The descendants of Abraham, that is, the Israelites including the people of Judah, were known as the Hebrew race. Thus the law that Jeremiah cites here refers to setting free slaves from their own ethnic group. Translators might refer to slaves “of their own Hebrew race,” or they can put this information in a footnote.

Slaves are, unfortunately, a phenomenon too well known throughout the world, so that even where slavery was perhaps never practiced, there is often a word or expression for it. However, if that is not the case, then translators will have to use a descriptive phrase such as “people who belong to a master and have to work for him” or “people who are forced to work for others permanently with no salary.”

So that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother: The meaning is “and no one was any longer to keep a brother Jew in slavery.” For Jew see 32.12. In this context brother is inclusive, referring to both male and female slaves, hence “fellow Israelite” of Good News Translation.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .