Exodus 21:8
in Exodus 21If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who had designated her for himself, he must allow her to be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he has broken faith with her.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If she please not her master, who hath espoused her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a foreign people he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
KJV
If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
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This verse in Exodus 21
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
sell his daughter to be a maidservant
on Exodus 21:7-8
A daughter sold by her father does not go out as the menservants do, and the verses that follow explain why, since she is sold toward marriage rather than toward field work. If the master who betrothed her has no pleasure in her, he must let her be redeemed, and he is forbidden to sell her on to a strange nation. The ground the verse gives is that he hath dealt deceitfully with her, so a broken betrothal is treated as fraud rather than as a change of mind.
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
If she please not her master,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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
The words behind it
15 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 |
| רָעָ֞ה | raah | she is bad | H7489 → | 107 times |
| בְּעֵינֵ֧י | beeinei | in [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| אֲדֹנֶ֛יהָ | ʾadoneiha | master<s> her | H113 → | 333 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| ל֥וֹ | lo | for <the> himself | ||
| יְעָדָ֖הּ | yeadah | he designated her | H3259 → | 29 times |
| וְהֶפְדָּ֑הּ | vehefdah | and he will let be ransomed her | H6299 → | 59 times |
| לְעַ֥ם | leam | to a people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| נָכְרִ֛י | nakheri | foreign | H5237 → | 45 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִמְשֹׁ֥ל | yimshol | he will have dominion | H4910 → | |
| לְמָכְרָ֖הּ | lemakherah | to sell her | H4376 → | 80 times |
| בְּבִגְדוֹ־ | bevigdov- | because has dealt treacherously he | H898 → | |
| בָֽהּ׃ | vah | with <the> her |
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
רָעָ֞הshe is bad
raahH7489 →107 times
בְּעֵינֵ֧יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
אֲדֹנֶ֛יהָmaster<s> her
ʾadoneihaH113 →333 times
אֲשֶׁר־who
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
ל֥וֹfor <the> himself
lo
יְעָדָ֖הּhe designated her
yeadahH3259 →29 times
וְהֶפְדָּ֑הּand he will let be ransomed her
vehefdahH6299 →59 times
לְעַ֥םto a people
leamH5971 →1873 times
נָכְרִ֛יforeign
nakheriH5237 →45 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִמְשֹׁ֥לhe will have dominion
yimsholH4910 →
לְמָכְרָ֖הּto sell her
lemakherahH4376 →80 times
בְּבִגְדוֹ־because has dealt treacherously he
bevigdov-H898 →
בָֽהּ׃with <the> her
vah
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 28:8And seeing that his father Isaac disapproved of the Canaanite women,
it leads to
- Genesis 24:3
and I will have you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites…
- Genesis 26:34–35
When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.
- 1 Samuel 8:6
But when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” their demand was displeasing in the sight of Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.
- Genesis 28:1
So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Do not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” he commanded.
- Genesis 24:3
Through
Deuteronomy 20:7Has any man become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him return home, or he may die in battle and another man marry her.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 24:5
If a man is newly married, he must not be sent to war or be pressed into any duty. For one year he is free to stay at home and bring joy to the…
- Deuteronomy 28:30
You will be pledged in marriage to a woman, but another man will violate her. You will build a house but will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but will not…
- 2 Timothy 2:4
A soldier refrains from entangling himself in civilian affairs, in order to please the one who enlisted him.
- Deuteronomy 24:5
Through
Judges 9:19if you have acted faithfully and honestly toward Jerubbaal and his house this day, then may you rejoice in Abimelech, and he in you.
it leads to
- Isaiah 8:6
“Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoiced in Rezin and the son of Remaliah,
- Isaiah 8:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Exodus
This page draws on 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 (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.