Exodus 21:6-8
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
6 his master shall bring him to God[a] and there, at the door or doorpost, he shall pierce his ear with an awl, thus keeping him as his slave forever.
7 When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go free as male slaves do. 8 But if she displeases her master, who had designated her[b] for himself, he shall let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her.
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- 21:6 To God: the ritual of the piercing of the slave’s ear, which signified a lifetime commitment to the master, probably took place at the door of the household, where God as protector of the household was called upon as a witness. Another possible location for the ritual would have been the door of the sanctuary, where God or judges would have witnessed the slave’s promise of lifetime obedience to his master.
- 21:8 Designated her: intended her as a wife of second rank.
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