Exodus 21 · Verse 7

Exodus 21:7

And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.
Exodus 21:7, King James Version

Exodus 21:7 in other translations

BSBAnd if a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as the menservants do.
WEB“If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she shall not go out as the male servants do.
ASVAnd if a man sell his daughter to be a maid-servant, she shall not go out as the men-servants do.
YLT‘And when a man selleth his daughter for a handmaid, she doth not go out according to the going out of the men-servants;
DARBYAnd if a man shall sell his daughter as a handmaid, she shall not go out as the bondmen go out.
BBEAnd 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.
WebsterAnd if a man shall sell his daughter to be a maid-servant, she shall not depart as the men-servants do.

What does Exodus 21:7 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 21:7-11

Ex 21:7-36. Laws for Maidservants.

7-11. 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. Should she have been betrothed to him or his son, and either change their minds, a maintenance must be provided for her suitable to her condition as his intended wife, or her freedom instantly granted.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 7 If a man sell his daughter - This the Jews allowed no man to do but in extreme distress - when he had no goods, either movable or immovable left, even to the clothes on his back; and he had this permission only while she was unmarriageable. It may appear at first view strange that such a law should have been given; but let it be remembered, that this servitude could extend, at the utmost, only to six years; and that it was nearly the same as in some cases of apprenticeship among us, where the parents bind the child for seven years, and have from the master so much per week during that period.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Exodus 21:1-11

The laws in this chapter relate to the fifth and sixth commandments; and though they differ from our times and customs, nor are they binding on us, yet they explain the moral law, and the rules of natural justice. The servant, in the state of servitude, was an emblem of that state of bondage to sin, Satan, and the law, which man is brought into by robbing God of his glory, by the transgression of his precepts…

Read the full comment on Exodus 21:1-11 →

Exodus 21:7 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְכִֽי\־ve.khi-and ifH3588
יִמְכֹּ֥רyim.Korhe will sellH4376
אִ֛ישׁ'isha manH376
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
בִּתּ֖וֹbi.Todaughter hisH1323
לְאָמָ֑הle.'a.Mahto a female slaveH519
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
תֵצֵ֖אte.Tze'she will go outH3318
כְּצֵ֥אתke.Tzetwhen go outH3318
הָעֲבָדִֽים\׃ha.'a.va.Dimthe [male] slavesH5650

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Exodus 21:7

  • Nehemiah 5:5

    Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards.

  • Exodus 21:2-3

    If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
sell.
Ne 5:5
go out.
2,3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Exodus 21:6

    Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.

  • Exodus 21:7

    And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.

  • Exodus 21:8

    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.

Read all of Exodus 21

Exodus 21:7 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y cuando alguno vendiere su hija por sierva, no saldrá como suelen salir los siervos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et si un homme vend sa fille pour être servante, elle ne sortira point comme sortent les serviteurs.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und so jemand seine Tochter zur Magd verkauft, soll sie nicht ausgehen, wie die Knechte ausgehen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Si quis vendiderit filiam suam in famulam, non egredietur sicut ancillæ exire consueverunt.