Bible Dictionary
BONDMAN
A male slave or bondservant, whether foreign or Hebrew. The term also describes Israel's bondage in Egypt and exile, and in Revelation contrasts a slave with a free person.
Definition
A bondman is a male slave or bondservant, whether foreign or Hebrew. The word may also describe a people living in slavery or bondage.
Biblical Usage
The Old Testament applies it to ordinary slaves, to Israelites in Egyptian bondage, and to Israel’s condition in the Babylonian exile. In Revelation it contrasts a slave with a freeman.
Historical Background
Although Hebrews were forbidden to enslave fellow Hebrews, the supplied account states that they nevertheless did so. The term also describes the proposed sale of Judean captives into slavery.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>bond'-man: One of the translations of the word `ebhedh, very common in the Old Testament. It refers to the ordinary slave, either foreign (Ge 43:18; 44:9,33; Le 25:44,46) or Hebrew (Le 25:42; 2Ki 4:1). Hebrews were forbidden to enslave Hebrews, but did it nevertheless. It also refers to the Israelites in the bondage of Egypt (De 15:15, and often), and in the exile of Babylonia (Ezr 9:9). The intended treatment of the men of Judah in Samaria (2Ch 28:10) was apparently to sell them into ordinary slavery or bondage. The word is used once in the New Testament (Re 6:15) to translate doulos, where it evidently means a slave in contrast with a freeman.</p><p>See SLAVERY.</p><p>William Joseph McGlothlin</p>