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.