'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.

And Moses said to Yahweh, "Please, Lord, I [am] not a man of words, {neither recently nor in the past nor since your speaking} to your servant, because I [am] heavy of mouth and of tongue."

And Israel saw the great hand that Yahweh displayed against Egypt, and the people feared Yahweh, and they believed in Yahweh and in Moses his servant.

"You shall not covet the house of your neighbor; you will not covet the wife of your neighbor or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that [is] your neighbor's."

And Moses said to Yahweh, "Why have you brought trouble to your servant? Why have I not found favor in your eyes, that the burdens of all these people have been placed on me?

Not so with my servant Moses; in all my house he [is] faithful.

I will speak to him mouth to mouth, [in] clearness, not in riddles; and he will look at the form of Yahweh. Why were you not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?"

But my servant Caleb, because another spirit was with him, he remained true after me, and I will bring him into the land that {he entered}, and his offspring will take possession of it.

'Lord Yahweh, you have begun to show your servant your greatness and your strong hand, for what god [is there] in the heaven or on the earth who can do according to your works and according to your mighty deeds?

Then Moses, the servant of Yahweh, died there in the land of Moab {according to the command of Yahweh}.

After the death of Moses the servant of Yahweh, Yahweh said to Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, saying,

"My servant Moses [is] dead. Get up and cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I [am] giving to them, to the {Israelites}.

Only be strong and very courageous {to observe diligently the whole law} that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn aside from it, [to] the right or left, so that you may succeed {wherever you go}.

"Remember the word that Moses Yahweh's servant commanded you, saying, 'Yahweh your God [is] giving rest to you, and he is giving you this land.'

until Yahweh gives rest to your families as well as to you. They will take possession of the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to them. Then you will return to your own land and take possession of it, [the land] that Moses the servant of Yahweh gave you beyond the Jordan {to the east}."

And he said, "Neither. I have come now [as] the commander of Yahweh's army." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and {he bowed down} and said to him, "What [is] my lord commanding his servant?"

as Moses Yahweh's servant commanded the {Israelites}, as [it is] written in the scroll of the law of Moses: "an altar of unhewn stones [on] which no one has {wielded} an iron implement." And they offered burnt offerings on it and sacrificed fellowship offerings.

Then all Israel, {foreigner as well as native}, with the elders, officials, and judges stood {on either side} of the ark before the priests and the Levites, who carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. Half of them [stood] in front of Mount Gerizim, and the other half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses Yahweh's servant had commanded before to bless the people of Israel.

And they answered Joshua and said, "Because it was told with certainty to your servants that Yahweh your God commanded Moses his servant to give to you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you, so we were very afraid for our lives because of you, and so we did this thing.

And the men of Gibeon sent [word] to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, "{Do not abandon} your servant. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country have gathered against us."

And Joshua captured all the cities of these kings, and all their kings, and he utterly destroyed them with {the edge of the sword}, as Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded.

Just as Yahweh commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did; he left nothing undone that Yahweh had commanded Moses.

Moses Yahweh's servant and the {Israelites} defeated them; and Moses Yahweh's servant gave it [as] a possession to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

With it the Reubenites, and the Gadites received their inheritance, which Moses gave them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses Yahweh's servant gave to them:

{I was forty years old} when Moses Yahweh's servant sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I returned {with an honest report}.

The Levites among you have no portion, for their inheritance [is] the priesthood of Yahweh; Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh received their inheritance beyond the Jordan to the east, which Moses Yahweh's servant gave to them."

and he said to them, "You have observed all that Moses Yahweh's servant commanded you, and you have listened to my voice in all that I have commanded you;

So then, Yahweh your God has given rest to your kinsmen, just as he promised them; so then, turn and go to your tents to the land of your possession, which Moses Yahweh's servant gave to you beyond the Jordan.

Only be very careful to observe the commandment and law that Moses Yahweh's servant commanded you, to love Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments, to hold fast to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul."

After these things Joshua son of Nun servant of Yahweh died; {he was one hundred and ten years old}.

And Joshua son of Nun, servant of Yahweh, died {at the age of one hundred and ten years}.

But if you [are] afraid, go down to the camp with Purah your servant,

and you will hear what they say; and afterward {you will have courage}, and you will go down against the camp." Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men that [were] in the camp.

And he was very thirsty, and he called to Yahweh and said, "You gave this great victory into the hand of your servant, but now I must die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?"

Then Samson said to the servant who was holding him by his hand, "Position me so that I can touch the pillars on which the house rests, so I can lean on them."

So her husband set out, and he went after her to speak {tenderly to her}, to bring her back. He took with him his servant and a pair of donkeys. And she brought him [to] her father's house, and the father of the young woman saw him and was glad to meet him.

And the man got up to go--he, his concubine, and his servant--but his father-in-law, the father of the young woman, said to him, "Please, the day has worn on to evening; please, spend the night, the day has drawn to a close. Spend the night here and {enjoy yourself}. You can rise early tomorrow for your journey and {go to your home}."

They [were] near Jebus, and {the day was far spent}, and the servant said to his master, "Please, come, let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites, and let us spend the night in it."

And he said to his servant, "Come, let us approach one of these places; we will spend the night in Gibeah or in Ramah."

There is both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for me, for your servant, and for the young man who is with your servant; there is no lack of anything."

And Boaz said to his servant {in charge of the reapers}, "To whom [does] this young woman [belong]?"

And {the servant in charge of the reapers} said, "She [is] a Moabite girl returning with Naomi from the countryside of Moab.

And she said, "May I find favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and have spoken {kindly to your servant}, and I am not one of your servants."

And he said, "Who [are] you?" And she said, "I [am] Ruth, your servant. Spread {your garment} over your servant because you [are] a redeemer."

She {made a vow} and said: "O Yahweh of hosts, if you will look with compassion on the misery of your female servant, and will remember me, and not forget your female servant, and will give to your female servant {a male child} then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and a razor will never pass over his head."

Do not regard your female servant as {worthless}, but because of the extent of my worries and my provocation I have spoken all of this."