Triliteral Root of the Day

Slave; work; serve. The Triliteral Root of the Day from OCABS, in Hebrew and Arabic, with passages from the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Qurʾan.

Show Notes

ע-ב-ד (ʿayin–bet–dalet) / ع–ب–د (ʿayn–bāʾ–dāl)

Slave; work; serve

In the Hebrew Bible: ʿebed, slave · ʿabad, work · ʿabodah, labor · ʿabdut, servitude

In the Qurʾan: ʿabd, His slaves · ʿabada, worship · ʿābid, worshipers · ʿibādat, His worship

Sound-law correspondence and an explicit cognate link. Each radical answers its like, letter for letter; no shift is needed.

Passages

  • Genesis 24:34: He said, “I am Abraham’s servant.”
  • Matthew 18:26: The servant therefore fell down and kneeled before him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!’
  • Luke 1:54: He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
  • 1 Corinthians 7:23: You were bought with a price. Don’t become bondservants of men.
  • Sūrat al-Fātiḥa سورة الفاتحة “The Opener” 1:5: Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help.
  • Sūrat al-Ḥijr سورة الحجر “The Rocky Tract” 15:40: Save such of them as are Thy perfectly devoted slaves.
  • Sūrat al-Ṣāffāt سورة الصافات “Those who set the Ranks” 37:40: Save single-minded slaves of Allah;

The whole card on ocabs.org · The Consolation of Consonants

Opening music: Touchia Ḥijāz, Thami Ben Abdelkrim, violin, with percussion (Morocco, 1920s), public domain. Source: gallica.bnf.fr / BnF, Archives de la Parole.

What is Triliteral Root of the Day?

Every day, one Semitic triliteral root heard in three scriptures: the root in Hebrew and Arabic, how it functions, and a passage from the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Qurʾan, read in the original languages with the English. Two or three minutes a day, from OCABS on the Ephesus School Network.