Leviticus 25:44

44 And as for your male and female slaves whom you may have--from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves.

Leviticus 25:44 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 25:44

Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have,
&c.] Such it seems were allowed them, if they had need of them; but if they had them, they were to be not of the nation of Israel, but of other nations; this is an anticipation of an objection, as Jarchi observes; if so, who shall I have to minister to me? The answer follows, they [shall be] of the heathen that are round about thee, of them shall ye
buy bondmen and bondmaids;
that is, of the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, and Syrians, as Aben Ezra, that were their neighbours, that lived round about them, of any but the seven nations, which they were ordered utterly to destroy; wherefore Jarchi observes it is said, "that are round about thee"; not in the midst of the border of your land, for them they were not to save alive, ( Deuteronomy 20:16 ) .

Leviticus 25:44 In-Context

42 For they are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves.

43 You shall not rule over him with rigor, but you shall fear your God.

44 And as for your male and female slaves whom you may have--from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves.

45 Moreover you may buy the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property.

46 And you may take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them as a possession; they shall be your permanent slaves. But regarding your brethren, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with rigor.