If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. The law of the female servant is different from the male servant law, reflecting the different social and legal position of women in the ancient Near East. The daughter sold as a servant is not simply a laborer but is typically entering a household as a concubine or potential wife — a form of arranged marriage under economic pressure. The different treatment is not a lesser value placed on women but a recognition of the different vulnerability and the different social function involved. Verses 8–11 will specify the protections for this woman that make her situation different from both ordinary servitude and ordinary marriage.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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