Slavery in New Testament Times

This is a background piece of work I have done in preparation for a forthcoming sermon on Colossians 3:18-4:1.

Slavery probably originated about 10,000 years ago.  Slaves were often people who had been captured in war, or were criminals or people who could not pay their debts.

During the time of the great empires of Greece and Rome, slaves would have done most of the work.  They worked on the land, in mines, in handicraft industries, and as servants in the home.

It is estimated that around 400 BC slaves made up one third of the population of Athens, and that during the 1st century AD up to 90% of the inhabitants of the Roman Empire were slaves or of slave origin.

The treatment of slaves varied greatly.  Although many were treated kindly, as members of the extended family, only rarely could they marry, testify in court, or own property.  Those who worked in gangs in plantations or in mines worked long hours and were often treated harshly.

Aristotle referred to slaves as ‘human tools’.  Nevertheless, they were granted many rights.  They were virtually members of the extended family of their owners.  Although they could marry, their offspring became the property of their owner, and this led to the large number of slaves in the early Empire.  In the later phase of the Empire, many slaves were prisoners of war.

Slaves were able to accumulate money of their own.  This meant that they might be able to purchase their own freedom or, once set free, start their own business.

Educated slaves were prized.  Some were architects, physicians, administrators, philosophers, shopkeepers, cooks, artists, writers and teachers.  Others worked as farm workers or labourers for a daily wage, of which about two-thirds was paid to their owners.  They sometimes worked alongside both freed and freeborn workers.  Felix, was the imperial freedman of the emperor Claudius, and served as Roman procurator of Judea Acts 24:22-27.

Because slaves were found in all social strata, they did not have cohesiveness as a group and would have lacked class consciousness.

Many ancient slaveholding societies allowed for manumission (formal release from slavery), and owners often granted this in their will as a reward for loyal service.

There were large numbers of freed slaves during the 1st century AD.  These often entered in business partnerships with their former owners.  However, the majority of Roman slaves were never freed.

Spartacus had led a revolt of German slaves in 73 BC.  As a result, the Romans favoured slaves from the east. Those from the North and West were made to work in chain gangs, and were housed in unpleasant ‘work-houses’, the roofs of which were so low that the slaves were not able to stand upright.  It was the slaves from the East who trusted with responsible positions as household servants, teachers, accountants, and estate managers.  Many of these gained their freedom.

It is clear that there were many slaves and masters in the churches of NT times (cf. Philem; 1 Cor 7:21; Eph 6:5-9; Col 3:22-4:1; 1 Tim 6:1-2; also 1 Pet 2:18-21.  When a ‘household’ is referred to, this would have included the slaves, cf Rom 16:10-11; 1 Cor 1:11; 1 Cor 1:16; Acts 11:14).

The NT does not deal directly with the issue of the morality of slavery.  The nearest reference to this is 1 Cor 7:21.  See the comments on that verse.

Nowhere does the New Testament condemn slavery.  On the contrary, the slave is urged to be obedience to his master, Eph 6:5-8, Col 3:22-25.  We need to understand that slavery was not only widespread, but deeply ingrained.  For the early Christian leaders to call for the emancipation of slaves would have fallen on deaf ears, or, if not that, would have led to chaos.  We know how slaves in the western part of the Roman empire were treated after the revolt led by Spartacus.

On the other hand Paul deeply undermines the institution of slavery by matching his call for obedience on the part of the slave with a call for masters to do what is right and fair by their slaves, Col 4:1.  Moreover, a believing slave and his master are equal before God.  Both have Christ as their real master, and are brothers in Christ.

It is not surprising, then, to learn that many slaves were freed by the Christian masters in the 2nd century AD and following, and that the wholesale emancipation of slaves in later centuries was spearheaded by Christian leaders such as Wilberforce.

The theology of redemption borrows heavily from the imagery of slavery.  Redemption is the setting free of a slave.  Paul uses the imagery of slavery in his letters.  He calls himself a slave a Christ, and develops this idea in Rom 6:15-23.  The person is truly free who is a slave of Christ, for he is not only free from the tyranny of sin, but is also led by his master into a life that a good and true and right.  ‘In his service is perfect freedom’.

Dictionary of New Testament Background
Dictionary of Paul and his Letters
Hard Sayings of the Bible