BONDMAN

bond'-man: One of the translations of the word `ebhedh, very common in the Old Testament. It refers to the ordinary slave, either foreign (Genesis 43:18; 44:9,33; Leviticus 25:44,46) or Hebrew (Leviticus 25:42; 2 Kings 4:1). Hebrews were forbidden to enslave Hebrews, but did it nevertheless. It also refers to the Israelites in the bondage of Egypt (Deuteronomy 15:15, and often), and in the exile of Babylonia (Ezra 9:9). The intended treatment of the men of Judah in Samaria (2 Chronicles 28:10) was apparently to sell them into ordinary slavery or bondage. The word is used once in the New Testament (Revelation 6:15) to translate doulos, where it evidently means a slave in contrast with a freeman.

See SLAVERY .

William Joseph McGlothlin

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.