Duties of Masters

Paul closes the domestic code of Eph 6:1–9 addressing the kyrioi with a symmetrical but asymmetrical injunction: do the same toward them. The symmetry is formal: the same inner disposition required of servants applies also to the masters. The asymmetry is theological: the structural power of the master is radically relativized by the heavenly lordship of Christ, who does not admit prosōpolēmpsia — favoritism based on social rank.

Aniete (ἀνίετε, "to slacken") and apeile (ἀπειλή, "threat") describe ancient coercive control: threat was the ordinary instrument of slave management. Paul commands to abandon it — to suspend the very mechanism of dominion by intimidation.

The Old Testament root is in Lev 19:15 (LXX): οὐ λήψῃ πρόσωπον ἐν κρίσει — you shall not favor the powerful in judgment. Divine impartiality is a hallmark of the character of YHWH.

m.Avot 2:2 (Rabban Gamliel son of Rabbi Yehudah ha-Nasi): whoever works for the public should work for the love of Heaven — Heaven (Shamayim) deposes every instrumental use of authority.

Whoever exercises authority examines whether he uses implicit threat — punitive tone and silences — and dismantles it as a form of control, answering to the heavenly tribunal.

Paul closes the domestic code of Eph 6 addressing the kyrioi (masters/lords) with a mirror imperative: «do the same toward them». The theological tension is radical — the Roman master exercises dominium as absolute right; Paul summons him under a heavenly Lord who abolishes privilege of rank. The threat (apeile) was an ordinary instrument of control; Paul commands to lay down this instrument, not simply to moderate it.

Aniétes (ἀνιέντες, «abstaining», lit. «slackening») implies an active release of coercion, not mere passive abstention.

The Old Testament root is lo tiśśā' fanim (Lev 19:15; Deut 10:17): God does not "lift the face" in favor of anyone — a principle applied to the judge, here transferred to the master.

Avot 2:2 reports Rabban Gamliel III: «whoever works for the public, let him work for the Name of Heaven» — service exercised without personal recognition is motivated by the divine presence, not by human hierarchy. This tannaitic principle illuminates the Pauline logic: legitimate authority is one that recognizes a higher and impartial authority.

The master who knows the common Judge ceases to use threat as leverage: he treats the servant as a person before God, not as an instrument before men.

Paul closes the domestic code of Eph 5–6 addressing directly the kyrioi, the masters. The theological tension is radical: those who hold absolute social power are bound to the same logic of service imposed on slaves. The motive is not ethical-philosophical but eschatological — the Lord of both is in heaven — and the final clause dissolves every hierarchy before the divine tribunal: ouk estin prosōpolēmpsia par' autō.

Prosōpolēmpsia (προσωποληψία, "acceptance of person") is a Greek calque of the biblical nasa' panim (נָשָׂא פָנִים), "to lift the face" toward someone, that is, to favor him for status. Apeilē (ἀπειλή, "threat") indicates the structural coercive language of the dominus.

Leviticus 19:15 explicitly forbids the distortion of judgment for regard to persons: lo' tissa' pene-dal — identical root to nasa' panim — applied to every party in the case.

Avot 2:2 transmits that Rabban Gamliel taught that whoever works with/for the public should do everything לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, "for the name of the heavens". The tannaitic principle converges: every authority exercised without reference to Heaven degenerates into oppression. The obliteration of prosōpolēmpsia is not courtesy — it is obedience to the common Lord.

Examine every decision toward whoever depends on you by asking: would I have the same treatment if the Lord were a visible observer?

Paul closes the Domestic Code (Eph 5:22–6:9) addressing the kyrioi — the masters/lords. The command does not abolish the relationship of dependence, but radically transforms its inner dynamism: «do the same toward them» establishes a moral symmetry between the one who commands and the one who obeys, founded not on Roman law but on the common heavenly Kyrios. The theological tension is precise: human dominion is relativized by a higher dominion that knows no prosōpolēmpsia — favoritism by rank.

Aniénte (aniénai, "to slacken, to desist") — used for threats — recalls the yielding of a tension. Prosōpolēmpsia (prosōpolémpsia) translates the Hebrew nasa' panim (Lev 19:15), the "lifting of the face" as a sign of partial favor.

Leviticus 19:15 expressly forbids partiality in judgment: «You shall not show regard to the person of the poor nor favor the person of the powerful». This principle is the direct root of the Pauline argument.

Avot 2:2 teaches that whoever acts leShem Shamayim — for the Name of Heaven — does not pursue personal advantages. Rabban Gamliel the Younger (before 220) recalls that every public or relational toil must be oriented toward Heaven, not toward class interest.

