עָבַד

avad · work, serve

Hebrew word · Strong’s number H5647 · appears 288 times in the Bible

What is the Strong number?

Strong’s number identifies this word: use it to find the same word in other study tools.

What it means

avad (עָבַד) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “work, serve”.

Work; serve. Till the ground, serve a person, or serve God (worship him). In the causative form, make someone serve, enslave.

How to say it

a·vad

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

To toil, till the land.
To serve a person.
To honor and obey God, or other gods, as his people.
To make others serve, enslave.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Work; serve. BDB notes that it is to work in any sense, and from there also to till and, in the causative form, to enslave. From the same root is עֶבֶד, “servant, slave”.

To work the ground, to till it Genesis 2:5 Genesis 2:15
To serve a person Genesis 29:18
To serve God: to worship him Exodus 4:23 Joshua 24:15
To serve other gods Exodus 20:5

How we translate it

“Serve” 153 times, “served” 59, “work” 19. This edition writes “serve” and “work” when the object is the ground (Genesis 2:15: “to work it and to keep it”). So it can be seen that the same verb covers work in the field and worship.

How it is translated

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

serve ×153
served ×59
work ×19
do ×12
worshipers ×6
doing ×3
made ×3
serving ×3
Whoever works ×2
he labored ×2
others ×26

Related words

Words that come from it

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

Genesis 2:5
Now no shrub of the field was yet on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for YHWH Elohim had not sent rain on the earth, and there was no human being to work the ground;
Genesis 2:15
And YHWH Elohim took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and to keep it.
Genesis 3:23
And YHWH Elohim sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.
Genesis 4:2
And again she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel became a keeper of flocks, and Cain was a worker of the ground.
Genesis 4:12
When you work the ground, it will no longer give its strength to you; a wanderer and a drifter you will be on the earth.”
Genesis 14:4
Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
Genesis 15:13
Then he said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be resident aliens in a land that is not theirs, and they will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.
Genesis 15:14
But also the nation that they serve I will judge, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.
Genesis 25:23
YHWH said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from your inner parts will be divided; one people will be stronger than the other people, and the older will serve the younger.”
Genesis 27:29
May peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be master over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, and blessed be those who bless you.”
Genesis 27:40
By your sword you will live, and your brother you will serve; but it will be when you break loose that you will tear his yoke from your neck.”
Genesis 29:15
Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my brother, should you serve me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”
Genesis 29:18
Jacob loved Rachel, and he said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.”
Genesis 29:20
So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they were in his eyes like a few days because of his love for her.
Genesis 29:25
In the morning, look, she was Leah! And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why have you deceived me?”
Genesis 29:27
Complete the week of this one, and we will give you that one too, for the service that you will serve with me yet another seven years.”
Genesis 29:30
He went in to Rachel also, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah; and he served with him yet another seven years.
Genesis 30:26
Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served you, and let me go, for you know my service with which I have served you.”
Genesis 30:29
He said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock has fared with me.
Genesis 31:6
You know that with all my strength I have served your father.
Genesis 31:41
These twenty years I have had in your house: I served you fourteen years for the two of your daughters and six years for your flock, and you changed my wages ten times.
Genesis 49:15
He saw a resting place, that it was good, and the land, that it was pleasant; so he bent his shoulder to bear burdens and became subject to forced labor.
Exodus 1:13
The Egyptians made the sons of Israel work ruthlessly,
Exodus 1:14
and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, with mortar and with bricks and with every kind of work in the field; all their work in which they made them work was ruthless.
Exodus 3:12
He said, “But I will be with you, and this will be the sign for you that I have sent you: when you have brought out the people from Egypt, you will serve Elohim on this mountain.”
Exodus 4:23
and I said to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” But you refused to let him go; look, I am going to kill your son, your firstborn.’”
Exodus 5:18
So now go and work; and straw will not be given to you, yet the quota of bricks you shall deliver.”
Exodus 6:5
And I have also heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.
Exodus 7:16
And you shall say to him, ‘YHWH, the Elohim of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But look, you have not listened until now.
Exodus 8:1
YHWH said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says YHWH: “Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Exodus 8:20
YHWH said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and station yourself before Pharaoh; look, he is going out to the water. And say to him, ‘Thus says YHWH: “Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Exodus 9:1
YHWH said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and speak to him, ‘Thus says YHWH, the Elohim of the Hebrews: “Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Exodus 9:13
YHWH said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and station yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says YHWH, the Elohim of the Hebrews: “Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Exodus 10:3
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says YHWH, the Elohim of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Exodus 10:7
Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve YHWH their Elohim. Do you not yet know that Egypt is ruined?”
Exodus 10:8
So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve YHWH your Elohim. Who and who are the ones going?”
Exodus 10:11
Not so! Go, you men, and serve YHWH, for that is what you are asking for.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
Exodus 10:24
Then Pharaoh called to Moses and said, “Go, serve YHWH; only let your flocks and your herds be left behind; even your little ones may go with you.”
Exodus 10:26
Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for from it we must take to serve YHWH our Elohim, and we do not know with what we must serve YHWH until we arrive there.”
Exodus 12:31
He called Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Get up, go out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; go, serve YHWH as you have said.

And 248 more times.