Slavery in the New Testament

Introduction

In Ephesians 6, Paul gives instructions to children to obey their parents and to fathers to ring up their children in the instruction of the Lord. He followed this with instructions for slaves and masters. The Apostle instructs slaves to obey their earthly masters as they obey

Christ with fear, trembling, and a sincere heart (Eph 6:5). Paul closes out the instruction in this section by commanding masters to do the same to their slaves and stop threatening them because both the master and slave are under the authority of the true master in heaven (Eph 6:9). This research aims to examine the culture and period when Paul wrote Ephesians to assist in understanding his position; therefore, an exegetical study of the passage is outside this research's scope. Paul's view of slavery found in the book of Ephesians was revolutionary to the culture in which he made the address.

Background

Paul wrote this letter to the believers in Ephesus, a city that was the second-largest city in the Roman Empire. Paul was familiar with Ephesus and had connections in the city. On a missionary trip to Ephesus, he performed miracles, and many people came to know Jesus. The influx of new converts disrupted the idolatry-based economy (Acts 19). Scholars estimate that the population of the city of Rome was about one million, with 30 percent slaves.[1] John Stott says that the number of slaves in the entire Roman Empire was nearly 60,000,000. Slavery was so ingrained into the economic system that the slave system was unquestioned by most.[2] Stotts’ synopsis of slavery in the ancient world explains why Plato did not mention slavery in The Republic in his plan for the good life; the slave class existed, and everyone was familiar with it.[3]

In the Roman Empire, the elite owned the land and it was the source of their wealth. Consequently, they took advantage of slave labor to work the land and make higher profits. Scholars are not sure when slavery began. Though ancient historical records indicate that slavery has existed in some form in every significant culture of antiquity.[4] Ancient writings outside of Scripture shed light on the cultural acceptance of slavery prior to the establishment of the Church.

Aristotle believed that a slave was a living article of property, like a collection of tools, and that it was nature that destined one person to be a slave and another their master.[5] Modern western readers of Scripture might wonder why Paul did not write a harsh rebuke of slavery and call for its abolition. Assessing the social and cultural world the Church existed in during the early years is crucial to understanding Paul's approach to the issue of slavery found in Ephesians. Christianity was born into the civilization of the Roman Empire, a culture that was considered a "slavey society."[6] When Paul wrote Ephesians (Ad 93-6), the Church was experiencing persecution from the Romans. As a result, the believers had very little political influence.[7] The Apostles' influence was among the faith community, so Paul's letters were addressed to local churches and not to kings.

Ancient Slavery

Slavery in the ancient world was not the same as antebellum slavery in the south. In some ways, it was worse. Keith Bradley says that one of the hurdles in studying slavery in classical antiquity is that the recorded sources are written by people unsympathetic to the slave's concerns.[8] Hence, studying slavery in the ancient world requires examining what is not said about slavery as closely as what is said. In the ancient world, slavery was not based on race. The most common way one became a slave was through the conquest of war. Slaves had no rights, not even the right to marry.[9] This system was unlike that in the New World.

Because race was not the foundation of slavery in the ancient world, some people think that slavery was milder in the ancient world than it was in America, an ideology that Bradley says is a false concept.[10] When the Roman Empire came to power, slavery was ingrained into the culture and was part of the economic and legal system.[11] Joseph Super states that the Punic Wars and the conquer of the Mediterranean basin provided many slaves to Rome and secured the powerful place of slavery in the imperial period.[12]

Slave Work and Treatment

A person ended up in slavery in the ancient world by birth. The sale of children was due to poverty, voluntary submission, penal condemnation, or one’s capture in war.[13] The Roman Empire operated on the backs of slaves; they did all the work, from the menial and clerical to children's tutoring.[14] Bradley said that some slaves were highly skilled and performed jobs that would be considered professional in today's market. He says that this number would have been small considering the low literacy levels among the general population.[15] Even though slaves performed jobs that today would be considered professional, they did not have the same social status, socioeconomic status, or human rights that we commonly associate with professionals today.

