Gary Hoag’s Wealth in Ancient Ephesus and 1 Timothy— The Issue of Slavery

Last updated on: May 17, 2016 at 1:18 am by Ben Witherington

Gary Hoag’s Wealth in Ancient Ephesus and 1 Timothy— The Issue of Slavery 2016-04-27T14:41:05-04:00 Ben Witherington

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Q10.BEN: Obviously the issue of slavery is a ethically difficult one for Christian scholars to discuss, and there have been recent treatments of the household codes and related passages such as the one you deal with in 1 Timothy, that in essence suggest that the writers of the NT, and perhaps especially those in the Pauline circle simply capitulated to the status quo, or even endorsed it, when it came to slavery (see e.g. Harrill’s book)? My response to that whole way of reading the NT is it fails to take into account a whole bunch of factors: 1) Christian writers had to begin with people where they were. Wealthy converts most often had domestic slaves, and a writer like Paul had to start with them where they were. They were not instantly de-socialized from the values of their society; 2) this sort of approach ignores the various levels of moral discourse when it comes to the households codes (e.g. Colossians is first order moral discourse, that is the opening gambit with an audience Paul did not convert). The differences we see between Colossians and Ephesians reflect the fact that Ephesians is a second salvo, a taking of the argument about the households codes further, and making the situation more Christian, even telling masters that they should serve their slaves in the same manner as the slaves have been serving; and 3) Philemon shows us what Paul would say, taking things yet another step further, to a close associate when it came to slavery, namely manumit the man as he is no longer a slave but rather a brother in Christ. What do you think of this analysis, and where exactly would you say the discussion is in 1 Timothy— is this first order advice given to Timothy to share with new converts?

A10.GARY: I think the author of 1 Timothy does not focus on cultural institutions like slavery because it was one of many social constructs that represents a way of living outside God’s design. In other words, NT authors could have written about a host of abuses, slavery being one of them. Any silence should not be understood as support for such issues.

In texts like Galatians 5:28, the Apostle Paul targets three big ones both clearly and concisely in saying: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” I read texts like this as stripping away the status distinctions that divide people horizontally and vertically in the social order and putting everyone on the same level before God. in the social order and putting everyone on the same level before God.

Once all are on the same level, the author of 1 Timothy chooses not to address the societal vices but speak to people where they were at, using your language, and I believe my fresh rendering of the last phrase of 1 Tim 6:2a (BBRS 11, p. 158), makes clear that the reason Christian slaves and Christian masters should treat each other different from cultural norms for people with those ascribed labels, is because they are both believers, and thus, both recipients of God’s divine beneficence.

Why behave this way, which would have been radically different from the culture? The text itself in 1 Tim 6:1 gives the answer: “so that the name of God and the teaching may not be blasphemed.”

Would Paul suggest masters who come to faith free their slaves? I think so based on his letter to Philemon. Interestingly, I think he leaves that along with all the other vices as the job of the Spirit in the life of the master, just like the slave who comes to faith must shift their focus from running away to glorifying God. What we do see in Ephesians 6:5-9 and Colossians 3:22-4:1 is the relocate of the identity of the slave and the master from being linked to status in society to their relation to Christ, and then calls them to live differently because they belong to Christ.

This chapter for me plays a key role in 1 Tim scholarship because Bible translators have rendered the language of this disputed phrase in 1 Tim 6:2 in quite mixed manner based on the translator’s view of the source of beneficence (see examples in the social order and putting everyone on the same level before God.

Why behave this way, which would have been radically different from the culture? The text itself in 1 Tim 6:1 gives the answer: “so that the name of God and the teaching may not be blasphemed.”

. . . ἀλλὰ πᾶλλον δουλευέτωσαν, ὅτι πιστοί εἰσιν καὶ ἀγαπητοί οἱ τῆς εὐεργεσίας ἀντιλαμβανόμενοι. (ΝΑ28)

. . . rather they must serve them all the more, since those who benefit by their service are believers and beloved. (NRSV)

. . . rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their service are believers and beloved. (RSV)

. . . but must serve them all the more, because those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved. (NASB)

. . . but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. (KJV)

. . . but rather serve them because those who are benefited are believers and beloved. (NKJV)

. . . instead, they should serve them more faithfully, because the people who benefit from your good service are believers who are loved. (CEB)

. . . rather, they should serve [them all the better] because those who benefit by their kindly service are believers and beloved. (AMP)

. . . those slaves should work all the harder because their efforts are helping other believers who are well loved. (NLT)

. . . after all, they are also followers of Christ, and he loves them. So you should serve and help them the best you can. (CEV)

. . . rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved. (ESV)

. . . instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. (NIV, 1984)

. . . instead, they should serve them even better because their masters are dear to them as fellow believers and are devoted to the welfare of their slaves. (TNIV, 2005)

. . . instead, they should serve them even better because their masters are dear to them as fellow believers and are devoted to the welfare of their slaves. (NIV, 2011)

. . . instead, they should serve one another even better, because they (both slaves and masters) are believers and beloved recipients of God’s beneficence. (Hoag, 2015)

My argument in BBRS 11 chapter 5 seeks to shift the focus for NT scholars and readers from the “masters as benefactor” or “slaves as benefactor” reading and argues for a “God as Benefactor” reading, in short because beneficence only flows from God in Scripture and because it’s God’s honor that must be preserved through countercultural, Christ-like behavior.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

May 16, 2016

Miles Ahead--- All That Jazz

Next Post

May 18, 2016 A Spirited Discussion--- Waiting is Hard

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz