What defense really is there for God endorsing slavery in the Tanakh? Slavery wasn’t just indentured servants as the rabbis and Christian apologists say. Especially for the gentiles. The foreigners. The Hebrew scriptures distinguish between treatment of Hebrew slaves and non-Hebrew (foreign) slaves. Below are key verses addressing the treatment of foreign slaves, highlighting practices that modern readers find demonstrably immoral: 1. Leviticus 25:44-46 “Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them, you may buy slaves. You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your land, and they will become your property. You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.” Key points: •Foreign slaves could be bought and inherited as property. •Unlike Hebrew slaves, who were released after six years or during the Jubilee year, foreign slaves were considered perpetual property. 2. Exodus 21:20-21 “If a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies at his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives a day or two, no vengeance shall be taken, for the slave is his property.” Key points: •Masters could punish slaves physically, and as long as the slave did not die immediately, there were no repercussions. •This clearly dehumanizes slaves by reducing their value to that of property. 3. Deuteronomy 20:10-14 “When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. When the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. As for the women, the children, the livestock, and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies.” Key points: •Foreign populations could be subjugated and enslaved after conquest. •Women and children were often taken as spoils of war, with forced labor implied. 4. Numbers 31:17-18 “Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately. But all the young girls who have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.” Key points: •This describes the enslavement of young girls after a military campaign against the Midianites, which many interpret as both slavery and systemic abuse. 5. Joshua 9:21-27 “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the whole congregation, as the leaders had promised them.” Key points: •The Gibeonites, a foreign group that deceived Israel into a treaty, were forced into service as laborers. Key Distinction: •Hebrew Slaves: Often entered servitude due to debt and were released after six years or during the Jubilee (Exodus 21:2, Deuteronomy 15:12). Their treatment was more regulated, with provisions for fair treatment. •Foreign Slaves: Were treated as property, could be enslaved for life, and were subjected to harsher conditions, including physical punishment. It’s important to recognize that while some modern interpretations try to soften these passages, the texts clearly differentiate between the treatment of Hebrew slaves (who had certain rights) and foreign slaves (who did not). These verses reflect the ancient Near Eastern context, where slavery was a normalized institution. I’m waiting for the 100% consistency of an answer of silence. The preverbal ostrich sticking its head in the sand.
What defense really is there for God endorsing slavery in the Tanakh?
Slavery wasn’t just indentured servants as the rabbis and Christian apologists say. Especially for the gentiles. The foreigners.
The Hebrew scriptures distinguish between treatment of Hebrew slaves and non-Hebrew (foreign) slaves. Below are key verses addressing the treatment of foreign slaves, highlighting practices that modern readers find demonstrably immoral:
1. Leviticus 25:44-46
“Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them, you may buy slaves. You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your land, and they will become your property. You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.”
Key points:
•Foreign slaves could be bought and inherited as property.
•Unlike Hebrew slaves, who were released after six years or during the Jubilee year, foreign slaves were considered perpetual property.
2. Exodus 21:20-21
“If a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies at his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives a day or two, no vengeance shall be taken, for the slave is his property.”
Key points:
•Masters could punish slaves physically, and as long as the slave did not die immediately, there were no repercussions.
•This clearly dehumanizes slaves by reducing their value to that of property.
3. Deuteronomy 20:10-14
“When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. When the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. As for the women, the children, the livestock, and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies.”
Key points:
•Foreign populations could be subjugated and enslaved after conquest.
•Women and children were often taken as spoils of war, with forced labor implied.
4. Numbers 31:17-18
“Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately. But all the young girls who have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.”
Key points:
•This describes the enslavement of young girls after a military campaign against the Midianites, which many interpret as both slavery and systemic abuse.
5. Joshua 9:21-27
“Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the whole congregation, as the leaders had promised them.”
Key points:
•The Gibeonites, a foreign group that deceived Israel into a treaty, were forced into service as laborers.
Key Distinction:
•Hebrew Slaves: Often entered servitude due to debt and were released after six years or during the Jubilee (Exodus 21:2, Deuteronomy 15:12). Their treatment was more regulated, with provisions for fair treatment.
•Foreign Slaves: Were treated as property, could be enslaved for life, and were subjected to harsher conditions, including physical punishment.
It’s important to recognize that while some modern interpretations try to soften these passages, the texts clearly differentiate between the treatment of Hebrew slaves (who had certain rights) and foreign slaves (who did not). These verses reflect the ancient Near Eastern context, where slavery was a normalized institution.
I’m waiting for the 100% consistency of an answer of silence. The preverbal ostrich sticking its head in the sand.