Exodus 21:8 kjv

If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.

Exodus 21:8 nkjv

If she does not please her master, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her.

Exodus 21:8 niv

If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her.

Exodus 21:8 esv

If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her.

Exodus 21:8 nlt

If she does not satisfy her owner, he must allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her.

Exodus 21 verses

Exodus 21 8 Meaning

Exodus 21:8 details a specific legal protection for a female servant who was sold by her father and designated by her master as a potential wife or concubine for himself, but then displeases him. If the master's initial intention of integrating her into his family in a marital sense is abandoned, he forfeits the right to resell her as common property, particularly to outsiders (a foreign people). Instead, he is obligated to allow her redemption, implying that he broke his initial commitment or acted unfaithfully towards her designated status.

Exodus 21 8 Context

Exodus 21:8 is part of the "Book of the Covenant" (Exodus 20:22–23:33), which elaborates on the Ten Commandments given at Sinai. Specifically, it falls within a section outlining laws concerning various types of servants or bond-slaves, beginning in 21:2. The verses preceding (21:2-6) detail the laws for male Hebrew servants, who serve six years and are released in the seventh. Verses 21:7-11 then address the specific and often more vulnerable situation of female servants who were sold into servitude by their fathers, usually due to debt or extreme poverty.

In the historical and cultural context of the Ancient Near East, such practices were common, but the Mosaic Law consistently provided greater protections for the vulnerable, including servants. Unlike other legal codes of the time, Israelite law placed significant restrictions on the ownership and treatment of servants, viewing them as fellow humans under God's covenant, not mere property. This verse, in particular, highlights that if a master takes a female servant with the intention of making her a wife or concubine—thus elevating her status beyond a typical servant—and then discards this intention, he cannot simply dispose of her. This law acts as a polemic against the arbitrary and absolute power over human beings that was prevalent in surrounding cultures, ensuring that a woman's personhood and her status, once acknowledged through betrothal, could not be revoked for the master's convenience to her further disadvantage.

Exodus 21 8 Word analysis

• If she does not please her master: The Hebrew phrase is לֹא הֵיטִיבָה בְּעֵינֵי אֲדֹנֶיהָ (lo heitiva b'einei adonayeha), literally "if she has not been good in the eyes of her master." "Good" here relates to suitability for the specific intended purpose—the marital relationship, not general service. It highlights the subjective nature of the master's decision to rescind the betrothal.
• who has betrothed her to himself: The Hebrew is אֲשֶׁר לֹא יְעָדָהּ לוֹ (asher lo ye’ada lo). The verb יעד (ya’ad) means "to appoint," "designate," "betroth," or "assign." This is a crucial phrase. It signifies that the master took this female servant into a specific, elevated relationship, indicating an intention beyond simple servitude, likely to make her his concubine or a secondary wife. This designation implies a certain covenant or promise between the master and her father (or her) regarding her future role.
• then he shall let her be redeemed: The Hebrew is וְהֶפְדָּהּ יַפְדֶּה (vehiphdah yafdeh), an emphatic construction of the verb פדה (padah), "to redeem." This means the master must permit her or her kin to buy her freedom. This is not simply selling her, but allowing her release by payment, usually by a family member, thereby restoring her to her kin. This prevents her continued indefinite servitude at the master's whim once the initial intent has changed.
• He shall not be entitled to sell her: The Hebrew is לֹא יִמְשֹׁל לְמָכְרָהּ (lo yimshol lemokhrah), "he shall not have authority/power to sell her." The word מָשַׁל (mashal) here denotes control or dominion. This explicitly prohibits the master from selling her, reinforcing the idea that her status is no longer that of mere chattel to be traded.
• to a foreign people: The Hebrew is לְעַם נָכְרִי (le'am nakhri). A nakhri is a stranger, a foreigner, someone outside the Israelite community and thus outside the jurisdiction and protections of the Mosaic Law. Selling her to a nakhri would place her in a vulnerable position where her rights would not be safeguarded, and she could face harsher servitude without recourse. This prohibition protects her religious and social identity.
• since he has dealt deceitfully with her: The Hebrew is בְּבִגְדוֹ בָהּ (b'vigdo vah). The verb בָּגַד (bagad) means "to act treacherously," "deal faithlessly," "deceive," "betray." This phrase provides the divine justification for the master's lost rights. By breaking the implicit or explicit agreement/covenant that was part of her "betrothal" or designation, the master himself committed an act of treachery. This unfaithfulness voids his claim to absolute power over her.

Words-group analysis:

• "If she does not please her master, who has betrothed her to himself": This opening phrase establishes the specific condition under which these laws apply – it is not just any female servant, but one whose status was elevated with an intention of closer, marital union, and then this intention was abandoned due to the master's disfavor.
• "then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall not be entitled to sell her to a foreign people": These two clauses outline the strict limitations on the master's actions, demonstrating a shift in ownership rights. He cannot profit from selling her or subjecting her to harsher conditions. Instead, he must allow her freedom through an honorable redemption.
• "since he has dealt deceitfully with her": This clause is the moral and legal bedrock for the protections. It assigns culpability to the master for breaking faith with the designated purpose, validating the loss of his "owner's" rights over her. It highlights that the breach of commitment originates from him.

Exodus 21 8 Bonus section

The specific laws in Exodus 21:7-11, particularly verse 8, implicitly challenge the common ANE notion of absolute patriarchal power. While the father could sell his daughter due to economic hardship, her master's authority over her was limited by divine decree, especially if he entered into a quasi-marital commitment. This protection extended not just to physical well-being, but also to ensuring her place within the covenant community. Selling her to a nakhri would sever her from the privileges and laws of Israel, a much graver consequence than mere economic transfer. This principle reflects an early understanding of human dignity, known in later Jewish thought as Kevod HaBriyot, the honor due to all human beings as creations of God, which even trumps certain biblical commandments in exceptional circumstances. The law indirectly teaches that while circumstances might lead to servitude, treachery or broken promises towards individuals, particularly the vulnerable, are condemned and incur legal consequences for the one in power.

Exodus 21 8 Commentary

Exodus 21:8 is a profound testament to God's concern for justice and the vulnerable, even within the social structures of ancient Israel. Unlike the surrounding Near Eastern codes which often treated female slaves as mere chattel, this law significantly elevates the status of a woman who was specifically designated for marriage or concubinage by her master. Once a master sets his intention to "betroth" or designate her for himself, he creates a quasi-covenantal relationship. If he then changes his mind because she "does not please him," this abandonment of his promise is viewed as "deceitful" (bagad), an act of treachery or unfaithfulness.

Because the master initiated this deeper relationship and then broke faith, he loses absolute proprietary rights over her. He is specifically prohibited from reselling her to a "foreign people," which would remove her from the protections of Israelite law and community, possibly exposing her to abuse without recourse. Instead, he must permit her redemption by her family. This law embodies divine principles: the sacredness of a covenantal commitment, even if implied; the protection of the weakest members of society (in this case, a female servant whose future has been arbitrarily changed); and the recognition that human beings, even if in servitude, are not mere property to be disposed of at will. It ensures that an employer's change of mind does not result in the further degradation of a person they have already integrated, to some degree, into their household through an unfulfilled promise.