Who was Enslaved in Egypt/2
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Who was Enslaved in Egypt?
Exegetical Approaches
Overview
Commentators disagree regarding who was enslaved in Egypt, and this impacts their understandings of the nature of the bondage as a whole. While several Midrashic sources assume that the entire nation was enslaved, not all agree. R. Yehoshua b. Levi asserts that the tribe of Levi was exempted, and this could explain the apparent freedom of several members of Moshe's family. Others view the slavery as limited to able-bodied men, while women, children, and the elderly were not conscripted. Finally, Ralbag raises the possibility that Paroh had instituted a monetary tax, and only those who could not afford to pay it were required to instead labor for Paroh, while the wealthy class was able to pay and avoid being enslaved.
Everyone
The entire Israelite nation was enslaved, including men, women, children, and the elderly.
Freedom of movement – This position might claim that although the entire nation was enslaved, they were not necessarily forced to work every day of the year. See R"Y Bekhor Shor and Ramban who suggest that the people worked in shifts, with each laboring for Paroh for a specified number of months and then returning home.1 If so, Aharon might have been off duty when he went to meet Moshe in the Wilderness, and Yocheved might have similarly been on leave while nursing Moshe.2
Compensation to Yocheved – If women were also enslaved, it is not clear why the daughter of Paroh would have compensated Yocheved for nursing Moshe. This position might suggest that this was a personal decision of the princess and was not indicative of how the larger Egyptian populace would have acted.
Own homes and possessions – If the Israelites were slaves to the State rather than to individuals,3 it is possible that they returned daily to their own homes. It is not clear, however, how they would have had time or money to amass and care for individual possessions or cattle. If the enslavement was a gradually worsening process, it is possible that they still owned possessions from the time that they were free or partially free. In addition, it is possible that Paroh's work ended at nightfall, and the Israelites tended to their own after dark.
"לְכוּ לְסִבְלֹתֵיכֶם" – After Moshe and Aharon request leave for a three day holiday, Paroh refuses and then tells them: "לְכוּ לְסִבְלֹתֵיכֶם", suggesting that even Moshe and Aharon were among those who were enslaved.
"וַעָבְדוּ בָהֶם בְּפָרֶךְ" – R. Shemuel b. Nachmani understands "פָרֶךְ" to refer, not to back breaking labor, but to degradation, claiming that the Egyptians would order the males to perform work suited for females and vice versa.4
How was this to accomplish Paroh's objectives? Paroh hoped that enslaving the entire nation would make them too weak and tired to procreate. In addition, the Israelites' physically and emotionally degraded state would make it harder for them to support the enemy in case of war.
Relationship to other Egyptians – If the entire nation was enslaved, it is likely that the average Egyptian viewed them disparagingly.
Harshness of the slavery – This position views the slavery as being extremely harsh due to both its all inclusive nature and its cruel conditions.
Tribal Exemption
The entire nation was enslaved with the exception of the the tribe of Levi.
Why did Paroh spare the Levites? Ramban suggests that the Levites served as the nation's elders and teachers and that Paroh recognized the need for religious leadership and therefore exempted them.5
Why did Levi merit this exemption? Chizkuni implies that the Levites merited their freedom since they immersed themselves in Torah and set up houses of learning in Egypt.
When were the Levites chosen? This position assumes that the Levites held special status already in Egypt, and perhaps even from the Patriarchal period. See Selection of the Priests and Levites for a full discussion and dissenting views.
Freedom of movement – The only characters who appear to have had freedom of movement (Aharon, Yocheved, and Miriam) all were from the tribe of Levi,6 supporting the possibility that specifically the Levites were exempt.7
Compensation to Yocheved – If Yocheved was a free citizen, it is not surprising that Paroh's daughter would have offered to compensate her.
"לְכוּ לְסִבְלֹתֵיכֶם" – Rashi asserts that Paroh was not telling Moshe and Aharon to return to the slave labor but rather to whatever work they had to do at home.8
Genocide – Though the Levites might have been spared the harsh conditions of the enslavement, they were clearly included in the decree of genocide as attested to by Yocheved's hiding of Moshe.
