Nature of the Bondage/1
Nature of the Bondage
Introduction
Models of Slavery
When trying to imagine what the enslavement in Egypt was like, readers naturally look to similar experiences of oppression in modern times and read them back into the narrative of Sefer Shemot. Some envision barracks, emaciated figures, and concentration camp conditions. Others picture plantation workers mercilessly being bought and sold from hand to hand, as occurred to Black slaves in the American South. A close look at the verses in Sefer Shemot, however, suggests that such comparisons are inaccurate. The verses indicate that Israelites had their own homes and possessions,1 their families remained intact2 and some people apparently were free to roam where they wished.3 In the Wilderness, the nation even thinks back to Egypt with fondness,4 remembering the free fish and vegetables eaten there!5 What does all this suggest about the nature of the Israelite experience?
Taxation and Hard Work
The initial enslavement of the Nation of Israel is described in Shemot 1:11-14:
(יא) וַיָּשִׂימוּ עָלָיו שָׂרֵי מִסִּים לְמַעַן עַנֹּתוֹ בְּסִבְלֹתָם וַיִּבֶן עָרֵי מִסְכְּנוֹת לְפַרְעֹה אֶת פִּתֹם וְאֶת רַעַמְסֵס. (יב) וְכַאֲשֶׁר יְעַנּוּ אֹתוֹ כֵּן יִרְבֶּה וְכֵן יִפְרֹץ וַיָּקֻצוּ מִפְּנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. (יג) וַיַּעֲבִדוּ מִצְרַיִם אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּפָרֶךְ. (יד) וַיְמָרְרוּ אֶת חַיֵּיהֶם בַּעֲבֹדָה קָשָׁה בְּחֹמֶר וּבִלְבֵנִים וּבְכׇל עֲבֹדָה בַּשָּׂדֶה אֵת כׇּל עֲבֹדָתָם אֲשֶׁר עָבְדוּ בָהֶם בְּפָרֶךְ.
(11) Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh store-cities, Pithom and Raamses.
(12) But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And they were adread because of the children of Israel.
(13) And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour.
(14) And they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field; in all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigour.
The above verses contain several lexical difficulties which affect one's understanding of the conditions in Egypt:
- שָׂרֵי מִסִּים – The first stage of slavery entails the appointing of "tax officers". Does this imply a monetary tax or a labor quota? How does it relate to the building of cities of storage discussed at the end of the verse?
- וַיַּעֲבִדוּ מִצְרַיִם אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּפָרֶךְ – This verse appears to constitute a worsening of the slave conditions. How so? What does the word "פָרֶךְ" mean? Does the word "מִצְרַיִם" refer to the government or to individual Egyptians?
Additional Questions
- Genocide – Shemot 1 discusses not only enslavement but also the genocide of male babies. After the birth of Moshe in Chapter 2, however, this is never spoken of again, neither in the description in Sefer Shemot nor in references back to the story later in Torah. How central a role did the genocide play? How long did it last?
- Were the Children of Israel unique? Were the Israelites the only group of people enslaved or were there other lay Egyptians or other minoritites who were similarly oppressed?
