Status of a wife provided to a freed slave

First, we must understand these slavery/servanthood laws against a background motivation: that the voluntary slavery/servanthood system of Biblical law functioned as a kind of welfare system to protect and support those who had difficulty providing independently for themselves. Except (perhaps) in the case of laws that forced servanthood upon property criminals who were paying back their debt, all other servitude laws had the goal of eventually freeing everyone who was in servitude (if they were capable of providing for themselves -- obviously some people were not capable of sustaining themselves because of some disability or other). Part of the reason for the manumission gift (Deut. 15:12-15) was to give the newly freed man some starting capital in order to do this.

Female slaves/servants would be set free in their seventh year if they were able to be supported/protected by someone, such as a husband or relative. They would not be forced to provide for themselves in a subsistence economy with no land possession. On the other hand, if a master gave a wife to his servant, the servant has incurred an additional debt of a bridewealth (mohar) payment (there is a similar example in the case of Joseph/Laban). He gets the benefit of having a wife and being able to produce children, but he has not yet demonstrated that he can support her independently. Rather than burden him immediately -- along with his own freedom -- with the responsibility to also support a wife (and possibly children), the master continues in that responsibility until the freed servant can pay him a bridewealth payment as a "redemption" for her.

The fact that a servant is freed does not require him to separate from his wife or live elsewhere. This case law is merely establishing the responsibility of care for the woman and children. Also note that there is no indication that either slave was forced into the marriage.

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