servant / slave

While the Greek term doulos in the New Testament and ‘ebed in the Old Testament refer to slightly different concepts (unlike in New Testament Judea in Old Testament Israel and Judah, Hebrew servants/slaves were required to be released after six years of labor and, regardless of when they started their servitude, all Hebrew servants were to be automatically freed during the year of Jubilee), translation issues are somewhat similar.

Joel Baden (2025, p. 65ff.) says this about the Hebrew term used in the Old Testament / Hebrew Bible:

“The English words ‘servant’ and ‘slave’ have decidedly different connotations. ‘Servant’ has the sense of ‘employee.’ ‘Slave,’ by contrast, carries with it the ideas of an owned and controlled body, of violence and dishonor. The connotation of ‘servant’ can verge on the positive; ‘slave’ is predominantly negative. How a reader of the Bible understands the identity of a character or the relationship between one character and another or the world of ancient Israel depends significantly on whether the word ‘servant’ or ‘slave’ is used. In Hebrew, however, there is but one word underlying every occurrence of ‘servant’ and ‘slave’ in our modern translations. The distinction between the two exists only on the level of interpretation.

“It is not a matter of mere nomenclature. Take the story of Genesis 24, in which Abraham sends his servant off to find a wife for Isaac. The servant — though the main character of the passage — has no name and is identified only by his title, which he even uses to introduce himself: ‘I am Abraham’s servant,’ he says (Genesis 24:34, Jewish Publication Society). This is often read as a warm story about a devoted servant — usually imagined to be relatively old — who carries out the elderly patriarch’s final wishes. How does it change, how do we reimagine it, when we read all thirteen mentions of Abraham’s servant as, in fact, Abraham’s slave? We know Abraham has slaves: His ‘servant’ even says so in this very chapter in the very next verse: ‘The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich: he has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and asses’ (24:35, JPS). Yet generations of translators, interpreters, and readers have failed to connect the slaves (the property with which God has blessed Abraham) and the servant — the slave who is the protagonist of this same story.

“When slaves are turned into servants, the Bible itself is changed. Our revulsion at the institution of slavery is kept at a distance from the biblical text that stands as our religious heritage. The Bible is protected, albeit from itself. Slavery is minimized, or worse: The King James Version, notably, does not translate ‘ebed as ‘slave’ a single time. The result? Some KJV readers have denied that there is any slavery in the Bible whatsoever. Yet the word ‘ebed appears around 800 times in the Bible. That’s 800 moments when a slave, and the existence of slavery in ancient Israel and the biblical text, has been erased.

“The social role that we associate with the term ‘servant’ didn’t exist in ancient Israel. Slaves, however, did. Israel knew what it was to be a slave, and Israel knew, too, what it was to own a slave. And thus Israel uses the language and metaphor of slavery again and again to express the basic notions of obedience, of power disparity, of bodily control and the absence of agency. Samuel says to Yahweh upon being called, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening’ (1 Samuel 3:9, JPS). ‘Let my lord go ahead of his servant,’ Jacob says to Esau in Genesis 33:14 (JPS). Rendered as ‘servant’ in every translation, this is a sort of formally obsequious, self-abnegating speech. While literal slavery is not at stake in these sorts of expressions, the metaphorical reference to the relative status of slave and master is lost when it is translated as ‘servant.’

“So, too, when those figures who are the ‘ebed to a king are referred to as ‘courtiers,’ ‘officials,’ ‘attendants,’ ‘soldiers,’ ‘subjects,’ ‘envoys,’ ‘ministers,’ or even sometimes simply ‘men,’ of the king. These are all translations of the same word, and the instinct to specify their distinctive roles in the royal court is understandable. Yet in doing so, translations obscure the actual language with the connotations that it presents: subordination, threat of violence to one’s person, absolute control over will and agency. And so, too, when it is not a human king but God to whom one is said to be ‘ebed. In the book of Joshua, God states, ‘My servant Moses is dead’ (1:2, JPS) — we are relatively comfortable with the idea of serving God but perhaps less so with the idea of being God’s slave. Yet the qualities of obedience, subservience, and loyalty — and the implicit threat of punishment for the lack thereof — are part of this picture as well. One might point to the way this language is picked up in the New Testament in the phrase ‘slave of Christ’ in 1 Corinthians 7:22.

“If ‘servants’ and ‘slaves’ are not understood to be equivalent — and in modern English it is safe to say that they are not — then every time that the word ‘ebed appears, a choice has to be made by the translator. The diminishment of the very word ‘slave’ in English translations of the Hebrew Bible results in the diminishment of the idea and reality of slavery in the Bible and in the world that produced it. Though there is no debate to be had about whether there was slavery in the Bible and in ancient Israel, a lay reader of the text in translation might well wonder.

“Our ears, and eyes, have become accustomed to seeing the word ‘servant’ in the Bible. ‘Slave’ often sounds wrong, inapt, almost harsh. Yet it is just this discomfort that signals how important the change is. Whenever we encounter the word ‘servant’ in our English translations, we should be obliged to ask why it says ‘servant’ and not ‘slave’ — and what difference it would make to our reading of the text as an individual, as a community, and as a culture if we were instead to read ‘slave.’”

Ruden (2021, p. lviii) says this about the Greek term in the New Testament:

“In Judea, servitude was sui generis and could be complicated, and accordingly the Greek vocabulary in scripture is varied. But there appears to be no basis for sugarcoating the word meaning a chattel slave in nearly all Greek literature, doulos. It is unlikely that the internationally oriented authors of the Gospels didn’t mean what their peers meant by the word — ‘slave.’ Also, the English word ‘servant’ is too vague for the array of servitors (including trusted house slaves and personal attendants), military and administrative subordinates, and ritual helpers the Greek of the Gospels distinguishes.”

