Women in the Bible

Female Hebrew Slaves

Exodus 21:7-11, 20, 26-27; Leviticus 19:20; 25:6, 44; Deuteronomy 5:14; 15:12-18; 1 Samuel 8:16; Jeremiah 34:8-16

• Exodus 21:7-11 “When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves 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 dealt unfairly with her. If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish the food, clothing, or marital rights of the first wife. And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out without debt, without payment of money.

• Exodus 21:20 “When a slaveowner strikes a male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies immediately, the owner shall be punished.

List of Reading & Resources:

Articles

• “The Hebrew Slave: Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy” by Dr. Rabbi Zev Farber

• “Slavery in the Hebrew Bible” by Zev Farber

• “Slavery in the Bible” by Benjamin Scolnic

Books

• “Female Hebrew Slaves” (pp.193-194) by Carolyn Pressler in Women in Scripture: A Dictionary of Named and Unnamed Women in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, and the New Testament by Carol Meyers (2001)