עֶ֫בֶד
servant
‘servant’ is one of 7 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Construct-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
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.
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Every verse where H5650 appears in the Book of 1 Kings — 65 distinct verses. 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.
1 Kings
- 1 Kings 1:2 עֲבָדָ֗י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms Therefore his servants said to him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and cherish him; and let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may keep warm.
- 1 Kings 1:9 עַבְדֵ֥י n c mp cs Adonijah killed sheep and oxen and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En Rogel; and he called all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants:
- 1 Kings 1:19 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֖ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms and he has slain oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host; but he hasn't called Solomon your servant.
- 1 Kings 1:26 עַ֠בְדֶּ/ךָ עַבְדְּ/ךָ֖ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms But he hasn't called me, even me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon.
- 1 Kings 1:27 עבדי/ך עַבְדְּ/ךָ֔ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Is this thing done by my lord the king, and you haven't shown to your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?
- 1 Kings 1:33 עַבְדֵ֣י n c mp cs The king said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:
- 1 Kings 1:47 עַבְדֵ֣י n c mp cs Moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, Your God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne: and the king bowed himself on the bed.
- 1 Kings 1:51 עַבְדּ֖/וֹ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms It was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah fears king Solomon; for, behold, he has laid hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear to me first that he will not kill his servant with the sword.
- 1 Kings 2:38 עַבְדֶּ֑/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Shimei said to the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do. Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.
- 1 Kings 2:39 עֲבָדִים֙ עֲבָדֶ֖י/ךָ n c mp n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms It happened at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. They told Shimei, saying, Behold, your servants are in Gath.
- 1 Kings 2:40 עֲבָדָ֑י/ו עֲבָדָ֖י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms Shimei arose, and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish, to seek his servants; and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath.
- 1 Kings 3:6 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֙ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Solomon said, You have shown to your servant David my father great loving kindness, according as he walked before you in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with you; and you have kept for him this great loving kindness, that you have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
- 1 Kings 3:7 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֔ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Now, Yahweh my God, you have made your servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child; I don't know how to go out or come in.
- 1 Kings 3:8 וְ/עַ֨בְדְּ/ךָ֔ conj + n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Your servant is in the midst of your people which you have chosen, a great people, that can't be numbered nor counted for multitude.
- 1 Kings 3:9 לְ/עַבְדְּ/ךָ֜ prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Give your servant therefore an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this your great people?
- 1 Kings 3:15 עֲבָדָֽי/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream: and he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace-offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
- 1 Kings 5:1 עֲבָדָי/ו֙ n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.
- 1 Kings 5:6 וַֽ/עֲבָדַ/י֙ עֲבָדֶ֔י/ךָ עֲבָדֶ֨י/ךָ֙ conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cs n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms Now therefore command you that they cut me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with your servants; and I will give you hire for your servants according to all that you shall say: for you know that there is not among us any who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.
- 1 Kings 5:9 עֲ֠בָדַ/י n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cs My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place that you shall appoint me, and will cause them to be broken up there, and you shall receive them; and you shall accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.
- 1 Kings 8:23 לַ/עֲבָדֶ֕י/ךָ prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms and he said, Yahweh, the God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above, or on earth beneath; who keep covenant and loving kindness with your servants, who walk before you with all their heart;
- 1 Kings 8:24 לְ/עַבְדְּ/ךָ֙ prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms who have kept with your servant David my father that which you did promise him: yes, you spoke with your mouth, and have fulfilled it with your hand, as it is this day.
- 1 Kings 8:25 לְ/עַבְדְּ/ךָ֨ prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Now therefore, Yahweh, the God of Israel, keep with your servant David my father that which you have promised him, saying, There shall not fail you a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children take heed to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.
- 1 Kings 8:26 לְ/עַבְדְּ/ךָ֖ prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Now therefore, God of Israel, Please let your word be verified, which you spoke to your servant David my father.
- 1 Kings 8:28 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֛ עַבְדְּ/ךָ֛ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Yet have respect for the prayer of your servant, and for his supplication, Yahweh my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which your servant prays before you this day;
- 1 Kings 8:29 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֔ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms that your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which you have said, My name shall be there; to listen to the prayer which your servant shall pray toward this place.
- 1 Kings 8:30 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֙ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Listen you to the supplication of your servant, and of your people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: yes, hear in heaven, your dwelling-place; and when you hear, forgive.
