The treatment of captives and the cruelty inflicted upon enslaved individuals is a recurring theme in the Bible, reflecting both historical realities and moral teachings. The Scriptures provide numerous accounts and laws concerning the treatment of captives, often highlighting the tension between human sinfulness and divine justice.

Old Testament Context

In the Old Testament, the Israelites themselves experienced captivity and enslavement, most notably in Egypt. The book of Exodus recounts the harsh treatment they endured under Pharaoh, who subjected them to forced labor and cruel oppression. Exodus 1:13-14 states, "They worked the Israelites ruthlessly and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor, the Egyptians used them ruthlessly."

The Mosaic Law, given to theDeuteronomy 20:14
But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shall you take to yourself; and you shall eat the spoil of your enemies, which the LORD your God has given you.
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2 Kings 5:2
And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.
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Psalm 44:12
You sell your people for nothing, and do not increase your wealth by their price.
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Joel 3:6
The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have you sold to the Grecians, that you might remove them far from their border.
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The Armour of God
... enemies, he calls them"who enslaved and destroyed the ... women and children driven off
captive, villages burnt ... the vice, the misery, the cruelty, the idolatry of ...
/.../kingsley/discipline and other sermons/sermon xi the armour of god.htm

1 Cor. Iii. 15-Dec
... of all, not even men do these things in cruelty, but in ... is viler than all the vile,
when made captive by sin. ... as if a man were a king and enslaved to barbarians ...
/.../homilies on the epistles of paul to the corinthians/homily ix 1 cor iii.htm

A Treatise to Prove that no one Can Harm the Man who Does not ...
... to those who have been made captive, and those ... entirely abandoned to pleasure and
therefore enslaved to it ... that multitude of sufferings, and the cruelty of the ...
/.../chrysostom/on the priesthood/a treatise to prove that.htm

The Song of the Redeemed
... is taken from the mighty, and the captive is delivered ... Then the enslaved sinner,
like the man out of whom ... Jews who had treated him with the greatest cruelty. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/newton/messiah vol 2/sermon xlviii the song of.htm

Egypt
... and light-hearted, averse to cruelty, though subject ... conquered people took their
conquerors captive, and the ... brethren, the Israelites in Goshen, were enslaved. ...
/.../sayce/early israel and the surrounding nations/chapter v egypt.htm

Appeal to the Christian Women of the South
... not told that their children were enslaved Deuteronomy 20 ... Were the southern slaves
taken captive in war? ... of that master whose oppression and cruelty has driven ...
/.../an appeal to the christian women of the south/appeal to the christian women.htm

The Seventh Book
... and ruled the world, are being conquered and enslaved, now that ... learned when he entered
as a captive the same ... the Saxons savage in their cruelty but admirable ...
//christianbookshelf.org/salvian/on the government of god/the seventh book.htm

St. Gregory the Great.
... So began the Church's Rome.[174] Enslaved politically to ... once more, and Gregory,
a provincial captive in a ... with every possible deceit and cruelty fell to the ...
/.../allies/the formation of christendom volume vi/chapter v st gregory the.htm

Of Antichrist, and his Ruin: and of the Slaying the Witnesses.
... Thus gracious then was the king: He made a decree, That all they of the captive
Jews, their priests and levites, that would return to their own land, to build ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/of antichrist and his ruin .htm

The Holy War,
... treason, contention, discord, tyranny, and cruelty; with spoiling ... state, How she
was lost, took captive, made a ... yourselves, you are captivated and enslaved under ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the holy war.htm

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Captive: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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