Slaves and the Law – The Eighth Commandment

Slaves and the Law

The Eighth Commandment

Exodus 21:26, 27

“When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye. If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth.”

Here is another evidence of the fact that slavery in ancient Israel was not at all like the chattel slavery practiced in early America and elsewhere. Slaves were regarded as human beings with rights and protections under the Law of God. A slave’s greatest treasure was the right to be free, whether by purchasing himself out of slavery or, even, running away, if conditions warranted. Slaves who were physically mistreated by their masters were also freed, as this statute makes plain.

It was in the interest of slave and owner alike that slaves should be treated with decency and respect, as the fifth commandment requires of all men. They may have been slaves, but they were human beings, and neighbors, and, thus, deserving of the love of God as communicated through His Law.

In 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.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.