Does history say the Hebrews were never slaves?

Answer 1

The Bible contains various rules for the treatment of Hebrew slaves and non-Hebrew slaves, who had various rights, so the answer is yes.

"Slavery" in Israel was an indentured servitude, not slavery as the term is usually understood.

1) An unemployed person could sell six years of his life and do tasks which the householder requested.

2) A thief who was unable to make restitution, could be made by the court to work it off.

In both cases:

a) It is forbidden to hit a servant for any reason.

b) Hitting a servant would incur heavy punishment.

c) The servant must be given hefty gifts when he departs (Deuteronomy ch.15).

d) The householder must by law provide the servant with accommodations and food of the same quality as those of the family.

e) The servant is "off duty" during Sabbaths and holidays.

f) The householder must provide financial support to the family of the servant.

g) It is forbidden to overwork the servant or make unreasonable demands.

h) It is forbidden to embarrass the servant.

i) The servant is at all times under the protection of the court, who may intervene on his behalf.

Answer 2

That's right. There is ample evidence that the Hebrews were never slaves in Egypt. Joseph never mentioned in Egyptian records, even though the Egyptians were supposedly proud of his achievements. There was never any mention of a large band of slaves who subsequently assisted in Egypt's prosperity. There was no mention of the loss of those slaves at the time of the Exodus, nor of the theft of Egyptian jewellery. There was no consequent impact by the Exodus and the sudden loss of manpower on the Egyptian economy. And there was no military conquest of Canaan as described in the Bible.

All the archaeological evidence demonstrates that the Israelites were actually rural Canaanites who left the region of the rich coastal cities to settle in the hitherto sparsely populated hinterland.