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"The diversity in the forms, terminology, and origins of the corvée is likewise reflected in the biblical text."  
"The diversity in the forms, terminology, and origins of the corvée is likewise reflected in the biblical text."  
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
'''Three separate terms''' are used, but... original distinctions have become blurred ...<Br>'''(1) ''mas''' oved'' ... "compulsory labor"... from [[Merchants of men|Canaanite]] ''massu''...<Br>'''(2) sevel''' (= Akk. sablum)''', a term found in the Mari documents<Ref name="mari"></Ref>... are also found in scripture: sivlot ("burdens"...); sabbal ("burden-bearer"...); subbolo ("his burden"...). <Br>'''(3) perekh'''...'''[[force]]d labor''' ... Israel became familiar with corvée labor... as the slavery in Egypt ... [and as] tributaries of the [[Merchants of men|Canaanites]] and ... the Gibeonites to become "hewers of wood and drawers of water"... was in fact imposing on them corvée labor. ... later was Solomon forced to demand compulsory labor from the population to carry out the vast building projects he had undertaken. ... "Then King Asa made a proclamation unto all Judah; none was exempted.…" ... King Josiah repaired the Temple with the labor of sabbalim ("corvée workers"). There was also corvée labor during the period of the return to Zion. The wall around Jerusalem was built by corvée laborers ([[Nehemiah 4]]:11)."<Ref>'''Three separate terms''' are used, but they are sometimes juxtaposed, a sign that the original distinctions have become blurred (see Exodus 1:11–12):<Br>'''(1) ''mas''' oved'' ([[Genesis 49]]:10; [[Joshua 16]]:10, etc.; "compulsory labor"), and sometimes mas alone (e.g., [[1 Kings 4]]:6; 5:27). This expression is '''derived from [[Merchants of men|Canaanite]] ''massu'', "corvée worker,"''' attested at *El-Amarna[''eastern side of the Nile River, ... [[temples]], government establishments, utilitarian facilities such as grain silos''] and *Alalakh[Bronze Age [[city-state]] ]. A Hebrew seal dating from the seventh century b.c.e. reads "belonging to Pelaiah who is in charge of the ''mas''." <Br>'''(2) ''sevel'' (= Akk. sablum)''', a term found in the Mari documents[The Mari or ''Maʾeri'' documents'',  20,000 cuneiform tablets, give information about the earliest government, its customs, and people. More than 3000 are letters, the remainder includes administrative, economic, and judicial texts.''] (18th century b.c.e.). Its particularized meaning is a labor unit for emergency use. It appears three times in the Bible, [[1 Kings 11]]:28; [[Psalms 81]]:7; and [[Nehemiah 4]]:11. Cognate nouns from the same stem are also found in scripture: ''sivlot'' ("burdens": [[Exodus 1]]:11; [[Exodus 2]]:11; [[Exodus 5]]:4–5; [[Exodus 6]]:6–7); sabbal ("burden-bearer": [[1 Kings 5]]:29; [[2 Chronicles 2]]:1, 17; [[2 Chronicles 34]]:13); subbolo ("his burden": [[Isaiah 9]]:3; [[Isaiah 10]]:27; [[Isaiah 14]]:25).<Br> '''(3) perekh''', sometimes said to be a term, Mesopotamian by origin, for '''[[force]]d labor'''; but its general meaning in the [[Bible]] seems to be "harshness" or "ruthlessness" ([[Exodus 1]]:11-12; [[Exodus 2]]:11; [[Leviticus 25]]:43, 46; [[Ezekiel 34]]:4). The children of Israel became familiar with corvée labor ([[Exodus 1]]:11, et al.) in the course of their wanderings, inasmuch as the slavery in Egypt was a prolonged period of compulsory labor. During the Israelite conquest corvée labor was one of the indications of the nature of relations between the [[Merchants of men|Canaanite]] population. According to the biblical account, sometimes the Israelites were tributaries of the Canaanites and sometimes the position was reversed ([[Genesis 49]]:15; [[Judges 1]]:33, et al.). There are those who think that by compelling the Gibeonites to become "hewers of wood and drawers of water" ([[Joshua 9]]:21) Joshua was in fact imposing on them corvée labor. Corvée labor became a permanent institution only in the period of the monarchy. According to [[2 Samuel 20]]:24, the minister who was "over the levy" was one of the highest officials in David's regime. It seems that he was a foreigner, attached to the royal staff for his expertise. The same official served Solomon and Rehoboam ([[1 Kings 4]]:6; 1 Kings 12]]:18; [[2 Chronicles 10]]:18). Possibly, at first, only foreign elements in the country were obliged to submit to corvée labor ([[1 Kings 9]]:20–22; [[2 Chronicles 8]]:7–9); only later was Solomon forced to demand compulsory labor from the population to carry out the vast building projects he had undertaken. Some scholars have supposed that ''mas oved'' was the term applied when foreign manpower was used and that ''sevel'' was indicative of an Israelite labor force. Yet such a distinction is not sufficiently evident, even if the corvée imposed by Solomon upon the tribes of the House of Joseph was called ''sevel'' ([[1 Kings 11]]:28). Mendelsohn suggested that mas (or sevel) was the corvée exacted for short periods from freemen. According to his view, the term mas oved means "state slavery." The Bible states that Solomon sent thirty thousand men to hew cedars in Lebanon for the building of the Temple, in monthly shifts of ten thousand ([[1 Kings 5]]:26–28). Similarly, he had at his disposal some seventy thousand "corvée workers" and eighty thousand "hewers in the mountains" ([[1 Kings 5]]:29ff.). There is a hint of the continuation of the corvée tradition in the reign of Asa ([[1 Kings 15]]:22). Asa built Geba Benjamin with stones taken by his subjects from Ramah: "Then King Asa made a proclamation unto all Judah; none was exempted.…" (i.e., none could refuse the corvée). According to [[2 Chronicles 34]]:13, King Josiah repaired the Temple with the labor of sabbalim ("corvée workers"). There was also corvée labor during the period of the return to Zion. The wall around Jerusalem was built by corvée laborers ([[Nehemiah 4]]:11)."  https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/modern-europe/ancient-history-middle-ages-and-feudalism/corvee</Ref>
