Studies on Slavery, in Easy Lessons

Towards the close of the book of Deuteronomy, Moses, having delivered to the children of Israel such of the laws of the Almighty as were then deemed necessary for their government and guidance, proceeds to inform them of the consequences of disobedience; and boldly informs them, xxviii. 15, “But, if it shall come to pass if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments, and his statutes which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee and overtake thee. 16: Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. 17: Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. 18: Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 19: Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. 20: The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all thou settest thy hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly, because of the wickedness of thy doings whereby thou hast forsaken me.” “And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee. Thou shalt see it no more again, and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bond-men (לַֽעֲבָדִ֥יםlaʿăbādîm( for slaves), and bond-women, and no man shall buy you.” They should be so trifling and worthless that no one would wish to buy them. Josh. ix. 23–27: “Now, therefore, ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bond-men (עֶ֗בֶדʿebed slaves), and hewers of wood and drawers of water,” &c. “And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water, for the congregation, and for the altar of the Lord, even unto this day.”

Before closing this subject we offer a few more examples of the Hebrew use of this word. “Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? There be many servants (עֲבָדִ֔יםʿăbādîm slaves) now-a-days that break away every man from his master.” 1 Sam. xxv. 10. Nabal pretended in his drunkenness, that he might be a runaway slave. 1 Kings ii. 29, 40: “And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants (עֲבָדִיםʿăbādîmebedim, slaves) of Shimei ran away unto Achish, son of Maachah king of Gath; and they told Shimei, saying, Behold thy servants (עַבְדֶּךָʿabdekā slaves) be in Gath. And Shimei arose and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants (עֲבָדָיוʿăbādāyw slaves), and Shimei went and brought his servants (עֲבָדָ֖יוʿăbādāyw slaves) from Gath.” 1 Kings ix. 20, 21, and 22: “And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebuzites, which were not of the children of Israel, their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon these did Solomon levy a tribute of bond-service (עָבֶדʿābed obed, slavery) unto this day. But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bond-men,” (עָבֶדʿābed ebed, slaves.) 2 Chron. viii. 9: “But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no servants (לַֽעֲבָדִ֖יםlaʿăbādîm la ebedim, no slaves) for his work, (לִמְלַאכְתּ֑וֹlimlaʾktô his works, labours.) But they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and captains of his chariots and horsemen.” 2 Kings iv. 1: “Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant, my husband, is dead, and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord, and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bond-men,” (לַֽעֲבָדִ֖יםlaʿăbādîm la ebedim, for slaves.) In 1 Chron. xxvii. 26, this word is used in a sense quite analogous to slave-labour, thus: “And over them that did the work (meleketh, i.e. the particular work or labour) of the field for tillage (לַעֲבֹדַתlaʿăbōdat slave-labour) of the ground, was Ezra, the son of Chelub.” Job i. 2, 3: “And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five thousand yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great household.” The word “household” is here translated from וַֽעֲבֻדָּהwaʿăbuddâ a body of slaves, i. e. a large family of slaves. Job iii. 19: “The small and the great are there, and the servant (וְעֶבֶדwĕʿebed ve ebed, master.” Job xxxi. 13: “If I did despise (מִשְׁפַּטַmišpaṭa misjudge) the cause of my man-servant,” (עַֽבְדִּיʿabdî my slave.) Job xxxix. 9: “Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee?” (עָבְדֶךָʿābdekā be a slave to thee.) Ps. cxvi. 16: “O Lord, truly I am thy servant (עַבְדֶךָʿabdekā obedeka, slave); I am thy servant (עַבְדֶּךָʿabdekā slave), and the son of thy hand-maid (אֲמָתֶ֑ךָʾămātekā amatheka, female slave): thou hast loosed my bonds.” It is a little remarkable how similar is this sentiment of David to one expressed by St. Paul. Prov. xii. 9: “He that is despised and hath a servant (עֶבֶדʿebed ebed, slave) is better than he that honoureth himself and lacketh bread.” Prov. xvii. 2: “A wise servant (עֶבֶדʿebed ebed, slave), shall rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren.” Prov. xxx. 21, 22, 23: “For three things is the earth disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear: For a servant (עֶבֶדʿebed