- 1 Kings 8:32 עֲבָדֶ֔י/ךָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms then hear you in heaven, and do, and judge your servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
- 1 Kings 8:36 עֲבָדֶ֨י/ךָ֙ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of your servants, and of your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on your land, which you have given to your people for an inheritance.
- 1 Kings 8:52 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֔ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms that your eyes may be open to the supplication of your servant, and to the supplication of your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they cry to you.
- 1 Kings 8:53 עַבְדֶּ֗/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms For you did separate them from among all the peoples of the earth, to be your inheritance, as you spoke by Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, Lord Yahweh.
- 1 Kings 8:56 עַבְדּֽ/וֹ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms Blessed be Yahweh, who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there has not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by Moses his servant.
- 1 Kings 8:59 עַבְדּ֗/וֹ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms Let these my words, with which I have made supplication before Yahweh, be near to Yahweh our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel, as every day shall require;
- 1 Kings 8:66 עַבְדּ֔/וֹ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David his servant, and to Israel his people.
- 1 Kings 9:22 עָ֑בֶד וַ/עֲבָדָי/ו֙ n c ms conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondservants; but they were the men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen.
- 1 Kings 9:27 עֲבָדָ֔י/ו עַבְדֵ֥י n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms n c mp cs Hiram sent in the navy his servants, sailors who had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.
- 1 Kings 10:5 עֲבָדָי/ו֩ n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their clothing, and his cup bearers, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of Yahweh; there was no more spirit in her.
- 1 Kings 10:8 עֲבָדֶ֣י/ךָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms Happy are your men, happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you, [and] who hear your wisdom.
- 1 Kings 10:13 וַ/עֲבָדֶֽי/הָ conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3fs King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned, and went to her own land, she and her servants.
- 1 Kings 11:11 לְ/עַבְדֶּֽ/ךָ prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Therefore Yahweh said to Solomon, Because this is done of you, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant.
- 1 Kings 11:13 עַבְדִּ֔/י n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs However I will not tear away all the kingdom; but I will give one tribe to your son, for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen.
- 1 Kings 11:17 מֵ/עַבְדֵ֥י prep + n c mp cs that Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt, Hadad being yet a little child.
- 1 Kings 11:26 עֶ֖בֶד n c ms Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow, he also lifted up his hand against the king.
- 1 Kings 11:32 עַבְדִּ֣/י n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs (but he shall have one tribe, for my servant David's sake and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel);
- 1 Kings 11:34 עַבְדִּ/י֙ n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs However I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand; but I will make him prince all the days of his life, for David my servant's sake whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes;
- 1 Kings 11:36 עַ֠בְדִּ/י n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs To his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a lamp always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.
- 1 Kings 11:38 עַבְדִּ֑/י n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs It shall be, if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do that which is right in my eyes, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with you, and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you.
- 1 Kings 12:7 עֶ֜בֶד עֲבָדִ֖ים n c ms n c mp They spoke to him, saying, If you will be a servant to this people this day, and will serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.
- 1 Kings 14:8 כְּ/עַבְדִּ֣/י prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs and tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it you; and yet you have not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in my eyes,
- 1 Kings 14:18 עַבְדּ֖/וֹ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms All Israel buried him, and mourned for him, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet.
- 1 Kings 15:18 עֲבָדָ֑י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants; and king Asa sent them to Ben Hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived at Damascus, saying,
- 1 Kings 15:29 עַבְדּ֖/וֹ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms It happened that, as soon as he was king, he struck all the house of Jeroboam: he didn't leave to Jeroboam any who breathed, until he had destroyed him; according to the saying of Yahweh, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite;
- 1 Kings 16:9 עַבְדּ֣/וֹ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms His servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah:
- 1 Kings 18:9 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֛ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms He said, Wherein have I sinned, that you would deliver your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me?
- 1 Kings 18:12 וְ/עַבְדְּ/ךָ֛ conj + n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms It will happen, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of Yahweh will carry you I don't know where; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he can't find you, he will kill me: but I your servant fear Yahweh from my youth.
- 1 Kings 18:36 עַבְדֶּ֑/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms It happened at the time of the offering of the [evening] offering, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.
- 1 Kings 20:6 עֲבָדַ/י֙ עֲבָדֶ֑י/ךָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cs n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms but I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house, and the houses of your servants; and it shall be, that whatever is pleasant in your eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.
