What does the Bible say about slavery?

from the old testament

• There are many references to slavery in the Old Testament. It was a cultural norm for people to have slaves. Yet, the understanding of slavery in the ancient world is not fully equivalent to our understanding today. Further, slavery in the ancient world was very different than the way God called His people to respond to slavery.
• Involuntary slavery was a capital offense in the nation of Israel (Exodus 21:16).
• It was common for a person to voluntarily sell himself or to be sold by his or her family to pay off a debt. In a time devoid of extensive government aid or social services—or excessive credit card offers—pledging one's work was legitimate currency.
• In some cases, a debtor's labor was needed for the survival of his family, and hard choices had to be made. If a father dedicated all his work to pay off a debt, he would be unable to provide for his own family; rather than risk the whole family starving, a man would often give the creditor a child who would work off the debt. The family would survive, and the child sold into slavery would at least have his basic needs met (see 2 Kings 4:1).
• The Gibeonites avoided war altogether by offering themselves as servants to the Israelites (Joshua 9).
• The Israelites were slaves in Egypt (Exodus 1:13-14) and were in bondage again by the Babylonians (2 Kings 24:14), Assyrians (2 Kings 17:6), and Persians (2 Chronicles 36:20).
• Noah cursed Canaan and called him a "servant of servants" or the "lowest of slaves" (NIV) (Genesis 9:24–27). Many have used this verse to condone slavery. However it means that he would be the servant of all, or the lowest servant or servant of servants, and that his brothers would have an advantage over him. This is not the same as being a slave.
• The Old Testament gives instructions to Israelite slave holders regarding slavery (Deuteronomy 15:12–15; Leviticus 25:39–46). Slaves were to be released in the seventh year. In some cases, slaves also became slaves willingly. They could also remain in this state for life if they desired: “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” (Exodus 21:5–6).
• God created the Day of Jubilee as a release from bondage and indebtedness (Leviticus 25).

from the new testament

• The New Testament gives instructions to slave holders regarding slavery (Ephesians 6:5–9; Colossians 3:22—4:1).
• The New Testament did not demand that every slave owner immediately emancipate his slaves. Rather, the apostles gave instructions to slaves and their owners on godly behavior within that social system. For example, in Ephesians 6:9 masters are told, “Masters, do the same to them [treat them with good will], and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.” Elsewhere, they are commanded, “Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven” (Colossians 4:1).
• While Paul mentions the preference of freedom over slavery, he doesn't place a great deal of importance on the issue (1 Corinthians 7:21–23). To Paul, spiritual status is much more important than social standing.
• Believers are identified as slaves to righteousness and no longer as slaves to sin (Romans 6).
• Philemon was written by Paul to restore Philemon’s relationship to his runaway slave, Onesimus, whom Philemon was to receive "as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord" (Philemon 1:16).

implications for today

The slavery the Bible condemns is slavery as we know it: harsh, based on taking advantage of people, and with many injustices. Slavery that the Bible refers to positively was more akin to indentured servitude than modern-day slavery. The Bible condemns those who involuntarily seize and sell a person (Exodus 21:16; cf. 1 Timothy 1:8–10) and shows that all people, including slaves, are brothers in the Lord if they are saved (Philemon 1:16). The systematic kidnapping and enslaving of countless Africans in the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries by both Africans and Westerners was absolutely unbiblical—the punishment for those who stole and sold other humans in ancient Israel was death (Exodus 21:16). Paul specifically mentions "enslavers" or "slave traders" and calls them lawless, rebellious, ungodly, unholy, and profane (1 Timothy 1:8–10). The problem of slavery has not gone away. There are more slaves in the world today than at all other times in history combined. Today we call it "human trafficking," and it is just as evil as it was in the ancient world.

Some people condemn the Bible for not abolishing slavery outright. However, the primary goal of the gospel was not sweeping social or political change. Instead, it is individual spiritual change and freeing us from the root cause of all slavery: sin. The Bible teaches that all humans are created by God and made in His image (Genesis 1:27). Yet all people are sinful and in need of salvation (Romans 3:23). Trusting in Christ’s death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins free us from the penalty of sin (Romans 6:6, 23) yet we still experience the effects of sin. We are also made new, given the indwelling Holy Spirit, and progressively live more as God would have us live, reflecting His character and His righteousness more often than sin (Romans 8:28–30; 2 Corinthians 5:17–21; Ephesians 1:3–14; Philippians 2:12–13; 1 John 1:6—2:6). As hearts are changed, society will change. If the world followed the Bible, the millions of sex-trafficking victims would be freed and cared for, and the vast majority of labor-trafficking victims would be home with their families.