Reference: Servant
American
This word sometimes denotes a man who voluntarily dedicates himself to the service of another. Thus Joshua was the servant of Moses; Elisha of Elijah; and Peter, Andrew, Philip, and Paul were servants of Jesus Christ. The servants of Pharaoh, of Saul, and of David, were their subjects in general, and their court officers and counselors in particular. The Philistines, Syrians, and other nation were servants of David, that is, they obeyed and paid him tribute. The servants of God are those who are devoted to his service and obey his holy word.
In its primary sense, the word usually means in the Bible either a hired servant, or one whose service was the property of his master for a limited time and under various restrictions. Joseph is the first whom we read of as sold into bondage, Ge 37:27-28. The households of some of the early patriarchs contained many servants, who were apparently treated with kindness and justice; the highest trusts were sometimes confided to them, and they might inherit their master's estate, Ge 14:11-16; 15:2-4; 24:1-10. They shared the religious privileges of the household, Ge 17:9-13,27; 18:19, and were not transferred to other masters.
At the establishment of the Hebrew commonwealth, involuntary servitude was everywhere prevalent; and so far as it existed among the Jews, Moses sought to bring it under the restrictions demanded by religion and humanity. The mildest form of bond-service was that of a Hebrew in the house of another Hebrew. He might become bound to this service in various ways, chiefly through poverty, Ex 21:7; Le 25:39-47; to acquit himself of a debt he could not otherwise pay, 2Ki 4:1; to make restitution for a theft, Ex 22:3; or to earn the price of his ransom for captivity among heathen. This form of service could not continue more than six or seven years; unless, when the Sabbatical year came round, the servant chose to remain permanently or until the Jubilee with his master, in token of which he suffered his ear to be bored before witnesses, Ex 21:2,6; 25:40. The Hebrews servant was not to be made to serve with rigor, nor transferred to any harder bondage; he had an appeal to the tribunals, a right to all religious privileges, the power of demanding release on providing a pecuniary equivalent, and a donation from his master at his release, Le 25:47-55; De 15:12-18. Compare also 2Ch 28:10-11; Ne 5:1-13; Jer 34:8-22. The law likewise provided for the deliverance of a Hebrew, who was in bondage to a resident foreigner, Le 25:47-54.
From the heathen around and among them, especially from their captive enemies and the remains of the Canaanites, the Hebrew obtained many servants. These were protected by law, De 1:16-17; 27:19, and might become proselytes, attend the festivals, enjoy religious instruction and privileges, Ex 12:44; De 12:18; 29:10-13; 31:10-13. The servant who was mutilated by his master was to be set free, Ex 21:26-27; the refugee from foreign oppression was to be welcomed, De 23:15-16; and kidnapping or man stealing was forbidden on pain of death, Ex 21:16; De 24:7; 1Ti 1:10.
Roman slavery, as it existed in the time of Christ, was comparatively unknown to the Jews. The Romans held in bondage captives taken in war, had purchased slaves. Their bondage was perpetual, and the master held unquestioned control of the person and life of his slaves. Yet large numbers were set free, and in many instances Roman freedmen rose to the highest honors.
The allusion of the Bible to involuntary servitude, imply that it is an evil and undesirable condition of life; yet the bondman who cannot obtain his freedom is divinely exhorted to contentment, 1Co 7:20-24. Meanwhile the Bible give directions as to the mutual duties of masters and servants, Eph 6:5-9; Col 3:22; 4:1; Tit 2:9; Phm 1:1-25; 1Pe 2:18; and proclaims the great truths of the common origin of all men, the immorality of every human soul, and its right to the Bible and to all necessary means of knowing and serving the Savior-the application of which to all the relations of master and servant, superior and inferior, employer and employed, would prevent all oppression, which God abhors, De 24:14; Ps 103:6; Isa 10:1-3; Am 4:1; Mal 3:5; Jas 5:4.
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And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. read more. And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram. And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them to Dan. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants by night, and smote them, and pursued them to Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.
And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and lo, one born in my house is my heir. read more. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, This shall not be thy heir; but he that shall come forth out of thy own bowels shall be thy heir.
And God said to Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee, in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep between me and you, and thy seed after thee; Every male-child among you shall be circumcised. read more. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male-child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, who is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.
For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they will keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
And Abraham was old and far advanced in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: read more. And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thou wilt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell: But thou shalt go to my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac. And the servant said to him, It may be the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land: must I needs bring thy son again to the land from whence thou camest? And Abraham said to him, Beware that thou bring not my son thither again. The LORD God of heaven, who took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, To thy seed I will give this land: he will send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife for my son from thence. And if the woman shall not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath; only bring not my son thither again. And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning that matter. And the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his master, and departed; (for all the goods of his master were in his hands:) and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.
Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh: and his brethren were content. Then there passed by Midianites, merchants; and they drew and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat of it.
If thou shalt buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall depart free for nothing.
Then his master shall bring him to the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or to the door-post: and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever. And if a man shall sell his daughter to be a maid-servant, she shall not depart as the men-servants do.
