Exodus 21:1 says, Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.  God began to establish some of His laws that went beyond the Ten Commandments, which are the framework from which God's overall laws are based.  Verse two states, If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing  Buying a slave was permitted, but there was a limit to their servitude.  They were to be freed the seventh year.  I really don't believe that this was an endorsement of slavery though, but a limit on its use. Verse three adds, If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.  If the man was single when he came into slavery, then he would leave alone, but if he was married, his wife was to leave with him.  Then verse four continues, If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.  If the man was single and when he was bought, then was given a wife by his master, the wife and children would stay with the master when the man left.  I don't believe that we can really relate to this today this today.  Verse five says, And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:  The man was not forced to leave, but could chose to stay with his family and serve his master.  We can say that we are bought with a price when we come to accept Christ, and we are free to stop serving Him at any time, though I believe that if we are truly His through accepting Christ as our Savior and Lord that we are His forever, that our actions should not pull our family away from God.  Verse six declares, Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.  If the man chose to stay, he was to be brought before the judges and marked as being the master's servant for the rest of his life.  As followers of Christ, we are brought before the Judge, God, and proclaimed to be his forever because we are marked by the blood of Jesus.  Verse seven adds, And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.  Women sold into slavery were treated differently.  They were not to be freed after seven years.  I believe this was more for their protection.  They had no rights if they were freed.  Verse eight continues, If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.  The master could not get rid of the female servant just because he was dissatisfied with her, but she was to be treated much as a wife would.  Verse nine states, And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.  If the master had married the slave to his son, then she was to be treated as a daughter would be treated.  Again, I believe these laws were more for the protection of the female slaves than for making things worse for them.  Verse ten adds, If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.  This is not an endorsement of plural marriages, but an acknowledgement that they did happen.  If the man chose to take another wife, he could not diminish the role of the slave who had become his wife.  We know from Abraham's life that taking a servant to fulfill the role of a wife creates problems, but the servant or slave was not to be turned out of the household as Hagar was.  Verse eleven concludes, And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.  If the man would not fulfill his obligations to the slave woman, then she would be free to leave without anyone paying anything for her.  Once more, I don't believe that we can truly understand the culture of that day, but I do believe that these laws were put in place to protect those who were sold into slavery.