Slavery

A system in which a person can be owned by another person. Slavery was an accepted part of life in Bible times. Many times in war, people were captured and forced into slavery. The people of Israel lived as slaves for over four hundred years in Egypt until Moses and Aaron were sent to free them. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers.

There were rules in the Old Testament about slaves. A person could sell himself or herself into slavery. He or she could be free from slavery after six years. The apostles Paul and Peter gave advice to slaves and those who owned them. Both urged that slaves be obedient. The masters of the slaves were to treat their slaves kindly.

Because of these rules, some people have fooled themselves into believing that God approves of slavery. But the slave trade practiced in the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries and in some parts of the world today was harsh and cruel and not at all acceptable to God.