Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1862-11-06

ognized, slavery as an institution Of the
Hebrew nation. If any doubts it let him
read the 2lst chapter of Exodus. the 25th
chapter of Leviticus, and the 18th chap.
ter of Deuteronomy.
The first six verses of the first, and the
verses from the twelfth to the eighteenth of
of the last recognize the right of He
brew to buy his own countrymen and hold
them in bondage six years. and presciibes
a mode by which with their own consent
they may be bondmen "forever." But
the establishment or recognition of per-
petual slavery as an institution of the
Hebrew Commonwealth is found in the
25th chapter Of Leviticus.
The leading objects of this chapter are
to establish the Sabbathical Year and the
Jubilee.
The first seven verses provide that eve
ry seventh shall be sabbath OF rest nuto
the land" Thou shalt neither SOW thy
field nor prune thy vineyard"
The sixth verse declares that "the sab
bath of the land shall be meat for you
for thee and thy Servdnt, and for thy maid
and for thy hirel servant. and for the
oNi"hSci tuot oOJOui Hctu Win tnco.
From the eighth verse, inclusive, to the
end of the chapter, the main subject is
the jubilee, re-occurring once in fifty
years, and its bearings on the various
interests of the Hebrew Common wealth.
The tenth is in the following words:
"And ye shall halow the fi(tieth year,
and proclaim liberty throughout all the
land unto all the inhabitants thereof; it
shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall
return every man unto his possession,
and ye shall return every man unto his
family.
This passage is often quoted as evi.
dence that slavery ceased among the He.
brews every fifty years, whereas, taking
the whole chapter together, it proves ex
actly the reverse. In the first place the
bond servant not a Hebrew. never had
possession to which he could return. In
the next place, the jubilee was an institu.
tion for the benefit of Hebrews only from
which the bond servant Of foreign blood
are expressly excluded. The Both to 43d
verses, inclusive read as follows
"And if thy brother that dwelleth by
thee be waxed poor, and be sold unto
thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve
as bond servant. But as hired ser
want and sojourner he shall be with
thee and shall serve thee until tho year
Of Jubilee
"And then shall he depart from thee
both he and his children with him, and
shall return unto his own family, and un.
to the possession of his fathers shall re
turn.
For they are my servants which |
brought forth out of the land of Egypt;
they shall not be sold as bondmen.
Thou shalt not rule over him with zig
or, but shalt fear thy God"
Then comes the 44th, 18th, and 10th,
verses, in the following words, viz;
"Both thy bondmen, and thy bond
maids, which thou shalt have, shall be of
the heather that are around about you
Of them shall ye buy bondmcn and bond
maids.
Moreover, of the children of the
strangers that do sojourn among you, of
them shall you buy, and their families
that are with you, which they begat in
your land : and they shall be your pos
session.
"And ye shall take them as an inhcri
tance for your children after you, to in
hcrit them for possession, they shall be
your bondmen forever: but over your
brethren, the children of Israel ye shall
not rule one over the another with rigor."
1t is impossible for language more
clearly to declare that, while, the Hebrew
inf 10 Ia nt . l,, e
jubilee, the bondmen and bondmaids, of
foreign blood might be held as "bond
men forever!'
If there were any room for doubt on
this subject, it would be solved by the
4th verse Of the 2lst chapter of Erodus,
in which it is proved that if the master
of the Hebrew servant "have given him
wife and she have borne him sons or
daughters, the wife and her children shall
be her masters, and hc shall go out by
himself" But if the husband and father
prefer remaining in scrvitudc with his
wife and children, it is provided, (vcrse G)
that "his master shall bring him unto
the judges; he shall also bring him unto
the door, or unto the door-post, and his
master shall bore his ear through with
an awl, and he shaN serve him forever."
1t hence appears that when master
has given his Hebrew servant wife, the
wife and children were not to be free with
tho hus band and father. who might if he
choose, remain a servant with them, not
to the year of jubilee only, Jm 'rorever"
n practical illustration of the meaning
of these provisions is found in the 3ilh
chapter of Jeremiah. 1t seems hat the
Jews had fallen into the practice of dis.
regarding the law and holding their He
brew brethren in bondage more than six
years. On beng required to comply with
the law they had done SO, and set their
Hebrew servants free. Afterward, how
ever. resumed control over them and
again reduced them to slavery. Forthis
violation of the law the prophet denounced
against them the most terrible judgements.
The crime, however did not consist in
holding Hebrew in bondage siz years or
the stranger forever but in holding the
Hebrew more than six years. The class
of servants TO which the crime was con
fined is explicitly stated in the 9th verse,
as follows. to.wit THAT every man
should let his man. servant, and evety man
his maid-servant, being an Hebrew or an