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Israel owning slaves

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ChubbyCherub

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During bible study, my husband asked me why we see slave owning as immoral and the Israelites freed from Egyptian slavery, but Isrealites were allowed to have their own slaves complete with special rules for these individuals concerning the Sabbath, circumcision etc.

I have no answer.

Can anyone assist?
 
Maria Billingsley

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ChubbyCherub said:
During bible study, my husband asked me why we see slave owning as immoral and the Israelites freed from Egyptian slavery, but Isrealites were allowed to have their own slaves complete with special rules for these individuals concerning the Sabbath, circumcision etc.

I have no answer.

Can anyone assist?
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Hebrew slaves were more like indentured servants for debt or poverty, limited to six years of service before being freed, and they could not be ruled over ruthlessly.
Foreign slaves could be permanent property, but the laws still established a threshold of humanity and dignity that masters were obligated to uphold.
 
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SabbathBlessings

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ChubbyCherub said:
During bible study, my husband asked me why we see slave owning as immoral and the Israelites freed from Egyptian slavery, but Isrealites were allowed to have their own slaves complete with special rules for these individuals concerning the Sabbath, circumcision etc.

I have no answer.

Can anyone assist?
Click to expand...
Can you elaborate what you mean by special rules concerning the Sabbath and circumcision for slaves? There were rules about paying their wages fairly and timely, they also being able to rest from their works on the Sabbath to keep it holly, same as all other people Exo20:8-11 I am unfamiliar with special rules regarding the Sabbath or circumcision for salves. God made a provision for circumcision for all strangers (Gentiles) in the OT so they could gain access to the cure for sin in the OT which was animal sacrifices at the earthy temple, but I am unaware of anything being special for slaves re the Sabbath or circumcision.

Thanks
 
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ChubbyCherub

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SabbathBlessings

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ChubbyCherub said:
Yes, happy to!

Throughout Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy there are rules concerning slaves.

Here is a website which shows some of these: Slavery in the Hebrew Bible - Bible Odyssey
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The laws in Exodus Lev and Deut were not just for slaves, why I do not trust a lot of websites for doctrine.

For example, God before He gave His people the Ten Commandments in Exodus said this....

Exo 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying:

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of [a]bondage.

So its a sad teaching that God who freed His people out of bondage which represents sin, to put them right back into bondage by giving His people His righteous way of living Psa 119:172 and how we can be reconciled back to God Rev 22:14 This sadly is an attack on God's character. I know its a popular teaching, obeying God is bad, disobeying God is good, but its not a Biblical teaching.
 
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ChubbyCherub

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SabbathBlessings said:
The laws in Exodus Lev and Deut were not just for slaves, why I do not trust a lot of websites for doctrine.

For example, God before He gave His people the Ten Commandments in Exodus said this....

Exo 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying:

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of [a]bondage.

So its a sad teaching that God who freed His people out of bondage which represents sin, to put them right back into bondage by giving His people His righteous way of living Psa 119:172 and how we can be reconciled back to God Rev 22:14 This sadly is an attack on God's character. I know its a popular teaching, obeying God is bad, disobeying God is good, but its not a Biblical teaching.
Click to expand...
Thanks for replying.

For clarification, I did not procure information from the website but shared it as an example of where some of the versus I have read have come from and what they include.

My family and I have been reading the bible, almost nightly, for a couple of months. We have worked our way from Genesis to Judges, currently. Multiple instances of rules and regulations for Isreal slaves and servants are mentioned in scripture but I just don't have these to hand, currently, or stored in memory.

There are definitely passages which instruct Israelites on how to handle servants and slaves of the household regarding Sabbath, circumcision etc.

If I come across some tonight, I'll update.
 
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