2 Kings 4:1, “Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD, and the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”

It was an unfortunate reality in the Ancient Near East (and even in present-day), when someone could not pay a financial debt, he could enter into indentured servitude. Sometimes this would include their children, were taken as slaves. But, the word “slave” is too harsh to the modern Western ear. Such “slavery” in the O.T. context was not harsh or oppressive. It was meant to pay back debts. Such is the case in 2 Kings 4:1. A widow was responsible for the debts of her husband. The creditor was coming to take them and have them work off their debt. They would not be made to sleep in chains or on dirt floors. They were given a place to stay along with food. Nevertheless, in the context, Elisha performed a miracle by producing oil in empty jars, which could then be sold and the debt paid. But notice, the debt was to be paid, not ignored. Though this may seem harsh, is it worse or better than the debtor being imprisoned and the offended party received no restitution?

According to the Old Testament, a Jew was allowed to sell himself and his children into indentured servitude if he could not meet his debts (Lev. 25:39; Deut. 15:12). However, he would be set free on the year of Jubilee (Lev. 25:40; Deut. 15:12) and was not to be made to participate in harsh service (Lev. 25:39).  In addition, the master could not, in such cases, sell the person into further slavery (Lev. 25:42).

The Bible references other instances of being sold due to iniquities and/or debt.

• Isaiah 50:1, “Thus says the LORD, “Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away? Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you? Behold, you were sold for your iniquities, and for your transgressions, your mother was sent away.”
• Nehemiah 5:5, “Now our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our children like their children. Yet behold, we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters are forced into bondage already, and we are helpless because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

Slave = ebed

“Slaves” in 2 Kings 4:1 is ebed.  unfortunately, the English do not have a variety of words, as does Hebrew, with which we can describe various forms of service and slavery. Nevertheless, the word ebed occurs 800 times in the Old Testament:  Gen. 19:2; 39:17; Exodus 20:10; Deut. 5:14; 1 Sam. 8:16; 2 Kings 5:26; Ezra 2:55; Ps. 123:2; Jer. 34:9; Ezek. 46:17; Joel 2:29, etc.  It is the Strongs# H5650¹blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?t=kjv&strongs=h5650.  In the New American Standard Bible it is translated as attendance 1 time, bondage 2 times, Elijah 1, male 25, officers 1, official 2, servants 710, slave 47, slavery 11.  as you can see, it is a variety of meanings and does not necessitate harsh treatment as is sometimes assumed by the modernized version of chattel slavery where slaves were owned as property and had no rights. That is not biblical slavery.

Conclusion

In the Old Testament context, when a debt could not be paid, possessions were first sold to pay the debt. If that was not sufficient, a person could enter into indentured servitude until the debt was paid or until the year of Jubilee when he would be set free (Lev. 25:40; Deut. 15:12).  The goal of this arrangement was not oppression, but economic fidelity and responsibility. Debts were to be paid. Throwing someone in prison did not allow that.

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