To start: yes slavery is bad
So why does the Bible have laws about slavery?
People often point at the existence of slavery in the Bible as a black mark on the biblical legacy, however the Bible is clear on how all people should be treated.
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37–40).
First let’s look at what we are dealing with. The Hebrew word עֶ֖בֶד (ebed) can be translated as either slave or servant, so it is important to know what we are talking about here. The slavery described in the Bible is not how we view slavery in the post African Slave Trade world. In the Hebrew Bible there are two types of slavery/servanthood described among the Hebrew people. The easiest one to deal with is Hebrew servants to other Hebrews. In a more modern translation, we would call this indentured servitude. Effectively an ancient version of an employer and employee relationship. People were not kidnapped and forced into slavery in the method we are familiar with in the modern world.
“If someone is caught kidnapping a fellow Israelite and treating or selling them as a slave, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from among you.”- Deuteronomy 24:7
Servants typically entered service of their own free will, to pay off a debt. Servants had rights including property and legal protection. There was a set period of servitude, after which Servants had to be released from their servitude unless they willingly chose to continue. This willing choice was done in a public setting so that people from the area knew. Servants who were released were given what they needed to begin their free life.
“If any of your people—Hebrew men or women—sell themselves to you and serve you six years, in the seventh year you must let them go free. And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed. Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to them as the Lord your God has blessed you. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.
But if your servant says to you, “I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, then take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your female servant.
Do not consider it a hardship to set your servant free, because their service to you these six years has been worth twice as much as that of a hired hand. And the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.”- Deuteronomy 15:12-18
It was not unheard of for a servant to be named as heir, thus being adopted by their master and inheriting their wealth.
The Bible specifically lays out protections for the most vulnerable people in society, and it quotes the slavery in Egypt as the reason. Israelites are told to take care of everyone because they know what it means to be the ones who are being taken advantage of.
Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.- Deuteronomy 24:17-18
The Bible is progressive. Not in the modern sense, but in the sense that the narrative progresses from something and toward something else. God treats people as a parent guiding and teaching children. The Bible doesn’t lay out everything all at once, it waits until one lesson is learned before progressing to the next. There are many instances where the Bible mentions a current cultural practice, and then begins the process of reforming that process into something else. This does not mean that the Bible endorses the practice that it is reforming.
Looked at from our modern understanding, many things mentioned in the Bible seem crude, barbaric, etc. Looked at from the perspective and practices of the time though, many of these turn out to be steps, or even leaps, in a better direction. The story in the Bible is the slow process of trying to influence people for the better. It is not an instant change from one thing to another.
Jesus makes this point many times. He takes a teaching from the Hebrew Bible and in effect tells people that, now that they should have figured this part out, here is the next step.
One example is divorce. In the time of Moses you were allowed to get a divorce for many reasons because of your hard hearts. Now I'm telling you the next step, divorce is only allowed due to marital infidelity.
Another example. Now that you have gotten the basic idea of do not murder, the next step is to not hate people.
If you follow biblical teaching in order you see the progression. If you pick and choose sections to fit your narrative you often miss the mark.
With that in mind, let’s move on to the next type of slavery, that of foreigners. In the Hebrew Bible the Israelites were still allowed to take foreign people as slaves. However this practice still underwent drastic reformation from the cultures around them. The eventual goal is no slavery, but you have to start with the first step. So what were the initial reforms?
Slaves had legal rights. Over an over the laws in the Hebrew Bible reference that they will apply to foreigners as well as Israelites:
“Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.- Exodus 23:9
Slaves could not be killed, raped, severely beaten, or permanently injured.
"When you go to war against your enemies and the Lord your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives, if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife. Bring her into your home and have her shave her head, trim her nails and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month, then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife. If you are not pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her." Deuteronomy 21:10-14
“Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death.”- Exodus 21:12
“Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death, whether the victim has been sold or is still in the kidnapper’s possession.” Exodus 21:16
“Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.”- Exodus 21:20-21
“An owner who hits a male or female slave in the eye and destroys it must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye. And an owner who knocks out the tooth of a male or female slave must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.”- Exodus 21:26-27
Slaves did not have to be returned to their owners:
“If a slave (עֶ֖בֶד) has taken refuge with you, do not hand them over to their master. Let them live among you wherever they like and in whatever town they choose. Do not oppress them.”- Deuteronomy 23:15-16
Violation of these rights resulted in punishment for the master, and freedom for the slave. Masters were expected to care for and take responsibility for their slaves.
In effect slaves had a similar cultural position as women and children. In effect all three groups were treated as children. They were typically under the authority of their closest male relative, or the patriarch of their household.
The typical result was that, over the course of generations, slaves would become Israelites themselves. This was not a perfect system, but it was a far cry better than most civilizations around them. However, we know that this was not the end goal. As I already pointed out, the goal is “love your neighbor as yourself.”
So what happens when we get to the New Testament?
The issue of slavery gets a bit trickier here. We are no longer dealing with a single culture. Christians are in every culture. Slaves and servants are told to be obedient. This is not an acknowledgement of the correctness of their place. It is an example that they set for their masters in the hopes that their masters might one day become Christians.
Masters likewise are told to treat their slaves with mutual respect. Masters are told to be devoted to the welfare of their slaves. You might ask why there isn’t a blanket rule that says to free all of your slaves. In some cultures that was actually illegal, or subjected the slaves to a worse fate. The standard here was to make the most loving choice you could within the confines of the system you found yourself in. But these are all hypothetical, let’s look at the one concrete example we have, that of Onesimus and Philemon. Both men were Christians. Onesimus was Philemon’s slave who had found himself in the company of Paul for some time. Paul wrote to Philemon about several things, and included that he was sending Onesimus back. However he pointed out how Philemon should treat Onesimus.
“Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.
So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me.”- Philemon 1:8-18
Essentially Paul tells Philemon that Onesimus is his equal, and should be treated as such. This is a far cry from a master slave relationship.
About the Author:
Stephen Mayo lives in Montana with his wife, daughter, corgi, and three cats.
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