The Bible contains several references to slavery, which is a common practice in ancient times. The Bible prescribes the treatment of slaves, especially in the Old Testament. There are also references to slavery in the New Testament. The Israeli slaves will be offered liberation after six to seven years of service, except when the Israeli slave chose to remain with his wife; male slaves, slave girls and all children will consequently bear the bondage of bondage throughout their lives. A foreign slave may be inherited to the owner's family, and made to serve for the life of the slave, except in the case of certain injuries. The biblical texts describe the sources and legal status of slaves, the role of slavery economy, the type of slavery, and debt slavery, which thoroughly explain the institution of slavery in ancient Israel. Each section - Exodus 21, Deuteronomy 15, and Leviticus 25 - gives insight into the understanding of the recent slave relationship and provides guidance to the Israelites about how to advance their lives in the proper manual. Philo, one of the philosophers of the time, wrote a text on how to treat slaves correctly, showing that slavery was an important part of Jewish life, but also emphasized the humanitarian perspective offered by many Ancient Near Eastern scholars. One way to demonstrate this is through the sharing of products, such as food and cloth, with other incompetent members of society. As demonstrated by the number of rabbis currently writing about the treatment of slaves, there are standards on how they should be treated.
Slaves have different purposes. To determine its function, many scholars see repeated descriptions in texts written around the same time and reports from other cultures of the well-documented Graeco-Roman culture. One of the main functions of slaves is as a status symbol for members of upper society, especially when it concerns the dowry for their daughter. These slaves can be sold or given as needed, but also show that families are able to provide large amounts for their daughters to marry. They also serve the needs of the temple and have more housekeeping capabilities such as housekeeping and raising livestock and a small number of plants. Tuan often takes advantage of their nearby slaves and calls by requiring them to perform public duties that the master has the ability to do on his own. This shows the level of luxury that goes beyond the private sphere to the public. In addition to showing luxury, slave ownership is necessary for a good family background, and many rich men see their colleagues who have only a few slaves as the type of individual who needs to be pitied.
The rabbis are rarely portrayed as having many slaves, but in the documents they write about slaves, it is always from the teacher's point of view, which scholars see as an attempt to distinguish middle-class citizens from slaves who might hold higher positions in society because they owned by the rich. However, having many slaves was routine among priests in the days of the First Shrine. This is a very common practice in Greek religion supported by reference to high priestly slaves in the works of Josephus. These works paint the priests in a negative light, and show the end of the institution that came after the days of the Second Shrine in 70 AD.
Many of the patriarchs portrayed in the Bible are slave owners of the upper echelons of society and enslave those who are indebted to them, buy the daughters of their citizens as concubines, and foreign men enslaved to work in their fields. It is important to note that most of these slave owners were male, and it is not clear that women were capable of having slaves to Elephantine papyrus in 400 BC. There is also little historical evidence that leads scholars to the understanding that people from all walks of life can have slaves. During certain reigns, especially King Solomon and David, slavery in the state may have been instituted for large building projects or jobs deemed intolerable by free men. In addition to these examples, it is not clear whether state slavery or not is an accepted practice. It is important for those who have slaves, especially in large numbers, to be rich because employers have to pay taxes to Jewish and non-Jewish slaves because they are considered part of the family unit. The slaves were seen as an important part of the family's reputation, especially in the Hellenistic and Roman times where a slave friend to a woman was seen as a manifestation and the protection of a woman's honor. Over time, domestic slavery became more prominent, and domestic slaves, usually working as patriarchal wife assistants, allowed larger homes to run more smoothly and efficiently.
The Bible is referred to as justification for slavery by defenders. The Abolitionist also uses the texts of the Old and New Testaments to debate the liberation of the slaves, and against kidnapping or "stealing men" to possess or sell them as slaves.