'''Three separate terms''' are used, but... original distinctions have become blurred ...<Br>'''(1) ''mas''' oved'' ... "compulsory labor"... from [[Merchants of men|Canaanite]] ''massu''...<Br>'''(2) sevel''' or '''cebel''' (= Akk. sablum)''', a term found in the Mari documents<Ref name="mari"></Ref>... are also found in scripture: sivlot ("burdens"...); sabbal ("burden-bearer"...); subbolo ("his burden"...). <Br>'''(3) perekh'''...'''[[force]]d labor''' ... Israel became familiar with corvée labor... as the slavery in Egypt ... [and as] tributaries of the [[Merchants of men|Canaanites]] and ... the Gibeonites to become "hewers of wood and drawers of water"... was in fact imposing on them corvée labor. ... later was Solomon forced to demand compulsory labor from the population to carry out the vast building projects he had undertaken. ... "Then King Asa made a proclamation unto all Judah; none was exempted.…" ... King Josiah repaired the Temple with the labor of sabbalim ("corvée workers"). There was also corvée labor during the period of the return to Zion. The wall around Jerusalem was built by corvée laborers ([[Nehemiah 4]]:11)."<Ref>'''Three separate terms''' are used, but they are sometimes juxtaposed, a sign that the original distinctions have become blurred (see Exodus 1:11–12):<Br>'''(1) ''mas''' oved'' ([[Genesis 49]]:10; [[Joshua 16]]:10, etc.; "compulsory labor"), and sometimes mas alone (e.g., [[1 Kings 4]]:6; 5:27). This expression is '''derived from [[Merchants of men|Canaanite]] ''massu'', "corvée worker,"''' attested at *El-Amarna[''eastern side of the Nile River, ... [[temples]], government establishments, utilitarian facilities such as grain silos''] and *Alalakh[Bronze Age [[city-state]] ]. A Hebrew seal dating from the seventh century b.c.e. reads "belonging to Pelaiah who is in charge of the ''mas''." <Br>'''(2) ''sevel'' or ''cebel''  (= Akk. sablum)''', a term found in the Mari documents[The Mari or ''Maʾeri'' documents'',  20,000 cuneiform tablets, give information about the earliest government, its customs, and people. More than 3000 are letters, the remainder includes administrative, economic, and judicial texts.''] (18th century b.c.e.). Its particularized meaning is a labor unit for emergency use. It appears three times in the Bible, [[1 Kings 11]]:28; [[Psalms 81]]:7; and [[Nehemiah 4]]:11. Cognate nouns from the same stem are also found in scripture: ''sivlot'' ("burdens": [[Exodus 1]]:11; [[Exodus 2]]:11; [[Exodus 5]]:4–5; [[Exodus 6]]:6–7); sabbal ("burden-bearer": [[1 Kings 5]]:29; [[2 Chronicles 2]]:1, 17; [[2 Chronicles 34]]:13); subbolo ("his burden": [[Isaiah 9]]:3; [[Isaiah 10]]:27; [[Isaiah 14]]:25).<Br> '''(3) perekh''', sometimes said to be a term, Mesopotamian by origin, for '''[[force]]d labor'''; but its general meaning in the [[Bible]] seems to be "harshness" or "ruthlessness" ([[Exodus 1]]:11-12; [[Exodus 2]]:11; [[Leviticus 25]]:43, 46; [[Ezekiel 34]]:4). The children of Israel became familiar with corvée labor ([[Exodus 1]]:11, et al.) in the course of their wanderings, inasmuch as the slavery in Egypt was a prolonged period of compulsory labor. During the Israelite conquest corvée labor was one of the indications of the nature of relations between the [[Merchants of men|Canaanite]] population. According to the biblical account, sometimes the Israelites were tributaries of the Canaanites and sometimes the position was reversed ([[Genesis 49]]:15; [[Judges 1]]:33, et al.). There are those who think that by compelling the Gibeonites to become "hewers of wood and drawers of water" ([[Joshua 9]]:21) Joshua was in fact imposing on them corvée labor. Corvée labor became a permanent institution only in the period of the monarchy. According to [[2 Samuel 20]]:24, the minister who was "over the levy" was one of the highest officials in David's regime. It seems that he was a foreigner, attached to the royal staff for his expertise. The same official served Solomon and Rehoboam ([[1 Kings 4]]:6; 1 Kings 12]]:18; [[2 Chronicles 10]]:18). Possibly, at first, only foreign elements in the country were obliged to submit to corvée labor ([[1 Kings 9]]:20–22; [[2 Chronicles 8]]:7–9); only later was Solomon forced to demand compulsory labor from the population to carry out the vast building projects he had undertaken. Some scholars have supposed that ''mas oved'' was the term applied when foreign manpower was used and that ''sevel'' was indicative of an Israelite labor force. Yet such a distinction is not sufficiently evident, even if the corvée imposed by Solomon upon the tribes of the House of Joseph was called ''sevel'' ([[1 Kings 11]]:28). Mendelsohn suggested that mas (or sevel) was the corvée exacted for short periods from freemen. According to his view, the term mas oved means "state slavery." The Bible states that Solomon sent thirty thousand men to hew cedars in Lebanon for the building of the Temple, in monthly shifts of ten thousand ([[1 Kings 5]]:26–28). Similarly, he had at his disposal some seventy thousand "corvée workers" and eighty thousand "hewers in the mountains" ([[1 Kings 5]]:29ff.). There is a hint of the continuation of the corvée tradition in the reign of Asa ([[1 Kings 15]]:22). Asa built Geba Benjamin with stones taken by his subjects from Ramah: "Then King Asa made a proclamation unto all Judah; none was exempted.…" (i.e., none could refuse the corvée). According to [[2 Chronicles 34]]:13, King Josiah repaired the Temple with the labor of sabbalim ("corvée workers"). There was also corvée labor during the period of the return to Zion. The wall around Jerusalem was built by corvée laborers ([[Nehemiah 4]]:11)."  https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/modern-europe/ancient-history-middle-ages-and-feudalism/corvee</Ref>
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</blockquote>


