Esther 1:12 - "But Queen Vashti refused to come to the king’s command conveyed by the eunuchs. At this the king was enraged, and his anger burned within him."

Isaiah 39:7 - "And some of your own sons, who are born to you, shall be taken away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."

Daniel 1:9 - "And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs."

In earliest times, eunuchs were castrated males who watched over the king’s harem. From the employment of such men, the term came to designate an officer, whether physically a eunuch or not. This word also sometimes translated as officer or as chamberlain.

For a time, eunuchs were found in the states neighboring Israel, but not in Israel itself. This was because the Mosaic law forbade those blemished by castration to enter the congregation, but Isaiah prophesied of a day when this disability would be removed and their loss compensated (Isaiah 56:3-5). There is some question as to whether Daniel was made a eunuch; it is a possibility, since this was generally the customary way to treat captives.

The court of David first introduced eunuchs into Israel, here perhaps we can use the word in the sense of officer. The courts of the kings of both Judah and Israel contained them from that time on, and we have lists which give their names. As time went on, this position changed from one of shame to a position of high honor in the court. Josephus tells us that Herod the Great had one eunuch as royal cupbearer, another to bring supper, and a third to put him to bed as well as to manage his affairs. So, then obviously, these men were highly trusted to be given duties which so closely involved the king’s welfare.

In the New Testament, Jesus used the term and its cognate verb four times in Matthew 19:12; here it is used again in the physical sense. He speaks of the born eunuchs and those who have been made eunuchs by men, and so are physically incapable of begetting children; those who have "made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake" are the ones who are continent and chaste so that they may concentrate their lives on promoting the kingdom of heaven. He, himself, was the prime example.

Comparable occupations today might well include the valet or the butler, both of whom are responsible for the care and well being of their employers. And this was, essentially, the duty of the eunuch.