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עֲבֹדָה

𐤏𐤁𐤃𐤄

ʻăbôdâh

H5656 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Work or labor; specifically, the act or process of working, often with a focus on service rendered for another, whether required or voluntary. The term encompasses physical labor, agricultural work, service in a cultic or religious context (e.g., priestly service in the sanctuary), and service rendered in household, administrative, or royal contexts. ʻĂbôdâh denotes both secular and sacred forms of service, as well as labor performed under obligation (such as by servants or in forced labor).

Semantic Range

work, labor, service, act of service (cultic or secular), official duty, household labor, agricultural work, forced labor, ministering, bondage, servitude, obligation, priestly or Levitical duties, corvée, regular employment or tasks

Root / Etymology

From the root עבד, which means 'to serve, work, enslave.' עֲבֹדָה is a feminine abstract noun formed from this verb, denoting the action, process, or result of working or serving. The root refers broadly to service, whether as labor, tribute, or religious duty.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, עֲבֹדָה is used for general labor (including agricultural and construction tasks), for work done by servants or those under authority, and with special frequency for the duties performed by Levites and priests in the Tabernacle and Temple. In cultic contexts, it refers not to 'worship' in a modern sense but to prescribed acts of service (sacrifices, rituals, maintenance). During the monarchic period, it may specify mandatory corvée labor. In the exilic and post-exilic periods, its use retains both civic and religious connotations. English translations sometimes obscure the term's breadth by rendering it narrowly as 'service' or 'servitude,' while in Hebrew its range includes honorable, neutral, and burdensome work. Related terms include מְלָאכָה (melāʾkhāh, skilled work or craftsmanship) and עֲבֵד (ʽeved, servant or slave). The later religious term 'worship' reflects interpretive developments not originally present in עֲבֹדָה. The word is never used to refer to 'Jews' as a people, and 'bondservant' is an interpretive translation for some phrases.

Translation Consistency

primary "service" 15 occurrences

Most occurrences in the SILEX renderings use “service” (including compounds like “service-work”/“service-labor”), and “service” naturally covers both secular labor and cultic/priestly duties. It’s the most typical, natural English choice that fits the full range (household, agricultural, official, forced, and religious service) and therefore supports the consistency requirement.

Alternatives (35 occurrences):
"service-work of" (15x) "service-labor" (9x) "service-work" (8x) "work" (2x) "labor" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

or עֲבוֹדָה; from עָבַד; work of any kind; act, bondage, [phrase] bondservant, effect, labour, ministering(-try), office, service(-ile, -itude), tillage, use, work, [idiom] wrought.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.

Root Family

עבד (Eved) — to work, to serve, to labor

Root עבד to serve, work, labor
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4566 מַעְבָּד their deeds
H4567 מַעְבָד his deeds
H5647 עָבַד he served
H5648 עֲבַד he perished
H5649 עֲבַד servant

Word Forms

24 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H5656-02 עֲבֹדַ֥ת avodat HNcfsc service service-work of service-work of 38
H5656-01 עֲבוֹדָ֣ה avodah HNcfsa service service-work service-work 21
H5656-11 הָ/עֲבוֹדָ֔ה haavodah HTd/Ncfsa the service the service-labor the service 16
H5656-03 עֲבוֹדָתָֽ/ם avodatam HNcfsc/Sp3mp their service their service-labor their service-labor 13
H5656-07 עֲבֹדָת֗/וֹ avodato HNcfsc/Sp3ms its service his service his service 12
H5656-14 לַ/עֲבֹדַ֖ת laavodat HR/Ncfsc for the service for service of for service of 10
H5656-13 לַ/עֲבֹדָ֗ה laavodah HR/Ncfsa for the service for the service-work for the service-work 6
H5656-21 וַ/עֲבוֹדָ֑ה vaavodah HC/Ncfsa and service and service-labor and service 4
H5656-09 בַּ/עֲבוֹדַ֣ת baavodat HR/Ncfsc in the service of in the service-of in the service-of 3
H5656-15 לַ/עֲבֹדָתָ֗/ם laavodatam HR/Ncfsc/Sp3mp for their service for their service for their service 3

