Master May Not Sell a Hebrew Maidservant
The Hebrew Maidservant — Her Legal Status
Exodus 21:7–11: “When a man sells his daughter as a servant, she shall not go out as the male servants do. If she does not please her master, who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her.” The Hebrew maidservant (amah ivriyyah) occupied a specific legal status. She was sold by her father (typically in poverty) with the implicit or explicit understanding that she might become the wife of her master or his son. This created obligations on the master that did not exist for male Hebrew slaves.
The prohibition of commandment #608: “he shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people.” The word “l'am nokri” (to a foreign people) means he cannot transfer her service outside the Israelite community. She entered servitude under conditions that implied specific protections; selling her externally strips those protections and violates the terms under which she was sold. The Torah characterizes this as “bigdo vah” — dealing treacherously with her — a betrayal of trust.
Three Protections for the Hebrew Maidservant
Exodus 21:9–11 continues: if his son takes her, she must be treated as a daughter; if he takes another wife, he may not diminish her food, clothing, or marital rights; if he does not provide these, she goes free without payment. These three protections — no sale to foreigners, treatment as a daughter if given to the son, and guaranteed food/clothing/rights if another wife is taken — form a coherent package. The amah entered her master's household on terms that carried these obligations. They cannot be dissolved by sale or by the master taking a more convenient alternative.
Deuteronomy 15:12–14 establishes that the Hebrew slave is to be released in the seventh year and sent out generously: “you shall not let him go empty-handed; you shall furnish him liberally.” The maidservant's protections go further: she doesn't simply go free — she has claims on the master that arise from the domestic and intimate nature of her service. The prohibition on selling her to foreigners protects her from being stripped of even the basic protection of remaining within the Israelite community.
The Law Against Treachery in Domestic Servitude
The word “bigdo vah” — he has dealt treacherously with her — appears in the same verse as the prohibition on foreign sale. This language of treachery (b'gidah) is used in the Torah for covenant violations, especially in intimate relationships. Malachi 2:14: “The LORD is witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously.” The same term applied to the amah creates an implied covenant: by purchasing her into his household with the implicit possibility of marriage or her becoming his son's wife, the master entered a relationship that carries covenantal obligations. Selling her to foreigners violates that covenant.
- Am Nokri — Exodus 21:8: “to a foreign people.” The prohibition is specifically on external sale. The master may not transfer the amah outside the Israelite community where her protections would be lost. She remains within the framework of Israelite law and Israelite community obligations.
- Three Protections — Exodus 21:9–11: no foreign sale, treatment as daughter if given to the son, guaranteed rights if another wife is taken. Together they define the minimum obligations that arise from the master's purchase of a Hebrew maidservant.
- Bigdo Vah — “He has dealt treacherously with her.” The covenant-violation language signals that servitude created implied obligations, not just legal ownership. The amah's master entered a relationship with duties, not just rights.
Read the source passage in the reader.
Open in Reader — Exodus 21:8