Biblical Contradiction: Slavery is acceptable or forbidden:

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Biblical Contradiction Explained: Slavery is acceptable or forbidden:

Slavery is acceptable:

So he said,

“Cursed be Canaan;
A servant of servants
He shall be to his brothers.”

Genesis 9:25

Then, too, it is out of the sons of the sojourners who live as aliens among you that you may gain acquisition, and out of their families who are with you, whom they will have produced in your land; they also may become your possession. You may even bequeath them to your sons after you, to receive as a possession; you can use them as permanent slaves. But in respect to your countrymen, the sons of Israel, you shall not rule with severity over one another.

Leviticus 25:45-46

Also I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a distant nation,” for the LORD has spoken.

Joel 3:8

Slavery is forbidden:

“He who kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his possession, shall surely be put to death.

Exodus 21:16

“You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 22:21

“Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?

Isaiah 58:6

Explanation:

We have to make a distinction between slavery and punishment. The ancient Israelites did not have maximum-security prisons in which to isolate a criminal. Generally, the punishment was either banishment or servitude. Biblically, servitude as a result of punishment or conquest is not condemned or forbidden.

However, this form of servitude cannot be considered slavery, at least in its traditional sense. The act of buying, selling or enslaving an individual exclusively for the purpose of servitude is forbidden within the Bible.