What does “the Bible” say about slavery?  This course examines this
question in both the Jewish and Christian scriptures, as well as the
Qur'an.  Topics include slavery in ancient Israel, the
infamous "Curse of Ham" in Genesis, the slave laws of ancient
Israel, the parables about slaves in the New Testament, the early
Christian household duty codes for masters and slaves, slavery in
medieval Muslim literature and the Qur'an, and the Bible’s legacy in
the nineteenth–century American slave controversy.  This course will
raise methodological questions beyond its case of study of slavery,
for example, whether the appeals to "what the Bible says" can settle
Christian moral debate.