Hi all!
I thought that I might a(n orthodox) Jewish perspective. In our view, institution of slavery as it is defined by the Torah is more akin to the colonial American notion of indentured servitude,
NOT chattel slavety as it was practiced in the antebellum South. I submit the following from
The Jewish Encyclopedia:
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The Hebrew word "'ebed" really means "slave"; but the English Bible renders it "servant" (a) where the word is used figuratively, pious men being "servants of the Lord" (Isa. xx. 3), and courtiers "servants of the king" (Jer. xxxvii. 2); and (b) in passages which refer to Hebrew bondmen, whose condition is far above that of slavery (Ex. xxi. 2-7). Where real slaves are referred to, the English versions generally use "bondman" for "'ebed," and "bondwoman" or "bondmaid" for the corresponding feminines (Lev. xxv. 49).
Treatment of Hebrew Bondmen.
Biblical Data:
The duty of treating the Hebrew servant and handmaid otherwise than as slaves, and above all their retention in service for a limited time only, was deemed by the lawgiver of such importance that the subject was put next to the Decalogue at the very head of civil legislation (Ex. xxi. 2-11). It is treated in its legal bearings also (Lev. xxv. 39-54; Deut. xv. 12-18). The prophet Jeremiah (Jer. xxxiv. 8-24) denounces the permanent enslavement of Hebrew men and women by their masters as the gravest of national sins, for which the kingdom of Judah forfeits all claim to God's mercy, and justly sinks into ruin and exile. While the above-cited passages breathe a common spirit of humanity and brotherhood, they seem to conflict with one another in several points which the sages of the Mishnah contrive to reconcile.
The only cause mentioned in the Pentateuch for selling a man into bondage without his consent is his inability to make due restoration for goods stolen (Ex. xxii. 2); but from II Kings iv. 1-7 it is seen that in the kingdom of Israel the sons of an insolvent deceased debtor were sold for the father's debts, and from Isa. iv. 1 that in the kingdom of Judah the debtor was forced to sell his children to appease his creditors. This usage was not supported by the Law, unless the passage in Leviticus which speaks of "thy brother," when he "waxes poor" and "is sold to thee," refers to a sale for debt; or unless the critics are right in ascribing to the laws as now found a later origin than that of Elisha, or even of Deutero-Isaiah.
In Rabbinical Literature:
The following account is drawn mainly from Maimonides:
The Hebrew servant referred to in the Torah is of two classes: (1) he whom the court has sold without his consent; and (2) he who has willingly sold himself. The court may sell a man for theft only, as noted above. A man may sell himself (Lev. xxv. 39) because of extreme poverty, after all his means are exhausted; he should not sell himself as long as any means are left to him. (...). The sale of a Hebrew into bondage should be made privately, not from an auction-block, nor even from the sidewalk, where other slaves are
sold.
Amount of Work Required.
The Hebrew servant, Scripture says (Lev. xxv. 43), must not be treated with rigor. This was held to mean that no needless work must be imposed on him for the purpose of keeping him under discipline; nor, as Maimonides thinks, any unlimited task such as might be imposed by the command: "Work on till I come!" Nor must he be put to bondman's work (ib. verse 39), i.e., to any humiliating task, such as only slaves perform; and if practicable, he should be set to the same trade in which he was engaged while a freeman.
Whether sold under judgment of a court or voluntarily, the Hebrew servant, if he runs away and is recaptured, must make good the time of his absence, unless the jubilee supervenes, when underany circumstances he is released. When he becomes sick, and thus unable to work, if the time lost is altogether less than four years, none of the time of sickness is charged against the servant; but, if it is more than four years, he must make it up. If the sickness does not disable him for light work (such as work with the needle), even if he is sick for the whole six years of the term of a sold servant, it counts toward his freedom. However, if the Hebrew servant will not do his duty, as a good hireling would do it, he may, by way of discipline, be put to servile work. The master of a Hebrew bondman (or a bondmaid) must place him on an equality with himself in meat and drink, in lodging and in bed-clothes, and must act toward him in a brotherly manner; for Scripture always speaks of him as "thy brother." Hence it was said (Nid. 20a): "Whoever buys a Hebrew servant buys a master for himself."
Self-Redemption Possible.
Either kind of servant is entitled to redeem himself by paying his master a portion of the original purchase price proportionate to the number of years still unexpired; thus if he was bought for ninety shekels for a term of six years, the master must allow him to go upon the payment of fifteen shekels for every year still remaining of this term.
(...).
Differences Between the Two Kinds.
While the man sold into service is bound for a term of six years, the man who sells himself voluntarily binds himself for a term longer than six years, generally ten or twenty. While the former may not be sold to a non-Israelite (not even to a convert), the latter may sell himself to an Israelite, to a convert, to a denizen ("ger toshab"), or even to the "root of the family of a stranger," that is, to a Gentile (see above). But under all circumstances, if within the power of Israel's laws, he becomes free, like every other Hebrew servant, in the year of jubilee.
