Bible Strands
Jeremiah 34:9
that each man should free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female, and no one should hold his fellow Jew in bondage.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The verse records the terms of the covenant King Zedekiah and the people of Jerusalem swore to enact, as delivered through the prophet Jeremiah. It commands every citizen in Jerusalem to release their Hebrew servants and cease holding fellow Israelites in bondage.
The words — The command centers on לְ֠/שַּׁלַּח (le./sha.lach), meaning "to let go" or release, and הָ/עִבְרִ֥י (ha./'iv.Ri), identifying the servants specifically as Hebrew. These terms frame the covenant requirement as a mandatory release of both male and female Hebrew bond-servants.
The thread — The covenant's liberty mandate is immediately enacted by the officials and people who release their menservants and maidservants (Jeremiah 34:10), while the designation "Hebrew" appears elsewhere in Scripture to identify individuals or their land of origin (Genesis 14:13; Genesis 40:15).
Why it lands — The text establishes a concrete legal requirement for the immediate emancipation of Hebrew bond-servants by their fellow citizens. It demands that the covenant community replace economic exploitation with the mandated practice of release.
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
That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother.
Cross-references
- Genesis 14:13 Then an escapee came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the Oaks of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were bound by treaty to Abram.
- Genesis 40:15 For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing for which they should have put me in this dungeon.”
- Exodus 2:6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the little boy was crying. So she had compassion on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.”
- Exodus 3:18 The elders of Israel will listen to what you say, and you must go with them to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’
- Leviticus 25:39 If a countryman among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you, then you must not force him into slave labor.
- Deuteronomy 15:12 If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you must set him free.
- 1 Samuel 4:6 On hearing the noise of the shout, the Philistines asked, “What is this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?” And when they realized that the ark of the LORD had entered the camp,
- 1 Samuel 4:9 Take courage and be men, O Philistines! Otherwise, you will serve the Hebrews just as they served you. Now be men and fight!”
- 1 Samuel 14:11 So the two of them showed themselves to the outpost of the Philistines, who exclaimed, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they were hiding!”
- Jeremiah 25:14 For many nations and great kings will enslave them, and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.’”