1. Hired Servants.—­This class consisted both of Israelites and Strangers.  Their employments were different.  The Israelite, was an agricultural servant.  The Stranger was a domestic and personal servant, and in some instances mechanical; both were occasional, procured temporally to serve an emergency.  Both lived in their own families, their wages were money, and they were paid when their work was done.  As a class of servants, the hired were less loved, trusted, honored and promoted than any other.

2. Bought Servants, (including those “born in the house.")—­This class also, was composed both of Israelites and Strangers, the same general difference obtaining in their kinds of employment as was noticed before.  Both were paid in advance[A], and neither was temporary.

[Footnote A:  The payment in advance, doubtless lessened considerably the price of the purchase; the servant thus having the use of the money from the beginning, and the master assuming all the risks of life, and health for labor; at the expiration of the six years’ contract, the master having experienced no loss from the risk incurred at the making of it, was obliged by law to release the servant with a liberal gratuity.  The reason assigned for this is, “he hath been worth a double hired servant unto thee in serving thee six years,” as if it had been said, he has now served out his time, and as you have experienced no loss from the risks of life, and ability to labor which you incurred in the purchase, and which lessened the price, and as, by being your permanent servant for six years, he has saved you all the time and trouble of looking up and hiring laborers on emergencies, therefore, “thou shalt furnish him liberally,” &c.]

The Israelitish servant, in most instances, was released after six years. (The freeholder continued until the jubilee.) The Stranger, was a permanent servant, continuing until the jubilee.  Besides these distinctions between Jewish and Gentile bought servants, a marked distinction obtained between different classes of Jewish bought servants.  Ordinarily, during their term of service, they were merged in their master’s family, and, like the wife and children of the master, subject to his authority; (and of course, like them, protected by law from its abuse.) But one class of the Jewish bought servants was a marked exception.  The freeholder, obliged by poverty to leave his possession, and sell himself as a servant, did not thereby affect his family relations, or authority, nor subject himself as an inferior to the control of his master, though dependent upon him for employment.  In this respect, his condition differed from that of the main body of Jewish bought servants, which seems to have consisted of those, who had not yet come into possession of their inheritance, or of those who were dislodging from it an incumbrance.