Can anyone tell me what a handmaiden is in Biblical terms?

Answer 1

Female servant. Hagar was a handmaiden to Sarah and Abraham.

Answer 2

The Old Testament books had two different words for handmaiden. Sometimes these were servant girls, more or less like domestic servants or household helpers. Others may have been captives or slaves (a different Hebrew word). The concept, as I see it, is that these were members, but not masters, of a household and were willing to do as they were asked. Hagar, an Egyptian lady, was handmaiden to Sarah in the Book of Genesis, while Hannah, Samuel's mother, called herself the Lord's handmaiden in the book of First Samuel.

Finally, the Virgin Mary called herself a handmaiden of the Lord but used a Greek word meaning she was willing to do the work of a servant girl.

If you don't have a Bible concordance, please let me encourage you to find one or see if the library has one. Lots of good stuff there!

Answer 3

A handmaiden (or handmaid) is a female assistant (or slave) that waits at hand, they can be considered a female servant, or attendant. Typically, queens and princesses of old would have a handmaiden - they also feature in fiction, particularly fantasy and science fiction (such as the Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Dr Who), and mythology - Norse goddesses (such as Frigga) frequently had handmaidens, as did Biblical characters such as Leah.

Answer 4

Handmaidens had choices, slaves were under total dominance of a person or influence. this is the main reason why God wanted his people out of Egypt. Only God has total dominance be he gives us the freedom of choice (free will) to choose his some Christ. We become 'servants' of Christ. Slaves and Handmaidens/Servants are two different things. Also, God was against slavery in the bible.

Answer 5

a handmaiden is a servant. However, you will notice in the bible that if a wife was not able to have children, she would offer her husband her handmaiden as a "wife" -- most likely what we would call a concubine. Sara got rid of Hagar and Ishmael because she did not want him inheriting with her son which seems to indicate that the children of secondary wives/concubines were included in inheritance law.

Check the story of Sara and Hagar and their children Isaac and Ishmael and the story of Jacob and his wives Rachel and Leah.

" Rachel, desperate for a child, gave her handmaiden Bilhah to Jacob to lie with. According to tradition, if a woman was barren, she could have her maid produce children who would legally be considered hers."

Answer 6

The servant who takes care of the "toiletry needs'( dressing washing, hair -combing ,etc) or other personal needs( such as fetching) of the slave-owner,especially the mistress of the house or the woman that she is "given to serve unto"
Psalm123:2 "like the eyes of the handmaiden on the hands of her mistress..." as an attentive attendant to the gestures of "her lady".

Answer 7

Selfless devotion with ultimate meaning. (1 Corinthians 13).

Answer 8

A woman who serves others and cares for them

Answer 9

hxpX Shiphchah (shif-khaw'); , Strong #: 8198


maid, maid-servant, slavegirl
maid, maid-servant (as belonging to a mistress)
of address, speaker, humility (fig

Answer 10

Kind of like a maid/nanny