Slavery in the Bible

I would point out that slavery has existed throughout history. It was a part of the culture.

Before technology made it possible Europeans enslaved Europeans, Africans enslaved Africans, etc.

Throughout the history of slavery in the US, we have to remember it was not like Americans were going to Africa enslaving people (white people rarely left the shores as the death rate was too high, but obtained slaves from African tribes).

My point is slavery was not about racism. It was about power. In the Louisiana 1/3 of the slave owners were free Black men. In SC the owner of the most slaves (in the mid 1800's) was a former slave who bought his freedom and three plantations (outside of Beaufort SC). At the same time, the wealthiest woman in Augusta GA was a former slave.

What I am getting at is the issue is not about racism, although it certainly increased racism when it crossed ethnic bounds (so we have to remove that from the slavery in the Bible discussion).

So the issue, I take it, is the practice of people being taken unwillingly to work as slaves (like when tribes conquered tribes and enslaved people rather than killing them....or like Joseph being sold by his brothers).

Could be an interesting discussion. Looking forward to reading replies.

Graydon Booth said:

Now being new to Christianity, the verses in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy on slaves, indentured servants, etc are the hardest for me to accept and understand, so how, as veteran Christians, could you explain this to me? Genuinely asking, not trying to ridicule God or anything here.

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The overall outline of the Bible is very helpful for matters such as this:

1. Creation (Genesis 1-2)
2. Fall (Genesis 3)
3. Redemption (The rest of the Bible)

Things were perfect in Genesis 1-2, and they pretty much went to hell at the fall. In the very next chapter after the fall, there were 10 broken conditions-

3 Distrust
5 Anger
5 Disappointment
8 Murder
9 Deceit
13 Despair
14 Fear
16 Apostasy
19 Polygamy
23-24 Revenge

The Bible does not endorse these things. Rather, the Bible describes that this is the way the world was because of its fallen condition. This fallen condition is the backdrop of everything else in the Bible, and we have to keep that in mind when studying it.

Human slavery is another thing that came after the fall, and it is not the Lord's will. How do we know this? We use the Bible to interpret the Bible:

The first mention of slavery is in Genesis 9:25, and it mentioned as a curse there. It is also mentioned as a curse in Joshua 9:23. Slavery is a curse.

Slavery is not God's will. (Jeremiah 34:8-22) and not for God's people. (Leviticus 25:39-55, see also 2 Chron 8:7-10) Slavery is not in accord with loving one's neighbor as oneself. (Love your neighbor as yourself Lev 19:18; Mk 12:31; Lk 10:27; Jn 13:34; Ro 13:9; Gal 5:14; Jas 2:8)

Slavery is not in accord with doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. (Matt 7:12)Paul condemns slavery in 1 Tim 1:10 as not conforming to the Gospel.

Therefore, human slavery is not God's will. It is part of the fallen condition of mankind, and we should oppose it!

I haven't studied this in a while so my memory is kind of fuzzy.

Slavery & indentured servitude were social safety nets. It sounds bad today, like propaganda for American slavery, to say 'slavery provided you things you otherwise couldn't have', but it gave those who had none an option in a barbaric world.

Indentured servitude was when someone couldn't pay a debt. It keeps society functioning & is thus helpful to the 'master' (not sure what the correct term is) because it keeps the work going, saves the servant because the 'master' provides for him, & helps people make good choices b/c you don't want to default; it could happen to anyone.

Also, the Year of Jubilee is commanded by God in the Bible where all slaves & servants are to be free & all debts forgiven. I think this was to happen every 70 years or so? But it showed it wasn't to be a generational thing. Unfortunately, apparently it was never followed once even tho God commanded it.

EDIT: yes!!! yesss! Gregor! I forgot about that! Just because God allows something, that doesn't mean he approves it. There are numerous examples in the Bible. Slavery is one of them. Divorce is another. God hates divorce, but he allows it nonetheless b/c people are sinful.

Also, OP, in the New Testament, we are taught that masters are to to love their slaves & treat them with kindness, just like the Heavenly Father loves his children.

Unfortunately, humanity is sinful & decided 'well, maybe our slaves really aren't humans so maybe we don't have to love them......' That's why slavery done by Christians here in the United States got so perverted from what Paul in the New Testament taught.

