Slavery In The Old Testament Analysis

The most direct and strongest challenge to the claim that the Bible sanctioned slavery as it was practiced in the American South was put forward by the abolitionist Elijah Porter Barrows in the nineteenth century religious publication Bibliotheca Sacra. In this 1862 publication, Barrows asserted that unlike the institution of slavery in the American South, the biblical institution of slavery was not based on the inferiority of one race. Barrows argued that this was the case in both the Old and New Testaments. Unfortunately, Barrows argument that biblical slavery in the Old Testament was not based on the inferiority of one race consisted of only a little more than a page and in the case of the New Testament only a few sentences. Nevertheless,
In short, as long as the person was not an Israelite, one of God’s chosen people, then it was acceptable for that person to be enslaved by the Israelites, irrespective of their race. As Barrows asserted, the Israelites possessed a “high preeminence…over all foreigners.” Barrows went on to point out that if southerners, who likened themselves to the Israelites, were truly following in the footsteps of the biblical institution of slavery then they would have to permit the enslavement of the people of “Britain, France, Spain, and Mexico; and we may add (if they can succeed in establishing their so-called “Southern Confederacy”) the greasy mechanics of the northern states” since all could rightly be considered foreigners to white southerners. If foreigners were understood as those practicing a different religion, then white southerners would have needed to permit the enslavement of, “the Persians, Turks, and Arabs…along with the Africans.” However, white southerners did not permit the enslavement of any of these groups but only the enslavement of Africans. Given the above facts, Barrows concluded that the basis for slavery in the South rested upon “race – a distinction
Just as the inferior satellites of Jupiter had to obey the superior magnetism of the planet, similarly the inferior will of the African race had to obey the superior will of the white man. As scholar Demetrius Williams writes of southern slavery, “The natural position of blacks under the white man’s will, unequal and subordinate to him in all things, was seen as natural and immutable. Therefore, support for slavery could be imagined as inscribed within the very structure of the cosmos.” While it is undeniable that the southern system of slavery was based on the inferiority of the African race, what about the biblical system of slavery? Was Barrows right to argue that the biblical system of slavery was not based on the inferiority of one race? The answer is yes. The biblical permission granting the Israelites the right to hold slaves is found in Leviticus 25:44-46. It states the