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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 21:1-11

The Exod. 21:1 is the general title of the laws contained in this and the two following chapters, some of them relating to the religious worship of God, but most of them relating to matters between man and man. Their government being purely a Theocracy, that which in other states is to be settled by human prudence was directed among them by a divine appointment, so that the constitution of their government was peculiarly adapted to make them happy. These laws are called judgments, because they... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 21:3

If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself ,.... That is, if he came into his servitude "alone", as the Septuagint version has it, he should go out of it in like manner; the word for "by himself", some interpret with "his garment" F6 בגפו "cum quali veste", V. L. "cum veste sua"; some in Vatablus & Drusius. , or the skirt of one; and then the sense seems to be, that as he was clothed when he was sold, so he should be when made free: but rather the phrase literally is... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 21:3

If he came in by himself - If he and his wife came in together, they were to go out together: in all respects as he entered, so should he go out. This consideration seems to have induced St. Jerome to translate the passage thus: Cum quali veste intraverat, cum tali exeat . "He shall have the same coat in going out, as he had when he came in," i.e., if he came in with a new one, he shall go out with a new one, which was perfectly just, as the former coat must have been worn out in his... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 21:1-11

Regulations for the treatment of slaves. I. THE CONDITIONAL ELEMENT RUNNING THROUGH THESE REGULATIONS . What a difference there is here from the strong, uncompromising imperatives of Exodus 20:1-26 ! There we feel that we have to do with man, not only as he is at the time, a Hebrew in the wilderness, but with every man, in every age, and in all sorts of social circumstances. The ten commandments simply assume humanity and society. But the regulations now to be considered... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 21:2-12

Hebrew bond-service. The laws relating to this subject are to be found, in addition to those in the present chapter, in Exodus 12:43-45 ; Exodus 22:3 ; Le Exodus 25:39 -55; Exodus 26:13 ; Deuteronomy 12:12 , Deuteronomy 12:18 ; Deuteronomy 15:15-19 ; Deuteronomy 16:11 , Deuteronomy 16:14 ; Deuteronomy 21:10-15 ; Deuteronomy 23:15 ; Deuteronomy 24:7 . An impartial examination of these laws will show how fallacious must be every argument attempted to be deduced from... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 21:2-35

The slave laws. Slave laws belong to all communities, and not to some only, slavery being really a universal and not a partial institution. In the most civilised communities of modern Europe, there are two large classes of slaves—lunatics and criminals. The law openly condemns these last to penal servitude, which may be for life; and this "servitude," as Lord Chief Justice Coleridge has repeatedly pointed out, is simply a form of slavery. Ancient communities differed from modern— 1 .... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 21:3

If he came in by himself , etc. The first clause of this verse is further explained in the next; the second secured to the wife who went into slavery with her husband a participation in his privilege of release at the end of the sixth year. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Exodus 21:3

If a married man became a bondman, his rights in regard to his wife were respected: but if a single bondman accepted at the hand of his master a bondwoman as his wife, the master did not lose his claim to the woman or her children, at the expiration of the husband’s term of service. Such wives, it may be presumed, were always foreign slaves. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Exodus 21:3

Exodus 21:3. If he came in by himself That is, single, he shall so depart: if married, his wife was to depart with him. read more

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