Whoever holds authority should examine his own motives: every decision toward subordinates is to be made as before the Kyrios who does not look at rank.

Paul closes the section on the "domestic house" (Col 3:18–4:1) addressing the kyrioi (masters): the imperative "give what is just and equitable" is not moralistic exhortation but a command with precise theological force. The foundation is not Roman law nor Greco-Hellenistic custom, but the awareness that the earthly master answers to a heavenly Master. This hierarchical reversal dismantles the logic of unilateral domination: delegated authority is always under higher authority.

Dikaion (díkaion, "just") and isotēta (isótēs, "equity") form a semantic pair: the first refers to conformity to the norm, the second to proportional equality in treatment.

The OT root is mišpāṭ (justice-norm), applied in the asymmetrical relationships of Leviticus 25:43: "you shall not rule over him with harshness".

Avot 2:2 (Rabban Gamliel, Tannaita before 220): "whoever works for the community, let him work for the Name of the Heavens" — a principle that brings every authority exercised over others back to accountability before God, not to the arbitrariness of the superior.

Whoever holds authority over workers or employees should examine concretely the conditions he imposes, remembering that he will personally answer to the heavenly Kyrios.

Paul closes the domestic section of the letter to the Colossians (3:18–4:1) addressing the kyrioi — heads of households with legal authority over slaves. The tension is not to abolish the institution, but to transform it from within: the master who does not recognize a higher Lord exercises power without accountability. Paul inserts the vertical asymmetry to correct horizontal abuse.

Dikaion (δίκαιον, "just") and isotēs (ἰσότης, "equity, proportion") form a dyad. Isotēs does not mean equality of status, but treatment proportionate to human dignity.

The Old Testament root is in Leviticus 19:13 and 25:43: you shall not rule over him with harshness — explicit prohibition addressed to the holder of authority toward those under him.

Avot 3:1 transmits Akavyah ben Mahalalel: "Make known before Whom you are destined to give account and reckoning." The master who mistreats the servant forgets his own Din veḤeshbon — the final accounting. Paul reactivates exactly this logic: awareness of the heavenly Master is not a moral plea, it is an ontological deterrent.

Every holder of authority concretely examine whether the working conditions he imposes would stand before the Judge who does not accept partiality.

Paul closes the domestic code of Colossians by addressing the kyrioi (masters): not the subordinates, but those who hold authority. The verse overturns the asymmetry: whoever commands is in turn commanded. The theological tension is precise — the earthly master answers to a heavenly Kyrios, and this vertical bond redefines every horizontal power. It is not a question of abolishing the social structure but of transforming it from within through awareness of judgment.

To dikaion (τὸ δίκαιον, "the just") and hē isotēs (ἡ ἰσότης, "the equity, equal treatment") form a technical pair: the first recalls normative justice, the second equitable proportionality in concrete relationship.

The OT root is mishpat and tsedaqah (Lev 19:15; Deut 24:14-15): the master who withholds wages or humiliates the worker violates the very holiness of YHWH.

Avot 3:1 — Akavyah ben Mahalalel says: consider three things and you will not fall into sin... before Whom you are destined to give account — offers the tannaitic spine: every authority exercised under the gaze of the divine judge is morally bound authority. The Christian-master is not exempt; he is exposed to the same accounting.

Whoever holds work authority should examine concretely whether the treatment reserved for collaborators stands before the heavenly Kyrios.

Paul writes to Philemon from imprisonment, interceding for Onesimus — a fugitive slave, now converted. The theological tension is radical: the Roman juridical system recognizes Onesimus as res, property. Paul restores him, but transformed. He does not ask for formal abolition of servitude, but something more destabilizing: the recognition that the bond in Christ redefines every social hierarchy. "No longer as a slave, but... as a beloved brother" — the imperative is ontological, not sentimental.

The term ἀδελφόν (adelphón) carries covenantal weight: not "friend", but kinsman by election. δοῦλος (doûlos) — slave — is opposed without negation of the category, but with eschatological surpassing.

The root is Leviticus 25:42: "They are my servants... they shall not be sold as one sells a slave." The identity of 'eved YHWH precedes and relativizes every human bond.

Mishnah Avot 1:6 transmits: "Acquire for yourself a companion" — qenèh lekhà ḥavèr. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya teaches that the fraternal relationship is acquired actively, not inherited by status. Philemon must perform this deliberate act toward Onesimus: see the brother where the law sees only property.

Receive whoever is restored to you transformed as a brother in the concrete community, not only in spirit.