"... The designation “slave” is only applicable to the Israelites in a theological context. All Israelites are slaves of God, and it can be said that they were freed from Egypt. For this reason they cannot be sold. Worth noting in Leviticus 25:39–46 is that the memory of the exodus is not applied to the masters, but rather to the slaves: (42) For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves are sold. (43) You shall not rule over them with harshness, but shall fear your God. The expression “with harshness rule over them” alludes to a manner of speaking about the oppression of the Israelites by the Egyptians from Exodus 1:13–14 (“The Egyptians forced the Israelites harshly to the work”—“and they made their life bitter with . . . all the work, which they imposed harshly upon them”). If Israelites enslave their compatriots, then they are no different than the Egyptians in their relationship to Israel, according to Exodus 1. While there should not be any Israelite slaves, Leviticus 25:39–46 does not reject the institution of slavery as such ..."