Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1861-01-24
For the Yorkville Enquirer.

For the Yorkvile Enquirer
ARGUMENTS FOR SLAVERY.
THE pATRIARcHs WERE SHAREHOLDERS.
THE MOSAIC INSTITUTES AND TEN COM
MANDMENTs RECOGNIZE IT; AND 1T
CAN BE TRACED DOWN TO THE CLOSE OF
THE OLD TESTAMENT CANON.
Q. In resuming the Biblical argument,
weadyance to the position that Slavery can
be traced IN the history Of the Patriarchs
Two hundred years after the food, we
find it appearing in the time of Job, whom
we presume to have lived about this date.
See Job l :3, IS, 16, II; 3:l9; 10: :l6;
31:13. Let it be remembered that this
first historic stakeholder is pronounced, In
inspired language, to be "man that was
perfect and upright, and one that feared
God and eschewed evil" and yet he held
his fellow men in bondage. Every Bible
reader knows that Abraham, the father Of
the faithful, was the owner of large num-
Der of slaves.
See Gen. 1895, which exhibits both him
and Lot as having "gotten (by purchase)
souls in Haran." In Gen. IA: IA and II ::
l2, :13, %, 27, the slaves of Abraham are
also mentioned, and divided into those
"born in his house" and those "bought with
his money of the stranger" They are re-
ferred to again in Gen. 20: :14-716 and "a ::
81. Thus this faithful Patriarch not only
owned slaves, but must have had an i'm
mense number Of them, at least tUo hous-
and, and as is probable bequeathed these,
in part, to his son Isaac, who is also repre-
scented as bearing the same relation to
"great store of servants. %" See Gen. 20 ::
and 26: IL, ls, IA.
Jacob, also, had "men servants" or
slaves as the Hebrew word means, 'sand maid
servants" Gen. 30: 43 81: IA, Is l6; 80 !:
s. That slavery was also extensively prev
alent in this period, is evident from the sale
ofJoseph to the Ishmaelites. Gen. 81 26,
27; and from the proposition made by the
sons Of Jacob to be "bondsmen" and by the
Egyptians, to sell themselves to be slaves to
Pharaoh. Gen. A: 80; 47:19.
3. The Biblical argument, also, admits
expansion by a reference to the Mosaic In
stitutes and the laws not only authorizing,
but, also, regulating slavery among the
Jews.
The recognition of the relation of mas
ter and servant, appears in two of the Ten
Commandments, which were formally de
livered to Moses. See 4th and 10th Com
mands.
In the civil institutions of the Jews, pro-
vision was made for the operation of a reg
ular system of domestic Slavery, and under
these, slaves were of both Hebrew and
Heather birth. Those brought into servi-
tude, who were of Hebrew origin, are to be
distinguished from those procured from the
Heathen The Hebrew was liable to do
menial service, under variety of circum-
stances. u. The daughter could be sold
by the father. Exod. 21:7 b. Liberty
could be sold Oh account of poverty. Levitt.
$3.50. c. Debtors often became the SER
wants of their creditors. I'd Kings, Al ;
Mat. Is: 25 d. A thief became, in many
cases, the servant of him whom he robbed.
Exod. 22:3. c. If taken captive in war,
he could be reduced to slavery. I'd Chron.
1913. f. He who had been ransomed or
reoaptured from Heather, by Hebrew,
could be again sold as slave, to one of his
own nation. Levitt. rs: 48-53. But in
reference to these Hebrew servants, they
were all entitled to release from servitude,
at certain intervals, except in case where
they refused to accept liberty then they
were to be made servants for life. See
Exod. 81: 5, 6, and Deut. Is: II, in both
of which it is distinctly said, they are to be
"servants forever" The times Of manu-.
mission were, l. Every seventh year Ex.
21:2,6 In this event it is plain that the
man servant alone went out from bondage,
unless he was married at the time of his
z subjection to slavery, then his wife might,
also, be released with him but the chill
dren were never released on this occasion
The maid servant, also, sometimes enjoyed
this privilege, as is evident FROM Exod Il
Ill, but hers was an exceptional case
2. When material injury, as the loss o.
an eye or tooth, was suffered, the servant
(Hebrew) could claim his freedom. Exod
21:26, 27. 3. The year of Jubilee, every
fftieth year, brought liberty to euery SER
rant of He6reso blood; See Levitt 25 :3s
-43, 47-55.
In addition, however, to this class of ser
wants, who were of Jewish extraction, ano
hence, having their term of service subject
to limitation, there were authorized in the
Jewish code of laws, other slaves whose
term of service was perpetual. The law i:
lin Levitt. 25 :44-46. sBoth thy bond
men, and thy bondmaids which thou shall
have, shall be heather that are round about
you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and
bondmaids. Moreover of the strangers thai
do soiourn among you, of them shall ye
buy, and of their families that are with you
which they begat in your land; and the.
shall be your possession. And ye shall taxi
them as an inheritance for your children
after YOU, to inherit them for possession
they shall be your boudmen forever. =
JJpon this, which may be called the DlVln