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Slavery in New Testament times had shades of early American chattel slavery, modern sex trafficking, Old Testament debt bondage, and even apprenticeships and internships. Some slaves were kidnapped, and other slaves owned slaves of their own.
Christian slaves navigated the complex world of enslavement with their new faith. The most famous slave in the New Testament epistles is Onesimus, the slave of Philemon. In a short letter, Paul implores Philemon to receive Onesimus as “a beloved brother” (Phlm 16).
In contrast to the Old Testament, the New Testament's criteria for manumission encompasses Roman laws on slavery as opposed to the shmita system. Manumission within the Roman system largely depends on the mode of enslavement: slaves were often foreigners, prisoners of war, or those heavily indebted.
The normal word for "slave" in the New Testament is the term dou'lo", a term that in earlier centuries usually referred to one who sold himself into slavery; later on, it was used especially of those who became slaves as the spoils of war.
Even in the New Testament era, the Bible did not demand that every slave owner immediately emancipate his slaves. Rather, the apostles gave instructions to slaves and their owners on godly behavior within that social system. Masters were admonished on the proper treatment of their slaves.
The New Testament also gave slave-supporting Christians fuel for their argument. Jesus never expressed disapproval of the enslaving of human beings, and many statements attributed to him suggest a tacit acceptance or even approval of that inhuman institution.
In the time of the New Testament, there were three modes in which a slave could be manumitted by his or her master: a will could include a formal permission of manumission, a slave could be declared free during a census, or a slave and master could go before a provincial official.
In the New Testament, slaves guarded doors (Acts 12.13–14), managed their owners’ wealth (Matt 25.14–30), prepared feasts and more (Luke 15.23). Slaves, freed slaves and slave owners worshipped together in early church communities (1 Cor 7.21–23; 1 Tim 6.1–2; Philemon 15–16).
Multiple passages in the New Testament encourage slaves to respect or obey their masters. And from the list you can see it’s hardly once off: Ephesians 6:5-9; Colossians 3:22-25; 1 Timothy 6:1-2; Titus 2:9-10; 1 Peter 2:18-20; 1 Corinthians 7:20-24; as well as the entire book of Philemon.
Slavery in the New Testament: Literary, Social, and Moral Dimensions. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2006. In response to scholars who have treated New Testament interactions with or participation in slavery as benevolent, Harrill explores how New Testament literature participates in the elite literary culture and stereotyping of enslaved people.