Nature of the Bondage/2

Nature of the Bondage

Exegetical Approaches

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Corvée Labor

The enslavement took the form of a labor tax to the State.  Each Israelite labored for several weeks or months at a time, and then was free to go home until his next shift.

Sources:R. Yosef Bekhor ShorShemot 1:11-14About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor

וַיָּשִׂימוּ עָלָיו שָׂרֵי מִסִּים – R"Y Bekhor Shor understands this to refer to a labor tax rather than a monetary one.¹

Biblical parallels – R"Y Bekhor Shor compares this labor tax to that of Shelomo when building the Beit HaMikdash, where the people would work for one month and then return home for two.²  If so, Paroh's actions were not all that different from that of other monarchs who forced certain segments of the population to work for them for set periods of time.

Were the Israelites the only ones taxed? R"Y Bekhor Shor asserts that the rest of the Egyptians also paid a tax to Paroh, giving a fifth of their crops to the king.³  Precisely because the Children of Israel were exempt from this tithe,⁴ they were instead forced to build the storehouses for this wheat.⁵  Even R"Y Bekhor Shor agrees, however, that the forced labor later intensified and extended to other types of work including sowing and irrigation.

Own homes and possessions – R"Y Bekhor Shor explains that since the Israelites were not always working for Paroh, they had their own homes and possessions⁶ and the time to support their own families as well.⁷  In fact, Hashem's command that the Israelites request vessels "מִגָּרַת בֵּיתָהּ", suggests that they might even have had Egyptian tenants.⁸

Freedom of movement – This position could explain that Aharon had the freedom to meet Moshe in the desert because he was not working at the time.  Aharon would not have been unique; many others at any given time might also have been able to leave the country for a short period.

Did women and children work as well? Though R"Y Bekhor Shor doesnot address the question, he might posit that the building was limited to men as in other cases of conscripted labor.  This would explain how Yocheved and Miriam⁹ appear not to be enslaved in Shemot 2.

Payment to Yocheved – According to this position, many Israelites might have had other employment during the periods when they were not working for Paroh.  Thus, Paroh's daughter's offering compensation to Yocheved for nursing was simply a normal transaction made between free citizens.

Relations with other Egyptians – If the bondage was a labor tax rather than slavery, it is possible that the Israelites were not necessarily viewed as particularly degraded members of society¹⁰ and that some lay Egyptians and Israelites might have even been on neighborly terms.¹¹

Harshness of the enslavement – R"Y Bekhor Shor learns from the phrase, "וַיַּעֲבִדוּ מִצְרַיִם אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּפָרֶךְ" that the conditions during the periods of forced labor were unusually harsh and that the slaves were given no time to rest.

How did rotating laborers accomplish Paroh's goal? R"Y Bekhor Shor claims that Paroh hoped to tire out the people so they would not have the energy at night to have relations and reproduce.¹²  This, however, is difficult, considering that they could do so during the months that they were free from work totally.  One might explain instead that Paroh was not mainly concerned about the size of the Israelite population, but about the potential that they would fight against him in periods of war.  Having a significant portion of the nation enslaved at any one time reduced this concern.

Purpose of punishment – This depiction of the slavery raises the possibility that Paroh was not being punished for extremely cruel treatment of the Israelites but rather for not recognizing Hashem and granting the Israelites leave to worship Him.

"בֵּית עֲבָדִים" – The description of Egypt as a "house of bondage" is somewhat difficult for this approach, especially if one posits that such labor taxes were common elsewhere.  These sources might respond that Egypt was unique in enforcing the tax for decades and for the unusually harsh conditions during the periods of labor.

Slaves to the State

Slavery in Egypt was State sponsored and involved serving Paroh rather than acting as house slaves to individual Egyptians.

Sources:Mekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelYitro HaChodesh 5About Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael Shemot, RashiShemot 1:11-13Shemot 5:4About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki, R. Yosef Bekhor ShorShemot 1:11-14About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, RalbagShemot Beur HaMilot 1:11-14Shemot Beur HaParashah 1:11-22About R. Levi b. Gershom, HaKetav VeHaKabbalahShemot 1:13About R. Yaakov Mecklenburg, ShadalShemot 1:11-14Shemot 5:4About R. Shemuel David Luzzatto, R. David Zvi HoffmannShemot 1:11-14About R. David Zvi Hoffmann

"וַיָּשִׂימוּ עָלָיו שָׂרֵי מִסִּים" – Most of these sources understand that this refers to a labor tax.  The nation was conscripted to work in building storehouses for the State, as stated in the end of the verse, "וַיִּבֶן עָרֵי מִסְכְּנוֹת לְפַרְעֹה".‎¹³  Ralbag, instead, assumes that there was a monetary fine, and only those who could not afford it were forced to labor for Paroh.

"וַיַּעֲבִדוּ מִצְרַיִם אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּפָרֶךְ" – These sources understand "מִצְרַיִם" to refer to Egypt (the state) rather than lay Egyptians.  The worsening of the slavery described in the verse relates not to its scope but to the intensification of the labor demanded.  Now the people were worked "בְּפָרֶךְ", given back-breaking labor to oppress them.

"וּבְכׇל עֲבֹדָה בַּשָּׂדֶה" – According to this approach the verse must refer to the planting and irrigation of Paroh's property or other public lands

Description of slavery in Shemot 5 – The description of officers in charge of laborers, set quotas of bricks and the very fact that Moshe asks permission from Paroh and not individual slave owners for the nation's three day release all support the idea that the nation were slaves to the state.

