Deuteronomy 15:12-18

The Year of Remission: (2) of Slaves

If a Hebrew, man or woman, serves as a slave for six years, in the seventh he shall not only go free but be liberally equipped from his owner's property; as Israel was a slave and redeemed by God (Deuteronomy 15:12-15). If, however, the slave elects to remain with his owner because he loves him, then he shall be bound to his service for ever (Deuteronomy 15:16 f.). Nor must his emancipation seem hard to the owner: six years" profit from a slave is double the hire of a hireling (Deuteronomy 15:18). Sg. throughout. Whether there are any editorial additions is uncertain: the prevailing use of the masc. for slave seems to some to point to the phrase or an Hebrew woman(Deuteronomy 15:12; Deuteronomy 15:17b) as such [Holzinger, Einleitung, 313, n. 1; cp. Steuern.).

The corresponding law in E, Exodus 21:1-6 (see Driver's notes), also directs the emancipation of a Hebrew bondman after six years" service, does not mention bondwoman (for the slave-concubine he has a further law, Deuteronomy 15:7) but provides (as D does not) for the bondman's wife: if he has entered service married he takes his wife out; if his master has given him a wife she and their children remain his master's property; and to his love for his master E adds that for his wife and children as a motive for his electing to remain. The ceremony of binding him to the service is the same as in D with an addition (see on Deuteronomy 15:17). E does not provide equipment for the freed slave.

The law in Leviticus 25:39-55 (H expanded by P) deals with both the Hebrew and the foreign bondman. The former is not to serve as slave but as a hired servant, up to the year of jubile (when all land returns to its original owners), and then go free with his children to his own family and his father's possession; nothing, therefore, is said of a provision for him from his master's goods, nor of manumission in the seventh year. Thus practically no Israelite is to be a slave: one Israelite shall not rule over another with rigour. But slaves of foreign birth or from among the gçrîmare their purchaser's possession for ever and heritable property. If a poor Hebrew sell himself to a foreigner, he may be redeemed by himself or his family, and a scale is fixed for his price, but if he be not redeemed by the year of jubile, he and his children shall then go free. Throughout nothing is said as to the bondman's wife.

The gradation of these laws, though not so marked as in the case of some others, is sufficiently clear. E's is the most primitive; D's dependence on E is probable but not so evident as in other cases; it might be a different codification of the same consuetudinary law. Besides stating the law in his own phraseology (more particularly that of the Sg. address) and pleading motives for it which are characteristic of him (e.g. Deuteronomy 15:15; Deuteronomy 15:18), D has the equally characteristic addition about the equipment of the freed slave. Leviticus 25:39-55, with its addition upon Hebrew slaves sold to foreigners, reflects conditions which may sometimes have happened before the Exile, but were more prevalent only after it.

Besides, the postponement of the emancipation from the 7th year to that of the jubile seems to imply that E's and D's laws which fixed it for the former had been found impracticable; P (or H?) therefore prolongs the period of service, but compensates for this by commanding that the Hebrew slave shall be treated as a free man (Driver, Deut.185). Calvin's explanation that the term jubileis extended to mean every seventh year; or that the slaves to be freed at the jubilewere those who refused enfranchisement in the seventh year and being so fully in their owner's power needed the Levitical directions for their humane treatment is impossible.

On the neglect of the law see Jeremiah 34:8 ff.; Nehemiah 5:5.

Two other things need to be noted: (1) The causes by which Israelites fell into slavery were mainly poverty and crime. A man unable to pay the moharor purchase money for a bride might serve for her a term of years, like Jacob (Genesis 29:18); a father might sell his children, especially his daughters (Exodus 21:7), either for poverty or from the wish to connect his house with that of an influential neighbour; the insolvent debtor might be sold (2 Kings 4:1; Amos 2:6; Amos 8:6; Nehemiah 5:5; Nehemiah 5:8), or, though not a debtor, might be driven by sheer want to sell himself (Leviticus 25:39); or a man might be sold for theft, which he could not make good (Exodus 22:2 f.; Josephus, iv. Antt.viii. 2); and there were born slaves (Genesis 14:14). Stealing and selling a slave was punishable by death (Exodus 21:16). (2) The condition of slaves was good. The slave of an Israelite was a member of the family, who enjoyed its religious fellowship and took part in the rites and benefits of this, e.g. the Sabbath (Deuteronomy 5:12; Deuteronomy 12:18; Deuteronomy 16:11; Exodus 23:12) and must therefore have been circumcised (P expressly commands this, Genesis 17:12). He had sometimes great influence and authority in the household and might marry his master's daughter, or even become his heir (Genesis 15:2 ff; Genesis 24:1 ff.; 1 Samuel 25:14 ff.; 1 Chronicles 2:34 f.). Even the oldest law, though it considers slaves to be their master's property (Exodus 21:21; Exodus 21:32), does not allow him to kill them (id.20), and if he destroy the eye or tooth of a slave he must set him free (Exodus 21:26 f.).

Similarly in Arabia to-day, where the condition of slaves well illustrates their condition in Israel and especially their religious standing. The treatment of course varies according to the character of the master, and in particular slaves seem less well-treated in the large towns. But on the whole the conditions of service in Arabia are good. Snouck-Hurgronje, Mekka, ii. 12 ff., 18 f.: -even the "slave of all work" has no hard time and all are members of the family they serve": -take it all in all the condition of the Moslem slaves is one only technically different from that of the European servant and workman." Doughty (Ar. Des.i. 554): -the condition of a slave is always tolerable and often happy in Arabia; bred up as poor brothers of the sons of the household, they are a manner of God's wards of the pious Mohammedan householder, who is ammy, the "eme" of their servitude and abûy"my father." … The patrons who paid their price have adopted them into their households, the males are circumcised and that which enfranchises their souls, even in the long passion of home-sickness God has visited them in their mishap; they can say, "it was His grace" since they be thereby entered into the saving religion. This therefore they think is the better country where they are the Lord's free men, etc." Musil (Ethn. Ber.224): -Among the Ṣḥûr and Ḥwêṭât the slave is almost always married to a slave-girl and serves his lord, sleeps in his tent and accompanies him to war and on forays. Also he guards his flocks and enjoys almost perfect freedom; therefore only the very few run away. My escort, the slave -Abdallah, told me that he had several times visited his relatives in Egypt, but had always returned to his master, since it was better for him with the latter than at home." See further the notes below.

The Code of Ḫammurabi has this law (§ 117): If a man owes a debt and he has given his wife, his son or his daughter [as hostage] for the money, or has handed some one over to work it off, the hostage shall do the work of the creditor's house; but in the fourth year he shall set them free (C. H. W. Johns, Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, etc. 52).