Behind these two references to slavery lie two distinct Hebrew terms. The first outlines the option a man of Israel could follow if he found himself too deeply in debt. The Lord had decreed that such a man could sell
himself to his creditor to pay off his debt through his labour (Leviticus 25:35–46). Such a slave
was to be set free after a maximum of seven years of labour. While enslaved in this manner, the master
was to respect and care well for his enslaved
brother. Clearly, this slavery
was a distinctly different social concept than what we historically associate with the term slavery.
The second term has overtones of sexual abuse (see Esther 7:8). That Jerusalem’s population used this term indicates that the daughters in question were vulnerable to a loss of respect for their integrity and personhood. In brief, these Jewish brothers
were demanding the right of access to their debtors’ daughters for their personal pleasure in lieu of physical payment.
5 Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.”