Video The Bible and slavery
Slavery
In the Ancient Near East, prisoners acquired through war are often forced to become slaves, and this is seen by the Book of Deuteronomists as a form of legitimate slavery, as long as the Israelites are not among the victims; The Deuteronomic Code imposes the death penalty for the abduction of men to enslave them. Deuteronomy 24: 7 & lt;/ref & gt; If the army wants to marry the arrested foreigner, there is a provision. He will shave his head and not wear jewelry or cosmetics to mourn with friends and family who were killed in the war. While the terms may differ depending on how many are missing, it will be at least a month. After the grief is over, then he is free to make wedding plans. If he wants to end the relationship, the code set he must release him. Because he forced him with the tip of the sword or the spearhead into sexual intercourse, he lost the option to sell it into slavery. The Israelites were generally not involved in long-range or large wars, and it seems that capture was not a significant source of slaves.
The Lewiticus Holiness Code explicitly allows participation in the slave trade, with non-Israeli residents who have been sold as slaves regarded as a kind of inheritable property. Foreign residents are included in this permit, and are allowed to have Israeli slaves.
It may also be born into slavery. If an Israeli male slave has been given a wife by the owner, the wife and children resulting from the union will remain the property of his former owner, according to the Code of Agreement. Although no specified citizenship, 18th-century theologians, John Gill (1697-1771) and Adam Clarke suggested this was only directed to the Canaanite concubines.
Slavery Debt
Just as in the Ancient Near East, the Israeli legal system divides slaves into different categories: "In determining who will benefit from their intervention, the legal system draws two important differences: between debt and slave slaves, and between indigenous and foreign slaves. The authorities intervened first and foremost to protect their former category - citizens who had fallen during difficult times and were forced into slavery by debt or hunger. "
Poverty, and a general lack of economic security, forced some people into debt bondage. In the ancient Near East, wives and children (not adults) are often viewed as properties and sometimes sold as slaves by husbands or fathers for financial reasons. The evidence from this point of view is found in the Code of Hammurabi, which allows debtors to sell their wives and children into temporary slavery, lasting up to three years. The Code of Holiness also shows this, allowing foreigners to sell their own children and families to Israel, although no limitations are placed on the duration of slavery. Bible authors repeatedly criticize debt slavery, which can be attributed to high taxes, resource monopolies, high interest loans, and the collapse of higher kinship groups.
Debt debt is one of two categories of slaves in Ancient Jewish society. As the name implies, these people sell themselves into slavery to pay off debts they may have accumulated. These people are not permanently in this situation and are usually released after six to seven years. Chattel's slaves, on the other hand, are less common and usually prisoners of war who maintain no individual redemption rights. These chekel slaves work full-time, often in domestic capacity.
The previous Covenant Code instructs that, if a thief is caught after sunrise and can not indemnify the theft, then the thief should be enslaved. The children of the deceased debtor may be forced into slavery to pay off unpaid debts. Similarly, it is clear that debtors can be forced to sell their children into slavery to pay the creditors.
Sexual and conjugal slavery
There are two words used for female slaves, namely "amah" and "shifhah". Based on use in different texts, words seem to have the same connotations and are used synonymously, being sexual objects, although the words themselves arise from different ethnic origins. Men give their female slaves the same level of dependency as they would become a wife. A close relationship level can occur given the amount of dependence placed on these women. These slaves have two special roles: sexual use and friendship. Their reproductive capacity is valued in their role in the family. Marriage with these slaves is never heard or forbidden. Actually, it is the concubine of a man who is seen as "someone else" and is shunned from the family structure. These female slaves are treated more like women than slaves who may have produced, according to some scholars, because of their sexual role, which is mainly to "breed" more slaves. A father can sell his daughter into this life and he can be released within six years if he is not claimed by or assigned to another man.
Sexual slavery, or sold into a wife, is common in the ancient world. During the Old Testament, the taking of several wives was recorded many times. An Israeli father can sell his unmarried children into slavery, with the hope or understanding that the master or his son can finally marry him (as in Exodus 21: 7-11). It is understood by Jewish and Christian commentators that this refers to the sale of girls, who "do not come to the age of twelve and one day, and this is through poverty."
And if a man sells his daughter into a slave girl, he will not come out like a male slave does. If he does not please his master, who has staked himself on himself, then he will let it be redeemed. He has no right to sell it to a stranger, because he has dealt with him. And if he betrothes him with his son, he will face it according to the girl's habits. If he takes another wife, he will not reduce his food, his clothes, and his marriage rights. And if he does not do these three things for him, then he will be free, without paying the money.
