RT Article
T1 The Historical Role of Leviticus 25 in Naturalizing Anti-Black Racism
JF Religions
VO 12
IS 8
A1 Watts, James W. 1960-
LA English
YR 2021
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1772409243
AB Leviticus 25:39-46 describes a two-tier model of slavery that distinguishes Israelites from foreign slaves. It requires that Israelites be indentured only temporarily while foreigners can be enslaved as chattel (permanent property). This model resembles the distinction between White indentured slaves and Black chattel slaves in the American colonies. However, the biblical influence on these early modern practices has been obscured by the rarity of citations of Lev. 25:39-46 in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century sources about slavery. This article reviews the history of slavery from ancient Middle Eastern antiquity through the seventeenth century to show the unique degree to which early modern institutions resembled the biblical model. It then exposes widespread knowledge of Leviticus 25 in early modern political and economic debates. Demonstrating this awareness shows with high probability that colonial cultures presupposed the two-tier model of slavery in Leviticus 25:39-46 to naturalize and justify their different treatment of White indentured slaves and Black chattel slaves.
K1 Bible
K1 Blacks
K1 Leviticus 25
K1 Native Americans
K1 Whites
K1 chattel
K1 Colonialism
K1 indenture
K1 Racism
K1 Slavery
DO 10.3390/rel12080570