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H5656 Β· Hebrew Β· Old Testament
Χ’Φ²Χ‘ΦΉΧ“ΦΈΧ”
abodah
Noun, Feminine
Service, work, labor, worship, ministry

Definition

From H5647 (abad, 'to serve/work'). Abodah encompasses the full range of purposeful service β€” agricultural labor, construction work, priestly ministry, and most significantly, the organized worship service of the Tabernacle and Temple.

Usage & Theological Significance

Abodah is the Hebrew word that unifies work and worship into a single concept. In the Pentateuch, it is the standard term for the Levitical service at the Tabernacle β€” every act of carrying, assembling, and ministering was abodah. This dismantles the sacred/secular divide: all work done faithfully for God's glory is worship. Paul echoes this in Romans 12:1, calling believers to present their bodies as living sacrifices β€” their 'reasonable service' (Greek: latreia, equivalent to abodah). The Protestant Reformation recovered this doctrine of the priesthood of all believers: every vocation is a priestly abodah.

Key Bible Verses

Numbers 4:47
From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation.
Exodus 12:25
And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.
1 Chronicles 9:13
And their brethren, heads of the house of their fathers, a thousand and seven hundred and threescore; very able men for the work of the service of the house of God.
Romans 12:1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Psalm 104:23
Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.

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