06-21-2020, 01:32 PM
(06-21-2020, 12:12 PM)Benton Wrote: Because He also told masters to take care of their slaves.
Which, for context, slaves in that region/time period weren't treated like later colonial slaves. Slaves he's referencing (outside of female concubines) were more similar to our minimum wage workers. They were counted as part of a family for tax purposes and often working off an impossible debt while being taken care of. Having quality slaves was a status symbol. Injuring a slave was against the law, and killing one had significant penalties (which varied considering time periods, regions and interpretations). Not the same penalties as killing a free man, but that's pretty similar to our approach to how we handle the systemic poor here, too.
It was okay to beat their slaves as long as they didn’t die and were able to stand within a day or two because they were property.
When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod, and the slave dies under his abuse, the owner must be punished. However, if the slave can stand up after a day or two, the owner should not be punished because he is his [owner's] property. -Exodus 21:20-21
