Deuteronomy 4:16

4:16 I say this ¹  so you will not corrupt yourselves by making an image in the form of any kind of figure. This includes the likeness of a human male or female,

Deuteronomy 5:21

5:21 You must not desire ²  another man’s ³  wife, nor should you crave his ⁴  house, his field, his male and female servants, his ox, his donkey, or anything else he owns.” ⁵ 

Deuteronomy 12:12

12:12 You shall rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God, along with your sons, daughters, male and female servants, and the Levites in your villages ⁶  (since they have no allotment or inheritance with you). ⁷ 

Deuteronomy 15:12

Release of Debt Slaves

15:12 If your fellow Hebrew ⁸  – whether male or female ⁹  – is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you must let that servant ¹⁰  go free. ¹¹ 

Deuteronomy 15:17

15:17 you shall take an awl and pierce a hole through his ear to the door. ¹²  Then he will become your servant permanently (this applies to your female servant as well).

Deuteronomy 16:14

16:14 You are to rejoice in your festival, you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows who are in your villages. ¹³ 

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¹ tn The words “I say this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 16 is subordinated to “Be careful” in v. 15, but this makes for an unduly long sentence in English.

² tn The Hebrew verb used here (חָמַד, khamad) is different from the one translated “crave” (אָוַה, ’avah) in the next line. The former has sexual overtones (“lust” or the like; cf. Song of Sol 2:3) whereas the latter has more the idea of a desire or craving for material things.

³ tn Heb “your neighbor’s.” See note on the term “fellow man” in v. 19.

⁴ tn Heb “your neighbor’s.” The pronoun is used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁵ tn Heb “or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

⁶ tn Heb “within your gates” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “who belongs to your community.”

⁷ sn They have no allotment or inheritance with you. See note on the word “inheritance” in Deut 10:9.

⁸ sn Elsewhere in the OT, the Israelites are called “Hebrews” (עִבְרִי, ’ivriy) by outsiders, rarely by themselves (cf. Gen 14:13; 39:14, 17; 41:12; Exod 1:15, 16, 19; 2:6, 7, 11, 13; 1 Sam 4:6; Jonah 1:9). Thus, here and in the parallel passage in Exod 21:2-6 the term עִבְרִי may designate non-Israelites, specifically a people well-known throughout the ancient Near East as ’apiru or habiru. They lived a rather vagabond lifestyle, frequently hiring themselves out as laborers or mercenary soldiers. While accounting nicely for the surprising use of the term here in an Israelite law code, the suggestion has against it the unlikelihood that a set of laws would address such a marginal people so specifically (as opposed to simply calling them aliens or the like). More likely עִבְרִי is chosen as a term to remind Israel that when they were “Hebrews,” that is, when they were in Egypt, they were slaves. Now that they are free they must not keep their fellow Israelites in economic bondage. See v. 15.

⁹ tn Heb “your brother, a Hebrew (male) or Hebrew (female).”

¹⁰ tn Heb “him.” The singular pronoun occurs throughout the passage.

¹¹ tn The Hebrew text includes “from you.”

¹² sn When the bondslave’s ear was drilled through to the door, the door in question was that of the master’s house. In effect, the bondslave is declaring his undying and lifelong loyalty to his creditor. The scar (or even hole) in the earlobe would testify to the community that the slave had surrendered independence and personal rights. This may be what Paul had in mind when he said “I bear on my body the marks of Jesus” (Gal 6:17).

¹³ tn Heb “in your gates.”