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 Genesis — 78 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.
Genesis
- Genesis 9:25 עֶ֥בֶד עֲבָדִ֖ים n c ms cs n c mp He said, "Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants will he be to his brothers."
- Genesis 9:26 עֶ֥בֶד n c ms He said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Shem; Let Canaan be his servant.
- Genesis 9:27 עֶ֥בֶד n c ms God enlarge Japheth, Let him dwell in the tents of Shem; Let Canaan be his servant."
- Genesis 12:16 וַ/עֲבָדִים֙ conj + n c mp He dealt well with Abram for her sake. He had sheep, and oxen, and male donkeys, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and female donkeys, and camels.
- Genesis 14:15 וַ/עֲבָדָ֖י/ו conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms He divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and struck them, and pursued them to Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.
- Genesis 18:3 עַבְדֶּֽ/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms and said, "My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please don't go away from your servant.
- Genesis 18:5 עַבְדְּ/כֶ֑ם n c ms cs + sfx pers 2mp I will get a morsel of bread so you can refresh your heart. After that you may go your way, now that you have come to your servant." They said, "Very well, do as you have said."
- Genesis 19:2 עַבְדְּ/כֶ֤ם n c ms cs + sfx pers 2mp and he said, "See now, my lords, please turn aside into your servant's house, stay all night, wash your feet, and you will rise up early, and go on your way." They said, "No, but we will stay in the street all night."
- Genesis 19:19 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֣ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms See now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your loving kindness, which you have shown to me in saving my life. I can't escape to the mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I die.
- Genesis 20:8 עֲבָדָ֔י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ear. The men were very scared.
- Genesis 20:14 וַ/עֲבָדִים֙ conj + n c mp Abimelech took sheep and oxen, men-servants and women-servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored Sarah, his wife to him.
- Genesis 21:25 עַבְדֵ֥י n c mp cs Abraham complained to Abimelech because of a water well, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.
- Genesis 24:2 עַבְדּ/וֹ֙ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, who ruled over all that he had, "Please put your hand under my thigh.
- Genesis 24:5 הָ/עֶ֔בֶד ptcl def.art + n c ms The servant said to him, "What if the woman isn't willing to follow me to this land? Must I bring your son again to the land you came from?"
- Genesis 24:9 הָ/עֶ֨בֶד֙ ptcl def.art + n c ms The servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
- Genesis 24:10 הָ֠/עֶבֶד ptcl def.art + n c ms The servant took ten camels, of his master's camels, and departed, having all goodly things of his master's in his hand. He arose, and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.
- Genesis 24:14 לְ/עַבְדְּ/ךָ֣ prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Let it happen, that the young lady to whom I will say, 'Please let down your pitcher, that I may drink.' She will say, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink.' Let the same be she who you have appointed for your servant Isaac. Thereby will I know that you have shown kindness to my master."
- Genesis 24:17 הָ/עֶ֖בֶד ptcl def.art + n c ms The servant ran to meet her, and said, "Please give me a drink, a little water from your pitcher."
- Genesis 24:34 עֶ֥בֶד n c ms cs He said, "I am Abraham's servant.
- Genesis 24:35 וַ/עֲבָדִם֙ conj + n c mp Yahweh has blessed my master greatly. He has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, men-servants and maid-servants, and camels and donkeys.
- Genesis 24:52 עֶ֥בֶד n c ms cs It happened that when Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself down to the earth to Yahweh.
- Genesis 24:53 הָ/עֶ֜בֶד ptcl def.art + n c ms The servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.
- Genesis 24:59 עֶ֥בֶד n c ms cs They sent away Rebekah, their sister, with her nurse, Abraham's servant, and his men.
- Genesis 24:61 הָ/עֶ֛בֶד ptcl def.art + n c ms Rebekah arose with her ladies. They rode on the camels, and followed the man. The servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
- Genesis 24:65 הָ/עֶ֗בֶד הָ/עֶ֖בֶד ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms She said to the servant, "Who is the man who is walking in the field to meet us?" The servant said, "It is my master." She took her veil, and covered herself.