As a result of the Roman Empire’s growth and conquering of new lands, there was always a fresh supply of slaves which removed the incentive for masters to ensure their slaves lived a long and prosperous life. Slave owners would beat their slaves and sometimes used branding instruments as tools of punishment.[16] The treatment of slaves improved during the imperial period through laws enacted by the emperors. Scholars credit the rise of Stoic philosophy, a belief in the spiritual bond of men and the belief that men were born free, for ending the cruelty to slaves.[17]

By the second century A.D., the government was allowing slaves manumission, and by the time of Augustus, it became increasingly common.[18] Slaves were able to purchase their freedom, go before a magistrate on the grounds of false enslavement, and some slaves were freed upon their master's death.[19] Bradley paints a different picture of manumission, stating that Roman slaves were not freed to the degree modern scholars assume. He says that considerable burdens were placed on a slave for their freedom, such as a slave woman named Arescusa who had to give birth to three children to her master before she was set free.[20]

New Testament Household Code

Ephesians 5:22-6:9 is a "Household Code," similar passages are in Col 3:18-4:1 and 1 Pet 2:13-3:7. Some scholars view the household codes in Scripture as the Apostles’ attempt to shield Christianity from societal suspicion that they were a threat to the Roman Empire.[21] Timothy Combs disagrees with this position based on Paul's harsh criticism of pagan culture (Eph 4:17). He says Ephesians is a manifesto for new believers on how they should live in the

Christian community.[22] Most people are familiar with the letter to Philemon, a Christian slave owner, to receive his runaway slave, Onesimus, and treat him like a brother. The house rules in Colossians and Ephesians come from the situation that Paul addressed with Philemon. Some manuscripts lack the word Ephesus in this letter suggesting that this could have been a circular letter.[23] Originally, the book of Colossians and Philemon would have been read together in Church while Philemon and Onesimus were present.[24] If the letter of Ephesians were circular, Philemon and Onesimus were part of the original intended audience that Paul addressed in the household code.

Currently, most New Testament scholars accept that Hellesnitic ideology influences Pauls's instructions in Ephesians 6.[25] Philo of Alexandria, the Hellenistic Jewish philosopher, views the fifth commandment as the foundation whereby subjects learn to obey their rulers. He says that parents are the superior class, such as seniors, rulers, benefactors, and masters, while children occupy the lower position with juniors, subjects, receivers or benefits, and slaves.[26] The traditional opinion is that Philo was indebted to Greek culture. However, Wold believes that recent evidence from the Qumran literature indicates that Philo may have been Judaizing Greek ideas rather than Hellenizing Jewish ideas.[27]

If Wold is correct, and Philo was Judaizing Hellenistic ideas on the family, it would explain his connection to the fifth commandment and Pauls's argument in Ephesians 6. YHWH's created order and the Mosaic law are the foundation for Paul's instructions about husbands and wives, children and parents (Gen 2:24, Exo 20:12). Opposite of Philo, Paul does not make the same connection to the created order when he speaks of slaves and masters (Eph 6:5-9). Unlike Aristotle, who could not imagine any friendship between a slave and master, the Apostle shows master and slave on the same level with YHWH's created order. The significance of this is that while Paul lived in a culture that accepts slavery, he made the best of the situation without placing YHWH's stamp of approval on the practice

Paul's View of Slavery

Martinsen says Ephesians 6:9 is the only text in the Scripture where the Apostle instructs masters to stop threatening their slaves. Since beatings commonly followed threatenings, this is the closest that Paul comes to the rejection of physical punishment against slaves.[28]

This writer believes that Martinsen should have taken Paul's letter to Philemon into consideration because the Apostle boldly rejects physical punishment against slaves in this text. Written to Philemon, for Onesimus's sake, Philemon's runaway slave, this letter is the most detailed outline of slavery in the N.T. Paul pleads for Onesimus and refers to him as his "child" and "beloved brother" (Philem 1:10, 16). Runaway slaves could be beaten, imprisoned, or made to do hard labor, but Paul did not want Philemon to mistreat Onesimus with a harsh response.[29] In this letter, Paul says that now Philemon and Onesimus were brothers under the authority of Christ. Paul does not ask Philemon to release Onesimus, but he demonstrates a master-slave relationship in the Christian community. Super believes that Paul stopped short of advocating for abolition because he was in no political position to make such a change. The first-century Christians were expecting the imminent return of Christ, making physical situations less important than spiritual ones.[30] S.M. Baugh says that it would have been irresponsible and imprudent for Paul to speak out against slavery and lead a Christian social revolution.[31]