Graydon Booth said:

Now being new to Christianity, the verses in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy on slaves, indentured servants, etc are the hardest for me to accept and understand, so how, as veteran Christians, could you explain this to me? Genuinely asking, not trying to ridicule God or anything here.

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God in every era meets humans where they're at, and institutes a more redemptive system.

In the old testament era, it is easy to see the liberation involved in slaves being treated well, and even having one day off a week.

In the current era, the liberation is more spiritual, so harder to see.

However, there are many laws in the old testament that are not even applied by countries today, such as having one law for citizens and foreigners - one standard for all.

If you are curious about this, do some research on the surrounding countries in terms of "what they were doing instead" and compare.

Also, you may notice since slavery was abolished by a world empire in a previous century, places that still practice it do so in the dark, with little to no regulation on how they act.

So sometimes, having a law to regulate treatment is redemptive - especially if people are going to "have slaves" anyway. (something to keep in mind if civilization crumbles in the next couple centuries or decades)

Graydon Booth said:

Now being new to Christianity, the verses in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy on slaves, indentured servants, etc are the hardest for me to accept and understand, so how, as veteran Christians, could you explain this to me? Genuinely asking, not trying to ridicule God or anything here.

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Slavery in the OT was different from slavery in the US and the Caribbean. It was also different from slavery in the Roman Empire (which was the context for slavery in the NT).

In the OT, they could import foreigners as slaves but not sell fellow Israelites.
Israelites could become slaves through debt, and could pay off their debts through slavery, maximum term of 6 years, going free on the 7th.
Israelite slaves could become slaves for life at their option when they hit the 7th year. They were to be provided for upon their release.
Slaves were automatically released if their owners destroyed one of their eyes or knocked out one of their teeth.

All of this took place in their context of welfare, crime, and punishment. And in a system where there is an emphasis of restitution of property and goods and money, it does make sense to get labor for free within certain limits, conceptually.

As it relates to Christians today, enough people in Christian-majority societies abused slaves well beyond what Ephesians 6:9 and Colossians 4:1 allowed for. Better to get rid of the institution (which had been weakened from its days in the Roman Empire by the church, before it was revived during the Age of Sail) than to continue it, and that was the position of the Christian abolitionists. They knew something was wrong with the way people, even those who claimed to be Christians, treated their slaves and their concerns were rooted in the Scriptures.

Graydon Booth said:

Now being new to Christianity, the verses in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy on slaves, indentured servants, etc are the hardest for me to accept and understand, so how, as veteran Christians, could you explain this to me? Genuinely asking, not trying to ridicule God or anything here.

Click to expand...

You may find this page useful:
https://www.christian-thinktank.com/qnoslave.html

Graydon Booth said:

So, and again, this is just out of curiousity, how would you answer the "dreaded" Exodus 21:20-21, or Leviticus 25:44-46?

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I've seen a similar law to exodus 21:20-21 except the timeframe is a year in which if the person dies, it's your fault because you injured them. In this case the timeframe is shorter. However, without a law like this, later ones with a longer timeframe may not have had been thought up. The leviticus verse is related to citizenship concepts, and that buying slaves was part of the economy thus people would do it anyway.

I would refer to the story of Ruth in terms of a total foreigner becoming "redeemed" and gaining full citizenship.

Taking how these laws were better than the laws of the surrounding nations is a way of looking at how we might think of "better labor laws today" in terms of parallels with wage workers being dependent on employers like slaves.

Graydon Booth said:

Now being new to Christianity, the verses in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy on slaves, indentured servants, etc are the hardest for me to accept and understand, so how, as veteran Christians, could you explain this to me? Genuinely asking, not trying to ridicule God or anything here.

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You have to stop reading it literally. The Bible is a contrast between the flesh and the spirit......the mind of Christ and the carnal mind, God and the devil, Jews and the Gentile, free and the bonded, master and the slave.....etc... all to show you the way to freedom...the way to salvation....the separation of the flesh and the spirit.

Graydon Booth said:

Now being new to Christianity, the verses in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy on slaves, indentured servants, etc are the hardest for me to accept and understand, so how, as veteran Christians, could you explain this to me? Genuinely asking, not trying to ridicule God or anything here.

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Welcome to CF, Graydon!

As to slavery in the Bible. How would I begin to answer this problem?

