The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1853-10-27

lShcu out neiner the morse nor the slave can
receive compensation for any barbarity he
may suffer. Nor can the owner Of either OBJ
tain redress for any injury done to bis property
that does not impair ats value in the market.
The most horrible outrage may be perperated
ON slave, whether man or woman, with legal
impunity, provided the slave il not thereby
rendered less valuable as a chattel
AS the children belong to the owner Of the
mother, and are themselves chattels, Slavery is
thus perpetuated from generation to genera
ton hence, Slavery lis not merely chsttelhood,
but 1t Is HEREDITARY cHArTELHooD-a defni-
ton applicable to no other form Of seivitude
INDEFINITE MEANING OF THE HEBREW
TERMS OF SERVITUDE.
The first difficulty encountered in the present
| examination arises from the indefinite meaning
OF the Hebrew terms Of servitude The Hebrew
was not copious language, and to us it is
rendered still more barren, from our possessing
no other Hebrew writings than those contained
in the Old Testament We fnd indeed, one
term which seems hee hom ambiguity. Sdktr
| expresses one who is hired to labor and is
properly rendered into English, hireling, and
| hired servant But there 10 another, and in
connection with our examination a very i'm
portant term, which is used IN the original in
very indefinite sense and with which great
liberties have been taken by Eaglish transla-
tors. The Hebrew verb, signifyDg "he labor
ed, may OF may not according to the context
indicate that the labor done was performed for
another. If done for another, then the Hebrew
means, and is rightly translated, he served
In the fourth commandment we are told, six
days shalt thou labor" 1t is obvious that the
version OF this injunction, "Six days shalt thou
al
than grotesque. The Hebrew verb of itself
| gives not the most distant hint whether the la
Dor pei formed is voluntary or compulsory, with
or without remuneration. From the form OF
the verb, "he labGed OF served" is derived
the participle, "laboring or serving" and the
substantive, 'laborer OK servant The first is
pronounced abad the second obed and the
third ebed The participle is often used sub
stantively; as, in English, We say, serving
man or u laboring man. This partleiple is a!so
used as proper name; and, when 80 used, H.
stead of beng translated, is, in our English
Bibles, transferred to the text, and in some
editions the meaning is given in the margin :;
as in Ruth iv, IL, We have Obed in the text
and in the margin, that il, .ervdntD Josephus
also tells US that obed is the Hebrew for SER
want Hence, in our subsequent remarks, we
shall for convenience use Obed for servant with
out stopping to inquire whether. in the particu.
lar text We are examining, the word is the
substantive or the substantive participle. 10
Ecclcsiastes v, IL, We have an example Of
the use Of the participle: The sleep of the
iabOring man is sweet" Non is here sup
piled by the translators. 1t would have sound
ed strange to be told that the sleep of a serving
man, or of a bondman, is sweet We zee in
this text and in that quoted from the fourth
commandment, that the primary Specification
of the verb and its cOgnates is labor There is
no word which, applied to man or woman, ex-
presses the chattel principle that is, there is
no Hebrew f,r Slaves
| Obed is used to express the various relations
of service, from the king on the throne to
domestic mental II IL even applied to the
Messiah. lisa. xiii, /. Rshoboaal, the king, il
called the obed Of the people. King, xii, T.
Jeroboam is said to have been SOlomon's ser.
want, and Joshus is called Moses's servant.
AZ already remarked, Obed lie used IN a
proper name. Ga the birth Of Ruth's son
"the women said unto Naomi, he shall be unte
thee a nourisher of thine old age and tn,
women her neighbors called his name Obed
Ruth iv, Is, II. Josephus tells us, "Naom
called him Obed, as beng to be brought up il
|
for obed, in the Hebrew dialect, signifies ser
Of Obed the son Ephlal; |, chap. ii, 81. Ant
of Obed the son of Shemai; |, chap. XVI
7. One of David's mighty men was Obed
chap. ri, AZ Another of the same is men
toned, ii, chap XIII, l. From the frequent us,
OF this word as a proper name and from it
being given to the son and heir of the wealth,
- 20. L. that IS IL. -.
was associated with it.
Obed has no feminine; but there are tw,
words in Hebrew which are applied exclusive
ly to female servants. If not synonymous, tn
difference in their Specification is now I'm
known. They are applied to the same women
and also to women who are known TO hav
been free. One of these words is rendered b,
our translators, at pleasure, maid servant, bond
maid, bondwomaD, maid, and handmade. IL i
applied to Hagar, to Bllhah, and by Ruth
Hannah, and Abigail the wife of Nabal, t.
themselves. The other word is also TRANSLATED
handmade, bondmaid, maiden, woman servant
and maid servant. 1t is applied to Hagar, Bill
hah and Zilpaa, and by Abigail to horselft
From what has now been said, it is yer,
certain that no evidence of the existence OF
Slavery among the Hebrews can be deduced
|
IL must be admitted, that if Slavery was
legally established among the Hebrews, it il
extraordinary that they should have had nc
word in their language designating human
chattel. Ii is not easy to understand how laws
can be enacted respecting slaves without ma.
ming them. Strange and startling would be
the consequences arising from the substitution
OF the word servants for that of slaves in the
American slave code Very many of the slave
holders themselves and multitudes of others
are in legal sense servants, being employed
in agencies of various kinds for a pecuniary
compensation.
| IL is true that in that concentration OF
American hypocrisy and wickedness "the Flu.
gitive Act" no mention is made Of siapes. In.
stead OF slaves, (the persons intendod) we have
fugitives from labor" and persons "beld To
service or labor" Already have we had con.
Trajectory Judicial decisions as to the applica-
ton Of the execrabe provisions of this act 10
absconding apprentices. There is nothing in
the act itself TO prevent man who contracts
TO labor for another certain time, and before
the term is expired travels into another State,
| from becoming victim 10 its barbarity. Mel.
Their the deceitful language Of this act, nor its
cruelty and INJUSTICE find any precedent in the
laws Of God
| ARBITRARY AND PREJUDTCED VERSION OF
HEBREW TERMS or SERViTUDE IN THE
ENGLISH BIBLE.
We have stated that the first difficulty en-
countered in the present examination arises
from the indefinite meaning Of the Hebrew
words applied TO servitude A second and per-
hsps more formidable difficulty, consists in the
arbitrary and preiudiced version Of those terms
in our English Bibles The popular idea Of
Hebrew servitude is Of course derived from
the version in common use When in our BIZ
bles terms are used descriptive of slaves, and
which arc never applied to freemen, superficial
readers take it for granted that the Hebrew
Vords thus rendered have tho same signifcs-
ton.
To md arata nd Aho Lias of mind nnder w HIGH