Reference: Slave
American
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A servant is Israel? Is he a child of the house? Wherefore hath he been for a prey?
and cinnamon, and odours, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep, and of horses, and of chariots, and of bodies and souls of men.
Easton
Jer 2:14 (A.V.), but not there found in the original. In Re 18:13 the word "slaves" is the rendering of a Greek word meaning "bodies." The Hebrew and Greek words for slave are usually rendered simply "servant," "bondman," or "bondservant." Slavery as it existed under the Mosaic law has no modern parallel. That law did not originate but only regulated the already existing custom of slavery (Ex 21:20-21,26-27; Le 25:44-46; Jos 9:6-27). The gospel in its spirit and genius is hostile to slavery in every form, which under its influence is gradually disappearing from among men.
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And when a man smiteth his man-servant or his handmaid, with a rod, and he hath died under his hand -- he is certainly avenged; only if he remain a day, or two days, he is not avenged, for he is his money.
'And when a man smiteth the eye of his man-servant, or the eye of his handmaid, and hath destroyed it, as a freeman he doth send him away for his eye; and if a tooth of his man-servant or a tooth of his handmaid he knock out, as a freeman he doth send him away for his tooth.
And thy man-servant and thy handmaid whom thou hast are of the nations who are round about you; of them ye buy man-servant and handmaid, and also of the sons of the settlers who are sojourning with you, of them ye buy, and of their families who are with you, which they have begotten in your land, and they have been to you for a possession; read more. and ye have taken them for inheritance to your sons after you, to occupy for a possession; to the age ye lay service upon them, but upon your brethren, the sons of Israel, one with another, thou dost not rule over him with rigour.
And they go unto Joshua, unto the camp at Gilgal, and say unto him, and unto the men of Israel, 'From a land far off we have come, and now, make with us a covenant;' and the men of Israel say unto the Hivite, 'It may be in our midst ye are dwelling, and how do we make with thee a covenant?' read more. and they say unto Joshua, 'Thy servants we are.' And Joshua saith unto them, 'Who are ye? and whence come ye?' And they say unto him, 'From a land very far off have thy servants come, for the name of Jehovah thy God, for we have heard His fame, and all that He hath done in Egypt, and all that He hath done to the two kings of the Amorite who are beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who is in Ashtaroth. And our elders, and all the inhabitants of our land speak unto us, saying, Take in your hand provision for the way, and go to meet them, and ye have said unto them, Your servants we are, and now, make with us a covenant; this our bread -- hot we provided ourselves with it out of our houses, on the day of our coming out to go unto you, and now, lo, it is dry, and hath been crumbs; and these are the wine-bottles which we filled, new, and lo, they have rent; and these, our garments and our sandals, have become old, from the exceeding greatness of the way.' And the men take of their provision, and the mouth of Jehovah have not asked; and Joshua maketh with them peace, and maketh with them a covenant, to keep them alive; and swear to them do the princes of the company. And it cometh to pass, at the end of three days after that they have made with them a covenant, that they hear that they are their neighbours -- that in their midst they are dwelling. And the sons of Israel journey and come in unto their cities on the third day -- and their cities are Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath-Jearim -- and the sons of Israel have not smitten them, for sworn to them have the princes of the company by Jehovah God of Israel, and all the company murmur against the princes. And all the princes say unto all the company, 'We -- we have sworn to them by Jehovah, God of Israel; and now, we are not able to come against them; this we do to them, and have kept them alive, and wrath is not upon us, because of the oath which we have sworn to them.' And the princes say unto them, 'They live, and are hewers of wood and drawers of water for all the company, as the princes spake to them.' And Joshua calleth for them, and speaketh unto them, saying, 'Why have ye deceived us, saying, We are very far from you, and ye in our midst dwelling? and now, cursed are ye, and none of you is cut off from being a servant, even hewers of wood and drawers of water, for the house of my God.' And they answer Joshua and say, 'Because it was certainly declared to thy servants, that Jehovah thy God commanded Moses His servant to give to you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; and we fear greatly for ourselves because of you, and we do this thing; and now, lo, we are in thy hand, as it is good, and as it is right in thine eyes to do to us -- do.' And he doth to them so, and delivereth them from the hand of the sons of Israel, and they have not slain them; and Joshua maketh them on that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the company, and for the altar of Jehovah, unto this day, at the place which He doth choose.
