Hello Evilmorty,

Thanks for taking the time to write.

Confirmation bias is always a risk. Particularly so with the Bible, as it has thousands of years of study applied to it.

Slavery, in particular, emphasizes the point. When the Bible was first translated into English, slavery was legal. Those who translated the Hebrew words had no reason not to write "slave" whenever they read ebed in the text. They thought nothing of it.

This is why every generation needs to study the Scriptures anew. Every generation needs to go back to the original languages, study the history and culture, and compare it to how previous generations understood the text. Every generation has blind spots. As each generation re-examines previous generations' work, we can spot these and correct our understanding.

That's all I'm doing.

In the case of slavery, particularly with Exodus 21, it's a simple case to make to expose previous generation's blind spots. They wrote "slave," but Exodus 21:16 forbids such a translation.

“Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.” (Exodus 21:16, ESV)

This is the Bible’s clearest condemnation of slavery.

Anyone who steals a person and tries to make them a slave is to be killed. Anyone who buys a slave is to be killed. Humans are not possessions.

Anyone who tried to capture, enslave, and sell another human forfeited their own life.

This attitude persists through all of Exodus 21.

“When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his bed, then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall have him thoroughly healed.” (Exodus 21:18–19, ESV)

This law commands love, even between men who hate each other.

The goal is thorough healing. If the wounded person recovers, then the one who wounded him must pay for the money he lost by not being able to work. Physical health is assured, as well as financial well-being.

Consider how this changed the fabric of society! Even when you fight someone, you are bound to see that this person recovers. You look after each other, even those you quarrel with.

“If a man strikes his male servant or his female servant with a staff so that he or she dies as a result of the blow, he will surely be punished.” (Exodus 21:20, NET).

This command again abolishes slavery and its abuses. No one is allowed to beat another to death. If someone works for you, they are not your property. They are humans, like you.

In nearly every other ancient civilization, elites had all the power. A master could do whatever they desired to a slave.

Except in Israel.

God explicitly prevents abuse. Every human deserves life and dignity — both the servant and their boss.

But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money. (Exodus 21:21–21, ESV)

This one sounds horrid. It’s entirely the fault of a bad translation.

The word for “survives” — ya’a’mod — literally means “to get up, to stand on two feet.” It depicts a full recovery — the servant is no longer suffering their injury but is back on their feet.

If you place this understanding in the sentence above, it changes the entire meaning. Or better said: it recovers the original meaning. You end up with this:

“But if the servant recovers within a day or two, then the master shall not be punished.” (Exodus 21:21)

In other words: the only way the master avoids being punished is when the wound is so slight that the servant fully recovers after a day or two. I’ve stubbed my toe and it hasn’t recovered for half a week. This threshold is incredibly small, emphasizing the point: you do not beat your servants or you will be punished.

But then we have the last phrase of the verse:

“for the slave is his money.” (Exodus 21:21–21, ESV)

To be clear: the word for “slave” in these two verses should be translated “servant.” It never conveys what we think of in English by the term “slave.” It refers to a hired worker, someone who works for an employer, but retains their individual rights, liberty, power, and freedom.

This chapter makes that abundantly clear. Any abuse of a person, or any attempted ownership of a person, is met with severe punishment.

Then comes the kill-shot.

By calling the servant “his money,” the law reminds the master that he is hurting himself.

This law is honest about human nature: owners might view employees based on the money they can generate, rather than seeing them as individuals. So the law addresses owners where it hurts: if you abuse your workers and they can’t work for you, you’re wounding yourself as well as them. While they’re losing health, you’re losing money. Thus, even if you’re a cold-hearted owner who only cares about profits, that should still motivate you to treat your workers as well as possible.