Bible Strands
Exodus 21:10
If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The text records divine legislation given to Israel through Moses regarding a Hebrew female slave who becomes a wife. The speaker addresses the male head of household who decides to take a second wife.
The words — שְׁאֵרָהּ (she'erah) literally means her food, and עֹנָתָהּ ('onatah) literally means her right to intercourse.
The thread — The requirement appears in Exodus 21:9–11, which outlines the master's obligations to a former slave-wife, and parallels Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians 7:1 regarding sexual relations.
Why it lands — The text commands a man to maintain the material and physical provisions of his first wife regardless of a new marriage, requiring readers to prioritize existing marital obligations over new desires.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
Cross-references
- 1 Corinthians 7:1 Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good to abstain from sexual relations.