Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1852-01-28
ron THE spEorAroR.
Letters to Northern UniOnists ON
the Scripture View of Slavery.
LETTER NO. 2.

ScrtpturdE SeHSS " VIC UOf1 SEh' AN
Noah's prophecy.-Slauery in The Jari
lies of .a5, aham, Isaac, jacob and Job
Joseph in Egypt.-Slavery permitted, ana
slaves declared property, by the Mosaic
zaw.--Prouisions of that law for the regu.
lation of slauery.-INe institution in the
times of Joshua, Samuel, David, Solomon,
Elish aand Ezra.
RESPECTED FRrENbs,-Of the great d.
versity of opinion, which exists with regard
TO the teachings of the Bible on the subject
of slavery, large portion is caused by the
different signifcations which are given to
the word servant. When applied to do
mestic, some understand it as meaning a
slaus; others hreing. Let us see if we
can ascertain its scriptural sense from its
usage. In some passages, servants are spo-
ken of as being bought and sold, Ex. IL: "A,
and 21: 2. They are transferred by gift,
Gen. 20: IA. They are mentioned in lists
of property, Gen. 70 Is, and "a: 80, and
90: 43. They are expressly declared to be
property, Elk. 21:.21. They are contrast
ed with hirelings, Lev. 25: 6. Deut. Is: 10;
spoken of as not being free, Ex. 21: 5; as
being enslaved or emancipated, Gen. A,
10 II, and Al: 25. Ex. 21: 2, 7, 26. 27,
Job. 8: 19. The name is applied to those
who are acknowledged to have been slaves,
Gen. 9: 26, 81, and 80: II, 19, and Al: 10.
Many more passages might be cited under
several of these heads. No sane person
can doubt that, in all these cases, the term
in question means SLAVE. Now / challenge
all the abolitionists to find single instance
in the Bible, in which there is any decisive
proof that the word means hired servant; /;
those passages excepted where the word
hired is prefxed. The texts then, to which
reference has been made, with others of a
similar character, may be considered as de-
Gliding that the simple word servant does
not, in Scripture, mean hirezing but that
when applied to domestics, 1t means s1aue.
Accordingly, our own great photographer,
Noah Webster says that it means ;-"In
Scripture, a slave bond-man." With re-
gard to the expressions "bond-servant,"
"bond-man," &c., il is not denied that they
designate slaves.
With this understanding of the terms
above mentioned, 4 proceed to give brief
outline of the Scripture view of Slavery
The subject is first brought to our notice in
Noahs prophecy, Gen. 8: 25-27. Slave
ry is here denounced upon Canaan as a
curse it cannot, then, in this case, be JUS
tilted on the ground of its being for the BEN
eft of the enslaved. Are Shem and Japheth
then robbers2 If so, then the blessing pro-
nounced upon them will amount to this -
"God shall bless Shem and Japheth, and en-
able them to become robbers, and shall be
with them in their robbery
Abraham is described as being very
great STAKEHOLDER, and at the same time, an
eminently holy man. God is said to have
given him slaves, together with other prop.
erty, and that as blesslngto him, Gen. "a
35. Isaac received similar blessing, and
became also great STAKEHOLDER, Gen. 26
1914. God had before promised to be with
him, and to bless him, v. 8; and he after
wards declares, 81 am with thee, and viii
bless thee" v. "a. Slave property formed
part of the possessions Of Jacob, Gen. 80
43, and 80: S. God blessed him repeatedly
and, on one occasion, said to him, GAS +:
prince hast thou power with God ;" that is
in prayer. Job possessed many slaves, Jol
l: Is, 16; and yet God says of HIM, "There
is none like him in the earth, perfect ant
upright man." Among all the charge.
which were brought against him, neithel
God, man nor the devil crlminated him as
STAKEHOLDER. No where in the Bible, is any
one of the patriarchs censured for slave
holding; nor is the least intimation any
where given that their slaves were hel6
merely for their own benefit.
Joseph, IN state of bondage, exhibits ;
remarkable example of fidelity. How DIFF
ferent the instruction of this example from
the counsels of those, who would teach tht
slave to run away from his master, if not II
murder him. "The Lord blessed the Egyp
tian's house for Joseph's sake;' and that
while he held Joseph as slave, Gen. SO
S, II, 19. Does the blessing of God res
upon robbery Joseph when made Gov
ernor of Egypt, bought the Egyptians a:
slaves for Pharao, Gen. Al: %. In the
course of time, the Israelites were enslavet
by the Egyptians and they suffered de-
gree of oppression unparalleled in the his
tory of the world: yet they were not com
manded to rise against their masters /; mol
were they even directed to leave them, un.
til after they had received from their mas
tiers an express permission to go.
When we come to the examination of the
Mosaic law, we find slavery twice recog
nized in the Decalogue itself. The law
gave an express permission to purchase
Slaves, to hold them as possession" anc
to bequeath them to children, to be theil
"bona-men forever" Lev. 25: 44-46. The
permission is as distinct as words can make
it. This passage explicitly declares slaves
to be property, possession" The same
declaration is made, possible, still more
explicitly, when it is said Of the servant il
relation to his master, che is his MONEY,
Ex. 21: 21. The right of property in tht
slave is, moreover, recognized by the provis
ion giving the master compensation for hi.
loss, Ex. 21: 80. All this ought surely t,
be considered sufficient to settle the vexet
question, whether man can have property
in man. Even Hebrews were allowed tt
be held in bondage for limited period, Elk
21: 2, and this limited bondage would be-
come, in certain circumstances, perpetual
excepting on the distressing condition of I
separation of the servant from his wife ant
children, VS.. SO. 1t is a remarkable fac
that Hebrews should be allowed to be en-
shaved at all for they were privileged
people: they could not be compelled to pay
interest on money borrowed, nor could thei
land be permanently alienated. The law
provided with special care for the purity O
the priests yet even they were permitted
to hold slaves, Lev. %: II. What wer,