Occurrences in Scripture

145 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H5656-08 Genesis 29:27 בַּ/עֲבֹדָה֙ baavodah HR/Ncfsa for the service in the service-labor in the service-labor
H5656-06 Genesis 30:26 עֲבֹדָתִ֖/י avodati HNcfsc/Sp1cs my service my service my service
H5656-08 Exodus 1:14 בַּ/עֲבֹדָ֣ה baavodah HR/Ncfsa with hard service, in the service-labor in the service-labor
H5656-01 Exodus 1:14 עֲבֹדָ֖ה avodah HNcfsa service service-work service-work
H5656-03 Exodus 1:14 עֲבֹ֣דָתָ֔/ם avodatam HNcfsc/Sp3mp their service their service-labor their service-labor
H5656-11 Exodus 2:23 הָ/עֲבֹדָ֖ה haavodah HTd/Ncfsa the bondage, the service-labor the service
H5656-11 Exodus 2:23 הָ/עֲבֹדָֽה haavodah-2 HTd/Ncfsa the bondage. the service-labor the service
H5656-11 Exodus 5:9 הָ/עֲבֹדָ֛ה haavodah HTd/Ncfsa work be laid the service-labor the service
H5656-19 Exodus 5:11 מֵ/עֲבֹדַתְ/כֶ֖ם meavodatekhem HR/Ncfsc/Sp2mp from your work from your service from your work
H5656-18 Exodus 6:6 מֵ/עֲבֹדָתָ֑/ם meavodatam HR/Ncfsc/Sp3mp from their bondage from their service-labor from their service-labor
H5656-20 Exodus 6:9 וּ/מֵ/עֲבֹדָ֖ה umeavodah HC/R/Ncfsa and because of bondage service-labor and from labor
H5656-11 Exodus 12:25 הָ/עֲבֹדָ֥ה haavodah HTd/Ncfsa the service the service-labor the service
H5656-11 Exodus 12:26 הָ/עֲבֹדָ֥ה haavodah HTd/Ncfsa is this service the service-labor the service
H5656-11 Exodus 13:5 הָ/עֲבֹדָ֥ה haavodah HTd/Ncfsa the service the service-labor the service
H5656-07 Exodus 27:19 עֲבֹדָת֑/וֹ avodato HNcfsc/Sp3ms its service his service his service
H5656-02 Exodus 30:16 עֲבֹדַ֖ת avodat HNcfsc service service-work of service-work of
H5656-07 Exodus 35:21 עֲבֹ֣דָת֔/וֹ avodato HNcfsc/Sp3ms its service his service his service
H5656-11 Exodus 35:24 הָ/עֲבֹדָ֖ה haavodah HTd/Ncfsa of the service the service-labor the service
H5656-02 Exodus 36:1 עֲבֹדַ֣ת avodat HNcfsc of the service service-work of service-work of
H5656-02 Exodus 36:3 עֲבֹדַ֥ת avodat HNcfsc the service of service-work of service-work of
H5656-11 Exodus 36:5 הָֽ/עֲבֹדָה֙ haavodah HTd/Ncfsa the service the service-labor the service
H5656-02 Exodus 38:21 עֲבֹדַת֙ avodat HNcfsc service of service-work of service-work of
H5656-02 Exodus 39:32 עֲבֹדַ֕ת avodat HNcfsc the work service-work of service-work of
H5656-02 Exodus 39:40 עֲבֹדַ֥ת avodat HNcfsc service service-work of service-work of
H5656-11 Exodus 39:42 הָ/עֲבֹדָֽה haavodah HTd/Ncfsa the work the service-labor the work
H5656-01 Leviticus 23:7 עֲבֹדָ֖ה avodah HNcfsa service service-work service-work
H5656-01 Leviticus 23:8 עֲבֹדָ֖ה avodah HNcfsa of labor service-work service-work
H5656-01 Leviticus 23:21 עֲבֹדָ֖ה avodah HNcfsa labor service-work service-work
H5656-01 Leviticus 23:25 עֲבֹדָ֖ה avodah HNcfsa servile service-work service-work
H5656-01 Leviticus 23:35 עֲבֹדָ֖ה avodah HNcfsa servile service-work service-work
H5656-01 Leviticus 23:36 עֲבֹדָ֖ה avodah HNcfsa service service-work service-work
H5656-02 Leviticus 25:39 עֲבֹ֥דַת avodat HNcfsc service service-work of service-work of
H5656-02 Numbers 3:7 עֲבֹדַ֥ת avodat HNcfsc the service service-work of service-work of
H5656-02 Numbers 3:8 עֲבֹדַ֥ת avodat HNcfsc service service-work of service-work of
H5656-07 Numbers 3:26 עֲבֹדָתֽ/וֹ avodato HNcfsc/Sp3ms the service thereof his service his service
H5656-07 Numbers 3:31 עֲבֹדָתֽ/וֹ avodato HNcfsc/Sp3ms its service his service his service
H5656-07 Numbers 3:36 עֲבֹדָתֽ/וֹ avodato HNcfsc/Sp3ms its service his service his service
H5656-02 Numbers 4:4 עֲבֹדַ֥ת avodat HNcfsc service service-work of service-work of
H5656-07 Numbers 4:19 עֲבֹדָת֖/וֹ avodato HNcfsc/Sp3ms his service his service his service
H5656-01 Numbers 4:23 עֲבֹדָ֖ה avodah HNcfsa the work service-work service-work
H5656-02 Numbers 4:24 עֲבֹדַ֔ת avodat HNcfsc service service-work of service-work of
H5656-03 Numbers 4:26 עֲבֹדָתָ֑/ם avodatam HNcfsc/Sp3mp of their service their service-labor their service-labor
H5656-02 Numbers 4:27 עֲבֹדַת֙ avodat HNcfsc service service-work of service-work of
H5656-03 Numbers 4:27 עֲבֹדָתָ֑/ם avodatam HNcfsc/Sp3mp their service their service-labor their service-labor
H5656-02 Numbers 4:28 עֲבֹדַ֗ת avodat HNcfsc service service-work of service-work of
H5656-02 Numbers 4:30 עֲבֹדַ֖ת avodat HNcfsc work of service-work of service-work of
H5656-03 Numbers 4:31 עֲבֹדָתָ֖/ם avodatam HNcfsc/Sp3mp their service their service-labor their service-labor
H5656-03 Numbers 4:32 עֲבֹדָתָ֑/ם avodatam HNcfsc/Sp3mp their-service their service-labor their service-labor
H5656-02 Numbers 4:33 עֲבֹדַ֗ת avodat HNcfsc service service-work of service-work of
H5656-03 Numbers 4:33 עֲבֹדָתָ֖/ם avodatam HNcfsc/Sp3mp their service their service-labor their service-labor
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