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The first pace we see the Hebrew word mac (מַס) is [[Genesis 49]]:15   
The first place we see the Hebrew word ''mac'' (MemSamech(מַס)) is [[Genesis 49]]:15:  
: "And he saw that rest [was] good, and the land that [it was] pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto [[tribute]] <04522>."<Ref name="mac22">{{04522}}</Ref>
: "And he saw that rest [was] good, and the land that [it was] pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto [[tribute]] <04522>."<Ref name="mac22">{{04522}}</Ref>


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Exodus 1:11  Therefore they did set over them taskmasters <04522> to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
It appears throughout the Old Testament in one form or another dozens of times.<Ref>Exodus 1:11  Therefore they did set over them taskmasters <04522> to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
Deuteronomy 20:11  And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, [that] all the people [that is] found therein shall be tributaries <04522> unto thee, and they shall serve thee.
: Deuteronomy 20:11  And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, [that] all the people [that is] found therein shall be tributaries <04522> unto thee, and they shall serve thee.
Joshua 16:10  And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute <04522>.
: Joshua 16:10  And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute <04522>.
Joshua 17:13  Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute <04522>; but did not utterly drive them out.
: Joshua 17:13  Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute <04522>; but did not utterly drive them out.
Judges 1:28  And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute <04522>, and did not utterly drive them out.
: Judges 1:28  And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute <04522>, and did not utterly drive them out.
Judges 1:30  Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries <04522>.
: Judges 1:30  Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries <04522>.
Judges 1:33  Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries <04522> unto them.
: Judges 1:33  Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries <04522> unto them.
Judges 1:35  But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries <04522>.
: Judges 1:35  But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries <04522>.
2 Samuel 20:24  And Adoram [was] over the tribute <04522>: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud [was] recorder:
: 2 Samuel 20:24  And Adoram [was] over the tribute <04522>: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud [was] recorder:
1 Kings 4:6  And Ahishar [was] over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda [was] over the tribute <04522>.
: 1 Kings 4:6  And Ahishar [was] over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda [was] over the tribute <04522>.
1 Kings 5:13  And king Solomon raised a levy <04522> out of all Israel; and the levy <04522> was thirty thousand men.
: 1 Kings 5:13  And king Solomon raised a levy <04522> out of all Israel; and the levy <04522> was thirty thousand men.
1 Kings 5:14  And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, [and] two months at home: and Adoniram [was] over the levy <04522>.
: 1 Kings 5:14  And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, [and] two months at home: and Adoniram [was] over the levy <04522>.
1 Kings 9:15  And this [is] the reason of the levy <04522> which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.
: 1 Kings 9:15  And this [is] the reason of the levy <04522> which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.
1 Kings 9:21  Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute <04522> of bondservice unto this day.
: 1 Kings 9:21  Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute <04522> of bondservice unto this day.
1 Kings 12:18  Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who [was] over the tribute <04522>; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
: 1 Kings 12:18  Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who [was] over the tribute <04522>; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 8:8  [But] of their children, who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, them did Solomon make to pay tribute <04522> until this day.
: 2 Chronicles 8:8  [But] of their children, who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, them did Solomon make to pay tribute <04522> until this day.
2 Chronicles 10:18  Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram that [was] over the tribute <04522>; and the children of Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. But king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to [his] chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 10:18  Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram that [was] over the tribute <04522>; and the children of Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. But king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to [his] chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
Esther 10:1  And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute <04522> upon the land, and [upon] the isles of the sea.
: Esther 10:1  And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute <04522> upon the land, and [upon] the isles of the sea.
Proverbs 12:24  The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute <04522>.
: Proverbs 12:24  The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute <04522>.
04522
: Isaiah 31:8  Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited <04522>.
: Lamentations 1:1  How doth the city sit solitary, [that was] full of people! [how] is she become as a widow! she [that was] great among the nations, [and] princess among the provinces, [how] is she become tributary <04522>!</Ref>


