Throughout history one can easily find a trend of one person or group of people dominating another and making the dominated person / people serve them, benevolently OR maliciously. It is no different in today’s societies. Though slavery is condemned by law in most (if not all countries—at least by their governing bodies and legal documents) as well as global coalitions such as the UN, it still remains a huge problem with an estimated 40 million people trapped in some form of slavery as of 2019[1].
Some are quick to point to Christianity and the Bible as proponents of slavery, claiming the wording of the Biblical text and the historical record affirmed by the text serve to discredit the validity and morality of Christianity. Admittedly, at face value when one reads the Scriptures and sees the word “slave” in the verses, it brings to mind the modern concept of recent centuries, when a group of landowners in the early part of the United States founding and establishment, purchased people and treated them as property. Are these claims against Christianity as being pro-slavery properly justified?
First, we need to define the term “slave” and see how it is used in Scripture, in both the OT and NT. Did you know the word “slave” appears only once in both the OT (Jeremiah 2:14) and NT (Revelation 18:13) for the KJV? In Jeremiah 2:14 the word is italicized because it is not part of the Hebrew text, rather it comes from a Greek translation the translators used for clarity in understanding. In his commentary on Jeremiah, Spence states, “For Israel is a member of Jehovah’s family; he is not a servant (except in the same high sense as in Isa. 40–53, where “servant” is virtually equivalent to “representative”), but rather in the highest degree a free man, for he is Jehovah’s “firstborn son” (Exod. 4:22). How is it, then, that he is dragged away into captivity like a slave who has never known freedom? The view of some, that “servant” means “servant of Jehovah” (comp. ch. 30:10), and that the question therefore is to be answered in the affirmative, is less natural.[2]“
Spence is focused on the word “servant” which appears in the verse, yet the point is still made by contrasting Israel being God’s servant vs being a captured slave with no freedom. I want to highlight there is a Hebrew word used in the Jeremiah 2:14 text, which appears before the italicized “slave.” That is the word יְלִ֥יד (yā-lîd) which refers to a son born within the home, including a son born to a servant of that family / household.
The Greek word that appears in the Jeremiah text is the same word used in Revelation 18:13. In context, John is writing of the destruction and judgment against Babylon in the end times. In verse 11 he states that “the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:” and then proceeds to list “merchandise” which includes “slaves” in verse 13. The Greek word σωμά (sōma) means body, flesh, physical being, the thing itself. This prophetic book illustrates that, try as we might, slavery will (sadly) be a part of society, culture, and economics till the return of Jesus.
The most common word (often substituted as slave in modern translations) is the word “servant.” It is within this word “servant” we will find the Biblical meaning under question. The first occurrence of this word עֲבָדִ֖ים (âbā-dîm) is in Genesis 9:25, is found as Noah placed a curse upon his son Ham and his children throughout the generations. That the sin which Ham committed against his father would result in his descendants being servants to their kin, the descendants of Ham’s brothers Shem and Japheth. This is the same word used in Jeremiah 2:14 and refers to a bondservant. The entry for “servant” in Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible says, “It represents a person of either sex who was under obligation to serve a master who would, in turn, provide a measure of protection. Some servants were slaves under legal bondage, others were voluntary…The most common Hebrew term occurring nearly 800 times in the OT denotes a slave held in bondage (Gn 9:25; 12:16; Ex 20:17; Dt 5:15; 15:17, etc.). Yet the same word is used for people of noble rank, such as ministers and advisers to the king (2 Kgs 22:12; 2 Chr 34:20; Neh 2:10) or a servant of God[3]“
The most common occurrence of “servant” in the NT is the Greek δούλῳ (doulos) which is first found in Matthew 8:9. Jesus has arrived in Capernaum and Roman centurion approaches Jesus about one of his servants being sick, beseeching Jesus simply “speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.” To our modern notion of what it means to be a servant or slave, this is astonishing. A Roman centurion, knowing of Jesus’ reputation as a miracle worker and healer, travels to see Him and plead for someone who is sick.
