ama · female slave, maidservant

What it means

ama (אָמָה) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “female slave, maidservant”.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. A woman who works for another; also "your handmaid", in humility.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Female slave, maidservant: the woman who belongs to a household; in courteous speech, a free woman calls herself “your servant”. It is a word very close to שִׁפְחָה (H8198).

• The female slave in the laws Exodus 20:17Exodus 21:20Leviticus 25:44
• The female slave who rejoices at the feasts Deuteronomy 16:11Deuteronomy 12:18
• “I am Ruth, your servant”: courteous humility Ruth 3:91 Samuel 25:282 Samuel 20:17
• “The son of your female servant” Psalms 116:16Psalms 86:16
• The maid of Pharaoh’s daughter Exodus 2:5

Historical and cultural background

The tenth commandment includes the neighbor’s female slave among what must not be coveted (Exodus 20:17). At the feasts, the female slave rejoiced before YHWH with the whole household (Deuteronomy 16:11).

How we translate it

“Female slave” 19 times, “female slaves” 4, “slave woman” 6 and “slave women” 5 when she belongs to someone: this edition’s glossary sets עֶבֶד / אָמָה in the laws = ‘slave’ / ‘female slave’. “Servant” 19 times in courteous address (“your servant”), as the glossary allows for courtesy; “maidservant” 2 and “maid” 1.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• female slave ×19
• servant ×19
• slave woman ×6
• slave women ×5
• female slaves ×4
• maidservant ×2
• maid ×1

Where it appears

• Genesis×7
• Exodus×9
• Leviticus×3
• Deuteronomy×8
• Judges×2
• Ruth×2
• 1 Samuel×10
• 2 Samuel×5
• 1 Kings×3
• Ezra×1
• Nehemiah×1
• Job×2
• Psalms×2
• Nahum×1

• Genesis 20:17

  Then Abraham prayed to Elohim, and Elohim healed Abimelech, his wife, and his slave women, so that they bore children.

• Genesis 21:10

  And she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman will not inherit with my son, with Isaac.”

• Genesis 21:12

  But Elohim said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your eyes on account of the boy and on account of your slave woman. All that Sarah says to you, listen to her voice, for through Isaac offspring will be named for you.

• Genesis 21:13

  And also the son of the slave woman I will make him a nation, for he is your offspring.”

• Genesis 30:3

  She said, “Here is my slave woman Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may bear on my knees, and I too may have children through her.”

• Genesis 31:33

  So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the tent of the two slave women, but he did not find them. He came out of Leah’s tent and went into Rachel’s tent.

• Exodus 2:5

  The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, while her young women were walking beside the Nile. She saw the ark among the reeds and sent her maid, and she took it.

• Exodus 20:10

  but the seventh day is a Sabbath to YHWH your Elohim. You shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave, or your female slave, or your livestock, or your resident alien who is within your gates.

• Exodus 20:17

  You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male slave, or his female slave, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

• Exodus 21:7

  When a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves go out.

• Exodus 21:20

  When a man strikes his male slave or his female slave with the rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall surely be avenged.

• Exodus 21:26

  When a man strikes the eye of his male slave or the eye of his female slave and destroys it, he shall let him go free on account of his eye.

• Exodus 21:27

  And if he knocks out the tooth of his male slave or the tooth of his female slave, he shall let him go free on account of his tooth.

• Exodus 21:32

  If the ox gores a male slave or a female slave, he shall give thirty shekels of silver to his master, and the ox shall be stoned.

• Exodus 23:12

  Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave and the resident alien may be refreshed.

• Leviticus 25:6

  And the Sabbath of the land shall be for you for food: for you and for your male slave and for your female slave and for your hired worker and for your temporary resident, those who reside with you,

• Leviticus 25:44

  As for your male slave and your female slave whom you may have, from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy a male slave and a female slave.

• Deuteronomy 5:14

  but the seventh day is a Sabbath to YHWH your Elohim. You shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male slave, or your female slave, or your ox, or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or your resident alien who is within your gates, so that your male slave and your female slave may rest like you.

• Deuteronomy 5:21

  Nor shall you covet your neighbor’s wife; nor shall you desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male slave, or his female slave, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

• Deuteronomy 12:12

  And you shall rejoice before YHWH your Elohim, you and your sons and your daughters, your male slaves and your female slaves, and the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no portion or inheritance with you.

• Deuteronomy 12:18

  but before YHWH your Elohim you shall eat it in the place that YHWH your Elohim chooses, you and your son and your daughter, your male slave and your female slave, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before YHWH your Elohim in every undertaking of your hand.

• Deuteronomy 15:17

  then you shall take the awl and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave forever. And also to your female slave you shall do the same.

• Deuteronomy 16:11

  And you shall rejoice before YHWH your Elohim, you and your son and your daughter, your male slave and your female slave, and the Levite who is within your gates, and the resident alien, the orphan, and the widow who are among you, in the place that YHWH your Elohim chooses to make his name dwell there.

• Deuteronomy 16:14

  And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male slave and your female slave, and the Levite, the resident alien, the orphan, and the widow who are within your gates.

• Judges 9:18

  but you have risen up against my father’s house today and killed his sons, seventy men, on one stone, and made Abimelech king, the son of his slave woman, over the lords of Shechem, because he is your brother —

• Judges 19:19

  And there is both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and also there is bread and wine for me and for your maidservant and for the young man who is with your servants; there is no lack of any thing.”

• Ruth 3:9

  He said, “Who are you?” And she said, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread the edge of your cloak over your servant, for you are a kinsman-redeemer.”

• 1 Samuel 1:11

  And she made a vow and said, “YHWH Tsevaot, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant and give your servant offspring of men, then I will give him to YHWH all the days of his life, and a razor shall not come up on his head.”

• 1 Samuel 1:16

  Do not regard your servant as a wicked woman, for out of the greatness of my complaint and my grief I have spoken until now.”

• 1 Samuel 25:24

  She fell at his feet and said, “On me, my lord, be the iniquity! Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant.

• 1 Samuel 25:25

  Please do not let my lord set his heart on this wicked man, on Nabal; for as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and outrage is with him. But I, your servant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

• 1 Samuel 25:28

  Please forgive the transgression of your servant; for YHWH will certainly make for my lord a firm house, because my lord is fighting the wars of YHWH, and evil shall not be found in you all your days.

• 1 Samuel 25:31

  this shall not be to you a stumbling block or an offense of heart for my lord: to have shed blood without cause or for my lord to have saved himself. And when YHWH does good to my lord, remember your servant.”

• 1 Samuel 25:41

  She arose and bowed down with her face to the ground and said, “Look, your servant is a slave to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.”

• 2 Samuel 6:20

  David returned to bless his household, and Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel has honored himself today, who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the slave women of his servants, as one of the empty ones shamelessly uncovers himself!”

• 2 Samuel 6:22

  And I will make myself contemptible even more than this, and I will be low in my own eyes; but with the slave women of whom you have spoken, with them I will be honored.”

• 2 Samuel 14:15

  Now then, that I have come to speak this word to the king my lord is because the people made me afraid; and your servant said, ‘Let me speak, please, to the king; perhaps the king will do the word of his servant.

• 2 Samuel 14:16

  For the king will listen, to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who seeks to destroy me and my son together from the inheritance of Elohim.’

• 2 Samuel 20:17

  He came near to her, and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” He said, “I am.” She said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” He said, “I am listening.”

• 1 Kings 1:13

  Go and go in to King David, and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your servant, saying, “Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? So why does Adonijah reign?’

And 16 more times.