Vayikra 25:44

44 Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the Goyim that are round about you; of them shall ye buy eved and amah.

Vayikra 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 ) .

Vayikra 25:44 In-Context

42 For they are My Eved, which I brought forth out of Eretz Mitzrayim; they shall not be sold in the manner of an eved.

43 Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor; but shalt fear Eloheicha.

44 Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the Goyim that are round about you; of them shall ye buy eved and amah.

45 Moreover of the bnei hatoshavim that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their mishpachot that are among you, which they fathered in your land; and they shall be your possession.

46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your banim after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen forever; but over your brethren, the Bnei Yisroel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigor.