enslave, slave, bondservant, bondage, bound, bond, bonds, young man, young men, young woman, young women

Short Title: enslave, slave, bondservant, bondage, bond

Definition

To “enslave” someone means to force that person to serve a master or a ruling country. To be “enslaved” or “in bondage” means to be under the control of something or someone. A “slave” refers to a person who works for (or obeys) another person, either by choice or by force. A slave was under the direction of their master. In the Bible, “servant” and “slave” are mostly interchangeable terms.

• A person who is enslaved or in bondage must serve others without payment; he is not free to do what he wants. Another word for “bondage” is “slavery.”
• The New Testament speaks of human beings as “enslaved” to sin until Jesus frees them from its control and power. When a person receives new life in Christ, he stops being a slave to sin and becomes a slave to righteousness.
• In the Bible the words “young man” or “young woman” often mean “servant” or “slave.” This meaning will be discerned from context. One indicator of this situation is if the possessive is used, eg. “her young women” which could be translated as “her servants” or “her slaves.”

Translation Suggestions

• The term “enslave” could be translated as “cause to not be free” or “force to serve” or “put under the control of.”
• The phrase “enslaved to” or “in bondage to” could be translated as “forced to be a slave of” or “forced to serve” or “put under the control of.”
• A slave was a kind of servant who was the property of the person he worked for. The person who bought a slave was called his “owner” or “master.” Some masters treated their slaves cruelly. Other masters treated their slaves well, like a valued member of the household. The term “slavery” means the state of being a slave.
• A person could be a slave temporarily, for instance while working to repay a debt to his owner.

(See also: free, righteous, servant)

Bible References

• Galatians 4:3
• Galatians 4:24-25
• Genesis 15:13
• Jeremiah 30:8

Examples from the Bible stories

• __8:4 The slave traders sold Joseph as a slave__ to a wealthy government official.
• __9:13 “I (God) will send you (Moses) to Pharaoh so that you can bring the Israelites out of their slavery__ in Egypt.”
• __29:3 “Since the servant could not pay the debt, the king said, ‘Sell this man and his family as slaves__ to make payment on his debt.’”

Word Data

• Strong’s: H3533, H5647, G13980, G14020, G26150