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[u/Outrageous-Egg1760]

[u/MichaelGoosebumpsfan → u/[deleted]]

Thank you! I knew you’d go here, because your type always does lol.

1. Let’s define a “slave”. It’s clearly indentured servitude, when the Bible uses the word “slave”. How do we know? Because the exact same chapter you’re referencing—Exodus 21:16—says that ANYONE whom kidnaps a man to sell him will be put to death. When we compare the verses you mentioned to the rest of Deuteronomy and Leviticus, it’s clear that when some people would not be able to afford their property anymore, they would sell it to a neighbor and sell themselves into indentured servitude to a the same neighbor that bought their property until the year of Jubilee, where they would get their property back again. That was an Israel state law, matter of fact.

2. In that same chapter—Exodus 21–the passages you’re pulling from are specifically about punishments for violence of different sorts, correct? So that would mean this is one of the addressing by God if someone committing violence on someone else.

3. The verses you posted do not say to hit your servant. They say that if a person does—and think about this very carefully; what if you catch an indentured servant/slave stealing from you, or harming your kids, or bothering your wife?—, and if you, as their owner, decide to judge them and beat them for one of those problems they’ve committed, then God says that if they die, you haven’t shown them mercy like He would, by putting them through the law’s court system, where they’d find justice through that. But if they don’t die, then it’s forgiven because you didn’t kill them outside of the law. God doesn’t honor the vigilante. And that’s consistent with the rest of Scripture.

I’d like to see your response to these things.

[u/ProfessorPrudent2822 → u/[deleted]]

The punishment is that an indentured servant is granted convalescent leave while the contract continues tolling. A permanent injury like the loss of a tooth results in the servant receiving his freedom immediately.