Genesis 2:18-25 reads,
2:18Yahweh
God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him
a helper suitable for him." 2:19Out
of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of
the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever
the man called every living creature, that was its name. 2:20The man gave names to all cattle, and to
the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field; but for man there was
not found a helper suitable for him. 2:21Yahweh
God caused a deep sleep to fall on the man, and he slept; and he took one of
his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 2:22He
made the rib, which Yahweh God had taken from the man, into a woman, and
brought her to the man. 2:23The man
said, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be
called Woman, because she was taken out of
Yahweh, who made woman out of man, is the one who gave the woman to the man to be his wife. Yahweh, the creator, is over all his creation and determines the order of various matters within his creation.
Genesis 3:16 reads,
3:16To
the woman he said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. In
pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and
he will rule over you."
In Yahweh’s order of matters within his creation, the man is to rule over his wife.
Genesis 16:1-6 reads,
16:1Now
Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had a handmaid, an Egyptian,
whose name was Hagar. 16:2Sarai
said to Abram," See now, Yahweh has restrained me from bearing. Please go
in to my handmaid. It may be that I will obtain children by her."
Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 16:3Sarai,
Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, after Abram had lived ten
years in the
16:6But
Abram said to Sarai, "Behold, your maid is in your hand. Do to her
whatever is good in your eyes." Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled
from her face.
Avraham was a polygynist, being married to both Sarai and Hagar, Sarai’s maid. Hagar was therefore Avraham’s concubine, as she was not a free woman, but was bonded to her mistress Sarai.
Sarah Proposed Polygyny To Abraham To Obtain
Children Legally Hers
The reason Sarai gave Hagar over to her husband to be an additional wife to her husband was for the purpose of bearing children, as she was childless. It is conceivable therefore that had Sarai had children at this time she probably would not have given over her maid to her husband to be an additional wife to him.
When a slave woman is given over to a man as his wife the children she bears are deemed to belong to her superior. Her superior, may be just her husband, or both her husband and her mistress, if her mistress, her husband’s wife, is the one who has given her over to him as wife. Slaves do not have legal claim over the children they sire or bear while in their slavery. These legally belong to their superiors. Therefore Ishmael, despite biologically belonging to Hagar, legally belonged to Sarai, for his biological mother, Hagar, was slave to Sarai at the time of his conception.
Genesis 16:7-14 reads,
16:7The
angel of Yahweh found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the
fountain in the way to Shur. 16:8He
said, "Hagar, Sarai’s handmaid, where did you come from? Where are you going?"
She said, "I am fleeing from the face of
my mistress Sarai."
16:9The
angel of Yahweh said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself
under her hands." 16:10The
angel of Yahweh said to her, "I will greatly multiply your seed, that they
will not be numbered for multitude." 16:11The
angel of Yahweh said to her, "Behold, you are with child, and will bear a
son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because Yahweh has heard your affliction.
16:12He will be like a wild donkey
among men. His hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against
him. He will live opposite all of his brothers."
16:13She
called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, "You are a God who sees,"
for she said, "Have I even stayed alive after seeing him?" 16:14Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi. Behold, it is between Kadesh and
Bered.
When we are bonded to someone, being under that person’s authority for a period of time, we ought to remain under that person’s authority, and should not flee from being under that person’s authority. We should submit to that person’s authority over the duration of our subjection under that person, even if this period is our current lifespan.
Genesis 25:1-6 reads,
25:1Abraham
took another wife, and her name was Keturah. 25:2She
bore him Zimran, Jokshan,
It appears that Avraham had more than one concubine, for verse 6 shows that he had concubines - plural. Avraham therefore lived a polygynist lifestyle, and this was within Yahweh’s law, for in Genesis 26:5 Yahweh credited Avraham as having obeyed his voice and kept his charge, his commandments, his statutes and his laws. Polygyny is therefore within the law of Yahweh.
Genesis 29:15-20 reads,
29:15Laban said to Jacob,
"Because you are my brother, should you therefore serve me for nothing?
