8992. Verses 7-11 And when a man sells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 1
If she is bad 2
in the eyes of her master, so that he does not betroth her, let her be redeemed. He shall have no power to sell her to a foreign people 3
- he would be acting treacherously towards her. And if he betroths her to his son, he shall deal with her according to the judgement of daughters. 4
If he takes another one for himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marital rights. And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, for no silver.
'And when a man sells his daughter to be a female slave' means an affection for truth springing from natural delight. 'She shall not go out as the male slaves do' means a state unlike truth devoid of affection. 'If she is bad in the eyes of her master' means if the affection for truth springing from natural delight is not in agreement with spiritual truth. 'So that he does not betroth her' means so that it cannot be joined to it. 'Let her be redeemed' means alienation from those truths. 'He shall have no power to sell her to a foreign people' means that it must not pass to those who are not of the Church's faith. 'He would be acting treacherously towards her' means that this would be contrary to the laws of Divine order. 'And if he betroths her to his son' means if it is in agreement with some derived truth, so that it can be joined to it. 'He shall deal with her according to the judgement of daughters' means that it will then be like a genuine affection for truth. 'If he takes another one for himself' means being joined to an affection for truth stemming from some other source. 'He shalt not diminish her food, her clothing, and [her] marital rights' means no deprivation of inner life meant by 'food', nor of outer life meant by 'clothing', thus no deprivation of the joining together meant by 'right to be married'. 'If he does not do these three things for her' means the deprivation of those things. 'She shall go out for nothing, for no silver' means alienation from that [spiritual truth], without truth joined to it.
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