Bondservant
We see the word bondservant in the Bible in Leviticus 25:39 "And if thy brother [that dwelleth] by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:"[1] This word ‘ebed AyinBeitDalet is only translated bondservant this one time although it appears in the biblical text 800 times. It is from the verb..‘abad meaning to work, serve.[2] It can relate to almost any type of bondservice as we see in 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 of bondservice unto this day."
It is also related to the bondage of Egypt as a "bondman" as we see in Genesis 44:33 "Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren."
In Ephesians 6:20 Paul says "For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." The Apostles were servants of Christ. Paul begins the first Epistle to the Romans with "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called [to be] an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God," Romans 1:1
The word here for servant is doulos[3] from the word deo to bind tie.[4] The Levites were in bondage to God in the Old Testament and could be considered the bondservants of God.
1a) a slave
1b) metaph., one who gives himself up to another’s will, those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing his cause among men
- ↑ 05650 ^דבע^ ‘ebed AyinBeitDalet \@eh’- bed\@ from 05647 verb serve; n m; AV-servant 744, manservant 23, bondman 21, bondage 10, bondservant 1, on all sides 1; 800
- 1) slave, servant
- 1a) slave, servant, man-servant
- 1b) subjects; metaph., one who gives himself up to another’s will, those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing his cause
among men - 1c) servants, worshippers (of God)
- 1d) servant (in special sense as prophets, Levites etc)
- 1e) servant (of Israel)
- 1f) servant (as form of address between equals)
- The word worshipper does not appear in the Old Testament except as a translation of abad which clearly means to serve. The word for worship is often shachah. Study Aboda
- ע Ayin also U. Divine Providence "eye" or "fountain" of five states of kindness or severity. AlefYodNun or nothingness as opposed to AlefShin something [eye, watch] (Numeric value: 70)
- ב Beit Purpose: God's Dwelling Place Below - a house or God's house here. [household, in, into] (Numeric value: 2)
- ד Dalet Selflessness – Charity, back and forth or through a door or pathway, to enter like a fish (Numeric value: 4)
- 1) slave, servant
- ↑ 05647 ^דבע^ ‘abad \@aw-bad’\@ a primitive root AyinBeitDalet; v; AV-serve 227, do 15, till 9, servant 5, work 5, worshippers 5, service 4, dress 2, labour 2, ear 2, misc 14; 290
- 1) to work, serve
- 1a) (Qal)
- 1a1) to labour, work, do work
- 1a2) to work for another, serve another by labour
- 1a) (Qal)
- 1a3) to serve as subjects
- 1a4) to serve (God)
- 1a5) to serve (with Levitical service)
- 1b) (Niphal)
- 1b1) to be worked, be tilled (of land)
- 1b2) to make oneself a servant
- 1c) (Pual) to be worked
- 1d) (Hiphil)
- 1d1) to compel to labour or work, cause to labour, cause to serve
- 1d2) to cause to serve as subjects
- 1e) (Hophal) to be led or enticed to serve
- Also see the verb 05648 ^דבע^ AyinBeitDalet;
- The word worshipper does not appear in the Old Testament except as a translation of abad which clearly means to serve. The word for worship is shachah. Study Aboda
- ע Ayin also U. Divine Providence "eye" or "fountain" of five states of kindness or severity. AlefYodNun or nothingness as opposed to AlefShin something [eye, watch] (Numeric value: 70)
- ב Beit Purpose: God's Dwelling Place Below - a house or God's house here. [household, in, into] (Numeric value: 2)
- ד Dalet Selflessness – Charity, back and forth or through a door or pathway, to enter like a fish (Numeric value: 4)
- 1) to work, serve
- ↑ 1401 ~δοῦλος~ doulos \@doo’-los\@ from 1210 deo to bind; n AV-servant 120, bond 6, bondman 1; 127
- 1) a slave, bondman, man of servile condition
- 1a) a slave
- 1b) metaph., one who gives himself up to another’s will, those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing his cause among men
- 1c) devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests
- 2) a servant, attendant
- 1) a slave, bondman, man of servile condition
- ↑ 1210 ~δέω~ deo \@deh’-o\@ a root; v AV-bind 37, tie 4, knit 1, be in bonds 1, wind 1; 44
- 1) to bind tie, fasten
- 1a) to bind, fasten with chains, to throw into chains
- 1b) metaph.
- 1b1) Satan is said to bind a woman bent together by means of a demon, as his messenger, taking possession of the woman and preventing her from standing upright
- 1b2) to bind, put under obligation, of the law, duty etc.
- 1b2a) to be bound to one, a wife, a husband
- 1b3) to forbid, prohibit, declare to be illicit
- 1) to bind tie, fasten