To attend as a menial or worshipper; figuratively, to contribute to
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שָׁרַת (sharat) is a Hebrew verb for ministering, serving, or attending. It commonly describes personal attendance on a leader and authorized work by priests or Levites, but it also appears in households, royal courts, administration, prophetic relationships, and poetic descriptions of heavenly servants.
Reader summary
Full entry for שָׁרַת (H8334) · Open the biblical lexicon
שָׁרַת (sharat) is a Hebrew verb for ministering, serving, or attending. It commonly describes personal attendance on a leader and authorized work by priests or Levites, but it also appears in households, royal courts, administration, prophetic relationships, and poetic descriptions of heavenly servants.
The BSB source-word alignment has 97 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include to minister (8), who minister (6), . . . (3), for ministering (3), to minister before Me (3).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 39:4. Its strongest book concentrations include Ezekiel (17), 2 Chronicles (10), Exodus (10), Numbers (10).
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
שָׁרַת (sharat) is a Hebrew verb for ministering, serving, or attending. It commonly describes personal attendance on a leader and authorized work by priests or Levites, but it also appears in households, royal courts, administration, prophetic relationships, and poetic descriptions of heavenly servants. The context identifies the person served, the assigned work, and whether the service is faithful, compromised, or harmful.
Joshua attends Moses, Levites serve at the sanctuary, Elisha follows and serves Elijah, Joseph serves Potiphar, attendants serve kings, and Psalms calls heavenly hosts the Lord's ministers. Isaiah 56 includes foreigners who join themselves to the Lord and minister, while Ezekiel 44 distinguishes different sanctuary duties in a visionary temple. These passages do not collapse every form of service into one office or prove that proximity to a leader transfers the leader's spirit or authority.
Service can be exploited. Abishag's court appointment occurs within an ancient search for a young woman to attend an elderly king, with no consent narrated. Amnon orders a servant to expel Tamar after assault, showing an attendant carrying out a cruel command. Ministry language must never sanctify grooming, sexual access, domestic servitude, forced volunteering, unpaid overwork, secrecy, or obedience to abuse. Faithful service requires consent, rest, fair treatment, role clarity, competence, safeguarding, and freedom to refuse wrongdoing.
H8334 spans household attendance, royal service, prophetic assistance, priestly and Levitical ministry, sanctuary work, administrative duties, and poetic heavenly service.
Joseph serves Potiphar and is appointed over the household, combining personal service and delegated administration within enslavement.
Joshua is identified as Moses' attendant when they ascend toward the mountain, one stage in a long relationship of service and formation.
The tribe of Levi is brought near to Aaron to serve him in the ordered responsibilities surrounding the tabernacle.
Levi is set apart to carry the covenant ark, stand before the Lord to minister, and bless in the Lord's name.
Foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, minister, love the name, and keep covenant are welcomed in the oracle's worshiping community.
Levites assigned more limited sanctuary service still perform concrete duties before the people in Ezekiel's temple vision.
The Lord's hosts are addressed as ministers who do the divine will, a poetic heavenly use.
Amnon commands his attendant to expel Tamar after assault, exposing how service to a powerful person can execute further abuse.
Abishag attends and cares for David after a court search for a young woman, a scene requiring attention to gender, power, and unspoken consent.
Elisha leaves his former livelihood, follows Elijah, and serves him, beginning a prophetic association without making service a transaction for spiritual power.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Hebrew word. Service rooted in devotion: attending upon someone's needs with willing subordination, whether menial or sacred.
Service rooted in devotion: attending upon someone's needs with willing subordination, whether menial or sacred.
to attend as a menial or worshipper; figuratively, to contribute to BDB: minister Usage: minister (unto), (do) serve(-ant, -ice, -itor), wait on.
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 98 lexical occurrence verses.
שָׁרַת is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
H8334 gives ministry language breadth and moral friction. Joshua and Elisha serve senior prophetic figures; Levites and priests perform defined sanctuary duties; Joseph serves within enslavement; court attendants respond to rulers; and Psalms names heavenly ministers. The verb does not promise that serving a powerful leader transfers anointing, earns office, or demonstrates divine favor.
Nor does universal priesthood erase differentiated gifts, training, or safeguarding. Two narratives are essential correctives: Abishag's service is arranged by royal attendants without her consent being narrated, and Amnon's attendant obeys an order that compounds Tamar's abuse. Modern ministry formation must not copy ancient household dependency, require residential access, or normalize private control.
Volunteers and employees need clear roles, supervision, rest, fair compensation where applicable, complaint routes, and the ability to say no. Crimes and safeguarding concerns go to competent authorities. Service to God never requires facilitating sexual abuse, retaliation, financial exploitation, medical neglect, concealment, or destruction of evidence.
Deut.10.8
H8334 occurs in an intensive verbal stem and often denotes personal or appointed attendance. It is narrower than some general work and service vocabulary, but not exclusively cultic and not limited to service of God or a king. The related participial noun can identify an attendant or minister.
New Testament service, ministry, priesthood, and liturgy language uses several Greek terms and distinct offices. Those passages can develop canonical themes, but no single Greek term or church role simply inherits every H8334 setting.