← G1398 G1400 →

δούλη

doúlē

G1399 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A female enslaved person; a woman in a condition of servitude or bondage to another, usually without personal freedom and considered the legal property of someone else. In certain contexts, can refer more generally to a female servant or attendant, but the fundamental sense is of forced subordination, whether by birth, purchase, or obligation. May occasionally bear the extended sense of one who is wholly devoted to another's will, but always with the connotation of lack of autonomy.

Semantic Range

female slave, bondwoman, woman in legal servitude, maidservant (in contexts emphasizing domestic service), handmaid (traditional translation; often euphemizing enslaved status)

Root / Etymology

Feminine form of δοῦλος (doulos), from the root δούλ- meaning 'slave, servant.' Related to the verb δουλόω ('to enslave, to make a slave'), ultimately of uncertain Indo-European origin but established in Greek by the classical period.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, δούλη denoted a female who was legally owned as property and had very limited rights; social attitudes toward enslaved women mirrored those toward male enslaved persons but also involved specific gendered roles (domestic service, caretaking, or concubinage). In the Hellenistic and Roman periods, and in the Septuagint and New Testament, δούλη commonly refers to women enslaved in households, sometimes translated as 'handmaid' or 'maidservant' in English Bibles. English 'handmaid' or 'maidservant' can obscure the term's harsh legal parameters, framing enslavement as more benign or voluntary than the Greek indicates; δούλη is not simply a worker but legally and socially unfree. In the New Testament, δούλη is distinct from other female servant terms (e.g., θεραπαινίς) which more often indicate free servants or attendants, emphasizing the state of bondage. The use of δούλη in some biblical contexts (such as Mary referring to herself as δούλη τοῦ κυρίου in Luke 1:38) draws metaphorically on the imagery of utter submission, but is based in the literal social reality of enslavement. LXX usage often reflects Hebrew אָמָה ('female slave, bondwoman').

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

feminine of δοῦλος; a female slave (involuntarily or voluntarily):--handmaid(-en).

Root Family

δούλη (doulē) — female slave, enslaved woman, woman in bondage, bondwoman

Root δούλ- to enslave, to serve in bondage; to be in forced subordination

Word Forms

3 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G1399-03 δούλης doules N GEN F SG handmaiden of a female slave female slave 1
G1399-02 δούλη doule N NOM F SG maidservant O slave slave woman 1
G1399-01 δούλας doulas N ACC F PL handmaidens female slaves female slaves 1

Occurrences in Scripture

3 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G1399-02 Luke 1:38 δούλη doule N NOM F SG maidservant O slave slave woman
G1399-03 Luke 1:48 δούλης doules N GEN F SG handmaiden of a female slave female slave
G1399-01 Acts 2:18 δούλας doulas N ACC F PL handmaidens female slaves female slaves
← G1398 Greek Lexicon G1400 →