The Bible and slavery

The Bible contains many references to slavery, which was a common practice in antiquity. Biblical texts outline sources and the legal status of slaves, economic roles of slavery, types of slavery, and debt slavery, which thoroughly explain the institution of slavery in Israel in antiquity.[1] The Bible stipulates the treatment of slaves, especially in the Old Testament.[2][3][4] There are also references to slavery in the New Testament.

Quotes

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear... ~ Ephesians 6:5

• Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.
  • The Bible, Exodus 21:16, ESV

• Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
  • The Bible, Isaiah 58:6, 21st Century King James Version (KJ21); the passage in bold was used by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address.

• With regard to female slaves taken in war, the Mosaic law ruled. Deut. xxi. 10: "When thou goest to war against thine enemies, and the Lord thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive, and seest a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldst have her to thy wife: then thou shalt bring her to thine home, &c... And it shall be if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will, but thou shall not sell her" &c.
  • The Bible, as quoted in Dictionary of Islam (1885) by T. P. Hughes

• Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.
  • Ephesians 6:5, The Holy Bible (NIV)

• There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
  • Paul of Tarsus, Galatians 3:28, The Holy Bible

• Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time? Happy is that slave if his master on coming finds him doing so!
  • Matthew 24:45,46
  • The above phrase is quoted in isolation, which make it likely to be misunderstood. In context, the whole topic speaks about the Second Coming of Christ from Matthew 24:36 to Matthew 24:46:
    • Compare the following Variant translation of the bible passage The Day and Hour Unknown in the NIV bible version: "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns."
    • As it is evident in the theological context, Jesus was not talking about the historical slavery. He made a comparison in which he is the master and his followers are the spiritual servants.

• It is interesting to compare the condition of the concubine under Muslim law and under the Mosaic. Under the law of Moses, a concubine would generally be either a Hebrew girl bought of her father, or a Gentile captive taken in war. So that whilst the Muhammadan law forbids concubinage with a free woman, the Mosaic law permitted and legislated for it. See Exodus xxi.: "If a man sell his daughter to be a maid-servant, she shall not go out as men-servants do. If she please not her master who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed; to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her."
  With regard to female slaves taken in war, the Mosaic law ruled. Deut. xxi. 10: "When thou goest to war against thine enemies, and the Lord thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive, and seest a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldst have her to thy wife: then thou shalt bring her to thine home, &c... And it shall be if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will, but thou shall not sell her" &c.
  • Hughes, T.P., Dictionary of Islam, W.H. Allen & Co., London, 1885 [1]

About

• When 19th-century British missionaries arrived in the Caribbean to convert enslaved Africans, they came armed with a heavily edited version of the Bible. Any passage that might incite rebellion was removed; gone, for instance, were references to the exodus of enslaved Israelites from Egypt. Today, just three copies of the so-called “Slave Bible” are known to exist.
  • Brigit Katz, "Heavily Abridged ‘Slave Bible’ Removed Passages That Might Encourage Uprisings", Smithsonian.com, (January 4, 2019)

• “This can be seen as an attempt to appease the planter class saying, ‘Look, we're coming here. We want to help uplift materially these Africans here but we’re not going to be teaching them anything that could incite rebellion,’” Anthony Schmidt, the Museum of the Bible’s associate curator of Bible and Religion, tells Martin.
  That meant the missionaries needed a radically pared down version of the Bible. “A typical Protestant edition of the Bible contains 66 books, a Roman Catholic version has 73 books and an Eastern Orthodox translation contains 78 books,” the museum says in a statement. “By comparison, the astoundingly reduced Slave Bible contains only parts of 14 books.”
  • Brigit Katz, "Heavily Abridged ‘Slave Bible’ Removed Passages That Might Encourage Uprisings", Smithsonian.com, (January 4, 2019)