“Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.”
Then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life. The ear-piercing at the doorpost is the physical mark of the permanent commitment. The doorpost where the Passover blood was applied is the same doorpost where the servant's voluntary permanent bondage is marked. The connection is deliberate: the blood that covered Israel's households on the night of liberation is the same doorpost that witnesses a free person's voluntary choice of permanent service. The ear is pierced because the ear is the organ of hearing — the servant who hears and obeys is marked at the organ of his obedience. Psalm 40:6 says sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have opened — the opened ear is the posture of the servant who chooses to remain.
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