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statutes are a continual protest against every attempt or occasion to degrade a freeman of God to the condition of a slave. The jealousy of Jehovah, for the liberties of his redeemed and enfranchised people, glows from almost every page of the Pentatuch; while towards heathen servants this sentiment, in the divine breast, takes the form of the tenderest and most anxious caution to his people, to remember, in their treatment of the Gentile slave, their own bitter Egyptian experience, and to let the gratitude of their hearts continually sweeten the cup of bondage, always bitter enough, even when commended to human lips by the merciful God himself.

The servitude of the Gentiles, however, as appears from verse 47, was also voluntary, for, in many cases, they were citizens and large property holders. And, mark, it is not of the heathen, but of the children of these thrifty foreigners, (46 cf. 47,) that the perpetual bondmen as an inheritance are spoken of. It has already been clearly pointed out that "forever" (46) means the Jubilee period; (Lev. xxv, 10, 40, 54, comp. with Ex. xxi, 6;) but as much stress is laid on this word in this connexion, a few remarks further on its meaning may be called for. In the present passage, "forever" may mean, either that the permission to employ Gentile servants was a perpetual grant, or that they were to be perpetual slaves. The language favors the former, but we shall not now enter upon that question, only remarking in passing, that if that is its meaning, then, of course, the word "forever" determines nothing as to the duration of the bondage. But if we take the accepted construction, using "forever" as a predicate of "bond-men," then the word is to be explained according to its affiliations in this passage. It is very well known how wide and various are its meanings. The word is generally translated forever, but eternity is seldom, if ever, its meaning. Limited periods of future time are its most frequent subjects. And in these connections, continuity rather than perpetuity is its regulative principle. Gesenius says it "is sometimes put for the whole period of life," and in proof cites Ex. xxi, 6; Deut. xv, 17; 1 Sam. xxvii, 12; Job xl, 28; xli, 4. But these citations are 25

VOL. XVIII.

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not pertinent, because Ex. xxi, 6, and Deut. xv, 17, comp. with Lev. xxv, 10, 40, 54, prove incontrovertibly that "forever" (1) means not the whole period of the slave's life, but the whole period till the jubilee. 1 Sam. xxvii, 12, and Job. xl, 28 (xli, 4,) are merely quotations of this phrase and must be so interpreted. That the phrase "servant forever (b) had a definite meaning, and one which became technical, appears from the fact, that in the passages cited from Deut., Sam. and Job, biy has the force of an adjective, and is so rendered by the LXX in Job douhos aivos-" a perpetual servant," i. e., till the Jubilee. There is only a single. passage: 1 Sam. i, 11, comp. with v. 22, where "forever" seems to mean "lifetime," and here, we get a better meaning, if we render "forever" permanent or abiding, because the mother would not take her child up to the tabernacle, till she could leave him there. But another reason against putting such a meaning on bi is that there was a common and idiomatic phrase to express the whole period of life. ("""" all the days of a man's life.) This is the approved expression in the Pentateuch. If it was designed in any case to make the service of a slave "life long," this was the proper phrase, but if it was intended to express its periodicity-(its duration and the point of cessation,)—then the uniform and universal analogy of the language required . The word has inherent capacity for such a meaning, as its relation to bb and b prove. But waiving all advantage that may be fairly drawn from these facts, let us bear in mind that "forever," as applied to Hebrew servants, had a technical meaning, before it was applied to Gentile servants, and we cannot resist the conviction that as such, whatever it designated, in the former case, it must designate in the latter. It was a legal expression, used logically, not rhetorically, and is to be interpreted as a legal, not a poetical phrase. As it meant, not endless, nor as long as the slave lived, when applied to the Hebrew servant, but till the Jubilee; so when affirmed of the heathen slave (Lev. xxv, 46) it must mean not endless servitude, nor bondage for a lifetime, but till the Jubilee. The morale of the Jubilee

demanded the release of Gentiles as well as Jews. It was the year of universal remission,* and as it was thus the symbol of the Gospel dispensation-as Christ, in preaching the acceptable year of the Lord, preached to Gentiles and Jews; so the symbolic perfection of the Jubilee required that all the inhabitants of the land, whether Jew or Gentile, bond or free, should be embraced in "the shadow of good things to come," not less than in the "very image of the things." If, however, it should be thought that the expression, "and ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you," (v. 46,) meant more than "forever," it may be replied, first, that grammatically they stand in opposition. And, secondly, that it is equivalent to the expression, "the stock of the stranger's family," (v. 47,) which clearly did not hold possession, beyond the year of Jubilee. (v. 54.)

