'Slave' in the Bible

The Lord was with Joseph, and he [even though a slave] became a successful and prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian.

And the steward said, “Now let it be as you say; he with whom the cup is found will be my slave, but the rest of you shall be blameless.”

Now, therefore, please let your servant (Judah) remain here instead of the youth [to be] a slave to my lord, and let the young man go home with his brothers.

‘Now if a man has intimate relations with a woman who is a slave acquired for [marriage to] another man, but who has not been redeemed nor given her freedom, there shall be punishment [after an investigation]; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free;

But if a priest buys a slave as his property with his money, the slave may eat the holy thing, and those who are born in the priest’s house; they may eat his food.

‘And if your fellow countryman becomes so poor [in his dealings] with you that he sells himself to you [as payment for a debt], you shall not let him do the work of a slave [who is ineligible for redemption],

On the seventh day you shall have a holy [summoned] assembly; you shall do no laborious work.

You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to obey these statutes.

But it shall be that if you have no delight and take no pleasure in her, then you shall let her go wherever she wishes. You certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not deal with her as a slave or mistreat her, because you have humbled her [by forced marriage].

“If a man is caught kidnapping any of his countrymen from the sons of Israel, and he treats him violently or sells him [as a slave], then that thief shall die. So you shall remove the evil from among you.

But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.

You shall [thoughtfully] remember [the fact] that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.

“He loosens the bond of kingsAnd binds their loins with a loincloth.

“Moab is My washbowl;Over Edom I will throw My shoe [to show Edom is Mine];Over Philistia I will shout [in triumph].”

Luxury is not fitting for a fool;Much less for a slave to rule over princes.

“You have not brought Me your sheep or goats for your burnt offerings,Nor honored Me with your sacrifices.I have not burdened you with offerings,Nor wearied you with [demands for offerings of] incense.

“Take millstones [as a female slave does] and grind meal;Remove your veil, strip off the skirt,Uncover the leg, cross the rivers [at the command of your captors].

“Is Israel a servant? Is he a slave by birth?Why has he become a captive and a prey?

“And if you [wonder and] say in your heart,‘Why have these things happened to me?’It is because of the greatness and nature of your sinThat your skirts have been pulled away [subjecting you to public disgrace]And [like a barefoot slave] your heels have been wounded.

“So I Myself will throw your skirts up over your face,That your shame may be exposed [publicly].

All nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson until the [appointed] time [of punishment] for his own land comes; then many nations and great kings shall make him their servant.

that every man should let his Hebrew slaves, male and female, go free, so that no one should make a slave of a Jew, his brother.

So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver and a homer and a half of barley [the price of a common slave].

Thus says the Lord,“For three transgressions of Gaza [in Philistia] and for four (multiplied delinquencies)I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,Because [as slave traders] they took captive the entire [Jewish] population [of defenseless Judean border villages, of which none was spared]And deported them to Edom [for the slave trade].