'Servant' in the Bible

So he said,“Cursed be Canaan [the son of Ham];A servant of servantsHe shall be to his brothers.”

He also said,“Blessed be the Lord,The God of Shem;And let Canaan be his servant.

“May God enlarge [the land of] Japheth,And let him dwell in the tents of Shem;And let Canaan be his servant.”

And Abram continued, “Since You have given no child to me, one (a servant) born in my house is my heir.”

and Abraham said, “My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass by your servant [without stopping to visit].

And I will bring a piece of bread to refresh and sustain you; after that you may go on, since you have come to your servant.” And they replied, “Do as you have said.”

The Lord said, “Shall I keep secret from Abraham [My friend and servant] what I am going to do,

Please listen, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness (mercy) to me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, because the disaster will overtake me and I will be killed.

Abraham said to his servant [Eliezer of Damascus], the oldest of his household, who had charge over all that Abraham owned, “Please, put your hand under my thigh [as is customary for affirming a solemn oath],

The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman will not be willing to follow me back to this country; should I take your son back to the country from which you came?”

So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels, and set out, taking some of his master’s good things with him; so he got up and journeyed to Mesopotamia [between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers], to the city of Nahor [the home of Abraham’s brother].

now let it be that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please, let down your jar so that I may [have a] drink,’ and she replies, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels water to drink’—may she be the one whom You have selected [as a wife] for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness (faithfulness) to my master.”

Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar.”

So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant.

When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the ground [in worship] before the Lord.

Then the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and articles of clothing, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and her mother.

But Eliezer said to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away, so that I may go back to my master.”

So they sent off their sister Rebekah and her nurse [Deborah, as her attendant] and Abraham’s servant [Eliezer] and his men.

Then Rebekah and her attendants stood, and they mounted camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went on his way.

She said to the servant, “Who is that man there walking across the field to meet us?” And the servant said, “He is my master [Isaac].” So she took a veil and covered herself [as was customary].

The servant told Isaac everything that he had done.

The Lord appeared to him the same night and said,“I am the God of Abraham your father;Do not be afraid, for I am with you.I will bless and favor you, and multiply your descendants,For the sake of My servant Abraham.”

He commanded them, saying, “This is what to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says this, “I have been living temporarily with Laban, and have stayed there until now;

I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and compassion and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant. With only my staff [long ago] I crossed over this Jordan, and now I have become [blessed and increased into these] two groups [of people].

then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s; they are a gift sent to my lord Esau. And he also is behind us.’”

and you shall say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he said [to himself], “I will try to appease him with the gift that is going ahead of me. Then afterward I will see him; perhaps he will accept and forgive me.”

Esau looked up and saw the women and the children, and said, “Who are these with you?” So Jacob replied, “They are the children whom God has graciously given your servant.”

Please let my lord go on ahead of his servant, and I will move on slowly, governed by the pace of the livestock that are in front of me and according to the endurance of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir [in Edom].”

Then she told her husband the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you brought among us, came to me to mock and insult me;

And when Joseph’s master heard the words of his wife, saying, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger burned.

Now there was with us [in the prison] a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us, to each man according to the significance of his own dream.

And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” And they bowed down [their heads before Joseph] in respect.

But Joseph said, “Far be it from me that I should do that; but the man in whose hand the cup has been found, he will be my servant; and as for [the rest of] you, get up and go in peace to your father.”

Then Judah approached him, and said, “O my lord, please let your servant say a word to you in private, and do not let your anger blaze against your servant, for you are equal to Pharaoh [so I speak as if directly to him].

So when we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said.

Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife [Rachel] bore me [only] two sons.

Now, therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the young man is not with us, since his life is bound up in the young man’s life,

when he sees that the young man is not with us, he will die; and your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sheol in [great] sorrow.

For your servant became security for the young man to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then let me bear the blame before my father forever.’

Now, therefore, please let your servant (Judah) remain here instead of the youth [to be] a slave to my lord, and let the young man go home with his brothers.

“When he saw that the resting place was goodAnd that the land was pleasant,He bowed his shoulder to bear [burdens],And became a servant at forced labor.