A servant is Israel? Is he a child of the house? Wherefore hath he been for a prey?
and cinnamon, and odours, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep, and of horses, and of chariots, and of bodies and souls of men.
Fausets
Hired service was little known anciently; slavery was the common form of service. But among the Hebrew the bond service was of a mild and equitable character; so much so that ebed, "servant," is not restricted to the bond servant, but applies to higher relations, as, e.,g., the king's prime minister, a rich man's steward, as Eliezer (Ge 15:2; 24:2), God's servant (Da 9:17). Bond service was not introduced by Moses, but being found in existence was regulated by laws mitigating its evils and restricting its duration. Man stealing was a capital crime (De 24:7); not only stealing Israelites, but people of other nations (Ex 21:16). The Mosaic law jealously guarded human life and liberty as sacred. Masters must treat Hebrew servants as hired servants, not with rigour, but with courteous considerateness as brethren, and liberally remunerate them at the close of their service (De 15:12-18; Le 25:39-41). Ex 21:2 provided that no Israelite bound to service could be forced to continue in it more than six years.
Leviticus supplements this by giving every Hebrew the right to claim freedom for himself and family in the Jubilee year, without respect to period of service, and to recover his land. This was a cheek on the oppression of the rich (Jer 34:8-17). Property in foreign slaves might be handed down from father to son, so too the children born in the house (Ge 14:14; 17:12). Some were war captives (Nu 31:6-7,9; De 20:14); but Israelites must not reduce to bondage Israelites taken in war (2Ch 28:8-15). The monuments give many illustrations of the state of the Israelites themselves reduced to bondage by foreign kings to whom they were delivered for their rebellion. Others were enslaved for crime (Ex 22:3, like our penal servitude), or bought from foreign slave dealers (Le 25:44), so they were his property (Ex 21:21). The price was about 30 or 40 shekels (Ex 21:32; Le 27:3-4; Zec 11:12-13; Mt 26:15).
The slave was encouraged to become a "proselyte" (doulos) (Ex 12:44). He might be set free (Ex 21:3,20-21,26-27). The law guarded his life and limbs. If a married man became a bondman, his rights to his wife were respected, she going out with him after six years' service. If as single he accepted a wife from his master, and she bore him children, she and they remained the master's, and he alone went out, unless from love to his master and his wife and children he preferred staying (Ex 21:6); then the master bored his ear (the member symbolizing willing obedience, as the phrase "give ear" implies) with an awl, and he served for ever, i.e. until Jubilee year (Le 25:10; De 15:17); type of the Father's willing Servant for man's sake (compare Isa 50:5; Ps 40:6-8; Heb 10:5; Php 2:7).
A Hebrew sold to a stranger sojourning in Israel did not go out after six years, but did at the year of Jubilee; meantime he might be freed by himself or a kinsman paying a ransom, the object of the law being to stir up friends to help the distressed relative. His brethren should see that he suffered no undue rigour, but was treated as a yearly hired servant (Le 25:47-55). Even the foreigner, when enslaved, if his master caused his loss of an eye or tooth, could claim freedom (Ex 21:6; Le 19:20). He might be ransomed. At last he was freed at Jubilee. His murder was punished by death (Le 24:17,22; Nu 35:31-33). He was admitted to the spiritual privileges of Israel: circumcision (Ge 17:12), the great feasts, Passover, etc. (Ex 12:43; De 16:10; 29:10-13; 31:12), the hearing of the law, the Sabbath and Jubilee rests. The receiver of a fugitive slave was not to deliver him up (De 23:15-16).
Christianity does not begin by opposing the external system prevailing, but plants the seeds of love, universal brotherhood in Christ, communion of all in one redemption from God our common Father, which silently and surely undermines slavery. Paul's sending back Onesimus to Philemon does not sanction slavery as a compulsory system, for Onesimus went back of his own free will to a master whom Christianity had made into a brother. In 1Co 7:21-24 Paul exhorts slaves not to be unduly impatient to cast off even slavery by unlawful means (1Pe 2:13-18), as Onesimus did by fleeing. The precept (Greek) "become not ye slaves of men" implies that slavery is abnormal (Le 25:42). "If called, being a slave, to Christianity, be content; but yet, if also (besides spiritual freedom) thou canst be free (bodily, a still additional good, which if thou canst not attain be satisfied without, but which if offered despise not), use the opportunity of becoming free rather than remain a slave." "Use it" in verse 23 (?) refers to freedom, implied in the words just before, "be made free" (2Pe 2:19).