The man sold by the court may live with a Canaanite bondwoman whom his master assigns to him (Ex. xxi. 4); but the self-sold servant may not. The former may extend the period of his servitude by having his right ear pierced by his master at the door or door-post, after which he must serve "forever," that is, to the jubilee; the latter may not extend his term of service, and his ear is not pierced. The former, after his ear is pierced, has another possibility of freedom. The text says "he shall serve him" (his master): by taking this literally, he "acquires himself" or becomes free by the death of his master (see Nid. i. 2; Baraita, ib. 14b).
Within the six years, or within the time for which a man has sold himself, the Hebrew servant is not freed by the death of the master (if an Israelite) if the latter leaves a son, but need not serve a daughter or other surviving heirs. When a man is sold by the court, the master is bound to furnish such a servant's wife with food; he having, it seems, the right to her services, which hitherto belonged to her husband (Nid. 22a).
The Hebrew Bondmaid.
According to tradition, a Hebrew female may not be sold by the court for theft, nor may she sell herself; she may be sold for a bondmaid ("amah") only in the one way shown in Ex. xxi. 7: "When a man sells his daughter for a bondmaid" (A. V. "maid servant"). The father has this power over his daughter only while she is a minor, that is, less than twelve years of age, or at least while she does not bear the signs of puberty; and he should use his right only in the extreme of poverty, and then as the last resort before selling himself. The sale becomes complete by the delivery of money or money's worth, or through a deed ("sheṭar") written in the father's name. The girl remains in service at most six years, like a man servant. If the jubilee arrives before the expiration of this term she is discharged by virture of that fact; or if the master dies, though he leaves a son, she goes free. She may also obtain her freedom by redemption at a reduced price, as explained above, or by a deed of emancipation given to her by her master. All this is implied in the words of the text (Deut. xv., Hebr.), "Thou shalt do likewise to thy bondmaid." But over and above all these paths to liberty she has another: as soon as her signs of puberty appear the master must marry her or must betroth her to his son, or must send her free. In case of marriage she stands as a wife on the same footing as any freewoman in Israel. By the very words of the text in Exodus the master is forbidden to sell her to an outsider (lit. "to a foreign people"), either as a worker or as a wife.
In conclusion, it may be said of Hebrew man servants and bondmaids that, unlike Canaanite servants, they do not become free by reason of an assault on the part of the master which results in the loss of an eye or a tooth; but, as shown under Assault and Battery, in such a case the master is liable to them in an action for damages.
The Parting Gift.
According to Deut. xv., whoever dismisses his Hebrew man servant or maid servant must not send either of them away empty-handed, but must provide a parting gift. This law, however, does not apply to the following: a man who has sold himself; a servant sold by the court, who hastens his freedom by redeeming himself at a price reduced by lapse of time; one who has run away from his master, and who while at large has become free through the jubilee. A baraita (Nid. 17a) fixes the value of the gift at thirty shekels (this being the average value of three cited in as many opinions); and it should be made "from thy flock, thy thrashing-floor, and thy wine-press," i.e., in products, the visible blessing of God, not in money or in clothing. The literal meaning of the verb used in reference to this parting gift in the text seems to be "to hang round the neck."
Foreign-Born Bondmen.
The Israelite is permitted by Lev. xxv. 44-46 to buy bondmen and bondwomen (in the true sense of the word) from among the surrounding nations, or from the strangers dwelling in his land, and from the descendants of these born in the land; the "indwelling" stranger being distinguished from the stranger who lives under the same law as the Israelite. Such bondmen or bondwomen become a possession, and are inherited by children like other property. But the law limits the absolute power of the master. If he strikes his bondman or bondwoman so as to cause the loss of an eye or a tooth, he or she goes free. If he smites him or her so as to cause death on the same day, the deed is avenged as a murder; but not when death ensues on a subsequent day (Ex. xxi. 20, 21, 26, 27). Another alleviation of bondage is the law (Deut. xxiii. 16, 17) forbidding the return of a fugitive slave to his master by those among whom he seeks shelter. The religious status of bondmen owned by Israelites is well defined by the Scriptures, which make them an integral part of the community. The males, though of foreign blood, whether bought for money, or "born in the house," are to be circumcised (Gen. xvii. 27; Ex. xii. 44), and when circumcised are to be admitted to eat of the Passover meal (ib.). Likewise the bondmen or bondwomen of a priest may eat of his holy meats (Lev. xxii. 11). Neither bondmen nor bondwomen are to be required to work on the Sabbath (Ex. xx. 10); indeed, the opportunity for the "son of thy handmaid" to have a "breathing-space" (A. V. "may be refreshed") is mentioned as one of the great motives for the institution of the Sabbath (Ex. xxiii. 12).
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Like many other Torah precepts related to the Temple & 7th and Jubilee years, the institution of Torah servitude is considered to be temporarily suspended. Since 7th and Jubilee years were directly beneficial to bound servants, the Torah institution of servitude cannot be kept until the 7th & Jubilee years are reinstated in full & this will not happen until the Messiah comes.
Be well!
ssv