The Septuagint translates both

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apeois remission, i. e. of debts, servants, sins, &c. Both terms seemed consecrated to so high a service, that they never fell to common uses. This is particularly true of 7. It is only employed by four authors, and two of these use it only once each. It is impossible to mistake its sacred and exalted assce ́ations. In Ex. xxx, 23, it is applied, not inadvertently, to the free flowing "myrrh of the holy annointing oil." Its use by Ex. xlvi, 17, reflects in a strong light the miserable character of the law of release; while Jer. xxxiv, 8, 15, 17, brings before the mind the solemn nature of this law of universal liberation. But it is in the figurative application of words, that their true glory shines outward by this test, 17 stands apart, and in the vocabulary of freedom, is without a peer, or a rival. Isaiah (lxi, 1,) selects it as the only fit word to set forth that glorious liberty "where with Christ shall make his people free." The Scripture dialect of freedom has many silver-tongued daughters, but none whose voice is as pleasant as the voice of this one. Its notes have sounded through the centuries, and in that prayer, which shall only cease when the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of God and of his Christ, this echo is heard, Matt. vi, 12-"forgive (åpcs) us,” &c. We do not feel at liberty to restrict this gracious word to the narrow compass of the Hebrew servant; we believe that its sound proclaimed liberty to the Gentile servant too. On the studded buckler, which Jehovah held over the liberties of his people, this was the thickest boss. And while it was intended first to defend the Jew, its protecting shadow also fell upon the Gentile, and for us to rule out the heathen slave from the blessings of this word, would be to reenact that bigotry of the Jews, which gave the Gentiles no portion in the Messiah-the great Liberator of the human family.

These, then, are the points of resemblance and difference between Jewish and Gentile servants. The regular period of service for a Hebrew slave was six years; for Gentile slaves, till the Jubilee. The Hebrew might sell himself and family, under exceptional circumstances, into bondage, for the long period, but not as a menial-with little choice as to toil or price; there was no such restraint imposed on heathen. But both classes became free in the Jubilee. Both classes were protected against violence, (Ex. xxi, 20,) both were emancipated, if maimed in the least member of their body. (Ex. xxi, 26-27.) If born in the house, or bought for the long term, (Gen. xvii, 12; Ex. xii, 43, 44,) the heathen became a citizen and church member, with all the franchises of a Hebrew. He could marry into his master's family and become an heir. (1 Chr. ii, 31.) In many particulars his circumstances and hopes were superior to those of the hireling or sojourner. (Gen. xvii, 12; Ex. xii, 43-48.) What circumcision effected for the males, marriage or adoption did for the females. (Ex. xxi, 7-11.) The whole tendency of the system, as it operated on heathen bondmen, was to make them Jews and freemen. In our sense of the word, a slave could not be found in all Canaan, and if he fled within its consecrated limits, he not only be came an honest freeman, but an honored guest, and cherubic words flashing defiance and death towards his pursuers, were his body guard. A slave-pen could not pollute the redeemed soil, and if such a monster as a slave dealer ever came near its hallowed precincts, it was to gaze into the sacred enclosure, as Satan lighting on "Niphate's top," glared into Eden.*

We are aware that some men's philanthropy leads them to denounce the very relation of master and servant, and to reject the Bible because it presumes so far to acknowledge this rela

* Deut. xxiii, 15, (16,) which is rendered, “deliver," does not give the right shade of meaning, it is too strong, and weakens the force of the law. The idea is that the fugitive shall not be held in durance, for recaption by his master. That durance, and not delivery, is the meaning of this statute, is evident, no less from the 16, (17,) verse than from other passages, where stands in similar connections; 1 Sam. xxiii, 7–20; Job xvi, 11.

tion as to regulate it. But it seems to us that the system of Hebrew servitude-aimed, as it was, against poverty, crime, and heathenism, and holding sacred the three cardinal rights of all men, right of property, right of marriage, and right of worshipnot only bears marks of divine supervision, but furnishes proofs, neither few nor weak, of even the inspiration of the Bible. The institution was reformatory, ameliorating, and civilizing. What we try to secure by many laws, and with but partial success, Hebrew servitude did simply and efficiently. Hebrew servitude put a poor man in bonds and honorable work ; we put him in the poor-house and dishonorable ease. Hebrew servitude made the debtor an apprentice to honest toil; we put him in jail to do nothing and perhaps become a felon. Hebrew servitude made the thief a useful member of society, by giving him work; we send him to the State's Prison, or a penal colony. And as for making safe citizens out of ignorant foreigners and degraded heathen, we doubt whether we have anything as good as Hebrew apprenticeship. As a naturalization process, it was immeasurably better than the Roman mode of recruiting the state; or even the English system of fortifying decaying royalty and nobility. Hebrew servitude was a divine plan to convert the pestilent, and virulent, and feculent masses into profitable members of society. It apprenticed the honest poor to honorable industry. It bound the criminal to remunerative and reformatory labor. It trained the heathen to virtue, freedom, and religion. The system of Hebrew servitude was like the periodic overflow of the Nile. What the Nile did for the agriculture of Egypt, that Hebrew servitude did for the commonwealth of Israel. In the river's annual rise, many proprietary marks were submerged, and temporarily obliterated; but when its waters again sought their accustomed channels, one by one the former landmarks rose to view, and gave back to each freeholder, not only his old patrimonial limits, but an increase of corn and wine-each worn out, and feeble acre smiling with a double yield. Like these turbid waters of the Nile, so the bitter waters of Hebrew servitude gradually stole over the lower strata of society, submerging for a season many

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