Slave Freedom After Seven Years in the Hebrew Bible

The Biblical Basis for Slave Freedom After Seven Years

The Hebrew Bible mandates the release of Hebrew slaves after six years of servitude, with freedom granted in the seventh year. This principle is rooted in two key passages: Exodus 21:2 and Deuteronomy 15:12 ^{[1, 2]}. Exodus 21:2 states, "If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment" ^[2]. Similarly, Deuteronomy 15:12 instructs, "If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, and serves you six years; then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you" ^[1].

The circumstances under which a Hebrew might be reduced to servitude included poverty, the commission of theft, and the exercise of paternal authority ^[4]. The release of slaves after six years was not limited to those sold due to poverty but applied broadly to Hebrew slaves. The seventh-year release was a significant provision, aiming to mitigate the hardships of slavery and ensure that individuals could regain their freedom and start anew.

Interpretation and Application

The interpretation of the seventh-year release has been discussed by various commentators. According to Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, the term of servitude could not last beyond six years, with freedom obtained either after six years from the time of sale or before the end of the seventh year ^[9]. This view is supported by John Gill, who notes that the "end of seven years" refers to the beginning of the seventh year, not its completion ^[10]. Abraham Ibn Ezra also interprets the "six years" as a fixed term, after which the slave is freed at the start of the seventh year, regardless of the year within the fifty-year Jubilee cycle ^[11].

The seventh-year release was part of a broader system that included the Year of Jubilee, celebrated every fifty years. During the Jubilee, liberty was proclaimed throughout the land, and slaves were emancipated, even if they had not served for six years ^{[5, 12]}. John Gill notes that the Jubilee year was a time when servants were released, including those whose ears were bored and were to serve forever ^[12].

Historical and Cultural Context

The practice of releasing slaves after six years was part of the Israelites' social and economic regulations. Flavius Josephus highlights the importance of the seventh year in the context of the Israelites' laws and practices, noting that the land was to rest from ploughing and planting every seventh year ^[3]. This provision was part of a larger framework that aimed to promote social justice and equality.

The historical context of the Israelites' slavery and subsequent deliverance is also relevant. The Israelites were delivered from slavery in Egypt, and this experience shaped their laws and social norms ^[6]. The Canaanites later brought the Israelites under slavery for twenty years, until they were delivered by Barak and Deborah ^{[7, 8]}.

Conclusion

The Hebrew Bible's mandate for the release of Hebrew slaves after six years reflects a commitment to social justice and the protection of individual rights. The seventh-year release was a key provision that aimed to mitigate the hardships of slavery and promote freedom. The interpretation and application of this principle have been discussed by various commentators, highlighting the complexities and nuances of the biblical text. The broader cultural and historical context of the Israelites' laws and practices underscores the significance of this provision in promoting social justice and equality ^{[3, 4]}.