ebed, slave) when he reigneth (יִמְ֑לוֹךְyimlôk imlok), and a fool when he is filled with meat. For an odious woman when she is married, and a hand-maid (וְשִׁפְחָהwĕšipḥâ female slave) that is heir to her mistress.” Eccl. ii. 7. “I got me (קָנִ֨יתִיqānîtî kanithi, I purchased) servants (עֲבָדִ֣יםʿăbādîm male slaves) and maidens (וּשְׁפָח֔וֹתûšĕpāḥôt female slaves), and had servants born in my house.” Eccl. vii. 21: “Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken, lest thou hear thy servant (עַבְדְךָʿabdĕkā slave) curse thee.” Jer. ii. 14: “Is Israel a servant (הָעֶבֶדhāʿebed slave)? is he a home-born slave? why is he spoiled?” In the latter part of this quotation, the word עבדʿbd ebed is not expressed in Hebrew, but understood, as is often the case in English: yet King James’s translators did not hesitate to supply it in English with the word slave, giving indisputable proof of what they understood the word ebed to mean, and also, that they used the English word servant as a synonyme of the word slave. The omission to express the word עֻבֶדʿubed ebed in Hebrew, in this instance, has the effect to make the idea conveyed by the prophet more emphatic; and hence the translators seem to have felt the necessity of using the most forcible synonyme, in order that they might truly and beyond doubt convey the full import of the prophet’s meaning. Mal. i. 6: “A son honoureth his father, and a servant (וְעֶ֣בֶדwĕʿebed slave) his master.” This passage is a connecting link in a chain of reasoning, and the prophet continues thus: “If then I be a father, where is my honour? If I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?” As though they were astonished at the accusation! And this is the answer—7: “Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar.” A figure, to show that they had become wholly disobedient, and held in disregard the law of God. By their disobedience, they were degenerating from the condition of the son to that of the ebed. Instead of being influenced by love, they were about to be operated upon by fear, and hence the prophet continues, ii. 1: “And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings, yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. 3: Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces.” He would curse them with the hateful curse of Cain. And we beg to notice this scriptural glancing at the doctrine that a course of sin does produce some change upon the physical man,—some change of countenance, which is continued, degenerating and deteriorating the succeeding generations,—and ask, is not such a doctrine alluded to in Ezek. xviii. 2, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” And, again, in Ps. lviii. 2, 3: “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent.” Again, in Jer. vii. 19: “Do they provoke me to anger? saith the Lord. Do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?” And, in Isa. iii. 9: “The show of their countenance doth witness against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom. They hide it not. Wo unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.” Jer. xiii. 22: “If thou say in thy heart, wherefore have these things come upon me? for the greatness of thine iniquities are thy skirts discovered and thy heels made bare.” And ii. 22: “For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God.” We will not enter into the examination of this doctrine at present, but hasten to close our view of the Hebrew use of the word עבדʿbd ebed. In Joel iii. 2 (ii. 29th of the English text) is this remarkable passage: “And also upon the servants (הָֽעֲבָדִ֖יםhāʿăbādîm ha ebedim, the male slaves) and upon the hand-maids (הַשְּׁפָח֑וֹתhaššĕpāḥôt hashshephahoth, the female slaves) in those days will I pour out my Spirit.” This passage was translated at Jerusalem by St. Peter, into Greek. See Acts ii. 18: “And on my servants, and on my hand-maids (δουλους και επι τας δουλας), will I pour out in those days my Spirit,”—using those Greek words that most unconditionally mean a slave, and showing as effectually as language can show, and proving as distinctly as language can prove, that St. Peter well understood these words of Joel to mean male and female slaves. He translates the passage, referring to it, and quoting it. There can have been no mistake. Besides, the passage is rendered definite by its particularity; for the preceding sentence avers that his Spirit should be poured out “upon all flesh,” and goes on to particularize, “your sons” and “daughters,” “your old men,” “your young men,” and then in this passage includes the slaves, thus explaining whom he means by “all flesh.” It was on the day of Pentecost, when the disciples of Jesus Christ “were all with one accord in one place, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting; and there appeared upon them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.” Acts ii. 1, 2, 3.

