Denmark Vesey, Enslavement and Exodus 21:16

In 1822 in South Carolina, a formerly enslaved man named Denmark Vesey planned a massive revolt against slaveholders, but the revolt was suppressed before it launched. In urging support for the revolt, Vesey appealed to several biblical texts, particularly Exodus 21:16. Yet, even before Vesey's near-revolt, pro- and anti-slavery advocates had invoked this text in debates over the transatlantic slave trade for well over a century. Beginning with laws from the North American British colonies in the 17th century, Jeremy Schipper will discuss the intriguing uses of Exodus 21:16 in these debates.  

About Jeremy Schipper 

The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Jeremy Schipper's research focuses on the Hebrew Bible. He has published widely in leading journals including Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament and Journal of Biblical Literature. He is the author of a number of books, such as Disability and Isaiah’s Suffering Servant, Parables and Conflict in the Hebrew Bible, and (with Nyasha Junior) Black Samson: The Untold Story of an American Icon. February 2022 will see the publication by Princeton University Press of Denmark Vesey's Bible: The Thwarted Revolt That Put Slavery and Scripture on Trial.  

This is a Zoom event 

Please email religion.comms@utoronto.ca for the details.