עָבַד
to serve
‘to serve’ is one of 3 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Qal verb in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”). Here: ‘labour’
- Hophal
- The passive counterpart of the Hiphil (“he was caused to…”).
- Pual
- The passive counterpart of the Piel.
- Niphal
- Usually the simple passive or reflexive of the Qal (“he was written”). Here: ‘be tilled’
- Hiphil
- The causative active stem (“he caused / brought about”). Here: ‘compel to labour as slaves Ex 1’
Form
- Infinitive Construct
- A bound verbal noun, frequently with prepositions (“to write / in writing”).
- Sequential Imperfect
- An imperfect with prefixed waw — the standard past-narrative form (waw-consecutive imperfect).
- Sequential Perfect
- A perfect with prefixed waw continuing a preceding imperfect or command (waw-consecutive perfect).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Imperative
- A direct command (“write!”).
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
- Cohortative
- A first-person volitional form expressing wish or resolve (“let me / let us write”).
- Jussive
- A third- or second-person volitional form expressing wish or command (“let him write”).
State
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Person
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
- 2nd Person
- The one addressed (“you”).
- 1st Person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
- Singular
- One.
Page 2 of 2 — showing verses 201–246 of 246 distinct verses where H5647 appears in the Qal stem, across 25 books. Filtered view — show all forms. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Isaiah 6 verses
- Isaiah 28:21 וְ/לַֽ/עֲבֹד֙ conj + prep + Qal inf.cs For Yahweh will rise up as on Mount Perazim, he will be angry as in the valley of Gibeon; that he may do his work, his strange work, and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
- Isaiah 30:24 עֹֽבְדֵי֙ Qal ptcp.act mp cs the oxen likewise and the young donkeys that till the ground shall eat savory provender, which has been winnowed with the shovel and with the fork.
- Isaiah 60:12 יַעַבְד֖וּ/ךְ Qal impf 3mp + sfx pers 2fs For that nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; yes, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
Jeremiah 30 verses
- Jeremiah 2:20 אעבד Qal impf 1cs For of old time I have broken your yoke, and burst your bonds; and you said, I will not serve; for on every high hill and under every green tree you did bow yourself, playing the prostitute.
- Jeremiah 5:19 וַ/תַּעַבְד֞וּ תַּעַבְד֣וּ conj + Qal wimpf 2mp Qal impf 2mp It shall happen, when you shall say, Why has Yahweh our God done all these things to us? then shall you say to them, Like as you have forsaken me, and served foreign gods in your land, so shall you serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
- Jeremiah 8:2 עֲבָדוּ/ם֙ Qal pf 3cp + sfx pers 3mp and they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of the sky, which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought, and which they have worshiped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried, they shall be for dung on the surface of the earth.
- Jeremiah 11:10 לְ/עָבְדָ֑/ם prep + Qal inf.cs + sfx pers 3mp They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words; and they are gone after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
- Jeremiah 13:10 לְ/עָבְדָ֖/ם prep + Qal inf.cs + sfx pers 3mp This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their heart, and are gone after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this belt, which is profitable for nothing.
- Jeremiah 16:11 וַ/יַּעַבְד֖וּ/ם conj + Qal wimpf 3mp + sfx pers 3mp Then shall you tell them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, says Yahweh, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshiped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;
- Jeremiah 16:13 וַ/עֲבַדְתֶּם conj + Qal wpf 2mp therefore will I cast you forth out of this land into the land that you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there shall you serve other gods day and night; for I will show you no favor.
- Jeremiah 22:9 וַ/יַּעַבְדֽוּ/ם conj + Qal wimpf 3mp + sfx pers 3mp Then they shall answer, Because they forsook the covenant of Yahweh their God, and worshiped other gods, and served them.
- Jeremiah 22:13 יַעֲבֹ֣ד Qal impf 3ms Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice; who uses his neighbor's service without wages, and doesn't give him his hire;
- Jeremiah 25:6 לְ/עָבְדָ֖/ם prep + Qal inf.cs + sfx pers 3mp and don't go after other gods to serve them or worship them, and don't provoke me to anger with the work of your hands; and I will do you no harm.
