Chofshi is an adjective meaning 'free,' used primarily in the legal codes governing the manumission of Hebrew slaves. Its most concentrated usage is in the Covenant Code (Exod 21:2, 5, 26-27), where a Hebrew bondservant goes out chofshi after six years of service, and in the parallel Deuteronomic legislation (Deut 15:12-13, 18) that commands generous provision at release. Jeremiah 34:9-16 records the dramatic episode in which Zedekiah's officials first proclaimed liberty (chofshi) for their Hebrew slaves and then reneged, provoking one of the prophet's fiercest oracles. Isaiah 58:6 broadens the term beyond chattel slavery: 'to let the oppressed go free' becomes the essence of the fast that God desires. In Job 3:19, the word takes on a poignant existential hue — in Sheol, 'the slave is free from his master,' finding in death the liberation denied in life. Psalm 88:6 pushes further: 'among the dead I am free,' meaning cut loose, adrift from God's remembrance. Spanish 'libre,' French 'libre,' and German 'frei' all render the straightforward sense of legal or existential freedom.