“A reproof to the idolatrous Meccans, who could admit created beings to
a share of the divine honour, though they suffered not their slaves to
share with themselves in what God had bestowed on them.”
The expression of a thing done, held, or “possessed by the right hand,”
in Arabic, is a full concession that the doing, holding, or possessing,
is just, rightful, and righteous.
“God propoundeth, as a parable, a _possessed slave_, who hath power over
nothing, and him on whom we have bestowed a good provision from us, and
who giveth alms thereout, both secretly and openly; shall these two be
esteemed equal? God forbid.” _Koran_, chap. 16.
Of this, the above commentator says, “The idols, we have likened to a
_slave_, who is so far from having any thing of his own, that he is
himself in the possession of another.” _Idem._
“And this is the favour which thou hast bestowed on me, that thou hast
enslaved the children of Israel.” _Koran_, chap. 26.
“O prophet, we have allowed thee thy wives, unto whom thou hast given
their dower, and also the _slaves_ which thy right hand possesseth, of
the booty which God hath granted to thee.” _Koran_, chap. 33.
Yet, so it is, we find in our Hebrew lexicons, among the significations
of this word עבד _ebed_, not only its true signification,—slave,
slavery, &c.,—but also, _to labour_, _cultivate_, _labour generally_,
_worship_, _to make_, _to do, or deal with any one_, _to take place or
happen_, _work_, _business_, _tillage_, _cultivation of land_,
_agriculture_, _implements_, _utensils_, _appurtenances_, _a worship of
God_ or _of idols_, _wearied_, _to be wearied with labour_, _complied
with_, _assented to_, _performed_, _religious service_, _a submissive
epithet_, _a minister_, _to minister unto_, _any one employed in the
service of a king_, _any one who worships, adores God_, _one who is
commissioned by him for any purpose, benefit, employment of any kind_.
But we will desist from increasing this catalogue of definitions, for
fear of being charged with slander on the Hebrew lexicons. Must not that
be a very strange language in which one little word of only three
letters has so many varied and adverse meanings? Yet, in all sobriety,
we might double the number. If each and every Hebrew word were like
this, thus loaded with lexicographical learning, we beg to know who
would undertake and what would be the use of its study; for surely, from
the same page, there might be a very great number of adverse and
contradictory translations, all equally correct. But, if such catalogue
is not legitimate, to what cause are we to look for its existence? to
some abiding influence, secret but persevering, in the minds of the
lexicographers for the last thousand years? Or shall we rather confine
our views to the casualities of hurried translations and bad readings,
to the facility of the copyist in book-making, instead of the laborious
study of the investigator?
This circumstance, from whatever cause it may have sprung, will impose
on us some labour to show the correctness of our proposition, to wit,
the word עֶבֶד _ebed_, however used, and in whatever form, is never used
in Hebrew disconnected from the idea of slavery.
We first propose to show that the Hebrew is abundantly supplied with
words to express all these other meanings, _disconnected_ with the idea
of slavery.
Aware that such examination may be extremely uninteresting to the most
of us, yet, deeming it of great importance to our subject, we humbly ask
indulgence, while we examine a few of the most leading _terms_ as
examples, whose significations have been appropriated to the word עֶבֶד
_ebed_.
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