- Jeremiah 25:11 וְ/עָ֨בְד֜וּ conj + Qal wpf 3cp This whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
- Jeremiah 25:14 עָֽבְדוּ Qal pf 3cp For many nations and great kings shall make bondservants of them, even of them; and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their hands.
- Jeremiah 27:6 לְ/עָבְדֽ/וֹ prep + Qal inf.cs + sfx pers 3ms Now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the animals of the field also have I given him to serve him.
- Jeremiah 27:7 וְ/עָבְד֤וּ וְ/עָ֤בְדוּ conj + Qal wpf 3cp conj + Qal wpf 3cp All the nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the time of his own land come: and then many nations and great kings shall make him their bondservant.
- Jeremiah 27:8 יַעַבְד֤וּ Qal impf 3mp It shall happen, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, says Yahweh, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.
- Jeremiah 27:9 תַעַבְד֖וּ Qal impf 2mp But as for you, don't you listen to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreams, nor to your soothsayers, nor to your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, You shall not serve the king of Babylon:
- Jeremiah 27:11 וַֽ/עֲבָד֑/וֹ וַֽ/עֲבָדָ֖/הּ conj + Qal wpf 3ms + sfx pers 3ms conj + Qal wpf 3ms + sfx pers 3fs But the nation that shall bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, that [nation] will I let remain in their own land, says Yahweh; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.
- Jeremiah 27:12 וְ/עִבְד֥וּ conj + Qal impv 2mp I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.
- Jeremiah 27:13 יַעֲבֹ֖ד Qal impf 3ms Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as Yahweh has spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
- Jeremiah 27:14 תַעַבְד֖וּ Qal impf 2mp Don't listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, You shall not serve the king of Babylon; for they prophesy a lie to you.
- Jeremiah 27:17 עִבְד֥וּ Qal impv 2mp Don't listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: why should this city become a desolation?
- Jeremiah 28:14 לַ/עֲבֹ֛ד וַ/עֲבָדֻ֑/הוּ prep + Qal inf.cs conj + Qal wpf 3cp + sfx pers 3ms For thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the animals of the field also.
- Jeremiah 30:8 יַעַבְדוּ Qal impf 3mp It shall come to pass in that day, says Yahweh of Hosts, that I will break his yoke from off your neck, and will burst your bonds; and strangers shall no more make him their bondservant;
- Jeremiah 30:9 וְ/עָ֣בְד֔וּ conj + Qal wpf 3cp but they shall serve Yahweh their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up to them.
- Jeremiah 34:9 עֲבָד Qal inf.cs that every man should let his man-servant, and every man his maid-servant, who is a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, go free; that none should make bondservants of them, [to wit], of a Jew his brother.
- Jeremiah 34:10 עֲבָד Qal inf.cs All the princes and all the people obeyed, who had entered into the covenant, that everyone should let his man-servant, and everyone his maid-servant, go free, that none should make bondservants of them any more; they obeyed, and let them go:
- Jeremiah 34:14 וַ/עֲבָֽדְ/ךָ֙ conj + Qal wpf 3ms + sfx pers 2ms At the end of seven years you shall let go every man his brother who is a Hebrew, who has been sold to you, and has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you: but your fathers didn't listen to me, neither inclined their ear.
- Jeremiah 35:15 לְ/עָבְדָ֔/ם prep + Qal inf.cs + sfx pers 3mp I have sent also to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return you now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and don't go after other gods to serve them, and you shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but you have not inclined your ear, nor listened to me.
- Jeremiah 40:9 מֵ/עֲב֣וֹד וְ/עִבְד֛וּ prep + Qal inf.cs conj + Qal impv 2mp Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan swore to them and to their men, saying, Don't be afraid to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.
- Jeremiah 44:3 לַ/עֲבֹ֖ד prep + Qal inf.cs because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, [and] to serve other gods, that they didn't know, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers.
Ezekiel 7 verses
- Ezekiel 20:39 עֲבֹ֔דוּ Qal impv 2mp As for you, house of Israel, thus says the Lord Yahweh: Go you, serve everyone his idols, and hereafter also, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name shall you no more profane with your gifts, and with your idols.
- Ezekiel 20:40 יַעַבְדֻ֜/נִי Qal impf 3mp + sfx pers 1cs For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, says the Lord Yahweh, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them, serve me in the land: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the first fruits of your offerings, with all your holy things.
