Komentaryo sa Exodo 21:4: Rashi, Chizkuni, Da'at Zekenim & Ramban

אם אדניו יתן לו אשה IF HIS LORD HAS GIVEN HIM A WIFE — From this we learn that if he has already an Israelite wife the master has the right to give him a Canaanitish handmaid with the object of raising slaves. Or perhaps this is not so, but Scripture by אשה is speaking about an Israelite woman?! Scripture, however, states: “the wife and her children shall be the master’s”, consequently the text can only be speaking of a Canaanitish woman, for a Hebrew maidservant goes free at the end of six years just as a Hebrew man-servant does — yea, even before the termination of six years she goes free if she shows symptoms of incipient puberty (cf. Rashi v. 7) — for it is said, (Deuteronomy 15:12) “[and if] thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, [be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years, then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee]”, which statement teaches you that a Hebrew woman also goes free after six years’ service (Mekhilta; Kiddushin 14b).

אם אדוניו יתן לו אשה, “If his ‘master’ will give him a wife;” according to Rashi, the “wife” is a gentile slave of his master, and this verse is the halachic source that this is not only permitted, but that he may insist on his servant having a woman with whom he, and only he, performs marital union. (Mechilta, chapter 2, on this verse) The logic according to our author appears to be that seeing that the master is at any rate obligated to provide for the Jewish wife and children of such a “slave,” he may recover some of the expense giving this Jewish “slave” a Canaanite slave-woman and the children from such a union shall remain his property. Targum Onkelos adds to his translation that the master is not permitted to “give” a female Jewish salve to such a “slave”, as no Jewish woman may be forced to marry someone. If the “slave” had married a Jewish slave of his master during his stay there she will leave with him without the master receiving any compensation. Rashi points out here that proof that the master has no control over the body of a Jewish slave is that the Torah legislates that if such a Hebrew slave sold by her father reaches earlier than usual puberty, she immediately can leave her master. He quotes 21,7 as well as Deuteronomy 15,12 as his proof.

אם אדוניו, “if his master etc.” here the Torah authorises the master of this Hebrew (unmarried) servant to give him one of his Canaanite slave-women as a “wife” to have children with, provided he had previously been married to a Jewish wife. If this “servant” had previously not been married, he cannot force him to enter into such a relationship with a Canaanite woman. This ruling is based on the words in verse 3: אם בגפו יבא בגפו יצא, ”if he came as a bachelor, he will leave as a bachelor.” The reason underlying this legislation is that if he had previously been married to a Jewish woman he will not feel attracted to a Canaanite slave woman.