When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are. If she does not please the man who bought her, he may allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her. And if the slave girl's owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave girl, but he must treat her as his daughter. If he himself marries her and then takes another wife, he may not reduce her food or clothing or fail to sleep with her as his wife. If he fails in any of these three ways, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment. (Exodus 21:7-11 NLT)
However, you may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you. You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat your slaves like this, but the people of Israel, your relatives, must never be treated this way. (Leviticus 25:44-46 NLT)
Can anyone explain these to me?
Comments
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=MY-xg5sQw9oC&printsec=frontcover&dq=is+god+a+moral+monster&hl=en&ei=uvY4TpqAI4HzrQfCw7T4Dw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
Click contents, then go to Chapter 12 - Slavery.
Old Testament
Basically, the slavery in the Old Testament is not the slavery we think about. It is not a form of oppression, abduction or human trafficking that was seen in the pre-Civial war USA. Slavery in the Old Testament was a voluntary contract created by poverty where a man, woman or family works to pay off a debt or find consistent food and lodging. The Mosaic law had many statutes that ensured slavery would not be a class of oppression. It required slaves to be freed in seven years or the Jubilee Year (every 50 years) without fulfillment of the debt. It also had certain statutes on punishment and crimes. Murder, in the Old Testament, was punishable by death. Abusing slaves was not. There were 2 types of slaves: Jews who voluntarily contracted themselves and foreigners who embraced Judaism and contracted themselves. Human trafficking, or taking slaves as spoils of war, was not allowed. Then there were different rules for male slaves and female slaves. Then there were different rules for female slaves engaged to a Jewish man and rules for women not engaged. All of these rules ensure protection for slaves. In Jeremiah, when certain Jews brought back their slaves after they were freed (because of the seven year rule), they were rebuked and God said "You were once slaves in Egypt." So the Old Testament slavery system was different than Egypt, different than any where else in the Middle East and the Roman Empire.
In the New Testament, slavery was not abolished explicitly. But it became irrelevant. St Paul speaks of no difference between Greek and Jew, male or female, son or slave, etc. There is also no distinction between natural sons (John 1) and adopted sons or those grafted into the vine. St Paul tells Philemon to accept the Onesimus, Philemon's former slave, as a dear brother.
Finally, I'd like to reiterate what I have been saying in other threads. Transposing a culture into a foreign country has consequences. We can't simply use Western philosophies of morality and transpose them on the Biblical Jewish nation. There are nuances in Jewish philosophy that will not coincide with Western philosophies and it doesn't make Jewish philosophy or morality wrong.
I hoped that helped.
also u can't go into a culture and just abolish the slavery without changing lots of other things first.
i have been reading a book about sudan, and europeans and americans tried to do that 150 years ago and they made a real mess. the thing is those slaves would literally starve to death if they didn't sell themselves as slaves, so the agriculture and social system had to be improved a lot first, but it wasn't.
in 1 corinthians 7:21, saint paul suggests that it is good for a slave to gain freedom but it is not the most important thing for the slave to do.
in ephesians 6: 5-8, saint paul also instructs slaves. it is great that he wrote more to the slave than to the master. how few books there are on slavery today written for the slave! they are usually written to the masters, the powerful people, telling them something about their slaves. saint paul writes to the slaves directly, as he intended them to consider his words directly. he doesn't speak about them to others as if they can't hear themselves. So he views them very differently to the other powerful people around them, and this sends out a powerful, if indirect message.
however he explains that doing the will of God and serving God is more important than a person's status in society.
there is nothing more important than serving God and being saved by Him. it's better to be a hard-working obedient slave than a proud and deceitful free person.
later in verse 9 he warns the masters too that they and their slaves are equal before God.
so the important thing is a person's status before God. once that is sorted, the rest of society gets better as a result.
Epchois nai nan gave us a really good reference. Here's a summary
Old Testament
Basically, the slavery in the Old Testament is not the slavery we think about. It is not a form of oppression, abduction or human trafficking that was seen in the pre-Civial war USA. Slavery in the Old Testament was a voluntary contract created by poverty where a man, woman or family works to pay off a debt or find consistent food and lodging. The Mosaic law had many statutes that ensured slavery would not be a class of oppression. It required slaves to be freed in seven years or the Jubilee Year (every 50 years) without fulfillment of the debt. It also had certain statutes on punishment and crimes. Murder, in the Old Testament, was punishable by death. Abusing slaves was not. There were 2 types of slaves: Jews who voluntarily contracted themselves and foreigners who embraced Judaism and contracted themselves. Human trafficking, or taking slaves as spoils of war, was not allowed. Then there were different rules for male slaves and female slaves. Then there were different rules for female slaves engaged to a Jewish man and rules for women not engaged. All of these rules ensure protection for slaves. In Jeremiah, when certain Jews brought back their slaves after they were freed (because of the seven year rule), they were rebuked and God said "You were once slaves in Egypt." So the Old Testament slavery system was different than Egypt, different than any where else in the Middle East and the Roman Empire.
In the New Testament, slavery was not abolished explicitly. But it became irrelevant. St Paul speaks of no difference between Greek and Jew, male or female, son or slave, etc. There is also no distinction between natural sons (John 1) and adopted sons or those grafted into the vine. St Paul tells Philemon to accept the Onesimus, Philemon's former slave, as a dear brother.
Finally, I'd like to reiterate what I have been saying in other threads. Transposing a culture into a foreign country has consequences. We can't simply use Western philosophies of morality and transpose them on the Biblical Jewish nation. There are nuances in Jewish philosophy that will not coincide with Western philosophies and it doesn't make Jewish philosophy or morality wrong.
I hoped that helped.