- Ezekiel 29:18 הֶעֱבִ֨יד עָבַ֥ד Hiphil pf 3ms Qal pf 3ms Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was worn; yet had he no wages, nor his army, from Tyre, for the service that he had served against it.
- Ezekiel 29:20 עָ֣בַד Qal pf 3ms I have given him the land of Egypt as his recompense for which he served, because they worked for me, says the Lord Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 34:27 הָ/עֹבְדִ֥ים ptcl def.art + Qal ptcp.act mp The tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land; and they shall know that I am Yahweh, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those who made slaves of them.
- Ezekiel 48:18 לְ/עֹבְדֵ֖י prep + Qal ptcp.act mp cs The remainder in the length, answerable to the holy offering, shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward; and it shall be answerable to the holy offering; and the increase of it shall be for food to those who labor in the city.
- Ezekiel 48:19 וְ/הָ/עֹבֵ֖ד יַעַבְד֕וּ/הוּ conj + ptcl def.art + Qal ptcp.act ms Qal impf 3mp + sfx pers 3ms Those who labor in the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall until it.
Hosea 1 verse
Zephaniah 1 verse
Zechariah 1 verse
Malachi 3 verses
- Malachi 3:14 עֲבֹ֣ד Qal inf.cs You have said, 'It is vain to serve God;' and 'What profit is it that we have kept his charge, and that we have walked mournfully before Yahweh of Hosts?
- Malachi 3:17 הָ/עֹבֵ֥ד ptcl def.art + Qal ptcp.act ms They shall be mine," says Yahweh of Hosts, "my own possession in the day that I make, and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him.
- Malachi 3:18 עֹבֵ֣ד עֲבָדֽ/וֹ Qal ptcp.act ms cs Qal pf 3ms + sfx pers 3ms Then you shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serves God and him who doesn't serve him.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
At its core, עבד (ʻâbad) means “to serve.” The verb spans 5 stems, from Qal to Niphal. Spanning 262 verses in 25 books, it ranks among the common words of the Hebrew Bible. Scripture first uses it in Genesis 2:5. From the same root come מעבד, עבד and עבד. Dig into 262-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H5647 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 262
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 262 distinct verses.
- 25 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 25 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #172
- by frequency
- Top 250 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 172 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 262 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Deuteronomy 35 verses 13%
- Jeremiah 31 verses 12%
- Exodus 29 verses 11%
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 262 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 123 verses · 47%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 110 verses · 42%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 29 verses · 11%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Serve 70×, Served 43×, Shall serve 12×
- American Standard Version: Serve 53×, Served 29×, Them 9×
