סָרִיס45 H5631
Eunuch, court official; a castrated male servant of the royal household, or more broadly a high-ranking royal officer
Derived from an Akkadian title meaning 'he who is the head,' this noun originally designated a high court official and only gradually narrowed to mean a castrated male. In the Hebrew Bible both senses coexist. Potiphar, a married man, is called a saris in Genesis 37:36, clearly indicating a title of office rather than a physical condition. Yet in passages like 2 Kings 9:32 and the book of Esther, the word plainly refers to eunuchs who served in the royal harem. Isaiah 56:3-5 memorably promises eunuchs a name 'better than sons and daughters,' acknowledging their marginalized status while affirming their place in God's community.
Senses
1. eunuch, castrated court servant — A castrated male, especially one serving in a royal court or harem. The multilingual evidence is telling: English oscillates between 'eunuch' and 'officer,' while Spanish consistently uses 'eunuco' and German 'Kaemmerer' (chamberlain), reflecting the close association between castration and harem service. This sense dominates in the court narratives of Kings and Esther -- the eunuchs who threw Jezebel from the window (2 Kgs 9:32), the doorkeepers of Esther's palace (Est 2:21), and Isaiah's oracle promising eunuchs an everlasting name (Isa 56:3-5) all presuppose the literal physical meaning. 35×
AR["الـ-خِصْيَانِ", "الْخِصْيَانِ", "خَصِيًّا", "خَصِيٌّ", "خَصِيٍّ", "خَصِيُّ", "خَصِيِّ", "خِصِيًّا", "خِصْيَانِ"]·ben["-নপুংসকদের", "নপুংসক", "নপুংসকগণ"]·DE["Eunuch", "Kaemmerer", "Kaemmerer-von", "[סריס]", "der-Kaemmerer", "die-Eunuchen", "eunuch"]·EN["an-officer", "eunuch", "eunuch-of", "eunuch-of-", "eunuchs-of", "official", "the-eunuchs"]·FR["eunuch", "eunuque"]·heb["ה-סריס", "ה-סריסים", "סריס"]·HI["खोजा", "खोजे", "खोजों", "खोजों-के", "खोजों-को", "सारीस"]·ID["sida-sida"]·IT["eunuco", "gli-eunuchi"]·jav["abdi-kraton", "abdi-kraton-", "kang-para-punggawa", "para-abdi-kraton", "pejabat", "priyantun-kraton", "punggawa", "punggawa-istana", "sida"]·KO["관리를", "그-내시들에게", "그-내시들의", "내시", "내시-", "내시가", "내시들", "내시를", "의-내시들"]·PT["eunuco", "eunuco-de", "eunuco-de-", "eunucos-de", "oficial", "os-eunucos"]·RU["-евнухов", "евнух", "евнуха", "евнухам", "евнухах", "евнухов", "евнуху"]·ES["eunuco", "eunuco-de", "eunucos-de", "los-eunucos", "oficial", "y-él"]·SW["maakida", "matowashi", "mbele-ya", "na-Esta", "ofisa", "towashi", "wa-matowashi", "wawili"]·TR["hadim", "hadım", "hadımlara-", "hadımların", "hadımların-", "hadımı", "hadımı-"]·urd["ال-خواجہ-سراؤں-کے", "خواجہ", "خواجہ-سرا", "خواجہ-سرا-کے", "خواجہ-سراؤں", "خواجہ-سراؤں-کے"]
1 Kgs 22:9, 2 Kgs 8:6, 2 Kgs 9:32, 2 Kgs 20:18, 2 Kgs 23:11, 2 Kgs 24:12, 2 Kgs 24:15, 2 Kgs 25:19, 2 Chr 18:8, Esth 1:10, Esth 1:12, Esth 1:15 (+23 more)
2. court official, royal officer — A high-ranking royal functionary or court officer, used as a title of office without implying castration. Genesis applies this word to Potiphar (Gen 37:36; 39:1), who is married with a household -- making the eunuch reading improbable. Similarly, Pharaoh's chief cupbearer and chief baker are called his sarisim (Gen 40:2,7). Spanish translates these as 'oficial de' and English as 'officer of,' distinguishing the administrative role from the physical condition. Samuel's warning that a king will take Israel's sons as his sarisim (1 Sam 8:15) likewise points to conscripted court service rather than castration. 7×
AR["الْخِصْيَانِ", "خَصِيَّيْ", "خَصِيَّيْهِ", "خَصِيُّ", "خَصِيِّ", "لِ-خِصْيَانِهِ", "وَالْخِصْيَانِ"]·ben["আর-নপুংসকদের-এর", "কর্মচারী", "তার-খোজাদেরকে", "তার-নপুংসকদের", "নপুংসক", "নপুংসকদের"]·DE["Hofbeamten", "[והסריסים]", "die-Eunuchen", "die-Hofbeamten", "ein-Hofbeamter", "einen-Hofbeamten", "zu-sein-Beamte"]·EN["and-the-court-officials", "officer-of", "officers-his", "officers-of", "the-officials", "to-his-officials"]·FR["et-eunuque", "eunuque", "officers-de", "officers-son", "officier-de", "à-son-officiers"]·heb["ה-סריס", "ו-ה-סריסים", "ל-סריסיו", "סריס", "סריסי", "סריסיו-ו"]·HI["-के-हिजड़ों", "अपने-हाकिमों-पर", "और-खोजों", "को-अधिकारियों-अपने", "खोजा", "हाकिमों"]·ID["-sida-sida", "dan-pegawai-istana", "kepada-pegawai-pegawainya", "pegawai", "pegawai-istana", "pegawai-istananya"]·IT["a-suo-ufficiali", "e-eunuco", "eunuco", "officer-di", "officers-di", "officers-suo"]·jav["dhateng-para-punggawanipun", "lan-para-pegawè", "para-punggawa", "punggawa", "punggawa-punggawanipun", "punggawané"]·KO["관리", "관리들을", "그-관리들", "그리고-그-환관들과", "그의-관리들", "그의-환관들에게"]·PT["a-oficiais-dele", "e-os-eunucos", "oficiais-de", "oficiais-dele", "oficial-de", "os-oficiais"]·RU["евнух", "евнухам-своим", "евнухами", "евнухов", "евнухов-своих", "евнуху", "и-евнухов"]·ES["a-sus-oficiales", "los-oficiales", "oficial-de", "oficiales-de", "oficiales-suyos", "y-los-oficiales"]·SW["kwa-maofisa-wake", "maafisa-wa-ikulu", "mgeni", "na-maafisa", "ofisa-wa", "wa-Pharaoh", "wakubwa-wake"]·TR["hadimlerine", "hadimlerle", "hadumlarına", "hadumu", "ve-hadımların"]·urd["اور-خواجہ-سرا", "خواجہ-سراؤں", "خواجہ-سراؤں-اپنے", "خوجہ", "درباریوں-کو"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H0376 1. man, person, human male (2130×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
סָרִיס45 n.m. eunuch (NH id., 𝔗 סָרִיסָא, Syriac ܣܳܪܝܣܳܐ (all c. vb. denom. = emasculate), Old Aramaic סרסא Lzb331 Cook86; Arabic سَرِسٌ, سَرِيسٌ (vb. سَرِسَ be impotent), Kam Frey (not Lane); prob. foreign word; according to JenZA vii. 174 = Assyrian ša rêši, he who is the head, chief, cf. BrockLex 239 b DlHWB 694 (ša-riš?), ZimZMG liii. 1899, 116; eunuch being specialized meaning; in any case…