If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money. The female servant who is deprived of food, clothing, or marital rights is released from the household unconditionally — no redemption price required. The three deprivations that warrant release are the same three obligations named in verse 10. The law gives the woman a concrete legal remedy: if the man fails his obligations, she is free. The provision of a legal exit from an abusive arrangement is itself a remarkable protection in the ancient world. Deuteronomy 24:1–4 regulates divorce partly to protect women from abandonment. The concern for the vulnerable person's ability to leave an unjust situation runs through both passages as a consistent covenant ethics.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

Publish a note on this verse