Tell me, what will your wages be?"
29:16Laban
had two daughters. The name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger
was Rachel. 29:17Leah’s eyes were
weak, but Rachel was beautiful and well favored. 29:18Jacob
loved Rachel. He said, "I will serve you seven years for Rachel, your
younger daughter."
29:19Laban
said, "It is better that I give her to you, than that I should give her to
another man. Stay with me."
29:20Jacob
served seven years for Rachel. They seemed to him but a few days, for the love
he had for her.
A Woman's Father's Has Authority To Give Her Away In Marriage
It is within a father’s power to give away his daughters in marriage to whomsoever he approves. This implies that a daughter has no independent legal power to be married to whomsoever she wishes while she is under the authority of her father.
Genesis 29:31 reads,
29:31Yahweh
saw that Leah was hated, and he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
It is Yahweh who provides children. Humans of their own cannot produce children unless Yahweh permits.
Genesis 30:1-13 reads,
30:1When
Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister. She said
to Jacob, "Give me children, or else I will die."
30:2Jacob’s
anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in God’s
place, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"
30:3She
said, "Behold, my maid Bilhah. Go in to her, that she may bear on my
knees, and I also may obtain children by her." 30:4She gave him Bilhah her handmaid as wife,
and Jacob went in to her. 30:5Bilhah
conceived, and bore Jacob a son. 30:6Rachel
said, "God has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a
son." Therefore called she his name Dan. 30:7Bilhah,
Rachel’s handmaid, conceived again, and bore Jacob a second son. 30:8Rachel said, "With mighty wrestlings
have I wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed." She named him
Naphtali.
30:9When
Leah saw that she had finished bearing, she took Zilpah, her handmaid, and gave
her to Jacob as a wife. 30:10Zilpah,
Leah’s handmaid, bore Jacob a son. 30:11Leah
said, "How fortunate!" She named him Gad. 30:12Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid, bore Jacob a
second son. 30:13Leah said,
"Happy am I, for the daughters will call me happy." She named him
Asher.
When a maid bears children while in the household of her master or mistress, the children so borne do not legally belong to the maid, but legally belong to her master or mistress.
Can Wives Legally Own Property?
That Leah and Rachel had their own maids, as did Sarah, shows that wives can indeed own property in their own account while in the households of their husbands. It is not the case that they cannot own property in their own account. It is not the case that all property must be held in their husbands' account, to their exclusion.
Responsibility Of A Head Of Household
Genesis 30:30 reads,
30:30For
it was little which you had before I came, and it has increased to a multitude.
Yahweh has blessed you wherever I turned. Now when will I provide for my own
house also?"
It is the responsibility of all men who are heads of households to provide for their entire households.
Genesis 34:1-31 reads,
34:1Dinah,
the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of
the land. 34:2Shechem the son of
Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her, lay with her,
and humbled her. 34:3His soul joined
to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young lady, and spoke kindly
to the young lady. 34:4Shechem spoke
to his father, Hamor, saying, "Get me this young lady as a wife."
34:5Now
Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; and his sons were with his
cattle in the field. Jacob held his peace until they came. 34:6Hamor the father of Shechem went out to
Jacob to talk with him. 34:7The sons
of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it. The men were grieved, and
they were very angry, because he had done folly in
34:11Shechem
said to her father and to her brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes,
and whatever you will tell me I will give. 34:12Ask
me a great amount for a dowry, and I will give whatever you ask of me, but give
me the young lady as a wife."
34:13The
sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit, and spoke,
because he had defiled Dinah their sister, 34:14and
said to them, "We can’t do this thing, to give our sister to one who is
uncircumcised; for that is a reproach to us. 34:15Only
on this condition will we consent to you. If you will be as we are, that every
male of you be circumcised; 34:16then
will we give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us, and
we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. 34:17But if you will not listen to us, to be
circumcised, then we will take our sister, and
we will be gone.
