3. Very different is the passage Jn 3" ' and as Moses lifted up the serpent {rbu Scpiv) in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,' where the reference is to the plague of serpents among the Israelites in the wilderness and the miraculous cure, as recorded in Nu 21^"^. Full consideration of this passage, and of its relation to 2 K 18^, does not fall within the scope of this article (see art. ' Nehushtan ' in Hastings' DB iii. 510''). It is interesting, however, to note, in con- nexion with Jn 3^^, that both passages in the OT have been regarded as pointing to serpent- worship in some form among the early Hebrews.
Literature. — On the symbolism of the serpent : Baudissin, Stvdien zur Semit. Religiongesch. i. 257-292 ; Noldeke, ' Die Schlange nach arab. Volksglauben' in Ztsehr. f. Volkerpsycho-
SERUG
SERVICE
613
logi«. On natural history : Tristram, Nat. Hist, of the Bible ; O. Giinther, Die Reptilien und Amphibien von Syrien ; Doughty, Arabia Deserta. See also Schultz, OT Theol. (Enff. tr.) ii. 272 ; Sayce, Religions of Ancient Egypt and Babylonia, pp. 208- 214 ; Hastings' DB iv. 459. G. GORDON StOTT.
SERUG. — A link in our Lord'.s genealogy (Lk 3^, AV Saruch).
SERVANT.— See artt. Service, Slave ; and for ' Servant of the Lord ' see Prophet, p. 432*.
SERVICE. — There are 5 words which with their derivatives are used to convey the idea of ' service ' in the NT : XeLTOVpyelv, XarpeijeLv, VTrrjp^rijs, SiaKovoi, and dovXos. Of these Xeirovpyelv (XeiTos = Srifidaios and ipyov) is used to denote service rendered to the State. It indicates the unreckoned generosity, the uncalculating devotion of patriotic service of city or country. This idea is fully indicated in such passages as Ro 15^^, Ph 2", and in connexion with diaKouia in 2 Co 9'-. The word was early used in the Christian Church to indicate the service of God in special offices and ministries. Thus in the one passage in which it appears in the Gospels (Lk P^) it is iised of the priest Zacharias, as it is afterwards used of the gi-eat High Priest in He 8^^-. Very much the same may be said of the second word Xarpeveiv. In classical Greek it was used of the service of the gods, and in the NT it is used of the service rendered to Jehovah by the whole tribe of Israel (Ac 26' and Ro 9'*). Thus Augustine says : ' Xarpeia . . . aut semper aut tam frequenter ut fere semper, ea dicitur servitus quae pertinet ad colendum Deum' (c. Faust. 20, 21). This distinct use of the word appears in all those passages in which it is used in the Gospels : Mt 410, Lk V^ 2^\ Though these words are full of significance as used in the NT, we need not in this article examine fui'ther into their use, inasmuch as they do not appear in the Gospels in connexion with that form of service which Christ either illus- trated in Himself or explicitly taught. It is in the remaining words that we must find whatever teaching is suggested by the terminology of the Evangelists.
biCLKovos is used in what was doubtless the original meaning of the word, i.e. ' one who waits at table,' in Jn 2^- » (see also Mt 22^3 and Jn 122). ^ repre- sents the servant in his activity rather than in any relation to his Lord. The Sid/coj'oj executes the commands of his master. Thus, while in Mt 222"i'* the SoCXos invites the guests to the feast, it is the SiaKovoi who expels the unworthy guest. Another word closely allied in use to Biclkovos is vir-qp^Tris, 'the rower,' then the subordinate official, and then the performer of any hard labour (ISIt 5-^, Lk 4-*'). The difference between the two words is to be sought in the direction of the official relation of the vwr]piTrjs to his master.
By far the most commonly used word in this connexion is SoCXos, ' the bondservant.' It is used almost Jis an equivalent to 8i.a.Kovos to indicate the lowliness of the service rendered. Wliere the two words are brought into juxtaposition, the differ- ence between them seems to lie in this, that wliile SLo.Kovo'i indicates the activity of the servant, SovXo^ indicates rather the completeness of his subordin.a- tion. Tlius, in speaking of Clirist, St. Paul calls Him the 5i6.kovo'5 of the circumcision (Ro 15*), while lie says that He took upon Him the ixop(j)y)v Soi'i\ov (Ph 2''). So also in Lk 12='^ watchfulness is the token of the activity of the servant. The humility of service, therefore, while not lacking entirely from the word SiA.kovo's, belongs more particularly to 5oOXo5. It is on tlie lines of this distinction that the words of Christ as recorded in Mt 20-"- -^ may be explained. Tliere it will be seen that, while Stct/coj'os is the antitliesis of /J^yas, the antithesis of
dovXos is found in wpwro^ ; as though Christ would teach that true greatness lies in tlie doing of service, while the higliest position in His King- dom belongs to him who will accept the lowly position of the slave.
In this last passage and again in Lk 22-® Christ lays down service as the law of His Kingdom. The position of a minister was that which He accepted for Himself ; ' He came not to be minis- tered unto, but to minister' (Mt 20^*), and He looked to those who would follow Him to accept a sinular rule of life for tliemselves (Lk 222«, Jn 13^^ cf. J216). This idea of service as the law of the King- dom of God was no new one in Jewish thought. Many years before, the author of Is 40-56 had spoken of both the deliverer and the delivered as 'the servant of Jehovah.' Botli He who through suffering should redeem the people, and the people themselves, idealized as they were in the vision of the seer, were to serve. The one was to be ' de- spised and rejected of men,' and the other, blind, deaf, plundered, and despised, was to be exalted by the very service in which he proved his sub- mission and obedience. Each was to be Jehovah's SoPXos.