Thread: What is The Difference Between a Servant and a Bondservant ?

There have been servants, slaves, and bondservants in many cultures through history.

In general--
1. a servant is a hireling, may come and go as the servant desires, is paid a wage
2. a slave is property, may not leave unless freed by the owner, is not paid (unless the owner is generous, see Greek histories)
3. a bondservant may not leave (usually), may or may not be paid, but has much greater authority and responsibilty, in some cultures a bondservant is bound more to the family or household than to a particular master ( see "huscarl", more the Norse notion and less the Anglo-Saxon one)

Well wait a minute now. That definition is not accurate.

In Lev. the "bondservant" example is used. Look up 5650- in the Hebrew translation. Here is the actual meaning of it-

ebed- 5650- Hebrew-

"servant, slave, attendant, indentured servants and owned slaves. OT Heb. slaves could be sold to a Heb. Master for only six years, but there was no time limit on Gentile slaves. "

This in truth, was refering to a "owned" slave type of "servant" situation. Now, for the word "servant" alone, the meaning is different.

This, in the Greek, means "Covenant"- (agreement between two people), type of slave or servant. The Apostle Paul spoke of he and the Apostles being slaves to Christ. This was refering to thier love and committment to Christ in serving Him as He lead them, being fools for Christ even.

Difference is, a "bondservant" is one that is owned or bound by "Contract" to a Master. A regular "servant", is one who by choice thru a "Covenant"- (agreement), with another serves that other.

As A Child of God, we each entered into an agreement with God, thru Christ, to read and learn His Word, to follow Him as well as we each can. But, we are not "bound" or "bonded" by that Covenant.

We can enter that Covenant and just sit there enjoying life never doing anything really and still enter Heaven. But, as Paul told the Corinthians, our "works" shall be investigated. If they burn, we'll lose rewards. Even if lose all of them, we will still be in Heaven, as if tried by fire.

But, I've also known a few Christians, who decided they liked the freedom of living by the world more, and walked away from God.

A "bondservant" is not one who has already paid a price. Its a person who is still bound by a "contract" to a specific Master, to fulfill that servential position.

I can't remember the man of God who went after Rachel for his wife. But, he entered in a contractual agreement to work 7 years for her father, to gain her as his wife.

But, the father did not tell this man thier custom also calls for the eldest sister to be married first before younger ones. So, this young man ended up working 14 years for Rachel. The first 7 covered unknowingly the right to marry the eldest Daughter. The second 7 covered for Rachel to marry the young man.

The above is now a perfect example of a "bondservant." After the stipulations of the "Contract" have been fulfilled and its finished, they are no longer a "bondservant."

God Bless!!