God, giving His Torah to Moses atop Mount Sinai, declares His Will for the Redeemed Community. Included in His Law are rules that regulate a form of slavery among His people. (“Servant” and “slave” are the same word in Hebrew: ebed.) How can this be? How can God permit such an institution to exist in His holy land?
I want to explore this question. To begin, we must understand the focus of God’s Law. God prioritizes obligations over rights, so the focus of the Law is on what you owe to others, not on what is owed to you. This simple adjustment in focus is essential to understanding the Torah’s version of slavery. It is so crucial in fact that I would have you click here for the full length explanation before continuing forward.
Secondly, we must understand that the Torah permitted slavery only under certain guidelines, guidelines of wisdom and compassion. We can’t isolate any one law from the rest. Rather we must bring the laws together so we can see the entire landscape that God is painting.
Rule #1: Don’t be like Egypt.
Exodus 22:21 commands: “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” God is pointing at the Egyptians and saying, “That is exactly what NOT to do.” Don’t be prejudice against the stranger (like Egypt was); don’t subjugate the stranger (like Egypt had); don’t mistreat or oppress other people (like Egypt did). If you follow after Egypt’s example, then you have violated the boundaries of Torah.
Exodus 22:21 commands: “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” God is pointing at the Egyptians and saying, “That is exactly what NOT to do.” Don’t be prejudice against the stranger (like Egypt was); don’t subjugate the stranger (like Egypt had); don’t mistreat or oppress other people (like Egypt did). If you follow after Egypt’s example, then you have violated the boundaries of Torah.
Rule #2: Protect runaway slaves.
This law is like a safeguard which ensures a slave will receive rightful treatment. How so? Well, if a slave is mistreated at the hands of a Jewish master, the slave is to respond by running away! By high-tailing it out of there! And God commands, “You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you. [The slave] shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he chooses within one of your towns, wherever it suits him” (Deuteronomy 23:15-16). “Do not wrong him” God reiterates (Deuteronomy 23:16). This runs counter to America’s Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 and Compromise of 1850, which enforced the capture and return of fugitive slaves. The Torah says that a runaway slave should be welcomed and protected wherever the slave chooses to go. Thus, masters are kept in check. If a master is too harsh, the slave is incentivized to run away, and in such cases, God stands on the side of the slave––not the master.
Rule #3: No forcible slave trade!
Rule #5: Unreasonable discipline results in the early termination of the trust agreement.
This law is like a safeguard which ensures a slave will receive rightful treatment. How so? Well, if a slave is mistreated at the hands of a Jewish master, the slave is to respond by running away! By high-tailing it out of there! And God commands, “You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you. [The slave] shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he chooses within one of your towns, wherever it suits him” (Deuteronomy 23:15-16). “Do not wrong him” God reiterates (Deuteronomy 23:16). This runs counter to America’s Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 and Compromise of 1850, which enforced the capture and return of fugitive slaves. The Torah says that a runaway slave should be welcomed and protected wherever the slave chooses to go. Thus, masters are kept in check. If a master is too harsh, the slave is incentivized to run away, and in such cases, God stands on the side of the slave––not the master.
Rule #3: No forcible slave trade!
Forcible slave trade is outlawed by the Torah. There is no place in the covenant community for people to use force against someone to make him or her a slave. Servanthood in and of itself is not evil, but forcible slave trade is evil. Exodus 21:16 is clear: “If a man steals and sells another, and [the victim] is seen in his hand, then [the kidnapper/slaver] shall be put to death.” Bill Bullock, writing as The Rabbi’s Son, comments: “The instruction to refrain from a slave trade was particularly appropriate concerning the descendants of Jacob. Never again, God is saying, will Judah or any of his brethren sell or lay hands on a Joseph to sell him, either for vengeance or for profit. If any member of the Redeemed Community has not learned this critical lesson from the era of Egyptian bondage (all resulting from the sale of a person into slavery), he is a danger to the community and is to be put to death according to legal process in order to purge the community of the spiritual sickness he represents.
Rule #4: Reasonable discipline is allowed; unreasonable discipline is forbidden.
“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 keceph (silver)” (Exodus 21:20-21). The Rabbi’s Son comments on this law, saying, “God wanted them to know that He saw all of their wounds, but that it is not His way to automatically intervene just because someone is getting beaten. Of course, acts of cruelty are inconsistent with the Holy One’s ways. But servants, like all human beings, are fallible. They may try to come in, take over, and take advantage of the master. To counter this, reasonable discipline of servants is permitted.”
“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 keceph (silver)” (Exodus 21:20-21). The Rabbi’s Son comments on this law, saying, “God wanted them to know that He saw all of their wounds, but that it is not His way to automatically intervene just because someone is getting beaten. Of course, acts of cruelty are inconsistent with the Holy One’s ways. But servants, like all human beings, are fallible. They may try to come in, take over, and take advantage of the master. To counter this, reasonable discipline of servants is permitted.”