I love this explanation. But isn't this part, more than capable of justifying the oppression of slaves? I understand they are only there to escape from poverty, but permitting them to be treated as property seems a little extreme to me.
The link provided above is quite informative, but it fails to explain the part that George_mina_awad highlighted above; or maybe I skipped past that part accidentally?
Sorry I didn't summarize that part but the author spoke about it also. Slavery, by Mosaic law definition, is a voluntary contract. In the contract, the person becomes the property of the landlord. The author used the analogy of the NFL draft. A professional football rookie enters a contract to become a player for a certain NFL team. That player is obliged to work and the NFL franchise becomes his owner. Like Mosaic slavery, the NFL player is not being abducted or oppressed.
Human possession is not necessarily a bad thing. In one of the 3 large litanies of the liturgy (I think the Litany of assemblies), the priest says on our behalf "Possess us unto Yourself". We become property of God. In the same manner, St Paul says "we were purchased with the blood of Christ." Romans 6:22 says, "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life." So in essence, the Jewish idea of slavery is not much different willfully becoming property of God.
My understanding of the verse you quoted has to do with legal statutes of property. If someone is a slave and the owner dies, the slave (which is property) is transferred to the children as permanent property. The slave does not automatically become free because the owner dies. However, other human property (like a wife becoming property of her husband) cannot be tranferred to the husband's children. Look at Romans 7:2, "For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him."
This verse also goes back to the distinction between slaves: Jewish slaves vs. Foreign slaves. The Jewish slaves were exempt from the transfer of property clause, but not the foreign slaves.
I hoped this helped.
What the Old Testament says about slavery
First, we must recognize that the Bible does not say God supports slavery. In fact, the slavery described in the Old Testament was quite different from the kind of slavery we think of today - in which people are captured and sold as slaves. According to Old Testament law, anyone caught selling another person into slavery was to be executed:
"He who kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his possession, shall surely be put to death." (Exodus 21:16)
So, obviously, slavery during Old Testament times was not what we commonly recognize as slavery, such as that practiced in the 17th century Americas, when Africans were captured and forcibly brought to work on plantations. Unlike our modern government welfare programs, there was no safety-net for ancient Middle Easterners who could not provide a living for themselves. In ancient Israel, people who could not provide for themselves or their families sold them into slavery so they would not die of starvation or exposure. In this way, a person would receive food and housing in exchange for labor.
So, although there are rules about slavery in the Bible, those rules exist to protect the slave. Injuring or killing slaves was punishable - up to death of the offending party.1 Hebrews were commanded not to make their slave work on the Sabbath,2 slander a slave,3 have sex with another man's slave,4 or return an escaped slave.5 A Hebrew was not to enslave his fellow countryman, even if he owed him money, but was to have him work as a hired worker, and he was to be released in 7 years or in the year of jubilee (which occurred every 50 years), whichever came first.6 In fact, the slave owner was encouraged to "pamper his slave".7
What the New Testament says about slavery
Since many of the early Christians were slaves to Romans,8 they were encouraged to become free if possible, but not worry about it if not possible.9 The Roman empire practiced involuntary slavery, so rules were established for Christians who were subject to this slavery or held slaves prior to becoming Christians. The rules established for slaves were similar to those established for other Christians with regard to being subject to governing authorities.10 Slaves were told to be obedient to their master and serve them sincerely, as if serving the Lord Himself.11 Paul instructed slaves to serve with honor, so that Christianity would not be looked down upon.12
As with slaves, instructions were given to their masters as to how they were to treat their slaves. For example, they were not to be threatened,13 but treated with justice and fairness.14 The text goes on to explain that this was to be done because God is the Master of all people, and does not show partiality on the basis of social status or position.13, 14
There is an interesting letter in the New Testament (Philemon15-21) that gives some insight into the problems encountered in the early Christian church regarding the issue of slavery. Paul, the author of the letter, is writing from a Roman prison awaiting trial.15 He is writing to Philemon, who runs a local Christian church out of his house16 (since Christianity was highly persecuted at this point in time). Philemon, we find out, is the master of the slave Onesimus, who has escaped but has been converted to Christianity by Paul.18 In the letter, Paul indicates that he is sending Onesimus back to Philemon.19 However, Paul says that he has confidence that Philemon will "do what is proper"17 although Paul wants him to do it by his "own free will".20 Even so, Paul indicates that Onesimus would be a great aid in helping him spread the gospel.19 Paul ends the letter by saying that he has "confidence in your obedience" and indicates that he knows Philemon "will do even more than what I say."21 Although Paul did not directly order Philemon to release Onesimus from slavery, it would have been difficult to come away with any other conclusion from his letter.
God does not distinguish between slaves and freemen
Contrary to the claims of many skeptics, the New Testament proclaims that all people are equal in the eyes of God - even slaves:
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)
knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. (Ephesians 6:8)
And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him. (Ephesians 6:9)
a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all. (Colossians 3:11)
Conclusion
The idea that God or Christianity encourages or approves of slavery is shown to be false. In fact, anybody who was caught selling another person into slavery was to be executed. However, since voluntary slavery was widely practiced during biblical times, the Bible proscribes laws to protect the lives and health of slaves. Paul, the author of many of the New Testament writings, virtually ordered the Christian Philemon to release his Christian slave from his service to "do what is proper". In addition, numerous verses from the New Testament show that God values slaves as much as any free person and is not partial to anyone's standing before other people.
The jews saw slavery in a spiritual sense. It was in relationship with God. You would pay a dept for your sins, so after the dept is paid you were free.
That is why they hated tax collectors. Paying a dept to rome using their own people.
Remnkemi is right when he/she says 'the jewish idea of slavery is not to much different willfully becoming property of God.'