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Dr. John Taylor's Elements of Civil Law, throw a lurid light on the condition of a slave in
N.T. times.
"The common lot of slaves in general was, in many circumstances very deplorable.
Of their situation take the following instances: they were held pro nullis, pro mortius,
pro quadrupedibus, for no man, for dead men, for beasts; nay, they were in a much
worse state than any cattle whatsoever. They had no head in the state, no name, tribe or
register. They were not capable of being injured; nor could they take by purchase or
descent; had no heirs, and therefore could make no will, of course . . . . . they could not
plead, nor be pleaded, but were excluded from all civil concerns whatsoever . . . . ."
In contrast with the idea of eleutheros, the right and liberty to come and go at will,
doulos, indicated a person without rights, simply the property of another, and so bound
that to come or go at will was hopelessly impossible and foreign to the estate. The
bondage of Rom. 6: is the bondage of sin (Rom. 6: 6), whereas the bondage of
Galatians is the bondage of `elements' (Gal. 4: 3). These `elements' were either the
rudimentary principles of Mosaic law, or the elements of any `religion' soever--ever that
of idol worship.
"When we were children we were in bondage under the elements of the world"
(Galatians 4: 3).
"How turn ye again to weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in
bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years" (Gal. 4: 9, 10).
This spirit which so grieved the Apostle we shall be able to deal with better when we
are considering another set of contrasts namely `Servant versus Son', for this governs the
argument of the opening of chapter iv where we have in verse 3 the only occurrence of
douloo in Galatians.
Bondage, douleia occurs twice:
"The two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage,
which is Agar" (Gal. 4: 24).
"Be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Gal. 5: 1).
Peter referred to the yoke of the law saying:
"Why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our
fathers nor we were able to bear?" (Acts 15: 10),
and Paul uses this figure to indicate literal slavery, saying:
"Let as many servants (douloi slaves) as are under the yoke count their own masters
(despotes) worthy of all honour, that the name of God and His doctrine be not
blasphemed" (I Tim. 6: 1).
Apart from this servitude to the law, Paul's other references deal with the `bondage' of
corruption, and the fear of death (Rom. 8: 21; Heb. 2: 15), a state consequent upon
the enslavement of sinful men. While Paul so thoroughly repudiated the shackles of
legalism, he rejoiced in the bonds that bound him in happy devoted service to the Lord.
Consequently we find doulos, a slave, used in two ways in Galatians elsewhere.