Rule #5: Unreasonable discipline results in the early termination of the trust agreement.
“If cruelty were to go unpunished in the Holy One’s community, how would the Holy One’s community be any better than Egypt or Babylon or pagan Canaan? Therefore the Holy One decrees that cruelty by the master brings about an early termination of the trust agreement. Indeed the Torah makes it clear that if a master does anything which disfigures a servant (such as putting out an eye, or even knocking out a tooth), the master has forfeited the right to the servant’s labor for the rest of the contracted six year term, and must send him out with full provisions to enable him to become a self-sufficient member of society.” This comes from Exodus 21:26-27 which says: 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. Then Deuteronomy 15:13-14: And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him.
Rule #6: Time off and fellowship is a must!
According to the Torah, all slaves are to be freed from their burdens once a week on the Sabbath Day (Exodus 20:10, Deuteronomy 5:14). Since all holidays are considered Sabbaths as well, slaves get every holiday off: Passover and Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, several days for Sukkot. Moreover, all slaves get to “rejoice before the Lord and fellowship with their masters, and take part in eating the freewill offerings and the finest vow offerings” (Deuteronomy 12:10-18). At the same table, masters and slaves fellowship and eat the finest food side by side. The Torah commands, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing” (Deuteronomy 25:4). If the law reaches down to a servant animal, then certainly it applies to servant human beings. The principle here is that whatever helps you collect blessing should enjoy a share in that blessing. If someone is serving you, don’t hold out on them. Allow the laborer to benefit from the blessing as you are benefitting from the laborer. Contrast this to accounts that tell of African-American slaves forced to prepare food in their master’s kitchen while they themselves were starving. Such cruelty is prohibited by the Torah! According to the principle laid down by Deuteronomy 25:4, slaves partake in the fruit of their toil.
According to the Torah, all slaves are to be freed from their burdens once a week on the Sabbath Day (Exodus 20:10, Deuteronomy 5:14). Since all holidays are considered Sabbaths as well, slaves get every holiday off: Passover and Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, several days for Sukkot. Moreover, all slaves get to “rejoice before the Lord and fellowship with their masters, and take part in eating the freewill offerings and the finest vow offerings” (Deuteronomy 12:10-18). At the same table, masters and slaves fellowship and eat the finest food side by side. The Torah commands, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing” (Deuteronomy 25:4). If the law reaches down to a servant animal, then certainly it applies to servant human beings. The principle here is that whatever helps you collect blessing should enjoy a share in that blessing. If someone is serving you, don’t hold out on them. Allow the laborer to benefit from the blessing as you are benefitting from the laborer. Contrast this to accounts that tell of African-American slaves forced to prepare food in their master’s kitchen while they themselves were starving. Such cruelty is prohibited by the Torah! According to the principle laid down by Deuteronomy 25:4, slaves partake in the fruit of their toil.
Rule #7: Female slaves must receive proper treatment.
Abraham and Hagar come to mind. If you recall, Hagar was Sarah’s slave given to Abraham to be his wife (Genesis 16:3). When Hagar was mistreated by her master Sarah, Hagar fled (16:6), and had a right to do so. Hagar returned, though, and as long as she remained in Abraham’s household, she––being a female slave betrothed to Abraham––had a right to food, clothing, and martial rights (intimacy). This is what the law says: “If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. If she [does not please] the master who has selected* her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. If he selects* her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money” (Exodus 21:7-11 NIV). I have asterisked the word “selected.” In the King James Version, the word is “betrothed.” In the Hebrew, it is the word ya’ad. To get a sense of this word, ya’ad is used when referring to the way God communes with man in the Tabernacle, which connotes a level of closeness and intimacy. Ya’ad is also used to describe the way people banded together in the rebellion of Korah. In that context, it connotes a common interest, a like-mindedness. And this is what the buyer is seeking, be it for himself or for his son. This explains why she is “not to go free as male servants do,” because the idea is to have a forever-relationship in which there is like-mindedness, common interest, connection and intimacy. Now also note that I have bracketed the phrase “does not please.” This is actually the Hebrew idiom “evil eye,” meaning selfishness (Reference). In other words, if she is uninterested in her master and thus displeasing to him, her father can redeem her––buy her back, undo the transaction. If, however, she pleases her master (or her master’s son), the Torah commands that she must never be neglected. For if she is, the arrangement is voided and she is a free woman. She will not be stuck in a bad relationship.
Stepping back, the point I’m trying to make is this: the Torah permitted slavery only under certain guidelines. We can’t isolate any one law from the rest. Rather we must bring the laws together before we begin to appreciate the picture that God is painting. His definition of slavery and servanthood is much different than the world’s version of slavery.
