Slavery and the Torah
Judaism and slavery
And as for thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, whom thou mayest have: of the nations that are round about you, of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.
Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them may ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they have begotten in your land; and they may be your possession.
And ye may make them an inheritance for your children after you, to hold for a possession: of them may ye take your bondmen for ever; but over your brethren the children of Israel ye shall not rule, one over another, with rigour.
Leviticus 25:44-46
The Torah does not promote slavery, but neither does it condemn it. For the Jewish people, the Torah laid down laws that regulated the practice so it became, in theory, more humane.
Who could be enslaved?
In the Torah, both Jews and non Jews could be kept as slaves. Jewish slaves were to be treated more like servants than possessions, and were indentured for a fixed period rather than forever.
Jewish slaves
The Hebrew servant, Scripture says, must not be treated with vigor. This was held to mean no needless work must be imposed on his for the purpose of keeping him under discipline... Nor must he be put to bondsman's work i.e any humiliating task, such as only slaves perform... The master of a Hebrew bondman (or a bondmaid) must place him on an equality with himself in meat and drink, in lodging and in bed clothes, and must act towards him in a brotherly manner; for the Scripture always speaks of him as "thy brother". Hence it is said: "Whoever buys a Hebrew servant buys a master for himself."JewishEncyclopedia.com
There are only two types of Jewish slave:
- sold by the (rabbinical) court without his consent, only in the case where the Jew has committed theft
- a Jew who has no other means left to him, and chooses to sell himself.
According to Jewish law, a Jewish slave could only be indentured or enslaved for a specific length of time. This was six years. However, slaves who willingly chose to could be enslaved forever.
If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed;Deuteronomy 15:12-13
And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave. As a hired servant and a sojourner he shall be with you, and shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. And then he shall depart from you-he and his children with him-and shall return to his own family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers. For they are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. You shall not rule over him with rigor, but you shall fear your God.Leviticus 25:39-42
While the man sold into service is bound for a term of six years, the man who sells himself voluntarily binds himself for a term longer than six years, generally ten or twenty... But under all circumstances... if within the power of Israel's laws, he become free... in the year of jubilee.JewishEncyclopedia.com
A Jew may only sell their self as long as they have no other means to support themselves whatsoever.