Text: Jeremiah 34:14
OT Text Referred to: Deuteronomy 15:1
Subject: releasing slaves
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): None
Significance: Jeremiah 34:14 explicitly appeals to the Deuteronomic slave-release law: "At the end of seven years, each of you must free his Hebrew brother who has been sold to you" (שֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים... שִׁלַּחְתּוֹ חָפְשִׁי, shesh shanim... shillachto chofshi). This directly references Deuteronomy 15:1's Sabbatical year principle and the slave-release law of 15:12. Jeremiah recounts that Zedekiah and the people initially proclaimed a release (דְּרוֹר, deror) but then reneged, re-enslaving those they had freed. The violation becomes the basis for divine judgment: because they "profaned My name" by breaking the covenant, God proclaims a counter-release — "a release to the sword, to plague, and to famine" (34:17). The Deuteronomic law thus becomes the standard by which Judah's final covenant violation is judged.