34:18Their
words pleased Hamor, and Shechem, Hamor’s son. 34:19The
young man didn’t wait to do this thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s
daughter, and he was honored above all the house of his father. 34:20Hamor and Shechem, his son, came to the
gate of their city, and talked with the men of their city, saying, 34:21"These men are peaceful with us.
Therefore let them live in the land and trade in it. For, behold, the land is
large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us
give them our daughters. 34:22Only
on this condition will the men consent to us to dwell with us, to become one
people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised. 34:23Won’t their cattle and their substance and
all their animals be ours? Only let us give our consent to them, and they will
dwell with us."
34:24All
who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor, and to Shechem his son;
and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. 34:25It happened on the third day, when they
were sore, that two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each
took his sword, came upon the unsuspecting city, and killed all the males. 34:26They killed Hamor and Shechem, his son,
with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went
away. 34:27Jacob’s sons came on the
dead, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. 34:28They took their flocks, their herds, their
donkeys, that which was in the city, that which was in the field; 34:29and all their wealth. They took captive
all their little ones and their wives, and took as plunder everything that was
in the house. 34:30Jacob said to
Simeon and Levi, "You have troubled me, to make me odious to the
inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I am few in
number. They will gather themselves together against me and strike me, and I
will be destroyed, I and my house."
34:31They
said, "Should he deal with our sister as with a prostitute?"
The practice portrayed by these verses show that it was for a father to arrange for the marriage of his son. When a son desired to marry a particular woman he informed his father about the matter, and if agreeable the father would then make arrangements to procure for him the woman as his wife. The son’s father did this by meeting with the woman’s father and persuading the woman’s father to give his daughter to his son as wife. If the woman’s father agreed then they would negotiate the dowry. Once agreed, and the dowry was paid, together with any marriage gift given, the marriage could go ahead and the woman would be given by her father to her husband as wife to him.
Without the woman being given to a man as his wife she was not his wife, even in a scenario such as shown here whereby the man had already had sexual intercourse with her, whether with or without her acquiescence. The woman’s father’s agreement had to be sought and obtained, and the dowry also had to be paid to him. Only then could the woman legally be handed over to the man to become wife to him, and only then would she cease from being answerable to her father and become answerable to her husband.
Genesis 38:1-11 reads,
38:1It
happened at that time, that Judah went down from his brothers, and turned in to
a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 38:2Judah
saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her,
and went in to her. 38:3She
conceived, and bore a son; and he named him Er. 38:4She
conceived again, and bore a son; and she named him Onan. 38:5She yet again bore a son, and named him
Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bore him. 38:6Judah
took a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 38:7Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the
sight of Yahweh. Yahweh killed him. 38:8Judah
said to Onan, "Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform the duty of a
husband’s brother to her, and raise up seed to your brother." 38:9Onan knew that the seed wouldn’t be his;
and it happened, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on
the ground, lest he should give seed to his brother. 38:10The thing which he did was evil in the
sight of Yahweh, and he killed him also. 38:11Then
Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father’s
house, until Shelah, my son, is grown up;" for he said, "Lest he also
die, like his brothers." Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.
The situation of a brother taking as wife his late brother’s widow is whereby his late brother does not have an heir. This he therefore does to perpetuate the name of his late brother, and the son so born legally belongs to his late brother, inheriting what belonged to his late brother.
Brothers Should Be Concerned About Their
Brethren's Welfare
Brothers should therefore be concerned about their fellow brethren’s welfare, and not just in life, but even in death.
The brother whose heart is evil, who is not concerned about his brother’s welfare, whether in life or in death, deserves to die, such as Onan who had no desire to raise up offspring to be heir to his late brother.
Yahweh’s law in this matter is quite clear. If one’s brother dies without leaving behind an heir, then one should take his widow as his wife, for the purpose of producing an heir to his late brother, an heir who will perpetuate the name of the late brother. The callous brother who does not so do for his late brother violates Yahweh’s law and therefore deserves to die.
