Bible dictionary for children
Slave
A slave is a person denied freedom and treated as belonging to someone else.
In simple words
What does it mean?
A slave is a person denied freedom and treated as belonging to someone else. Slavery is a harmful system described in the Bible's ancient world.
Talk about it
How does calling someone a brother challenge treating them as property?
An example from the Bible
Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus as more than a slave, as a beloved brother. Describing that setting does not make slavery good.
Read Philemon 1:16 ↗A little more to explore
Bible context & readings +
Read the surrounding passage to see who is speaking and how this word or idea is being used. The linked reading opens the full chapter.
Related reading: Philemon 1:16
no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much rather to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.Full readings at eBible.org · World English Bible Classic. Read with an adult.
