The eighth commandment

Exodus 21.2-6

“When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out alone. But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.”

Deuteronomy 15.12-18

“‘If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the LORD your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. But if he says to you, “I will not go out from you,” because he loves you and your household, since he is well-off with you, then you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave forever. And to your female slave you shall do the same. It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for at half the cost of a hired servant he has served you six years. So the LORD your God will bless you in all that you do.’”

Let’s notice a few things about slavery in ancient Israel which are hinted at in this text. First, one could sell himself into slavery, if he were a member of the nation of Israel and had fallen on hard times. But that term of slavery was limited, much like the institution of indentured servitude by which many people made their way to the New World during the colonial period of American history.

Second, conditions in such an arrangement could be so favorable that a man might choose to remain in this condition once his term was up. He could marry and have a family. He could accumulate property. He might even grow to love his master. If he wished to remain, and his master allowed him to do so, he was given a mark to indicate to all concerned that his situation had changed and that he willingly was continuing in servitude to his master.

If he did choose to go out as a free man after the six years of service, however, he was to be furnished amply by his master, so that he could make a good start in life.

Again, the motivation for this institution of mutual service and love was the memory of what it was like to be a slave in Egypt. Israelites must not foist such conditions upon one another, or anyone else.

This series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.