Where did the Israelites live? According to this approach, the people had their own homes to which they returned whenever their work ended.¹⁴

Free time? According to this position, the Israelites might have had time for themselves in the evenings after work.

Why isn't Paroh alone punished? This approach must explain why the entire Egyptian nation was punished if only Paroh enslaved the nation.  It would likely answer that even if no laymen took individual slaves, they were the ones to carryout Paroh's policy of genocide.  These sources might also suggest that the plagues were primarily meant to be educative rather than retributive, teaching the Egyptians to recognize Hashem.  See Purpose of the Plagues for more.

Slaves to the Sate and to Individuals

Not only were the Israelites conscripted to work for Paroh, but in addition any Egyptian who so desired was free to enslave an Israelite to work for them personally.

Sources:TanchumaVayetze 9About the Tanchuma, RambanShemot 1:10-14Shemot 5:4About R. Moshe b. Nachman, R. BachyaShemot 1:10About R. Bachya b. Asher, AbarbanelShemot 1About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel, R. S"R HirschShemot 1:11-14About R. Samson Raphael Hirsch

"וַיָּשִׂימוּ עָלָיו שָׂרֵי מִסִּים... וַיִּבֶן עָרֵי מִסְכְּנוֹת לְפַרְעֹה"

• According to Ramban this verse describes the initial stage of oppression in which the people were taxed to work for the State.
• Abarbanel, in contrast, asserts that the verse refer to two distinct phases, an initial monetary tax followed by forced labor for Paroh.

"וַיַּעֲבִדוּ מִצְרַיִם אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּפָרֶךְ" – According to these sources the word "מִצְרַיִם" refers to individual Egyptians.  This verse represents a worsening of the oppression as lay Egyptians, too, were given permission to take Israelites as their personal slaves.

"וּבְכׇל עֲבֹדָה בַּשָּׂדֶה" – Tanchuma and Abarbanel asserts that this refers to working the lands of individual Egyptians.  The State sponsored bondage focused instead on building.

When did they work for  individuals? Tanchuma suggests that the Israelites would put in a full day of work for Paroh, and then, upon returning home at night, lay Egyptians would demand that they work for them in their fields.  The others are ambiguous but might suggest that some Israelites worked for the State while others were taken as house servants.

Where did the Israelites live? This position raises the possibility that while some Israelites might have lived in private homes in Goshen, others might have lived with their masters in Egypt proper.  See Where in Egypt Did the Israelites Live? for elaboration and see Whom and Where Did the Plagues Strike? for the ramifications this has on understanding the differentiation between Egyptians and Israelites during the Plagues.

Chattel slavery? Even according to this position, the bondage in Egypt did not constitute "chattel slavery" where people could be bought and sold from one slave master to another.

¹ This seems to be the way the word is used throughout Tanakh.  In several places a labor force is explicitly mentioned as part of the "מס", as in Yehoshua 16:10, Melakhim I 5:27, and Melakhim I 9:21. Elsewhere, people are taken as "מס" suggesting that there too labor is referred to.  See, for example, Shofetim 1:28-35 or Yeshayahu 31:8.

² See Melakhim I 5:27.

³ See Bereshit 47:13-26.

⁴ See Bereshit 47:12.

⁵ R"Y Bekhor Shor implies that the labor tax came at the insistence of the Egyptian people who resented the Israelites' exemption.  This suggests that Yosef's nepotism towards his family ultimately resulted in their enslavement.  See Yosef's Economic Policies for elaboration.

⁶ See Shemot 2:1-9, Shemot 9:6, Shemot 10:9, and Shemot 12:3-4 which speak of Israelite residences and cattle.

⁷ R"Y Bekhor Shor writes: "והא ליכא למימר שהיו תדיר בעבודה, דאם כן, מתי יעשו לביתם ומי יפרנסם."

⁸ See Ibn Kaspi on Shemot 3:22.

⁹ It is not clear how old Miriam is at this stage in the story,  If she was but a youngster, she would presumably not have been working regardless.

¹⁰ Nonetheless, as some apparently heeded Paroh's decree to throw Israelite babies into the Nile, there must have been a significant number who viewed the Israelites negatively.  Ramban presents this as the result of Paroh's process of progressively harsh decrees, but also suggests that the decree of genocide only lasted for a short time

¹¹ As such, this position might explain, as does Josephus, that the word "רֵעֵהוּ" in Hashem's command "יִשְׁאֲלוּ אִישׁ מֵאֵת רֵעֵהוּ וְאִשָּׁה מֵאֵת רְעוּתָהּ" could refers to friends.  See Reparations and Despoiling Egypt for elaboration.

¹² In R"Y Bekhor Shor's comments to verse 11, he implies that during the periods of forced labor the enslaved did not return home at all, let alone come home tired at night.

¹³ R"Y Bekhot Shor asserts that while the rest of the Egyptians gave a fifth of their produce to Paroh, the Israelites, who were exempt from this, were instead forced to build the cities to store the grain.  He claims that they only did so on a rotation basis, working for several weeks or months and then returning home.

¹⁴ R"Y Bekhor Shor asserts that the people worked in shifts, for weeks or months at a time an d then returned home.  The others might suggest that they returned home daily.