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And Abram heareth that his brother hath been taken captive, and he draweth out his trained domestics, three hundred and eighteen, and pursueth unto Dan.
And Abram saith, 'Lord Jehovah, what dost Thou give to me, and I am going childless? and an acquired son in my house is Demmesek Eliezer.'
'And a son of eight days is circumcised by you; every male to your generations, born in the house, or bought with money from any son of a stranger, who is not of thy seed;
'And a son of eight days is circumcised by you; every male to your generations, born in the house, or bought with money from any son of a stranger, who is not of thy seed;
and Abraham saith unto his servant, the eldest of his house, who is ruling over all that he hath, 'Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh,
And Jehovah saith unto Moses and Aaron, 'This is a statute of the passover; Any son of a stranger doth not eat of it; and any man's servant, the purchase of money, when thou hast circumcised him -- then he doth eat of it;
When thou buyest a Hebrew servant -- six years he doth serve, and in the seventh he goeth out as a freeman for nought; if by himself he cometh in, by himself he goeth out; if he is owner of a wife, then his wife hath gone out with him;
then hath his lord brought him nigh unto God, and hath brought him nigh unto the door, or unto the side-post, and his lord hath bored his ear with an awl, and he hath served him -- to the age.
then hath his lord brought him nigh unto God, and hath brought him nigh unto the door, or unto the side-post, and his lord hath bored his ear with an awl, and he hath served him -- to the age.
'And he who stealeth a man, and hath sold him, and he hath been found in his hand, is certainly put to death.
And when a man smiteth his man-servant or his handmaid, with a rod, and he hath died under his hand -- he is certainly avenged; only if he remain a day, or two days, he is not avenged, for he is his money.
only if he remain a day, or two days, he is not avenged, for he is his money.
'And when a man smiteth the eye of his man-servant, or the eye of his handmaid, and hath destroyed it, as a freeman he doth send him away for his eye; and if a tooth of his man-servant or a tooth of his handmaid he knock out, as a freeman he doth send him away for his tooth.
'If the ox gore a man-servant or a handmaid, thirty silver shekels he doth give to their lord, and the ox is stoned.
if the sun hath risen upon him, blood is for him, he doth certainly repay; if he have nothing, then he hath been sold for his theft;
And when a man lieth with a woman with seed of copulation, and she a maid-servant, betrothed to a man, and not really ransomed, or freedom hath not been given to her, an investigation there is; they are not put to death, for she is not free.
'And when a man smiteth any soul of man, he is certainly put to death.
one judgment is to you; as a sojourner so is a native; for I am Jehovah your God.'
and ye have hallowed the year, the fiftieth year; and ye have proclaimed liberty in the land to all its inhabitants; a jubilee it is to you; and ye have turned back each unto his possession; yea, each unto his family ye do turn back.
'And when thy brother becometh poor with thee, and he hath been sold to thee, thou dost not lay on him servile service; as an hireling, as a settler, he is with thee, till the year of the jubilee he doth serve with thee, -- read more. then he hath gone out from thee, he and his sons with him, and hath turned back unto his family; even unto the possession of his fathers he doth turn back. For they are My servants, whom I have brought out from the land of Egypt: they are not sold with the sale of a servant;
And thy man-servant and thy handmaid whom thou hast are of the nations who are round about you; of them ye buy man-servant and handmaid,
And when the hand of a sojourner or settler with thee attaineth riches, and thy brother with him hath become poor, and he hath been sold to a sojourner, a settler with thee, or to the root of the family of a sojourner, after he hath been sold, there is a right of redemption to him; one of his brethren doth redeem him, read more. or his uncle, or a son of his uncle, doth redeem him, or any of the relations of his flesh, of his family, doth redeem him, or -- his own hand hath attained -- then he hath been redeemed. 'And he hath reckoned with his buyer from the year of his being sold to him till the year of jubilee, and the money of his sale hath been by the number of years; as the days of an hireling it is with him. If yet many years, according to them he giveth back his redemption money, from the money of his purchase. And if few are left of the years till the year of jubilee, then he hath reckoned with him, according to his years he doth give back his redemption money; as an hireling, year by year, he is with him, and he doth not rule him with rigour before thine eyes. And if he is not redeemed in these years, then he hath gone out in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him. For to Me are the sons of Israel servants; My servants they are, whom I have brought out of the land of Egypt; I, Jehovah, am your God.
