maidservant
shiph.chah denotes a female household servant, including women described as belonging to a mistress or speaking deferentially to a superior.
The term most often identifies a woman within a household or possession list, including named women attached to a mistress and women given within family arrangements. It also occurs as a woman’s deferential self-reference when she addresses a king, a man of God, or another superior.
Senses in use
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Female household servant · dominant
The singular and plural noun forms identify women belonging within a household: Hagar is attached to Sarai in Genesis 16:1, while Zilpah and Bilhah are given to Leah and Rachel in Genesis 29:24 and Genesis 29:29. In Genesis 30:4 and Genesis 30:9, the women so designated are given to Jacob as wives; plural forms also occur among household assets in Genesis 24:35 and Genesis 30:43.
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Deferential self-reference by a woman · common
Construct singular forms occur when a woman speaks of herself in a subordinate posture. In 1 Samuel 1:18 the APB renders her request, "Let your maidservant find favor in your eyes," and in 2 Samuel 14:12 the woman asks permission to speak to the king. In 1 Samuel 25:41, the speaker offers herself for the lowly task of washing the servants' feet.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly uses "maidservant" for singular references and "female servants" or "maidservants" for plurals. It also varies with "servant," "slave-women," and "female slaves" in some clauses; These renderings confirm the verses' settings without fixing a separate sense for each English choice.