- There were such things as slaves the way we think of them, but they were few and far between.
- The Old Testament gives lots of advice on how masters were to treat Hebrew and non-Hebrew slaves (see Leviticus 25).
- Among the First Century Jews, slaves were more like indentured servants; sold themselves into slavery in order to satisfy a debt, or they were
- extremely poor. In which case, indentured servitude was “stepping up” in society.
- There is modern day slavery and sex trafficking taking place - many scholars say there are more slaves now than in any other period of history.
- But when we read 1 Timothy 6, we should not think of slaves who are forced into slavery, but people who voluntarily entered servitude to pay a debt or to improve their lot.