Exodus 19:1-6 reads,
19:1In
the third month after the children of Israel had gone forth out of the land of
Egypt, on that same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 19:2When they had departed from Rephidim, and
had come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there
Israel encamped before the mountain. 19:3Moses
went up to God, and Yahweh called to him out of the mountain, saying,
"This is what you shall tell the house of Jacob, and tell the children of
Israel: 19:4‘You have seen what I
did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to
myself. 19:5Now therefore, if you
will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own
possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine;19:6and you shall be to me a kingdom of
priests, and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the
children of Israel."
Yahweh gave the Israelites an opportunity of being a special treasure to him above all peoples.
That they were to be a special treasure to him implied that he would own them in a special manner. And to clarify that he had capability of so owning them, he stated that all the earth was his. That is he owned all the earth, including all that was in, on or above the earth - including all peoples. The distinction between his ownership of the Israelites and that of other peoples was that the Israelites were being given an opportunity of being owned in a special manner, whereas they then were, as were all other nations, owned only in an ordinary manner, that is in a non-special manner. Human beings therefore need to be fully aware that they are the possessions of Yahweh.
We, as human beings, do not belong to ourselves. We belong to Yahweh. And as we belong to Yahweh we ought to do everything that Yahweh tells us to do. In this manner we will be fully submitting to our master - Yahweh.
Their being a kingdom of priests and a holy nation would manifest the opportunity Yahweh offered the Israelites, of being a special treasure to him. To attain to this status all they needed to do was to obey Yahweh’s voice and keep Yahweh’s covenant.
Israel Had Priests Before The Covenant At Sinai
Exodus 19:22, 24 read,
19:22Let
the priests also, who come near to Yahweh, sanctify themselves, lest
Yahweh break forth on them."
19:24Yahweh
said to him, "Go down and you shall bring Aaron up with you, but don’t let
the priests and the people break through to come up to Yahweh, lest he
break forth on them."
There were already priests among the Israelites at the time they came to Sinai, prior to the covenant being uttered by Yahweh to them.
Households Commanded To Rest On The Sabbath Day
Exodus 20:8-11 reads,
20:8"Remember
the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 20:9You
shall labor six days, and do all your work, 20:10but
the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in
it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your man-servant, nor your
maid-servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates; 20:11for in six days Yahweh made heaven and
earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore
Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.
One’s entire household, including one’s servants or slaves, both males and females, must remember the Sabbath day, the seventh day, to keep it holy. Six days shall labour and work be done. But on the seventh day, the Sabbath day, neither labour nor work is to be done by all in the household, including strangers who come to the household. This is so done to commemorate Yahweh’s creation of the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that are in them, in six days, and his resting from his work on the seventh day. This commemorative rest therefore points the entire household to Yahweh as its overall master - the one whom they all worship. Also, because of these creative and restive acts, Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Therefore one’s entire household is keeping holy that which Yahweh has already made holy.
Exodus 21:1-6 reads,
21:1"Now
these are the ordinances which you shall set before them.
21:2If
you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years and in the seventh he shall
go out free without paying anything. 21:3If
he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself. If he is married, then his
wife shall go out with him. 21:4If
his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her
children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. 21:5But if the servant shall plainly say, ‘I
love my master, my wife, and my children. I will not go out free;’ 21:6then his master shall bring him to God, and
shall bring him to the door or to the door-post, and his master shall bore his
ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him for ever.
Verse 2: Yahweh allows Israelites to purchase one of their fellow brethren into their service for a period of time - six years. After the end of the sixth year the Israelite servant is released from the bond of service, and therefore at the beginning of the seventh year the Israelite servant leaves his service a free man. In leaving service the Israelite servant leaves free without payment of any redeeming sum of money or other consideration. From that time the Israelite servant is free from being under the authority of his master, and is from thenceforth his own master, subject to being Yahweh’s servant, as all Israelites are.
Verse 3: There are terms governing the release of the servant. If he comes alone he leaves alone. If he comes married, that is with a family, he leaves with his family.
