Slavery was a fact of life in the ancient world, as the Bible rules make clear. Whether in Rome or Greece, Egypt or Israel, human beings lived under bondage, but there were surprising laws in place to regulate the practice. Some slaves could automatically be freed after six years while others actually seem to have preferred the yoke. And one astonishing Bible rule tells owners they aren't allowed to hunt down escaped slaves. We follow the trail of shackles back to a world where freedom looked very different.
