Hebrew word · H5663

עֶ֫בֶד מֶ֫לֶךְ

'eved-

Ebed-melech

'Servant/slave of the king.' ʿEved covers slave, servant, royal minister and worshipper. Names built on 'servant of [deity/king]' were common in the Semitic world (Obadiah, Abdi-; the Phoenician Abdimilkutti).

Appears 12 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at Jer.38.7

§ Ebed-melech = "servant of the king"

an Ethiopian eunuch in the service of king Zedekiah, through whose interference Jeremiah was released from prison

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Jeremiah 38:7

Range of meaning

'Servant/slave of the king.' ʿEved covers slave, servant, royal minister and worshipper. Names built on 'servant of [deity/king]' were common in the Semitic world (Obadiah, Abdi-; the Phoenician Abdimilkutti).

Against the English

English Bibles transliterate it as a name, so readers miss that it means 'servant of the king'. The narrative plays on that meaning: the 'king's servant' serves the king's real interest and the prophet better than the king's princes do.

Used elsewhere in the period

Names with ʿbd plus a divine or royal element appear on Northwest Semitic seals and inscriptions. In Phoenician names mlk can also be a divine title. It is unclear whether a Cushite courtier was given this name at court or simply bore a descriptive title.

Where it appears

Jeremiah · 12

  1. Jeremiah 38:7 עֶֽבֶד־ מֶ֨לֶךְ Ebed, Melech

    Now Ebed-melech the Cushite, a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,

    Here: First half of his name, 'servant/slave of'. It is a normal Semitic name-element, and it also matches his job at court.

  2. Jeremiah 38:8 עֶֽבֶד־ מֶ֖לֶךְ Ebed, Melech

    Ebed-melech went out from the king’s palace and said to the king,

  3. Jeremiah 38:10 עֶֽבֶד־ מֶ֥לֶךְ Ebed, Melech

    So the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and pull Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”

  4. Jeremiah 38:11 עֶֽבֶד־ מֶ֨לֶךְ Ebed, Melech

    Then Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the king’s palace, to a place below the storehouse. From there he took old rags and worn-out clothes and lowered them with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.

  5. Jeremiah 38:12 עֶבֶד־ מֶ֨לֶךְ Ebed, Melech

    Ebed-melech the Cushite cried out to Jeremiah, “Put these worn-out rags and clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so,

  6. Jeremiah 39:16 לְעֶבֶד־ מֶ֨לֶךְ to Ebed, Melech

    “Go and tell Ebed-melech the Cushite that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to fulfill My words against this city for harm and not for good, and on that day they will be fulfilled before your eyes.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.