- 1 Kings 20:9 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֤ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben Hadad, Tell my lord the king, All that you did send for to your servant at the first I will do; but this thing I may not do. The messengers departed, and brought him word again.
- 1 Kings 20:12 עֲבָדָי/ו֙ n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms It happened, when [Ben Hadad] heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings, in the pavilions, that he said to his servants, Set [yourselves in array]. They set [themselves in array] against the city.
- 1 Kings 20:23 וְ/עַבְדֵ֨י conj + n c mp cs The servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
- 1 Kings 20:31 עֲבָדָי/ו֒ n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms His servants said to him, See now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, we pray you, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save your life.
- 1 Kings 20:32 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֧ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and [put] ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Your servant Ben Hadad says, please let me live. He said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.
- 1 Kings 20:39 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֣ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms As the king passed by, he cried to the king; and he said, Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall your life be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.
- 1 Kings 20:40 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֗ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms As your servant was busy here and there, he was gone. The king of Israel said to him, So shall your judgment be; yourself have decided it.
- 1 Kings 22:3 עֲבָדָ֔י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms The king of Israel said to his servants, "You know that Ramoth-gilead is ours, and we are still, and don't take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?"
- 1 Kings 22:49 עֲבָדַ֛/י עֲבָדֶ֖י/ךָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cs n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab to Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with your servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not.
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.
“servant” is the headline sense of the Hebrew noun עבד (ʻebed). Carrying more than one sense, it rewards its full sense range. With 714 verses in 31 books, it is one of the most common word in the Hebrew Bible. Scripture first uses it in Genesis 9:25. From the same root come עבד, מעבד and עבד. See the sense tree, 714-verse concordance, and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H5650 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 →
- 714
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 714 distinct verses.
- 31 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 31 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #58
- by frequency
- Top 100 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 58 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 714 occurrences in the concordance →
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 714 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 371 verses · 52%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 179 verses · 25%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 164 verses · 23%
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).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 2 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Servant 284×, Servants 253×, All his servants 16×
