One of the most devastating wounds from sinners in the church is that they can take a Scripture verse and misuse it. People can apply a verse to what they desire to teach. Unfortunately, in America and around the world, people have misapplied and misunderstood the word bondservant in the Bible. Today we will uncover what bondservant means and why it does not condone slavery.
What Did Bondservant Mean in the Bible?
Bondservant is not a word that I use in my daily vocabulary. In fact, other than studying the term in God’s word, I never use it. One of the greatest devastations to the unity of the body of Christ as a whole has been the sometimes intentional and sometimes unintentional segregating of the churches. Bible Study Tools Dictionary explains that the exact word bondservant only appears once in all of Scripture in Leviticus 25:39 and then a similar word, servant appears in John 8:34-35, 1 Corinthians 7:21, and Galatians 4:7. Bondservant translates `ebhedh, "a slave.”
As I have been studying the Hebrews word found in Leviticus 25:39 for bondservant, ‘ā·ḇeḏ, it only occurs six times. I find it interesting the two of the occurrences were in Genesis 44 when Joseph placed the silver cup in Benjamin’s sack to test his brothers. In the situation, someone “stole” from Joseph and so he took Benjamin as an ‘ā·ḇeḏ. This means that he would keep him until the debt was paid off.
This is very similar to what we are seeing throughout the people of God in the Bible who are using the idea of indentured servants. This is not to say that this method is supported by the Lord; however, we see it played out through the Scriptures where people made this decision because of a debt that was owed and needed to be paid off. I think of it almost like how my husband and I have a mortgage on our home. We are indebted to the bank and until we fully pay off our home; they are allowing us to live in the home and we pay it off little by little each month until we are free of needing them anymore. They do not abuse us or persecute us, but we are indebted to them.
Stephen Baker from Bible Study Tools shares “the Law regulated slavery; it did not obligate it.” He teaches that a slave was not owned for life, but rather like an indentured servant who worked for a time and then was set free on the seventh year. During the year of Jubilee, everything was reset, and bondservants were given freedom regardless of how long they had worked. This is where we see Leviticus 25 come into play. Stephen explains that often a person was a bondservant because of a debt that was not paid. He continues to teach us that the Bible never supports slavery. Exodus 21:16 teaches us that this is wrong and anyone who participated were to be put to death.
Is There a Difference between a Bondservant and Modern Slavery?
Slavery was part of the world culture in the ancient days. Unfortunately, the surrounding nations of Israel did not treat people with integrity like the bondservants in Israel were supposed to treat them while they were paying off debts. Think about Joseph and Moses in Egypt and the hard labor and oppression in which the people faced. This is never once condoned or supported by the Lord. In fact, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free (Galatians 5:1). We served the one true God who could have treated us like servants or slaves but adopted us into being children of God.
Whenever we read a verse, it is vital that we look at the context and the culture surrounding it. The Devil himself used Scripture verses while tempting Jesus in the wilderness. Sure, he quoted the Bible, but he misused the meaning. If we are not cautious, we too can easily take a verse out of the original meaning. Sadly, the misinterpretation of bondservant has been used in the church to divide and hurt others. Slavery is a sin; in God, there is no sin at all (1 John 3:5).
For example, Dr. Tony Evans shares in his book Let’s Get to Know Each Other about the issue that developed when people created the “The Curse of Ham Doctrine.” This started a myth of inferiority of sacralization. He shares that when you look at the entirety, Canaan was cursed, but not Ham. Only one of the four sons was cursed. The Curse of Ham is a common argument used by those trying to support slavery improperly with Scripture.
Slavery has to do with separation. However, in God’s kingdom, there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave, or free; we are all one because of Jesus (Galatians 3:28). All have sinned, all need a Savior, and all who call upon the name of Jesus will be saved. It is also important to remember that just because people in biblical history did something, does not mean that it was right. I think about how Solomon had hundreds of wives. He was a man of God, but his decisions were not approved by the Lord in this. Just because we see a Bible verse about him or even Jacob having two wives, we cannot argue that God wants us to be polygamists. In a similar way, when we read that some Israelites had bondservants, this does not mean that we ourselves should go get bondservants. We follow the example of Jesus, not the example of man.
Is the Bible Against Slavery?
Anything that is sin is against the ways of God. Slavery was not designed by the Lord, but by sinful people. Like Stephen Baker shared, the Bible never commands us to have slaves. I even think about the great exodus. Slavery is a place of captivity. The Israelites were trapped by the Egyptians and unable to be freed. However, our God came and delivered them. This is the type of oppressive slavery that comes to our minds.
Gavin Ortlund from The Gospel Coalition teaches that when we see the original Greek word in the New Testament references, doulos, our translation uses slave or bondservant, but most were not bondservants from birth. Gavin beautifully says, “Creation is essential to consider because it reveals God’s original intent for the human race. And the gospel is essential because it reveals the ultimate trajectory of God’s redemptive work.” He continues that Philemon is mentioned as having a slave named Onesimus. In Philemon 1:17 Paul tells Philemon to receive Onesimus as a brother.
Crosswalk Devotionals shares, “Slavery was a reality in the time of the early church but that doesn’t mean it was condoned by God.” This was a true way of life in the time of Paul. It was important to be addressed. We see places like Philemon where it is mentioned. The Bible is against slavery because the Author, the Lord is against slavery. God, Himself uses the term slaves in a negative sense. In Galatians 4 He teaches us that we were once slaves to sin and have been adopted into His family. He no longer calls us slaves, but He calls us His children. Verse 8 says when you did not know God you were slaves. The Lord of all separates Himself from the concept of slavery. This should speak volumes to us.
Why Is It Important Christians Know What a Bondservant Is?
We have all been enslaved and trapped by the enemy; however, Jesus has made a way for us to be redeemed back to our loving Father. 1 Corinthians 7:22 says, "For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise, he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ.” It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. To be a bondservant of Christ means that we are freed children of God who dedicate the rest of our time here on earth in His service to share His name for all that He has done. Jesus is anti-slavery. He saw us in our helpless estates and came down to pay our debt that we owed from our sin. However, instead of being unable to free ourselves, Christ set us free and we are no longer slaves to our sin.
When we think about the word bondservant in Leviticus 25, may it instead of discouraging us, point us to our own selves in our overwhelming debt of sin. May we remember that just like the Israelites had the year of Jubilee, that we had Jesus come and set us free.
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This article is part of our Christian Terms catalog, exploring words and phrases of Christian theology and history. Here are some of our most popular articles covering Christian terms to help your journey of knowledge and faith:
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