Exodus 21:8

21:8 If she does not please ¹  her master, who has designated her ²  for himself, then he must let her be redeemed. ³  He has no right ⁴  to sell her to a foreign nation, because he has dealt deceitfully ⁵  with her.

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¹ tn Heb “and if unpleasant (רָעָה, ra’ah) in the eyes of her master.”

² tn The verb יָעַד (ya’ad) does not mean “betroth, espouse” as some of the earlier translations had it, but “to designate.” When he bought the girl, he designated her for himself, giving her and her family certain expectations.

³ tn The verb is a Hiphil perfect with vav (ו) consecutive from פָדָה (padah, “to redeem”). Here in the apodosis the form is equivalent to an imperfect: “let someone redeem her” – perhaps her father if he can, or another. U. Cassuto says it can also mean she can redeem herself and dissolve the relationship (Exodus, 268).

⁴ tn Heb “he has no authority/power,” for the verb means “rule, have dominion.”

⁵ sn The deceit is in not making her his wife or concubine as the arrangement had stipulated.