I think I'd begin by not assuming that the skeptics and atheistic scholars (like, say, Josh Bowen) should have the last word on the issue. This would be the first place to start, but it's only one of pragmatics in epistemology as it relates to our study of ancient, foreign texts from the past.

With philosophical scalpel in hand, the second incision into decision I'd make is to affirm the need for analyzing one's own axiological framework before morally scrutinizing passages on an ancient form of slavery written and affirmed by ancient Israelites.

The third would be to be accountable for the fact that if we're going to take the slavery passages in the bible "seriously" in some kind of cumbersome, emotionally laden way, we should ask ourselves at the same time: how "seriously" do we also want to take the miracle verses in which the slavery verses are enmeshed?

If we can't at least engage these three levels of academic inquiry, I'd say it's best to hold off from being overly "bothered" by slavery passages we find in the Old Testament texts.

Gregorikos said:

Paul condemns slavery in 1 Tim 1:10 as not conforming to the Gospel.

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Well, let me check this >

"for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine," (1 Timothy 1:10)

You said 1 Timothy 1:10. Is this the one you meant? I see how it could >

Because Paul's list here includes "kidnappers". And certainly slave trade has included raiding villages and kidnapping people to be sold as slaves. Also, the raiders murdered others during their raids. So, it would not be Christian for me to support such a method of getting slaves.

And I heard a speaker say that if you buy a slave for fifty dollars in order to free the person, this can help to encourage the kidnappers to keep getting slaves.

But not all slavery was done by means of kidnapping and murder.

Gregorikos said:

The overall outline of the Bible is very helpful for matters such as this:

1. Creation (Genesis 1-2)
2. Fall (Genesis 3)
3. Redemption (The rest of the Bible)

Things were perfect in Genesis 1-2, and they pretty much went to hell at the fall. In the very next chapter after the fall, there were 10 broken conditions-

3 Distrust
5 Anger
5 Disappointment
8 Murder
9 Deceit
13 Despair
14 Fear
16 Apostasy
19 Polygamy
23-24 Revenge

The Bible does not endorse these things. Rather, the Bible describes that this is the way the world was because of its fallen condition. This fallen condition is the backdrop of everything else in the Bible, and we have to keep that in mind when studying it.

Human slavery is another thing that came after the fall, and it is not the Lord's will. How do we know this? We use the Bible to interpret the Bible:

The first mention of slavery is in Genesis 9:25, and it mentioned as a curse there. It is also mentioned as a curse in Joshua 9:23. Slavery is a curse.

Slavery is not God's will. (Jeremiah 34:8-22) and not for God's people. (Leviticus 25:39-55, see also 2 Chron 8:7-10) Slavery is not in accord with loving one's neighbor as oneself. (Love your neighbor as yourself Lev 19:18; Mk 12:31; Lk 10:27; Jn 13:34; Ro 13:9; Gal 5:14; Jas 2:8)

Slavery is not in accord with doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. (Matt 7:12)Paul condemns slavery in 1 Tim 1:10 as not conforming to the Gospel.

Therefore, human slavery is not God's will. It is part of the fallen condition of mankind, and we should oppose it!

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I couldn't have said it better myself. I absolutely agree with the freedom that God provides to His people through Jesus Christ - and given abundantly.

Graydon Booth said:

Now being new to Christianity, the verses in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy on slaves, indentured servants, etc are the hardest for me to accept and understand, so how, as veteran Christians, could you explain this to me? Genuinely asking, not trying to ridicule God or anything here.

Click to expand...

It's because slavery was different from what we think of slavery today. It was not based on race back then, and a person was not born a slave and remained a slave for life from birth. Slavery back then was mostly to pay off a debt owed or people working for a place to stay. If someone couldn't find a job, they would enter into a slavery contract for room and food so they don't have to live on the street. People were not captured and kidnapped and forced into slavery for nothing just based on their race.

Graydon Booth said:

Now being new to Christianity, the verses in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy on slaves, indentured servants, etc are the hardest for me to accept and understand, so how, as veteran Christians, could you explain this to me? Genuinely asking, not trying to ridicule God or anything here.

Click to expand...

God knew that Slavery, practiced correctly, would lead to employment, which is the stage of slavery where we are now.

