What does the Bible teach regarding the prevention of human trafficking? The answer to this question will depend on our answer to the next question. Is human trafficking just a recent phenomenon, or has it been a problem throughout human history? If we answer that yes—it has been a problem throughout human history, then we would agree that the Bible would have a lot to say about how to prevent human trafficking. In fact, a good reading of the Bible makes it very clear that the biblical answers to prevent human trafficking are not thin, temporary, band-aid remedies. They are, rather, thick, lasting remedies.
The people groups in the Bible—the Sumerians, Akkadians, Egyptians, Canaanites, etc.—saw no problems in the trafficking of girls. In fact, it was the duty of the minority high class society and royalty to enslave females and boys who belonged to the majority low class societies. The Enuma Elish, a Babylonian creation myth, claims that women are to be treated the same way in which the high class male gods treated the low class female goddesses. All the low class people, male and female, were believed to be the product of the dismemberment of the body of the low class goddess, Tiamat, by the high class god, Marduk. Therefore, they are meant to be enslaved and sexually used (Enuma Elish VI:5-8; 30-40; V:71). The famous Code of Hammurabi (a collection of Babylonian laws) gives us another good example of the enforcement of the degradation of low class females: “If a low class woman squanders the possessions of her high class man, she destroys his honor. She must die by drowning” (Code of Hammurabi 144). Or, “A low class, temple prostitute who enters a public domain must be put to death by fire. She has desecrated the domain of high class humanity” (Code of Hammurabi 110). Other ancient religions, during the time of Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, and the other prophets of the Old Testament, as well as the religions of the Greeks and Romans, during the time of the New Testament writings, have similar and ghastly understanding of outsiders and women. It is clear that there was rampant abuse of females and low class boys in these societies.
The years from 1500 BC–100 AD were the most crucial crisis points in the history of humanity, when human trafficking was at its highest levels. It is also crucial to note that the Bible—the Old and the New Testament—was given its canonical shaping during these periods of time. The Torah was given to Moses around 1500 BC; the Torah, the prophets, and the poetry and wisdom literature of the Bible were shaped around 500 BC; and the New Testament was written in the first century AD. A close reading of the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts makes it clear that the contours of the canonical Bible dealt squarely with this major problem—human trafficking of young women.
Right off the bat, Genesis 1 begins with a statement—both the man and the woman, the male and female (the Hebrew uses two words that connote equality)—are created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27). In fact, when both come together, they form a picture of who God is—they become One (Gen. 2:25), just like God is One (Deut. 6:4). This is the thickest possible answer to the problem of human trafficking, in a culture where women were merely creatures of sexual use and abuse. In fact, Scripture offers the best solution to human trafficking at any period of time. Indeed the Bible goes a step beyond that. In the Genesis 2 creation narrative, when the woman is created, she is called an ezer kenegdo (Gen. 2:18). The word ezer is rather unfortunately translated as “suitable companion or helper” in the English translations. In the Hebrew Bible, this word refers to God himself. In the Psalms, the Psalmist cries out, “God alone is my ezer” (Ps. 54:4; 30:10; 70:5; 72:12; 121:1-2; etc.). The position of the woman in the introductory text of the Bible, it becomes clear, is a very strong one. She is a savior figure. This is in contrast to the very low image of the woman in ancient Near Eastern religions. The latter leads to slavery and misuse of women. The biblical text, in contrast, leads to emancipation and strength. This is the biblical answer to human trafficking in the introductory section of the Bible.
Join CBE at our virtual online conference, “Men, Women, and God: Theology and Its Impact,” September 10–11, 2021, where Boaz Johnson will offer a keynote address, “Pandita Ramabai and the Link Between Bible Translation and Abuse of Women.” Learn more here.
Read Part Two and Part Three!
This article originally appeared in Social Injustice: What Evangelicals Need to Know about the World, edited by Michael T. Cooper and William J. Moulder (Lake Forest, IL: The Timothy Center Press, 2011).