The code also instructs that the woman will be allowed to be redeemed if the man breaks her engagement to her. If a female slave is engaged to the master's son, then she should be treated as an ordinary girl. If he takes another wife, then he is required to continue supplying the same amount of food, clothing, and husbandry rights to him. The code states that failure to comply with this rule will automatically provide free freedom to enslaved women, while all Israeli slaves should be treated as servants employed.
The engagement clause seems to have given an exception to the law of exemption in Deuteronomy 15:12 (see Jeremiah 34:14), where Israel's male and female slaves must be released in the seventh year.
The punishment that an Israeli engaging in sexual activity with unmerited female slaves is mating is whipping, with Jewish tradition seeing this referring only to slaves, (versus Deuteronomy 22:22, where both parties are stoned, being free), and also the man confesses his guilt and the priest makes atonement for his sin.
Women captured by Israeli soldiers may be adopted as wives, but first they must shave their heads and undergo a period of mourning. (Deuteronomy 21: 10-14) However, "If you are not happy with it, then you should let him go where he wants You can not sell it, you can not take advantage of it, because you have been humiliated."
Maps The Bible and slavery
Manumission
In line with the shmita system, the Covenant Code offers automatic elimination of Israeli male slaves after they have worked for six years; this excludes non-Israeli slaves, and specifically excludes Israeli girls, who are sold into slavery by their fathers, from such an automated seventh-year manu- factur. It was purchased to be engaged to the owner, or his son, and if it had not been done, they were allowed to be redeemed. If the marriage takes place, they should be released if their husband is negligent in his marriage obligations. The Deuteronomic Code is then seen by some as opposed to the elements of this instruction, in extending the seven-year-old automatic manus for both sexes. Others see the latter as a general decision, with the aspect of female forgiveness not applicable in the specific circumstances of the previous case, with marriage taking place of liberation.
The Book of the Book of Deuteronomists also extended the seventh manumission rule by instructing that the slaves of Israel freed in this way should be given cattle, grain, and wine, as a parting gift; the literal meaning of the verb used, at this point in the text, to give this gift seems to hang on the neck . In the Jewish tradition, identified gifts are regarded as mere symbols, representing the gift of non-monetary proceeds or clothing; many Jewish scholars estimate that the value of the three listed products is about 30 shekels, so the reward gradually becomes standardized as a feasible outcome for this fixed value. The Bible states that one should not regret the gift, for slaves are only half as expensive as workers employed; Nachmanides calls this a command, not just as advice.
Despite these orders, Israeli slaves were kept longer than allowed, forcing Yahweh to destroy the Kingdom of Judah as a punishment. The text also depicts Jeremiah demanding that Zedekiah kill all Israeli slaves. The Code of Holiness does not mention the release of the seventh year; but only instructs that the slaves, and the Israeli slaves possessed by foreign residents, should be released during the national jubilee (occurring every 49 or every 50 years, depending on the interpretation).
While many commentators see the rule of the Code of Holiness in addition to the previous law that requires release in the seventh year, if it does not potentially wait long until the Jubilee is somewhat reduced by the Code of Holiness, with the instruction that slaves should be allowed to buy their freedom by paying an amount equal to the total wage of a hired servant during the entire remaining period until the next jubilee (this could reach 49 years of wages; in 2017, this is roughly equivalent to £ 922,500 sterling). Slave blood relatives are also allowed to buy slave freedom, and this is considered an obligation to be done by the nearest relative (Hebrew: Go'el ).
Permanent restrictions
As for the slaves of Israel, the Code Covenant allows them to voluntarily leave their seventh-year-old man and become a permanent slave (literally slave forever ). The Code of Covenant rules require that slaves affirm this desire either in the religious sanctuary, or in the presence of the household god (the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint both literally say [in] the gods , although some English translations replace < i> before the Judges ); After doing this, the slaves were then circumcised through their ears to the doorposts by their master. This ritual is common throughout the Ancient Near East, practiced by Mesopotamia, Lidia, and Arabia; in the Semitic world, the ear represents obedience (just as the heart symbolizes the emotion, in the modern western world), and the pierced ear of the ear signifies slavery.