When thy valuation hath been of the male from a son of twenty years even unto a son of sixty years, then hath been thy valuation fifty shekels of silver by the shekel of the sanctuary. And if it is a female -- then hath thy valuation been thirty shekels;
and Moses sendeth them, a thousand for a tribe, to the host, them and Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, to the host; and the holy vessels, and the trumpets of the shouting, in his hand. And they war against Midian, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses, and slay every male;
And the sons of Israel take captive the women of Midian, and their infants; and all their cattle, and all their substance, and all their wealth they have plundered;
And ye take no atonement for the life of a murderer who is condemned -- to die, for he is certainly put to death; and ye take no atonement for him to flee unto the city of his refuge, to turn back to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest. read more. And ye profane not the land which ye are in, for blood profaneth the land; as to the land, it is not pardoned for blood which is shed in it except by the blood of him who sheddeth it;
When thy brother is sold to thee, a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, and he hath served thee six years -- then in the seventh year thou dost send him away free from thee. And when thou dost send him away free from thee, thou dost not send him away empty; read more. thou dost certainly encircle him out of thy flock, and out of thy threshing-floor, and out of thy wine-vat; of that which Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee thou dost give to him, and thou hast remembered that a servant thou hast been in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God doth ransom thee; therefore I am commanding thee this thing to-day. And it hath been, when he saith unto thee, I go not out from thee -- because he hath loved thee, and thy house, because it is good for him with thee -- then thou hast taken the awl, and hast put it through his ear, and through the door, and he hath been to thee a servant age-during; and also to thy handmaid thou dost do so.
then thou hast taken the awl, and hast put it through his ear, and through the door, and he hath been to thee a servant age-during; and also to thy handmaid thou dost do so. 'It is not hard in thine eyes, in thy sending him away free from thee; for the double of the hire of an hireling he hath served thee six years, and Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee in all that thou dost.
and thou hast made the feast of weeks to Jehovah thy God, a tribute of a free-will offering of thy hand, which thou dost give, as Jehovah thy God doth bless thee.
Only, the women, and the infants, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, all its spoil, thou dost seize for thyself, and thou hast eaten the spoil of thine enemies which Jehovah thy God hath given to thee.
'Thou dost not shut up a servant unto his lord, who is delivered unto thee from his lord; with thee he doth dwell, in thy midst, in the place which he chooseth within one of thy gates, where it is pleasing to him; thou dost not oppress him.
'When a man is found stealing a person, of his brethren, of the sons of Israel, and hath tyrannized over him, and sold him, then hath that thief died, and thou hast put away the evil thing out of thy midst.
Ye are standing to-day, all of you, before Jehovah your God -- your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your authorities -- every man of Israel; your infants, your wives, and thy sojourner who is in the midst of thy camps, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water -- read more. for thy passing over into the covenant of Jehovah thy God, and into His oath which Jehovah thy God is making with thee to-day; in order to establish thee to-day to Him for a people, and He Himself is thy God, as He hath spoken to thee, and as He hath sworn to thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
Assemble the people, the men, and the women, and the infants, and thy sojourner who is within thy gates, so that they hear, and so that they learn, and have feared Jehovah your God, and observed to do all the words of this law;
And the sons of Israel take captive of their brethren, two hundred thousand, wives, sons and daughters, and also much spoil they have seized from them, and they bring in the spoil to Samaria. And there hath been there a prophet of Jehovah (Oded is his name), and he goeth out before the host that hath come in to Samaria, and saith to them, 'Lo, in the fury of Jehovah God of your fathers against Judah, He hath given them into your hand, and ye slay among them in rage -- unto the heavens it hath come; read more. and now, sons of Judah and Jerusalem ye are saying to subdue for men-servants and for maid-servants to you; but are there not with you causes of guilt before Jehovah your God? and now, hear me, and send back the captives whom ye have taken captive of your brethren, for the heat of the anger of Jehovah is upon you.' And certain of the heads of the sons of Ephraim (Azariah son of Johanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai), rise up against those coming in from the host, and say to them, 'Ye do not bring in the captives hither, for, to guilt against Jehovah on us, ye are saying to add unto our sin and unto our guilt? for abundant is the guilt we have, and the fierceness of anger on Israel.' And the armed men leave the captives and the prey before the heads and all the assembly; and the men who have been expressed by name rise and take hold on the captives, and all their naked ones they have clothed from the spoil, yea, they clothe them, and shoe them, and cause them to eat and drink, and anoint them, and lead them on asses, even every feeble one, and bring them in to Jericho, the city of palms, near their brethren, and turn back to Samaria.
