Slavery
0 ratings
· 9 viewsOur Life's Can Be In The Spirit and Serve God.. Serve "Servant of God" or walk another the influnce of the world & be slaves of our flesh
Notes
Transcript
The forced servitude of a person to another. This can range from a benevolent relationship wherein a slave or servant is bound to his master but is provided for entirely, to a cruel relationship wherein a slave is simply used and barely provided for. Also: Bondage; Bondage and Freedom; Imprisonment; Servant-hood; Slave; Slavery in the Ancient near East; Slavery in the New Testament
SLAVERY The practice of one person owning another as property, or one person owing a debt to another and repaying that debt via their labor. Found in the ancient Near East, the Graeco-Roman world, and the Old and New Testaments. No single description of slavery fits the various forms it took in the ancient world. However, it was quite different from the slavery practiced in the West during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Etymology
The most common terms for slaves in Hebrew and Greek refer to both slaves and servants. A frequent term for slave in Hebrew is derived from the verb “to work” or “to serve.” This term does not seem to convey the negative and derogatory association that it does in Greek usage outside the Bible.
In Hebrew, no distinction is made between an Israelite and a non-Israelite slave, as the same term is used to describe both of them. The two groups are distinguished in Old Testament regulations of slavery, however.
The most common terms for slaves in Hebrew and Greek refer to both slaves and servants. A frequent term for slave in Hebrew is derived from the verb “to work” or “to serve.” This term does not seem to convey the negative and derogatory association that it does in Greek usage outside the Bible.
In Hebrew, no distinction is made between an Israelite and a non-Israelite slave, as the same term is used to describe both of them. The two groups are distinguished in Old Testament regulations of slavery, however.
(Slavery in the NT)
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.