Text: Deuteronomy 15:12-18
OT Text Referred to: Exodus 21:1-11
Subject: Hebrew slave laws — parallel legislation
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): None
Significance: Exodus 21:1-11 and Deuteronomy 15:12-18 are parallel treatments of Hebrew slave legislation. Both establish the six-year service limit with release in the seventh (שְׁמִטָּה, shemittah), and both address the scenario of a slave who voluntarily chooses permanent service. Key differences reflect Deuteronomy's humanitarian emphasis: Deuteronomy requires generous provision at release, explicitly includes women, and grounds the entire law in exodus memory rather than mere legal procedure. The ear-piercing ceremony for the willing slave (רָצַע, ratsa, "to bore through") appears in both texts verbatim, while Deuteronomy adds that the freed slave "has been worth double the wages of a hired hand" (Deut 15:18), honoring the slave's economic contribution.