Sacrifice and present Thou hast not desired, Ears Thou hast prepared for me, Burnt and sin-offering Thou hast not asked. Then said I, 'Lo, I have come,' In the roll of the book it is written of me, read more. To do Thy pleasure, my God, I have delighted, And Thy law is within my heart.
The Lord Jehovah opened for me the ear, And I rebelled not -- backward I moved not.
The word that hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, after the making by the king Zedekiah of a covenant with all the people who are in Jerusalem, to proclaim to them liberty, to send out each his man-servant, and each his maid-servant -- the Hebrew and the Hebrewess -- free, so as not to lay service on them, any on a Jew his brother; read more. and hearken do all the heads, and all the people who have come in to the covenant to send forth each his man-servant and each his maid-servant free, so as not to lay service on them any more, yea, they hearken, and send them away; and they turn afterwards, and cause the men-servants and the maid-servants to return, whom they had sent forth free, and they subdue them for men-servants and for maid-servants. And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying: Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I -- I made a covenant with your fathers in the day of My bringing them forth from the land of Egypt, from a house of servants, saying, At the end of seven years ye do send forth each his brother, the Hebrew, who is sold to thee, and hath served thee six years, yea, thou hast sent him forth free from thee: and your fathers hearkened not unto Me, nor inclined their ear. 'And ye turn back, ye to-day, and ye do that which is right in Mine eyes, to proclaim liberty each to his neighbour, and ye make a covenant before Me in the house over which My name is called. And -- ye turn back, and pollute My name, and ye cause each his man-servant and each his maid-servant, whom he had sent forth free, (at their pleasure,) to return, and ye subdue them to be to you for men-servants and for maid-servants. Therefore, thus said Jehovah: Ye have not hearkened unto Me to proclaim freedom, each to his brother, and each to his neighbour; lo, I am proclaiming to you liberty -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- unto the sword, unto the pestilence, and unto the famine, and I have given you for a trembling to all kingdoms of the earth.
and now, hearken, O our God, unto the prayer of Thy servant, and unto his supplication, and cause Thy face to shine on Thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.
And I say unto them: 'If good in your eyes, give my hire, and if not, forbear;' and they weigh out my hire -- thirty silverlings. And Jehovah saith unto me, 'Cast it unto the potter;' the goodly price that I have been prized at by them, and I take the thirty silverlings, and cast them to the house of Jehovah, unto the potter.
'What are ye willing to give me, and I will deliver him up to you?' and they weighed out to him thirty silverlings,
a servant -- wast thou called? be not anxious; but if also thou art able to become free -- use it rather; for he who is in the Lord -- having been called a servant -- is the Lord's freedman: in like manner also he the freeman, having been called, is servant of Christ: read more. with a price ye were bought, become not servants of men; each, in that in which he was called, brethren, in this let him remain with God.
but did empty himself, the form of a servant having taken, in the likeness of men having been made,
Wherefore, coming into the world, he saith, 'Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not will, and a body Thou didst prepare for me,
Be subject, then, to every human creation, because of the Lord, whether to a king, as the highest, whether to governors, as to those sent through him, for punishment, indeed, of evil-doers, and a praise of those doing good; read more. because, so is the will of God, doing good, to put to silence the ignorance of the foolish men; as free, and not having the freedom as the cloak of the evil, but as servants of God; to all give ye honour; the brotherhood love ye; God fear ye; the king honour ye. The domestics! be subjecting yourselves in all fear to the masters, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the cross;
liberty to them promising, themselves being servants of the corruption, for by whom any one hath been overcome, to this one also he hath been brought to servitude,
Smith
Slave.