Sources

Deuteronomy “If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, and serves you six years; then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. -- Deuteronomy 15:12”
Exodus “Exodus 21:2 (NASB) — "If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment.”
Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, CHAPTER 12, section 2: whatsoever. 3. And truly Moses gave them all these precepts, being such as were observed during his own lifetime; but though he lived now in the wilderness, yet did he make provision how they might observe the same laws when they should have taken the land of Canaan. He gave them rest to the land from ploughing and planting every seventh year, as he had prescribed to them to rest from working every seventh day; and ordered, that then what grew of its own accord out of the earth should in common belong to all that pleased to use ”
Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Slave — The institution of slavery was recognized, though not established, by the Mosaic law with a view to mitigate its hardship and to secure to every man his ordinary rights. I. Hebrew slaves.-- + The circumstances under which a Hebrew might be reduced to servitude were-- (1) poverty; (2) the commission of theft; and (3) the exercise of paternal authority. In the first case, a man who had mortgaged his property, and was unable to support his family, might sell himself to another Hebrew, with a view both to obtain maintenance and perchance a surplus sufficient to re”
Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Jubilee, The Year Of — + the name.--The name jubilee is derived from the Hebrew jobel, the joyful shout or clangor of trumpets, by which the year of jubilee was announced. + The time of its celebration.--It was celebrated every fiftieth year, marking the half century; so that it followed the seventh sabbatic year, and for two years in succession the land lay fallow. It was announced by the blowing of trumpets on the day of atonement (about the 1st of October), the tenth day of the first month of the Israelites' civil year (the seventh of their ecclesiastical year). + ”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Exodus — The great deliverance wrought for the children of Isreal when they were brought out of the land of Egypt with "a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm" (Ex 12:51; Deut. 26:8; Ps 114; 136), about B.C. 1490, and four hundred and eighty years (1 Kings 6:1) before the building of Solomon's temple. The time of their sojourning in Egypt was, according to Ex. 12:40, the space of four hundred and thirty years. In the LXX., the words are, "The sojourning of the children of Israel which they sojourned in Egypt and in the land of Canaan was four hundred and thirty y”
Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, CHAPTER 5, section 1: . How The Canaanites Brought The Israelites Under Slavery For Twenty Years; After Which They Were Delivered By Barak And Deborah, Who Ruled Over Them For Forty Years.”
Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, CHAPTER 5, section 1: . How The Canaanites Brought The Israelites Under Slavery For Twenty Years; After Which They Were Delivered By Barak And Deborah, Who Ruled Over Them For Forty Years. 1. And now it was that the Israelites, taking no warning by their former misfortunes to amend their manners, and neither worshipping God nor submitting to the laws, were brought under slavery by Jabin, the king of the Canaanites, and that before they had a short breathing time after the slavery under the Moabites; for this Jabin out of Hazor, a city that was situate”
Deuteronomy (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Deuteronomy 15:12: HEBREW SERVANTS' FREEDOM. (Deu 15:12-19) if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee--The last extremity of an insolvent debtor, when his house or land was not sufficient to cancel his debt, was to be sold as a slave with his family (Lev 25:39; Kg2 4:1; Neh 5:1-13; Job 24:9; Mat 18:25). The term of servitude could not last beyond six years. They obtained their freedom either after six years from the time of their sale or before the end of the seventh year. At the year of jubilee, such slaves were emancipated even if thei”
Jeremiah (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Jeremiah 34:14: At the end of seven years,.... Not when seven years were elapsed and fully completed; but within the compass of seven years, or as soon as the seventh year was began; for this term of seven years is the term of the seventh year coming in, and not going out, as appears from the law itself, Exo 21:9; and from an after clause in this verse, "when he hath served thee six years"; at the end of which, and the beginning of the seventh: and so Maimonides (m) interprets this law, "he whom the sanhedrim sold served six years from the day of his sale, and at the beginning o”
Sefaria (Jewish (Rationalist)) “Abraham Ibn Ezra on Exodus 21:2: SIX YEARS HE SHALL SERVE. And no longer. It is like Six years thou shalt sow thy field (Lev. 25:3). 59 And no longer, for the seventh year is a Sabbatical year. At the start of the seventh year of his being sold he shall go free no matter what year it be. 60 No matter what year of the fifty-year count to the Jubilee. Do not be amazed that Jeremiah writes, At the end of seven years (Jer. 34:14), 61 Whereas our verse states that a slave goes free at the beginning of the seventh year. because everything has two ends and sometimes the end is found at the beginning ”
Leviticus (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Leviticus 25:10: And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year,.... The year following the seven sabbaths of years, or forty nine years; and which they were to sanctify by separating it from all others, and devoting it to the uses it was to be put to, and the services done on it, and by abstaining from the tillage of the land, sowing or reaping, and from the cultivation of vines, olives, &c. and proclaim liberty throughout all the land; to servants, both to those whose ears were bored, and were to serve for ever, even unto the year of jubilee, and then be released; and to those whose si”

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