“... Wherever slavery existed, there were slaves who escaped from their masters. Ancient Near Eastern law forbade harboring runaway slaves, and international treaties regularly required allied states to extradite them. The present law, in contrast, permits escaped slaves to settle wherever they wish in the land of Israel and forbids returning them to their masters or enslaving them in Israel. Virtually all commentators hold that this law refers to slaves who flee from foreign countries to Israel. “He shall live with you among the settlements in your midst” (v. 17) seems to imply that previously the slave had been in a foreign land and not in Israelite territory. If the law referred to an Israelite slave it would probably have described him as “your kinsman.” It would also have addressed the individual householder with whom the slave sought refuge, but the phrase “in your midst” and the stipulation that the fugitive may settle anywhere in the land imply that the law is addressed to the nation as a whole or to a national authority. What the law bans, then, is returning escaped slaves to other nations—the precise opposite of the provisions of ancient Near Eastern treaties mentioned above. The only thing remotely close to this biblical law in the ancient world is the practice at certain temples of granting asylum to slaves fleeing harsh treatment by their masters. Generally, such asylum was not permanent; it protected the slave until he could come to terms with his master or, as a last resort, was sold to another master. By contrast, the biblical law is absolute and treats the whole land of Israel as a sanctuary offering permanent asylum. ...”