4522 [e]
A less common word is ''cebel'' (סֵבֶל‎).<Ref name="cebel">{{05447}}</Ref> The same letters SamechBeitLamed are given several other Strong's numbers. There is the verb ''to bear a load'' or just ''labor''.<Ref name="cabal">{{05445}}</Ref> There is the Aramaic verb ''cëbal''  (סְבַל)<Ref name="cëbal">{{05446}}</Ref> which we see in Ezra concerning building the foundation of the house of God by a decree of Cyrus the king with <Ref>Ezra 6:3  In the first year of Cyrus the king [the same] Cyrus the king made a decree [concerning] the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid <[[05446]]>; the height thereof threescore cubits, [and] the breadth thereof threescore cubits;</Ref>
ham·mas;
הַמַּ֑ס
04522 מַס‎ mac [mas] or
מס‎ mic [mees]


from 04549; n m; [BDB-586b] [{See TWOT on 1218 }]  
05446 ‎  (Aramaic) [seb-al’]  


AV-tribute 12, tributary 5, levy 4, discomfited 1, taskmasters 1; 23
corresponding to 05445; v; [BDB-1103b] [{See TWOT on 2882 }]


1) gang or body of forced labourers, task-workers, labour band or gang, forced service, task-work, serfdom, tributary, tribute, levy, taskmasters, discomfited
AV-strongly laid 1; 1  
1a) labour-band, labour-gang, slave gang
1b) gang-overseers
1c) forced service, serfdom, tribute, enforced payment


1) to bear a load
1a) (Poal) laid (participle)  cebel [say’-bel]
from 05445; n m; [BDB-687b] [{See TWOT on 1458 @@ "1458a" }]
AV-burden 2, charge 1; 3
1) load, burden
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Some will say that Jeroboam was the first Israelite king to be the head of [[Corvee]] system when he sets up rival [[cult]] in Dan and Bethel when he sets up [[golden calves]]; [[Ahijah]] rejects him.
Some will say that Jeroboam was the first Israelite king to be the head of [[Corvee]] system when he sets up rival [[cult]] in Dan and Bethel when he sets up [[golden calves]]; [[Ahijah]] rejects him.

Revision as of 21:10, 22 August 2023

The bondage of Egypt was the result of entering into a corvee system of statutory bondage(bondage by consent through Civil law) which the people have been warned in the Bible to never return to as we see stated by Moses and all the prophets, "... nor cause the people to return to Egypt... forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way." Deuteronomy 17:16 : The Bondage of Egypt was the result of eating at the table of the Pharaoh and going into debt where a portion of your labor belonged to the State. This is because the tables of the authoritarian State which have been the social safety nets of societies from Babylon to Sumer and are a snare and a trap.
Returning to the Bondage of Egypt is when the people are again entangled in the elements of the world and are returning to The mire because the masses will not hear the cries of the needy and have an appetite for dainties of rulers at their neighbors' expense. An ancient way to enslave a nation of people is to tempt them to with the covetous practices of socialism which that makes them merchandise and curses their children. This new status brought them into what was called Corvee bringing them under tribute. How it works is explained in: Employ vs Enslave. Seeking the kingdom of God is following the righteous Way of Christ and the perfect law of liberty.

Corvee

“Slaves never became an important ingredient of Egyptian civilization. The large subject population and enforceable corvée system - by which serfs had to work temporarily as slaves - made a permanent force of slaves unnecessary.” History of Slavery, Susan Everett

Corvée, or statute labour, is unpaid labour imposed by the state on certain classes of people for the performance of work on public projects.

The etymology of the word corvée has its origins in Rome, and reached English via French. In the later Roman Empire the citizens performed opera publica or public works. The term is not limited to feudalism in Europe but can be applied to ancient Egypt, Sumer, and Rome. The idea that a State has the power to compel unpaid labor or can force people to turn over the value of their labor to the State has existed every where slavery is allowed. It was a form of taxation in a society with a limited money supply but it was equivalent to "day's unpaid labor due to a lord by vassals under French feudal system" (abolished 1776)"[1]

Israelite people were in a Corvee system used by Egyptians. And Solomon instituted to the detriment of Israel.

The systems of corvee from ancient times to the present day are both forms of taxation and bondage controlling the natural right and labor of individuals as persons that has been an extensive topic and subject of the Bible much neglected by modern interpretation through ignorance and design or sloth and avarice:

"CORVÉE, forced labor imposed by a conqueror on the conquered, or by a government on the citizens under its jurisdiction. Corvée labor is one of the most obvious features of the centralism in ancient Near Eastern states;... Women as well as men could be drafted for forced labor, and even animals were requisitioned for some purposes. On the other hand, certain individuals, members of certain crafts, and various social strata and settlements might be exempted from the corvée, as a personal or collective privilege."[2]

"The diversity in the forms, terminology, and origins of the corvée is likewise reflected in the biblical text."

