Tim Maas Supporter Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

The Bible indicates that, when the Israelites first settled in Egypt, they were treated well by the Egyptians because of the favor in which Jacob's son Joseph was held by the Pharaoh who was ruling Egypt, since Joseph had interpreted Pharaoh's dreams in order to allow Egypt to escape the famine that would be coming upon the land. This would explain the Israelites' ability to live in relative prosperity, which would account for their possession of houses.

However, with the passage of time, the Israelites greatly increased in number, and the Egyptians' memory of Joseph's benefit to Egypt faded. As a result, over hundreds of years, the Israelites (as non-Egyptians) came to be regarded by the Egyptians as a threat to them (Exodus 1), and they were subjected to very oppressive conditions, even to the point where a subsequent Pharaoh ordered newborn male Israelite babies to be killed. These conditions continued until God called Moses (who had avoided death as a baby through being found by Pharaoh's daughter and raised as part of Pharaoh's household) to lead the Israelites out of their bondage.

When God subsequently acted to free the Israelites, He afflicted the Egyptians (but not the section of Egypt in which the Israelites lived) with a series of increasingly severe plagues (including events such as locusts, hail, darkness, and turning the Nile River to blood), culminating in the death of the firstborn son in each Egyptian household. The terror caused by these events finally caused the Egyptians to plead with the Israelites to leave Egypt.

In connection with their departure, the Bible also says (Exodus 12:35-36) that the Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the Israelites, so that when the Israelites asked the Egyptians to give them their gold, silver, and clothing, the Egyptians gave the Israelites what they wanted, to the point of the Bible describing the Israelites as "plundering" the Egyptians.

December 20 2023 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Danny Hickman Supporter Believer in The Gospel Of Jesus Christ

No. In my opinion, the Israelites were not slaves as we "perceive that term to mean today." I don't think there was much about life 3500 years ago that this life reflects. Bondage is still bondage, however.

Israel came into bondage because "there arose a new king over Egypt who didn't know Joseph," (Israel's forebearer) who had helped the Egyptians get through a very difficult time. The new king feared that the Israelites would join Egypt's enemies and fight against them if war broke out; and that they (here it is) "might escape from the land." (Exodus 1)

That bit of information is almost always overlooked in that Scripture narrative (escape); the king didn't want them to decide to leave. It tells me that the Israelites were important to Egyptian life. Consequently, the king put them in bondage to make sure they continued to do the work they were currently doing. 

That's different from the way we think of people who are conquered, or even sold into bondage. Their status was considered and it was changed. One day they were foreigners living in a nation that was friendly to them, and the next they were thought to be potentially harmful to a well-functioning Egyptian society. It was their station that was down-graded. All because of a king who became paranoid. 

They were of great value to the Egyptians, whether they realized it or not. 

What changed? They'd been living there as free people; there's no mention of any problems that increased; it doesn't say that they began to intermarry or anything like that. It doesn't say that religious practices clashed between the people of God and the Egyptian people. So what changed?

The answer is within the question on the table: PERCEPTION 

The new king had a different perception of the Israelites than the kings before him. (That's all it takes.)

There's no excuse for any of us treating our "neighbor" in a way that we wouldn't want to be treated. (see Matthew 7:12) Again, bondage is BONDAGE! There is no 'good bondage and bad bondage,' or slavery that's better than another brand of slavery! (That idea is the reason I'm taking a few minutes to address this question; just in case that could be a thought that plays a role in this. That idea has been tossed around ever since slavery was abolished in Western society.) 

It was probably more scary to be put in shackles and loaded aboard a slaveship that sailed for 3 months to get to a faraway land, than it was to be taken by a neighboring enemy and enslaved locally; there are degrees of suffering! There's no question about that! 

How do we perceive slavery today? 

I believe that greatly depends on our life experiences. There are descendants of enslaved people who identify themselves as who they are because they descended from those people. And there are people who deny their inherited standing. Listen to this: They answered [Jesus], "We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone..." (John 8:33) wait.. what...? (Jesus was trying to tell them they were slaves to sin; but they didn't know that.)

The inverse of their statement to Jesus is often leveled at the African American community. (Here it is): 'No one alive today was ever enslaved, and no one alive today ever enslaved anyone.' (I've had that told to me on this site.) That's why I'm addressing this. There are probably African Americans who will say something like that; they have the same attitude that some of the Hebrews of Jesus' day had.

*Not me!*

It's all a matter of PERCEPTION!

17 hours ago • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report