39 Bible Verses about Slavery, In Ot
Most Relevant Verses
When thou shalt come nigh unto a city, to fight against it, - then shalt thou proclaim unto it - peace, and it shall be if peace, be the answer it giveth thee, and it open unto thee, then shall it be, that, all the people that are found therein, shall become thy tributaries and shall serve thee.
Then said the king of Sodom unto Abram, - Give unto me the persons, but the goods, take thou for thyself.
And the sons of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones, - all their cattle also and all their flocks and all their substance, carried they off as a prey;
Now, the Syrians, had gone out in companies, and had brought back out of the land of Israel, a little maiden, - who became an attendant on the wife of Naaman.
And the sons of Israel, carried away captive, from among their brethren two hundred thousand, wives, sons and daughters, moreover also, of much spoil, did they plunder them, - and brought the spoil to Samaria.
And as for thy bondman and thy bond-maid which thou shalt have, of the nations that are round about you - from them, may ye buy bondman and bond-maid. Moreover also, of the sons of the settlers who are sojourning with you - of them, may ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they have begotten in your land, - so shall they become yours, as a possession;
So it came to pass, when Joseph had come in unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph of his tunic, the long tunic which was upon him, and took him, and cast him into the pit, but the pit, was empty, there was in it no water. And when they had sat down to eat bread, they lifted up their eyes and looked, and lo! a caravan of Ishmaelites, coming in from Gilead, - and, their camels, were bearing tragacanth gum, and balsam and cistus-gum, they were going their way, to take them down to Egypt.read more.
So Judah said unto his brethren, - What profit that we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites; but let not, out own hand, be upon him, for our own brother, our own flesh, is he And his brethren hearkened. And there passed by certain Midianites travelling merchants, so they drew forth and uplifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites, for twenty pieces of silver, - and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
Now, a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets, made outcry unto Elisha, saying - Thy servant, my husband, is dead, and, thou, knowest that, thy servant, was one who revered Yahweh, - now, the creditor, hath come to take my two boys to himself as bondmen.
If, in the place of breaking in, the thief be found and he is smitten so that he dieth, there is due for him no shedding of blood: should the sun have arisen upon him, there would be shedding of blood due for him, - he is surely to make restitution, if he hath nothing, then is he to be sold, for his theft.
And when thy brother waxeth poor with thee, and so selleth himself unto thee, thou shalt not bind him with the bondage of a bondman:
When thy brother a Hebrew man (or a Hebrew woman) selleth himself unto thee, then shall he serve thee six years, - and in the seventh year, shalt thou let him go out free from thee;
Then came there to be a great outcry of the people and their wives, - against their brethren the Jews. And there were some who were saying, Our sons and our daughters, are we pledging, - that we may obtain corn, and eat, and keep ourselves alive. And there were some who were saying, Our fields and our vineyards and our houses, are we pledging, - -that we may obtain corn in the dearth.read more.
And there were others who were saying, We have borrowed silver, for the king's tribute, - upon our lands and our vineyards. Now, therefore, as is the flesh of our brethren, so is our flesh, as are their children, so are our children. Yet lo! we are putting in subjection our sons and our daughters, for bondservants, yea there are some of our daughters already trodden down, and we are powerless, and, our fields and our vineyards, belong to others.
If his lord gave him a wife, and she have borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her lords, and, he shall go out by himself.
And he that is eight days old, shall be circumcised to you every male to your generations, - he that is born of the house, and he that is bought with silver of any son of a stranger, who is, not of thy seed, He must surely be circumcised, born of thy house or bought with thy silver, - So shall my covenant be in your flesh for an age-abiding covenant.
Was Israel a servant? Born in the house, was he? Wherefore hath he become a prey?
So David gathered together all the people, and went to Rabbah, - and fought against it, and captured it. Then took he the crown of Milcom from off his head, the weight thereof, being a talent of gold, with the precious stones, and it remained on the head of David, - the spoil of the city also, brought he forth in great abundance; the people also that were therein, brought he forth, and put them to the saw, and to threshing sledges of iron, and to axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln, and thus used he to do unto all the cities of the sons of Ammon. And David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.
So they set over them chiefs of tribute, to the end they might humiliate them with their burdens, - and they built store-cities for Pharaoh, even Pithom and Raamses. But the more they were humiliating them, the more, were they multiplying, and, the more, were they breaking forth, so they were filled with alarm because of the sons of Israel. And the Egyptians rigorously made the sons of Israel serve;read more.
and embittered their lives with harsh service, in clay and in bricks, and in all manner of service in the field, - all their service, wherein they rigorously made them serve.
