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“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”  Exodus 20:2  ESV

House of Slavery – What is the “house of slavery?”  Oh, I know it’s Egypt.  Actually, it isn’t really the country, is it?  Egypt as a country was once a place of refuge for God’s people and it played that role for the Messiah as well.  No, it’s “Egypt” the metaphor for captivity, oppression and (for us) sin that is at the heart of this idea.  Egypt is the place where the children of Israel were forced to serve another “god,” one who claimed the power of life and death over them and who refused to let them worship their own god.  Egypt was also the place of bondage where cruel taskmasters extracted heavy labor under threat of punishment.  For you and me, Egypt is the dark world of sin, a power so great that we require the same redemptive action from the one who secures our liberty.

The text tells us that the equivalent of Egypt is “house of bondage.”  In Hebrew, the bet ‘abadim.  The words are worthy of some study.  Bayit (house) is a social concept, not a geographical identifier.  Thus it means “household, home, temple, family and inward.”  Of course, by extension is also means the physical structure called a “house,” but Hebrew is a language of community and “home” is probably closer to the usage than “house.”  Bayit is the place where you belong, the place of closest interpersonal relations, the defining place of your identity. 

In striking opposition, ‘abadim is the plural of ‘ebed (slave).  We do not belong in the slave home.  But ‘ebed can also mean “minister, advisor or official,” depending on context.  It is derived from the verb ‘abad, “to work, to serve.”  The emotional tone of the word depends on whom the work is being performed for.  If for God, it is worship.  If for the community, it is service.  If for the taskmaster, it is slavery.  Interestingly, the work itself does not determine the character of its expression.  What matters is who, not what.  We might say the same thing about “house.”  What matters is who makes the place of our dwelling, not what shape or size the dwelling takes.  Once again, relationships determine the salient point of the words.

And now we see why Egypt is a house of slavery.  In Egypt, we work for the wrong people (perhaps we actually toil for ourselves) and we live in the wrong community (a place that worships a false god).  Apparently, slavery is determined by relationships as well.  In Paleo-Hebrew, this terrible condition is “the tent of a covenant of doing” in “knowing (seeing) the tent door of doing chaos.”  Perhaps we might say, “Slavery is being in a place promised to take you into chaos.”   Slavery is a dead end!  That’s why we don’t like it.  Of course, this implies that we actually see our personal Egypt for what it truly is.  As long as we think Egypt is offering us the power or possessions we seek, we will think of Egypt as if it were the promised land, just as the children of Israel thought of Egypt when they ran out of water and food.  But bet ‘abidim does not change its heart even if it changes its stripes.  It is still the place of the door to chaos.  Remember that next time you put your hand to the doorknob.  Paleo-Hebrew paints a picture of the true reality of Egypt.  Home is not where you heart is.  Home is where your work serves others, worships God and brings you into the Promised Land.  Any place else is threatening.

Oh, yes.  By the way, you can go into Egypt, but only God can bring you out.

Topical Index:  house of bondage, bet ‘abadim, Egypt, Exodus 20:2