The Bible is full of verses that seem to condone slavery. But they don’t.

These verses are often used by people who want to justify the enslavement of other human beings. They believe that because the Bible condones it, so should they. However, this is not true.

The Bible does not condone slavery for one simple reason: Slavery was not a thing when these texts were written. The Bible was written over thousands of years by many different people from different cultures with different experiences and knowledge bases, so there are bound to be some things that don’t line up with our modern understanding of human rights and morality.

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For example, if you read through these verses carefully (and without cherry-picking), you’ll notice that nowhere does the Bible say “slaves” or “enslaved persons.” Instead, it uses terms like “servant” or “bond servant” to describe an enslaved person’s position in society—terms that were common at the time but have since become offensive and outdated.

Slave Verses in the Bible

Introduction

The Bible is a collection of sacred texts or scriptures that Jews and Christians consider to be a product of divine inspiration and a record of the relationship between God and humans. With estimated total sales of over 5 billion copies, it is widely considered to be the most influential and best-selling book of all time. As of the 2000s, it sells 100 million copies annually, and has been for centuries. It has estimated annual sales of 100 million copies.

Exodus 21:1-11

In the third verse, we see that if a man has sex with another man’s slave woman, both the man and the woman are to be punished. In other words, this is an example of how slaves were considered property in biblical times.

The fourth verse tells us that if a woman has sex with an animal, she must die. This is because animals cannot consent when it comes to having sex–so they’re seen as victims in this scenario. This verse seems rather harsh today because we now understand that animals are capable of feeling emotions such as love and affection just like humans do (though there could be other reasons why this particular law was put into place). The biblical writers believed however that women should not have relations with animals because they viewed them all equal: humans were higher than animals on their hierarchy system and so should not engage in activities that would lower themselves down on it—like having sex with an animal!

“Now these are the ordinances that you shall set before them. When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out alone. But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.”

If a man sells his daughter as a slave, she is not to go free as male slaves do. If she does not please him, he may allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he broke faith with her. If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, it must not be for more than three years; if she does not please him at the end of three years, then he shall let her go free from him without paying any recompense.”

Ephesians 6:5 – 9

“Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; not by way of eye-service, as men-pleasers; but as servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart. With good will render service and work in full assurance.” (Ephesians 6:5-9)

This passage emphasizes two important aspects of slavery: obedience and service. First and foremost, slaves were expected to submit themselves completely to their owner’s wishes. This verse makes clear that they were not merely tools or property owned by another person—they were actually people who had value as human beings created by God himself. The second aspect emphasized here is that this submission should be done “with fear” rather than “without any hesitation.” In other words, it was expected that a slave would obey his master even if he didn’t want or like what he was being asked to do because he knew it was necessary for him personally or for society at large.

“Slaves (doulos), obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man knowing that whatever good anyone does this he will receive back from the Lord whether he is a slave or free.”

In this section, Paul discusses the role of slaves. He begins by stating that “Slaves (doulos), obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart.” In other words, he is saying to treat them with respect–you are not their property and they are not your master; God alone has dominion over us all.

You should do everything you can to please them–there is nothing wrong with working hard for the person who owns you. However, we must remember that even though you are not their property and have no rights as such, it does not mean that they should mistreat or abuse you in any way whatsoever because if they do so then there is a consequence: “not by the way of eye-service…” What Paul means here is that we should never do anything simply because someone else tells us too but instead ask ourselves whether it’s what God would want us to do or not before following through on any action we may take.

1 Peter 2:18-21

1 Peter 2:18-21

Slaves are to be submissive and do their masters’ will as they would have their masters submit to God’s will. These slaves should not act in a malicious manner because they share in the benefit of the gospel, which is a free gift of grace that comes through Jesus Christ. They are not to talk back or make excuses for themselves, but rather, they should submit with all respect.