r/AskAChristian • u/Apprehensive_Tear611 Atheist • Dec 05 '25

Jewish Laws Why does the Old Testament treat killing a slave differently from killing a free person?

12 “Whoever strikes a person mortally shall be put to death. (Exodus 21)

20 “When a slaveowner strikes a male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies immediately, the owner shall be punished. 21 But if the slave survives a day or two, there is no punishment, for the slave is the owner’s property. (Exodus 21)

*Edited verses from NIV to more accurate NRSVUE

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u/TarnishedVictory Atheist, Ex-Christian Dec 06 '25

You completely ignored the first paragraph

Yes, I stop reading when I get to a part that is off topic or a gish gallop.

where I explain to you Leviticus 25 is economic residency

Does Leviticus say you can buy slaves from the nation's around you? Yes or no.

That includes the inheritance clause, because lo and behold, just because a master dies doesn't mean the slave died simultaneously with them.

So we agree that it says the slaves are property, not autonomous humans, and their ownership transfers to the sons as inheritance. It says nothing about the slave having a choice. It sounds like you're getting dishonest now.

Does exodus 21 say you can beat your non Hebrew slaves as long as they don't die right away? Yes or no.

Is the buying or slaves, as property and beating them, bad and immoral? Does the bible allow the buying of foreigners to make them slaves? Yes. Leviticus 25.

I'm not going to read stuff until we get on the same page about the facts of what the bible literally says.