Some English New Testament translations (Ruden 2021, Hart 2017, The Orthodox New Testament 2004) have consistently used slave for the Greek doulos but no Old Testament translation consistently translates ‘ebed with only one term.

In a number of leading German translations, including the Catholic Einheitsübersetzung (1980 / 2016) and the Protestant Elberfelder Bibel (1871 / 2006), BasisBibel (2021), as well as the translation by Luther (all editions) use the term Knecht throughout. Knecht is an old-fashioned term for a low-class, often agricultural servant with little or no social mobility, a position that is somewhat located between Diener (“servant”) and Sklave (“slave”). The only times these versions specifically don’t use Knecht is where slavery is specifically in the focus (such as Leviticus 25:44 or Philemon 1:16).

Abraham

The name that is transliterated as “Abraham” in English means “father of a multitude,” “father of mercy,” “father of many nations.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In the vast majority of sign languages, including American Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying “hold back arm” (referring to Genesis 22:12).


“Abraham” in American Sign Language (source )

In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with a sign for that demonstrates his new destiny. Previously, he had been called to wander from his home, and the name “Abram” reflected this movement (see here). The new sign name is in one location and stays there, showing Abraham will be given a land to call his own. At this time, Abraham was in the southern part of Canaan, which is shown on the base arm by the location near the elbow. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)


“Abraham” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

In Tira it is transliterated as Abaram. The choice of this, rather than the widely-known “Ibrahim,” as used in the Tira translation of the Qu’ran, was to offset it against the Muslim transliteration which originates from Arabic. (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )

Click or tap here to see two short video clips about Abraham (source: Bible Lands 2012)

See also our ancestor Abraham and Abram.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Abraham .

complete verse (Genesis 24:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 24:2:

  • Kankanaey: “So then, Abraham said to his highest (in rank) slave who was the one in-charge-of all his possessions, ‘Lay-your-hand-on my thigh so-that you (sing.) will swear/call-God-to-witness.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Abraham called his oldest servant, the one who cared for all the work of the house and said –” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “One day, he told his leader servant who was-taking-care-of all his possessions, ‘Put your hand between my two thighs,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “One day Abraham said to the chief servant of his household, the man who was in charge of everything Abraham owned, ‘Put your hand between my thighs to solemnly promise you will do what I tell you.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 24:2

And Abraham said: And is not a satisfactory transition for English in this context. This sentence begins the story line and requires a transition that separates it from the introduction in Gen 24.1. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy say “One day Abraham said….”

In some languages this use of said to indicates to readers that the servant was already there with Abraham. In these languages it is necessary to say, for example, “Abraham called in the servant … and he said to him….”

Servant translates a Hebrew word used in 14.15; 18.7; 20.8; 21.25. In these passages the meaning ranges from “slave” to “official.” Abraham’s servant in this story is a highly placed person who is trusted with Abraham’s wealth as well as with family affairs as delicate as obtaining a wife for Abraham’s only son.

English translations use servant to mean someone who serves and belongs to a master. Other languages refer to this kind of individual in other ways. It would be inappropriate to use a term meaning a domestic servant, house worker, or table waiter. However, such terms as “helper,” “administrator,” “overseer” are sometimes used. In some languages such a person may be referred to as “one who keeps his eye open,” “the one who walks close to the boss,” “the one on the chief’s right hand.”

Note that the servant’s name is never given. He is “Abraham’s servant,” and thus the focus of the story is never entirely withdrawn from Abraham until the conclusion. (Some think the servant is Eliezer, who is referred to only in 15.2. However, he has not appeared in any earlier account and does not appear again.)

The oldest of his house: oldest translates the same Hebrew word applied to Abraham in Gen 24.1. He is called the oldest but is obviously not so old as to be unable to make a caravan trip to Mesopotamia and back. He is “the senior servant” (New Jerusalem Bible), “the chief servant” (New International Version).

Who had charge of all that he had: had charge translates a verb meaning to rule or control and, in connection with possessions, has the sense of “administer,” “oversee,” “look after.” All that he had means all of his property, goods, possessions. For a parallel expression see 39.4, in which Joseph carries out the same duties.

Put your hand under my thigh: the Hebrew contains a particle of entreaty with the word for put that gives the command a polite tone, something like “Please put,” “I pray you to place,” “Kindly lay.” Abraham is charging his servant to swear an oath accompanied by a symbolic gesture that is said to be a very ancient custom. By this same gesture Jacob later required Joseph to swear to him that Jacob’s body would not be buried in Egypt (47.29-31).

Thigh is no doubt used here as an indirect or figurative way of referring to the genitals. In 46.26 and Exo 1.5 in the Hebrew text, sons are said to come from their father’s thigh. However, the full meaning of the gesture is not clear. Some interpret it to mean that the person ordering the oath (Abraham) is calling on his descendants to make the oath-taker (the servant) keep the oath, and calling for his posterity to avenge him if the oath-taker fails to perform his duty. Another interpretation is that the symbolism means that the oath-taker will be made incapable of having children if he does not keep his word. In the cases of Abraham and Jacob, both were near death and were making provision for the future.

Good News Translation‘s rendering “between my thighs” causes people to think of the genitals. However, translators should avoid any expression that is unsuitable for public reading. In many languages there are euphemisms, or roundabout ways, for referring to the genitals that people understand without being offended. A translation in one language, for instance, is “You have to make me a promise. You can’t ever break this promise. And as proof of this promise you have to touch my body.”

It is not essential, however, to retain the ancient gesture; for example, Revised English Bible has departed from New English Bible‘s earlier translation and says “Give me your solemn oath.” Translators may find this a satisfactory model. On the other hand, if the symbolic act is retained, its meaning should be given, as in Good News Translation.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .