What does the Bible say about female slaves?
Exodus 21:7-11 And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do. (8) If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her. (9) And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters. (10) If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish. (11) And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.
Why would a father sell his daughter to another for a wife?
What's going on here? It's clear from the Bible that parents are to love on their children. They are to raise them up right and parents are not to be cruel to their children.
Some parents sold their children because they were impoverished and had no other choice. Keep in mind, if the a man's daughter is sold to another man who will marry her to his son, that man was to treat her as if she was his own daughter. This was not an oppressive form of slavery. It was as if she was being adopted into a rich family and married to a young wealthy man. This wasn't all that bad.
If the daughter was married to the master, she was to be his wife. She was not to be treated as a slave. He was to love her and take care of her. Again, this wasn't that bad.
If the master mistreats his wife, she is set free. This verse was not inserted here in this passage to give the master the rig |
