The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan opens the civil law section of Exodus with an astonishing clarification. "If thou shalt have bought a son of Israel, on account of his theft, six years he shall serve, and at the incoming of the seventh he shall go out free without price" (Exodus 21:2).
The Hebrew simply says if thou buy a Hebrew servant. The Targum adds the crucial phrase: on account of his theft. The Targumist refuses to let the reader imagine that Israelites could be sold into servitude for debt, poverty, or the whim of a purchaser. Only one legal path leads a Jew into a Jewish household as a servant — the court has convicted him of theft, and he has no means to repay.
This is a narrow, specific, rehabilitative institution. It is not slavery. It is a court-ordered labor sentence, and it is capped at six years. The seventh year arrives and the thief walks out free — without price, the Targum emphasizes. No redemption fee. No final payment. The slate is wiped by time itself.
Why six and seven? The rabbis heard the echo of creation. Six days of work, one day of rest. Six years of restitution, one year of liberation. The civil law mirrors the cosmic rhythm. Even the punishment of a thief is measured by the clock of God's own week.
And there is a deeper mercy in the Targum's gloss. By naming theft as the specific cause, the Targumist protects every other Israelite from ending up in bondage. A Jew who is poor does not become a servant. A Jew who is in debt does not become a servant. Only a Jew who has stolen, and only until the restitution is complete.
The takeaway: biblical law sets a clock on every punishment and a cap on every debt. Freedom is never more than six years away.