- Berean Standard Bible: Serve 52×, Served 30×, Worship 12×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Serve 58×, Served 18×, Serve them 15×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H5647 across 291 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 85 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 2 further occurrences.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H5647 across 292 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 93 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H5647 across 285 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 83 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 4 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H5647 across 328 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 83 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
17 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each. This entry also uses Pual (the passive of Piel) and Hophal (the passive of Hiphil).
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 17 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
Qal
- Pf. 3 ms. ע׳ Ez 29:18 +; sf. עֲבָדוֹ Mal 3:18 +; 3 mpl. עָֽבְדוּ Dt 7:4; עָבָ֑דוּ Nu 4:26, + 64 times Pf.; Impf. 3 ms. יַעֲבֹד Gn 25:23 +; sf. יַעַבְדֵ֫נִי Ex 4:23; יַעַבְדֶ֫נּוּ ψ 22:31 2 K 10:18; 3 mpl. יַעַבְדוּ Dt 12:30 +; יַעֲבֹ֑דוּ Gn 15:14 (Dr§ 103) Jb 36:11; 2 mpl. תַּעַבְדוּן Ex 3:12, תַּעֲבֹד֑וּן Jos 24:15, + 99 times Impf.; (תָּעָבְדֵם, נָֽעָבְדֵם v. Hoph.); Imv. עֲבֹד 1 S 26:19; sf. עָבְדֵהוּ 1 Ch 28:9; עִבְדוּ Ex 5:18 + 15 times; עֲבֹ֑דוּ Ez 20:39; sf. עִבְדֻהוּ 1 S 7:3; Inf. cstr. עֲבֹד Mal 3:14 +; עֲבָד־ Je 34:9, 10; sf. עָבְדוֹ Je 27:6 +, etc.; Pt. עֹבֵד Gn 4:2 +; pl. עֹבְדִים Nu 18:21 +; cstr. עֹבְדֵי ψ 97:7 +; sf. עֹבְדָיו 2 K 10:19; עֹבְדֵיהֶם Zc 2:13;— e.g. Ezekiel 29:18
- 1. labour, work, do work: abs. Ex 20:9 = 34:21 = Dt 5:13 (4th word); Ex 5:18 (E) Ec 5:11; c. acc. rei, till the ground Gn 2:5; 3:23; 4:2, 12 (J), 2 S 9:10; Is 30:24; Je 27:11; Zc 13:5; Pr 12:11; 28:19; obj. om. Dt 15:19; Ez 48:19; vineyard Dt 28:39; garden Gn 2:15 (J); עֹבְדֵי פִשְׁתִּים Is 19:9 workers in flax; עֹבְדֵ(י) הָעִיר Ez 48:18, 19 labourers of the city; ע׳ עֲבֹדָתוֹ Is 28:21 work his work (only here of God, ‖ עשׂה מַעֲשֵׂהוּ); ע׳ עבדה על Ez 29:18 serve a military service against. e.g. Exodus 20:9
- 2. work for another, serve him by labour: abs. Ex 21:2 (E); c. acc. pers. Gn 29:15; 31:6; Ex 21:6 (E) Dt 15:12, 18; Mal 3:17; Je 34:14, king his people 1 K 12:7; subj. animals Je 27:6; Jb 39:9; c. acc. pers. et rei Gn 30:26(×2), 29 (J); c. לְ pers. 2 S 16:19; עִם Gn 29:25, 30 (E) Lv 25:40 (P); עִמָּדִי Gn 29:27 (E); לִפְנֵי 2 S 16:19(×2); c. בְּ of price Gn 29:18, 20, 25; 31:41 (E) Ho 12:13; Ez 29:20; c. בְּ pers. work by means of another, use him as slave, Ex 1:14; Lv 25:39, 46 (P) Je 22:13; 30:8; 34:9, 10; cf. Dt 15:19. e.g. Exodus 21:2
- 3. serve as subjects: usually c. acc., their own rulers Ju 9:28(×2), 38 1 S 11:1; 1 K 5:1 +; other kings, by tribute ψ 18:44 = 2 S 22:44; Je 27:7; 28:14; 2 K 25:24 +, other nations 2 S 10:19; Je 40:9; Zc 2:13 +, kings other kings 2 K 18:7 +, c. לְ, 1 S 4:9(×2); †מַס עֹבֵד Gn 49:15 (J) Jos 16:10; 1 K 9:21 (see מַס); †c. בְּ pers., work with, i.e. use as subjects, impose tribute upon, Je 25:14; 27:7; Ez 34:27. e.g. Judges 9:28