And Joshua called for them, and spake unto them, saying, - Wherefore did ye deceive us, saying - We are, very far, from you, whereas, ye, in our midst, are dwelling? Now, therefore, accursed, ye are, - and ye shall not cease to be in bond-service as hewers of wood and drawers of water, for the house of my God.
But they did not dispossess the Canaanites who were dwelling in Gazer, - so the Canaanites have dwelt in the midst of Ephraim unto this day, and have become tributary servants.
when Israel, however, had waxed strong, they put the Canaanites under tribute, - though they, dispossessed, them not.
All the people that were left, of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, who were, not of the sons of Israel; their sons, who were left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel were not able to devote to destruction, Solomon levied them for a toiling labour-band which remaineth unto this day.
And when a man shall sell iris daughter to be a handmaid, she shall not go out according to the out-going of the men-servants, If she is uncomely in the eyes of her lord, who hath not assigned her in marriage, then shall he suffer her to be redeemed: to a strange people, shall he not have power to sell her in that he hath dealt treacherously with her. And if to his soul he assign her, according to the custom for daughters, shall he do for her.read more.
If he take to himself another, her food her clothing, and her marriage-right, shall he not withdraw. But if these three, he will not do for her, then shall she go out for nought, without silver.
Six days, shalt thou do thy work, but on the seventh day, shalt thou keep sabbath, - that thine ox may rest and thine ass, and that the son of thy handmaid and the sojourner may be refreshed.
Six days, shalt thou labour, and do all thy work; but, the seventh day, is a sabbath unto Yahweh thy God, - thou shalt do no work, thou nor thy son nor thy daughter nor thy servant, nor thy handmaid, nor thy beast, nor thy sojourner who is within thy gates,
then shall it be, that unto the place which Yahweh your God shall choose to make a habitation for his name there, thither, shall ye bring in all that I am commanding you, - your ascending-offerings and your sacrifices your tithes and the heave-offering of your hand, and all your chosen vow-offerings which ye shall vow unto Yahweh. So shall ye rejoice before Yahweh your God, Ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your servants and your handmaids, - and the Levite that is within your gates, forasmuch as he hath neither portion nor inheritance with you.
Thou shalt not deliver up a slave unto his lord, - one who maketh his escape unto thee, from his lord:
But if he be not redeemed in any of these ways, then shall he go out in the jubilee year, he, and his sons with him. For, unto me, are the sons of Israel, bondmen, my bondmen, they are, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. I, Yahweh, am your God.
And when thy brother waxeth poor with thee, and so selleth himself unto thee, thou shalt not bind him with the bondage of a bondman: as a hired servant, as a settler, shall he remain with thee, - until the year of the jubilee, shall he serve with thee: then shall he go forth from thee, he and his sons with him, - and shall return unto his family, and unto the possession of his fathers, shall he return.
When thou shalt acquire a servant who is a Hebrew, six years, shall he serve, - but in the seventh shall he go out freely - for nought.
If, by himself, he came in, by himself, shall he go out, - if he was married, then shall his wife go out with him. If his lord gave him a wife, and she have borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her lords, and, he shall go out by himself. But, if the servant shall plainly say, I love my lord, and my wife and my sons, - I will not go out free,read more.
then shall his lord bring him near unto God, and shall bring him near unto the door, or unto the door-post, - and his lord shall pierce his ear with an awl, so shall he serve him all his life.
When thy brother a Hebrew man (or a Hebrew woman) selleth himself unto thee, then shall he serve thee six years, - and in the seventh year, shalt thou let him go out free from thee; and when thou lettest him go out free, from thee, thou shalt not let him go out empty: thou shalt, richly load, him out of thy flock, and out of thy threshing-floor and out of thy wine-vat, - of that wherewith Yahweh thy God hath blessed thee, shalt thou give unto him;read more.
and thou shalt remember that a servant, thou wast in the land of Egypt, and that Yahweh thy God, redeemed thee, - for this cause, am I commanding thee this thing, to-day. And it shall be, if he shall say unto thee, I will not go away from thee, - because he loveth thee, and thy household, because he is well off with thee, then shalt thou take an awl and thrust it through his ear unto the door, so shall he be thy servant all his life. And unto thine handmaid also, shalt thou do thus. It shall not be hard in thine eyes when thou lettest him go out free, from thee; for to the double of the hire of a hireling, hath he served thee six years, - -so will Yahweh thy God bless thee, in all that thou doest.
