WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT SLAVERY?
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. What does the Bible say about the practice of slavery?
a) God permitted slavery (servitude) in the Old Testament but only under special circumstances and with restrictions. The Bible states an Israelite (Hebrew) father could sell his daughter as a slave (Exodus 21:7, Nehemiah 5:5), the child of a widow could be sold as a slave to pay her father's debt (2Kings 4:1), and both men and women could sell themselves into servitude (Leviticus 25:39, 47, Deuteronomy 15:12 - 17).
b) God commanded that slaves receive good treatment (Leviticus 25:43 - 46). They were allowed to have a wife, children, and even their own money (Exodus 21). They could receive gifts when freed (Deuteronomy 15:13). Males, after circumcision (if they were not already), were allowed to partake in the Passover and other religious ceremonies in worshipping God. Slavery within Israel was meant to be far more humane than the practices adopted by the rest of the world.
c) Some of the ways slaves could receive their freedom are the following.
i) They could be bought or redeemed by themselves or any near relative (Leviticus 25:48 - 55)
ii) If they worked six years, in the seventh year of service they were set free (Exodus 21)
iii) In the Jubilee year, which occurred once every fifty years, all slaves (servants) were set free (Leviticus 25:40)
iv) Servants who were abused by their master and maimed (e.g. lost a tooth or eye) were set free (Exodus 21)
v) Slaves could be set free directly by God (Jeremiah 34:8 - 10)
d) In the New Testament, Jesus never deals directly with the issue of owning slaves one way or the other in his teachings. It should also be noted that the Greek word doulos (Strong's Concordance #G1401), translated "servant," can mean "slave," however, or vice versa.
g) As a side note, the Essenes, who were one of the four major Jewish sects that existed in Palestine, were against slavery and asserted that its practice was repugnant to nature.
h) It is only recently that the Islamic world officially abolished slavery even as the West has done. The Islamic (Arab) world received (through East Africa) a number of slaves generally estimated to number as many as those sent across the Atlantic in the better known West African trade. Saudi Arabia only officially abolished the practice around 1962 or so, ironically about the same time Malcom X visited Mecca! During the Sudan's long civil war, Muslims in the north sold their opponents into servitude to the Christians or animists of the south. As a matter of history, it is those who believe in the God of the Bible that have been in the lead in abolishing slavery.
The End ...
1. What does the Bible say about the practice of slavery?a) God permitted slavery (servitude) in the Old Testament but only under special circumstances and with restrictions. The Bible states an Israelite (Hebrew) father could sell his daughter as a slave (Exodus 21:7, Nehemiah 5:5), the child of a widow could be sold as a slave to pay her father's debt (2Kings 4:1), and both men and women could sell themselves into servitude (Leviticus 25:39, 47, Deuteronomy 15:12 - 17).
b) God commanded that slaves receive good treatment (Leviticus 25:43 - 46). They were allowed to have a wife, children, and even their own money (Exodus 21). They could receive gifts when freed (Deuteronomy 15:13). Males, after circumcision (if they were not already), were allowed to partake in the Passover and other religious ceremonies in worshipping God. Slavery within Israel was meant to be far more humane than the practices adopted by the rest of the world.
c) Some of the ways slaves could receive their freedom are the following.
i) They could be bought or redeemed by themselves or any near relative (Leviticus 25:48 - 55)
ii) If they worked six years, in the seventh year of service they were set free (Exodus 21)
iii) In the Jubilee year, which occurred once every fifty years, all slaves (servants) were set free (Leviticus 25:40)
iv) Servants who were abused by their master and maimed (e.g. lost a tooth or eye) were set free (Exodus 21)
v) Slaves could be set free directly by God (Jeremiah 34:8 - 10)
d) In the New Testament, Jesus never deals directly with the issue of owning slaves one way or the other in his teachings. It should also be noted that the Greek word doulos (Strong's Concordance #G1401), translated "servant," can mean "slave," however, or vice versa.
e) The Apostle Paul discusses slavery. Interestingly, Paul neither offers a clear condemnation of the institution nor justifies its practice. He does encourage Philemon (Philemon 10 - 18), a slaveholder, to take back a runaway slave who had converted to Christianity. There are texts in which servants or slaves are told to obey, not revolt against, their masters (Colossians 3:22, Ephesians 5:5 - 9, 1Timothy 6:1, Titus 2:9). Ultimately, Paul does not think the status of being a slave or free matters spiritually in the sight of God (Colossians 3:11).
f) One could use (say) the Golden Rule of Jesus or the Great Commandment of loving one's neighbor as one's self against holding a slave. Hence, if you loved someone equal to yourself, and you would not want to be a slave, then you should not own one. That said, it must be admitted that there is no explicit condemnation of owning slaves in the New Testament.
f) One could use (say) the Golden Rule of Jesus or the Great Commandment of loving one's neighbor as one's self against holding a slave. Hence, if you loved someone equal to yourself, and you would not want to be a slave, then you should not own one. That said, it must be admitted that there is no explicit condemnation of owning slaves in the New Testament.
g) As a side note, the Essenes, who were one of the four major Jewish sects that existed in Palestine, were against slavery and asserted that its practice was repugnant to nature.
h) It is only recently that the Islamic world officially abolished slavery even as the West has done. The Islamic (Arab) world received (through East Africa) a number of slaves generally estimated to number as many as those sent across the Atlantic in the better known West African trade. Saudi Arabia only officially abolished the practice around 1962 or so, ironically about the same time Malcom X visited Mecca! During the Sudan's long civil war, Muslims in the north sold their opponents into servitude to the Christians or animists of the south. As a matter of history, it is those who believe in the God of the Bible that have been in the lead in abolishing slavery.
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