And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he shall be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
And if a man shall smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it shall perish; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake. And if he shall smite out his man-servant's tooth, or his maid-servant's tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.
If the sun shall have risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him: for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shown thee on the mount.
And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee shall have become poor, and be sold to thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bond servant: But as a hired servant, and as a sojourner he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee to the year of jubilee. read more. And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return to his own family, and to the possession of his fathers shall he return. For they are my servants, which I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as bond-men. Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor, but shalt fear thy God. Both thy bond-men, and thy bond-maids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are around you; of them shall ye buy bond-men and bond-maids. Moreover of the children of the strangers that sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession, they shall be your bond-men for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigor. And if a sojourner or a stranger shall become rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him shall become poor, and sell himself to the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family:
And if a sojourner or a stranger shall become rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him shall become poor, and sell himself to the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family:
And if a sojourner or a stranger shall become rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him shall become poor, and sell himself to the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family: After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:
After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him: Either his uncle, or his uncle's son may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin to him of his family, may redeem him; or if he is able, he may redeem himself.
Either his uncle, or his uncle's son may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin to him of his family, may redeem him; or if he is able, he may redeem himself. And he shall reckon with him that bought him, from the year that he was sold to him, to the year of jubilee: and the price of his sale shall be according to the number of years, according to the time of a hired servant shall it be with him.
And he shall reckon with him that bought him, from the year that he was sold to him, to the year of jubilee: and the price of his sale shall be according to the number of years, according to the time of a hired servant shall it be with him. If there shall be yet many years behind, according to them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.
If there shall be yet many years behind, according to them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for. And if there shall remain but few years to the year of jubilee, then he shall count with him, and according to his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption.
And if there shall remain but few years to the year of jubilee, then he shall count with him, and according to his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption. And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigor over him in thy sight.
And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigor over him in thy sight. And if he shall not be redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, both he, and his children with him.
And if he shall not be redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, both he, and his children with him. For to me the children of Israel are servants, they are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.
But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands to.
And if thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, shall be sold to thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him depart empty: read more. Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy wine-press: of that with which the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give to him. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bond-man in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing this day. And it shall be, if he shall say to thee, I will not leave thee; because he loveth thee and thy house, because he is well with thee; Then thou shalt take an awl, and thrust it through his ear into the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also to thy maid-servant thou shalt do likewise. It shall not seem hard to thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been of double the worth of a hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.
Thou shalt not deliver to his master the servant who hath escaped from his master to thee: He shall dwell with thee, even among you in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates where it pleaseth him best: thou shalt not oppress him.
If a man shall be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and shall make merchandise of him, or sell him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt remove evil from among you.
Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he is of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:
Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow: and all the people shall say, Amen.
Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel, Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood to the drawer of thy water: read more. That thou shouldst enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day: That he may establish thee to-day for a people to himself, and that he may be to thee a God, as he hath said to thee, and as he hath sworn to thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing. read more. Convene the people, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: And that their children who have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.
Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets to Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant feared the LORD: and the creditor hath come to take to him my two sons to be bond-men.
And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bond-men and bond-women to you: but are there not with you, even with you, sins against the LORD your God? Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you.
And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews. For there were that said, We, our sons, and our daughters, are many: therefore we take up corn for them, that we may eat, and live. read more. Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth. There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king's tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards. Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought to bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards. And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words. Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said to them, Ye exact interest, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them. And I said to them, We after our ability have redeemed our brethren the Jews, who were sold to the heathen; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold to us? Then they held their peace, and found nothing to answer. Also I said, That is not good which ye do: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies? I likewise, my brethren, and my servants, might exact of them money and corn: I pray you, let us leave off this usury. Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their olive-yards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them. Then said they, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them; so will we do as thou sayest. Then I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they would do according to this promise. Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labor, that performeth not this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the LORD. And the people did according to this promise.
The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
Woe to them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless! read more. And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty to them; That every man should liberate his man-servant, and every man his maid-servant, being a Hebrew or a Hebrewess; that none should retain them in service, to wit, a Jew his brother. read more. Now when all the princes, and all the people who had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should liberate his man-servant, and every one his maid-servant, that none should retain them in service any more, then they obeyed, and let them go. But afterwards they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had liberated, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids. Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth from the land of Egypt, out of the house of bond-men, saying, At the end of seven years dismiss ye every man his brother a Hebrew, who hath been sold to thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not to me, neither inclined their ear. And ye had now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbor; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name: But ye turned and profaned my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom he had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be to you for servants and for handmaids. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened to me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbor: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in two, and passed between the parts of it, The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, who passed between the parts of the calf; I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for food to the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth. And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes I will give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which are gone up from you. Behold, I will command, saith the LORD, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.
Hear this word, ye heifers of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.
And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.
Let every man continue in the same calling in which he was called. Art thou called being a servant? care not for it; but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. read more. For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's free-man: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant. Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, let every man in the state in which he is called, continue in it with God.
Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as to Christ; Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; read more. With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that whatever good thing any man doeth, the same will he receive from the Lord, whether he be bond or free. And, ye masters, do the same things to them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:
Masters, give to your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.
For there are many disorderly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:
Exhort servants to be obedient to their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again;
Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellow-laborer, And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the church in thy house: read more. Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers, Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast towards the Lord Jesus, and towards all saints; That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother. Wherefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient. Yet for love's sake I rather beseech thee, being such one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds: Who in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me: Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, my own bowels: Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered to me in the bonds of the gospel: But without thy mind I would do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly. For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldst receive him for ever; Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more to thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord? If thou accountest me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee aught, put that on my account; I Paul have written it with my own hand, I will repay it: although I do not say to thee that thou owest to me even thy own self besides. Yes, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord. Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote to thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say. But at the same time prepare me also a lodging; for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given to you. There salute thee Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus; Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellow-laborers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped your fields, which is by you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them who have reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
Fausets
na'ar, meshareth. In our sense, "a free, voluntary attendant", as Joshua of Moses (Ex 33:11; so 2Ki 4:12,43; 5:20; 6:15 margin "minister"; 2Sa 13:17-18; 1Ki 20:14-15). 'Ebed on the other hand is "a bondservant or slave".
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And the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend. And he turned again into the camp; but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
Then he called his servant that ministered to him, and said, Put now this woman out from me, and bolt the door after her. And she had a garment of divers colors upon her: for with such robes were the king's daughters that were virgins appareled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her.
And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunamite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.
And his servitor said, What, should I set this before a hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave of it.
But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but as the LORD liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat from him.
And when the servant of the man of God had risen early, and gone forth, behold, a host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
Hastings
Morish
1. The words ebed and ?????? (those most commonly used for 'servant') convey the idea of bondmen or slaves. Some were bought with money and some were taken in war: cf. also Ex 22:3. Such a servant, if circumcised, might among the Israelites eat of the Passover
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But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat of it. A foreigner, and a hired servant shall not eat of it.
If his master hath given him a wife, and she hath borne him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall depart by himself.
If the sun shall have risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him: for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
But if the priest shall buy any soul with his money, he shall eat of it, and he that is born in his house: they shall eat of his meat.
And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick with the palsy, grievously tormented.
The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant will be healed.
And Jesus said to the centurion, Depart; and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee. And his servant was healed in the same hour.
Behold, my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles.
And said to his servants, This is John the Baptist; he hath risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him.
But Peter followed him at a distance, to the high priest's palace, and went in, and sat with the servants to see the end.
And immediately he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after him.
And Peter followed him at a distance, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire.
And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say to him, Prophesy: and the servants struck him with the palms of their hands.
He hath sustained his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us, in the house of his servant David:
Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come to thee; but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.
Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say to you, that he will gird himself, and make them to sit down to eat, and will come forth and serve them.
But if that servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the men-servants, and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken?
And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father have bread enough and to spare, and I am perishing with hunger!
And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
For which is greater, he that sitteth at table, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at table? but I am among you as he that serveth.
But he that is a hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
To you first, God having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
Who, by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
For in truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were assembled,
By stretching forth thy hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.
And when the angel who spoke to Cornelius had departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually;
Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth: and he shall be held up: for God is able to make him stand.
For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's free-man: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant.
For lewd persons, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,
And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were afterwards to be spoken.
Smith
Servant.
[SLAVE]
See Slave
Watsons
SERVANT. The word generally signifies a slave. For formerly among the Hebrews, and the neighbouring nations, the greater part of servants were slaves, that is to say, they belonged absolutely to their masters, who had a right to dispose of their persons, their bodies, goods, and even of their lives, in some cases. The Hebrews had two sorts of servants or slaves, Le 25:44-45, &c. Some were strangers, either bought, or taken in the wars. The others were Hebrew slaves, who, being poor, sold themselves, or were sold to pay their debts; or were delivered up for slaves by their parents, in cases of necessity. This sort of Hebrew slaves continued in slavery but to the year of jubilee; then they might return to liberty again, and their masters could not retain them against their wills. If they would continue voluntarily with their masters, they were brought before the judges; there they made a declaration, that for this time they disclaimed the privilege of the law, had their ears bored with an awl, by applying them to the doorposts of their master, Ex 21:2,5-7, &c; and after that they had no longer any power of recovering their liberty, except at the next year of jubilee. Servant is also taken for a man that dedicates himself to the service of another, by the choice of his own will and inclination. Thus Joshua was the servant of Moses, Elisha of Elijah, Gehazi of Elisha; St. Peter, St. Andrew, St. Philip, and the rest, were servants of Jesus Christ.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
If thou shalt buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall depart free for nothing.
And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not depart free: Then his master shall bring him to the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or to the door-post: and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever. read more. And if a man shall sell his daughter to be a maid-servant, she shall not depart as the men-servants do.
Both thy bond-men, and thy bond-maids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are around you; of them shall ye buy bond-men and bond-maids. Moreover of the children of the strangers that sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.