Three separate terms are used, but... original distinctions have become blurred ...
(1) mas oved ... "compulsory labor"... from Canaanite massu...
(2) sevel or cebel (= Akk. sablum), a term found in the Mari documents[3]... are also found in scripture: sivlot ("burdens"...); sabbal ("burden-bearer"...); subbolo ("his burden"...).
(3) perekh...forced labor ... Israel became familiar with corvée labor... as the slavery in Egypt ... [and as] tributaries of the Canaanites and ... the Gibeonites to become "hewers of wood and drawers of water"... was in fact imposing on them corvée labor. ... later was Solomon forced to demand compulsory labor from the population to carry out the vast building projects he had undertaken. ... "Then King Asa made a proclamation unto all Judah; none was exempted.…" ... King Josiah repaired the Temple with the labor of sabbalim ("corvée workers"). There was also corvée labor during the period of the return to Zion. The wall around Jerusalem was built by corvée laborers (Nehemiah 4:11)."[4]

Besides the linguistic yield the Mari documents[3] and their Hebrew cognates may reveal the nature of the societies and governments at that time. There is a longlist of lexical items and includes the term "mas/škabum = Hebrew mishkav, "a lodging" which is the root of mas oved "compulsory labor"; there is sablum = Hebrew sevel "forced labor", "corvée"; which taking of the value of a man's labor, which is servitude,[5] becomes rigorous then it becomes yagâtum = Hebrew yagon, "sorrow."


The first place we see the Hebrew word mac (MemSamech(מַס)) is Genesis 49:15:

"And he saw that rest [was] good, and the land that [it was] pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute <04522>."[6]

The meaning of this verse concerning Issachar is reflected in the commentaries. Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges state that "Issachar was ready to kneel, and bear any heavy burden, for the sake of a quiet life in a fertile land." and goes on to say "Issachar is reproached for being ready to undertake forced labour, and so to acknowledge the Canaanites as his overlords." While, Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament state, "Like an idle beast of burden, he would rather submit to the yoke and be forced to do the work of a slave, than risk his possessions and his peace in the struggle for liberty. To bend the shoulder to the yoke, to come down to carrying burdens and become a mere serf, was unworthy of Israel, the nation of God that was called to rule..." In truth the nation was called to be a priest to all nations, setting an example as to The Way of the Kingdom of God.


It appears throughout the Old Testament in one form or another dozens of times.[7]

A less common word is cebel (סֵבֶל‎).[8] The same letters SamechBeitLamed are given several other Strong's numbers. There is the verb to bear a load or just labor.[9] There is the Aramaic verb cëbal (סְבַל)[10] which we see in Ezra concerning building the foundation of the house of God by a decree of Cyrus the king with [11]

05446 ‎ (Aramaic) [seb-al’]

corresponding to 05445; v; [BDB-1103b] [{See TWOT on 2882 }]

AV-strongly laid 1; 1

1) to bear a load 1a) (Poal) laid (participle) cebel [say’-bel]

from 05445; n m; [BDB-687b] [{See TWOT on 1458 @@ "1458a" }]

AV-burden 2, charge 1; 3

1) load, burden



Some will say that Jeroboam was the first Israelite king to be the head of Corvee system when he sets up rival cult in Dan and Bethel when he sets up golden calves; Ahijah rejects him.

But in 1 Kings 11 we see at the end of the life of King Solomon had this same sin and was warned by the Prophet Ahijah that as punishment for imposing a corvee upon the people the Kingdom would be split losing rulership over most of the Tribes of Israel. They would be taken away from his descendants (1 Kings 11: 11-13) when they would go back to their own tents.


The Corvee of Solomon

"Solomon could not have built on the scale he did with the resources ordinarily at the command of a free ruler. Accordingly we find that one of the institutions fostered by him was the corvee, or forced labor. No doubt something of the kind always had existed (Joshua 9:21-27) and still exists in all despotic governments. Thus the people of a village will be called on to repair the neighboring roads, especially when the Pasha is making a progress in the neighborhood. But Solomon made the thing permanent and national (1 Kings 5:13-15; 1 Kings 9:15). The immediate purpose of the levy was to supply laborers for work in the Lebanon in connection with his building operations. Thus 30,000 men were raised and drafted, 10,000 at a time, to the Lebanon, where they remained for a month, thus having two months out of every three at home. But even when the immediate cause had ceased, the practice once introduced was kept up and it became one of the chief grievances which levi to the dismemberment of the kingdom (1 Kings 12:18, Adoram = Adoniram; compare 2 Samuel 20:24), for hitherto the corvee had been confined to foreign slaves taken in war (1 Kings 9:21). It is said the higher posts were reserved for Israelites, the laborers being foreigners (1 Kings 9:22), that is, the Israelites acted as foremen. Some of the foreign slaves seem to have formed a guild in connection with the Temple which lasted down to the time of the exile (Ezra 2:55-57; Nehemiah 7:57-59)."[12]

This creation of a corvee where the people become "bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water"[13] is contrary to the kingdom of God and required people making a league or covenant[14] with rulers who exercise authority one over the other. yet we see the spirit of it in many stories of the Bible.

Deuteronomy 29:11 Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that [is] in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water:
2 Chronicles 2:17 And Solomon numbered all the strangers that [were] in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred.
2 Chronicles 2:18 And he set threescore and ten thousand of them [to be] bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand [to be] hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people a work.
Joshua 9:15 ¶ And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.

Later, in Ezra the people will return to the location of Jerusalem and make an attempt to restore the kingdom and a temple at Jerusalem.


Employ vs Enslave, SS Video Series 7-10 7:28


“Whatever day makes man a slave, takes half his worth away.” Homer - Odyssey. Bk.XVII. L.392. Pope’s trans.
But this would mean, “Whatever day takes half his worth away, makes a man a slave.”


