R. H. Ben-Shalom

People criticize the Instruction of God because it allows for slavery. It allows for divorce too, and the Messiah was clear that God allowed it because of human stubbornness (Matthew 19:7-8). If humans insisted on slavery, God gave commands to protect such slaves. I think what many people don't realize is that the Instruction gave freedom for slaves to run away from abusive owners (Deuteronomy 23:15-16).

In comparison, here is the Code of Hammurabi (see the difference and be aware of the mercy of God):

"15. If any one take a male or female slave of the court, or a male or female slave of a freed man, outside the city gates, he shall be put to death.
16. If any one receive into his house a runaway male or female slave of the court, or of a freedman, and does not bring it out at the public proclamation of the major domus, the master of the house shall be put to death.
17. If any one find runaway male or female slaves in the open country and bring them to their masters, the master of the slaves shall pay him two shekels of silver.
18. If the slave will not give the name of the master, the finder shall bring him to the palace; a further investigation must follow, and the slave shall be returned to his master.
19. If he hold the slaves in his house, and they are caught there, he shall be put to death."

https://avalon.law.yale.edu/ancient/hamframe.asp

Reading Exodus 21:20-21, I thought to myself, "What? So if the slave survives a couple days and then dies on the third day, the abusive owner doesn't get punished? That can't be right."

An unbeliever once asked me, "What do you do when you come across something in the Bible with which you disagree?"
My response, "In those cases, I take the stance that I am wrong and the Bible is right. My goal thereafter is to understand the difference between what I think is right, knowing that I am wrong, and what the Bible says is right."

Sometimes, the answer to the difference is in the difference of translation. The goal is to find the most accurate translation, not the translation that tickles the ear.

Sometimes, even accuracy in word-for-word loses the meaning of the phrase. Sometimes the phrase excludes an important word. All angles need study: the word, the phrase, history, audience, culture, love, Messiah. These are the lenses with which I study the Scriptures.

"The Hebrew word torah literally means direction or instruction. The root, yod-resh-hey (ירה), originally likely meant to throw or shoot an arrow."

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/what-does-the-word-torah-mean/

"Then YHWH said to Moshe, 'Go to Pharoah, for I have made him and his servants hardhearted, so that I can demonstrate these signs of mine among them, so that you can tell your son and your grandson about what I did to Egypt and about my signs that I demonstrated among them, and so that you will all know that I am YHWH."

--Exodus 10:1-2

The purpose of relationship covenant and salvation is to know God. Why? Because you should know your identity (who you were created to be), who created and loves you the most, who has the greatest power to do something about that love, and discover the eternal purpose for which you were created.

"To harden" comes from the Hebrew primitive root verb "kabad," and the related noun "kavod" means "glory" or "honor" (Strong's H3519).

Liver = Hebrew "kaved," Strong's H3516

"Each person is required to minimize his own kavod (honor) and maximize the honor of the Omnipresent One. For anyone who pursues honor does not attain kavod Elohim (God’s glory), but kavod melakhim (glory of kings), of which it is said (Proverbs 25:2), “but the glory of kings is an investigated matter.” Everyone inquires about him “Who is he and what is he?” (Esther 7:5) that he is afforded such honor. And they oppose him, saying that he is not deserving of such kavod. However, the person who flees from glory—minimizing his own glory while maximizing the glory of God—attains kavod Elohim."

--Nancy Wechsler, "https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/373840.12?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en"

“’Therefore, say to the people of Isra’el: I am YHWH. I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians, rescue you from their oppression, and redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God, and you will know that I am YHWH your God, who freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians.”
--Exodus 6:6-7

I don't endorse the Sacred Name Movement, but anyone who knows me knows that pronunciation of a person's name is personally important to me, whether you are God, an immigrant, a foreign exchange student, or simply someone with an unfamiliar name.

Both the Masoretic (compiled and written in AD 900) and Septuagint (compiled and written in 250-0 BC) titles for the books in the Instruction and Prophets, all written by Jews, show us valid perspectives. I personally prefer the Masoretic titles over the Septuagint titles:

Masoretic
B'reish*t: Beginning
Sh'mot: Names
Vayikra: Calling
B'midbar: Wilderness
D'varim: Words (for the last words of Moshe)

Septuagint
Genesis: Beginning
Exodus: Leavetaking
Leviticus: Levitical Priestly Rules
Numbers: Numbering of Yisrael
Deuteronomy: Repeated Law

In Sh'mot/Exodus, we have the very first revelation of God's Name.