A Hebrew might be sold as a bondman in consequence either of debt Leviticus 25:39 or of the commission of theft Exodus 22:3. But his servitude could not be enforced for more than six full years. Compare the marginal references.
Related Commentaries of Exodus 21:2
Exodus 21:2
2 If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.