Exodus 21:7

“If a man sells his daughter ¹  as a female servant, ²  she will not go out as the male servants do.

"If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as menservants do.

"If a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to go free as the male slaves do.

"When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are.

"When a man sells his daughter to be a handmaid, she doesn't go free after six years like the men.

And if a man gives his daughter for a price to be a servant, she is not to go away free as the men-servants do.

When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do.

"And if a man sells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do.

“If a man sells his daughter ¹  as a female servant, ²  she will not go out as the male servants do.

¹ sn This paragraph is troubling to modern readers, but given the way that marriages were contracted and the way people lived in the ancient world, it was a good provision for people who might want to find a better life for their daughter. On the subject in general for this chapter, see W. M. Swartley, Slavery, Sabbath, War, and Women, 31-64.

² tn The word אָמָה (’amah) refers to a female servant who would eventually become a concubine or wife; the sale price included the amount for the service as well as the bride price (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 621). The arrangement recognized her honor as an Israelite woman, one who could be a wife, even though she entered the household in service. The marriage was not automatic, as the conditions show, but her treatment was safeguarded come what may. The law was a way, then, for a poor man to provide a better life for a daughter.