The Bible neither expressly approves nor condemns the practice of slavery, and many people wonder why this is the case. Slaveholders in the past misused the Bible to justify the trans-Atlantic slave trade. And they appealed to several verses in the Bible to excuse away their abusive treatment of slaves. But biblical servanthood was far different from recent slavery, and the logic that slaveholders used to defend slavery was not at all biblical.
In this article, we will discuss what slavery was like in the ancient world. Then we will look at some of the verses that have been taken out of context and used to endorse slavery. Then, we will explain the true meaning of the texts in question. Finally, we will conclude with a short study of the overarching themes throughout the Bible that led to the termination of all forms of slavery among many Christian groups.
Slavery in the Ancient World
When we think about slavery as modern readers, we automatically think of the forced racial slavery from the 16th to the 19th centuries. We remember the prejudice and hatred toward African Americans, and we acknowledge the injustice of the whole situation. It was a horrendously evil system, and we find ourselves wanting to distance ourselves from anything that would come remotely close to approving such an act.
The Bible does mention slavery, and it establishes certain regulations for slavery. But slavery in the ancient world of the Old Testament was far removed from the more recent forced enslavement of people of color. Old Testament slavery is better understood as voluntary servanthood. It had nothing to do with race, but it served as a way for those living in severe poverty to survive. Biblical servants in the Old Testament were extremely poor and voluntarily entered into temporary deals with a wealthy person as an indentured servant. They agreed to work for six years in order to have their debts forgiven.
This system of servanthood allowed poor people to maintain their dignity and have their needs met. God established laws to ensure that masters could not take advantage of their servants. It was forbidden for masters to kidnap people and make them slaves, and they also weren’t allowed to exercise harsh punishments. And there was always the option for servants to gain their freedom when they had reached either six years of service or the year of jubilee. Biblical servanthood in the Old Testament was voluntary, temporary, and humane.
Misquoted Verses Regarding Slavery
Several verses taken out of context throughout the Bible may appear to endorse slavery as the modern world understands it. Exodus 21:2-6 appears to force a male slave to choose between his wife and his freedom. Verses 3-4 say that “If he comes in single, he shall go out single … If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s and he shall go out alone.”
Exodus 21:20-21 appears to suggest that as long as a slave doesn’t die right away, the master is allowed to kill him. These verses say, “When a man strikes his slave … with a rod and .… the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.” Similarly, Leviticus 25:42-49 appears to equate slaves with property. Verse 45 says, “You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you … and they may be your property.”
Slavery’s Meaning In Biblical Context
Though the aforementioned verses might appear to prove that Christianity favors slavery, it is important to recognize that these laws regarding slavery were actually provisions to protect the servants. For example, Exodus 21:2-6 about a male slave having to choose between his freedom and his wife is not exactly the whole story. The man could indeed be free and wait for his wife to finish her term of servitude to be free as well. But he could also choose to stay in order to secure economic stability for himself and his family.
The verse about the master not having to be held accountable for killing his slave that didn’t die right away doesn’t mention the fact that he had to pay for the best treatment to care for his slave if he injured him. And it leaves out the fact that injuring a slave would result in the slave’s freedom and that intentional murder required the death penalty for the master. He simply wasn’t charged with the death penalty for an accident that resulted in the slave’s death.
Finally, the passage from Leviticus seeming to equate people with property applied to foreigners who did not submit to God. There were laws in place that required the Israelite masters to treat the foreign slaves with dignity, but they didn’t have the same rights as the Israelites. Furthermore, there were provisions for the slave to be redeemed by someone else or by his own means if he became able to do so.
Anti-Slavery Biblical Themes
Israel held the highest moral standard in comparison to its surrounding nations. And as time went on, the people of God continued to remain morally superior to the world around them. In fact, by the time of the New Testament, Rome had enslaved nearly 90 percent of the population and began treating slaves in a way that was more comparable to the antebellum South. But as God continued refining the morality of His people, their views on slavery became even more conservative.
The New Testament always emphasized the value of slaves, rooted in the fact that all people are made in the image of God. Jesus made it clear that oppression in all forms went against the character of God (Luke 4:18), and He addressed all the heart issues that would have been at play for slave owners. One of the common themes of the New Testament was the spiritual equality between masters and servants. Christians were always to respect the dignity of slaves.
Paul directly addressed a situation between a slaveowner and a slave in the Book of Philemon. In that letter, he encouraged the master to treat the slave as a sibling in Christ and the slave to get his or her freedom when possible. Furthermore, he highlighted the fact that all Christians, whether slave or free, were equally slaves to righteousness and servants of Jesus.
Moreover, Galatians 3:28 explains that “there is neither slave nor free … for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” In Christianity, no individual is superior to another, and no one has the right to own anyone. But everyone who follows Christ must pursue justice, dignity, love, and equality for everyone in Christ. The Bible did not prohibit slavery, but it effectively made it irrelevant because it required people to consider the needs of others as higher than their own and to treat their neighbor as themselves. The Bible laid the foundation for Christians to reject slavery and for the system to be erased for good.