The theological basis for freeing fellow Israelites: God redeemed Israel from Egypt, so they cannot hold one another in permanent slavery

The distinction between how Israelites and foreigners were treated as slaves has a theological basis: Israel is a redeemed nation. Because God redeemed them from Egyptian bondage, Israelite identity is fundamentally incompatible with permanent servitude to a fellow Israelite. Mike also notes that voluntary servitude existed because some people had no other economic safety net — they sold their labor for provision. The problem was not the institution but the abuses associated with it.