Why is there no commandment against slavery?

Question

I'm referring to the Ten Commandments. Why isn't one of the commandments against slavery, i.e., thou shalt not enslave others. Is there anything in the Bible about slavery and how wrong it is?

I'm sorry, but "love thy neighbor" and "do unto others..." are not specific enough. Isn't slavery a greater offense against humanity than coveting thy neighbor's wife or goods? Wasn't it mostly Christians who kept slaves in the South? How could they and still call themselves Christian?

If one of your countrymen becomes poor among you and sells himself to you, DO NOT MAKE HIM WORK AS A SLAVE" Leviticus 25:25, 35, 39
This does not address the crime of slavery in general. It seems to be saying that someone can "sell themselves to you", but you can't make them work hard. That makes no sense.

Thou shalt not steal as a prohibition against slavery? Your logic is flawed here and you are using tortured reasoning.

Answer 1

There should be!!! Slavery is very, very wrong, and should be eradicated. Unfortunately, 27 milion still live in slavery. That sucks.

Answer 2

Slavery has almost always been a "good" thing. If you read the book or saw the movie "Roots" you may have a distorted view of slavery. There are some exceptions, but slavery as a whole was good for the very poor. Being a slave meant you could eat, have clothes, and protection. People look at the African enslavement by whites and assume all slavery was that way-it was not. Billions of people are slaves today-the only difference is that they draw a paycheck and then have to fend for themselves instead of being taken care of by the master. We can look into history and find many instances where slavery was wrong-but over all time- it was a means of survival for the poor and weak.
I hate that my ancestors were slaves- but I am happy to be an American today-I would not want to be anything else. I am not African American-I am American American-and proud of it.

Answer 3

The Bible actually has a lot to say about slavery. People's answers are trying to say it was approved in the Old Testament but Jewish slavery was more like a temporary debt repayment. They had no permanent slavery like in Islam. Slaves were to be released every seven years on the year of Jubillee when all debts were forgiven. There wasn't a permanent class of slaves or anything.

In the New Testament Paul says there is no difference between Jew or Greek, male or female or slave and free in Christ.

Answer 4

Starting with the book of Exodus - The Egyptian imperialism which motivated ambitious pharoahs to use Hebrew slaves... God's action to deliver a people from slavery - bondage - and bind them to Himself in covenant. Moses was called to be the agent in delivering Israel from slavery, to be the interpreter of God's redemptive work, and to be the mediator of the covenant.

If one of your countrymen becomes poor among you and sells himself to you, DO NOT MAKE HIM WORK AS A SLAVE" Leviticus 25:25, 35, 39

Is not the fast that I choose: To loose the bonds of wickedness, to Undo The Thongs Of The Yoke? .....

Jesus Christ continued in the same message "To set the captives free"....~(~

Answer 5

The Bible does not present slavery as wrong. That is an American thing based on the terrible abuse of slavery here a couple of centuries ago. The Bible teaches that slavery without abuse is an acceptable form of life and many chose it as a life long committment. That was calle a "bond slave" in the Bible.

Answer 6

Hello, Rachael

How about "THOU SHALT NOT STEAL" for the Old Testament. Men stole others, sold them to slave traders, who then sold them on the open market to the highest bidder.

New Testament: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Interestingly, in the Americas, the Catholic Church excused themselves by having a requeiremento read to the Indians. It was in Spanish or Latin--It required them to convert ot Catholicism. If the indiands did not complyl, they were enslaved.

Just in Mexico and Peru alone, about 37 million Indians perished within 30 years. It was necessary to import 11 million slaves from Africa to work their sugar plantations, etc.

Ever wonder why God raised up Moslems with mandates in the Koran to torment and kill Christians? It is described in the Bible, and you can read it at www.revealed.org/islam.htm

Blessings and peace, One-Way

Answer 7

Slavery is not outlawed in the Bible, you might read the whole chapter of Exodus 21. It covers every aspect of owning slaves. This laws were passed down to Moses from God.

Most Christians pay little attention to the OT since the NT tells us how to live under grace.

grace2u

Answer 8

You don't know your real bible history. Moses was given MORE than just the 10 commandments that came down to modern man and there probably was something about slavery in the missing ones.

Answer 9

Because the 10 commandments are part of the old testament, and god approved of slavery then. Check out Exodus - pages on how to sell slaves, buy slaves, beat them but not quite to death, rape them, and of course, how to sell your daughter as a slave.

Answer 10

Because the bible actually says that slavery is ok. I'm serious. check out Titus readings. It talks about slavery and how a woman should obey her husband. haha!!! I laugh at people that try and use bible passages to justify not having gay marriage. I always say, "so does that mean we should bring back slavery too?"

Answer 11

in a conceptual way, yes...as a commandment...not like what you're looking for. the Bible doesn't spell everything out for us. some things should be common sense.

the Bible IS clear about the value of human life, however....that should be enough to keep people away from practicing slavery.