The institution of slavery was recognized, though not established, by the Mosaic law with a view to mitigate its hardship and to secure to every man his ordinary rights. I. Hebrew slaves. --
1. The circumstances under which a Hebrew might be reduced to servitude were-- (1) poverty; (2) the commission of theft; and (3) the exercise of paternal authority. In the first case, a man who had mortgaged his property, and was unable to support his family, might sell himself to another Hebrew, with a view both to obtain maintenance and perchance a surplus sufficient to redeem his property.
(2) The commission of theft rendered a person liable to servitude whenever restitution could not be made on the scale prescribed by the law.
The thief was bound to work out the value of his restitution money in the service of him on whom the theft had been committed. (3) The exercise of paternal authority was limited to the sale of a daughter of tender age to be a maidservant, with the ulterior view of her becoming the concubine of the purchaser.
2. The servitude of a Hebrew might be terminated in three ways: (1) by the satisfaction or the remission of all claims against him; (2) by the recurrence of the year of jubilee,
and (3) the expiration of six years from the time that his servitude commenced.
Ex 21:2; De 15:12
(4) To the above modes of obtaining liberty the rabbinists added, as a fourth, the death of the master without leaving a son, there being no power of claiming the salve on the part of any heir except a son. If a servant did not desire to avail himself of the opportunity of leaving his service, he was to signify his intention in a formal manner before the judges (or more exactly at the place of judgment), and then the master was to take him to the door-post, and to bore his ear through with an awl,
driving the awl into or "unto the door," as stated in
De 15:17
and thus fixing the servant to it. A servant who had submitted to this operation remained, according to the words of the law, a servant "forever."
These words are however, interpreted by Josephus and by the rabbinsts as meaning until the year of jubilee.
3. The condition of a Hebrew servant was by no means intolerable. His master was admonished to treat him, not "as a bond-servant, but as an hired servant and as a sojourner," and, again, "not to rule over him with rigor."
At the termination of his servitude the master was enjoined not to "let him go away empty," but to remunerate him liberally out of his flock, his floor and his wine-press.
De 15:13-14
In the event of a Hebrew becoming the servant of a "stranger," meaning a non-Hebrew, the servitude could be terminated only in two ways, viz. by the arrival of the year of jubilee, or by the repayment to the master of the purchase money paid for the servant, after deducting a sum for the value of his services proportioned to the length of his servitude.
A Hebrew woman might enter into voluntary servitude on the score of poverty, and in this case she was entitled to her freedom after six years service, together with her usual gratuity at leaving, just as in the case of a man.
De 15:12-13
Thus far we have seen little that is objectionable in the condition of Hebrew servants. In respect to marriage there were some peculiarities which, to our ideas, would be regarded as hardships. A master might, for instance, give a wife to a Hebrew servant for the time of his servitude, the wife being in this case, it must be remarked, not only a slave but a non-Hebrew. Should he leave when his term had expired, his wife and children would remain the absolute property of the master.
Again, a father might sell his young daughter to a Hebrew, with a view either of marrying her himself or of giving her to his son.
It diminishes the apparent harshness of this proceeding if we look on the purchase money as in the light of a dowry given, as was not unusual, to the parents of the bride; still more, if we accept the rabbinical view that the consent of the maid was required before the marriage could take place. The position of a maiden thus sold by her father was subject to the following regulations: (1) She could not "go out as the men-servants do," i.e. she could not leave at the termination of six years, or in the year of jubilee, if her master was willing to fulfill the object for which he had purchased her. (2) Should he not wish to marry her, he should call upon her friends to procure her release by the repayment of the purchase money. (3) If he betrothed her to his son, he was bound to make such provision for her as he would for one of his own daughters. (4) If either he or his son, having married her, took a second wife, it should not be to the prejudice of the first. (5) If neither of the three first specified alternatives took place, the maid was entitled to immediate and gratuitous liberty.
