The Three-Hundred-Third (Slavery)

This week, we’re going to continue in the same vein as last week when we touched on ownership and who we’re giving ownership of our thoughts and actions.  We mentioned slavery last week in the context of Paul’s writings, but we’re going to pull it all the way back to the beginning of scripture this time.  While it’s not surprising necessarily, it’s quite interesting where you can see this concept of spiritual slavery show up.

As should be obvious at this point in our studies, Paul didn’t come up with this concept of spiritual slavery, and its extension to physical slavery, on his own.  Everything…well, nearly everything Paul wrote, was written directly from the scriptures he had available to him at the time and that he had studied his whole life.  I say nearly everything because there were instances of Paul giving advice, I’ll call it, that he specifically said was from him and not YHWH (1 Corinthians 7:12-15).  

That’s not to say those particular words from Paul were not inspired.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  It just bears pointing out that he made it clear when the things he said could specifically be found in scripture and when they couldn’t.

Moving on to the interesting place find slavery in what we call the Old Testament today, it’s not where most believers would recognize.  The reason for this is because most of the time the words are not translated to ones we would associate with slavery today.  Yet, in the Hebrew language that Paul was familiar with, the concept is clearly there.

If I were to tell you to go back to the beginning of scripture and read the very first commandment YHWH gave to mankind (Genesis 1:28), would you find the concept of slavery in your translation?  Most translations include subduing the earth and ruling over the animals, so you might be able to get there if I told you that’s what you were looking for.  However, the Hebrew word translated to rule in this case is more related to a governmental idea, like a king.  

In this commandment, YHWH uses the word radah (Strong’s H7287) to command mankind to rule over the animals.  It’s mostly used in scripture to refer to dominion over something or someone.  Only on rare occasions is it used in conjunction with the idea of slavery, like when Isaiah wrote of Israel making captives of their captors and ruling over their oppressors (Isaiah 14:2).

The other Hebrew word in this commandment, kabash (Strong’s H3533), which YHWH uses to command mankind to subdue the earth, is more closely related to slavery.  When you look at the fourteen uses of this word in scripture, it’s used in both a positive sense and a negative sense to refer to bringing something or someone under control.  Other than this first mention in Genesis, it’s used to talk about King David subduing nations (2 Samuel 8:11) and rebuking Israel for re-enslaving those that had been freed (Jeremiah 34:11, 16), for example.

In other words, the first commandments YHWH gave to mankind included the commands to enslave the earth and rule over the animals like kings.  If that phrasing, “enslave the earth,” seems a bit too strong for your liking, let’s look at some other verses in scripture specifically related to working the earth.  If this idea is not consistent with the words used in those verses, we can modify the phrase appropriately.

What do we find in the first mention of a specific person being a grower of crops?  We see that between Cain and Abel, Cain was a “worker of the ground” (Genesis 4:2).  Some translations say he cultivated the ground, some say he was a tiller of the soil.  Either way, it’s clear he grew crops which he gave to YHWH in offering (Genesis 4:3).

Now, the Hebrew word that’s translated to “worker,” “cultivator,” or “tiller,” is not first mentioned in this verse.  Its first mention is actually back before mankind was expelled from Eden.  It is used in reference to man not yet being created to work the soil (Genesis 2:5), being created and placed in the garden to work the soil (Genesis 2:15), and subsequently, after sinning, being banished to work the soil outside of Eden (Genesis 3:23).  An interesting note on that last reference, by the way, is that the phrasing of that verse suggests that Adam was specifically created from soil that was outside Eden rather than the soil in Eden.

You might ask, why do all these references matter?  What is this Hebrew word that’s used in all these cases that makes them so important?  What if I were to tell you that it’s the same Hebrew word that’s used in Exodus to talk about the Israelites being worked by the Egyptians (Exodus 1:13)?

Yes, this same Hebrew word that refers to working the land to grow crops is the same one used to refer to the Egyptians working the Israelites as slaves in Egypt.  It’s the same word used by YHWH when prophesying to Abraham that his descendants would be oppressed in that land for 400 years (Genesis 15:13).  It’s the same word used when the Egyptians told the Israelites to keep working, now having to find their own straw to make bricks (Exodus 5:18).  It’s even the same word that’s translated to enslave or bondage when referencing the Israelites’ situation in Egypt (Exodus 6:5).

By now, I’m sure you can see that the phrase “enslave the earth,” is entirely consistent with one of the first commandments YHWH gave to mankind.  It’s not too strong of language to use for what YHWH intended man to do.  However, that is not where this Hebrew word stops in terms of its usage in scripture.  

What if I were to tell you that it’s the same word used to describe Jacob’s relationship with Laban as well (Genesis 29:18)?  Jacob agreed to work for Laban a total of fourteen years, initially for his daughter Rachel, but ultimately for both his daughters, Leah and Rachel (Genesis 29:28).  That sounds less like what we typically consider today as slavery or bondage, doesn’t it?