Levite population – From Bemidbar 1-3 it is clear that the population of the tribe of Levi did not grow as rapidly as the rest of the Israelite tribes. Some sources attribute this to the fact that the tribe of Levi was not enslaved.9
Age / Gender Exemption
Men were enslaved, but women, children, and the elderly were exempt.
"וַיָּשִׂימוּ עָלָיו שָׂרֵי מִסִּים" – This position would likely understand this to refer to a work tax, in which only men were conscripted to labor for Paroh. Thus, if the enslavement was to the State and not to individuals, it is likely that no women or children were forced to work as house servants or field hands.
"וַיִּבֶן עָרֵי מִסְכְּנוֹת לְפַרְעֹה" – If the work consisted mainly of heavy building, it is possible that only able-bodied men were expected to participate.
"תִּכְבַּד הָעֲבֹדָה עַל הָאֲנָשִׁים" – This position might read the word "הָאֲנָשִׁים" literally to refer to men. Similarly, it might suggest that the verse states that Moshe went out to his "brothers" and not to his "nation" (וַיֵּצֵא אֶל אֶחָיו) because only men were laboring. It is a male slave whom he witnesses being hit, and later it is again two male slaves who are fighting. No where in Sefer Shemot does is a female slave ever mentioned.
Freedom of movement – Since Aharon is eighty-three when they appeared before Paroh, it is possible that he was among the elderly who were not forced to work, and was thus free to meet Moshe. Yocheved and Miriam, being female, were similarly free.
Compensation to Yocheved – If no women were forced to participate in the labor tax, it is possible that they had their own sources of employment and the princess compensated Yocheved just as any other woman would be paid for similar work.
Own homes and possessions – According to this approach, it is possible that the women were gainfully employed even though their husbands were forced to labor for free. As such, they could amass possessions and care for their homes.
"לְכוּ לְסִבְלֹתֵיכֶם" – This position might suggest that Moshe and Aharon were accompanied by other laboring Israelites when they approached Paroh and it was to them that Paroh said, "return to your work".10
Harshness of the slavery – According to this approach, slavery in Egypt was unlike forced labor camps during the Holocaust or in the Gulag in Siberia where people were worked to death and age or gender was irrelevant.
Economic Exemption
Paorh decreed a monetary tax on the nation. Those who could afford to pay it were not enslaved; everyone else was forced to work in lieu of payment.
"וַיָּשִׂימוּ עָלָיו שָׂרֵי מִסִּים" – These sources understand "מִסִּים" to refer to a monetary tax.12
"וַיִּבֶן עָרֵי מִסְכְּנוֹת לְפַרְעֹה" – This part of the verse refers to those who did not have the finances to pay the monetary tax. They, instead, were forced to build store houses for Paroh. Ralbag implies that much of the nation fell into this category, as it was possible that Paroh taxed the people even daily.
Biblical parallels – The concept that a foreign minority might have to pay a tribute to the controlling majority occurs often when one country subdues another.13 In Egypt, however, the Israelites had not been conquered by Egypt but rather come to live peacefully.
Freedom of movement – According to this position, those who could afford the monetary tax had no responsibilities to Paroh and were free to go where they pleased. This could explain Aharon's ability to meet Moshe out of Egypt and Yocheved's availability to serve as nurse to Moshe.
Compensation to Yocheved – Yocheved might have been among those able to pay the monetary tax and thus a free citizen.
Own homes and possessions – Ralbag implies that after finishing their daily labor quotas the Israelites would return to their personal homes, suggesting that even those who worked did not live on site.
Relationship to other Egyptians – This position might assert that those Israelites who could afford the monetary tax and were not enslaved were not looked down upon by the neighboring Egyptians. However, since a significant portion were enslaved, the nation as a whole likely held a degraded status.
How was this to accomplish Paroh's goal? According to Ralbag, Paroh allowed his officers to force the people to work beyond the limits of the law and gave them back-breaking types of labor hoping to ruin the people's health and lessen their seed. Thus, even though some Israelites were exempt and did not physically suffer, Paroh hoped that the significant portion of Israelites who worked would be weakened and propagate less.
