Exodus 21:11
in Exodus 21If, however, he does not provide her with these three things, she is free to go without monetary payment.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And if he do not these three things unto her, then shall she go out for nothing, without money.
KJV
And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.
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This verse in Exodus 21
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
If he do not these three unto her - The words express a choice of one of three things. The man was to give the woman, whom he had purchased from her father, her freedom, unless (i) he caused her to be redeemed by a Hebrew master Exo 21:8; or, (ii) gave her to his son, and treated her as a daughter Exo 21:9; or, (iii) in the event of his taking another wife Exo 21:10, unless he allowed her to retain her place and privileges.
This site's exposition
if he have betrothed her unto his son
on Exodus 21:9-11
Betrothed to the son, she is to be dealt with after the manner of daughters, which places her in the family rather than among the household staff. Verse 10 names three things a second marriage may not reduce, her food, her raiment and her duty of marriage, and verse 11 makes the penalty for withholding any of them her freedom without money. A woman with no property and no standing is handed a claim she can press against the man who bought her.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
20 And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. 21 Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And if he do not these three unto her,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
if a man sell his daughter--Hebrew girls might be redeemed for a reasonable sum. But in the event of her parents or friends being unable to pay the redemption money, her owner was not at liberty to sell her elsewhere.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
These three - 1. Her food, שארה sheerah, her flesh, for she must not, like a common slave, be fed merely on vegetables. 2. Her raiment - her private wardrobe, with all occasional necessary additions. And, 3. The marriage debt - a due proportion of the husband’s time and company.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
AND IF. Scripture employed an abridged form in saying shelosh eleh (these three).
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Be she a daughter of Israel who was sold, or be she a daughter of Israel that was not sold.
If he takes himself another [wife], her sustenance, her clothing and her conjugal rights he must not diminish.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| שְׁלָ֨שׁ־ | shelash- | three [things] | H7969 → | 432 times |
| אֵ֔לֶּה | ʾeleh | these | H428 → | 746 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַעֲשֶׂ֖ה | yaaseh | he will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָ֑הּ | lah | for <the> her | ||
| וְיָצְאָ֥ה | veyatzeah | and she will go out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| חִנָּ֖ם | chinam | without paying | H2600 → | |
| אֵ֥ין | ʾein | not | H369 → | 789 times |
| כָּֽסֶף׃ ס | kasef | money | H3701 → | 403 times |
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
שְׁלָ֨שׁ־three [things]
shelash-H7969 →432 times
אֵ֔לֶּהthese
ʾelehH428 →746 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יַעֲשֶׂ֖הhe will do
yaasehH6213 →2628 times
לָ֑הּfor <the> her
lah
וְיָצְאָ֥הand she will go out
veyatzeahH3318 →1067 times
חִנָּ֖םwithout paying
chinamH2600 →
אֵ֥יןnot
ʾeinH369 →789 times
כָּֽסֶף׃ סmoney
kasefH3701 →403 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.