34:8–11 The next oracle comes in the context of the royal decision to free Hebrew slaves. To understand the story and the oracle we must begin by reviewing the slave laws of the Torah (Exod. 21:1–11; Lev. 25:39–46; Deut. 15:12–18, though see S. Chavel, “ ‘Let My People Go!’Emancipation, Revelation, and Scribal Activity in Jeremiah 34.8–14,” JSOT 76 [1997], pp. 71–95, for the view that Jeremiah 34 does not follow Pentateuchal legislation). If Israelites became impoverished, they could sell themselves into slavery. However, this slavery was only temporary since the law stipulated that slave owners must free their Hebrew slaves in the Sabbatical Year. While it was possible for Hebrew slaves to become permanent slaves, this decision was theirs and not the slave owners. These slave laws were as…