Who is the amah ivrit (Hebrew female slave), and how does her situation differ from the male slave’s?

The amah is a Hebrew girl sold by her father into a household — typically as a designated wife for the master or his son. Unlike the male eved ivri who goes free in the seventh year, her release is governed by whether the designated marriage occurs and what treatment she receives. She is protected by specific rights rather than a fixed term.

What does Exodus 21:8’s “she shall not please her master” scenario require?

If the master designated her as a wife but she does not please him, he must allow her to be redeemed by her family — he cannot sell her to foreigners. The clause explicitly states “he has no authority to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her.” Her right to family redemption is protected.

What three rights does Exodus 21:10 guarantee the amah if the master takes another wife?

Food (sheir), clothing (kesut), and conjugal rights (onah) must not be diminished. These three become the foundational marital obligations in the Talmud (Ketubbot 47b): what a husband owes every wife is derived from what even an amah could not have taken from her.

Why does the Torah specify “he shall deal with her as with a daughter” in Exodus 21:9?

If the master designates the amah for his son, the son must treat her with the full rights of a daughter — that is, a fully recognized family member with all marital protections. The phrase prevents the arrangement from being a legal cover for exploitation: she is not a concubine of lesser status but a wife with the standing of a daughter-in-law.

How does the amah’s protection in Exodus 21:10 seep into general marriage law?

The Talmud (Ketubbot 47b) uses the three rights of the amah — food, clothing, conjugal rights — as the baseline for what every husband owes every wife. The protections designed for the most vulnerable marital arrangement become the minimum standard for all marriage. Torah law often works this way: protecting the weakest sets the floor for everyone.

Commandment #184 · Positive · Social & Ethical Laws

She Shall Not Go Out as the Male Slaves Do: The Hebrew Female Slave

אָמָה עִבְרִיָּה

Source: Exodus 21:7 · Maimonides, Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive #234

Immediately following the law of the Hebrew male slave (Commandment #183), Exodus 21:7 opens the laws of the amah ivrit — the Hebrew female slave. The key difference is stated at once: “she shall not go out as the male slaves do.” The male slave’s sixth-year term and seventh-year release are not her framework. She is sold with a view to marriage — either to the master himself or to his son (Exodus 21:8). The Torah’s concern is entirely for her protection within that arrangement.

She Shall Not Go Out as the Male Slaves Do

וְכִי יִמְכֹּר אִישׁ אֶת בִּתּוֹ לְאָמָה לֹא תֵצֵא כְּצֵאת הָעֲבָדִים

"When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do."

Exodus 21:7 — Open in Torah Reader

The amah (female slave/maidservant) is sold by her father — typically a minor, often with the intention that she will become a wife in the master’s household. Exodus 21:8–9 describes the expected outcome: she is designated for the master (“if she does not please her master who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed”) or for his son (“if he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter”). The father’s sale is not abandonment but a form of betrothal arrangement within a household. If the designated marriage does not occur, she must be redeemed — the master cannot simply sell her to a foreign people.

Her Three Rights: Food, Clothing, Marital Rights

וְאִם לִבְנוֹ יִיעָדֶנָּה כְּמִשְׁפַּט הַבָּנוֹת יַעֲשֶׂה לָּהּ

"If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter."

Exodus 21:9 — Open in Torah Reader

Exodus 21:10 states the three inviolable rights of the amah if the master takes another wife: (1) her food shall not be diminished, (2) her clothing shall not be diminished, (3) her conjugal rights shall not be diminished. These three rights — sheir, kesut, onah — become the Talmudic basis for the three foundational marital obligations a husband owes any wife (Ketubbot 47b). The amah’s protections seep into general marriage law: what is owed to the most vulnerable wife becomes the minimum owed to every wife.

Key Figures

Hagar: The Egyptian Handmaid

Genesis 16 records Sarah giving her handmaid Hagar to Abraham as a wife when Sarah could not conceive. The arrangement reflects the ancient Near Eastern context within which Exodus 21:7–11’s laws operate: a female servant’s transition into a marital relationship with the household head. Hagar’s subsequent suffering when Sarah despised her (16:6) is precisely the kind of wrong Exodus 21:10’s protection against diminishing rights was designed to prevent.

The Daughters of Zelophehad

Numbers 27 records five daughters successfully petitioning Moses for their father’s inheritance. The episode establishes that daughters have legal standing to claim and hold property — a principle that undergirds the Torah’s concern for the amah’s rights. The Torah is not indifferent to daughters’ legal protections; the Zelophehad ruling shows it will legislate actively to ensure them.

Study Questions

For reflection and group study

What does “she shall not go out as the male slaves do” (Exodus 21:7) reveal about the different purpose and framework of the female slave’s term of service?

What three options does Exodus 21:8–9 describe for the amah’s relationship to the master’s household, and what protection is given if none is realized?

What are the three inviolable rights established in Exodus 21:10, and how do they become the basis for general marital law in the Talmud (Ketubbot 47b)?

How does the amah’s situation in Exodus 21:7–11 reflect the Torah’s broader pattern of protecting the most vulnerable member of a household arrangement?

How does Hagar’s story in Genesis 16 illuminate the kind of wrong the protections in Exodus 21:10 were designed to prevent?

Read the full passage in the Torah reader.

Open Exodus 21 in the Bible Reader

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