The Word Causing the Problems: “Slave” and “Servant” and the Word That Means Both

Exodus 21: God’s Emancipation Proclamation

Chapter 7: The Word Causing the Confusion (Ebed)

Words cause problems.

When it comes to the confusion of slavery in the Bible, words can cause a lot of problems — specifically, making passages appear to support slavery when the entire purpose of the verse is to eradicate it. Translators must choose which words they’re going to use in any given situation, and if they’re not careful, the words they pick can alter the meaning of a text.

Exodus 21 sits at the beginning of the laws God gives to Israel. In the heart of it resides Exodus 21:16, outlawing slavery by eradicating kidnapping, selling people, and possessing people. The entire chapter should read as a declaration of freedom.

And yet the chapter talks of “slaves” seven times, in many translations. It appears to make laws specifying how long a person can be a slave and how slaves are to be treated.

All of which begs the question: if Exodus 21 is outlawing slavery, why does it keep making laws about slaves?

It all comes down to the Hebrew word ebed — עָ֫בֶד.

This word causes endless confusion in the ongoing work of translation, precisely because of how many different things it can mean.

Ebed appears 799 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. It’s most often translated as “servant,” occasionally being rendered as a specific kind of servant: “administrator,” “bond-servant,” “official,” “soldier,” “host,” and even “prime minister.” A small minority of times, it is translated as “slave.”

This can be confusing to modern audiences, as we don’t view language as working like this. We instinctively assume that there must be a Hebrew word that means “slave,” and every time the English says “slave,” it must be referring to this word. We don’t assume the truth — that this word is only translated “slave” less than 10% of the time, and that 90% of the time it appears in the text, it is translated “servant,” instead.

The Hebrew language works quite differently to modern English. In English, we try to find the specific word we need, the precise word that gives the exact meaning we intend to convey. The word means what we want it to mean, and nothing else.

But in Hebrew, one word can mean many things. Context tells you what specific meaning is meant in any given passage. Without that context, it can be near impossible to know what was meant.

The word ebed is a noun, referring to a person. It comes from the verb abad, which means “to serve.” Generally, ebed means “one who serves.” This seems straight-forward enough — yet the problem arises because there are so many different ways one person can serve another. You could serve willingly, or be forced to serve. You could serve a boss or serve a guest. You could serve in the military or serve dinner.

Given so many definitions, how are we to understand ebed in Exodus 21? How should we really understand this word?

Let’s begin by exploring one of the first times ebed appears in Scripture:

And the LORD appeared to [Abraham] by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him.

When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your ebed. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your ebed.”

So they said, “Do as you have said.” (Genesis 18:1–5 ESV)

Twice in this passage, Abraham calls himself an ebed, which most translations render as “servant.” This provides several clues as to the meaning of the word.

First and critically, ebed is not equal to “slave.” Abraham is not selling himself into slavery to his visitors. Rather, he’s choosing to be a good host, serving the guests who visit him. By calling himself their ebed, Abraham is declaring that they are safe with him, that he will honor them, and that he will provide for their needs as long as they stay with him.

Second, ebed is not limited to the lower tiers of society — the serving or working classes. Abraham is a wealthy man, one of the most powerful and notable leaders in the region. Yet despite his position of power and wealth, he has no qualms about calling himself an ebed.

Third, Abraham’s actions define the core of what an ebed is: someone in a position of serving someone else. This concept is extremely broad and could refer to nearly any position in society. Yet even a broad definition helps us understand the core of what ebed conveys: one person serving another.

Fourth and finally, Abraham demonstrates that ebed is a relational term, not an absolute one.

An absolute term doesn’t need anything else to explain it. A gemstone is a gemstone. It doesn’t matter whether you hold it or I hold it or no one holds it. It’s still a gemstone.

But a relative term states what something is in relation to something else.

If you say you’re an “owner,” it doesn’t mean anything until you reveal what you’re the owner of. Do you own a gemstone, or a common rock? Do you own a lot of money, or very little? Do you own a city or a house or a tent? Do you own a slave, or do you own the fight to free the slaves? “Owner” can refer to all of these situations, but they differ starkly from each other. “Owner” itself tells you nothing without knowing what you’re the owner of.