Conclusion

Paul used his influence as an Apostle of Jesus Christ to call for changes in how Christians viewed and treated their slaves. The position Paul takes in Ephesians is revolutionary for the time because it places both the master and the slave on the same level under the authority of Christ. Paul was not writing to endorse slavery; instead, he described his culture and urged slaves and masters to apply Christian ethics to culturally accepted relationships. Baugh sums it up nicely when he says that Paul was tactful and wise in handling slavery. Giving slaves inheritance and citizenship in the Kingdom of God ultimately led to the demise of slavery.[32] Even though Paul did not call for the abolition of slavery, his command for masters to cease threatening slaves (Eph 6:9), along with his letter to Philemon, indicate that Paul was more progressive in his ideas than many give him credit.

[1]Thomas R. Hatina, “Rome and Its Provinces,” in The World of the New Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts, ed. Joel B. Green and Lee Martin McDonald (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 557. [2] John R. W. Stott, God’s New Society: The Message of Ephesians, The Bible Speaks Today

(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1979), 250 [3] John R. W. Stott, God’s New Society: The Message of Ephesians, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1979), 250. [4] Joseph Francis Super, "Slavery and Manumission in the Pre-Constantine Church," Eleutheria 2, no. 2 (2013a), 3. [5] Aristotle, Aristotle in 23 Volumes, Translated by H. Rackham., vol. 21 (Medford, MA: Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd., 1944). [6] Ibid. [7] John Muddiman, The Epistle to the Ephesians, Black’s New Testament Commentary (London: Continuum, 2001), 15. [8] Keith Bradley, "Engaging with Slavery," Biblical Interpretation 21, no. 4-5 (2013), 533. [9] Gordon D. Fee, "The Cultural Context of Ephesians 5:18-6:9," Priscilla Papers 31, no. 4 (2017), 4,. [10] Bradley, "Engaging with Slavery," , 533 [11] Super, "Slavery and Manumission in the Pre-Constantine Church," , 3 [12] Ibid. [13] Joseph Francis Super, "Slavery and Manumission in the Pre-Constantine Church," Eleutheria 2, no. 2 (2013b), 3. [14] Ibid. [15] K. R. (K Bradley, "Engaging with Slavery," Biblical Interpretation 21, no. 4-5 (2013), 533,. [16] Bradley, "Engaging with Slavery," , 533 [17] Super, "Slavery and Manumission in the Pre-Constantine Church," , 3 [18] Ibid. [19] Ibid. [20] Super, "Slavery and Manumission in the Pre-Constantine Church," , 3; Bradley, "Engaging with Slavery,", 533 [21] Mark J. Keown, "Paul's Vision of a New Masculinity (Eph 5:21-6:9)," Colloquium 48, no. 1 (2016), 47. [22] Keown, "Paul's Vision of a New Masculinity (Eph 5:21-6:9)," , 47; Timothy G. Gombis, "A Radically New Humanity: The Function of the Haustafel in Ephesians," Journal of the evangelical Theological Society 48, no. 2 (2005), 317. [23] Fee, "The Cultural Context of Ephesians 5:18-6:9," 4. [24] Ibid. [25] Ibid. [26] Philo, Philo, trans. F. H. Colson, G. H. Whitaker, and J. W. Earp, vol. 7, The Loeb Classical Library (London; England; Cambridge, MA: William Heinemann Ltd; Harvard University Press, 1929–1962), 89. [27] Benjamin G. Wold, "Family Ethics in 4QInstruction and the New Testament," Novum Testamentum 50, no. 3 (2008), 286. [28] Anders Martinsen, "Was there New Life for the Social Dead in Early Christian Communities?: An Ideological-Critical Interpretation of Slavery in the Household Codes," Journal of Early Christian History 2, no. 1 (2012), 55. [29] Super, "Slavery and Manumission in the Pre-Constantine Church,", 3 [30] Ibid. [31] S. M. Baugh, Ephesians: Evangelical Exegetical Commentary, ed. Wayne H. House, Hall W. Harris III, and Andrew W. Pitts, Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015), 513. [32] S. M. Baugh, Ephesians: Evangelical Exegetical Commentary, ed. Wayne H. House, Hall W. Harris III, and Andrew W. Pitts, Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015), 514.