Verse 4: If his master gives him a wife, and his wife bears him children, his wife, together with the progeny of the marriage, the children, legally belong to his master. Therefore, in leaving his master’s service, he leaves alone, without his family, who do not legally belong to him, but legally belong to his master, having been given to him, without payment by him, by his master.
Verses 5 and 6: But if the servant loves his family and master more than his freedom, and refuses to be separated from them, then he shall serve his master for life. He shall thenceforth become a lifelong bonded servant.
Premature Release From Service Requires The
Payment Of Redemption Money
It appears to me that if the servant desires his freedom before the expiry of the end of the sixth year, then he must purchase his freedom with money. In other words, he must pay his master a sum of money in redemption.
Likewise, if at the end of the sixth year the servant, whom his master gave a wife, and who subsequently bore none or more children, desires to leave his master’s service together with his family, while he can go out free, his family cannot. His family will have to be redeemed from service to his master by payment of a sum of money. It seems to me that this sum would be equivalent to the dowry paid to a father upon giving his daughter away in marriage to another man. It does not appear to me that the servant would be required to pay more than the dowry, paying also for the redemption of the children from service to the master. For in marriage, when dowry is paid, it is expected that the wife and subsequent children thenceforth belong to the husband. Therefore, once dowry has been paid to the master for the wife, the departing servant can leave with both his wife and children.
For while dowry has not been paid to a father or master, the wife and all the progeny from that marriage union do not legally belong to the biological father and husband, but legally belong to the wife’s father or master. Therefore, to ensure that his wife and children legally belong to him, a husband must pay dowry to his wife’s father or master. Otherwise the wife’s father or master can simply claim them all to himself and return them to his household.
The above applies to Israelite male servants.
Exodus 21:7-11 reads,
21:7"If
a man sells his daughter to be a maid-servant, she shall not go out as the
men-servants do. 21:8If she doesn’t
please her master, who has married her to himself, then he shall let her be
redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, seeing he has
dealt deceitfully with her. 21:9If
he marries her to his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of
daughters. 21:10If he takes another
wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marital
rights. 21:11If he doesn’t do these
three things for her, she may go free without paying any money.
A Daughter Is The Legal Possession Of Her Father
Verse 7: A father has legal power to sell his daughter. This implies that a father legally owns his daughter, for one cannot sell or transfer ownership over that which one does not own. A daughter is therefore the legal possession of her father.
A father can therefore sell his daughter to another person. Once sold the daughter becomes the legal possession of her buyer, and is thenceforth under the authority of and is answerable to her buyer. Her buyer is now her master, having taken her over, by purchase, from her previous master, her father.
A father can sell his daughter as a female slave to another person.
Why would a father sell his daughter as a female slave to another person? Because of having fallen under some financial hardship?
From the setting above, it appears that a daughter really does not have much say regarding who her master is. For starters, she did not choose who her father, and likely initial master, was. Secondly, as her father and master has power to sell her to whomever he chooses, she really has no legal say in this matter also. All she may have, depending on her father’s disposition, is a discretionary privilege of consultation to ascertain her desires and viewpoint in the matter. But, in truth, she really has no legal say in the matter of who her master is. Her role is to be under the authority of someone, initially her father, and subsequently whomever her father sells her to.
Redemption Money Must Be Paid To Free A Female
Servant From Her Service
It should be noted from the above that a female slave does not have the right to freedom as a male slave has under Yahweh’s law. While a male slave is freed from under his master’s authority after the end of the sixth year, it is not so with the female slave. The female slave is bound to her master over the duration of her life - lifelong bondage. She can be redeemed from being under her master by purchase of money, and only if her master allows it. Yahweh, as recorded in the following verses, also mentions other specified circumstances that can bring about her redemption. But should these circumstances not occur a female slave is bound for life to her master.
Men Are Allowed To Marry Their Female Servants
Verse 8: A man who buys a female slave from her father can take her in marriage as his wife.
