What does אָמָה (ʾāmāh) mean in the Bible?
אָמָה (ʾāmāh): Female servant in household hierarchies; often vulnerable, yet occasionally elevated through covenant favor or royal service
Hebrew · H519
אָמָה
A maid-servant or female slave
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אָמָה H519
Pronunciation ʾāmāh
What does אָמָה (ʾāmāh) mean in the Bible?
אָמָה (ʾāmāh): Female servant in household hierarchies; often vulnerable, yet occasionally elevated through covenant favor or royal service
Full entry for אָמָה (H519) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H519?
The BSB source-word alignment has 56 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include and maidservants (8), your servant (5), maidservant (4), of your maidservant (4), or maidservant (4).
Where does אָמָה (ʾāmāh) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 20:17. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Samuel (10), Exodus (9), Deuteronomy (8), Genesis (7).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It and maidservants 8× Leviticus 25:44, Deuteronomy 12:12, Deuteronomy 12:18, Deuteronomy 16:11
your servant 5× Ruth 3:9, 1 Samuel 1:16, 1 Samuel 25:25, 1 Samuel 25:31
maidservant 4× Exodus 21:20, Exodus 21:26, Exodus 21:27, Exodus 21:32
of your maidservant 4× Exodus 23:12, 1 Samuel 1:11, Psalms 86:16, Psalms 116:16
or maidservant 4× Exodus 20:10, Exodus 20:17, Deuteronomy 5:21, Job 31:13
. . . 2× Leviticus 25:44, 1 Samuel 1:11
and maidservant 2× Leviticus 25:6, Deuteronomy 5:14
of his maidservant 2× Judges 9:18, 2 Samuel 14:15
of your servant 2× 1 Samuel 25:24, 2 Samuel 20:17
to your maidservant 2× 1 Kings 1:13, 1 Kings 1:17
[her] 1× 1 Samuel 1:11
[or] maidservant 1× Deuteronomy 5:14
and his maidservants 1× Genesis 20:17
and the maidservant 1× Judges 19:19
and your maidservant 1× Genesis 21:12
as a servant 1× Exodus 21:7
her maidservant 1× Exodus 2:5
her maidservants 1× Nahum 2:7
his maidservant 1× 2 Samuel 14:16
is my maidservant 1× Genesis 30:3
let your servant 1× 1 Samuel 25:24
maidservants 1× Genesis 31:33
me 1× Ruth 3:9
of the maidservants 1× 2 Samuel 6:20
of the slave woman’s 1× Genesis 21:13
slave woman 1× Genesis 21:10
the maidservants 1× 2 Samuel 6:22
the slave woman’s 1× Genesis 21:10
while 1× 1 Kings 3:20
your maidservant 1× Deuteronomy 15:17
your servant’s 1× 1 Samuel 25:28
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 20:17 וְאַמְהֹתָ֖יו to and his maidservants Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine singular Genesis 21:10 הָאָמָ֥ה to slave woman Article | Noun - feminine singular Genesis 21:10 הָאָמָ֣ה to the slave woman’s Article | Noun - feminine singular Genesis 21:12 אֲמָתֶ֔ךָ to and your maidservant Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular Genesis 21:13 הָאָמָ֖ה to of the slave woman’s Article | Noun - feminine singular Genesis 30:3 אֲמָתִ֥י to is my maidservant Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular Genesis 31:33 הָאֲמָהֹ֖ת to maidservants Article | Noun - feminine plural Exodus 2:5 אֲמָתָ֖הּ to her maidservant Noun - feminine singular construct | third person feminine singular Exodus 20:10 וַאֲמָֽתְךָ֜֙ to or maidservant Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular Exodus 20:17 וַאֲמָתוֹ֙ to or maidservant Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 20:17
Aligned rows 56
Books represented 14
Genesis 7 Exodus 9 Leviticus 3 Deuteronomy 8 Judges 2 Ruth 2 1 Samuel 10 2 Samuel 5 1 Kings 3 Ezra 1 Nehemiah 1 Job 2 Psalms 2 Nahum 1
Source forms
אֲמָתֶ֔ךָ 4x ’ă·mā·ṯe·ḵā Genesis 21:12, Ruth 3:9, 1 Samuel 1:11, 2 Samuel 20:17
אֲמָת֖וֹ 3x ’ă·mā·ṯōw Exodus 21:26, Exodus 21:27, 2 Samuel 14:16
אֲמָ֣תְךָ֔ 3x ’ă·mā·ṯə·ḵā Ruth 3:9, 1 Samuel 1:16, 1 Samuel 25:25
אֲמָתוֹ֙ 2x ’ă·mā·ṯōw Exodus 21:20, Judges 9:18
אֲמָֽתְךָ֙ 2x ’ă·mā·ṯə·ḵā 1 Samuel 25:24, 1 Samuel 25:41
אֲמָתֶ֑ךָ 2x ’ă·mā·ṯe·ḵā 1 Samuel 25:28, Psalms 116:16
אֲמָתֶֽךָ׃ 2x ’ă·mā·ṯe·ḵā 1 Samuel 25:24, Psalms 86:16
וְאַמְהֹֽתֵיהֶם֙ 2x wə·’am·hō·ṯê·hem Ezra 2:65, Nehemiah 7:67
Parsing patterns
Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular 16x Genesis 21:12, Exodus 23:12, Ruth 3:9, 1 Samuel 1:11
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular 8x Exodus 20:10, Leviticus 25:44, Deuteronomy 5:14, Deuteronomy 12:18
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular 6x Exodus 21:20, Exodus 21:26, Exodus 21:27, Judges 9:18
Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular 4x Deuteronomy 15:17, 1 Samuel 1:11, 1 Kings 1:13, 1 Kings 1:17
Article | Noun - feminine singular 3x Genesis 21:10, Genesis 21:13
Article | Noun - feminine plural 2x Genesis 31:33, 2 Samuel 6:22
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine plural 2x Ezra 2:65, Nehemiah 7:67
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular 2x Exodus 20:17, Deuteronomy 5:21
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Female servant in household hierarchies; often vulnerable, yet occasionally elevated through covenant favor or royal service
Source Gloss
a maid-servant or female slave
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Female servant in household hierarchies; often vulnerable, yet occasionally elevated through covenant favor or royal service
a maid-servant or female slave BDB: maid Usage: (hand-) bondmaid(-woman), maid(-servant).
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Female servant providing milk and sustenance for household
Showing 1 selected witness from 56 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
אָמָה is a primitive word - no further derivation.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain