Links to Every Chapter in Exodus 21: How God Abolishes Slavery
More so than any other book I’ve written, this Exodus 21 book builds chapter to chapter.
In the way that Substack structures posts, it can be hard to go back to the beginning and find any given chapter you’re looking for.
To make it easy, I’ve put links to every existing chapter below. You can click on the first, and use the “Next” button at the bottom of the article to go to the next chapter. Or you can click to each chapter from this list.
The chapter links:
Let's Do This. Chapter 1 of the Book I've Avoided Writing: Slavery and the Bible.
When someone tells you they’re hurting — listen.
Why Dive into Slavery and the Bible? What's the Goal? Why Take This On?
As we’re making our way through this new book, I’m going to be writing a lot more of these introductory comments to each chapter. In previous books, the entire post could simply be the chapter. But in this case, we might a few extra words to catch people up, in case people are jumping in mid-way.
How God Outlaws Slavery in a Single Verse at the Start of the Old Testament Law
Chapter 3: God’s One-Sentence Abolition of Slavery
God's Third Law That Eliminates Slavery (And Closes Any Loopholes) (Leviticus 19:17-18)
When we talk about slavery, it’s impossible to ignore race.
Comparing the Bible to Other Ancient Law Codes Proves How Boldly God Outlaws Slavery
When people assume the Bible condones slavery, they often explain it by saying, “The Bible was a product of its time. It can’t be expected to outlaw slavery when no one at the time did.”
The Word Causing the Problems: “Slave” and “Servant” and the Word That Means Both
Chapter 7: The Word Causing the Confusion (Ebed)
The Term “Slavery” — and How the Bible Doesn’t Have A Word For it
Our next troublesome word is “slavery” — and the fact that the Hebrew language doesn’t have a word for it.
To Buy or to Gain? Does the Bible Allow You to Buy People — or Hire Them?
Throughout Exodus and the rest of the Law, many translations present passages like Exodus 21:2, “you may buy an ebed.”
Slave Master, Boss, or Lord? Untangling One Final Troublesome Word.
We have one final troublesome word to address before we dig into the richness of Exodus 21. That word is “master.”
God Grounded the Law in the Fear of the LORD — To Destroy All the Ways We Corrupt It
How do you describe evil?
“When you buy a slave…” (Ex 21:2). How does this fit with God abolishing slavery?
Israel stood in terror as God descended on Sinai. From the darkness clouding the mountain, God thundered out the Ten Commandments, echoed by lightning and earthquakes. His words resonated in their souls: “I brought you out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods besides Me
“The wife and her children shall be her master’s” (Exodus 21:3-4)
What happened to the family of an ebed?
"When a man sells his daughter as a slave..." Exodus 21:7-11 As One of the Worst-Translated Passages in History.
This particular passage, perhaps more than any other in this chapter, sounds horrid, at first glance.
God's Protections for Young Women in a Passage Everyone Claims as the Opposite
[This article is Part 2 of the chapter exploring Exodus 21:7-11. You can read Part 1 here.]
Does the Bible Allow Masters to Kill Slaves As Long as the Slave Lingers for Two Days? Critics Say Yes. I Say No.
When critics claim the Bible supports slavery, they’ll often whip out Exodus 21:21 as their proof positive, typically in an older translation:
Emphasizing the Value of Every Life: How God Ensures Every Life Counts Equally
What value does God place on a life?
How God Breaks the Back of Abuse
One of the vilest aspects of slavery is abuse — one person lording their power over another through violence.
How God Uses Ox Goring to Teach the Value of Every Life -- Even "Slaves"
Next, we come to a passage animal aggression, even to the point of death. It deals not only with who is responsible, but in how much human life is valued:
Foreigners, Objections, and Rebuttals
In Leviticus 25 — the chapter that critics say supports slavery — we find this:
The Most Contentious Passage on Slavery In the Entire Bible
And now, my dear reader, we come to the most contentious passage on slavery in the entire Bible. This passage, more than any other, gets thrown around as a slam-dunk argument against God, claiming that it is blanket permission to enslave foreigners.
Part 2: The Most Contentious Passage on Slavery in the Entire Bible
On Monday, we began marching through the most contentious passage in the Bible on slavery. Today we continue, as there’s a lot to unravel.