There are different rules of slavery in the OT for different people, this is a reference for people when talking about this practice. Nowhere in the bible does God say that slavery is wrong. These verses are not the totality of the bible describing slavery and Gods attitude toward the practice but they are the major ones. How can these verse be reconciled with a good and moral god? In summary of the verses below:
1. Hebrew slaves with Hebrew masters can be released after 6 years unless the master "trick" them into staying by supplying them with a wife.
2. All slaves are property and considered money just like an ox.
3. Only Hebrew slaves are to be released on the year of Jubilee, not all slaves.
4. All slaves can be beaten but Hebrew slaves cannot be beaten to death.
5. If a male Hebrew rapes a slave he will not be put to death if he gives restitution to God, if he rapes a non-slave he shall be put to death.
6. God says that the Hebrews can buy slaves from the nations around them, give them to their descendants and beat them without penalty. Sounds like American slavery in the 17th and 18th centuries.
1. Male (some female rules mixed in) Hebrew Slaves.
Exodus 21:1-6 ESV
Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. When you buy a Hebrew slave,a]"> he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. Ex 21:1-3.
This is specifically for male Hebrew slaves. It says that male Hebrew slaves can be purchased to serve for six years, then released without any compensation. This mentions purchasing as property and that they are not free to leave since after 6 years they go free. It also sets rules for a wife of the male Hebrew slave. She will go free with him if he was married when he was purchased. It goes on to say:
If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone. But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever. Ex 21:4-6.
If a purchased Hebrew slave is married after he is purchased the wife and the children are not his but his masters. If the slave wants to leave after six years he must go alone. If he loves his wife and children then he must submit to being a slave forever since his wife and kids are the masters forever. So if a master wants to keep his male Hebrew slave he can “trick” him by supplying him a wife and hoping he wants to stay with her. But notice if the master supplies his male Hebrew slave with a wife, the wife and children are his slaves forever, the master gets new slaves for free even if the male Hebrew slave leaves.
Exodus 21:16 ESV
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Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.
This says that if a Hebrew steals a Hebrew man (not a woman) and sells him, he shall be executed along with the purchaser. This section is still talking about Hebrew men since in Leviticus 25 God instructs them that they can steal men from surrounding nations. We will get to that later.
Exodus 21:20-21
When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.
The is still talking about Hebrew slaves since beating them is allowed in Leviticus 25 if they are not Hebrew. So a master can beat a slave pretty severely but just not to death. According to this a master can beat his slave pretty bad (not in the eye or tooth as we will see later) as long as the slaves does not die within two days. If the slave dies as a result after two days it seem that the master has no repercussions. It also explicitly states the slave (a real person) is the masters money or property, not a person, and that is the reason given why no punishment is required by God.
Exodus 21:26-27 ESV
When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye. If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth.
So no master can beat the eyes or teeth of male or female Hebrew slaves. The punishment is only that the slave has to go free. Notice the master can beat them other places such as the back of their heads, back, bottom of feet etc. with no penalty.
Exodus 21:28-32 ESV
When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable. But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death. If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him. If it gores a man's son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule.
Ex 21:28-31
This seems reasonable, basically if you know your ox will kill people and you do nothing about it the owner and ox are executed. This is only talking about a Hebrew person. What if the person the ox kills is a slave?
If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master thirty shekelse of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. Ex 21:32
Different rules. The ox owner does not die but has to pay the owner for the slave. This is because the slave is considered property as is said in Ex 21:21. Restitution is on order just as if he destroyed another person’s ox. The slave is not a person but property just like an ox as seen with the next verses:
Exodus 21:33-36 ESV
“When a man opens a pit, or when a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, the owner of the pit shall make restoration. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead beast shall be his.
“When one man's ox butts another's, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and share its price, and the dead beast also they shall share. Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall repay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his.
In these situations an ox is killed by someone that is not the owner. The owner is given money to satisfy the death of his ox as restitution. Just like when an ox kills a slave as shown above. There is no difference between an ox and a slave to God.
Lev 25:39-42 ESV
“If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: he shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers. For they are my servants,e]">[e] whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God. Lev 25:39-43
God is talking about Hebrew’s here. You shall not enslave your brother; however, in Exodus 21 God has rules for owning Hebrew male slaves. Maybe God is talking about an actual brother. Notice here that is only Hebrew male slaves that are released at the year of jubilee, not all slaves.
