Talmud Bavli
Talmud Bavli

Commentary for Kiddushin 31:5

ואימא אבל נקנית היא כקנין עבדים ומאי ניהו חזקה אמר קרא (ויקרא כה, מו) והתנחלתם אותם לבניכם אחריכם אותם בחזקה ולא אחר בחזקה

and what is that? By deed. Then say: but she may be acquired as [heathen] menservants are, and what is that?

Daf Shevui to Kiddushin

A non-Jewish slave can be acquired through hazakah. Hazakah, which means presumption of ownership, is achieved when a slave performs a labor for a master that would be typical only of a slave. So why not say that just as slaves are acquired by hazakah, so too are Jewish female slaves?
The answer is that the rabbis read Leviticus 25:46 as limiting acquisition by hazakah to non-Jewish slaves.
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