'Servant' in the Bible

Now Sarai, the wife of Abram, had borne him no children. And she had a female Egyptian servant, and her name [was] Hagar.

And Sarai said to Abram, "Look, please, Yahweh has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my servant; perhaps {I will have children by her}." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

Then Sarai, the wife of Abram, took Hagar, her Egyptian servant, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband as his wife.

And Sarai said to Abram, "may my harm [be] upon you. {I had my servant sleep with you}, and [when] she saw that she had conceived, {she no longer respected me}. May Yahweh judge between me and you!"

And Abram said to Sarai, "Look, your servant [is] {under your authority}. Do to her that which [is] good in your eyes." And Sarai mistreated her, and she fled from her presence.

And he said to Hagar, the servant of Sarai, "{From where} have you come, and where are you going?" And she said, "I am fleeing from the presence of Sarai my mistress."

And {at eight days of age} you shall yourselves circumcise every male [belonging] to your generations [and] {the servant born in your house and the one bought from any foreigner} who is not from your offspring.

{You must certainly circumcise} {the servant born in your house and the one bought from any foreigner}. And my covenant shall be with your flesh as an everlasting covenant.

And he said, "My lord, if I have found favor in your eyes do not pass by your servant.

And let me bring a piece of bread, then refresh {yourselves}. Afterward you can pass on, {once} you have passed by with your servant." Then they said, "Do so as you have said."

And Abraham ran to the cattle and took a {calf}, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, and he made haste to prepare it.

And he said, "Behold, my lords, please turn aside into the house of your servant and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you can rise early and go on your way." And they said, "No, but we will spend the night in the square."

Behold, your servant has found favor in your eyes and {you have shown me great kindness} in saving my life. But I cannot flee to the mountains, lest the disaster overtake me and I die.

And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all he had, "Please put your hand under my thigh

And the servant said to him, "Perhaps the woman will not be willing {to follow} me to this land--must I then return your son to the land from whence you came?"

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

And the servant took ten camels from his master's camels, and he went with all [kinds of] his master's good things in his hand. And he arose and went to Aram-Naharaim, to the city of Nahor.

And let it be [that] the girl to whom I shall say, 'Please, offer your jar that I may drink' and [who] says, 'Drink--and I will also water your camels,' she [is the one] you have chosen for your servant, for Isaac. By her I will know that you have shown loyal love to my master."

And the servant ran to meet her. And he said, "Please, let me drink a little of the water from your jar."

And he said, "I [am] the servant of Abraham.

And it happened [that] when the servant of Abraham heard their words he bowed down to the ground to Yahweh.

And the servant brought out silver jewelry and gold jewelry, and garments, and he gave [them] to Rebekah. And he gave precious gifts to her brother and to her mother.

So they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and the servant of Abraham and his men.

And Rebekah and her maidservants arose, and they mounted the camels and {followed} the man. And the servant took Rebekah and left.

And she said to the servant, "Who [is] this man walking around in the field to meet us?" And the servant said, "That [is] my master." And she took her veil and covered herself.

And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.

And Yahweh appeared to him that night and said, "I [am] the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I [am] with you, and I will bless you and make your descendants numerous for the sake of my servant Abraham."

And Laban gave Zilpah his female servant to her, to Leah his daughter [as] a female servant.

And Laban gave Bilhah his female servant to Rachel his daughter as a female servant.

Then she said, "Here [is] my servant girl Bilhah; go in to her that she may bear children {as my surrogate}. Then I will even {have children} by her."

Then she gave him Bilhah, her female servant, as a wife, and Jacob went in to her

And Bilhah, Rachel's servant, conceived again and bore a second son to Jacob.

When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took Zilpah her female servant and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

And Zilpah, Leah's female servant, bore a second son to Jacob.

Then Leah said, "God has given [me] my wage since I gave my servant girl to my husband." And she called his name Issachar.

And he instructed them, saying, "Thus you must say to my lord, to Esau, 'Thus says your servant Jacob, I have dwelled as an alien with Laban, and I have remained [there] until now.

{I am not worthy} of all the loyal love and all the faithfulness that you have shown your servant, for with [only] my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.

Then you must say, 'To your servant, to Jacob. It [is] a gift sent to my lord, to Esau. Now behold, he [is] also [coming] after us.'"

And he also instructed the second [servant] and the third, and everyone [else] who [was] behind the herds, saying, "You must speak to Esau according to this word when you find him.

And moreover, you shall say, 'Look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.'" For he thought, "{Let me appease him} with the gift going before me, and afterward I will see his face. Perhaps he will {show me favor}."

Then Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and the children and said, "Who [are] these with you?" And he said, "The children whom God has graciously given your servant."

Let my lord pass on before his servant and I will move along slowly at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me, and at the pace of the children until I come to my lord in Seir."

The sons of Bilhah, the female servant of Rachel: Dan and Naphtali.

The sons of Zilpah, the female servant of Leah: Gad and Asher. These [were] the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-Aram.

And when his master heard the words of his wife that she spoke to him, "{This is what your servant did to me}," {he became very angry}.

And there with us [was] a young man, a Hebrew servant of the chief of the guard, and we told him [the dream], and he interpreted our dreams for us, each according to his dream he interpreted.

And they said, "Your servant our father [is] well; he is still alive." And they knelt and bowed down.

But Judah drew near to him and said, "Please my lord, let your servant speak a word in the ears of my lord, and {let not your anger burn} against your servant, for {you are like Pharaoh himself}.

And it happened [that] we went up to your servant, my father, and told him the words of my lord.

Then your servant, my father, said to us, 'You yourselves know that my wife bore two sons to me.

So now, when I come to your servant, my father, and the boy is not with us--now his life is bound up with his life--

it shall happen [that] when he sees that the boy is gone, he will die. And your servants will bring down the gray head of your servant, our father, to Sheol with sorrow.

For your servant is pledged as surety for the boy by my father, saying, If I do not bring him to you, then I shall be culpable to my father forever.

So then, please let your servant remain in place of the boy as a slave to my lord, and let the boy go up with his brothers.

He saw a resting place that [was] good, and land that [was] pleasant. So he bowed his shoulder to the burden and became a servant of forced labor.