Social insurance

In order to get people to sign up for a corvee system there usually needs to be the appearance of an advantage to the members.

Social insurance was not an American invention. For the most part, it was a Continental innovation, appearing first in Europe in the late 19th century. some 20 nations around the world already had such a program in place, and another 30 or more had introduced at least one other social insurance program. Contributory Social Insurance programs first began as early as 1900 in parts of Australia. thy were limited in scope until the late 1920s.

This new idea of a government run social security system began in Austria shortly after the 1938 Anschluss thanks to Hitler's progressive approach. In America a similar system was established by President Roosevelt on August 14, 1935. Thousands of years earlier the Pharaoh and Joseph set up a similar system in Egypt. That system allowed all the citizens of a country to literally be Employed by the State. In Egypt Joseph limited the share of labor that the state could take to only 1/5 of the annual labor of the people and it was called the bondage of Egypt. That amounted to 20% of an individuals labor was taken from the people to support the welfare system provided by the State.

Some times there is a famine and to get help a ruler will set up a system like that in Egypt set up by Joseph for the Pharaoh. He put a ceiling limit of 20%. Other systems are not limited as to the amount and some systems borrow what is needed and the people may become a surety for the debt.

No value

In Egypt gold was removed from the people and they used something as money that had no value except within their system. The Spartan also saw private wealth as the enemy of the state and only had lead money. The people needed to be in debt with no accumulation of real wealth or real money where they might be able to pay their debt and buy their freedom. They could have legal tender but not lawful money.

The move to a fiat monetary economy and modern federal employee identification number makes it possible to have a more diversified work force. Instead of moving people to a work camp of government workers all workers labor at their regular job under the authority of someone who as a Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN). That employer sends the funds that they could have been paid to the laborer to the Federal government. The value of his labor is diverted by federal employers so that if an individual works 10 hours, they will only be paid for some of those hours. Other term for this may include Social Security tax, income tax, ortribute.

In this way everyone works at their regular jobs without pay for a period of time each hour of each day and what would have gone into their pockets now is, in theory, sent to fund the government in the construction of infrastructure or for providing other government services. In this way the modern tax system more closely resembles the corvee systems of unpaid labor imposed by the state on classes within society.

In the modern times since almost all governments borrow their operating funds more often what is taken from its members is only used to pay the interest on the staggering and an ever increasing debt of the government.

So, because the government pays for services provided for with borrowed funds the worker is actually perpetually working merely to pay the interest on ever loans from "the bankers' banker", like the Federal Reserve.

The individual registered workers are actually employed in the bondage of Egypt without the 20% ceiling imposed by Joseph.

Right to Labor

The people in Egypt no longer had an exclusive right to their labor for they have been employed by the State. In fact, as collateral for debt of the government, they were also surety for the debts of the government.

“The man who gives me employment, which I must have or suffer, that man is my master, let me call him what I will.” Henry George - Social Problems, Ch. V.

There are a variety of ways people are persuaded to sign away their right to their labor. A number of philosophies and ideologies have arisen under different names but all of them take society in the same direction.

Marxism is a political and economic way of organizing society, where the workers own the means of production. Socialism is a way of organizing a society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the proletariat. Marx proposed that this was the next necessary step in the progress of history.

To say Marxism "evolved" is like saying a cancer evolved. Man is an individual product of creation, and a singular means of production of creation with a natural right to choose. But as a human, and a member of mankind, he must care about his fellowman's rights as much as his own.

Marx summarized his philosophy in the simple phrase: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”

The question remains who decides the “from” and who should decide the legitimacy of a “need”?

Since, “Freedom is the Right to Choose, the Right to create for oneself the alternatives of Choice. Without the possibility of Choice, and the exercise of Choice, a man is not a man but a member, an instrument, a thing”, then you cannot have Marxism unless you take choice from the individual, making the man less a person and more a thing.

Marxism by its nature is the end of the natural right to choose and freedom itself. In Marxism man becomes an instrument, a thing and little more than a means of production and a resource.

It is bad enough in the nature of Marxism a man looses his liberty but in his desire to benefit at his comrades expense he also forfeits his soul with the loss of his humanity.

Marxism, Communism, Socialism and other economic and political systems depend for their legitimacy on some of the same arguments of justification.

By their nature the must take some of the power of choice away from the individual as we can see in the summary of the Marxists ideology:

  • “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”

Man in his natural state may live by, “From each according to his ability and his free choice, to each according to his needs according to love and mercy of the individual.”

By contrast, socialism in theory is based on the idea that people will be compensated at some future date based on their level of individual contribution to the economy. I truth that is not the way the system are created.

Like the Pharaoh in an age gone by these systems inevitably require people to make bricks with little or no straw.[15]

These system and the men who rule in them call themselves benefactors but exercise authority one over the other. The free bread they provide will make the people merchandise and curse children. The warnings by historians and prophets are abundant but the people return to the Mire.

