[bibarnes]

Actually slavery exists in the bible with no condemnation. it actually says for slaves to honor their masters. With that said, an explanation of a type of slavery that existed back then is in order.

Other than captured peoples who were enslaved by their conquerors there was also those who, more or less, opted for slavery. If their debts got out of hand they could go to a rich man who would pay off their debts and they would be "enslaved" for a period of 7 years at which time they were to be released. If they didn't want to be released they could opt for a continuation of that slavery.

There is also a passage about not being a cruel master.

There is more to it than that, but that is a start.

[Qwinn]

*nod* Exactly... the term for that is indentured servitude. I was typing my post before I saw yours.

Qwinn

[BSunday]

Good point. I would also like to add to that, in the New Testament, the Greek word doulos which is the word translated slave in the slave passages, also means servant and is thus translated in other parts of the bible. Basically it's up to the determination of the translator based on what HE thinks of the context, as to whether doulos is translated slave or servant.

[AnalogReigns]

Other than captured peoples who were enslaved by their conquerors there was also those who, more or less, opted for slavery. If their debts got out of hand they could go to a rich man who would pay off their debts and they would be "enslaved" for a period of 7 years at which time they were to be released. If they didn't want to be released they could opt for a continuation of that slavery.

There is also a passage about not being a cruel master.

Don't neglect to say that the rules for servitude (as it really wasn't chattle/humans-treated-as-property kind of slavery) were different for fellow Israelites, vs. conquered gentiles.

Too generally in ancient times, due to genuine practical issues--the conquered people were faced with two options: slavery or execution.