- 4. serve God:
- a. c. acc. י׳, Ex 3:12; 4:23; 7:16, 26 (JE), ψ 22:31; Jb 21:15; Mal 3:14 +; c. acc. pers. et rei Ex 10:26 (E); acc. pers. om., Je 2:20 (read אֶעֱבוֹד Kt), עבד זבח ומנחה Is 19:21 serve with peace-offering and grain-offering; עבד עֲבֹדָה Ex 13:5 (of מַצֹּת). e.g. Exodus 3:12
- b. other gods, c. acc. א׳ †Dt 7:16; 12:2, 30 †; אלהים אחרים 7:4; 8:19; 11:16; 13:7, 14; 17:3; 28:14, 36, 64; 29:25; 30:17; 31:20; Jos 23:16; 24:2, 16; Ju 2:19; 10:13; 1 S 8:8; 26:19; 1 K 9:6, 9; 2 K 17:35; 2 Ch 7:19, 22; Je 11:10; 13:10; 16:11, 13; 22:9; 25:6; 35:15 (all D and Je); אֱלֹהֵי הַגּוֹיִם Dt 29:17; זָרִים Je 5:19; †כל צבא השׁמים Dt 4:19; 2 K 21:3; 2 Ch 33:3; Je 8:2; †הבעל(ים) Ju 2:11; 3:7; 10:6, 10; 1 S 12:10; 1 K 16:31; 22:54; 2 K 10:18(×2), 19(×2), 21, 22, 23(×2); 17:16; †אלהי נֵכָר Jos 24:20; Je 5:19; †(הַ)גִּלּוּלִים 2 K 17:12; 21:21(×2) Ez 20:39; †האשׁרים 2 Ch 24:18; עצבים ψ 106:36; †פסיל(ים) 2 Ch 33:22; 2 K 17:41; פסל ψ 97:7; c. לְ, †לבעל Ju 2:13; †לאלהים אחרים Je 44:3. e.g. Deuteronomy 7:16
- 5. serve י׳ with Levitical service (all P; cf. RSSem i. 69): c. acc. עבד עֲבֹדָה (v. עֲבֹדָה) Nu 3:7, 8; 4:23, 30, 47; 7:5; 8:11, 19, 22, 26; 16:9; 18:6, 21, 23; Jos 22:27; acc. om. Nu 4:24, 26, 37, 41; 8:15 (but Sam 𝔊 עבדה), v 25 18:7. e.g. Numbers 3:7
Niphal
- Pf. 3 ms. נֶעְבָּ֑ד Ec 5:8; 2 mpl. נֶעֱבַדְתֶּם Ez 36:9; Impf. 3 ms. יֵעָבֵד Dt 21:4; 3 fs. תֵּעָבֵד Ez 36:34;— e.g. Ecclesiastes 5:8
- 1. be tilled, of land Dt 21:4; Ez 36:9, 34. e.g. Deuteronomy 21:4
- 2. Ec 5:8 מֶלָךְ לְשָׂדֶה נֶעְבָּ֑ד dub.: a king for (devoted to) the cultivated field (Hi); a king that maketh himself servant to the field (devoted to agriculture), De: v. Comm., especially De. e.g. Ecclesiastes 5:8
Pual
- Pf. 3 ms. עֻבַּד Dt 21:3; Is 14:3; pass. of Qal, c. בְּ: impers. Dt 21:3 of a calf with which it has not been worked; hard service with which it was worked with captives Is 14:3. e.g. Deuteronomy 21:3
Hiphil
- Pf. 3 ms. הֶעֱבִיד Ez 29:18; 2 ms. sf. הֶעֱבַדְתַּ֫נִי Is 43:24, הֶעֱבַדְתִּיךָ v 23, וְהַעֲבַדְתִּיךָ Je 17:4 Impf. 3 ms. וַיַּעֲבֵד 2 Ch 34:33; 3 mpl. יַעֲבִדוּ Ex 1:13; Inf. cstr. הַעֲבִיד 2 Ch 2:17; Pt. pl. מַעֲבִדִים Ex 6:5;— e.g. Ezekiel 29:18
- 1. compel to labour as slaves Ex 1:13; 6:5 (P) 2 Ch 2:17, + Gn 47:21 (reading הֶעֱבִיד לַעֲבָדִים), 2 S 12:31 (reading וְהֶעֱבִיד, + בְּ at; on both these v. עבר Hiph. ad fin.); cause to serve, of army’s service against, c. acc. + (על)אל Ez 29:18; cause to labour, weary, c. בְּ of means Is 43:23, 24 (perhaps play on meanings2, 3). e.g. Exodus 1:13
- 2. make to serve as subjects, c. 2 acc. Je 17:4, + Je 15:14 (read וְהַעֲבַדְתִּיךָ, v. עבר Hiph. ad fin.). e.g. Jeremiah 17:4
- 3. cause to serve God 2 Ch 34:33. e.g. 2 Chronicles 34:33
Hophal
- Impf. 2 ms. sf. תָּֽעָבְדֵם Ex 20:5 = Dt 5:9; Ex 23:24; 1 pl. sf. נָֽעָבְדֵם Dt 13:3 (Köi. 259 Sta§ 549 g Thes; Marg. 12 f. Qal anom. pointed (cf. WAG. ed. 2, i. 62 n. Fl Kl. Schr. i. 98); Ges§ 60, R. 1 Dr Qal falsely pointed as Hoph.);—be led or enticed to serve other gods Ex 20:5 = Dt 5:9; Ex 23:24; Dt 13:3. e.g. Exodus 20:5
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