Three corvee terms

(1) mas oved[16] (Genesis 49:10; Joshua 16:10, etc.; "compulsory labor" and mas alone 1 Kings 4:6; 1 Kings 5:27
(2) sevel (= Akk. sablum) or סֵבֶל‎ SamechBeitLamed or cebel[8]
(3) perekh
  1. https://www.etymonline.com/word/corvee
  2. https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/modern-europe/ancient-history-middle-ages-and-feudalism/corvee
  3. 3.0 3.1 The Mari or Maʾeri documents, 20,000 cuneiform tablets, give information about the earliest government, its customs, and people. More than 3000 are letters, the remainder includes administrative, economic, and judicial texts.
  4. Three separate terms are used, but they are sometimes juxtaposed, a sign that the original distinctions have become blurred (see Exodus 1:11–12):
    (1) mas oved (Genesis 49:10; Joshua 16:10, etc.; "compulsory labor"), and sometimes mas alone (e.g., 1 Kings 4:6; 5:27). This expression is derived from Canaanite massu, "corvée worker," attested at *El-Amarna[eastern side of the Nile River, ... temples, government establishments, utilitarian facilities such as grain silos] and *Alalakh[Bronze Age city-state ]. A Hebrew seal dating from the seventh century b.c.e. reads "belonging to Pelaiah who is in charge of the mas."
    (2) sevel or cebel (= Akk. sablum), a term found in the Mari documents[The Mari or Maʾeri documents, 20,000 cuneiform tablets, give information about the earliest government, its customs, and people. More than 3000 are letters, the remainder includes administrative, economic, and judicial texts.] (18th century b.c.e.). Its particularized meaning is a labor unit for emergency use. It appears three times in the Bible, 1 Kings 11:28; Psalms 81:7; and Nehemiah 4:11. Cognate nouns from the same stem are also found in scripture: sivlot ("burdens": Exodus 1:11; Exodus 2:11; Exodus 5:4–5; Exodus 6:6–7); sabbal ("burden-bearer": 1 Kings 5:29; 2 Chronicles 2:1, 17; 2 Chronicles 34:13); subbolo ("his burden": Isaiah 9:3; Isaiah 10:27; Isaiah 14:25).
    (3) perekh, sometimes said to be a term, Mesopotamian by origin, for forced labor; but its general meaning in the Bible seems to be "harshness" or "ruthlessness" (Exodus 1:11-12; Exodus 2:11; Leviticus 25:43, 46; Ezekiel 34:4). The children of Israel became familiar with corvée labor (Exodus 1:11, et al.) in the course of their wanderings, inasmuch as the slavery in Egypt was a prolonged period of compulsory labor. During the Israelite conquest corvée labor was one of the indications of the nature of relations between the Canaanite population. According to the biblical account, sometimes the Israelites were tributaries of the Canaanites and sometimes the position was reversed (Genesis 49:15; Judges 1:33, et al.). There are those who think that by compelling the Gibeonites to become "hewers of wood and drawers of water" (Joshua 9:21) Joshua was in fact imposing on them corvée labor. Corvée labor became a permanent institution only in the period of the monarchy. According to 2 Samuel 20:24, the minister who was "over the levy" was one of the highest officials in David's regime. It seems that he was a foreigner, attached to the royal staff for his expertise. The same official served Solomon and Rehoboam (1 Kings 4:6; 1 Kings 12]]:18; 2 Chronicles 10:18). Possibly, at first, only foreign elements in the country were obliged to submit to corvée labor (1 Kings 9:20–22; 2 Chronicles 8:7–9); only later was Solomon forced to demand compulsory labor from the population to carry out the vast building projects he had undertaken. Some scholars have supposed that mas oved was the term applied when foreign manpower was used and that sevel was indicative of an Israelite labor force. Yet such a distinction is not sufficiently evident, even if the corvée imposed by Solomon upon the tribes of the House of Joseph was called sevel (1 Kings 11:28). Mendelsohn suggested that mas (or sevel) was the corvée exacted for short periods from freemen. According to his view, the term mas oved means "state slavery." The Bible states that Solomon sent thirty thousand men to hew cedars in Lebanon for the building of the Temple, in monthly shifts of ten thousand (1 Kings 5:26–28). Similarly, he had at his disposal some seventy thousand "corvée workers" and eighty thousand "hewers in the mountains" (1 Kings 5:29ff.). There is a hint of the continuation of the corvée tradition in the reign of Asa (1 Kings 15:22). Asa built Geba Benjamin with stones taken by his subjects from Ramah: "Then King Asa made a proclamation unto all Judah; none was exempted.…" (i.e., none could refuse the corvée). According to 2 Chronicles 34:13, King Josiah repaired the Temple with the labor of sabbalim ("corvée workers"). There was also corvée labor during the period of the return to Zion. The wall around Jerusalem was built by corvée laborers (Nehemiah 4:11)." https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/modern-europe/ancient-history-middle-ages-and-feudalism/corvee
  5. “Whatever day makes man a slave, takes half his worth away.” —Homer, Odyssey.
    "None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
  6. 04522 ^סמ^ mac MemSamech \@mas\@ or ^סמ^ mic \@mees\@ same as 04523 מָס‎ mac afflicted, despairing, from 04549 מָסַס‎ macac to dissolve, to faint, grow fearful; n m; {See TWOT on 1218} AV-tribute 12, tributary 5, levy 4, discomfited 1, taskmasters 1; 23
    1) gang or body of forced labourers, task-workers, labour band or gang, forced service, task-work, serfdom, tributary, tribute, levy, taskmasters, discomfited
    1a) labour-band, labour-gang, slave gang
    1b) gang-overseers
    1c) forced service, serfdom, tribute, enforced payment
    • מ ם Mem Fountain of water, a flow, a fountain of the Divine Wisdom [massive, overpower chaos] (Numeric value: 40)
    • ס Samech The Eternal Cycle The circular symbolizes the fundamental truth described in the mystery of the ten statements [ prop... Support, turn] (Numeric value: 60)
  7. Exodus 1:11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters <04522> to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
    Deuteronomy 20:11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, [that] all the people [that is] found therein shall be tributaries <04522> unto thee, and they shall serve thee.
    Joshua 16:10 And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute <04522>.
    Joshua 17:13 Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute <04522>; but did not utterly drive them out.
    Judges 1:28 And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute <04522>, and did not utterly drive them out.
    Judges 1:30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries <04522>.
    Judges 1:33 Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries <04522> unto them.
    Judges 1:35 But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries <04522>.
    2 Samuel 20:24 And Adoram [was] over the tribute <04522>: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud [was] recorder:
    1 Kings 4:6 And Ahishar [was] over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda [was] over the tribute <04522>.
    1 Kings 5:13 And king Solomon raised a levy <04522> out of all Israel; and the levy <04522> was thirty thousand men.
    1 Kings 5:14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, [and] two months at home: and Adoniram [was] over the levy <04522>.
    1 Kings 9:15 And this [is] the reason of the levy <04522> which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.
    1 Kings 9:21 Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute <04522> of bondservice unto this day.
    1 Kings 12:18 Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who [was] over the tribute <04522>; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
    2 Chronicles 8:8 [But] of their children, who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, them did Solomon make to pay tribute <04522> until this day.
    2 Chronicles 10:18 Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram that [was] over the tribute <04522>; and the children of Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. But king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to [his] chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
    Esther 10:1 And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute <04522> upon the land, and [upon] the isles of the sea.
    Proverbs 12:24 The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute <04522>.
    Isaiah 31:8 Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited <04522>.
    Lamentations 1:1 How doth the city sit solitary, [that was] full of people! [how] is she become as a widow! she [that was] great among the nations, [and] princess among the provinces, [how] is she become tributary <04522>!
  8. 8.0 8.1 05447 סֵבֶל‎ cebel SamechBeitLamed [say’-bel] from 05445; n m; [BDB-687b] [{See TWOT on 1458 @@ "1458a" }] AV-burden 2, charge 1; 3
    1) load, burden
  9. 05445 סָבַל‎ cabal [saw-bal’] a primitive root; v; [BDB-687b] [{See TWOT on 1458 }] AV-carry 4, bear 3, labour 1, burden 1; 9
    1) to bear, bear a load, drag oneself along
    1a) (Qal) to bear (a load)
    1b) (Pual) laden (participle)
    1c) (Hithpael) to make oneself a burden, drag oneself along
  10. 05446 סְבַל‎ cëbal (Aramaic) [seb-al’] corresponding to 05445; v; [BDB-1103b] [{See TWOT on 2882 }] AV-strongly laid 1; 1
    1) to bear a load
    1a) (Poal) laid (participle)
    Same as 05445, 05446, 05447, 05448, 05449 סָבַל‎ cabal with 05450 סְבָלָה‎ cëbalah meaning forced or compulsory service which we see in Exodus 1:11, Exodus 2:11, Exodus 5:4,5; Exodus 6:6, 7
  11. Ezra 6:3 In the first year of Cyrus the king [the same] Cyrus the king made a decree [concerning] the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid <05446>; the height thereof threescore cubits, [and] the breadth thereof threescore cubits;
  12. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Online
  13. Joshua 9:23 Now therefore ye [are] cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.
  14. Make no covenant
    Exodus 23:32 "Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods ‭33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee..."
    Exodus 34:12 "Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: 13 But ye shall destroy(TavTavTzadikVavNun tittōṣūn, תִּתֹּצ֔וּן) their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: 14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name [is] Jealous, [is] a jealous God: 15 Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and [one] call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;"
    Deuteronomy 7:2 "And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, [and] utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:"
    Deuteronomy 7:16 "And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that [will be] a snare unto thee."
    Deuteronomy 7:24 "And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them."
    Numbers 25:2 "And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods."
    Judges 2:2 "And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?"
    1 Kings 9:22 "But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they [were] men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen." see 1 Samuel 8
    Proverbs 1:10 "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not."
    Obadiah 1:7 "All the men of thy confederacy<01285> have brought thee [even] to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, [and] prevailed against thee; [they that eat] thy bread have laid a wound under thee: [there is] none understanding in him."
    2 Corinthians 6:15 "And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?"
  15. Exodus 5:7 Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.
  16. 04522 ^סמ^ mac MemSamech \@mas\@ or ^סמ^ mic \@mees\@ same as 04523 מָס‎ mac afflicted, despairing, from 04549 מָסַס‎ macac to dissolve, to faint, grow fearful; n m; {See TWOT on 1218} AV-tribute 12, tributary 5, levy 4, discomfited 1, taskmasters 1; 23
    1) gang or body of forced labourers, task-workers, labour band or gang, forced service, task-work, serfdom, tributary, tribute, levy, taskmasters, discomfited
    1a) labour-band, labour-gang, slave gang
    1b) gang-overseers
    1c) forced service, serfdom, tribute, enforced payment
    • מ ם Mem Fountain of water, a flow, a fountain of the Divine Wisdom [massive, overpower chaos] (Numeric value: 40)
    • ס Samech The Eternal Cycle The circular symbolizes the fundamental truth described in the mystery of the ten statements [ prop... Support, turn] (Numeric value: 60)