Ebed is a relative term like “owner.” It means “servant,” but that itself tells you nothing without knowing who you’re serving.

Abraham describes himself as an ebed in relation to his visitors. As host, Abraham is duty-bound to serve his guests. Abraham is eager to serve his visitors and swiftly calls himself their ebed, assuring them that he will use his power and wealth to serve their needs.

Grasping this relational aspect is key to understanding what ebed means in any given context. You can only define what role the ebed is in by knowing precisely who they are an ebed to. There is always an element of serving, but what kind of serving varies wildly:

• If you are an ebed to a military commander, then you’re serving as a soldier or a subordinate officer: “Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, ‘Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the ebedim (servants, soldiers) of Saul?’” (1 Samuel 17:8, NIV).

• If you are an ebed to a politician or political ruler, then you’re serving as one of their subjects or officials: “Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his ebedim (servant, officials), and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid.” (Genesis 20:8, NIV).

• If you are a personal ebed to a king, you’re serving as an advisor or minister in the kingdom: “Then [the king] gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the court secretary, and Asaiah the king’s ebed (servant, personal adviser)” (2 Kings 22:12, NLT).

• If you are an ebed to your visitors, then you’re serving as a good host: “‘My lord,’ said Abraham, ‘if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your ebed (servant) by. Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree’” (Genesis 18:3, BSB).

• If you greet someone and call yourself their ebed, you’re expressing your friendliness to them. You are not hostile or neutral to them; rather, you are at their service: “Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. ‘Who are these with you?’ he asked. Jacob answered, ‘They are the children God has graciously given your ebed (servant)’” (Genesis 33:5, NIV).

• If you are an ebed to God, then you’re serving as a trusted servant, a worshiper, a believer, or a Temple worker: “[The LORD said,] ‘With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my ebed (servant) Moses?’” (Numbers 12:8, NIV).

The same relational aspect determines whether a worker is a servant or a slave:

• If you are an ebed to a landowner who respects people’s individual rights, then you’re a servant, a worker, an employee: “So Abraham instructed the chief ebed (servant) of his household, who managed all he owned” (Genesis 24:2, BSB).

• But if you’re an ebed to a slave master who deprives his workers of their rights, then you are a slave: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be ebedim (slaves) to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.” (Leviticus 26:13, NIV).

Ebed can, therefore, mean “slave,” if the ebed is serving a slave master. Yet most often, it refers to something else — a servant, an administrator, a host, a soldier, a commander — even God Himself.

Isaiah 53 prophesies the coming of Jesus the Messiah, the One who will save His people from their sins. He will serve God and His people by saving the people God loves from their sins. Because of serving this way, Jesus Himself is called ebed:

By His knowledge shall the Righteous One, my ebed (servant),
make many to be accounted righteous,
and He shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the many,
and He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because He poured out His soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet He bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:11–12, ESV)

Ebed is such a flexible word that it reaches from Jesus Himself, God in the flesh, to the lowest slave. Given this vast range, we can never be so callous as to assume that ebed must mean “slave.” Every use must be carefully examined to see what kind of relational role the ebed is fulfilling.

Exodus 21 uses ebed seven times. None of them mean “slave,” yet many translations continue to insert the term, leading to a great deal of confusion as to what the Bible really means.

In every case, ebed in Exodus 21 refers to someone whose rights are being protected, who is being respected as an individual, and who is being protected from oppression and abuse.

Exodus 21 defines the relational aspect that shape what an ebed is in Israel. It prevents anyone in Israel from treating an ebed as a slave. Instead, it requires them, under penalty of law, to treat every ebed as a person with full rights, dignity and honor — exactly what you’d expect if the God who wrote it wants everyone to love their neighbor as themselves. Exodus 21 is the beginning, but this attitude of respect and honor continues through all the Scriptures.

In the coming chapters, we’ll explore each of these cases in detail, demonstrating how carefully God protected His people and how confidently you can trust His words.

As we work our way through Exodus 21, I’ll write “ebed” in the text, instead of slipping in “servant” or “slave.” I want you to be able to see the word in its context, without me telling you what it means. In this way, we’ll be better able to see the context of each passage and determine what the word was meant to mean.

But before we get there, we need to tackle a few more words who have caused their own share of problems.

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