Slavery in the bible ?

Question

Lev 25:44 Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, [shall be] of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.

Whats up with that ?

Answer 1

another perfect quote from the book of Leviticus...




In the fallen world that mankind had created, slavery was a reality. God permitted its existence and worked within its system. Slaves were more domestic servants than oppressed field workers. Slaves could be the captives of war (Num. 31:25-47), subjects of debt to be worked off (2 Kings 4:1), born into slavery (Gen. 17:12-13), or entered into voluntarily (Exodus 21:5-6). In the Ancient Near East, some slaves were able to own other slaves and even conduct business and in Exodus 25:2 a slave was required to be set free after six years of service. Though slavery carries a very negative connotation here in America, it was not nearly as bad it was here in the first 100 years of our nation's existence.
As I said above, God works within the fallen system to bring about His will. Slavery was permitted by God and rules of treatment of slaves were given so that they would not be mistreated.

Answer 2

I don't see the word slavery here!! Bondmen and bondmaids were something like the indentured servant that was prevalent in the European culture. In some African countries, like Sudan, Christians are enslaved today. You are looking at the Old Testament which was made of rules and laws. A lot of those were based on the culture of the time.

Gang members could be considered slaves if you really look at the rules. The only way to get out of a lot of gangs is by death.

Answer 3

The Hebrew word here for bondmen is commonly translated usually as "slaves" but sometimes as "servants". In the story of the plagues in Egypt, the same Hebrew word is used to describe the Israelite "slaves" and the Pharaoh's "officials". Middle Eastern society was much different than ours and servitude in exchange for survival was common. In previous sections around the quoted text there are a number of rules about people who sell themselves into "slavery" for survival.

God did not permit the Israelites to be "slaves" because they were to be slaves to him alone (Lev 25:42).

The Bible defines slavery; it states that people are slaves to the things that master them. Master and slave relationships were entered willingly as a part of early times culture.

Answer 4

Leviticus was written by Moses to give the Israelites guidelines set forth by God for his people. It was common in that time period for people to have slaves. This verse refers to who is acceptable to take on as a slave. These "rules" are still applicable to the Jewish people today as Leviticus is a book of the Torah.

44-46 "The male and female slaves which you have are to come from the surrounding nations; you are permitted to buy slaves from them. You may also buy the children of foreign workers who are living among you temporarily and from their clans which are living among you and have been born in your land. They become your property. You may will them to your children as property and make them slaves for life. But you must not tyrannize your brother Israelites.

Try to read bible verses you don't understand in alternate translations, I would recommend reading "The Message" It is an excellent translation! you can also compare the text in side by side bibles or use Bible gateway to read it in other translations.

Answer 5

No, the Bible does not condone slavery. The Bible acknowledges slavery's existence and regulates it in the Old Testament and plants the seeds of its demise in the New. Both testaments give instructions to slave holders regarding slavery (Deuteronomy 15:12-15; Leviticus 25:39-46; Ephesians 6:5-9; Colossians 3:22-4:1). While Paul mentions the preference of freedom over slavery, he doesn't place a great deal of importance on the issue (1 Corinthians 7:21-23). To Paul, spiritual status is much more important than social standing. He gladly identifies himself as a slave of Christ (Romans 1:1), and the purpose of his entire letter to Philemon is to restore Philemon's relationship to his runaway slave, Onesimus, whom Philemon was to receive "both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord" (Philemon 1:16 NIV).

There were two basic types of slaves in biblical times. The first were those taken in war. The clever Gibeonites avoided war altogether by offering themselves as servants to the Israelites (Joshua 9). The more common slave was one who had voluntarily sold himself or had been sold by his or her parents to pay off a debt. In a time devoid of extensive government aid or social services—or excessive credit card offers—pledging one's work was legitimate currency. In some cases, however, a debtor's labor was needed for the survival of his family, and hard choices had to be made. If a father dedicated all his work to pay off a debt, he would be unable to provide for his own family; rather than risk the whole family starving, a man would often give the creditor a child who would work the debt off. The family would survive, and the child sold into slavery would at least have his basic needs met (see 2 Kings 4:1).