vb. work, serve (Old Aramaic עבד do, make, especially Nab. Palm. (often), Lzb331 f. Cook86, so 𝔗 עֲבַד, Syriac ܥܒܰܕ (very often); but also Old Aramaic Ph. עבד slave, vassal (and in many n.pr.), 𝔗 עַבְדָּא, Syriac ܥܰܒܕܳܐ id.; Assyrian abdu, id. (rare); NH עָבַד serve, perform acts of worship (c. acc. cogn.), and deriv.; Arabic عَبَدَ worship, obey (God); cf. WeSkizzen iii. 165; Heid. 141, ii. enslave; عَبْدٌ slave, worshipper; Sab. עבד id. DHMSudar. Alt. p. 18; GerberVerb. Denom.14 ff. thinks be slave, serve (Qal) and enslave (Hiph.) are denom., cf. also NöZMG xi (1886), 741);—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a primitive root
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
עֲבַד I
- (corresp. to h. עָשָׂה)
- 1. to do, labor; to make; to act. Targ. Gen. I, 7. Ib. XXXI, 26; a. v. fr.—Ber. 60ᵇ לעולם … כל דעביד רחמנא לטב Ms. M. (ed. לטב עביד; v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note 3) man should train himself always to say, Whatever the Merciful One does, is for good; Yalk. Job 893 כל … לטב עביד. Tem. 4ᵇ אי עביד מהני, v. הֲנִי. Yeb. 37ᵃ מי עָבוּד רבנן תקנתא וכ׳ (not עביד) have the Rabbis adopted special measures for priests &c.? Ib. עַבְדִּינָן כרבנן we act (decide) in accordance with the opinion of the Rabbis. Keth. 60ᵇ לא עַבְדֵי נשי דחנקן וכ׳ women will not do such a thing as strangling their children. Kidd. 50ᵃ לא ע׳ אינש דמשוי וכ׳ a man will not declare himself a wrongdoer; a. v. fr.
- 2. to do, fare, prosper. Lev. R. s. 5, end מה את עָבֵיד how art thou?; ומה ארעא עֲבִידָא and how does the field fare?; מה תורין עַבְדִין how are the oxen? Ib. ע׳ לב טב he assumes cheerfulness. Gen. R. s. 13 כל שיחתן … עַבְדַּת ארעא all the talk of people turns on the land (material prosperity): ‘the land is doing well’ (crops promise to be good); ‘the land is not doing well’; a. fr.
- 3. to spend time. Y. Shebi. VIII, 38ᵇ top עביד טמיר במערתא וכ׳ he remained hidden in a cave &c.; ib. IX, 38ᵈ. Y. Shek. V, 48ᵈ top עַבְדַת טמירא וכ׳ she (the ass) remained hidden with them &c.; Gen. R. s. 60 עבדת גבון; a. fr.—Part. pass. עָבִיד; f. עֲבִידָא made, liable to, likely, used to. Y. Peah III, 17ᵈ bot. היך ע׳ how did it happen (i.e. in what case would it make a practical difference for the slave)? R. Hash. 22ᵇ, a. e. מילתא דע׳ לאיגלויי, v. גְּלֵי. Shebu. 46ᵃ, v. גְּזַם; a. fr.
- 1. to make, produce. Targ. O. Ex. XXXII, 10 אַעַבֵּיד ed. Berl. (oth. אַעֲבֵיד; Y. אֶעְבַּד). Ib. XXX, 37; a. fr.—Lev. R. s. 28, end, v. infra.
- 2. to cause to prosper. Gen. R. s. 13 כל תפלתן … מרי תַעֲבִיד ארעא יכ׳ all the prayers of men turn on the earth (mundane affairs): Lord, make the land (crop) thrive, make the land prosper; a. e.
- 3. to work through. Part. pass. מְעַבַּד, מְעַבְּדָא. B. Mets. 116ᵇ טינא דמע׳ thoroughly kneaded clay.
- to be done; to be made, become. Targ. Gen. XXIX, 26. Targ. Koh. VIII, 4. Targ. Ps. LXII, 4; a. fr.—Lam. R. to II, 2 בעית לאִיעַבְדָּא וכ׳ (not לאיבדא, לעיבדא) dost thou want to be made a senator? Lev. R. s. 28, end מאן דעַבֵּיד … אתע׳ וכ׳ he who made the comes …, is now to become a bather &c.; Esth. R. to VI, 10 האי גברא מְעַבֵּיד … עביד בלן (corr. acc.); a. fr. [Zeb. 75ᵇ דאיעבד, read: דאיערוב, v. עֲרַב I.]—V. דִּיעֲבַד.
