20If a man strikes his manservant or maidservant with a rod, and the servant dies by his hand, he shall surely be punished. 21However, if the servant gets up after a day or two, the owner shall not be punished, since the servant is his property.
“The great advance on ancient thinking is that the slave is considered here as a person.” (Cole)
“The aim of this law was not to place the slave at the master’s mercy but to restrict the master’s power over him.” (Kaiser)
“Is literally ‘because he is his money.’ The point is not that men are mere chattel… but that the owner has an investment in this slave that he stands to lose either by death… or by emancipation.” (Kaiser)
While researching my family tree about my fourth great grandfather who fought in the American Revolutionary War, I had found a will and testament from his father in law. It listed all of his property and included in the property were several slaves. I believe all the property was liquidated. I don’t know if the slaves were set free or sold.
It was a good part of our history that under Abraham Lincoln, a slave changed from property to a free person but it would take almost a hundred years before they had equal rights under the law.
God set laws in place so judges knew how to make decisions with legal cases brought before them.
Paul in the Book of Philemon dealt with slavery.
Will you read it?
Blessings, David
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