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Of the sons of Pahathmoab; Elihoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males. Of the sons of Shechaniah; the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males. Of the sons also of Adin; Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males. And of the sons of Elam; Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males.

"Now the words translated 'servant' in hundreds of instances are, in the original, 'slave, and the very passage you quote, Noah's words 'Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren' in the original Hebrew means exactly this 'Cursed be Canaan, a slave of slaves shall he be. The Hebrew, word is 'ebed' which means a bond slave, and the words 'ebed ebadim' translated 'slave of slaves, means strictly the most abject of slaves.

And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies. And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, from lying in wait. And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the top of the mountains.

Besides, the fact of their being domestics, under heathen laws and usages, proclaimed their liabilities; their locality told their condition; so that in applying to them the word Ebed, there would be no danger of being misunderstood.

But the objector asks, "Would not the Israelites use their word Ebed if they spoke of the slave of a heathen?" Answer. The servants of individuals among the heathen are scarcely ever alluded to. National servants or tributaries, are spoken of frequently, but so rarely are their domestic servants alluded to, no necessity existed, even if they were slaves, for coining a new word.

"In the New Testament too the word translated 'servant' from the Greek is 'doulas, which is the same as 'ebed' in the Hebrew, and always means a bond slave. Our word 'servant' formerly meant the same, but time and custom have changed its meaning with us, but the Bible word 'doulos' remains the same, 'a slave."

And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech. And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.

And may God, whose name be blessed and praised, be pleased with you, O Mohammed, and with all those favored with the wine of God! "Amen! Amen! Amen!" repeated the ulemas, and the maiden whispered it after them. And, within the shadow of the cliff, Mohammed Ali, who had reverently repeated the ebed in a low voice, murmured Amen.

Rising from his knees, the sheik now proceeded to give, with a loud voice, the second call, the ebed, for he saw that rosy streaks were beginning to shoot out over the horizon, and he knew that the sun would rise from out the sea in an hour; it was therefore time to pronounce the ebed.

And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him? And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out.