How did slaves live?
The socio-economic situation of ancient slaves was not necessarily all that bad: • Life would obviously be miserable for slaves doing hard labor in the mines or similar situations; • But life might be fairly comfortable for slaves of rich people, like senators, governors, or emperors (cf. Rom 16:23b; Phil 4:22). • Slaves could own money and other property, so that a slave might even own another slave! • Slaves might be given large amounts of authority by their masters (cf. Matt 18:23-35). • How long were they slaves? Ancient slavery was not always life-long; many would eventually be freed (cf. 1Cor 7:21-23): • Debt-slaves often had a limited time of service agreed upon with their masters. • Some slaves might be able to save enough money to buy their own freedom. • Masters might reward especially good slaves for their service by setting them free (cf. Phlm 13-16). • Slaves of Roman citizens would usually be granted Roman citizenship when they were freed. • Slaves in the New Testament? T
