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Debt slavery was not life-long. Leviticus 25:8 requires that slaves be freed on Jubilee years, which occur every 7 years. That's the origin of modern laws on
by alejohausner 3y ago
Debt slavery was not life-long. Leviticus 25:8 requires that slaves be freed on Jubilee years, which occur every 7 years. That's the origin of modern laws on discharging bankruptcy after 7 years (bankruptcy comes with a penalty, because you can't borrow easily if you default on your debts, so it puts you into a kind of slavery).
Jesus was the redeemer (one who buys off your debts) because he was going to cancel your moral debt of sin: the language of the gospels uses concepts familiar to his audience.
According to Graeber, the jubilee year was introduced by Nehemiah (who had just returned from exile in Babylon, where he learned about it) not out benevolence, but because too many slaves meant the state had too few taxpaying farmers.
- HideousKojima 3y ago>According to Graeber, the jubilee year was introduced by Nehemiah (who had just returned from exile in Babylon, where he learned about it) not out benevolence, but because too many slaves meant the state had too few taxpaying farmers. Given the paucity of surviving texts from that place and era, that sounds like a chain of unsupported assumptions worthy of an evo psych paper.
- alejohausner 3y agoHe's got several references at the back of his book "Debt", on the topic of the jubilee. But you have a point: there's lots of room for interpretation. Still, the idea just seemed too delicious to pass up: debt cancellation does not arise from benevolence but from fiscal necessity.