- American Standard Version†: Servant 252×, Servants 192×, 's servants 36×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Servant 296×, Servants 257×, Officials 31×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Servant 278×, Servants 244×, Servants of 82×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H5650 across 799† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 115 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 1 further occurrence.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H5650 across 796† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 140 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 H5650 across 788† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 58 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 12 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H5650 across 799† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 42 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
9 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
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 9 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.
עבד I slave, servant (on format. LagBN 77)
- 1. slave, servant of household Gn 39:17, 19; 41:12; 50:2; Ex 21:2 +; man-servant, ‖ אמה Ex 20:10 Lv 25:6; Dt 5:14; Jb 31:13 +; ‖ שׁפחה Gn 12:16; 32:6; Je 34:11; Is 14:2 +; + אדון Dt 23:16; Is 24:2; Mal 1:6 +; מִקְנַת כֶּסֶף Ex 12:44 or יְלִיד בַּיִת Je 2:14; עֶבֶד עֲבָדִים servant of servants, humblest servant, Gn 9:25; †בֵּית עֲבָדִים house of slaves, especially Israel in Egypt Ex 13:3, 14; 20:2 (RD) Dt 5:6; 6:12; 7:8; 8:14; 13:6, 11 Jos 24:17; Ju 6:8 Je 34:13; Mi 6:4; †וזכרת כי עבד היית מצרים (ארץ)ב and thou shalt remember that thou wast a slave in (the land of) Egypt Dt 5:15; 15:15; 16:12; 24:18, 22; king of Babylon is slave to י׳ Je 25:9; 27:6; 43:10; the borrower to the lender Pr 22:7; fig. of beast Jb 40:28; of things Gn 47:19. e.g. Genesis 39:17
- 2. Subjects, of chief Gn 26:15, 19, 25, 32; 27:37; 32:17(×2) +; of king 21:25 Ex 7:28, 29; 1 K 9:27; Dt 29:1 +; vassal kings 2 S 10:19; tributary nations 8:2, 6, 14 = 1 Ch 18:2, 6, 13; specif. officers of king 1 S 19:1; 21:8; 2 S 11:13; Pr 14:35 +; עַבְדֵי פַרְעֹה Gn 40:20; 41:10; ע׳ שָׁאוּל 1 S 16:17; 18:22; 28:7; ע׳ הַמֶּלֶךְ 1 K 1:47 Est 3:3 +; עֶבֶד הַמֶּלֶךְ 2 K 22:12 = 2 Ch 34:20 (a court official); opp. שַׂר Pr 19:10; Ec 10:7; מֶלֶךְ Pr 30:22; ambassadors Nu 22:18 2 S 10:2; soldiers of army 1 S 17:8; 25:10; 2 S 2:12, + officers of army 1 S 29:3; 1 K 11:26; 2 K 25:8; Is 36:9. e.g. Genesis 26:15
- 3. Servants, worshippers, of God: †עַבְדֵי יהוה 2 K 9:7; 10:23; Is 54:17, cf. Gn 50:17; Is 56:6; עֲבָדָיו Dt 32:36 = ψ 135:14, Is 65:15; 66:14 ψ 34:23; 69:37 Ne 2:20; ‖ עַמּוֹ ψ 105:25 cf. Dt 32:43; עֲבָדַי Is 65:8, 9, 13(×3), 14; עֲבָדֶיךָ 1 K 8:23; Is 63:17 (‖ שִׁבְטֵי נחלתך), ψ 89:51; 90:13, 16; 102:15, 29; 119:91, 79:2, 10 (‖ חֲסִידֶיךָ); delivered from Egypt Lv 25:42, 55(×2); 26:13 (P); עַבְדְּךָ ψ 119:125; 143:2, ‖ בֶּן־אֲמָתֶ֑ךָ 86:16; 116:16(×2); specif. angels Jb 4:18; and ancient worthies, patriarchs Ex 32:13 (J) Dt 9:27; Abraham Gn 26:24 (J) ψ 105:6, 42; Isaac Gn 24:14 (J); Jacob, Israel Ez 28:25; 37:25 1 Ch 16:13; Moses †Ex 14:31; Jos 18:7 (J) Nu 12:7, 8 (E) Dt 34:5 (?) Jos 1:1, 2, 7, 13, 15; 8:31, 33; 9:24; 11:12, 15; 12:6(×2); 13:8; 14:7; 22:2, 4, 5 (all D), 1 K 8:53, 56; 2 K 18:12; 21:8; 1 Ch 6:34; 2 Ch 1:3; 24:6, 9; Ne 1:8; 9:14; 10:30 ψ 105:26 Mal 3:22 Dn 9:11; Joshua †Jos 24:29 (E) Ju 2:8; Caleb †Nu 14:24 (J); Job †Jb 1:8; 2:3; 42:7, 8(×3); David 2 S 3:18; 7:5, 8, 26 + 27 times; Hezekiah †2 Ch 32:16; Zerubbabel †Hag 2:23; Eliakim †Is 22:20.—The צֶמַח Zc 3:8 cf. 6:12 is also servant of י׳ as Messianic builder of temple (see BrMP 442 ff.). e.g. 2 Kings 9:7
- 4. servant of י׳, in a special sense: of Levitical singers using benedictions in temple ψ 113:1; 134:1; 135:1; usually of prophets, עֲבָדַי הַנְּבִיאִים my servants the prophets 2 K 9:7; 17:13; Je 7:25; 26:5; 29:19; 35:15; 44:4; Ez 38:17; Zc 1:6; עֲבָדָיו הַנְּבִיאִים 2 K 17:23; 21:10; 24:2; Je 25:4; Am 3:7; Dn 9:10; עֲבָדֶיךָ הנביאים Ezr 9:11; Dn 9:6; specif. Ahia 1 K 14:18; 15:29; Elijah 2 K 9:36; 10:10; Jonah 2 K 14:25; Isaiah Is 20:3; עַבְדּוֹ, ‖ מלאכיו 44:26; as one calling to fear י׳ 50:10. e.g. Psalms 113:1