Lev 25:47-55 ESV
“If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger's clan then after he is sold he may be redeemed. Lev 25:47-49
God makes provision for Hebrews enslaved to non-Hebrews to be set free. God is playing favorites.
One of his brothers may redeem him, or his uncle or his cousin may redeem him, or a close relative from his clan may redeem him. Or if he grows rich he may redeem himself. He shall calculate with his buyer from the year when he sold himself to him until the year of jubilee, and the price of his sale shall vary with the number of years. The time he was with his owner shall be rated as the time of a hired worker. If there are still many years left, he shall pay proportionately for his redemption some of his sale price. If there remain but a few years until the year of jubilee, he shall calculate and pay for his redemption in proportion to his years of service. He shall treat him as a worker hired year by year. He shall not rule ruthlessly over him in your sight. Lev 25:48-53
Here God is saying a Hebrew slave with a non-Hebrew master can be redeemed and sets rules for compensation.
And if he is not redeemed by these means, then he and his children with him shall be released in the year of jubilee. For it is to me that the people of Israel are servants. They are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. Lev 25:54-55
Here it states that only Hebrew slaves with non-Hebrew masters can be released on the year of jubilee. Non Hebrew slaves apparently do not need to be released.
2. Female Hebrew Slaves.
Exodus 21:7-11 ESV
“When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. Ex 21:1
Here a Hebrew father can sell his Hebrew daughter to another as a wife. The woman has no say and does not have to agree or volunteer.
If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her. Ex 21:8
If the master is not pleased with her as a wife, then the master must not sell her to foreigners and must redeem her. Notice she has no choice in the matter at all, she is a purchased slave to the master. The master has another option if he is not pleased with her as a wife:
If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. Ex 21:9
The Master does not have to set her free if he designates her for his son. Then he can treat her like a daughter, see Ex 21:1, he can then sell her to others and get compensation since she is to be treated like a daughter. This seems to be another loophole to setting a slave free. If the master also does not designate the female Hebrew slave to his son then:
If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money. Ex 21:10-11
So if the master wants a different wife and does not have a son then she must be treated as the new wife and set free with no compensation. But notice the woman is the master’s slave and property to do with as he wishes.
Lev 19:20-22 ESV
“If a man lies sexually with a woman who is a slave, assigned to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, a distinction shall be made. Lev 19:20
This is talking about Hebrew slaves because it says the woman is not yet set free. Only Hebrew women slaves can be set free by Gods rules.
They shall not be put to death, because she was not free;… Lev 19:20
The sin must be rape here, not consensual because the penalty is death. So if a Hebrew female slave is raped the rapist is not to be put to death. If a free Hebrew woman is raped the rapist will be put to death as stated in other laws.
but he shall bring his compensation to the Lord, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven for the sin that he has committed. Lev 19:21-22
If a man rapes a Hebrew female slave then the man can pay restitution to God and go on with his life. As long as a man has plenty of money he can rape as many Hebrew female slaves as he wants without further penalty.
3. All Slaves
Lev 22:10-11 ESV
A lay person shall not eat of a holy thing; no foreign guest of the priest or hired worker shall eat of a holy thing, but if a priest buys a slave as his property for money, the slave may eat of it, and anyone born in his house may eat of his food.
Here God points out again that slaves are the master’s property and money.
4. Non-Hebrew Slaves
Lev 25: 44-46 ESV
As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you. You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property. You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over your brothers the people of Israel you shall not rule, one over another ruthlessly.
Here the Hebrews can buy slaves from the nations and clans around as well as strangers (non Hebrews) that were born in the land. God says here again the slaves are the master’s property. It also says that non Hebrew slaves can be inherited by descendants of the master, just like property or as God uses as possessions. So God thinks of non Hebrew slaves as possessions and to be treated by property.
Also notice that it says that Hebrew slaves are not to be treated ruthlessly. In Exodus it says that Hebrew slaves can be beaten as has already been discussed. So God must not think beating slaves severely as long as they don’t die within a couple days is not ruthless.