Subsequently, if his female slave who is also his wife displeases him, then he may allow her to be redeemed or bought back. This suggests that the person who may redeem her is her father. Once redeemed she would cease having this man as her master.
A man who buys a female slave from her father and takes her in marriage, and subsequently takes displeasure in her and determines to remove her from being under his authority, has no legal right to sell her to a foreign people - meaning those who are not Israelites. He can sell her only to a fellow Israelite.
Can the fellow Israelite be any Israelite, or must it be only her father or someone in her father’s household?
Why Are Israelite Female Slaves Debarred From
Being Sold To Non-Israelites?
There is a reason why a man who buys a female slave from her father and takes her in marriage and subsequently finds displeasure in her loses the legal freedom to sell her to anybody he chooses, save only to those allowed under the law. By taking her as wife her status is elevated from that of being just a female slave. The wife of an Israelite has legal rights that a non-wife female slave of an Israelite does not have. One of these rights is that should her master and husband take displeasure in her, and determines to remove her from being under his authority, he has no legal right to sell her to a non-Israelite. She can be sold only to a fellow Israelite, and not to a non-Israelite.
Why is it that a woman who has been married to an Israelite must remain within Israel by authority structure, and is not to leave Israel by authority structure even if she is removed from being under the authority of her Israelite husband? Is it to ensure that she does not become wrongly influenced by non-Israelites, leading to her leaving the worship of Yahweh?
Take In Marriage Only Those Women You Can Properly Provide For
Verse 10: An Israelite man who buys a female slave from her father and takes her in marriage can legally take another woman in marriage as wife, in addition to maintaining as wife her whom she bought as slave and then took in marriage as wife of his. In other words, an Israelite man can legally have more than one wife.
The act of an Israelite man in taking a wife in addition to her who originally was his female slave does not diminish or extinguish the legal rights of her who originally was his female slave. She is still entitled to food, clothing and marriage rights. In other words, she must still be provided for, even as she was provided for prior to her husband taking an additional wife.
There is an implied obligation on Israelite husbands to properly provide for all in their households, especially their wives. This obligation suggests that if an Israelite man is not capable of properly providing for more than one wife then he should not take in marriage an additional wife. In fact, if an Israelite man is not capable of properly providing for a wife then he should not take in marriage a woman. Israelite men should only take in marriage the number of women they can properly provide for, and if they, at a particular point in time, are not yet capable of providing for a wife, then they should not at that point in time take in marriage a woman. This obligation suggests that only those who are well to do in terms of providing for their households are properly capable of taking in marriage more than a single wife.
An Israelite Man Without Means Need Not Live His
Life Without A Wife
Now if an Israelite man is not capable of properly providing for a wife, does this mean that he is condemned to living a life devoid of marriage? Not necessarily so. For, as already seen above, he can come under the authority of a fellow Israelite of means, who can then give him a wife while he is in his period of service to him. His master will provide both for him and his family during his period of service to his master. Therefore an Israelite, even one not of means, need not live his life without a wife and children if that indeed is his desire.
Properly Providing For One's Wives
Verse 11: If an Israelite man fails to properly provide for his wife who originally was his slave, especially by failing to provide her with sufficient food, clothing and marriage rights, meaning sufficient sexual intercourse, he loses his right to receive payment on account of his slave wife departing from service to him. His deprived wife is then free from being under his authority in the master-slave context, without any payment having been made to him. It is therefore imperative that an Israelite master properly provides for all of his slaves, whether also wives or not.
Does this default right to freedom without the payment of redemption money which may be won by a wife of an Israelite who was initially his slave also hold for those wives of Israelites who were not initially acquired as slaves by their husbands? It appears to me that once a female slave has been elevated to being a wife, and thereby acquires the rights of a wife, that is as far as it reaches. She does not have rights greater than those of her co-wives who were not initially their husband's slaves. Therefore just as a wife who initially was a slave to her husband has the right to freedom from being under her husband’s authority without the payment of redemption money due to her husband’s default in properly providing for her, so also has the wife who initially was not her husband’s slave. The same law applies to all wives, irrespective of whether or not one initially was her husband’s slave.
