“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). As true as this is, it does not change the fact that slavery was permitted by the Torah. Why would God permit such an institution at any point in time? Is the Torah a pro-slavery document?
Good questions deserve meaningful answers. I have encountered those who ask good questions but do not want to take the time to explore meaningful answers. If you’re ready to ask about slavery in the Bible, then you have to be ready to explore a meaningful answer. I believe a meaningful answer begins with a conversation about the nature of the Torah itself. The following is lifted from Rabbi Akiva Tatz in his book WorldMask:
Good questions deserve meaningful answers. I have encountered those who ask good questions but do not want to take the time to explore meaningful answers. If you’re ready to ask about slavery in the Bible, then you have to be ready to explore a meaningful answer. I believe a meaningful answer begins with a conversation about the nature of the Torah itself. The following is lifted from Rabbi Akiva Tatz in his book WorldMask:
“All relationships between people involve giving and taking. In some aspects of a relationship, one party is the giver and the other receives, and in some aspects the direction of giving is the reverse. Any particular individual relates to others on a continuum of giving or taking––some people are the givers, some are the takers.
“In human relationships, the polarities of giving and taking can be expressed as obligations and rights. My rights are your obligations: my right to property is your obligation not to steal. My right to free speech is your obligation to allow me to speak freely. A worker’s right to a living wage is his employer’s obligation to pay that wage. It is your obligation to see to it that my rights remain intact. Every right implies an obligation; the rights of an individual are the obligations of society at large.
“The important point to grasp here is that rights and obligations are interlocked; neither is meaningful without the other. There can be no rights without obligations.
“Rights are parallel to taking, and obligations are parallel to giving. After all, my rights are due to me; they are mine. Obligations are those things which I have to do for you; I have to give up some of my freedom and desires in order to accommodate your rights. In guarding my rights, I am a taker; in honoring my obligations, I am a giver.
“Of course, both rights and obligations are true and necessary. Each individual has a right to expect that which is due to him and an obligation to provide others with all that is due to them. But the essential question is: where is your focus? What concerns you more––your rights or your obligations? A person who is concerned with his rights is a taker; one who is concerned with his obligations is a giver. Focusing on one’s rights is focusing on the self––a constant awareness of one’s needs and the desire to satisfy them. Focusing on one’s obligations is focusing on others and the function of giving.
“Modern society is largely concerned with rights. The wording of the Constitutions of Western democracies is revealing––they unfailingly focus on rights. In fact, they are often little more than a detailed enumeration of the rights of the individuals within that particular society.
“In striking contrast is the Torah. The Torah never mentions rights, only obligations! Nowhere does the Torah speak of an individual’s right to his property; only his obligation not to steal. No mention of a right to life or liberty; only stringent admonitions not to murder or interfere with the liberty of one’s fellow. Not even a cursory mention of one’s right to happiness, dignity, physical well-being or sustenance; only strong reminders of the duty to provide others with these. And so on.
“Of course rights exist; of course they are important. But the point is that the focus is everything. When each person focuses on his obligations carefully, the rights take care of themselves. If no one steals, everyone’s right to property is assured automatically. If no one bears false witness, everyone’s right to know the truth is assured automatically. When everyone is giving, everyone receives.
“This difference of focus has far-reaching practical consequences. Consider the relationship between master and slave: the slave must work for his master as best he is able, and the master must treat his slave as a brother. Obviously, if both live up to their obligations, the relationship will be productive and peaceful. But when the master focuses on the slave’s obligation to work hard, and the slave keeps demanding that the master treat him better instead of working as he should––when each one forgets his obligations and thinks only of his rights––the result is war. And both are quoting the Torah! When the master reminds the slave that he is supposed to work single-mindedly and the slave reminds the master that he is supposed to treat him like a brother, both are absolutely correct––but they are focusing on the wrong end of the deal, and that is where the problems begin.
“In like manner, consider two people in marriage, each trying to give to the other––the result is an idyllic relationship. Two people, each focusing on what the other owes––the result is marital strife. And paradoxically, the surest way to lose one’s personal happiness is to demand it as a right from one’s spouse.
“Applications of this principle are to be found everywhere. In an industrial society, when employers treat employees fairly and the workers serve loyally, all is well. But when workers are concerned about their rights primarily, the natural result is that in order to protect and enforce their rights, they band together in a union. The union has the power to paralyze the industry, so the employers form a national association of employers to fight the stranglehold of the union, and the result is battle.
“A society which enshrines rights is a society which develops takers. A society which focuses on obligations develops givers.”
