Does the Bible endorse slavery?
Slavery in the Ancient World
Slavery existed in most cultures in the ancient world and in all the cultures surrounding the land of Israel during biblical times. A slave could be owned by the state—such as the publicly owned slaves in Athens who served as a police force—or by individuals. The majority of slaves were prisoners of war who were sold into slavery.
Slavery could take the form of debt slavery, in which people sold themselves or their children to clear their debts, punishment for crime, the birth of children to slaves, and the enslavement of victims of piracy or war. Slaves in state-owned mines worked under inhumane conditions and had a short life expectancy. Many household slaves, on the other hand, fared better.
In addition to denoting a person’s legal status or identity, the term “slave” also denotes a power relationship between persons. Patterson defines slavery as “social death,” arguing that an enslaved person was “alienated from all ‘rights’ or claims of birth” and “ceased to belong in his own right to any legitimate social order” (Patterson, Slavery and Social Death, 5). He further states, “Slavery is a permanent, violent domination of natally alienated and generally dishonored persons” (Patterson, Slavery and Social Death, 13). Culbertson criticizes this definition, arguing that it does not account for the variety of experiences of slavery (Culbertson, Slaves and Households, 9). Culbertson instead argues that slavery is better understood in the context of households, which would account for the diverse slave experiences—which in addition to torture, rape, and death could also include protection, participation, and sometimes even influence in institutional affairs (Culbertson, Slaves and Households, 9).
Ancient Near East
Many slaves in the ancient Near East had been prisoners of war. Others sold themselves or their children into slavery in order to pay their debts. The state was seldom strong enough to effectively supervise a large number of slaves. Thus, many were semi-free and worked as serfs on state and temple estates, or as domestic slaves in wealthier households. This required less supervision. Others were true slaves—often branded to be easily identified as such—and could be bought, sold, transferred by inheritance, etc.
The earliest terms for slaves in Babylon, which translate as “male of a foreign country” (nita + kur) and “female of a foreign country” (nunus + kur), attest to the enslavement of both males and females. According to the Code of Hammurabi, such persons were brought “from the four corners of the earth” (Mendelsohn, “Slavery,” 74). The language used to refer to slaves also reflects gender: those who submit are portrayed as weak and therefore feminine, while those who conquer are strong and therefore masculine. The creation of eunuchs captures this idea, as captured men could be literally emasculated by conquerors. The fusion of ideas of gender, conquest, and labor ultimately led to the perception that females are the property of males in patriarchal societies—including Israel (e.g., Exod 21:7–11).
Graeco-Roman World
In the Graeco-Roman world, owning slaves was not limited to the rich; many households included at least one slave. The Greeks and Romans both employed a system in which slaves could own property, earn money, and buy their freedom. This system was probably implemented to keep slaves submissive.
Slavery provided labor for large portions of agriculture and handicraft. Those who wanted skilled workers often used slaves rather than free men. Thus, many slaves were more economically secure than many free wage-laborers.
Aristotle presents slavery as a part of the natural order: “It is manifest therefore that … some are free men and others are slaves by nature” (Pol. 1255a1–2). However, this was not the only view of slavery in the Graeco-Roman world. Philo, for example, differentiates between bodily and moral slavery and states about conventional slaves that they “rank lower in fortune, but can lay claim to the same nature as their masters” (On the Special Laws 3.137). On the other hand, in his view moral slavery is ordained by God and such slaves are better off as conventional slaves, controlled by an owner. Others declared that it was slavery itself that was against nature (Florentinus, Dig. 1.5.4.1).
Slavery in the Old Testament
Slavery terminology appears in many different genres of biblical literature, including:
• legal ordinances (e.g., Exod 20:17; 21:2–11, 16, 20, 26; Deut 24:7)
• narrative (e.g., Hagar, the maidservant of Sarah, in Gen 16:1–15; 21:8–21; 25:12; Gal 4:30)
• parable (e.g., Matt 18:15–35)
• poetry (e.g., Pss 116:6; 123:2)
• wisdom literature (Prov 22:7; 30:22)
The idea that some people are slaves by nature, expressed by Aristotle (Pol. 1254b16–21), might be found in the curse of Canaan (Gen 9:20–27). There, Noah says: “Cursed be Canaan; a slave of slaves he shall be to his brethren” and “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem, and Canaan shall be his slave.”
