שִׁפְחָ֥ה
𐤔𐤐𐤇𐤄
shiphchâh
maidservant
A female slave or servant, specifically a woman of non-Israelite origin who is owned or possessed as property and serves within a household. The term designates an individual of lower social status, generally distinct from free women (whether Israelite or otherwise), and often functions in legal and social contexts to distinguish between classes of women in ancient Israel. In some settings, may refer to a female in servitude who could be given in marriage, bear children for her mistress (especially in cases of infertility), or transferred through inheritance. The semantic range includes slave girl, handmaid, maidservant, bondwoman, or concubine of lower status than a wife.
Genesis 16:1 · Word #8
Lexicon H8198
| Lemma | שִׁפְחָה |
| Lemma (Paleo) | 𐤔𐤐𐤇𐤄 |
| Transliteration | shiphchâh |
| Strong's | H8198 |
| Definition | A female slave or servant, specifically a woman of non-Israelite origin who is owned or possessed as property and serves within a household. The term designates an individual of lower social status, generally distinct from free women (whether Israelite or otherwise), and often functions in legal and social contexts to distinguish between classes of women in ancient Israel. In some settings, may refer to a female in servitude who could be given in marriage, bear children for her mistress (especially in cases of infertility), or transferred through inheritance. The semantic range includes slave girl, handmaid, maidservant, bondwoman, or concubine of lower status than a wife. |
Morphology HNcfsa
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | N — Noun — A person, place, thing, or idea |
| Subtype | c — Common — Common noun |
| Gender | f — Feminine — Feminine |
| Number | s — Singular — Singular |
| State | a — Absolute — The noun stands independently |
Common Translation
| Phrase | maidservant |
SIBI-P1 Translation H8198-07
slave-woman
| Morphological Notes | Noun, common, feminine singular, absolute state. |
| Rendering Rationale | "Slave-woman" preserves the feminine singular form and reflects the core sense of a woman extended or placed into another household for service, consistent with the root idea of being spread out or assigned. It maintains the legal and social force of ownership inherent in the term. |
View full lexicon entry for H8198 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
maidservant
| Same as P1 | Yes |
| Rationale | Standardized from "slave-woman". |