Marrying A Woman Carries Obligations
It should also be clearly noted that with marriage an Israelite man assumes obligations. His obligations do not end with the payment of the acquisition price upon acquiring a wife or a slave whom he subsequently makes his wife. They continue right through the marriage, in that he must properly provide for his wife right through the marriage. Marriage is not a free ride as some might think. Rather, it has obligations that must be fulfilled.
Service For A Female Servant Is For Life, Unless
She Is Redeemed
From the above verses, it appears that for most intents and purposes a female slave is basically a wife of his master, or a wife of his master’s son, or a wife of another man in the household of his master, such as the wife of a male slave of his master. Hers is a lifelong bondage in the household of his master, being answerable to his master either directly, such as when she is wife to his master, or indirectly, such as when she is answerable to another man in the household of her master, who in turn is answerable to her master.
Her redemption arises only when she has displeased her master and her master allows her to be redeemed from his service, or when her master has mistreated her in not properly providing for her, such as by denying her food, clothing and sexual intercourse. Otherwise she is bound for life in her master’s household.
Deuteronomy 24:1-2 reads,
24:1When a man takes a wife, and marries her, then it shall be, if she find no favor in his eyes, because he has found some unseemly thing in her, that he shall write her a bill of divorce, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 24:2When she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife.
How A Marriage Is Terminated While Both Man And Woman
Are Alive
For a woman to cease being wife to a particular man that man must have
provided her with a bill of divorce and sent her out of his house. If the man
just sends her out of his house without providing her with a bill of divorce
she does not cease to be his wife. She therefore cannot become the wife of
another man until such time as she has received a bill of divorce from her
husband, at which time she ceases to be his wife.
A Woman Is Not Legally Required To Pay Money For The
Termination Of Her Marriage
Exodus 21:10-11 reads,
21:10If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marital rights. 21:11If he doesn’t do these three things for her, she may go free without paying any money.
It should be noted from Deuteronomy 24:1-2 that the wife who is divorced
from her husband does not pay her husband any money upon being divorced by him.
In other words, the termination of a marriage is devoid of payment of any money
by the wife.
Exodus 21:11 Talks About Freedom From Service NOT
Freedom From Marriage
Seeing that Exodus 21:11 talks about an implied requirement of a slave
wife paying money for her redemption it ought to be understood that the
redemption spoken about here is that from slavery, rather than from her
marriage to a slave master and husband. In other words, if her slave master
does not provide her with food, clothing and sex, his failure to provide her
with these is deemed as payment on the part of his slave wife with respect to
securing her redemption from her slavery to him. But her role as his wife does
not change, until such time as he gives her a bill of divorce.
Failure By A Man To Provide For His Wife Does Not
Terminate Her Marriage To Him
Seeing that the previous slave wife who is now a free wife is still not
receiving food, clothing and sex from her husband, it is indeed understood that
the validity of a marriage does not depend on a husband providing his wife with
food, clothing and sex. In other words, once a man and a woman are married,
that marriage continues until it is severed on allowable grounds, which include
the death of either the man or the woman, or the man giving the woman a bill of
divorce.
Isaiah 4:1 reads,
4:1Seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, "We will eat our own bread, and wear our own clothing: only let us be called by your name. Take away our reproach."
These women understand that it is not essential for their marriages to
subsist if their husband is not providing them with food and clothing, provided
they have been married by him, meaning they have been taken by him as his wives
and he has had sex with them. In other words, once a man takes a woman as his
wife, and marries her by having sex with her, she remains his wife even if he
does not provide her with food, clothing and subsequent sex. Her marriage to
him ceases only upon the death of either the man or the woman, or by the man
giving the woman a bill of divorce.]
Exodus 21:20-21 reads,
21:20"If
a man strikes his servant or his maid with a rod, and he dies under his hand,
he shall surely be punished. 21:21Notwithstanding,
if he gets up after a day or two, he shall not be punished, for he is his
property.