Such were the circumstances under which this translation was made—just after the death of Jesus Christ. Circumstances more solemn, more imposing, more awful to the human mind cannot well be conceived. In the immediate presence of God the Father, and the Holy Ghost operating upon the mind of St. Peter!! Should any one, timorous, decline to believe men, or mortals, permit us, in the name of that Jehovah whose work we all are, to call their reflection on what may be the nature of that sin which contemns, denies, or treats as untruth the very language of the Holy Ghost.

The Hebrew noun ebed belongs to the declension of factitious, euphonic segholate nouns of two syllables, with the tone on the penult and a furtive vowel on the final:

Declined with the personal pronoun, thus:

Prefixed by a preposition, it will stand thus: בְּעבדbĕʿbd in, at, with, &c. a slave; or with לl thus, לְעבדlĕʿbd to, at, in, towards, till, until, &c. a slave; or, when the word עבדʿbd is used as a verb, it will stand in place of our infinitive mood, thus, לַֽעֲבֹ֨דlaʿăbōd to slave, as in Num. iv. 47. So this word עבדʿbd or any form of it may be prefixed by מm as a contraction of ןמnm, a preposition of various meanings or applications, as from, apart from, of, out of, by, &c. &c.; and so it may be prefixed by any of the letters הֶ֥אֱמַנְתִּ֖יheʾĕmantî forming the word heemanti, each prefixed letter giving to the root word some shade of meaning, emphasis, or adjective quality. So, also, it may be prefixed by כּk, used both as a preposition, and as a conjunction, thus, כִּעָבֶדkiʿābed as, so, according to, after, about, nearly, almost, &c. &c. a slave. Hebrew nouns may also be prefixed by particles of old obsolete words, varying their form, and exceedingly so their phonetic representation; as for example, שְׁלֹמֹהšĕlōmō Shelomah was the son and successor of King David. Now שׁš, as the particle of some ancient word, and followed by לl, becomes the sign of the possessive case; but when the word begins with these two letters, they then will be duplicated, as in Canticles iii. 7, מִטָתוֹ שֶׁלִּשְׁלֹמֹהmiṭātô šellišlōmō mittatho shellishlomoh, Solomon’s bed, &c.

Prepositions, sometimes two or more, are, or seem to be, compounded, yet used in the sense of the last in the compound, thus: מִןmin and עַלʿal used thus, מֵעַלmēʿal for עַלʿal, or לְמִןlĕmin for מִןmin, &c. &c.

The noun עֶבֶדʿebed ebed may also be prefixed by a conjunction, thus, וְעבדwĕʿbd and a slave, &c. &c.

It may also often be compounded with other nouns. Thus, עֹבַדְיָהוʿōbadyāhw the slave of God. In this manner the composition of significant terms, and their conversion into proper names, is unlimited: thus, עַבְדּוֹןʿabdôn the judgment, or government of a slave, and made the name of a city. See Josh. ii. 30; also 1 Chron. i. 59, the 74th of the English text; and hence the word abaddon has been used by some to signify a place of punishment. We can give but a mere sketch of the grammatical formations and variations of the word ebed; aware that even such sketch, can be considered of value only by a few, we refrain from even a glimpse of its phonetic variations and peculiarities, deeming them only interesting to the advanced and more critical of the proficients in the language; but we cannot refrain from giving a sketch of its declension as a verb, for the benefit of the Greek and Roman scholar.

Conjugation of the word עָבַדʿābad as a verb, to slave, &c.

The unusual conjugations sometimes found in the form of some Hebrew words, hothpaal, pilel, pulal, hithpalel, and the Arabic iq-talla, pealal, pilpel, and the Aramaen tiphel, and the Syriac shaphel, are not known to the writer to have an example in the Hebrew Scriptures in the word עבדʿbd, and are therefore not exemplified.

Paradigm of the verb עָבַדʿābad to slave, as a 1. guttural in Kal.

Paradigm of the verb עבדʿbd to slave, as a 1. guttural in Niphal.

Paradigm of the verb עבדʿbd to slave, as a 1. guttural in Pihel or piel, (poel, polel.)

Paradigm of the verb עבדʿbd to slave, as a 1. guttural in Puhal, (pual, poal, polal.)

Paradigm of the verb עבדʿbd to slave, as a 1. guttural in Hiphil.

Paradigm of the verb עבדʿbd to slave, as a 1. guttural in Hophal.