עָבַד
- (b. h.) [to work]
- 1. to serve, work for. Gitt. IV, 5 עוֹבֵד את רבו וכ׳ works one day for his master, and one for himself; a. fr. Esp. to do priestly service. Ḥull. 24ᵇ אחיו הכהנים … לַעֲבוֹד וכ׳ his brother priests allow him not to serve, until he is twenty years of age.
- 2. to prepare; to till the ground; to dress (hides). Gen. R. s. 22 קין עובד אדמה Cain the tiller of the ground. Y. Ab. Zar. II, 41ᵇ bot. גוי עוֹבְדָן; Tosef. ib. IV (V), 10 עוֹבְדוֹ, v. דָּבַב I; (Bab. ib. 33ᵃ עיבדן). Y. Sabb. I, 4ᵇ top נתן כלים … ומצאו עובד בו וכ׳ if one gave a gentile garments to wash, and found him working at them on the Sabbath; a. fr.—Part. pass. עָבוּד, pl. עֲבוּדִין dressed, v. infra.
- 3. (v. עֲבוֹדָה) to use esp. for idolatrous purposes; to worship. Tem. VI, 1, v. infra. Ab. Zar. III, 7 (defining אשרה) כל שעוֹבְדִין אותה a tree which is itself worshipped (not one at which idolatrous rites are performed). Ib. הואיל … הן עובדין since they worship merely the image (under the tree). Snh. VII, 6 העובד ע"ז אחד העובד וכ׳ he who worships an idol, whether he goes through the regular forms of that particular worship (v. ib. 60ᵇ), or sacrifices &c. Ab. Zar. III, 5 העכומ"ז העובדין וכ׳ as to idolaters that worship mountains and hills (as deities), they (the territories) may be used, but what is on them is forbidden. Ib. 45ᵇ אילן … ולבסוף עֲבָדוֹ if one planted a tree and afterwards made it a subject of worship. Ib. 46ᵃ ועוֹבְדֵיהֶן בסייף and those (Jews) who worship them are put to death by the sword; Tosef. ib. VI (VII), 8. Sabb. 56ᵇ אילמלי לא … ולא עָבְדוּ ישראל ע"א had David not listened to evil gossip (against Mephibosheth), … Israel would not have worshipped idols (under Jeroboam). Ib. 105ᵇ עד שיאמר לו עֲבוֹד ע"ז until he (the tempter) finally tells him, worship idols; Tosef. B. Kam. IX, 31. Ḥull. 13ᵇ נכרים שבח"ל לאו עוֹבְדֵי ע"א הן gentiles outside of Palestine must not be considered as idolaters; a. v. fr.
- 1. to be prepared, dressed. Tosef. B. Kam. l. c. עורות שאינן נֶעֱבָדִין ed. Zuck. (oth. ed. עֲבוּדִין) undressed hides; a. e.
- 2. to be used, esp. for illicit purposes; to be worshipped. Tem. l. c. המוקצה והנ׳ the animal designated for idolatrous purposes and the one used; expl. כל שעובדין אותו whatever they may use it for ((e.g. yoking the ox, shearing the sheep for the benefit of idolatrous temples). Ib. 28ᵃ נעבדה בהן עבירה an illicit act has been done with them (by coupling them); ib. לא נֵתְעַבְּדָה בה עבירה no sinful act has been done with it (by which to unfit it for the altar). Ab. Zar. 46ᵇ יש נ׳ במחובר אצל גבוה does the law forbidding the use in divine worship of objects which have been used for idolatrous purposes include things fixed in the ground? Ib. יש שינוי בנ׳ does change of form restore to legitimate use objects otherwise forbidden on account of their use in connection with idolatry? a. fr.
- same, v. supra.
- to enslave, oppress. Yalk. Ex. 162 הֶעֱבִידוֹ בכל וכ׳ he (Esau) oppressed him with all sorts of troubles.