Beginning with Exodus, slavery is the primary human condition from which God releases His people.
God’s liberation of the Israelites from enslavement in Egypt becomes the paradigmatic experience of God’s justice and compassion, as seen in the prologue to the Ten Commandments: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Exod 20:2; Newsom et al., Women’s Bible Commentary, 34). Decrees that involve slavery are thus sensitive to the fact that the Israelites had been enslaved in Egypt. However, slavery as such is not questioned. Instead, the relationship between the Israelites and God is described as a new slavery—one with positive connotations: “For the children of Israel are my slaves; they are my slaves whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God” (Lev 25:55).
The Old Testament seems to assume that slavery is part of the human experience and provides the Israelites with regulations for slavery. The concern is shown for the welfare of slaves, especially Israelite slaves—the Mosaic law promoted mild treatment of slaves (e.g., Exod 21:20; 21:26–27; Deut 5:14). An increasing concern for Israelites is also evident, and a distinction is thus made between Israelite and non-Israelite slaves. For example, Lev 25:39–41 states that an Israelite who sells himself into slavery due to poverty shall be released in the Year of Jubilee (while Exod 21:2–3 says that the manumission, or formal emancipation, should take place after six years of service). Leviticus 25:44–46 states that non-Israelite slaves could be held permanently and inherited by one’s children. There are also instructions to redeem Israelite slaves that are owned by non-Israelites (Lev 25:47–51).
While the Old Testament does not condemn slavery outright, the Bible could be read as showing a consistent theme of liberation from slavery. For example:
• The regulations of bondsmanship in Lev 25:25 and 25:39 provide for release in the Year of Jubilee (Lev 25:40).
• The biblical narratives demonstrate redemption of servants, such as Abraham’s servant Eliezer in Gen 24:1–66 and the Israelite girl who served Naaman’s wife in 2 Kgs 5:2–3.
• The prophets condemn slaveholders who ignored the Jubilee rule and forced their countrymen to become slaves again (Jer 34:16; Chisholm, Handbook, 199–200).
The liberatory trajectory culminates in Luke 4:18–19, in which Jesus states that God sent Him “to proclaim liberty to captives.” Due to Christ’s role in liberation, Paul declares, “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free” (Gal 3:28).
Jewish Attitudes to Slavery outside the Old Testament
Some Jewish groups opposed slavery, but they were distanced from ordinary society. Josephus (Antiquities 18.1.5 §21) reports that the Essenes did not buy slaves, and Philo (On the Contemplative Life 9 §70–71; That Every Good Person is Free 12 §79; Hypoth. 11.4) says that both the Essenes and the Therapeutae condemned slavery and did not partake in it. These sects were, however, fringe Jewish groups.
In Philo’s writings, the idea of natural slavery is discussed. He interpreted the enslavement of Canaan and Esau in Genesis as an example of how were naturally servile. In Philo’s view, it was thus in their best interest to serve their superiors. Philo saw no moral dilemma in this (Garnsey, Ideas of Slavery, 241).
Slavery in the New Testament
There is no single or coherent attitude toward slavery in the New Testament, except that slavery is accepted as an institution—not endorsed, but accepted. Just as in the Old Testament, slavery is taken for granted and is not explicitly condemned in the New Testament.
Both Jesus and Paul use slave imagery as metaphors with positive connotations. For example, Jesus portrays a true follower as a slave (Mark 10:42–44; Luke 17:7–10) and likens slavery to discipleship (Matt 10:24–25). He also tells many parables in which slaves are characters (e.g., Matt 13:24–30; 18:23–35; 24:45–51; Mark 13:34–36; Luke 12:37–48).
In New Testament letters, instructions are given to both slaves and slave owners on their attitude and behavior, but a tension can be perceived. On the one hand, slaves are admonished to submit: “Domestic slaves, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unjust” (1 Pet 2:18–19 LEB). On the other hand, slave traders are condemned (1 Tim 1:10; Rev 18:13).