It may seem obvious, but it’s worth pointing out that the difference between these two situations, Jacob’s and the Israelites’, is the willingness of the person being subjugated.  In Jacob’s case, he willingly worked for Laban in exchange for marrying Laban’s daughters.  In the case of the Israelites, they were not willing participants in the work they were forced to do.

Here’s where the ideas suggested by today’s English trip people up.  Jacob was technically considered a bondservant, while the Israelites were considered slaves.  The reason we get tripped up today is because the words servant and slave are used interchangeably.  We also get tripped up because while we still have servants today, the general feeling about them is that you can’t call them that.  

A butler, for example, is a servant.  The individual agrees to work for a person or a family by doing various things around the house.  A maid is the same.  They both get paid for their services, and sometimes even get room and board, but you’re not supposed to call them servants because of the stigma around that word and its connection to slavery in peoples’ minds.  Rather, they’re simply called an employee of the person or family they work for.

A bondservant is slightly different in that the individual serving is doing so, for whatever reason, without pay.  In Jacob’s case, his ultimate goal was to marry Rachel, so he agreed to work without pay with the ultimate reward of having Rachel as his wife.  In other cases, an individual would voluntarily work for a person or family with the sole payment of being given room and board.  Perhaps they had personal circumstances where this was the best, or at least most achievable, way for them to survive in the world.

The reason we’re going over all this is because the Hebrew word we’re talking about here is also used in a context that believers today rarely recognize.  In the same account of Exodus where this word is used to talk about the Israelites being slaves in Egypt, it is also used by Moses when talking to Pharaoh.  He used it over and over again when asking Pharaoh to let the Israelites go so they can serve YHWH (Exodus 7:16, 8:1, 20, 9:1, 13, etc.).

This Hebrew word is abad (Strong’s H5647), and its usage doesn’t even stop there.  It’s the same word used for keeping YHWH’s feasts (Exodus 13:5).  It’s the same word used in the commandment against serving other gods (Exodus 20:5, 23:24).  It’s the same word used to warn that serving those other gods will result in sinning against YHWH (Exodus 23:33).

Are you picking up on what scripture, what YHWH Himself, is telling us?  If not, that’s ok.  Let me be more direct about it.  This Hebrew word is the same one used in conjunction with talking about worshipping the sun, the moon, and the stars (Deuteronomy 4:19).  The phrase is “do not bow down and serve them.”

The Hebrew word that’s usually translated to worship is shachah (Strong’s H7812), which actually just means to bow down, to prostrate.  These two words, shachah and abad, are used together multiple times to show that they are connected (Deuteronomy 5:9, 8:19, 1 Kings 9:9, 22:53, 2 Kings 21:21).  That which you bow down to, or worship, is that which you serve.  

Now that we understand all this, Paul’s language in his letters starts to become more clear.  We referenced Paul’s letter to the believers in Rome last week, and in that passage we see Paul contrasting slavery to sin with obedience to righteousness (Romans 6:16-23).  What is the underlying idea Paul is expressing in this passage that we just went over?    

The idea is that slavery to sin is an unwilling bondage, while obedience to righteousness is a willing service.  In other words, slavery to sin is like the Israelites in Egypt, but obedience to righteousness is a bond-service to YHWH, like Jacob to Laban.  As we saw in Genesis, abad was used for Jacob’s willing service to Laban, but it was also used in Exodus for the Israelites’ unwilling service to the Egyptians.  

The problem with today’s English is that we generally don’t distinguish between these two versions of slavery, yet they exist in scripture.  That’s why it’s hard for us to truly understand what Paul means when our version says that he calls himself a slave, or servant by some translations, to Yeshua (Romans 1:1).   The word there is the same one we called out last week, doulos (Strong’s G1401), and like we said last week, it’s used irrespective of voluntary or involuntary slaves.  

Today, as believers, we need to embrace being slaves to YHWH, just as Paul did.  It involves serving Him every day through our words, our thoughts, and actions, including following His commandments as they are commandments given by our Master.  However, this service is done voluntarily by us and He is a compassionate Master.  He will correct us if we stray, but if we show that our true heart’s desire is not to serve Him, He will allow us to leave and become involuntary slaves to sin (Romans 1:24).

Did I forget to mention another place abad is used in scripture?  In the commandment to do all your work in six days and rest on the seventh, abad is used for the word work, which is sometimes translated to labor (Exodus 20:8-10).  Who do you think YHWH is saying you are supposed to serve during those six days?  Choose to serve Him, today and every day for the rest of your life, and He will surely bless you (Deuteronomy 8:5-20).  

Have a great week!  Shabbat shalom and YHWH bless you!  

-Rob and Sara Gene

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The Gospel

We are born sinful as a result of Adam and Eve's sin (Genesis 2:17, 3:6, 1 John 1:8)

The consequence of sin, which is unavoidable through our own works, is death (Romans 6:23)

Yeshua, the Son of YHWH, lived sinless and was put to death (Hebrews 4:15)

His death, therefore, cleanses us of sin that would have required our death

(2 Corinthians 5:21)

He rose on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:4)

Because of His resurrection, we are confident in our future resurrection and eternal life

(1 Corinthians 15:17-18, John 3:16)