It is quite clear from these verses that male and female servants or slaves are the property of their master. Nevertheless, despite being his property, Yahweh has regulated the manner in which a man's slaves ought to be treated.
They can be disciplined with appropriate punishment, but they must not be cruelly treated such as by beatings that lead to death. It is therefore imperative that a master shows due care and concern for his slaves.
A Slave's Contingent Right To Freedom
Exodus 21:26-27 reads,
21:26"If
a man strikes his servant’s eye, or his maid’s eye, and destroys it, he shall
let him go free for his eye’s sake. 21:27If
he strikes out his man-servant’s tooth, or his maid-servant’s tooth, he shall
let him go free for his tooth’s sake.
If a master beats up a male or female slave and destroys a part of his or her body, the destruction of that part of his or her body will win the slave redemption from his or her master. A master who therefore desires to keep slaves under his domain must treat them with due care and concern, and not cruelly.
Exodus 21:32 reads,
21:32If
the bull gores a man-servant or a maid-servant, thirty shekels of silver shall
be given to their master, and the ox shall be stoned.
Yahweh set the price of a male or female slave at thirty shekels of silver.
Exodus 22:16-17 reads,
22:16"If
a man entices a virgin who isn’t pledged to be married, and lies with her, he
shall surely pay a dowry for her to be his wife. 22:17If her father utterly refuses to give her
to him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.
Once a man has enticed a virgin and lain with her, he is compelled to take that woman as his wife. This he does by paying the woman’s father the bride price for virgins. But only if the woman’s father agrees to give her to him!
If the woman’s father refuses to give her to him, he shall still pay to the woman’s father the bride price for virgins. For he has removed from the woman her virginity, and thereby must pay to her father what he would have received by way of bride price for virgins from someone else he would have approved of to give his daughter to in marriage. For the bride price for non-virgins is not as great as that for virgins. And the woman’s father must not be denied his rightful bride price by the rape of his daughter.
Sex Between A Man And An Unbetrothed Woman Does
Not Commence A Marriage Between Them
It should also be noted that though the man has sexually lain with the woman not pledged to be married she is still not his wife. She can only become his wife when her father has agreed to give her to him in marriage, and he has paid dowry for her to be his wife. It should therefore be noted that sex between a man and a woman not pledged to be married does not mark the commencement of a marriage between that man and that woman.
Can A Virgin Woman Marry Whomever She Pleases?
That the woman’s father can refuse to give her away shows that a father has authority over his daughters with respect to their marriage partner. For even if the woman has been enticed and has already lain with a man, and therefore demonstrates her desire to be wife to this man, her father can still overrule her choice and desire. Being under the authority of her father, and remaining under his authority until such time as he releases her from it by giving her away in marriage, she must be fully subject to her father and do as her father says, especially with regard to marriage. A woman therefore has no authority to marry whomever she chooses without her father’s consent and giving away of her to a husband. She must do as her father says.
Are The Children Of Slaves Bonded For Life?
Exodus 23:12 reads,
23:12"Six
days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your
ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your handmaid, and the
alien may be refreshed.
One’s entire household, including the son of one’s female servant, whether that female servant is wife to one or wife to a male within one’s household, should rest on the seventh day, the Sabbath, having done work for the six previous days. This allows one's entire household, including the son of one’s female servant, and even the stranger within one’s household, to be refreshed.
It should be clear that the children of one’s female slaves belong to one. They are part and parcel of one’s household. They are not free. They are just as much slaves in one’s household as their mother.
Are they lifelong slaves or not?
It appears to me that if they are men, and have become of age, then they are entitled to be released at the end of the sixth year, just as those men who become one’s slaves are so entitled to be released. But if they are females then they are in the power of their master, and it is their master who will determine whom to give them to, whether directly in marriage within or without his household, or as a female slave of someone else. For female slaves do not have the right of release as male slaves do, but only have a right of release in very specific circumstances as elaborated upon above.
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