SERVANT
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, Gen 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, Gen 14:11-16 15:2-4 24:1-10. They shared the religious privileges of the household, Gen 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, Exo 21:7 Lev 25:39-47 ; to acquit himself of a debt he could not otherwise pay, 2Ki 4:1 ; to make restitution for a theft, Exo 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, Exo 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, Lev 25:47-55 Deu 15:12-18 . Compare also 2Ch 28:10,11 Neh 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, Lev 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, Deu 1:16,17 27:19, and might become proselytes, attend the festivals, enjoy religious instruction and privileges, Exo 12:44 Deu 12:18 29:10-13 31:10-13. The servant who was mutilated by his master was to be set free, Exo 21:26,27 ; the refugee from foreign oppression was to be welcomed, Deu 23:15,16 ; and kidnapping or man stealing was forbidden on pain of death, Exo 21:16 Deu 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, Zep 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 Saviorthe application of which to all the relations of master and servant, superior and inferior, employer and employed, would prevent all oppression, which God abhors, Deu 24:14 Psa 103:6 Isa 10:1-3 1Sa 4:1 Mal 3:5 Jam 5:4 .
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Servant
See Ministry, Slave.
Fuente: Dictionary of the Apostolic Church
Servant
(usually , ebed, , which are invariably rendered thus in the A.V. or else bondman; but servant is occasionally the rendering of ,na’ar, properly a lad or young man; or , meshareth [Exo 33:11; Num 11:28; 2Sa 13:17-18; Pro 29:12], a minister, as elsewhere rendered; Gr. in like manner sometimes , , etc.). SEE EBED. The Hebrew terms na’ar and meshareth, which alone answer to our servant, in so far as this implies the notions of liberty and voluntariness, are of comparatively rare occurrence. On the other hand, ebed, which is common in the A.V., properly means a slave. In many passages the correct reading would add considerable force to the meaning e.g. in Gen 9:25, Cursed be Canaan; a slave of slaves shall he be unto his brethren; in Deu 5:15, Remember that thou wast a slave in the land of Egypt; in Job 3:19, The slave is free from his master; and particularly in passages where the speaker uses the term of himself, as in Gen 18:3, Pass not away, I pray thee, from thy slave. Slavery was, in point of fact, the normal condition of the underling in the Hebrew commonwealth, while the terms above given refer to the exceptional cases of young or confidential attendants. Joshua, for instance, is described as at once the na’ar and meshareth of Moses (Exo 33:11); Elisha’s servant sometimes as the former (2Ki 4:12; 2 Kings 5, 20), sometimes as the latter (4:43; 6:15). Amnon’s servant was a meshareth (2Sa 13:17-18), while young Joseph was a na’ar to the sons of Bilhah (Gen 37:2, where instead of the lad was with, we should read he was the servant boy to the sons of Bilhah). The confidential designation mesharath is applied to the priests and Levites in their relation to Jehovah (Ezr 8:17; Isa 61:6; Eze 44:11), and the cognate verb to Joseph after he found favor with Potiphar (Gen 39:4), and to the nephews of Ahaziah (2Ch 22:8). In 1Ki 20:14-15, we should substitute servants (na’ar) for young men. SEE HIRELING; SEE SLAVE.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Servant
na’ar, meshareth. In our sense, “a free, voluntary attendant”, as Joshua of Moses (Exo 33:11; so 2Ki 4:12; 2Ki 4:43; 2Ki 5:20; 2Ki 6:15 margin “minister”; 2Sa 13:17-18; 1Ki 20:14-15). ‘Ebed on the other hand is “a bondservant or slave”.
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
SERVANT
Old and New Testaments alike use the one word servant to translate a variety of words from the original languages. In many cases the word servant is really slave.
In English slaves and servants suggest different classes of people, but this distinction is not so clear in the original languages. Often the words are used interchangeably. If there is a difference, it is usually one of suitability to context. Slaves may be used of people in relation to their masters, but servants in relation to their work. The former may be in a context of submission to a superior (e.g. Mat 6:24; Rom 6:16-18; Eph 6:6-7; see SLAVE), the latter in the context of service for others (e.g. Mat 20:28 : Luk 10:40; Rom 12:7; see MINISTER).
A special kind of service
Christians are slaves of God and servants of God (1Co 4:1; 1Co 7:22-23). They are not to be ashamed of these titles, as if God has denied them ordinary human dignity or reduced them to some low and humiliating status. The Bible uses many pictures to describe the relationship between Christ and his people, and each picture illustrates only one aspect of a many-sided relationship.
Therefore, although Christians are sometimes called Christs servants, other times they are called his friends and ambassadors. Service for him is a privilege (Joh 15:15; Joh 15:20; 2Co 5:20). Christ himself is an example of the sort of servant a Christian should be (Luk 22:27; Joh 13:12-15; see SERVANT OF THE LORD).
Service for God can take many forms. It may consist of giving practical aid to those who are poor, hungry, or otherwise in need (Rom 15:25; 1Ti 5:10; 2Ti 1:18; Heb 6:10). Some people serve God through ministries of spreading the gospel and caring for churches (Act 6:4; Act 20:24; 1Co 16:15; 2Co 3:6; Eph 3:7; Eph 4:11-12; Col 4:17); others serve him by praying for those engaged in such works (Rom 15:30-31; 2Co 1:11; Php 1:19). The title deacon, given to certain people who have various responsibilities in the church, means servant (Php 1:1; 1Ti 3:8; see DEACON).
Motives and performance
Regardless of the special ministries entrusted to certain people, all Christians are in some sense Gods servants. They have unlimited possibilities of service, and should consider that everything they do is a way of serving their Lord (Eph 6:5-8; Col 3:23). The service does not have to be in a religious setting. Christ sees everyday acts of kindness as service for him, even though the doers of those acts may not be aware of it (Mat 25:35-40). On the other hand, people may give an appearance of serving God, but if their chief concern is self-interest, they are not serving God at all (Mat 6:24).
To serve Christ means to serve others (Mat 25:35-40), and those who serve others receive Gods rewards (Mat 20:25-28; Mat 23:11-12). This does not mean that Christians serve God solely for what they can get in return. On the contrary they realize that whatever service they do is merely their duty (Luk 17:10). Yet God graciously promises to reward those who serve him faithfully (Mat 25:21; Luk 19:17; Heb 6:10; Rev 2:19; Rev 2:26; see REWARD).
Fuente: Bridgeway Bible Dictionary
Servant
SERVANT.See artt. Service, Slave; and for Servant of the Lord see Prophet, p. 432a.
Fuente: A Dictionary Of Christ And The Gospels
Servant
SERVANT.See next art. and Slave.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Servant
I should not have, stopped at this word, had the general sense of it been the object I had in view to have noticed. Every one is perfectly at home in his apprehension of the term servant, throughout the same time it may be remarked, that perhaps there are but few, even in the common acceptation of the word servant, who are aware how very general, in the extensive sense of the term, it is, as observed in the circumstances among men.
In relation to the character of servant, as it refers to the service the whole creation owe the Lord, we may take up the language of the Psalmist, and say, all things continue, according to JEHOVAH’S ordinance: for all things serve thee. (Psa 119:91) “The deceiver and the deceived are his.” (Job 12:16) Wicked men, and devils, as well as the faithful servants of JEHOVAH, may be said to minister to the Lord’s will and pleasure; and though not by their intentions, yet by the overruling and sovereign power of God, do carry on his administrations in his almighty government. This doctrine, if it were capable of being opened and explained if all the multiform instances of it, would unfold such a display of wisdom, and of glory, as would call up the everlasting and increasing admiration, love, and praise, of all the intelligent creatures of God to all eternity.
And in relation to the word servant, in the mutual services men owe, and are in fact exercising, of receipt towards one another; here also, the subject is almost boundless. No state, no condition of rank in life, is altogether exempt from it. The King and the beggar have both their respective provinces in life; and as Solomon saith, “the profit of the earth is for all the King himself is served by the field.” (Ecc 5:9)
But I should not have introduced the word servant in my Poor Man’s Concordance, had it been merely to have noticed these things. I have another, and as I hope, a higher object for its introduction; I mean in relation to the person, work, and offices of the Lord Jesus Christ, as JEHOVAH’S servant, and the servant of his people, as set forth in these unequalled words of humility and tenderness, and which are Jesus own, when he said. “The son of man came not to be ministered, unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mat 20:28)
This view of the Lord Jesus, as JEHOVAH’S Servant, in the great work of redemption, and the servant of his people, opens to our contemplation, one of the most endearing and most affectionate in all the office-characters of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hence we find God the Father speaking of him as such, when calling him by this name. “Behold my Servant, whom I uphold: mine Elect in whom my soul delighteth!” Observe here the Father is speaking to the church of him, and bids the church to accept him, and receive him in this sweet character. And immediately after he speaks to him-“I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a Covenant of the people?” (Isa 42:1-8)
In a following chapter, (Isa 49:1-6) we find the Lord Jesus calling to the church, in consequence of this covenant and commission, to accept and receive him in this character. “Listen O isles unto me; and harken ye people from far! the Lord hath called me, from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name; and said unto me, Thou art my Servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified?”
Such then being plainly and evidently the case, that the Lord Jesus Christ is JEHOVAH’S Servant, it will be highly proper and important that every follower of the Lord Jesus Christ should have a just and right conception of the sense in which this is meant in Scripture.
Now it is plain, that as God, and God alone, unconnected with the manhood, the sense of Servant cannot be meant. For he is “one with the Father over all, God blessed for ever.” In this equality of nature and of essence, he is not JEHOVAH’S Servant, for he is JEHOVAH’S Fellow. (Zec 13:7) But when in the council of peace, before all worlds, in that covenant transaction which took place for the redemption of our nature between the glorious persons of the GODHEAD, the Son of God undertook to become man, that he might be the Surety and Sponsor of his church and people; here by this infinite condescension, we discover how Christ, as God and man united in one person, might, as he really and truly did, become the servant of JEHOVAH.
And so far was this act of humiliation from lessening the infinite dignity of the Lord Jesus Christ, or in a single circumstance departing from his own essential power and GODHEAD, that had he not been God as well as man, he could not have been a suited person of JEHOVAH’S Servant. And although he did veil the glories of the GODHEAD, during the time of his tabernacling in substance of our flesh here below, yet was it utterly impossible to be a moment void of it; and oftentimes he caused it to burst forth in wonderful display of sovereign glory and power. He, and he only, as God and man in the person, could be the competent Servant, of JEHOVAH to obey and fulfil all righteousness; to cancel and take away all sins by his blood; and as JEHOVAH’S righteous servant, to justify many, and to be “his salvation to the ends of the earth.”
I hope the reader will be able from this short relation of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Christ of God, God and man united, to form full and just ideas of the sense in which it is, that our dear Redeemer is JEHOVAH’S Servant. Indeed this character is so peculiarly and personally his own, and his alone, that it is impossible any other should be. And he is so fully and so completely JEHOVAH’S Servant, out of zeal to his Father’s glory, and out of pure free unpurchased love to his church, his Spouse, that the proper knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ in his character, among all his other offices and characters, is life eternal. (See Joh 17:3)
And now reader, if the Lord, the Holy Ghost, whose office it is to take of the things of Jesus, and to shew to the people, hath graciously shewn Christ to you in this lovely and endearing character; what a sweetness must your soul find, as often as you hear God the Father calling upon you in that sweet Scripture, to behold his Servant, your Surety, whom JEHOVAH upholds, and in whom his soul delighteth! And how blessed must you be to behold your Lord Jesus as JEHOVAH’S Servant and your Surety, entering, as the Scriptures have set him forth, the service of his Father, magnifying his holy law, and fulfilling all righteousness; yea, more than repairing all the breaches our sins had made, and purchasing for his redeemed a greater abundance of glory and happiness by his righteousness and blood shedding, than a whole eternity will be able to recompence! Oh, what endless glories, even now by faith, break in upon the soul, while contemplating the Father’s grace, and Jesus’ love, in this great salvation! “Haste, haste my beloved, and until the day break, and the shadows flee away, be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.” (Son 2:17)
Fuente: The Poor Mans Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures
Servant
survant (, ebhedh; , doulos): A very common word with a variety of meanings, all implying a greater or less degree of inferiority and want of freedom: (1) The most frequent usage is as the equivalent of slave (which see), with its various shades in position (Gen 9:25; Gen 24:9; Exo 21:5; Mat 10:24; Luk 17:7, and often); but also a hired workman where hired servant translates Hebrew and Greek expressions which differ from the above. (2) An attendant in the service of someone, as Joshua was the servant the Revised Version (British and American) minister of Moses (Num 11:28). (3) As a ‘term of respectful self-depreciation referring to one’s self, thy servant. or your servant is used in place of the personal pronoun of the first person: (a) in the presence of superiors (Gen 19:2; Gen 32:18, and often); (b) in addressing the Supreme Being (1Sa 3:9; Psa 19:11; Psa 27:9; Luk 2:29, and often). (4) Officials of every grade are called the servants of kings, princes, etc. (1Sa 29:3; 2Sa 16:1; 1Ki 11:26; Pro 14:35, and often). (5) The position of a king in relation to his people (1Ki 12:7). (6) One who is distinguished as obedient and faithful to God or Christ (Jos 1:2; 2Ki 8:19; Dan 6:20; Col 4:12; 2Ti 2:24). (7) One who is enslaved by sin (Joh 8:34).
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Servant
Servant [SLAVE]
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Servant
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 Exo 22:3. Such a servant, if circumcised, might among the Israelites eat of the Passover – as bought he belonged to the family; but a hired servant might not. Exo 12:44-45: cf. Lev 22:11. (So Gentiles, though aliens, bought with the blood of Christ, have all the privilege of grace.) Children born of these would also be the property of the master. Exo 21:4. This form of servitude, though a result of sin, was recognised by the Mosaic law, and rules were given respecting it, and for the protection of the slaves.
In the N.T. Paul sent back Onesimus, a runaway slave, to his master, who was a Christian, and did not demand his liberation: but he beautifully puts before Philemon that he should possess Onesimus no longer as a slave, but as a brother beloved. The effects of sin were in the world, and God did not introduce Christianity in order to set the world right; but, while shedding light upon everything, and proclaiming grace to all, God’s purpose was “to take out of the nations a people for his name.” Christianity inculcated equal treatment of slaves, as we see in several of the epistles in which masters are addressed: ‘men-stealers’ are condemned. 1Ti 1:10.
Christian bondservants are declared to be the Lord’s ‘freemen,’ 1Co 7:22, and words of encouragement are addressed to them.
Paul, James, Peter, and Jude all call themselves ‘bondmen of the Lord,’ and Christians generally are thus designated. The Lord Himself said, “I am among you as he that serveth,” Luk 22:27; and now in heaven He serves His own as Intercessor and Advocate. He speaks also of a future day when He will gird Himself, make His servants sit down, and will come forth and serve them, thus being a minister to servants! Luk 12:37.
2. , ‘a child,’ irrespective of age, and hence used for servant. Mat 8:6; Mat 8:8; Mat 8:13; Mat 14:2; Luk 7:7; Luk 12:45; Luk 15:26; Act 4:25. The word is applied to Christ in Mat 12:18; Act 3:13; Act 3:26 (translated ‘Son’); Act 4:27; Act 4:30 (translated ‘child’); and to Israel and to David in Luk 1:54; Luk 1:69.
3. , ‘household servant.’ Luk 16:13; Act 10:7; Rom 14:4; 1Pe 2:18.
4. , ‘one under authority,’ an official servant. Mat 26:58; Mar 14:54; Mar 14:65; Joh 18:36. Also translated ‘minister’ and officer.’
5. , ‘retainer, servant.’ Heb 3:5.
6. , , ‘hired servant.’ Mar 1:20; Luk 15:17; Luk 15:19; cf. Mat 20. The word is translated ‘hireling’ in Joh 10:12-13. See DEACON, and SLAVE.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Servant
Bond servant:
– Laws of Moses concerning
Exo 21:1-11; Exo 21:20-21; Exo 21:26-27; Exo 21:32; Lev 19:20-22; Lev 25:6; Lev 25:10; Lev 25:35-55; Deu 15:12; Deu 15:14; Deu 15:18; Deu 24:7
– Manstealing forbidden
Deu 21:10-14; Deu 24:7; 1Ti 1:10; Rev 18:13
– Fugitive, not to be returned to master
Deu 23:15-16
– David erroneously supposed to be a fugitive slave
1Sa 25:10
– Instances of fugitive, Hagar, commanded by an angel to return to her mistress
Gen 16:9
– Sought by Shimei
1Ki 2:39-41
– Interceded for, by Paul
Phm 1:10-21
– Rights of those born to a master
Gen 14:14; Gen 17:13; Gen 17:27; Exo 21:4; Pro 29:21; Ecc 2:7; Jer 2:14
– Bought and sold
Gen 17:13; Gen 17:27; Gen 37:28; Gen 37:36; Gen 39:17; Deu 28:68; Est 7:4; Eze 27:13; Joe 3:6; Amo 8:6; Rev 18:13
– Captives of war made servants
Deu 20:14; Deu 21:10-14; 2Ki 5:2; 2Ch 28:8; 2Ch 28:10; Lam 5:13
– Captive bond servants shared by priests and Levites
Num 31:28-47
– Thieves punished by being made servants
Gen 43:18; Exo 22:3
– Defaulting debtors made servants
Lev 25:39; Mat 18:25
– Children of defaulting debtors sold for servants
2Ki 4:1-7
– Voluntary servitude of
Lev 25:47; Deu 15:16-17; Jos 9:11-21
– Given as dowry
Gen 29:24; Gen 29:29
– Owned by priests
Lev 22:11; Mar 14:66
– Slaves owned slaves
2Sa 9:10
– The master might marry, or give in marriage
Exo 21:7-10; Deu 21:10-14; 1Ch 2:34-35
– Taken in concubinage
Gen 16:1-2; Gen 16:6; Gen 30:3; Gen 30:9
– Used as soldiers by Abraham
Gen 14:14
– Must be circumcised
Gen 17:13; Gen 17:27; Exo 12:44
– Must enjoy religious privileges with the master’s household
Deu 12:12; Deu 12:18; Deu 16:11; Deu 16:14; Deu 29:10-11
– Must have rest on the Sabbath
Exo 20:10; Exo 23:12; Deu 5:14
– Equal status of, with other disciples of Jesus
1Co 7:21-22; 1Co 12:13; Gal 3:28; Eph 6:8
– Kindness to, enjoined
Lev 25:43; Eph 6:9
– Bond service threatened, as a national punishment, for disobedience of Israel
Deu 28:68; Joe 3:7-8
Degrading influences of bondage exemplified by cowardice
Exo 14:11-12; Exo 16:3; Jdg 5:16-18; Jdg 5:23
– Emancipation of
Ezr 1:1-4; Jer 34:8-22; 1Co 7:21
– Freedmen called libertines
Act 6:9
– Cruelty to:
b Hagar, by Sarah
Gen 16:1-6; Gen 21:9-21; Gal 4:22-31
b The Israelites, by the king of Egypt
Exo 1:8-22; Exo 2:1-4; Act 7:19; Act 7:34
– Sick, abandoned
1Sa 30:13
– Kindness to:
b By the centurion
Mat 8:8-13; Luk 7:2-10
b By Paul
Phm 1:1-21
– Instances of:
b Joseph
Gen 37:26-28; Gen 37:36
b Israelites
Exo 1:10-22; Exo 5:7-14; Deu 6:12; Deu 6:21
b Gibeonites
Jos 9:22-27
b Canaanites
1Ki 9:21
b Jews in Babylon
2Ch 36:20; Est 1
b Emancipation of
2Ch 36:23; Ezr 1:1-4
– Figurative
Lev 25:42; Lev 25:55; Psa 116:16; Mat 24:45-51; Luk 12:35-48; Luk 17:7-9; Joh 8:32-35; Rom 6:16-22; 1Co 4:1; 1Co 7:21-23; Gal 5:13; 1Pe 2:16; 2Pe 2:19; Rev 7:3
– Instances of good:
b Joseph
Gen 39:2-20; Gen 41:9-57; Act 7:10
b Elisha
2Ki 2:1-6
b Servants of Abraham
Gen 24
b Servants of Boaz
Rth 2:4
b Servants of Jonathan
1Sa 14:7
b Servants of Abigail
1Sa 25:14-17
b Servants of David
2Sa 12:18; 2Sa 15:15; 2Sa 15:21
b Servants of Ziba
2Sa 9:1-13
b Servants of Naaman
2Ki 5:2-3; 2Ki 5:13
b Servants of Nehemiah
Neh 4:16; Neh 4:23
b Servants of centurion
Mat 8:9
b Servants of Cornelius
Act 10:7
b Onesimus
Phm 1:11
b Servants in the parable of the pounds and talents
Mat 25:14-23; Luk 19:12-19
– Instances of wicked and unfaithful:
b Jeroboam
1Ki 11:26
b Gehazi
2Ki 5:20-27
b Zimri
1Ki 16:9-10; 2Ki 9:31
b Onesimus
Phm 1:11
b Abraham and Lot
Gen 13:7
b Abimelech
Gen 21:25
b Ziba
2Sa 16:1-4; 2Sa 19:26-27
b Absalom
2Sa 13:28-29; 2Sa 14:30
b Shimei
1Ki 2:39
b Joash
2Ki 12:19-21
b Amon
2Ki 21:23
b Job
Job 19:15-16
b In the parable of the talents and pounds
Mat 25:24-30; Luk 19:20-26
b In the parable of the vineyard
Mat 21:33-41; Mar 12:1-9
– Conspiracy by
Conspiracy
– Unclassified scriptures relating to
Gen 16:6-9; Exo 20:10; Deu 5:14; Neh 5:8; Job 19:15-16; Job 31:13-14; Psa 123:2; Pro 12:9; Pro 13:17; Pro 17:2; Pro 19:10; Pro 25:13; Pro 26:6; Pro 27:18; Pro 27:27; Pro 29:19; Pro 29:21; Pro 30:10; Pro 30:21-23; Ecc 7:21; Isa 52:3; Jer 22:13; Jer 34:8-17; Lam 5:8; Zep 1:9; Mal 1:6; Mat 8:9; Mat 24:45-51; Luk 12:35-48; Luk 16:1-13; Luk 17:7-9; Luk 22:27; Joh 13:16; Mat 10:24-25; 1Co 4:2; 1Co 7:21-24; Eph 6:5-9; Col 3:22-25; 1Ti 6:1-2; Tit 2:9-10; 1Pe 2:18-20 Employee; Employer; Master
Hired servant:
– Jacob
Gen 29:15; Gen 30:26
– Jacob re-employed
Gen 30:27-34; Gen 31:6-7; Gen 31:41
– Parable of laborers for a vineyard
Mat 20:1-15
– Parable of the father of the prodigal son
Luk 15:17; Luk 15:19
– The prodigal
Luk 15:15-19
– Treatment of, more considerate than that accorded slaves
Lev 25:53
– Await employment in market place
Mat 20:1-3
– Wages paid in kind
Gen 30:31-32; 2Ch 2:10
– Wages paid in money
Mat 20:2
– Unclassified scriptures relating to
Lev 19:13; Lev 25:39-41; Deu 24:14-15; Job 7:1-2; Job 14:6; Mal 3:5; Mat 10:9-10; Luk 10:7; Rom 4:4; Col 4:1; 1Ti 5:18; Jas 5:4 Master; Wages
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Servant
Servant. This word is frequently used in our version of both Testaments, when “slave” would have been much more fitting. Joshua was Moses’ attendant, Exo 24:13; Exo 33:11clerk or secretary we might in modern language sayit being understood that the designation in the last-named passage does not define Joshua’s age. But the words ebed, implying “laborer” in Hebrew, and doulos in Greek, are spoken of slaves. It does not at all follow, because the Mosaic law and the Christian dispensation found slavery existing in the world, and made regulations for it, that God approved the system of one man’s holding another as his property. Laws have to deal with persons as they are, in order to make them what they ought to be. The kidnapping or unlawful stealing of men for slavery was branded as a capital crime. Exo 21:16; Deu 24:7; 1Ti 1:10. Slaves among the Hebrews were of two general classes: I. Hebrews; II. Non-Hebrews. I. Hebrews. There were three ways by which a Hebrew might become a slave: 1. Poverty. He might sell himself in default of payment of debt. Lev 25:39. 2. Theft. When he could not pay the amount required. Exo 22:1; Exo 22:3. According to Josephus, he could only be sold to a Hebrew. 3. Parents could sell their daughters as maid-servants, but they were ultimately to be their masters’ concubines. Exo 21:7. There were three ways by which the servitude might end: 1. When the debt or other obligation was met. 2. When the year of Jubilee had come. Lev 25:40. 3. At the conclusion of six years of service. Exo 21:2; Deu 15:12. Indeed no servitude could last longer than six years. The owner was expressly forbidden to “rule over him with rigor.” Lev 25:43. Nor was he suffered to go away empty, but must be furnished liberally out of the flock, out of the floor, and out of the wine-press. Deu 15:14. A slave might even marry a daughter of his master. 1Ch 2:35. In the case of a female Hebrew slave, there was not the release at the end of six years: but if marriage with the owner or his son did not take place, she was not to be sold to a foreigner, but “he shall cause her to be redeemed,” i.e., he should return her to her father or find her another Hebrew master, or else free her absolutely. Exo 21:7-11. When Hebrews became the slaves of non-Hebrews, they might be redeemed or redeem themselves, or else go free at the year of Jubilee. Jewish Hebrew slavery terminated at the captivity. II. Non-Hebrews. They were mostly captives made in war from the neighboring tribes, but besides were purchased of dealers. Lev 25:45; Gen 14:14; Ecc 2:7. This sort of slavery survived the captivity, but was opposed by the Pharisees. Thirty shekels seems to have been the average price of a slave. Exo 21:32. Slaves were protected against violence; for if they lost an eye or a tooth from rough handling they got their liberty. Exo 21:26-27. To kill one was murder. Lev 24:17; Lev 24:22. They had full religious privileges, since they were circumcised. Gen 17:12.
Fuente: People’s Dictionary of the Bible
Servant
Servant. See Slave.
Fuente: Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Servant
therapon (G2324) Servant
doulos (G1401) Slave
oiketes (G3610)
diakonos (G1249) Minister, Deacon
hyperetes (G5257) Officer
Heb 3:5 is the only passage in the New Testament where therapon is used: “And Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant[hos therapon]. “This is clearly an allusion to Num 12:7, where the Septuagint has therapon for the Hebrew ‘eber.The Septuagint, however, also uses doulos for ‘eber, thus giving rise to its use in Rev 15:3 : “Moses, the servant [ho doulos] of God.”
This does not imply that there is no difference between doulos and therapon or that there may not be occasions where one word would be more fitting than the other. It only implies that there are many occasions that do not require highlighting the difference between them.
There are genuine differences between doulos and therapon. The doulos, as opposed to the eleutheros, has despotes or (more commonly in the New Testament) kurios as its antithesis. The doulos was properly the “bond-man,” one who was in a permanent relation of servitude to another, one whose will was completely subject to the will of the other. One was a doulos apart from any service he rendered at any given moment. The therapon, however, was one who served without regard to his state as a freeman or as a slave and without regard to whether he was bound by duty or impelled by love. Therefore the services of the therapon are implied to have been more tender, noble, and free than those of the doulos. Thus Achilles referred to Patroclus as his therapon, one whose service was not compelled but who ministered out of love. The verb therapeuein, as distinguished from douleuein, underscores even more strongly the noble and tender character of the service.
Therapeuein may be used of the physician’s watchful tending of the sick or a person’s service to God. It was beautifully applied by Xenophon to refer to the care that the gods have of men.
The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews called Moses a therapon in the house of God (Heb 3:5), implying that Moses occupied a more confidential position, offered a freer service, and possessed a higher dignity than a doulos. Moses’ service more closely resembled the service of an oikonomos (G3623, overseer) in God’s house. Num 12:6-8, which ascribes exceptional dignity to Moses and elevates him above other douloi of God, confirms this view. Similarly, only Moses is given the title “attendant [therapon] of the Lord” (Wisd. of Sol. 10:16) in a chapter of the Wisdom of Solomon that mentions other prominent people of the old covenant. It would have been helpful if our translators had discerned a way to indicate the exceptional and honorable title given to Moses (who “was faithful in all God’s house”). using minister, perhaps as adequate a word as the English language affords.
The distinction between diakonos and doulos also should be maintained in English versions of the New Testament, but that is not difficult to do. Diakonos does not derive from dia and konisone who in haste runs through the dustbut probably comes from the same root that has given us dioko (G1377),”to hasten after” or “pursue,” and indeed still means “a runner.”
The difference between diakonos on the one hand and doulos and therapon on the other is that diakonos represents the servant in his activity for the work, not in his relation to a personeither as a slave (doulos) or as a freeman (therapon). Regardless of their condition as freemen or slaves, for example, the attendants at a feast were diakonoi.The importance of preserving the distinction between doulos and diakonos may be illustrated from the parable of the marriage supper (Mat 27:2-14). In the Authorized Version, the king’s “servants” bring in the invited guests (Mat 27:3-4; Mat 27:8; Mat 27:10), and his “servants” are bidden to cast out that guest who was without a wedding garment (Mat 27:13). In Greek, the douloi bring in the guests, and the diakonoi fulfill the king’s sentence. This distinction is a real one and essential to the parable. The douloi are men, the ambassadors of Christ who invite their fellow men into his kingdom now. The diakonoi are the angelswho execute the Lord’s will in all the acts of judgment at the end of the world. The parable certainly does not turn on this distinction, but these words should not be confused any more than douloi and theristai (G2327, reapers) should be in Mat 13:27; Mat 13:30 (cf. Luk 19:24).
Oiketes is often used as a synonym for doulos. This is certainly the case in 1Pe 2:18 and in its three other New Testament occurrences (Luk 16:13; Act 10:7; Rom 14:4). Neither the Septuagint nor the Apocrypha distinguished these terms. At the same time, oiketes does not emphasize the servile relation as strongly as does doulos. Instead, the relation is viewed in a way that tends to mitigate its extreme severity. The oiketes was one of the household, one of the “family” in the older sense of this word, but not necessarily one born in the house. In its best uses, oiketes included the wife and children, as in Herodotus; in Sophocles only the children of Deianira are included as oiketai.
Hyperetes is a military term that originally referred to someone who rowed on a war galley, as distinguished from the soldiers on board. Later the term was used to refer to anyone who performed strong and hard labor and later still to subordinate officials who waited to carry out the orders of their superiors, as in the case of an orderly who attends a commander in war. Hyperetes also refers to the herald who carried solemn messages. Undoubtedly Prometheus intended a taunt when he characterized Hermes as Theon hyperetes, one who runs the errands of the other gods. Mark was the hyperetes of Paul and Barnabas (Act 13:5); he was an inferior minister who performed certain defined functions. Indeed, hyperetes is predominantly used in the New Testament in the official sense of the Latin lictor and apparitor. John’s use of douloi and hyperetai together (18:18) indicates that he also observed a distinction between these terms. Thus the one who struck the Lord on the face (Joh 18:22) could not be the same person whose ear the Lord had just healed (Luk 22:51); the latter was a doulos, but the profane and petulant striker was a hyperetes of the high priest. The meanings of diakonos and hyperetes are closer, and there are innumerable occasions where the words might be used indiscriminately. They are distinguished by the more officialcharacter and functions of the hyperetes.
