“And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.”
You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly. The inheritance of foreign slaves and the permanent slavery for life communicate the different status of foreign slaves versus Israelite debt-servants: the former can be permanent, inheritable property; the latter must be released at the Jubilee. The but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly closes the contrast: the Israelite community member's protection from ruthless treatment is the covenant's specific provision for those who share the covenant identity.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
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