Bible Strands
Exodus 21:9
And if he chooses her for his son, he must deal with her as with a daughter.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses delivers Yahweh’s legal instructions to Israel regarding a female bondswoman designated by her master. The directive applies at the moment a master arranges the woman’s marriage to his son.
The words — יִֽיעָדֶ֑נָּה (yi.'aDe./nah) translates literally as "he will designate her," and כְּמִשְׁפַּט הַבָּנוֹת (ke./mish.Pat ha./ba.Not) means "according to the custom of the daughters."
The thread — The verse continues the immediate legal sequence regulating a master’s obligations when he takes a female bondswoman into his household. It runs parallel to Exodus 21:8 and 21:10, which establish that designated women receive formalized status and protected rights within the family structure.
Why it lands — The text requires the master to immediately grant the designated woman the full legal standing and household provisions of a daughter. It instructs the reader to recognize that formal family designation legally elevates her status and secures her material and relational rights.
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
And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.