Slavery, change of owner, manumission, and wages (6:16–23)
Says "When you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey" (6:16, BSB); freed from sin, believers "have become slaves to God" (6:22). Paul is "speaking in human terms" (6:19).
Roman law divided people into free and slave, freeborn and freed (Gaius, Inst. 1.9–11). Owners sold slaves or freed them formally (Buckland): before the praetor the owner turned the slave about and paid a 5 percent tax (Epictetus, Diatr. 2.1.26–27), or by will: "I am setting them all free in my will" (Petronius, Sat. 71.1). A freedman guest "went into service to please myself" and later bought his freedom (Sat. 57.4, 6); 1 Clement tells of many who sold themselves to feed others (55:2). At Delphi an owner sold the slave to the god "for freedom" (Deissmann's formula). Epictetus warns that the freed may fall into harsher slavery (4.1.33–37).
ὀψώνιον was a soldier's pay (1 Macc 3:28; 14:32; Luke 3:14; 1 Cor 9:7): "as pay the foot-soldier receives two obols a day" (Polybius 6.39.12). A papyrus letter uses it of a worker's wages (P.Oxy. IV 744).
Says "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (6:23).
Implies Eternal life is a gift, not earned wages (see the language note on 6:19–23).
Uncertain Whether Paul draws on sacral manumission in particular, as Deissmann held, or on ordinary slave ownership is uncertain.
Claims
- SaysRom 6:16, 19, 22 says those who present themselves as obedient slaves are slaves of the one they obey, that believers set free from sin have become slaves to God, and that Paul speaks in human terms because of the weakness of their flesh.
- SaysRom 6:23 says the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- ImpliesRom 6:23 implies that eternal life is an unearned gift in Christ, not wages earned (see note.language.Rom.6.19-Rom.6.23.opsonia-charisma).
- UncertainWhether Paul's slavery image in Rom 6:16–22 draws on sacral manumission in particular (Deissmann) or on ordinary slave ownership.
Citations
- BSB public domain Rom 6:16, 19, 22–23; Luke 3:14; 1 Cor 9:7
- Gaius, Inst. (Poste–Whittuck 1904) public domain Inst. 1.9–11, from p. 18 (scan gaiinstitutiones00gaiuuoft, leaf n81; paraphrased)
- Buckland, Roman Law of Slavery public domain manumission pp. 437–646, esp. vindicta p. 451, by will p. 460 (by reference)
- Epictetus (Oldfather) public domain Diatr. 2.1.26–27; 4.1.33–37 (Wikisource text; paraphrased)
- Petronius (Heseltine) public domain Sat. 57.4 (quoted), 57.6 (paraphrased), p. 103 (n130); 71.1, p. 137 (n164); scan petronius00petruoft, checked on the page images
- ANF public domain vol. 1: 1 Clem. 55:2 (CCEL text; paraphrased)
- Deissmann, LAE public domain pp. 324–334 on sacral manumission; formula p. 327 (n462, checked on the page image); P.Oxy. IV 744, pp. 154–156 (paraphrased); 1910 English ed., scan lightfromancie00deis
- LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 1 Macc 3:28 (ὀψώνια), vol. 3 (1905), p. 604 (n627); 14:32 (ὀψώνια), p. 655 (n678); checked on the page images
- Polybius (Paton, LCL) public domain vol. 3: 6.39.12, Greek p. 358, English p. 359 (scan polybiushistorie0000wrpa_j3y3, n370; checked on the page image)
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2026-10-31
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