Exodus 21:4
in Exodus 21If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If his master give him a wife and she bear him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.
KJV
If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.
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This verse in Exodus 21
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThe wife and her children shall be her master’s - It was a law among the Hebrews, that if a Hebrew had children by a Canannitish woman, those children must be considered as Canaanitish only, and might be sold and bought, and serve for ever. The law here refers to such a case only.
This site's exposition
six years he shall serve
on Exodus 21:2-4
The week of days is laid over a working life, so six years of service end in a seventh year of release for nothing. Verses 3 and 4 set the limit on that release, since a wife the master gave him and the children she bore stay with the master, and the man goes out alone. Deuteronomy 15:13 and 15:14 add what Exodus leaves out here, that the master furnishes him liberally out of his flock and his floor when he sends him away. Jeremiah 34:8 to 34:17 records the one place Scripture reports this law kept and then broken, when Jerusalem freed its servants under Zedekiah and took them back.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
If his master have given him a wife,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
If thou buy an Hebrew servant--Every Israelite was free-born; but slavery was permitted under certain restrictions. An Hebrew might be made a slave through poverty, debt, or crime; but at the end of six years he was entitled to freedom, and his wife, if she had voluntarily shared his state of bondage, also obtained release.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| אֲדֹנָיו֙ | ʾadonav | master<s> his | H113 → | 333 times |
| יִתֶּן־ | yiten- | he will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| ל֣וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| אִשָּׁ֔ה | ʾishah | a wife | H802 → | 781 times |
| וְיָלְדָה־ | veyaldah- | and she will bear | H3205 → | 496 times |
| ל֥וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| בָנִ֖ים | vanim | sons | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| א֣וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| בָנ֑וֹת | vanot | daughters | H1323 → | 588 times |
| הָאִשָּׁ֣ה | haishah | the woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| וִילָדֶ֗יהָ | viladeiha | and children her | H3206 → | 89 times |
| תִּהְיֶה֙ | tihyeh | she will belong | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לַֽאדֹנֶ֔יהָ | ladoneiha | to master<s> her | H113 → | 333 times |
| וְה֖וּא | vehu' | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יֵצֵ֥א | yetze' | he will go out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| בְגַפּֽוֹ׃ | vegapo | with body his | H1610 → | 4 times |
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
אֲדֹנָיו֙master<s> his
ʾadonavH113 →333 times
יִתֶּן־he will give
yiten-H5414 →2011 times
ל֣וֹto <the> him
lo
אִשָּׁ֔הa wife
ʾishahH802 →781 times
וְיָלְדָה־and she will bear
veyaldah-H3205 →496 times
ל֥וֹto <the> him
lo
בָנִ֖יםsons
vanimH1121 →4930 times
א֣וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
בָנ֑וֹתdaughters
vanotH1323 →588 times
הָאִשָּׁ֣הthe woman
haishahH802 →781 times
וִילָדֶ֗יהָand children her
viladeihaH3206 →89 times
תִּהְיֶה֙she will belong
tihyehH1961 →3559 times
לַֽאדֹנֶ֔יהָto master<s> her
ladoneihaH113 →333 times
וְה֖וּאand he
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
יֵצֵ֥אhe will go out
yetze'H3318 →1067 times
בְגַפּֽוֹ׃with body his
vegapoH1610 →4 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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.