What Does Exodus 21:6 Mean?

Then his master brings him near to the judges, and brings him near to the door or to the doorpost, and his master pierces his ear with an awl, and he serves him for the ages.

Exodus 21:6 · SDV

Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.

Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.

This verse in the King James

King James wording

King James Version

Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.

THE KEY

At the doorway, an inward decision to remain becomes a public mark on the body and a lasting bond of service.

THE MEANING

The verse presents a bond made visible at the threshold: the servant’s ear is pierced, and his service continues for an age-long, open-ended span. Its force is bodily and public, carrying service beyond the ordinary release point.

THE ROOT

וַעֲבָדוֹ

va’avado

GROWS FROM

עבד

To work, labor, or serve.

“serves” in this verse is va’avado. The same root names the person in service, eved, and the work or service itself, avodah. The verse holds the servant’s bond and his continuing service inside one word-family.

ALSO GROWS

eved: Servant.

עֶבֶד

The related noun names the person whose ongoing service the verse describes.

avodah: Work or service.

עֲבֹדָה

This branch names the labor that continues as part of the servant’s bond.

לְעֹלָם

le’olam

GROWS FROM

עלם

A far-reaching span of time; an age or continuing duration.

“for the ages” in this verse is le’olam. Here le’olam gives the service an age-long, open-ended duration, carrying it past the ordinary release point.

ALSO GROWS

olam: An age or long duration.

עוֹלָם

The base form shows the temporal sense carried by the phrase in this verse.

olamim: Ages or long spans of time.

עוֹלָמִים

The plural form extends the same time-word across ages.

THE PATTERN

A declared allegiance takes form in the service that follows.

And if the servant says plainly, "I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free."

Exodus 21:5 · SDVThe servant states his attachment and his choice to remain; the next verse gives that decision a bodily mark.

And if it seems evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you settle. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Joshua 24:15 · SDVThe choice of whom to serve becomes an expressed commitment that includes the speaker’s house.

Do you not know that to the one you set yourselves beside as servants for hearing and response, his servants you are, the one you hear and respond to; whether of falling short unto death, or of hearing and response unto alignment?

Romans 6:16 · SDVYielding oneself is described through the continuing service that follows.

THE THREAD

Then you shall take the awl and set it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your servant for the ages. And to your maidservant you shall do likewise.

Deuteronomy 15:17 · SDV

Deuteronomy repeats the ear piercing at the doorway and the continuing service. The shared root ⁨עבד⁩ (avad, serve) links the action to the servant, while ⁨לְעֹלָם⁩ (le’olam, an age or continuing duration) names the span.

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