You have just proven my point. A slave owner could, and very often did, kill his slaves whenever he wanted. They were his property and he could dispose of his property as he saw fit. On the contrary, under Biblical servitude, the serfs could be beaten, which is harsh, but their masters could not kill them. This is a huge distinction between slavery and Biblical servitude. Slaves have no rights. Biblical serfs had rights. Actually, Biblical serfs had more rights than the French subjects had before the French revolution. Have you ever read "A Tale of Two Cities"? There you can see how French noblemen were entitled to kill people at their pleasure. Biblical serfs, on the other hand, could not be killed by their owners. Furthermore, Biblical serfs had the right to be adopted by their masters under certain circumstances. Does it look like chattel slavery to you? In addition, serfs could inherit all of their master's properties (see Genesis 15:2-3), kidnapping people to sell them as slaves was punished by death under the Law of Moses (see Exodus 21:16). However, it must be stressed that God makes no difference between serfs and free men. For God, all of them were equal (read Job 31:13-15). You may say that the Jewish society could have been organized in a better manner. However, remember that these laws were not supposed to be valid for all time and for all people. Jesus states clearly in the New Testament that the Law of Moses was written for the ancient Hebrews and that some harsh laws were given to them because they were not prepared to accept something better (see Matthew 19:8). Regarding the youths that were killed by the bear, God has the right to kill anyone. They were judged by God and found wanting. Who are you to question God? Notice that there is no injunction to kill people who behave as these youths behaved. It was God himself who judged and condemned these youths.