The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1853-11-10
WASHINGTON, ID. G..
For the National Era.
AN EXAMINATION OF THE MOSAIC LAWS
OF SERVITUDE.
BY WILLIAM JAI
FOREIGN DOMESTIC SERVANTS.
ICONTINTEn.l

The word stronger has in the Old Testament
various Specifications. In reference to the
priesthood, all Jews wero strangers, except the
descendants of Aaron. In reference 10 the
Jewish nation, all the rest Of mankind were
strangers In reference to the citizens of the
Jowish commonwealth such as were not o.
the seed Of Abraham were strangers. The for
eign domestics belonged to this class TIL,
warrant for their employment was the follow
ing
" Both thy b1ndmCn and thy bondmaidq
which thou shalt have shall be of the heather
that are round about you of them shall ye bu,
bOndmen and bondmaids. Moreover, of tn
children of the strangers that do sojourn among
you, of them shall ye buy, and of their fami
lies that arc with you, which they begat il
your land and they shall be your possession
And ye shall take them as an Inheritance TO
your children after you, to inherit them for
possession; they shall be your bondmen for
ever"-LeU XIV i4-46.
This is the only passage in the whole Penta
touch that refers to the purchase Of foreigr
servants Ii cannot be denied that this por
ton of Holy Writ, as thus presented to US b,
our English translator looks very much likt
the establishment not by divine permission, Blu
by divine command, Of q slave trade in corrupt
prof gate idolaters and rs this trade was
divine institution it WAS Of course intended foi
the comfort and cdi6catOn of Gods PEOPLE
True it H. these same Jews thus commanded IL
traffic in idOlaters were warned Of God filthy
brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or
thy daughter, or the wife Of thy bosom, or thy
friend which is az thine own soul entice thee
secretly, saying, let us 90 and serve other gods,
which thou hast not known thou nor thy
fathcrs-namey, Of the gods of the people
ichicb are round about hee-thOu shalt not con
sent unto him, neither shalt thine eye pity him,
neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou
conceal him but thou shalt surely kill him
thine hand shall be first upon him to put him
e. death, and afterwards the hand of all the
people And thou shalt stone him with stones
that he die"-Dcut xiii, SO
Yet most strange, Almighty God commands
that his people shall go among the leather |
and forcibly bring home and scatter through |
out the land mulutude3 of enticers to idolatry |
These same Jews to whom God said aye shall |
be holy unto me, for | the Lord am holy and
have seUered you from all other people, that yo
should be mine" were from generation to gen
GRAFTON to resort 10 slave markets in heather
nations and there purchase wretched worship-
pers Of stocks and stones 70 DO the inmates of
their families and the companions of their
children Nay more: slave markets were to be
opened in Israel, in which heathens were to
sell heathens for the convenience Of Gods fa-
vored people All this, although apparently
indicated by the passage quoted, seems too
monstrous and horrible to be true. Let us, then,
ocrutinize the PhraSeoiogy of the passage, and
see how far it represents the meaning of the
original
The purchase Of men and women as bond.
men and bondmGids according to the usual
acceptahOn OF these terms in our language, I'M
plies state of chattel slavery and if such an
understanding of tho passage be the correct
one, what has been said of the introduction Of
heathens and idolaters into Israel by divine
command is logical and irresistible deduc-
ton
The reader needs not by this time to be re-
minded that in the original nothing is to be
found of tOndmen and bOndmaids and that
these words have been substituted for men ser
wants and women servants by the translator.
and in compliance with their pro-slavery theo-
ry. But still, if these servants were bought.
wherein did they differ from chattels! Were
they not articles Of merchandise, The word
buy in the I4th verso, has been seized upon
with an arr OF great triumph by certain cham
pions OF American slavery, and has given some
trouble to ITS assailants Great pains have
been taken by the latter to prove that the He
brew has not necessarily the same meaning IA
the English word. The attempt il perfectly
successful, but at the same time superhuous
IL II indlSputable that the Hebrew worl here
rendered. buy also means, to get procure ac-
qulre. This very word is thus translated in |
our common version of the Bible Eve said, I" | |
have gotten man from the Lord Gen iv, l.
he that hcareth rcproOf gefteh understand
ing '-Prou XIV, 80. "Ho that getteh wisdom,
loyeth his own soul '-Prou xix, s &c. &c
Hence it IL commended, that of them shall We
buy ought to have been rendered "of them
shall yc get or obtain servants" Such YER
SION would have been correct, but the word |
buy Is better, as being moro definite, and show
ing how the servants were gotten.
Loglclans tell US that, in argument, we may
use what terms we please, provided wo clearly |
dchne their meaning, 20 that there may be no |
doubt IN what sense they are uscd We have
already scen that the words bun and sell m
applied TO servants in the Mosaic law, are clear.
ly used to express a pecuniary contract be- !
tween the employer and the servant The
servant Is SAID to sell himsclf-that il. his time
and labor; and the master buys them of the
servant by paying to him their price in al |
vance When masters arc authorized 10 bvv
their brethren, and their purchased brethren
are expressly declared to sell Themselves and it
Is shown that tho purchase money was paid
not To third person, but to the one who WA |
sold the word buy, used in tho Same connec.
tloh IN relation to other servants loses all am
bIgnty The text itself explains the sense in
which the term is used To buy Hebrew
servant IL to buy him Of himself: 10 buv a
stranger Tor servant, il to buy him of him
sell. 10 suppose that in the same cbanter and
while treating Of tho purchase of servant
Moses uses the word in a totally different sense
when applied to Hebrew and foreign servants
IS to suppose that from a fraudulent intent he
purposely rendered his law doubtful and unin.
telhg'ble We shall sec hereafter that tho
word could not have been used in two differ
eht ana opposite senses, and that the law in
regard to Hebrew and foreign servants was
one and the same
Both thy bondmen and thy bondmnd4,
Which thou shalt have, shall be of the heather
mat arc round about you" Our translators,
by the peculiar phraseology in which they
render tins passage, convey the idea that the
Jews were to have heather slaves, and none
Others. But their alleged slaves or bondmen
we have seen were servdnts and the insnua-
ton that the Jews could have none but hea-
then servants is most thoroughly refuted by all
the laws respecting Hebrsw servants. Hence
what here seems like q command TO have
heather servants only is in fact permission
70 have such in addition to Hebrew servants
But IN truth, this idea of giving the Jews hsa
ihen servants is u concct Of the translators and
leads the reader to imagine that heather
were to be subjected to servitude as a punish
ment Tor their idolatry. And 70 the slave wa,
TO DO Punished for worshlpping false gods by
beng transferred from n heathen to a Hebrew
master while the heather .ave.breedcrs and
traders were to be rewarded for their idolatr,
by sending the children Of Israel to their mar
kets as customers and thus enhancing the prc,
Of human flesh
The word heathen is gratuitously inserted b,
fha nE. II