That the term forever, when used to denote the
continuance of their bondage is not to be taken in its absolute sense, is
evident from the very nature of the case. Neither these servants nor their
masters could abide forever by reason of death. Nor was the institution by
means of successive generations always to be perpetuated, inasmuch as the
entire frame work of the Hebrew government, which sanctioned it, has been
demolished for more that eighteen centuries; and will never be revived. The
term forever was used to distinguish, strongly, the stated continuance
of this servitude from that of the hired servants, which might be but for a day
or two; and also from that of the poor Hebrews, sold to their brethren for
debts, who could not be detained against their consent over six years. It is
very well known that while the Hebrew term alam (or gnolam,) forever, when applied to subjects
which do not necessarily require its limitation, denotes endless duration; it,
in other cases, may and does mean a duration continued for some term limited by
the nature of the subject to which it is applied, or otherwise fixed by the
connection in which it stands. It is used in this limited way in reference to
the duration of the material world, the continuance of a nation, and even the
time of an individual's natural life. It is said, Deut. 15:17, with respect to
the Hebrew who had served his term of six years and still chose to remain with
his master, “Thou shalt take an awl and [thrust] it through his ear, unto the
door, and he shall be thy servant forever.” That is as long as he lived, provided the occurrence of
the year of jubilee should not sooner set free both him and his family on whose
account he had chosen to remain, for it is universally admitted that all such
Hebrew servants were on those occasions released from their bonds. In the same
way do we understand the term when applied to the continuance of the servitude
of the foreigners. They were to continue in servitude as long as they lived unless
sooner set free by the return of the year of general release; which occurred
only at the termination of every half century. We have precisely the same
amount of evidence to prove that the foreign servants were all then to be set
free as we have that the Hebrew servants were, whose ears had been pierced with
awls. The proclamation of liberty as often as the jubilee returned was
universal. “Ye shall hallow the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout
the land to all the inhabitants thereof; it shall be a jubilee unto you and ye
shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto
his family.” Lev. 25:10. The only point here to be ascertained, in order to
determine whether the foreign servants as well as those of the Hebrew nation
were all to be set free on this joyful occasion, is this, Were they
comprehended in the phrase “all the inhabitants of the land?” Let Is look at
this point.
_______________
Continued from: Reverend
Silas McKeen to Thomas C. Stuart, August 20, 1839
SOURCE: Cyrus P. Grosvenor, Slavery vs. The Bible: A
Correspondence Between the General Conference of Maine, and the Presbytery of
Tombecbee, Mississippi, p. 57-9
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