mas denotes compelled labor or subjection to it, including labor organized under royal authority.

The attested uses chiefly describe people made subject to compelled labor, especially conquered populations left in the land; the term also appears for labor imposed and administered by royal officials, and for subjection expressed of an individual, a city, or defeated young men.

1. People made subject to compelled labor · dominant

   In Joshua 17:13 and Judges 1:28, Israelites grow strong and put the Canaanite under this condition rather than dispossessing them. Judges 1:30, Judges 1:33, and Judges 1:35 likewise place remaining inhabitants in a subordinate labor status; in 1 Kings 9:21 the APB renders Solomon's action as conscripting remaining descendants for "forced labor."

   Joshua 17:13Judges 1:28Judges 1:30Judges 1:33Judges 1:351 Kings 9:21
2. Imposed and administered labor obligation · common

   In 1 Kings 9:15, the singular absolute noun occurs in the account of labor Solomon imposed for building projects. In 1 Kings 4:6 and 2 Samuel 20:24, named officials are described as being over it; 1 Kings 12:18 and 2 Chronicles 10:18 place Adoram or Hadoram over it when the king sends him.

   1 Kings 9:151 Kings 4:62 Samuel 20:241 Kings 12:182 Chronicles 10:182 Chronicles 8:8
3. Subjection portrayed of persons or a city · occasional

   Genesis 49:15 describes one who bends his shoulder to bear and becomes a servant in this condition, while Proverbs 12:24 contrasts diligent rule with slackness leading to it. Lamentations 1:1 applies the condition to a formerly prominent city, and Isaiah 31:8 says Assyria's young men will become so.

   Genesis 49:15Proverbs 12:24Lamentations 1:1Isaiah 31:8

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across these verses, the APB variously uses "forced labor," "taskworker," and "subject to forced labor." These renderings present the surrounding clauses' sense.