If the debt was excessive, or if the servant liked his situation, the slave became the permanent property of the master. If the slave was Jew, however, God instructed owners to treat him as a hired man (Leviticus 25:39-40). And, just as God provided for the widow and orphan, He also cared for the slave. The Mosaic Law gave slaves the right of Sabbath (Exodus 23:12), required significant compensation for abuse (Exodus 21:20, 26-27, 32), gave specific protection for women (Exodus 21:7-11), and commanded that all slaves be set free on the Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:39-41). Job asserts that God not only holds him accountable for his slaves' well-being, but God actually sees no difference between the master and slave (Job 31:13-15). Often, if a man had no heir, his property passed on to his slave (Genesis 15:2-3). These concessions do not condone the practice of one human being owning another, but they do provide for the care and support of those unable to support themselves.

It is clear that the slavery mentioned in the Bible was quite different from the slavery practiced during the last several hundred years. The slavery of the Bible was more akin to indentured servitude than modern-day slavery. The Bible's punishment for kidnapping someone and keeping or selling him was death—in other words, involuntary slavery was a capital offense (Exodus 21:16). The systematic kidnapping and enslaving of countless Africans in the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries was absolutely unbiblical. Paul specifically mentions "slave traders" and calls them lawless, rebellious, ungodly, unholy, and profane (1 Timothy 1:8-10).

The problem of slavery has not gone away. There are more slaves in the world today than at all other times in history combined. Today we call it "human trafficking," and it is just as evil as it was when the New World was being colonized.

It's suspected that revenue from human trafficking surpasses that from illegal arms trading and will soon overtake drug trafficking to become the top illegal industry in the world. Approximately 27 million people today are victims of human trafficking. Fifty percent are children; eighty percent are women and girls. In the U.S. alone, 200,000 children are at risk of sexual exploitation every year.

This abuse is the antithesis of biblical care for indentured servants. During the past few centuries, some in the church bowed to expediency and economy and rejected the Bible's guidelines protecting the most vulnerable members of society. Some people condemn the Bible for not abolishing slavery outright. However, the primary goal of the gospel was not sweeping social change but individual spiritual change. When enough hearts are changed, society will change. All it takes is enough Philemons to see a slave "as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord," and slavery as an institution would disappear. If the world followed the Bible, the millions of sex-trafficking victims would be freed and cared for, and the vast majority of labor-trafficking victims would be home with their families.

Slavery occurs because of a need, real or perceived. In biblical times, the need was the repayment of family debts. Today, the "need" is cheap goods and cheap sex. The statutes in the Bible specifically speak against the abuse of anyone, including slaves. The Bible also promotes fair labor practices (1 Timothy 5:18) and healthy sexual relationships (1 Corinthians 7:2). At every turn, God's laws are for our protection. If we followed those laws and truly loved others (1 John 3:16), modern slavery would naturally be abolished.

Read More:http://www.compellingtruth.org/Bible-slavery.html
https://carm.org/slavery

Answer 6

What's your point, the Jews were the slaves of Egypt.

That doesn't justify it, but one thing is true, if you are a slave, than you must serve according to your debt. This is why the slavery of Africans was wrong, because they were never sold into nor did anything to be put into slavery.

Answer 7

It sounds like God is forbiding Jews from enslaving Jews. That's a good start. One step at a time. Unfortunately, the order of liberation in that part of the world went; People, slaves, dogs, and then women and children. It sounds something like American History. Please forgive God and the ancients. They meant well.

Answer 8

There were slaves in the bible...like servants....but you know what God said about them...The last shall be first and the first shall be last in the kingdom of heaven. So God took pride in a humble servent who loved him.

Answer 9

Leviticus was a demon, Jesus SLAVES. christianity is just another form of slavery. even a relationship with Jesus counts as CHRISTIANITY because jesus is only in christian pantehon.

they bind the minds with ropes of fear and tell them they are free....saved
http://www.jesusreligion.com

Answer 10

Whoever wrote Leviticus really needs some serious meds...