Exodus 21:5

_AND IF THE SERVANT SHALL PLAINLY SAY, I LOVE MY MASTER, MY WIFE, AND MY CHILDREN; I WILL NOT GO OUT FREE:_ If the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children. It might be that through attachment to his family, the Hebrew servant, resolving to forfeit his personal privilege, might choose to abide as he was; and as the state of Hebrew servitude was so light, while the evils necessarily attending a servile condition were mitigated by various humane provisions of the Jewish law, it may be presumed the alternative offered to married men-servants, instead of emancipation, would be generally embraced....

1-11 The laws in this chapter relate to the fifth and sixth commandments; and though they differ from our times and customs, nor are they binding on us, yet they explain the moral law, and the rules of natural justice. The servant, in the state of servitude, was an emblem of that state of bondage to sin, Satan, and the law, which man is brought into by robbing God of his glory, by the transgression of his precepts. Likewise in being made free, he was an emblem of that liberty wherewith Christ, the Son of God, makes free from bondage his people, who are free indeed; and made so freely, without money and without price, of free grace....

EXPOSITION THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT.—_Continued_. I. _Laws connected with the rights of persons_ (Exodus 21:1). The regulations of this section concern— 1. Slavery (Exodus 21:2); 2. Murder and other kinds of homicide (Exodus 21:12-2 and Exodus 21:20, Exodus 21:21); 3. Man-stealing ...

AND IF THE SERVANT SHALL PLAINLY SAY,.... Or, "in saying shall say" i shall express himself in plain and full terms, and repeat his words, and abide by them, signifying it as his last will and determined resolution: I LOVE MY MASTER, MY WIFE, AND MY CHILDREN, AND I WILL NOT GO OUT FREE; but continue in his servitude, having a great affection for his master, and that he might enjoy his wife and children he dearly loved; and being animated with such a principle, his servitude was a pleasure to him: and when our obedience to God springs from love to him, and to his cause and interest, which should be as dear to us as our families, it is then acceptable to God and delightful to ourselves; in Deuteronomy 15:16, IT IS, BECAUSE HE LOVETH THEE, AND THINE HOUSE, BECAUSE HE IS WELL WITH THEE; hence the Jewish writers say k, understanding by "house" a fa

CHAPTER 21 DIFFERENT JUDGMENTS _ 1. Master and servant (Exodus 21:1)_ 2. Concerning injury to the person (Exodus 21:12) 3. Concerning property (Exodus 21:33) The Three Chapter s which follow the giving of the Ten Commandments give the practical application of the Decalogue in the daily life. The duties towards the fellowman are demonstrated in part. There are seven sections to these three Chapter s; each section contains ten precepts. The servant occupies the first place. He was to obtain his freedom for nothing after serving six years. In Deuteronomy we read that the master is commanded not to let him go empty-handed, but give him of his flock, his threshing floor and his winepress.

EXODUS 21:2 E. THE LAWS OF SLAVERY. In the 19th cent. slaves were bought and sold as chattels in Liverpool. Here we see one of the stages towards the abolition of slavery, _i.e._ regulation, then the only practicable course. Hebrews might become slaves through sale by parents, or forced sale for theft or insolvency, or through poverty (p. 110). Later stages of law are reflected in Deuteronomy 15:12 * and Leviticus 25:39 *. A male slave by six years'service earned the right to rest from servitude in the seventh year, his wife accompanying him only if he were already married (Exodus 21:3 f.), but if he could say,

SHALL PLAINLY SAY. Hebrew "saying shall say". Figure of speech _Polyptoton_ (App-6) for emphasis. See note on Genesis 26:28 CHILDREN. sons....

Exodus 20:22 to Exodus 23:33 _The Book of the Covenant_ The -Book of the Covenant" (see Exodus 24:7 in explanation of the name) is the oldest piece of Hebrew legislation that we possess. The laws contained in it are spoken of in Exodus 24:3 as consisting of two elements, the WORDS (or commands) and the JUDGEMENTS: the JUDGEMENTS (see on Exodus 21:1) are the provisions relating to civil and criminal law, prescribing what is to be done when particular cases arise, and comprised in...

THE TEXT OF EXODUS TRANSLATION 21NOW THESE ARE THE ORDINANCES WHICH THOU SHALT SET BEFORE them. (2) If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. (3) If he come in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he be married, then his wife shall go out with him. (4) If his master give him a wife, and she bear him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master'S, and he shall go out by himself. (5) But if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: (6) then his master shall bring him unto God, and shall bring him to the door, or unto the doorpost; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever. (7) And if a man sell his daughter to be a maid-servant, she shall not go out as the men-servants do. (8) If she please not he...

THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT (CONTINUED) I-ii. Regulations regarding the Treatment of Hebrew Slaves. Slavery was universal in ancient times, and the Mosaic Law does not abolish it. Among the Hebrews, however, slavery was by no means the degrading and oppressive thing that it was among other nations. Manstealing, upon which modern systems of slavery are based, was a crime punishable by death (see Exodus 21:16), and the Law of Moses recognises the right of a slave to just and honourable treatment. A Hebrew slave might occupy a high position in his master's household and be regarded as a trusty friend, as the case of Eliezer shows (Genesis 24). He could not be bound for more than six years at a time; in the seventh year he obtained his freedom if he desired it (see...