The word which came unto Jeremiah, from Yahweh, - after that King Zedekiah had solemnised a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem, proclaiming unto them liberty: that every man should let his servant and every man his handmaid, being a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, go free, - so that no man should use them as slaves, to wit a Jew his brother; so then they hearkened - even all the princes and all the people who had entered into the covenant that every man should let his servant and every man his handmaid, go free, so as not to use them as slaves, any longer, - yea they hearkened, and let them go,read more.
howbeit they turned after that, and brought back the servants and the handmaids whom they had let go, free, and brought them into subjection as servants and as handmaids, So then the word of Yahweh came unto Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying: Thus, saith Yahweh God of Israel, - I myself, solemnised a covenant with your fathers, in the day when I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves saying: At the end of seven years, shall ye let go every man his brother, being a Hebrew, who shall sell himself unto thee and serve thee, six years, then shalt thou let him go, free, from thee, Howbeit your fathers hearkened not unto me neither inclined their ear. And, though, ye, just now turned and did that which was right in mine eyes, by proclaiming liberty, every man to his neighbour, - and solemnised a covenant before me, in the house on which my Name hath been called, yet have ye turned and profaned my Name, and brought back, every man his servant and every man his hand-maid, whom ye had let go, free, at their own desire, - and have brought them into subjection, to become your servants and handmaids. Therefore - Thus, saith Yahweh, Ye, have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every man to his brother and every man to his neighbour: Behold me! proclaiming, to you, a liberty: Declareth Yahweh unto the sword, unto the pestilence, and unto the famine, so will I make you a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth; and will give the men who are transgressing my covenant, in that they have not confirmed the words of the covenant, which they solemnised, before me, when they cut the calf, in twain, and passed between the parts thereof; even the princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs and the priests, and all the people of the land, - who passed between the parts of the calf, yea I will give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them who are seeking their life, - and their dead bodies shall become food for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth.
And, when the hand of the sojourner and settler with thee getteth possessions, and thy brother with him, waxeth poor, - and so he selleth himself to the sojourner who is a settler with thee, or to one who hath taken root, of the family of the sojourner, after that he hath sold himself, a right of redemption, pertaineth to him, - one of his brethren, may redeem him; or, his uncle or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or, a near flesh-relation of his, of his family, may redeem him, or, his own hand may have gotten enough, and, so he may redeem himself.read more.
Then shall he reckon with him that bought him, from the year that he was sold to him, unto the year of the jubilee, - and the silver for which he was sold shall be by the number of years, according to the days of a hired servant, shall he be with him. If there is yet a multitude of years, according to them, shall he return, as his redemption price, of the silver of him that bought him. Or, if there is but a small remainder of years, until the year of the jubilee, then shall he reckon to himself, according to the years thereof, shall he return his price of redemption. As a servant hired year by year, shall he be with him, he shall not rule over him with rigour, before thine eyes.
and ye may take them as an inheritance for your sons after you to inherit as a possession, unto times age-abiding, of them, may ye take to be bondmen, - but, over your brethren the sons of Israel - a man over his brother, ye shall not rule, over him with rigour.
if, a servant the ox gore, or a handmaid, thirty shekels of silver, shall he give to his lord, and, the ox, shall be stoned.
And when thy brother waxeth poor with thee, and so selleth himself unto thee, thou shalt not bind him with the bondage of a bondman: as a hired servant, as a settler, shall he remain with thee, - until the year of the jubilee, shall he serve with thee: then shall he go forth from thee, he and his sons with him, - and shall return unto his family, and unto the possession of his fathers, shall he return.read more.
For, my bondmen, they are, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt, - they shall not sell themselves with the sale of a bondman.
They, had come into the land of Zuph when, Saul, said to his young man who was with him, Come! and let us return; lest my father leave off caring for the asses, and be concerned for us. And he said to him: Lo! I pray thee, a man of God, liveth in this city, and, the man, is held in honour, all that he saith, surely cometh to pass. Now, let us go thither; peradventure he may tell us our way, whereon we should have gone. Then said Saul to his young man: Behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man, for, the bread, hath failed from our sacks, and, present, there is none to bring to the man of God, - what is there with us?read more.
And the young man again answered Saul, and said - Lo! there is found in my hand, the fourth part of a shekel of silver, - which thou canst give to the man of God, and he will tell us our way. Beforetime, in Israel, thus, said a man when he went to enquire of God, Come and let us go as far as the seer, - for, the prophet of to-day, used to be called, beforetime, the seer. And Saul said unto his young man, Good, is thy word, come! let us go! So they went unto the city, where the man of God was.
