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BIBLE DISCUSSION THREAD 199997

Bible Discussion Thread

 
  • Jewelgh - 2 years ago
    I am on a study research praying god open's my understanding of the what transpired from the stories in bible especially from the old testament. i will need a lot of knowledge to compile and use for teaching one day when i come across people with stiff hearts and people with soft hearts. the purpose is to link whatever story that happened from genesis to the result of what we have today in other words "causes and effect". kindly help me !

    in todays world many people don't support slavery because of it consequencies. having the love that christ also showed us won't make us make another man or woman a slave to us even if we had the power to except by perversion.

    que 1. why was slavery normal in the bible?

    que 2. why was slavery perfectly fine in the bible?

    que 3. what are the etymology of bondservants, servants and slaves from the hebrew to english

    que 4. is que 3 use interchangebly or translated wrongly in the bible? because the slave word sound more harshly than servants.

    thank you.
  • T Levis - In Reply - 2 years ago
    I believe GOD hates slavery actually.

    Look a Jeremiah 34:14-20, Exodus 21:16,
  • Chris - In Reply - 2 years ago
    That's a big topic Jewelgh & hope you get other answers. I would first make a distinction between slavery & the slave trade. Slavery was acceptable in the Bible but trading in slaves was not ( Exodus 21:16): & punishable with death.

    1. Slavery was normal amongst the Hebrews because some people needed to survive because of their circumstances. Slaves could be taken from their own people or from outsiders. Hebrews could become slaves because of committing crime ( Exodus 22:3); having a debt they couldn't pay ( Leviticus 25:39,40), but treated as a hired servant; or a father's right to sell their children to pay off money borrowed for taxes ( Nehemiah 5:4,5). Foreigners could become slaves: either they were prisoners of war or purchased from their owners ( Leviticus 25:44,45).

    2. Slavery was fine because God had permitted it to happen ( Exodus 21:1-11), but under strict conditions (as shown in Leviticus chap 25). To note, that Hebrew slaves were to be treated kindly as one would a hired servant & not a slave ( Leviticus 25:39-43). What we know as slavery today (whether from the past or even happening now in some parts of the world), is both wrong & cruel, when they are treated like animals. So slavery then amongst the Hebrews, could be better understood as bondservants, as 'slavery' gives us a wrong connotation.

    3. The Hebrew word for slave or bondservant is 'ebed'. So, the meaning is the same, but how they were treated was important. In the NT, we can take 1 Corinthians 7:21,22 as an example. The word 'servant' is used thrice in these verses: as a servant to man & as a servant to the Lord. In both instances, the Greek word is 'doulos', where both slave, servant, bondservant can be used. This denotes the dedicated duty to service rather than bonded into agonizing slavery.

    4. As mentioned, 'slavery' has an evil connotation today & could never be a good thing when practised by ungodly men. But it can be a state of happy servitude where kindness & freedom is given.
  • Giannis - In Reply - 2 years ago
    Hello Chris, just a bit of help with the greek.

    "Doulos" in greek means "slave" and nothing else, there is no case that it could be interpreted as servant or bondservant.

    Servant in old greek is "diakonos", from this word the word "deacon" (a formal servant of the church) comes from.

    Jesus was a "slave" of God, Paul was a "slave" of Christ. I Know it sounds bad in English but not in Greek.

    A slave is somebody who is not a master of his own life. He can not have plans for his life. No ambitions either. He does what his master tells him to do and when he is told to do. Time and place do not belong to him. His activities, his life is always dependant on his master's will. So Lord Jesus wants his "slaves" to be like that. Jesus' slave is not everybody. When the NT use the word slave it specifically talks about people who are ministers or charismatics. These people if they want to have result in their work/ministry they should really become like slaves. Their lives should be always directed in every single aspect by Jesus. That is why the Bible uses the word slave. Servants are not like that. I don't remember now any other verse apart from John 12:26 where the word servant is used.

    But apart from servants and slaves, we are His friends, His brothers and sisters, And His Bride.

    GBU
  • Chris - In Reply - 2 years ago
    Thank you bro Giannis for the clarification on 'doulos'. The Gk Lexicon I use does show that 'slave/bond slave/bond servants' are used in the Bible, but it refers to Matthew 18:23,26 (also 'doulos') and it specifies that 'servant' can be used here instead of slave.

    It's possible the question could be asked, 'would a king actually loan or entrust money to a slave, considering the nature, cruelty & limitations that a slave is bound to?' Maybe, what you're saying is that even in this reference, it should be read as the 'king's slaves'. If that is the case, then I do apologize for an incorrect rendering of 'doulos' & hope that Jewelgh can take note of this & any further remark by yourself. Thank you for this clarification brother.



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