The custom of reducing Hebrews to servitude appears to have fallen into disuse subsequent to the Babylonish captivity. Vast numbers of Hebrews were reduced to slavery as war-captives at different periods by the Phoenicians,
the Philistines,
, the Syrians, 1 Macc. 3:42; 2 Macc. 8:11, the Egyptians, Joseph Ant. xii. 2,3, and above all by the Romans. Joseph. B.C. vi. 9,3. II. Non-Hebrew slaves. --
1. The majority of non-Hebrew slaves were war-captives, either of the Canaanites who had survived the general extermination of their race under Joshua or such as were conquered from the other surrounding nations.
ff. Besides these, many were obtained by purchase from foreign slave-dealers,
and others may have been resident foreigners who were reduced to this state by either poverty or crime. The children of slaves remained slaves, being the class described as "born in the house,"
and hence the number was likely to increase as time went on. The average value of a slave appears to have been thirty shekels.
2. That the slave might be manumitted appears from
3. The slave is described as the "possession" of his master, apparently with a special reference to the power which the latter had of disposing of him to his heirs, as he would any other article of personal property.
But, on the other hand, provision was made for the protection of his person.
A minor personal injury, such as the loss of an eye or a tooth, was to be recompensed by giving the servant his liberty.
The position of the slave in regard to religious privileges was favorable. He was to be circumcised,
and hence was entitled to partake of the paschal sacrifice,
as well as of the other religious festivals.
De 12:12,18; 16:11,14
The occupations of slaves were of a menial character, as implied in
consisting partly in the work of the house and partly in personal attendance on the master. It will be seen that the whole tendency of the Bible legislation was to mitigate slavery, making it little than hired service, and to abolish it, as indeed it was practically abolished among the Jews six hundred years before Christ.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Abram heareth that his brother hath been taken captive, and he draweth out his trained domestics, three hundred and eighteen, and pursueth unto Dan.
'And a son of eight days is circumcised by you; every male to your generations, born in the house, or bought with money from any son of a stranger, who is not of thy seed;
'And a son of eight days is circumcised by you; every male to your generations, born in the house, or bought with money from any son of a stranger, who is not of thy seed;
and any man's servant, the purchase of money, when thou hast circumcised him -- then he doth eat of it;
When thou buyest a Hebrew servant -- six years he doth serve, and in the seventh he goeth out as a freeman for nought;
if his lord give to him a wife, and she hath borne to him sons or daughters -- the wife and her children are her lord's, and he goeth out by himself. And if the servant really say: I have loved my lord, my wife, and my sons -- I do not go out free; read more. then hath his lord brought him nigh unto God, and hath brought him nigh unto the door, or unto the side-post, and his lord hath bored his ear with an awl, and he hath served him -- to the age.
then hath his lord brought him nigh unto God, and hath brought him nigh unto the door, or unto the side-post, and his lord hath bored his ear with an awl, and he hath served him -- to the age. 'And when a man selleth his daughter for a handmaid, she doth not go out according to the going out of the men-servants;
'And when a man selleth his daughter for a handmaid, she doth not go out according to the going out of the men-servants; if evil in the eyes of her lord, so that he hath not betrothed her, then he hath let her be ransomed; to a strange people he hath not power to sell her, in his dealing treacherously with her.
if evil in the eyes of her lord, so that he hath not betrothed her, then he hath let her be ransomed; to a strange people he hath not power to sell her, in his dealing treacherously with her. 'And if to his son he betroth her, according to the right of daughters he doth to her.
'And if to his son he betroth her, according to the right of daughters he doth to her. If another woman he take for him, her food, her covering, and her habitation, he doth not withdraw; read more. and if these three he do not to her, then she hath gone out for nought, without money.
And when a man smiteth his man-servant or his handmaid, with a rod, and he hath died under his hand -- he is certainly avenged;
'And when a man smiteth the eye of his man-servant, or the eye of his handmaid, and hath destroyed it, as a freeman he doth send him away for his eye; and if a tooth of his man-servant or a tooth of his handmaid he knock out, as a freeman he doth send him away for his tooth.
'If the ox gore a man-servant or a handmaid, thirty silver shekels he doth give to their lord, and the ox is stoned.
'When a man doth steal an ox or sheep, and hath slaughtered it or sold it, five of the herd he doth repay for the ox, and four of the flock for the sheep.
if the sun hath risen upon him, blood is for him, he doth certainly repay; if he have nothing, then he hath been sold for his theft;
And when a man lieth with a woman with seed of copulation, and she a maid-servant, betrothed to a man, and not really ransomed, or freedom hath not been given to her, an investigation there is; they are not put to death, for she is not free.