Paul deals with slavery in several of his letters. One of the most important comments he makes about slavery is found in 1 Corinthians: “Each one in the calling in which he was called—in this, he should remain. Were you called while a slave? Do not let it be a concern to you. But if indeed you are able to become free, rather make use of it. For the one who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freedperson. Likewise, the one who is called while free is a slave of Christ. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. Each one in the situation in which he was called, brothers—in this he should remain with God” (1 Cor 7:20–24 LEB). Here, Paul neither commends the institution of slavery nor encourages believers to submit blindly to the system of slavery. Rather, he urges all Christians—slaves and free persons—to identify themselves in terms of their status in Christ and, consequently, to consider their current status in society to be temporary. In other places, he tells masters to treat their slaves in a fair and kind manner (Eph 6:9; Col 4:1).
Paul also uses slavery as a metaphor for devotion to others (e.g., 2 Cor 4:5; Gal 5:13; Phil 2:7). In these instances, he sometimes calls himself a slave: “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more” (1 Cor 9:19). He describes how Jesus—although He was God—humbled Himself and took the nature of a slave (Phil 2:5–8). He, in turn, identifies himself as a “slave of Christ Jesus” (Rom 1:1; Phil 1:1). Sometimes he uses slavery as a metaphor with negative connotations, for example, when he refers to life under the law as slavery and something to be avoided (Gal 4:24; 5:1).
Paul also draws on slavery imagery in Rom 7:14–25, where he describes the conflict between the law and bodily desires as being “sold into bondage to sin.” Mieke Bal argues that Paul’s statement in 1 Tim 2:11–14 links womanhood with the slavery of the corrupted body through the narrative of the fall, furthering the gendered language of slavery (Bal, “Sexuality, Sin, and Sorrow,” 319).
It is unclear exactly what Paul counsels Philemon to do about Onesimus, who is probably a fugitive slave. Paul tells Philemon to receive Onesimus as a “beloved brother” (Phlm 16), and then later in the letter expresses his confidence to Philemon that “[he] will do even beyond what I say” (Phlm 21). The ambiguity of the statement in Phlm 21 has caused interpreters to question whether Paul asks—implicitly or directly—Philemon to grant Onesimus manumission, the act of freeing or liberating a slave. If Paul is requesting for Philemon to release Onesimus, then the letter marks a radical movement toward enacting within society the egalitarian view reflected in Gal 3:28 and Col 3:11. Even if Paul was not requesting manumission, his exhortation for Philemon to forgive Onesimus and treat him “as a brother” (Phlm 16) is notable since it makes Christian identity, and not cultural norms, the basis of ethical behavior.
Christian Attitudes to Slavery outside the New Testament
In the patristic period, slavery continued to be regulated by Christian authors. The Didache admonishes slaves in a way that echoes 1 Peter: “And you slaves, subordinate yourselves to your masters in shame and fear, as to an image of God” (Did. 4.11). The Shepherd of Hermas, on the other hand, presents guidance about manumitting slaves (Herm. Mand. 8.10; Herm. Sim. 1.8). Ignatius gives advice to both slaves and masters (Ignatius, Pol. 4.3).
Clement of Rome says that many Christians sold themselves into slavery in order to feed the poor or ransom other slaves (1 Clement 55.2). Many Christians used slavery as a metaphor for humanity’s relationship with God. Some stated that slavery was not a natural phenomenon (Augustine, City of God 19.15; Basil, On the Holy Spirit 20), but did not question it further.
Despite the Bible’s themes of redemption from slavery, people throughout history have often used the Old Testament’s emphasis on nationhood and conquest to justify subjugating and appropriating land and people.
For example, the European colonialism of the 17th–19th centuries claimed to be “opening a path for commerce and Christianity” (David Livingstone, quoted in Pakenham, Scramble for Africa, 1), but rather than treating the peoples they encountered as brothers and sisters in Christ, colonizers enslaved them and treated them as objects of commerce. While critical readings of the Bible inspired abolitionist movements, other readings could be found to sanction slavery (Harrill, Slaves in the New Testament, 184). Today, critics of the free market economy turn to biblical passages that warn about freedom at the expense of others (Míguez, “Galatians,” 417).
Nässelqvist, D., & Jardim, G. (2016). Slavery. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
