Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 15:17
Then thou shalt take an awl, and thrust [it] through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant forever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.
17. thou shalt take an awl ] Lit. a borer, only here and in Exo 21:6.
and thrust it through his ear ] Lit. set, or give, it; E, bore or pierce his ear. His ear because it is the organ of obedience. Cp. Psa 40:6, mine ears thou hast opened; Isa 50:4 f., morning by morning he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the taught The Lord Jehovah hath opened mine ear. In the Code of ammurabi ( 282) the slave who denies his master has his ear cut off.
unto the door ] E, to the door or doorpost, i.e. of his master’s house. See Driver on Exo 21:6, and the meaning of the other phrase there, to the Elohim, which D omits, whether because it means the local sanctuary, abolished by D’s law, or some domestic image of deity, still more repugnant to D. See Clay Trumbull, The Threshold Covenant, 210.
thy bondman for ever ] i.e. for life; ‘again a good example of the relative force of the Heb. phrase for ever ’ (Berth.).
And also unto thy bondwoman, etc.] See introd. note.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 17. Thou shalt take an awl] See Clarke on Ex 21:6.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
For ever, i.e. all the time of his life, or, at least, till the year of jubilee. See on Exo 21:6.
Unto thy maid-servant thou shalt do likewise, i.e. either dismiss her honourably, and with plenty of provisions; or engage her to perpetual servitude in the same manner, and by the same rites; whence it appears that this case differs from that Exo 21:7, and that the maid-servant there was taken in upon other and better terms than this here.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Then thou shall take an awl, and thrust it through his ear unto the door,…. Not of his master’s house, but of the sanhedrim, or court of judicature, according to the Targum of Jonathan, before whom he was to be brought, and declare his desire to continue with his master; [See comments on Ex 21:6],
and he shall be thy servant for ever; that is, unto the jubilee, as the same Targum; for then all servants were released, and so Jarchi calls it the ever of jubilee:
and also unto thy maidservant thou shall do likewise; not bore her ear, for, as both Jarchi and Aben Ezra, and others say, she was not to be bored; though some are of opinion that a maidservant who was willing to continue with her master was to be bored as a manservant; but this respects the manner of dismissing her, or letting her go free, when she was not to go empty, but to be liberally furnished and supplied, as a manservant was.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(17) And unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewisei.e., in furnishing her liberally (Rashi), and possibly also in retaining her if she will.
It must not be supposed that this contradicts Exo. 21:7, She shall not go out as the menservants do. She shall not go out according to the going of the men-servants (i.e., on the same principle). It is not said, She shall not go out at all. The exceptions are given in Exo. 21:8-11, which see. The general right of release is stated here. One difference (as stated by Rashi) is that women were not liable to be sold for theft like men, but might be sold by their parents in infancy. If the girl were not marriageable when the first Sabbatical year arrived, she would obtain her freedom absolutely, because the case contemplated in Exo. 21:8-10 could not possibly arise. And, generally, we may suppose that the rights of an unmarried female slave would be the same as those of a man, to go out free in the seventh year. (See Jer. 34:9.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
17. Take an awl, and thrust it through his ear The bored ears constituted a badge of slavery.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
aul. Only here, and Exo 21:6.
for ever. Figure of speech Synecdoche (of the Whole), App-6, whole time put for part of time.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
for ever: Lev 25:39-42, 1Sa 1:22
Reciprocal: Exo 21:5 – And if Exo 21:6 – for ever Job 41:4 – a servant
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
15:17 Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust [it] through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant {f} for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.
(f) To the year of Jubile, Lev 25:40.