Exode 21:5

5 Que si l'esclave dit: J'aime mon maître, ma femme et mes enfants; je ne veux pas sortir pour être libre;

Exode 21:5 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 21:5

And if the servant shall plainly say
Or, "in saying shall say" ^F9 shall express himself in plain and full terms, and repeat his words, and abide by them, signifying it as his last will and determined resolution:

I love my master, my wife, and my children, and I will not go out free;
but continue in his servitude, having a great affection for his master, and that he might enjoy his wife and children he dearly loved; and being animated with such a principle, his servitude was a pleasure to him: and when our obedience to God springs from love to him, and to his cause and interest, which should be as dear to us as our families, it is then acceptable to God and delightful to ourselves; in ( Deuteronomy 15:16 ) ,

it is, because he loveth thee, and thine house, because he is well with
thee;
hence the Jewish writers say ^F11, understanding by "house" a family, if a servant has a wife and children and his master not, his ear is not to be bored; and if his master has a wife and children and he has not, his ear is not to be bored; if he loves his master and his master do not love him, or his master loves him and he do not love his master, or if he is sick his ear is not to be bored.

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 (rmay rma)
F11 T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 22. 1. Maimon. in Misn. Kiddushin, c. 1. sect. 2.

Exode 21:5 In-Context

3 S'il est venu seul, il sortira seul; s'il avait une femme, sa femme sortira avec lui.

4 Si son maître lui donne une femme, et qu'elle lui enfante des fils ou des filles, la femme et ses enfants seront au maître, et il sortira seul.

5 Que si l'esclave dit: J'aime mon maître, ma femme et mes enfants; je ne veux pas sortir pour être libre;

6 Alors son maître l'amènera devant Dieu et le fera approcher de la porte ou du poteau, et son maître lui percera l'oreille avec un poinçon, et il le servira toujours.

7 Si quelqu'un vend sa fille pour être esclave, elle ne sortira point comme sortent les esclaves.