What Does Exodus 21:6 Mean in the King James?

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.

Exodus 21:6 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

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.

“serve” 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 ever” 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 shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:

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

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

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

Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

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

THE THREAD

Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.

Deuteronomy 15:17 · KJV

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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