Release of Hebrew Servants

Deuteronomy 15:12–18 is the movement “Release of Hebrew Servants.” Read it inside Moses’ final covenant instruction to Israel on the eastern side of the Jordan as the people prepare for life in the land. The section opens with: “And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.” It closes with: “It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.”

The immediate task here is to understand the covenant instruction in its own setting before asking whether later Scripture develops the same theme. No later connection should be forced merely to make the section look fuller.

The key reading question is therefore not simply, “What rule or event appears here?” but, “What does this movement teach Israel about the LORD, covenant loyalty, life in the land, and the consequences of trusting or resisting His word?”