one flesh." What God has directly commanded, and what he merely suffers
men to do without imposing insuperable restraints upon them, are two
very different things.

It is asserted that the Mosaic Law makes a very great and decidedly
partial distinction between men-servants and maid-servants, greatly to
the disadvantage of the latter, particularly in their release from
servitude. These same texts--some of them, at least--have been quoted in
defense of African slavery. The term, selling a Jewish servant, in the
Scripture, is simply the same as binding out a child under English law.
A Jewish father could only "sell," or in other words bind out, his
daughter for six years, and that before she was of a suitable age to be
married.[J] At the expiration of six years her apprenticeship ceased,
and the maid-servant was free, unless she voluntarily perpetuated her
own servitude.

There were two classes of servants among the Jews. The first, those who
were taken from among themselves; the second, those obtained of the
strange nations by which they were surrounded, or who were taken captive
in battle. This second class of servants were called bondmen and
bondwomen. The former class were denominated servants. The practice
authorized by law, regarding those who were the lineal descendants of
Abraham, placed men and women in the very same relation to the master,
who was bound to reward them alike when the period of service should
terminate. This is evident from Deuteronomy xv, 12-17: "And if thy
brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve
thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from
thee. And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let
him go away empty: thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock,
and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the Lord thy God hath