the wars with the wicked and devoted Canaanites, but in any necessary war with foreign nations, in which Israel might afterwards be engaged. They were first to invite the city to peace, but if that were rejected, they were to attack it; and when the Lord their God should give them the victory over their enemies, the adult males were to be put to death, not in a spirit of cruelty and private resentment, but as an execution, commanded against such as were hardened rebels against God, and likely, if spared, to be a constant temptation to Israel. The women and children, together with the rest of the spoil, were to be taken by the Israelites and employed in their service. Dent. xx. 14. Slaves thus acquired appear to have been in a state of servitude for life, unless they were ransomed; and they might be sold by their captors.

Persons committing a theft, when they had not the power of making restitution, were enslaved for a period, not exceeding six years, and probably not exceeding the appointed restitution, according to the value of the property stolen. Exod. xxii. 2, 3.

Some were slaves by debt. It appears that the creditor of an insolvent debtor had power over the family as well as the person of the debtor, as far as the amount of his claims. The widow of the poor prophet complained to Elisha that, being unable to pay the debts of her deceased husband, the merciless creditor threatened to take her two sons for bondmen. 2 Kings iv. 1. In the time of Nehemiah, some of the Jews were very oppressive to their brethren, who, in time of dearth, had been constrained to become their debtors for the necessares of life; they took their sons and

The

daughters into bondage. Neh. v. 1—5. same severity appears to have been practised in the time of our Lord. In the parable of the unmerciful servant, the king is represented as calling on his servant for the payment of a large debt: "And forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made," Matt, xviii. 25.

Finally, slavery sometimes originated in birth. If a married Hebrew sold himself for a slave, in the seventh year he was to go out free, with his wife and children; but if a master gave to his slave one of his female slaves as a wife, in the seventh year he went out, but his wife and children remained as the property of the master. These children were termed "born in the house," or "home born," and the "sons" or children "of handmaids." Exod. xxi. 2—4; Gen. xiv. 14; xv. 3; xxi. 10; Ps. lxxxvi. 16; cxvi. 16.

N.B. Whenever slaves are spoken of as bought with money, we have every reason to conclude either that they sold themselves for debt, or that they were captives of war, passed from one owner to another. See Gen. xvii. 13, 23.

From the manner of acquiring slaves among the Jews, we pass on to their condition and treatment. They received both food and clothing, but whatever other property they acquired belonged to their lords; hence the slave is said to be worth double the value of a hired servant; and hence the master was admonished not to grudge his departure at the end of the sixth year; and, moreover, that he should not be sent away empty, but liberally furnished from the flock, the corn-floor, and the wine-press, to the increase of which his labour,

under the blessing of God, had contributed, and from which he might justly expect some contribution towards once more beginning the world for himself. Deut. xv. 12—18. The proportion to be bestowed on the liberated servant was not specified, but it was left to every one's conscience, in the sight of God, when all circumstances had been duly considered. This latitude would, to a generous mind, be a strong inducement to liberality, and a good master would delight in amply rewarding a diligent and faithful servant, and in witnessing his future prosperity.

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The head of the household was generally as a father in the midst of his family, not oppressing his slaves, or keeping them at a contemptuous distance, as beings of an inferior order, but considering their claims, defending their cause, promoting their comfort, and providing for their religious instruction. Slaves formed, by far, the greatest part of that household, respecting which it was said, to Abraham's commendation, "I know him, that he will command his children and household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment," Gen. xviii. 19. We do not know the date of the history of the patriarch Job, whether before or after Abraham; he, however, was evidently actuated by similar principles of humanity and religion. "If," said he, "I did despise the cause of my manservant, or my maid-servant, when they contended with me, what, then, shall I do, when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him ? Did not he that made me in the womb, make him? and did not one fashion us both in the womb?" Job xxxi. 13—15. Such considerations, it is to be feared, have had too little weight with

modern slave-masters. Under this mild and humane treatment slaves were attached and faithful to their masters, and might safely be trusted with arms in defence of their master, his property, or his friends. Gen. xiv. 14; xxxii. 6; xxxiii. 1. The chief employment of slaves was in agriculture, husbandry, and other rural affairs, especially in earlier times, when the principal wealth of the patriarchs consisted in flocks, herds, camels, asses, &c., and their chief business in tending them. They were sometimes thought worthy to be trusted with very important business, and with the fulfilment of the most sacred wishes of a departed master (see Gen. xxiv.); and, in case the master dying without children, it was not uncommon to bestow a part, or the whole of his property, on faithful servants, Gen. xv. 2; or, in case of there being no sons in the family, the daughters were sometimes given in marriage to those who had been the slaves of the father. 1 Chron. ii. 34, 35.*

Among the special laws given to regulate the condition of slaves among the Jews, we find, (1.) That the Israelites were to treat them with humanity and kindness, whether they were of

* Similar practices have prevailed among the Eastern nations up to the present time. In Barbary, rich people, when childless, have been known to purchase young slaves, to educate them in their own faith, and sometimes to adopt them for their own children. The greatest men in the Ottoman empire were originally slaves brought up in the seraglio, and the Mameluke sovereigns of Egypt were originally slaves. This plan seems to have been adopted, in order that the officers of government might be without family connexions and influence. Thus, the advancement of Joseph in Egypt, and of Daniel in Babylon, both Hebrew slaves, corresponds with the modern usages of the East.

their brethren, who had sold themselves for debt or restitution, or foreigners whom they had purchased, (most probably, at first, captives in war,) Lev. xxv. 39—46. (2.) If a master struck his slave with a rod or staff, so as to occasion immediate death, he was to be punished by the magistrate; but if the servant survived a day or two, and then died, the master was acquitted of any intention to murder, and the loss of the slave was deemed a sufficient punishment, Exod. xxi. 20, 21. (3.) A slave who lost an eye, or a tooth, or other member, by a blow from the master, thereby gained his or her liberty, Exod. xxi. 26, 27. Under this law, interest, as well as humanity, would restrain a master from any act of violence toward his servant. (4.) All slaves were to rest from their labours on the sabbath, and on the great festivals, Exod. xx. 10; Deut. v. 14. (5.) Slaves were to be invited to partake with their masters of certain sacred feasts, viz., the Feast of the Second Tithes, and the Feast of Weeks, Deut. xii. 18; xvi. 9—12. These were feasts of gratitude and rejoicing for the ingathering the fruits of the earth, and other bounties of Providence, with which God had blessed his people. There was, therefore, a peculiar propriety in permitting the servants, who had shared the toils of sowing and reaping, to share also the pleasures of harvest home. (6.) In their conduct towards a female slave,—if a captive was taken in war, whom the captor admired, and desired to possess as his wife, he must not immediately marry her, but keep her in his house a full month, in order to give time for consideration, and for observing her temper and disposition, as well as trying the constancy of his attachment; after