δουλεύωdouleúō
to be a slave to (literal or figurative, involuntary or voluntary)
Greek (New Testament) · G1398
Meanings
to be a slave, be subject to, serve: absolutely, Romans 7:6, Galatians 4:25, 1 Timothy 6:2; with dat person, Matthew 6:24, Luke 15:29, Luke 16:13, Romans 9:12 (LXX); of nations, John 8:33, Acts 7:7 (LXX); θεῷ, τ. κυρίῳ, Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13, Acts 20:19, Romans 12:11 (R, margin, καιρῷ) Romans 16:18, Ephesians 6:7, Colossians 3:24, 1 Thessalonians 1:9; τ. Χριστῷ, Romans 14:18, Colossians 3:24; νόμῳ θεοῦ, Romans 7:25; τ. θεοῖς, Galatians 4:8; τ. καιρῷ, Romans 12:11 (R, margin for κυρίῳ); ἀλλήλοις, Galatians 5:13; σὺν ἐμοί Philippians 2:22; τ. ἁμαρτίᾳ, Romans 6:6; νόμῳ ἁμαρτίας, Romans 7:25; ἐπιθυμίαις κ. ἡδοναις, Titus 3:3; τ. κοιλία, Romans 16:18; μαμωνᾷ, Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13; τ. στοιχείοις τ, κόσμου, Galatians 4:9.
Same root
Where it appears
Appears 25 times in the Bible.
- Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.
- Luke 15:29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends.
- Luke 16:13 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”
- John 8:33 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”
- Acts 7:7 ‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and in the end they will come out and worship me here in this place.’
- Acts 20:19 I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews.
Source: G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), public domain.