The extent to which being a slave was a normal part of life in biblical times is indicated by the fact that the word (in their various forms) appears more than a 200x in the NIV. In the OT 'slave' translates the Hebrew word ’ebed, but is represented by Greek doulos in the NT.
In thinking about slavery in the Bible it is important that we do not think of it in terms of the heinous fate suffered by the black people on the plantations of the whites in 17-19th Cent America (for which see Slavery). Slavery in biblical times belong in a different kettle altogether.
One of the difficulties of understanding what it meant to be a slave in ancient Israel is that the word ’ebed (sg.— pronounced ’eved— and ’ebadim, pl.) can also mean, and is often translated, 'servant,' or even 'worker' (though 'worker' has its own term mela‘ka). Discerning what is meant depends on the context. In all contexts, however, the word—deriving as it is from the verb, ’avad, 'work'—implies some kind of labour whether for oneself or on behalf of another (see BDB | TWOT). The verb appears for the first time in Gen 2:5, where we are told that "no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work (la’avod) the ground." Ten verses later we are told that God, having created the man, set him "in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it" (2:15). Being an ’eved, therefore, carried no inherent connotations of subsevience or oppression. Instead such work represented the high calling set upon humans by God from the beginning. Indeed, it became one of the highest honour to be called ’eved Yahweh, "the servant of the Lord," as Moses often was (16x beginning with Deut 34:5; as so too were Joshua and David).
Work as a burden—which is the essence of slavery—began to rear its head in the aftermath of Adam's and Eve's disobedience when God pronounced that "through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life" (Gen 3:17). Slavery, in the sense of subservience to another, arrived with Noah's curse on Canaan: "The lowest of slaves [’eved ’avadim, 'servant of servants'] will he be to his brothers' (Gen 9:25). Balancing this servitude, however, is the use of the same verb as worship; to worship God is to serve Him (the English word 'liturgy,' for the manner of worship is derived from the Greek translation (litreuo) of the Hebrew verb). What this means is that it is safe to assume a slave is involved when ’ebed is used only when the context clearly implies it. With this we turn to those passages where slavery is clearly indicated.
Owning Slaves
The main regulations regarding the management of slaves (in contrast to paid/hired labourers) are found in Exo 21:2-11, Lev 25:39-55 & Deut 15:12-18.
Israel as Slaves in Egypt
517x - servant 307x servants 13x servant's 2x servants' 94x slave 88x slaves 22x slavery
Media Resources:
Peter Williams, "Answering Moral Objections to the Old Testament," The Gospel Coalition, US. Two talks (on genocide and slavery) delivered at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2013.
Video 36.18 mins. N (Open on Phone)
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