Abolition or Apologetics? R.Elhanan Samet on Slavery in the Torah

(20) And if a man smite his bondman, or his bondwoman, with a rod, and he die under his hand, he shall surely be punished. (21) Notwithstanding if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his money.

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(26) And if a man smite the eye of his bondman, or the eye of his bondwoman, and destroy it, he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake. (27) And if he smite out his bondman’s tooth, or his bondwoman’s tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake.

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(32) If the ox gore a bondman or a bondwoman, he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

(18) And if men contend, and one smite the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keep his bed; (19) if he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed. (20) And if a man smite his bondman, or his bondwoman, with a rod, and he die under his hand, he shall surely be punished. (21) Notwithstanding if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his money.

(30) And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S; it is holy unto the LORD. (31) And if a man will redeem aught of his tithe, he shall add unto it the fifth part thereof. (32) And all the tithe of the herd or the flock, whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.

....Our Sages explained (Bekhorot 58b) the process: The new animals are gathered into the pen and a small opening is made so as to prevent two animals from exiting at once. The mother animals were then placed outside, and they would call to their lambs who would then depart on their own volition. They were then counted under the rod up to ten, and the tenth would be marked in red and called, "this is the tithe."

(20) And if a man smite his bondman, or his bondwoman...

Is the text is referring to an Eved Canaani or an Eved Ivri? The verse says, "for he is his money," and just as he owns his money in perpetuity, so he owns this slave in perpetuity....

(1) ....The subject of our verse is a gentile slave. A Jewish servant, by contrast, not being the personal property of his master, is treated legally in all respects as if he were a hired hand, with the exception of his master (employer’s) right to give him a gentile slave as his wife.

The eye of his bondman. This is about an Eved Canaani. An Eved Ivri doesn't go free for a permanent injury to his tooth or eye...

He shall surely be punished. What is this punishment? When it says (Vayikra 26:25)

"And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute the vengeance of the covenant" we see that N.K.M. is by the sword

The same law applies if he kills a Jew or a Canaanit slave-- he is put to death. And if he killed un-intentionally, he goes into exile.

What is the difference between his own slave and a slave that belongs to another? He is allowed to hit his own slave. Therefore, if he hits him to kill him, and he survives at least 24 hours before dying, the owner does not deserve the death penalty because the slave is his property...

But if one hits a slave that belongs to another, even if the slave dies from the wound several days later, since he hit him with fatal force, he is put to death for this like he would be had he struck a free man.

One who strikes his slave with a knife, sword, stone, fist, etc. enough to kill him, and his slave died, the law of "one or two days" doesn't apply. Even if the slave died a full year later [he is still liable]. The Torah specified "With a rod," to give him permission to strike with a rod, staff, strap, etc. but not a murderous blow.

(22) And if men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart, and yet no harm follow, he shall be surely fined, according as the woman’s husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. (23) But if any harm follow, then thou shalt give life for life, (24) eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, (25) burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. (26) And if a man smite the eye of his bondman, or the eye of his bondwoman, and destroy it, he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake. (27) And if he smite out his bondman’s tooth, or his bondwoman’s tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake.

There are 24 major human body parts...fingers, hands, legs, ears, nose, the male sexual organ, and nipples....We learn that the loss of any of them would cause a slave to go free.

If he should smite. God commanded that the slave goes free on account of his eye or tooth so that his master won't be cruel to hit him vigorously. If he knocks out his eye, or even his tooth, the slave goes free and there is no reimbursement to the master.

(29) But if the ox was wont to gore in time past, and warning hath been given to its owner, and he hath not kept it in, but it hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death. (30) If there be laid on him a ransom, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatsoever is laid upon him. (31) Whether it have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him. (32) If the ox gore a bondman or a bondwoman, he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

Capital cases, by twenty-three....An ox to be stoned, by twenty-three, as it is written (Exodus 21:29) "the ox shall be stoned and its owner shall also be put to death," as is the death of the owner, so is the death of the ox.

(1) If a ransom be placed on him. This "if" is not conditional. It's the same as, "If you will lend." The verse means "when." This is his judgement from the court.

(2) He redeems his soul.

• R.Yishmael says, "The value of the injured."
• R.Akiva says, "...of the injurer."

How much is the ransom? According to how the judges measure the value of the decedent. He redeems his soul with that valuation. The price of a slave, whether he was large or small, male or female, is defined as the fixed sum of 30 sela'a....

Thirty Shekalim. This is a textual decree...

(1) And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: (2) Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When a man shall clearly utter a vow of persons unto the LORD, according to thy valuation, (3) then thy valuation shall be for the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary. (4) And if it be a female, then thy valuation shall be thirty shekels.

(1) כסף שלושים שקלים, equivalent to the monetary value set by the Torah on a woman in her prime (between 20-60). The comparison reflects the part of Torah legislation that must be observed both by Jewish women and gentile male slaves.

(11) And if it be any unclean beast, of which they may not bring an offering unto the LORD, then he shall set the beast before the priest. (12) And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad; as thou the priest valuest it, so shall it be. (13) But if he will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part thereof unto thy valuation. (14) And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto the LORD, then the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad; as the priest shall value it, so shall it stand.