Fuente: Synonyms of the New Testament
Servant
an adjective, signifying “in bondage,” Rom 6:19 (neuter plural, agreeing with mele, “members”), is used as a noun, and as the most common and general word for “servant,” frequently indicating subjection without the idea of bondage; it is used (a) of natural conditions, e.g., Mat 8:9; 1Co 7:21-22 (1st part); Eph 6:5; Col 4:1; 1Ti 6:1; frequently in the four Gospels; (b) metaphorically of spiritual, moral and ethical conditions: “servants” (1) of God, e.g., Act 16:17; Tit 1:1; 1Pe 2:16; Rev 7:3; Rev 15:3; the perfect example being Christ Himself, Phi 2:7; (2) of Christ, e.g., Rom 1:1; 1Co 7:22 (2nd part); Gal 1:10; Eph 6:6; Phi 1:1; Col 4:12; Jam 1:1; 2Pe 1:1; Jud 1:1; (3) of sin, Joh 8:34 (RV, “bondservants”); Rom 6:17, Rom 6:20; (4) of corruption, 2Pe 2:19 (RV, “bondservants”); cp. the verb douloo (see B). See BONDMAN.
for which see DEACON and Note there on synonymous words, is translated “servant” or “servants” in Mat 22:13 (RV marg., “ministers”); Mat 23:11 (RV marg., ditto); Mar 9:35, AV (RV, “minister”); Joh 2:5, Joh 2:9; Joh 12:26; Rom 16:1.
for which see CHILD, No. 4, also denotes “an attendant;” it is translated “servant” (a) of natural conditions, in Mat 8:6, Mat 8:8, Mat 8:13; Mat 14:2; Luk 7:7 (“menservants” in Luk 12:45); Luk 15:26; (b) of spiritual relation to God, (1) of Israel, Luk 1:54; (2) of David, Luk 1:69; Act 4:25; (3) of Christ, so declared by God the Father, Mat 12:18; spoken of in prayer, Act 4:27, Act 4:30, RV (AV, “child”); the argument advanced by Dalman for the rendering “Child” in these passages, is not sufficiently valid as against the RV, “Servant” in Acts 4, and the AV and RV in Matt. 12 (cp., e.g., the use of pais in the Sept. of Gen 41:38; Jer 36:24). The Matt. 12 passage by direct quotation, and the Acts 4 passages by implication, refer to the ideal “Servant of Jehovah” (Sept., pais Kuriou), of Isa 42:1 and following passages, thus identifying the Servant with the Lord Jesus; for the same identification, cp. Act 8:35.
“a house servant” (oikeo, “to dwell,” oikos, “a house”), is translated “servant” in Luk 16:13 (RV marg., “household servant”); so Rom 14:4; 1Pe 2:18; in Act 10:7, AV and RV, “household servants.”
for which see MINISTER, No. 3, and OFFICER, is translated “servants” in the AV of Mat 26:58; Mar 14:65 (RV, “officers”); in Joh 18:36, AV and RV (RV, marg., “officers”).
akin to therapeuo, “to serve, to heal, an attendant, servant,” is a term of dignity and freedom, used of Moses in Heb 3:5.
“a fellow servant,” is used (a) of natural conditions, Mat 18:28-29, Mat 18:31, Mat 18:33; Mat 24:49; (b) of “servants” of the same Divine Lord, Col 1:7; Col 4:7; Rev 6:11; of angels, Rev 19:10; Rev 22:9.
Note: For misthios and misthotos, see HIRED SERVANT.
“to enslave, to bring into bondage” (akin to A, No. 1), e.g., 1Co 9:19, RV, “I brought (myself) under bondage (to all),” AV, “I made myself servant,” denotes in the Passive Voice, “to be brought into bondage, to become a slave or servant,” rendered “ye became servants (of righteousness)” in Rom 6:18; “being … become servants (to God),” Rom 6:22. See BONDAGE, B, No. 2.
Fuente: Vine’s Dictionary of New Testament Words
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, Lev 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, Exo 21:2; Exo 21:5-7, &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.