son takes another wife?

If the master or his son takes the maidservant as a wife and later takes another wife as well, the first woman’s rights do not disappear. The law says her food, her clothing, and her marital rights must not be reduced. She must still be cared for and treated as a true wife. If he fails to provide these three things, she is allowed to go out free, without paying money. This protects her from being pushed aside and left in a shameful or needy state when another woman enters the household.

What does this passage teach about God’s character in dealing with servants?

These verses show that God steps into messy human situations and puts limits and protections in place. He does not ignore the reality of servitude, but he refuses to let it be without end among his people. He remembers that Israel were once slaves and commands more gentle treatment for servants. He guards family bonds, gives a way out for those trapped in broken promises, and insists that women taken as wives be provided for. All of this reflects a God who values justice, mercy, and the worth of each person.

Why does this passage about servants feel difficult or harsh to modern readers?

Many people struggle with these verses because they involve slavery, selling daughters, and families being separated, which go against our sense of what is right. The passage is describing life in a hard world where poverty and sin already existed. God does not approve of cruelty, but works within that setting to limit harm, shorten servitude, and protect the weak. The wording can feel strange and painful, yet we can still see that, compared to the nations around, these rules pulled God’s people toward more mercy and fairness.

How can these servant laws apply to believers today?

We are not under this ancient legal system, but the heart behind it still matters. God cares deeply about how we treat people who have less power, whether employees, the poor, or those in our homes. He wants us to remember our own deliverance, just as Israel was to remember Egypt, and to let that shape how we use authority. The servant who stayed out of love also gives a picture of willing devotion. Followers of God today can choose to serve him and others not out of fear, but from love and gratitude.

Exod.21.1

Exodus 21:1

KJV GOD

Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.

Cross References

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