Slavery – Proverbs 17:2

Joseph the son of Jacob was sold into slavery in Egypt and ended up in prison for a crime he did not commit.  But when he showed the ability to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, the Pharaoh recognized his wisdom and gave him authority in his land to oversee preparations for the coming famine.  A slave became a ruler.

A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully

and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers. (Proverbs 17:2, ESV)

Though it is true that the Law of Moses allowed for slavery it was a different view of slavery than that of our ancestors in the United States.  Jews could only have Hebrew slaves for 7 years before there was an opportunity for freedom.  If female slaves were taken as wives they had to have all the rights of wives and could not be made to have a sexual relationship without being given status as wives.  Perpetration of violence against slaves was forbidden.

In American slavery the African slave was viewed as less than human.  Violence was excused, as was any disrespect or sexual exploitation.  Families among slaves were not valued, only the sale or relative worth of individual slaves on the market.

In this proverb the possibility of a servant or slave becoming like one of the family would rarely have been possible in American slavery.  Wisdom was not valued by American slave owners in those beneath their station.  A son of owners who acted shamefully would still rule a slave who dealt wisely.  But that is not God’s perspective on human beings.  One’s beginnings in life could not overrule one’s commitment to Yahweh and following His ways, nor could it restrict what one could become in the society of those who followed Yahweh.