- to prepare, esp. to dress hides. Sabb. VII, 2 (among the labors forbidden on the Sabbath) והמְעַבֵּד את עורו dressing the hide of the deer (to fit it for parchment). Ib. 75ᵇ חייב משום מעבד is guilty of a Sabbath offence coming under the category of tanning. Gitt. 54ᵇ גוילין … לא עִיבַּדְתִּין לשמן I did not prepare the parchment sheets with the proper intention; a. fr.
עֶבֶד
- preced. wds.) slave, servant. Kidd. 20ᵃ הקונה ע׳ עברי וכ׳ he who buys a Hebrew slave, has, so to say, bought a master over himself. Sabb. 89ᵃ כלום יש ע׳ שנותן וכ׳ dare a servant salute his master (first)? Snh. 58ᵇ (ref. to Prov. XII, 11) אם … כע׳ לאדמה וכ׳ if a man makes himself a slave to the soil, he will be satisfied with bread &c. Kidd. I, 3 ע׳ כנעני נקנה וכ׳ a Canaanite (gentile) slave is acquired by money, by deed &c. Ib. III, 13 ממזר … הולד ע׳ if a bastard marries a slave, the child is a slave; הרי זה ע׳ ממזר the child is a bastard slave (subject to the disabilities of both). Shebu. 47ᵇ ע׳ מלך כמלך a king’s officer is like a king (the inferior person is raised by association with a superior); a. v. fr.—Pl. עֲבָדִים. Kidd. 22ᵇ (ref. to Lev. XXV, 55) כי לי … ולא ע׳ לע׳ ‘the children of Israel are my servants’, but they must not make themselves servants of servants (of human beings). Ab. I, 3 אל תהיו כע׳ וכ׳ be not like the servants that wait upon their master for the sake of getting their fare (reward), v. פְּרָס; a. fr. e.g. Proverbs 12:11
עֲבַד
- 1. same. Targ. Gen. IX, 25 (O. ed. Berl. עַבַד; ed. Vien. עֶבֶד). Ib. 26; a. fr.—Gen. R. s. 86 ע׳ זבין … ע׳ לתרויהון a slave (Potiphar) buys, the son of a handmaid (the Ishmaelite) sells, and the free man (Joseph) is the slave of both; Koh. R. to X, 7. Gitt. 13ᵃ, a. e. ע׳ בהפקרא וכ׳, v. הֶפְקֵרָא; a. fr.—[Y. Ber. IV, 7ᶜ נפק ע׳, read: עוּבְדָּא.]—Pl. עַבְדִּין, עַבְדַּיָּא, עַבְדֵּי. Targ. Gen. XXIV, 25. Targ. Is. LIV, 17. Targ. Prov. XII, 9; a. fr.—B. Kam. 97ᵃ הוה תקיף ע׳ דאינשי וכ׳ used to seize slaves of men against whom he had a claim &c. Kidd. 70ᵃ רגיל דקרי אינשי ע׳ he is in the habit of calling people slaves; a. fr.
- 2. worshipper. Ned. 62ᵇ ע׳ דנורא fire-worshipper (Geber); a. e.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 219 distinct written forms H5647 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 159 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H5647, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derived from this word
- מעבד maʻbâd H4566 work
- עבד ʻăbad H5648 to make
- עבד ʻebed H5650 servant
- עבד ʻăbâd H5652 work
- עבדה ʻăbôdâh H5656 service
- עבדה ʻăbuddâh H5657 service
- עבדות ʻabdûwth H5659 bondage
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
- עבדא ʻAbdâʼ H5653 Abda
- עבד אדום ʻÔbêd ʼĔdôwm H5654 Obed-edom
- עבדאל ʻAbdᵉʼêl H5655 Abdeel
- עבדון ʻAbdôwn H5658 Abdon
- עבדי ʻAbdîy H5660 Abdi
- עבדיה ʻÔbadyâh H5662 Obadiah
- עובד ʻÔwbêd H5744 Obed
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 15 — not the complete family. 7 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 255 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 262 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 2:5
- Exodus 1:13
- Leviticus 25:39
- Numbers 3:7
- Deuteronomy 4:19
- Joshua 16:10
- Judges 2:7
- 1 Samuel 4:9
- 2 Samuel 9:10
- 1 Kings 9:6
- 2 Kings 10:18
- 1 Chronicles 19:19
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