- 5. Israel as a people is servant of י׳: יִשְׂרָאֵל Is 41:8, 9; 44:21(×2); 49:3 ψ 136:22; יעקב Is 44:1, 2; 45:4; 48:20; Je 30:10; 46:27, 28; עַבְדִּי = עֶבֶד יהוה, ‖ מַלְאָכִי, as having a mission to the nations Is 42:19(×2); and chosen as witness of י׳ 43:10. But there is also an ideal servant chosen and endowed with the divine Spirit to be a covenant of Israel and a light of the nations Is 42:1 (cf. v 2–6); formed to bring back Jacob, raise up the tribes, and become salvation to the end of the earth 49:5, 6, 7; bearing the sins of all as a lamb and a trespass-offering, and yet prospering and justifying many as interposing martyr 52:13; 53:11: many understand of ideal Israel, contr. with the actual; al. of personif. ‖ with Zion the wife and mother, disting. from unworthy Israel as Zion from her apostate children; al. of ideal prophetic writer; al. of ideal prophetic person; al. (especially in Is 53) of an actual proph. known to writer and his readers; [in any case it is Messianic, v. Mt 8:16, 17; 12:16–21 Lk 4:17–22 Phil 2:5–11]; see De Is ii. 174 DaExpos. 1884, 358 ff. Di Du Che al. on Is 42, 53, Dr Is 168 ff. BrMP 345 ff., also GieBeitr. 146 ff. Berthol Is 53. e.g. Isaiah 41:8
- 6. In polite address of equals or superiors the Hebrews used עַבְדְּךָ thy servant = 1 pers. sing., I, Gn 18:3; 1 S 20:7, 8(×2) 2 K 8:13 +; עֲבָדֶיךָ thy servants = we Gn 42:11; Is 36:11; also עַבְדּוֹ his servant = I, 1 S 26:18, 19; 2 S 14:22; 24:21 +; also in addressing God, especially in prayer Ex 4:10; Nu 11:11; Ju 15:18; 1 S 3:9, 10; 25:39; 2 S 24:10 ψ 19:12, 14; 27:9; 31:17; 35:27; 69:18; 109:28; 143:2 +. e.g. Genesis 18:3
- 7. Phrases are: †עבד (היה), c. לְ pers., become servant to Gn 9:26, 27; 44:10, 16, 17, 33; 47:19, 25 (J) Dt 6:21; 15:17; 2 S 8:14; 2 K 17:3; 24:1; 1 Ch 18:2, 6, 13; 2 Ch 10:7; Pr 11:29; 12:9; 22:7; †היה לעבד, c. לְ pers., Gn 44:9 (J) 50:18 (E) 1 S 8:17; 17:9(×2); 27:12 2 S 8:2, 6; Je 34:16; †כבשׁ לעבדים 2 Ch 28:10 Ne 5:5; Je 34:11; לקח לע׳ Gn 43:18 (J) 2 K 4:1; Jb 40:28. e.g. Genesis 9:26
עבד II m. (servant of God = עַבְדְּאֵל)
- 1. father of Gaal Ju 9:26, 28, 30, 31, 35 (GFM, after HollenbThLz 1891, 371 [cf. BuIb. 1892, 63] עֹבֵד, as 𝔊L; v. also GrayProp. N. 184, 272); 𝔊 Ιωβηλ, A 𝔊L Αβεδ. e.g. Judges 9:26
- 2. a companion of Ezra Ezr 8:6; 𝔊 Ωβηθ, 𝔊L Αμιναδαβ.—For list of Arabic names beginning with عبد v. NöZMG xli (1887), 724 ff., cf. also id.ib. xlii (1888), 486 WeHeid. 2, 2 ff. e.g. Ezra 8:6
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
I. n.m. slave, servant (on format. LagBN 77);—ע׳ Gn 9:25 +, עָ֑בֶד 44:10 +; sf. עַבְדִּי 26:24 +; עַבְדְּךָ 19:19 +; עַבְדֶּ֫ךָ 18:3 +; pl. עֲבָדִים 9:25 +, עַבְדֵי 21:25 +; sf. עֲבָדַי Lv 25:42 +, עַבְדֵיכֶם Jos 9:11 +, etc.;—
II. n.pr.m. (servant of God = עַבְדְּאֵל);—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from עבד (ʻâbad) (H5647) — to serve.
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 257 distinct written forms H5650 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’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; 197 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H5650, 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.
Derives from
Shares the same root
- מעבד maʻbâd H4566 work
- עבד ʻăbad H5648 to make
- 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
- עבד ʻEbed H5651 Ebed
- עבדיאל ʻAbdîyʼêl H5661 Abdiel
- עבד מלך ʻEbed Melek H5663 Ebed-melech
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 18 — not the complete family. 10 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 637 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 714 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 9:25
- Exodus 4:10
- Leviticus 25:6
- Numbers 11:11
- Deuteronomy 3:24
- Joshua 1:1
- Judges 2:8
- 1 Samuel 3:9
- 2 Samuel 2:12
- 1 Kings 1:2
- 2 Kings 1:13
- 1 Chronicles 2:34
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.