'And when a man smiteth any soul of man, he is certainly put to death.
one judgment is to you; as a sojourner so is a native; for I am Jehovah your God.'
'When thy brother becometh poor, and hath sold his possession, then hath his redeemer who is near unto him come, and he hath redeemed the sold thing of his brother;
'And when thy brother becometh poor with thee, and he hath been sold to thee, thou dost not lay on him servile service;
'And when thy brother becometh poor with thee, and he hath been sold to thee, thou dost not lay on him servile service; as an hireling, as a settler, he is with thee, till the year of the jubilee he doth serve with thee, --
as an hireling, as a settler, he is with thee, till the year of the jubilee he doth serve with thee, --
thou rulest not over him with rigour, and thou hast been afraid of thy God. And thy man-servant and thy handmaid whom thou hast are of the nations who are round about you; of them ye buy man-servant and handmaid, read more. and also of the sons of the settlers who are sojourning with you, of them ye buy, and of their families who are with you, which they have begotten in your land, and they have been to you for a possession;
and also of the sons of the settlers who are sojourning with you, of them ye buy, and of their families who are with you, which they have begotten in your land, and they have been to you for a possession; and ye have taken them for inheritance to your sons after you, to occupy for a possession; to the age ye lay service upon them, but upon your brethren, the sons of Israel, one with another, thou dost not rule over him with rigour. read more. And when the hand of a sojourner or settler with thee attaineth riches, and thy brother with him hath become poor, and he hath been sold to a sojourner, a settler with thee, or to the root of the family of a sojourner, after he hath been sold, there is a right of redemption to him; one of his brethren doth redeem him, or his uncle, or a son of his uncle, doth redeem him, or any of the relations of his flesh, of his family, doth redeem him, or -- his own hand hath attained -- then he hath been redeemed. 'And he hath reckoned with his buyer from the year of his being sold to him till the year of jubilee, and the money of his sale hath been by the number of years; as the days of an hireling it is with him. If yet many years, according to them he giveth back his redemption money, from the money of his purchase. And if few are left of the years till the year of jubilee, then he hath reckoned with him, according to his years he doth give back his redemption money; as an hireling, year by year, he is with him, and he doth not rule him with rigour before thine eyes. And if he is not redeemed in these years, then he hath gone out in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him. For to Me are the sons of Israel servants; My servants they are, whom I have brought out of the land of Egypt; I, Jehovah, am your God.
'Take up the sum of the prey of the captives, among man and among beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers of the company;
and ye have rejoiced before Jehovah your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants, and your handmaids, and the Levite who is within your gates, for he hath no part and inheritance with you.
but before Jehovah thy God thou dost eat it, in the place which Jehovah thy God doth fix on, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite who is within thy gates, and thou hast rejoiced before Jehovah thy God in every putting forth of thy hand;
When thy brother is sold to thee, a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, and he hath served thee six years -- then in the seventh year thou dost send him away free from thee.
When thy brother is sold to thee, a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, and he hath served thee six years -- then in the seventh year thou dost send him away free from thee. And when thou dost send him away free from thee, thou dost not send him away empty;
And when thou dost send him away free from thee, thou dost not send him away empty; thou dost certainly encircle him out of thy flock, and out of thy threshing-floor, and out of thy wine-vat; of that which Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee thou dost give to him,
then thou hast taken the awl, and hast put it through his ear, and through the door, and he hath been to thee a servant age-during; and also to thy handmaid thou dost do so.
And thou hast rejoiced before Jehovah thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite who is within thy gates, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are in thy midst, in the place which Jehovah thy God doth choose to cause His name to tabernacle there,
and thou hast rejoiced in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within thy gates.
I got men-servants, and maid-servants, and sons of the house were to me; also, I had much substance -- herd and flock -- above all who had been before me in Jerusalem.
And sons of Judah, and sons of Jerusalem, Ye have sold to the sons of Javan, To put them far off from their border.
And sons of Judah, and sons of Jerusalem, Ye have sold to the sons of Javan, To put them far off from their border.
Thus said Jehovah: For three transgressions of Gaza, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of their removing a complete captivity, To deliver up to Edom,
Watsons
SLAVE. See SERVANT.