- Genesis 24:66 הָ/עֶ֖בֶד ptcl def.art + n c ms The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.
- Genesis 26:15 עַבְדֵ֣י n c mp cs Now all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth.
- Genesis 26:19 עַבְדֵֽי n c mp cs Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.
- Genesis 26:24 עַבְדִּֽ/י n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs Yahweh appeared to him the same night, and said, "I am the God of Abraham your father. Don't be afraid, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply your seed for my servant Abraham's sake."
- Genesis 26:25 עַבְדֵי n c mp cs He built an altar there, and called on the name of Yahweh, and pitched his tent there. There Isaac's servants dug a well.
- Genesis 26:32 עַבְדֵ֣י n c mp cs It happened the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had dug, and said to him, "We have found water."
- Genesis 27:37 לַ/עֲבָדִ֔ים prep + n c mp Isaac answered Esau, "Behold, I have made him your lord, and all his brothers have I given to him for servants. With grain and new wine have I sustained him. What then will I do for you, my son?"
- Genesis 30:43 וַ/עֲבָדִ֔ים conj + n c mp The man increased exceedingly, and had large flocks, maid-servants and men-servants, and camels and donkeys.
- Genesis 32:4 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֣ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms He commanded them, saying, "This is what you shall tell my lord, Esau: 'This is what your servant, Jacob, says. I have lived as a foreigner with Laban, and stayed until now.
- Genesis 32:5 וְ/עֶ֣בֶד conj + n c ms I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, men-servants, and maid-servants. I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.'"
- Genesis 32:10 עַבְדֶּ֑/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms I am not worthy of the least of all the loving kindnesses, and of all the truth, which you have shown to your servant; for with just my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I have become two companies.
- Genesis 32:16 עֲבָדָ֔י/ו עֲבָדָי/ו֙ n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms He delivered them into the hands of his servants, every herd by itself, and said to his servants, "Pass over before me, and put a space between herd and herd."
- Genesis 32:18 לְ/עַבְדְּ/ךָ֣ prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Then you shall say, 'They are your servant, Jacob's. It is a present sent to my lord, Esau. Behold, he also is behind us.'"
- Genesis 32:20 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֥ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms You shall say, 'Not only that, but behold, your servant, Jacob, is behind us.'" For, he said, "I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face. Perhaps he will accept me."
- Genesis 33:5 עַבְדֶּֽ/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms He lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, "Who are these with you?" He said, "The children whom God has graciously given your servant."
- Genesis 33:14 עַבְדּ֑/וֹ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms Please let my lord pass over before his servant: and I will lead on gently, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord to Seir."
- Genesis 39:17 הָ/עֶ֧בֶד ptcl def.art + n c ms She spoke to him according to these words, saying, "The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought to us, came in to me to mock me,
- Genesis 39:19 עַבְדֶּ֑/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms It happened, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, "This is what your servant did to me," that his wrath was kindled.
- Genesis 40:20 עֲבָדָ֑י/ו עֲבָדָֽי/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms It happened the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants, and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants.
- Genesis 41:10 עֲבָדָ֑י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, me and the chief baker.
- Genesis 41:12 עֶ֚בֶד n c ms There was with us there a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard, and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams. To each man according to his dream he interpreted.
- Genesis 41:37 עֲבָדָֽי/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms The thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.
- Genesis 41:38 עֲבָדָ֑י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?"
- Genesis 42:10 וַ/עֲבָדֶ֥י/ךָ conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms They said to him, "No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food.
- Genesis 42:11 עֲבָדֶ֖י/ךָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms We are all one man's sons; we are honest men. Your servants are not spies."
- Genesis 42:13 עֲבָדֶ֨י/ךָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms They said, "We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more."
- Genesis 43:18 לַ/עֲבָדִ֖ים prep + n c mp The men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph's house; and they said, "Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall on us, and take us for bondservants, along with our donkeys."