Why this is intriguing illustrates one of two issues with how we in the 21st century understand and define the words “servant” and “slave.” We are in an era where the concept was grossly abused, where people we treated as cattle to sell and use / abuse as the ‘owner’ saw fit; where people were imprisoned, essentially, with no freedoms, rights, and no hope to be released from that bondage. They could be beaten, raped, starved, and killed without any legal recourse against their ‘master.’ BUT this is not reflective of how the idea of ‘servant / slave’ is commonly used in the Bible. Part of our error is reading a modern understanding into an ancient text; an understanding with heavy baggage attached to it that does not accurately describe the historical record of Scripture. One would be hard pressed to find an instance of a slave owner in pre-Civil War America who cared enough about a sick servant / slave, to see out a miraculous healing. Perhaps in my ignorance I am unaware of such a case, however I am quite certain had there been one or several that had been recorded, those instances would have been highlighted in my social studies / US history classes from grade school on. No memories come to mind of any such mention(s).
Additionally, the Bible does not endorse the concept of slavery which involves kidnapping another person and forcing them into servitude. Quite the contrary, the OT actually provides protections for servants / slaves against abuse or mistreatment. Here are some of those:
“The law protected slaves from being abused by their masters:
- Killing a slave merited punishment.1 (Ex 21:20)
- Permanently injured slaves had to be set free (Ex 21:26-27)
- Slaves who ran away from oppressive masters were effectively freed (Dt 23:15-16)
The law also gave slaves a day of rest every week (Ex 20:10, Dt 5:14).
Hebrew slaves
Hebrews could become slaves of a fellow Hebrew if they committed a crime such as theft and had no other way of paying the fine (Ex 22:1-3) or if they became impoverished and sold themselves and/or their family into slavery. (See also Did slavery take advantage of the poor? below.) Kidnapping someone and selling them into slavery was forbidden (Dt 24:7).
When one Hebrew owned another Hebrew as a slave, the law commanded lenient treatment:
- Slaves were to be treated as hired workers, not slaves (Lev 25:39-43)
- All slaves were to be freed after six years (Ex 21:2, Dt 15:12)
- Freed slaves were to be liberally supplied with grain, wine and livestock (Dt 15:12-15)
- Every fiftieth year (the year of jubilee), all Hebrew slaves were to be freed, even those owned by foreigners (Lev 25:10, 47-54)
In special cases, slaves could choose to remain with their masters if they felt it was in their best interests (Dt 15:16-17).
If a Hebrew sold himself as a slave to a foreigner, he reserved the right to buy his freedom (Lev 25:47-49) and was still to be treated as a hired man (Lev 25:53).
Foreign slaves
While foreign slaves could be made slaves for life, the laws regarding the general treatment of slaves applied to them as well (Lev 24:22, Num 15:15-16). The law made it clear that foreigners were not inferiors who could be mistreated (Ex 23:9); instead they were to be loved just as fellow Israelites were (Lev 19:33-34)[4].”
When we take the time to research the history of servanthood / slavery in the Bible, as God directed towards His people regarding the practice, we do not find the tragic and horrible system we think of when we hear those words. Sadly, our modern idea is a terrifying reality for approximately 40 million people today, many of whom are enslaved in the sex trade / forced prostitution. My main point is that there is no logical justification for comparing the Biblical use of servanthood / slavery to what has been going on for the past several hundred years.
Yes, slavery such as goes on today has been going on since the earliest civilizations referenced in the Bible, HOWEVER, the Bible speaks against such practices by giving protections under the Mosaic and Levitical laws which governed the nation of Israel. God set apart a group of people who were to look different than the rest of the tribes, cultures, and societies around them. How they treated servants / slaves is part of that difference. Those who once used Scripture as a justification for slavery were absolutely wrong if their actions were contrary to the referenced system above, where abuse of servants / slaves was not tolerated and heavily punished.
I want to end this by highlighting an organization that has been doing tremendous work drawing attention to and fighting against modern day slavery / human trafficking. Please take some time to check out ENDITMOVEMENT.ORG; their website has information and clothing items for sale, the proceeds of which go to help fight this manmade plague. I encourage you to follow them on social media. Each year they highlight a “Shine a light on slavery” day—every day there is someone trapped in slavery is a day to call attention to the travesty that slavery still exists in such an “enlightened” age and culture!
~In Christ!
[1] Scourge of slavery still claims 40 million victims worldwide, ‘must serve as a wakeup call’ | | UN News
[2] Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). Jeremiah (Vol. 1, p. 24). London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.
[3] Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Trades and Occupations. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 2, p. 2090). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
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