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those Levites who had “… ministered unto them [the people] before their idols …” were
forbidden by the Lord to serve as priests (Ezek. 44:12). Furthermore, “… the Lord
separated the tribe of Levi … to minister unto him, and to bless in his name …” (Deut.
10:8). From the tribe of Levi, Moses was to anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate
them, that they may “minister” as priests (Exod. 29:30). Those not of the family of
Aaron, though chosen “to minister unto him forever,” acted as assistants to the priests,
performing such physical tasks as keeping the gates, slaughtering the burnt offering,
caring for the altars and the utensils of the sanctuary (1 Chron. 15:2; Ezek. 44:11). But
Isaiah foresees the time when “… the sons of strangers … shall minister unto thee” (Isa.
60:10).
In a number of situations, the word is used to denote “service” rendered to a fellow
human being. Though the person “served” usually is of a higher rank or station in life,
this word never describes a slave’s servitude to his master. Moses was instructed: “Bring
the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron, the priest, that they may minister
[
NASB
, “serve”] unto him” (Num. 3:6; cf. 8:26). Elisha “ministered” to Elijah (1 Kings
19:21). Abishag is said to have “ministered” unto David (1 Kings 1:15). Various kinds of
officials “ministered” to David (1 Chron. 28:1). David’s son Amnon had a “servant that
ministered unto him” (2 Sam. 13:17). There were seven eunuchs that “served in the
presence of Ahasuerus the king …” (Esth. 1:10). He also had “servants that ministered
unto him …” (Esth. 2:2).
(
$
, 5647), “to serve, cultivate, enslave, work.” This root is used widely in
Semitic and Canaanite languages. This verb appears about 290 times in all parts of the
Old Testament.
The verb is first used in Gen. 2:5: “… And there was not a man to till the ground.”
God gave to man the task “to dress [the ground]” (Gen. 2:15; 3:23; cf. 1:28,
NASB
). In
Gen. 14:4 “they served Chedorlaomer …” means that they were his vassals. God told
Abraham that his descendants would “serve” the people of a strange land 400 years (Gen.
15:13), meaning, as in the
NIV
, “to be enslaved by.”
*
is often used toward God: “… Ye shall serve God upon this mountain” (Exod.
3:12), meaning “to worship” as in the
NASB
and the
NIV
. The word is frequently used with
another verb: “Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him …” (Deut. 6:13), or “…
hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the
Lord your God, and to serve him …” (Deut. 11:13). All nations are commanded: “Serve
the Lord with gladness …” (Ps. 100:2). In the reign of Messiah, “all nations shall serve
him” (Ps. 72:11). The verb and the noun may be used together as in Num. 8:11 “And
Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord … that they may execute the service of the
Lord.”
B. Nouns.
(
$
, 5656), “work; labors; service.” This noun appears 145 times in the
Hebrew Old Testament, and the occurrences are concentrated in Numbers and
Chronicles.
*
is first used in Gen. 29:27: “… We will give thee this also for the
service which thou shalt serve with me.…”
The more general meaning of
is close to our English word for “work.”
“Labor” in the field (1 Chron. 27:26), daily “work” from morning till evening (Ps.