Q&A: Mosaic Law on servants — corporal punishment was permitted; killing or maiming a servant freed them; Winger defends this as reasonable in historical context

Winger clarifies that there is no Mosaic Law permitting the beating of slaves as a general open-ended permission. He distinguishes between corporal punishment (which he sees as culturally acceptable in that context, analogous to parental spanking) and abuse (which was prohibited). Leviticus provides servant protections: killing a servant brings the death penalty; serious injury (tooth or eye knocked out) results in the servant's freedom. He argues modern culture is overly sensitive on the topic.