The Bible clearly states that owning people as property is allowed and beating then as long as they don't die within a day or two is ok. Slaves could also be passed on to your children as property.
I am quite sure owning slaves was a social status flex but the fact remains that slaves were property, I am sure the people who were enslaved benefited little from the social status it gave their owners.
We are currently seeing the evil that religion supports, White Christian Nationalism is a racist off shoot of Christianity and shows just how religion can be used to support evil by undermining the pluralistic nature of our culture and the tolerance of our culture or aspects of our culture they do not agree with all with the perceived authority of a god. This authority has been transferred by the leaders of this religion to Donald J Trump demonstrating yet again the danger of an authority driven mindset shared by those who worship an authority figure.
These people have occupied many positions of authority and influence in our government for no other purpose than bending our government to their own agenda and society falsing claiming the moral high ground for immoral purposes protecting a racist and bigoted portion of our society that only wants control of the population and the wealth that control brings... and you want to defend slavery by doing the very thing they are doing.
You claim the Bible has ethics, I'd have to agree if by ethics you mean normalization and tolerance of immoral behavior by the ruling class. By claiming the Bible is ethical while ignoring the immorality and lack of ethics allowed by this religion you are supporting the agenda of these dangerously amoral, power, and money hungry people who want to set up an authoritarian society and take away the freedoms, rights and protections of the people.
Personally I think the things I mentioned as unethical in the Bible are spot on topic and show just how morally bankrupt the Bible is as a moral or ethical guide and show how religions should never be allowed to dictate governments.
I think this is quite pertinent to this discussion...
"In every country and in every age the priest has been hostile to liberty; he is always in allegiance to the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection of his own." ~ thomas jefferson