Hebrew

Service

עֲבֹדָהStrong’s H5656

avodah (a-vo-dah)

Appears in 125 verses of the Old Testament

In short

Avodah is the Hebrew word usually translated “service of”, “servitude” and “service their”. It appears in 125 verses of the Old Testament.

“Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.”

Genesis 29:27 KJV

Meaning

Labour, servicelabour, work · labour (of servant or slave) · labour, service (of captives or subjects) · service (of God)

How it's translated

service of 34
servitude 13
service their 12
the service 10
for service 6
the labor 6
service its 6
for service of 6

Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.

Where it's used most

Numbers 44
1 Chronicles 23
Exodus 20
2 Chronicles 13
Leviticus 7
Nehemiah 4

15 books in all.

Related words

Explore in Scripture

All 125 verses, by book

Genesis 2: 29:27 30:26
Exodus 20: 1:14 2:23 5:9 5:11 6:6 6:9 12:25 12:26 13:5 27:19 30:16 35:21 35:24 36:1 36:3 36:5 38:21 39:32 39:40 39:42
Leviticus 7: 23:7 23:8 23:21 23:25 23:35 23:36 25:39
Numbers 44: 3:7 3:8 3:26 3:31 3:36 4:4 4:19 4:23 4:24 4:26 4:27 4:28 4:30 4:31 4:32 4:33 4:35 4:39 4:43 4:47 4:49 7:5 7:7 7:8 7:9 8:11 8:19 8:22 8:24 8:25 8:26 16:9 18:4 18:6 18:7 18:21 18:23 18:31 28:18 28:25 28:26 29:1 29:12 29:35
Deuteronomy 1: 26:6
Joshua 1: 22:27
1 Kings 1: 12:4
1 Chronicles 23: 4:21 6:32 6:48 9:13 9:19 9:28 23:24 23:26 23:28 23:32 24:3 24:19 25:1 25:6 26:8 26:30 27:26 28:13 28:14 28:15 28:20 28:21 29:7
2 Chronicles 13: 8:14 10:4 12:8 24:12 29:35 31:2 31:16 31:21 34:13 35:2 35:10 35:15 35:16
Ezra 1: 8:20
Nehemiah 4: 3:5 5:18 10:32 10:37
Psalms 2: 104:14 104:23
Isaiah 3: 14:3 28:21 32:17
Lamentations 1: 1:3
Ezekiel 2: 29:18 44:14

Hebrew dictionary

עֲבֹדָה avodah · service

: service[as_servant/slave] 1) labour, service 1a) labour, work 1b) labour (of servant or slave) 1c) labour, service (of captives or subjects) 1d) service (of God)

From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

How the English word “service” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.

SERV'ICE, noun

[From Latin servitium.]

In a general sense, labor of body or of body and mind, performed at the command of a superior, or the pursuance of duty, or for the benefit of another. service is voluntary or involuntary.
The business of a servant; menial office.
Attendance of a servant.
Place of a servant; actual employment of a servant; as, to be out of service.

All definitions

Any thing done by way of duty to a superior.
Attendance on a superior.
Profession of respect uttered or sent.
Actual duty; that which is required to be done in an office; as, to perform the services of a clerk, a sherif or judge.
That which God requires of man; worship; obedience.
Employment; business; office; as, to qualify a man for public service.
Use; purpose.
Military duty by land or sea; as a military or naval service.
A military achievment.
Useful office; advantage conferred; that which promotes interest or happiness.
Favor.
The duty which a tenant owes to his lord for his fee.
Public worship or office of devotion.
A musical church composition consisting of choruses, trios, duets, solos, etc.
The official duties of a minister of the gospel, as in church, at a funeral, marriage, etc.
Courses; order of dishes at table.
In seamen's language, the material used for serving a rope, as spun yarn, small lines, etc.
A tree and its fruit, of the genus Sorbus.

Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.

Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Hebrew, not from any one translation.