Chavoux: On 3/28/13, Chavoux Luyt <[email protected]> wrote: > Shalom everybody and chag sameach! > > I have two questions: > 1. What is the difference between malachah (מלאכה) and avodah (עבדה)? Are > they simply synonyms or is there a difference in meaning?
There is a large area where the two meanings intersect, but there is a difference: avodah (עבדה) seems to be the more general term, meaning service as done by a slave, malachah (מלאכה) seems more restricted to that work done for profit, as part of one’s profession. > 2. In 1 Kings 9:22 it says: "ומבני ישראל לא נתן שלמה עבד כי הם אנשי המלחמה > ועבדיו ושריו ושלשיו ושרי רכבו ופרשיו׃" ... > Solomon did not make slaves of any of the children of Israel and yet they > were his "slaves" (עבדיו)? It would appear that "eved" (עבד) can have two > different meanings? Or is it because they were "his" slaves/servants that > there is a difference? Does the possessive change the meaning word or is it > simply a homonym (similar word, but different meanings)? Just like in English, so the Hebrew term “slave” has a broader meaning than just being owned by someone else. In the verse, we see it used in a more narrow sense meaning people who make up a command labor force with restricted freedom, while the Israelites were free from both the command labor and the restrictions. Yet, in a broad sense, the Israelites were Solomon’s “slaves” in that they were his subjects. Context tells us how to understand the term. > > Thanks > Chavoux Luyt > Karl W. Randolph. _______________________________________________ b-hebrew mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