- Genesis 43:28 לְ/עַבְדְּ/ךָ֥ prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms They said, "Your servant, our father, is well. He is still alive." They bowed the head, and did homage.
- Genesis 44:7 לַ/עֲבָדֶ֔י/ךָ prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms They said to him, "Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants that they should do such a thing!
- Genesis 44:9 מֵ/עֲבָדֶ֖י/ךָ לַ/עֲבָדִֽים prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms prep + n c mp With whoever of your servants it be found, let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondservants."
- Genesis 44:10 עָ֔בֶד n c ms He said, "Now also let it be according to your words: he with whom it is found will be my bondservant; and you will be blameless."
- Genesis 44:16 עֲבָדֶ֔י/ךָ עֲבָדִים֙ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms n c mp Judah said, "What will we tell my lord? What will we speak? Or how will we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants. Behold, we are my lord's bondservants, both we, and he also in whose hand the cup is found."
- Genesis 44:17 עָ֔בֶד n c ms He said, "Far be it from me that I should do so. The man in whose hand the cup is found, he will be my bondservant; but as for you, go up in peace to your father."
- Genesis 44:18 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֤ בְּ/עַבְדֶּ֑/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Then Judah came near to him, and said, "Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord's ears, and don't let your anger burn against your servant; for you are even as Pharaoh.
- Genesis 44:19 עֲבָדָ֖י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms My lord asked his servants, saying, 'Have you a father, or a brother?'
- Genesis 44:21 עֲבָדֶ֔י/ךָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms You said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.'
- Genesis 44:23 עֲבָדֶ֔י/ךָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms You said to your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will see my face no more.'
- Genesis 44:24 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֖ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms It happened when we came up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
- Genesis 44:27 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֥ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Your servant, my father, said to us, 'You know that my wife bore me two sons:
- Genesis 44:30 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֣ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Now therefore when I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the boy's life;
- Genesis 44:31 עֲבָדֶ֜י/ךָ עַבְדְּ/ךָ֥ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms it will happen, when he sees that the boy is no more, that he will die. Your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant, our father, with sorrow to Sheol.
- Genesis 44:32 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֙ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms For your servant became collateral for the boy to my father, saying, 'If I don't bring him to you, then I will bear the blame to my father forever.'
- Genesis 44:33 עַבְדְּ/ךָ֙ עֶ֖בֶד n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms n c ms Now therefore, please let your servant stay instead of the boy, a bondservant to my lord; and let the boy go up with his brothers.
- Genesis 45:16 עֲבָדָֽי/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms The report of it was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, "Joseph's brothers have come." It pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
- Genesis 46:34 עֲבָדֶ֨י/ךָ֙ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms that you shall say, 'Your servants have been keepers of cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and our fathers:' that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians."
- Genesis 47:3 עֲבָדֶ֔י/ךָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" They said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers."
- Genesis 47:4 לַ/עֲבָדֶ֔י/ךָ עֲבָדֶ֖י/ךָ prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms They said to Pharaoh, "We have come to live as foreigners in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks. For the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen."
- Genesis 47:19 עֲבָדִ֣ים n c mp Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. Give us seed, that we may live, and not die, and that the land won't be desolate."
- Genesis 47:25 עֲבָדִ֖ים n c mp They said, "You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants."
- Genesis 50:2 עֲבָדָי/ו֙ n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms Joseph commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father; and the physicians embalmed Israel.
- Genesis 50:7 עַבְדֵ֤י n c mp cs Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, all the elders of the land of Egypt,
- Genesis 50:17 עַבְדֵ֖י n c mp cs "So you shall tell Joseph, 'Now please forgive the disobedience of your brothers, and their sin, because they did evil to you.' Now, please forgive the disobedience of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
- Genesis 50:18 לַ/עֲבָדִֽים prep + n c mp His brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said, "Behold, we are your servants."
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.