The slavery mentioned and sanctioned in both OT and NT, although different from the horrible 18/19th century slave trade stories, is still deeply uncomfortable to us 21st century Christians. Yes, the Bible clearly shows being free is the better option, yet IMHO we have to admit that God does not ban slavery or declared it immoral/sinful:

- it was carefully regulated in Mosaic Law
- possessing slaves was not forbidden in Mosaic Law
- even in NT times masters were NOT called to release their slaves, but to treat them fairly
- Paul describes himself as a 'slave to Jesus Christ' many times in his letters, using the familiar concept of a slave to describe a good condition: that is, being a slave to the best owner possible (Jesus Christ).

All this reluctantly would lead me to conclude slavery conducted in the proper way cannot be called immoral or sin. Doing so to me would feel like calling God a liar or being forgetful. Would I advocated it in our day and age? Not really ...

Btw, slavery in history had nothing to do with race; any enemy, debtor, prisoner could meet this fate, regardless race.

com7fy8 said:

Well, let me check this ....
...You said 1 Timothy 1:10. Is this the one you meant? I see how it could >

Because Paul's list here includes "kidnappers". And certainly slave trade has included raiding villages and kidnapping people to be sold as slaves. Also, the raiders murdered others during their raids. So, it would not be Christian for me to support such a method of getting slaves.

And I heard a speaker say that if you buy a slave for fifty dollars in order to free the person, this can help to encourage the kidnappers to keep getting slaves.

But not all slavery was done by means of kidnapping and murder.

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I cited the verse I meant.

1 Timothy 1:10 (NRSV) fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching

(Louw & Nida Lexicon)
57.187 ἀνδραποδιστής ου̂ m: one who sells persons as slaves, including one who kidnaps persons and sells them - slave dealer, kidnapper. ἀρσενοκοίταιςἀνδραποδισται̂ςψεύσταις sexual perverts, kidnappers (or slave dealers), liars 1TI.1:10.

Gregorikos said:

I cited the verse I meant.

1 Timothy 1:10 (NRSV) fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching

(Louw & Nida Lexicon)
57.187 ἀνδραποδιστής ου̂ m: one who sells persons as slaves, including one who kidnaps persons and sells them - slave dealer, kidnapper. ἀρσενοκοίταιςἀνδραποδισται̂ςψεύσταις sexual perverts, kidnappers (or slave dealers), liars 1TI.1:10.

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Slave trading was forbidden under Mosaic Law; but not the ownership of slaves; neither capturing of enemies as slaves. If that were the case Paul would have instructed all slave owners/masters to release their slaves, which he didn't do. On the contrary, he reminds slave owners/masters that they themselves also have a master (Jesus), so he commends them to treat their slaves fairly, and he instructs slaves to serve their masters diligently (like Joseph with Potiphar).

ReluctantTheologian said:

(like Joseph with Potiphar).

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And Joseph refused to go along with the immoral advances of Potiphar's wife; so as a slave he needed to uphold godly principles, and not to do just whatever his owner or owner's wife wanted.

And Paul talks about the slavery of sin. If ones are so aghast to slavery, they might do well to deal with all which is so damaging, of slavery to sin. Ones can be so outspoken against slavery which is physical, right while they stay in slavery to unforgivenesss, worry, workaholism, arguing, and self-righteous judging which ruin people and their relationships, and keep them from being examples to their children so their children can grow up knowing how to love in a close relationship. And then the children can become slaves of various sorts of pleasure seeking, and drugs, and adrenaline rush seeking. And ones are tangled and mangled in their political struggling to legalize various degrading things, so they can have their treasured sexual pleasures without learning how to love.

And in the weakness for a treasure pleasure is also weakness to suffer emotional pain and fail to stay clear of arguing and complaining and blaming.

But this slavery has a way of not getting so much attention, while attention is decoyed to trying to control what people do outwardly. But there are people who understand how we need to get free of our slavery to sin, but also do what we can to stop the kidnapping and slavery of children and others.

I see that especially any illegal slavery needs to be stopped. The slavery in the time of Paul, which he was talking about, was legal though it probably could be abusive like American southern slavery could be. It seems some number of the southern American slave owners were in slavery to their own fear . . . fearing how at any time their slaves might rebel and slaughter the slave owners. And if they could sacrifice the lives of their sons in civil war, in order to have things their own way . . . possibly they were in deep slavery to how they wanted to live, versus valuing how Jesus has us loving.

So, it can be that in order to have slaves, the owner has to be a slave to what is much more deeply degrading than just outward slavery.