Working conditions
Dekalog Etis explained that honoring Shabbat is expected of slaves, not just their masters. The Deuteronomic Code then, after repeating the Shabbat requirements, also instructed that slaves should be allowed to celebrate the Sukkot festival.
Although the Code of Holiness instructed that during the Sabbath Year, slaves and their masters should eat food that the produce of the land, without cultivation, it does not explicitly prohibit the slaves of the farm itself, although it limits their masters from doing so, nor does it provide slaves additional rest from work during these years.
Indeed, unlike other statute laws, the Holiness Code does not mention an explicit opportunity to tough, but merely gives unclear instructions that Israeli slaves should not be forced to work hard; Maimonides argues that this should be interpreted as prohibiting open work (such as continuing to do that until I get back ), and that disciplinary action does not include instructing slaves to do useless work.
A special case is the debtor who sells himself as his creditor's slave; The Code of Holiness instructs that in this situation, the debtor should not be made to perform the slave's work, but otherwise should be treated the same as the hired servant. In the Jewish tradition, this means that the debtor should not be ordered to do a shameful job - which only the slaves do - and that the debtor should be asked to do the craft they normally do before they are enslaved. , if it is realistic to do so.
Injuries and compensation
The previous Code of Agreement provides a potentially more valuable and direct form of assistance, the level of protection for the individual slave (body and health) itself. This codification extends the basic lex talionis (.... eye for eye, tooth tooth... ), to force that when slaves are significantly injured by their masters, manumission is to be given compensation; the canonical examples mentioned are knocking eyes or teeth. It resembles the earlier Hammurabi Code, which instructs that when injuries are made on inferior social compensation, monetary compensation must be performed, rather than exercising basic lex talionis; Josephus shows that at that time it is acceptable for a fine to be paid to a slave, instead of bringing them to justice, if the slave agrees. Nachmanides argues that it is a biblical mandate to liberate a slave who has been harmed in this way.
Het's Law and Hammurabi's Code insist that if a slave is harmed by a 3rd party, a third party must provide financial compensation to the owner. In the Covenant, if an ox gores a slave, the owner of the ox should pay his master 30 a fine of a shekel.
Slave killings by owners are prohibited in the Treaty of the Law. The Covenant Code clearly sets out the death penalty for defeating the free man to death; Conversely, defeating the slave to death is replying only if the slave does not last for one or two days after the beating. Abraham ben Nathan of Lunel, a 12th-century ProvenÃÆ'§al scholar, the Targum, and Maimonides argue that retaliation implies the death penalty, but newer scholars see it may represent a lower penalty. A number of modern Protestant versions of the Bible (such as the New Living Version, the New International Version and the New Century Version) translate survival for one or two days to refer to a full and rapid recovery, rather than a prolonged death, as favored by other recent versions (such as Revised New Version, and New American Bible).
Slave fugitive
The Book of the Deuteronomists forbade the Israelites to surrender their fugitive slaves to their masters or to oppress them, and instructed that these fugitives should be allowed to live where they wanted. Although a literal reading would indicate that this applies to slaves of all nationalities and locations, the Mishnah and many commentators consider the rule to have a much narrower application, only slaves who flee from outside Israel into it.
Slavery in the New Testament
Epistle to Philemon has become an important text in connection with slavery; it is used by pro-slavery supporters as well as by abolitionists. In the letter, Paul writes that he is returning Onesimus, a fugitive slave, back to his master, Philemon; However, Paul also begs Philemon to honor Onesimus, whom he says he views as a son, not as a slave but as a beloved brother in Christ. Philemon was asked to treat Onesimus because he would treat Paul.
Paul cursed the slave merchant directly in 1 Timothy.
See also
- Abolitionism
- Abolitionism in the United Kingdom
- Abolitionism in the United States
- The Christian view of slavery
- The Catholic Church and slavery
- The Islamic view of slavery
- The Jewish view of slavery
References
External links
- Topical Index Nave - Slavery
- Slavery in the Bible. Glenn M. Miller
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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