Taskmaster

A taskmaster was a person who supervised workers and forced them to work hard. Egyptian stone carvings show taskmasters holding whips, which they used to punish workers who did not work fast enough (Exodus 1:11; 3:7; 5:6–14; Job 3:18). The Hebrew word used for taskmaster in the Bible means "to oppress," showing how badly they treated their workers. Kings David and Solomon had taskmasters. A man named Adoram was in charge of forced labor during their time (2 Samuel 20:24; 1 Kings 4:6; 12:18; 2 Chronicles 10:18). The cruel treatment by these taskmasters became one of the reasons why the northern tribes of Israel separated from the southern tribes after Solomon died (1 Kings 12:3–14).