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| ==Question: What is the best way to understand servitude in the Old and New Testament?==
| | #REDIRECT[[Violence in the scriptures#What is the best way to understand servitude in the Old and New Testaments?]] |
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| == Question: What is the best way to understand servitude in the Old and New Testaments?==
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| ===There is no scripture commanding servitude. There are a number that regulate its practice. A lot of data indicates that this was not the ultimate ideal. It seems to have been allowed to happen only under certain circumstances.===
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| Many have questioned the presence of passages that indicate the practice of slavery or servitude in the Old and New Testament. Many wonder what the best way to understand these passages is in light of the Restored Gospel. Does God endorse slavery? Is he okay with people being put into horribly unfair circumstances like this? How do I understand it and reconcile it?
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| Slavery in the bible is best understood both contextually and holistically while also keeping the nature of prophetic revelation in mind. The Bible offers no record of God commanding the practice of slavery. Much of the bible deals with liberating the Israelites from bondage. So, what exactly is the difference between regular slavery and Israelite slavery? Why can God allow the Israelites to escape from bondage while also allowing them to practice it? We address these questions below.
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| Latter-day Saint Old Testament scholars Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Dana M. Pike, and David Rolph Seely address servitude in their book “Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament”:
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| <blockquote>
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| Slavery was ubiquitous in antiquity, and the institution and practice of slavery lies beneath the surface of almost every book in the Bible. Slaves were considered property and therefore had few legal rights. Laws governing slaves and slavery are found in many law collections, including the Laws of Hammurabi. Few questioned the institution, simple accepting that people could be bought and sold just as animals and personal possessions were. Unlike American slavery, ancient slavery was not based on ethnicity. People became slaves by capture in war (Num 31:25-37), by default on debt (Exod 22:2), and sale by family members (2 King 4:1). Some people voluntarily sold themselves as slaves either to get out of debt or to find security (Lev 25:39; Deut 15:16-17).
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| [. . .]
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| Several Hebrew words meaning “slave” are translated in the KJV as “servant” or “maid”. This means that Joseph was slave in Egypt and the Gibeonites became slaves to the Israelites (Josh 9:23). Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, and all of the children of Israel are metaphorically called “slaves of Jehovah” when they are referred to as his “servants”. Likewise, the English word “handmaid” translates a Hebrew word that means slave—indicating that Hagar, Bilhah, and Zilpah were slaves to Sarah, Rachel, and Leah.
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| [. . .]
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| A slave’s life was often hard, but certain types of slavery were more difficult than others. For example, slaves who worked in mines and in fields had short lives full of strenuous daily work. In some societies, court slaves were often educated, held responsible positions, and wielded certain authority over others. Many slaves who were part of a household performed domestic and agricultural duties. The law of Moses required even non-Hebrew slaves in Israelite households to observe the Sabbath (Exod 12:24; Deut 12:12,18). Women and children were most vulnerable to abuse in this system, including physical and sexual abuse; therefore, most of the laws in the Bible regulating slavery attempt to humanely define the relationship between slaves and masters (Lev 25:43-55; Deut 15:12-18). People could be freed from slavery and there is evidence that this practice of manumission was common. Built into the law of Moses was a system that freed Israelite slaves every seven years (Exod 21:2; Deut 15:12, 18) although it is doubtful this ideal was regularly practiced by all Israelites. Some Israelite prophets questioned debt slavery and attempted to end its practice (Jer 34:8-22; cf. Exod 21; Lev 25; Deut 15). </blockquote>
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| The Old Testament has been seen as an improvement on the then-common form of slavery. The New Testament as an improvement on the Old Testament. As Evangelical apologist and bible scholar Paul Copan notes:
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| <blockquote> The original ancient near eastern context of slavery showed that masters were typically brutal to their slaves; runaway slaves had to be returned to masters of pain of death. The Old Testament improves on this in a redemptive move toward an ultimate ethic: there were limited punishments in contrast to other ancient Near Eastern cultures; there was a more humanized attitude toward servants/slaves; and runaway foreign slaves were given refuge in Israel. The New Testament improves on the Old Testament. Slaves in the Roman Empire were incorporated into the body of Christ without distinction from masters (Gal 3:28); masters were to show concern for their slaves; slaves were encouraged to gain freedom (1 Cor: 7:20-22). Note, though, that the Roman Empire had institutionalized slavery—in contrast to the Old Testament’s humanized indentured servitude. So, the New Testament writers had to deal with a new setting, one that was a big moral step backward.<ref>Copan, Paul "Is God a Moral Monster?" Baker Books: Grand Rapids, Michigan (2011) Ebook; pg. 101</ref> </blockquote>
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| So, what is this all indicating? Ultimately it means that the Old Testament covenant was never meant to be a universal ideal. These regulations, provided under the law of Moses, were provisional and temporary. In the Latter days, the practice has been disavowed (D&C 101:79).
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| How should we explain this moving forward? Latter-day Saint Bible scholar Ben Spackman notes:
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| <blockquote>It’s easy to rule out a few responses due to their reductionist simplicity. Slavery wasn’t merely a one-time blip, but a fundamental part of the Old and New Testaments. This prevents us from saying “oh, that prophet was just acting as a man,” as if it were a one-off kind of thing. Nor can we say, “oh, *that* part isn’t inspired,” because it’s the “whole” thing. I also don’t think we want to be apologists for Biblical slavery, just because it’s in the Bible. We think, “they were prophets, they should have known.” And yet, they didn’t.”<ref>See "Gospel Doctrine Lesson 40: Colossians and Philippians, but mostly Philemon" at: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/benjaminthescribe/2015/10/gospel-doctrine-lesson-40-colossians-and-philippians-but-mostly-philemon/</ref></blockquote>
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| He goes on to suggest that we should recalibrate our expectations to understand how God works with his children. This means that we should understand the nature of prophetic revelation and how to read scripture. These are addressed in these articles. {{Seealso|Question: How do Mormons understand prophetic revelation?}}
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| {{Seealso|Question: How can one best read and understand the scriptures?}}
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| The scriptures build on themselves, God has to accommodate revelation to the needs of a particular culture at a particular time while also trying to bring his children within to ultimate ideals and teach them the laws they need to follow for salvation. Scripture must be read both contextually and holistically to understand its message. It is, on the whole, divinely inspired, true, good, and beautiful. However, there are instances in which this type of accommodation has happened and where God builds upon it line upon line to approach the ultimate ideal--demonstrating the redemptive move of the scriptures towards better conditions.
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| {{endnotes sources}}
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