Rabbi Akiva Tatz, WorldMask: The World of Obligations, pg. 100-106
As you can gather, rights and obligations are two sides of the same menorah. Your right to property is my obligation not to steal. Your obligation not to murder is my right to life. In the Torah, rights are implicit and obligations are explicit. This is because God is a giver, and He wants His people to be like Him. Since obligations are equivalent to giving, the Torah speaks in terms of obligations. Here is an example of this in a different context…
“At the end of every seven years, you are to cancel debts. This is how you are to cancel debts: every creditor is to release what he has loaned to his neighbor. He must not force his neighbor or his brother to repay, for God’s debt cancellation has been proclaimed…If there is a poor man among you, you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother. Rather, you must surely open your hand to him and you must surely lend him enough for his need––whatever he is lacking. Watch yourself, so there is no unworthy thing in your heart saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of canceling debts, is near,’ and your eye is evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing. Then he may call out to God against you, and it will be a sin upon you” (Deuteronomy 15).
Notice, God focuses on the creditor’s obligations, not on the debtor’s rights. Can you imagine the passage reading this way:
“At the end of seven years, everything you owe is cancelled. This is how you become debt-free: every debtor is to be released from his debt. You cannot be forced to repay. . .If you are a poor man, you must be given enough for your need. Do not let a creditor give you nothing. If a creditor gives you nothing, call out to God against him. It will be a sin upon him. You must surely get what you need.”
I’ve taken the same passage but adjusted the focus to rights instead of obligations. The effect is drastic. My version would create takers, not givers, and you can imagine the ungrateful and demanding attitude that would ensue. Therefore, it’s important to see that God speaks to the creditor, with the emphasis on obligation.
Elsewhere, He speaks to the debtor: “If a man...swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth” (Numbers 30:2). Again we see the emphasis is obligation. A debtor’s obligation to the creditor is to repay the debt. Only when the priority is obligation does the system work.
Returning to our conversation about slavery, only when the priority is obligation does the system work. When the focus is on obligation, here is the result: as a slave owner, I am obligated to treat my slave justly and fairly, without partiality. After all, he is my brother. As a slave, I am obligated to obey my master sincerely, rendering service of a good will. After all, he is my master.
Paul understands this concept well when he writes: “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him” (Ephesians 6:5-9 NIV).
As long as the two parties focus on their obligations to one another, the relationship remains healthy. However, if they turn to focus on their rights––on that which is owed to them––the relationship sickens. The slave owner says, “I am your master; you owe me work.” But the slave says, “I am your brother. You owe me equality.” Although they are both correct, their prioritizing of the self corrupts the relationship.
If they flip their focus right-side up, the slave owner says, “You are my brother. If we have one pillow, you get the pillow. If we have food, you eat first. I will treat you as my brother.” The slave says, “You are my master. I will obey you, and serve you wholeheartedly. I will treat you as my master.”
This follows along with what Rabbi Hirsch says in his commentary on the Torah. He writes, “The master is obligated to treat the servant with complete equality in all matters of the household: in food, in drink, and in clothing. Thus the maxim: Whoever buys a Hebrew slave is like one who buys himself a master. Both parties face a formidable moral test: ‘You (the master) must treat him as a brother, but he (the slave) must treat himself and behave as a slave’ (Toras Kohanim on Vayika 25:39-40)” (The Hirsch Chumash, Shemos, pg. 368-369).
If they flip their focus right-side up, the slave owner says, “You are my brother. If we have one pillow, you get the pillow. If we have food, you eat first. I will treat you as my brother.” The slave says, “You are my master. I will obey you, and serve you wholeheartedly. I will treat you as my master.”
This follows along with what Rabbi Hirsch says in his commentary on the Torah. He writes, “The master is obligated to treat the servant with complete equality in all matters of the household: in food, in drink, and in clothing. Thus the maxim: Whoever buys a Hebrew slave is like one who buys himself a master. Both parties face a formidable moral test: ‘You (the master) must treat him as a brother, but he (the slave) must treat himself and behave as a slave’ (Toras Kohanim on Vayika 25:39-40)” (The Hirsch Chumash, Shemos, pg. 368-369).
Suffice to say, the kind of slavery God permitted in the Torah was a very different experience than the kind of slavery America permitted. The slavery that came about in America’s history was despicable, ungodly, Torahless. Abolitionists like John Adams were correct to call it “evil” (Source). Being a society built on rights, America’s version of slavery was doomed from the beginning. It had no choice but to become more and more evil.
Being a system built on obligations, however, the Torah’s version of slavery was not evil. To the degree ancient Israel abided by the Torah, to that degree the institution of slavery was permitted by God. In other words, God permitted slavery so long as the spirit of obligation was at the center of it.
