Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves. The theological foundation of the Israelite debt-slave regulations: the Israelites are my servants — God's servants — and therefore cannot be permanent slaves to other humans. The Exodus liberation that made Israel God's servants excluded them from permanent human slavery: you cannot permanently enslave those who belong to God. The covenant community's members are God's property, and God's ownership supersedes all human ownership claims.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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