29:2 Moses proclaimed to all Israel as follows: “You have seen all that the Lord did 1 in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, all his servants, and his land.
15:12 If your fellow Hebrew 2 – whether male or female 3 – is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you must let that servant 4 go free. 5 15:13 If you set them free, you must not send them away empty-handed. 15:14 You must supply them generously 6 from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress – as the Lord your God has blessed you, you must give to them. 15:15 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore, I am commanding you to do this thing today.
10:28 “Now the rest of the people – the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple attendants, and all those who have separated themselves from the neighboring peoples 7 because of the law of God, along with their wives, their sons, and their daughters, all of whom are able to understand – 10:29 hereby participate with their colleagues the town leaders 8 and enter into a curse and an oath 9 to adhere to 10 the law of God which was given through Moses the servant of God, and to obey 11 carefully all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, 12 along with his ordinances and his statutes.
1 tn The Hebrew text includes “to your eyes,” but this is redundant in English style (cf. the preceding “you have seen”) and is omitted in the translation.
2 sn Elsewhere in the OT, the Israelites are called “Hebrews” (עִבְרִי, ’ivriy) by outsiders, rarely by themselves (cf. Gen 14:13; 39:14, 17; 41:12; Exod 1:15, 16, 19; 2:6, 7, 11, 13; 1 Sam 4:6; Jonah 1:9). Thus, here and in the parallel passage in Exod 21:2-6 the term עִבְרִי may designate non-Israelites, specifically a people well-known throughout the ancient Near East as ’apiru or habiru. They lived a rather vagabond lifestyle, frequently hiring themselves out as laborers or mercenary soldiers. While accounting nicely for the surprising use of the term here in an Israelite law code, the suggestion has against it the unlikelihood that a set of laws would address such a marginal people so specifically (as opposed to simply calling them aliens or the like). More likely עִבְרִי is chosen as a term to remind Israel that when they were “Hebrews,” that is, when they were in Egypt, they were slaves. Now that they are free they must not keep their fellow Israelites in economic bondage. See v. 15.
3 tn Heb “your brother, a Hebrew (male) or Hebrew (female).”
4 tn Heb “him.” The singular pronoun occurs throughout the passage.
5 tn The Hebrew text includes “from you.”
6 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “generously.”
7 tn Heb “from the peoples of the lands.” Cf. vv. 30, 31.
8 tn Heb “the nobles.”
9 tn The expression “a curse and an oath” may be a hendiadys, meaning “an oath with penalties.”
10 tn Heb “to walk in.”
11 tn Heb “keep.” See the note on the word “obey” in Neh 1:5.
12 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).