What does שָׂכָר mean in the Bible?
Wages are a payment connected with work or service, while this word can also describe a return or reward in other settings. Laban asks Jacob to name his wages as they discuss Jacob's labor and household.
Hebrew · H7939
שָׂכָר
Wages are a payment connected with work or service, while this word can also describe a return or reward in other settings. Laban asks Jacob to name his wages as they discuss Jacob's labor and household.
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שָׂכָרH7939
What does שָׂכָר mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for שָׂכָר (H7939) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H7939?
The BSB source-word alignment has 28 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include my wages (4), your wages (4), . . . (2), His reward (2), reward (2).
Where does שָׂכָר appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 15:1. Its strongest book concentrations include Genesis (7), Zechariah (4), Deuteronomy (2), Ecclesiastes (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Wages are a payment connected with work or service, while this word can also describe a return or reward in other settings. Laban asks Jacob to name his wages as they discuss Jacob's labor and household. Pharaoh's daughter promises wages for nursing the rescued infant Moses. Deuteronomy requires paying a poor hired worker before sunset because the worker depends on that payment, explicitly treating withholding as a matter of guilt before God.
The word therefore directs attention to actual arrangements and the people affected by them. It does not make every promised reward a commercial exchange or imply that salvation is earned labor. Determine who pays, what service or gift is in view, and how the passage evaluates the arrangement.
How the Bible Uses It
Negotiated work, compensated infant care, and timely payment for a vulnerable laborer show wages within concrete relationships rather than an abstract formula for earning divine favor.
- Gen.30.28
And he added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”
Laban's offer to name wages appears within Jacob's account of hard work, increased livestock, and concern for provision for his own household.
- Exod.2.9
Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages.” So the woman took the boy and nursed him.
Pharaoh's daughter promises wages to the woman who will nurse Moses, joining the rescued infant's care to a practical compensated arrangement.
- Deut.24.15
You are to pay his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and depends on them. Otherwise he may cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
The command requires daily payment before sunset because the poor worker depends on it, and warns that withholding can bring guilt before the Lord.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itmy wages4×Genesis 30:32, Genesis 30:33, Zechariah 11:12
your wages4×Genesis 30:28, Genesis 31:8, Exodus 2:9
. . .2×Genesis 30:18, Zechariah 8:10
His reward2×Isaiah 40:10, Isaiah 62:11
reward2×Genesis 15:1, Ecclesiastes 9:5
the wages2×Deuteronomy 15:18, Ezekiel 29:19
wages2×Ezekiel 29:18, Zechariah 8:10
[is His] reward1×Psalms 127:3
and against those who defraud laborers1×Malachi 3:5
his wages1×Deuteronomy 24:15
is the compensation1×Numbers 18:31
return1×Ecclesiastes 4:9
rewarded1×2 Chronicles 15:7
the fare1×Jonah 1:3
the fee covers the loss1×Exodus 22:15
the reward1×Jeremiah 31:16
whatever wages1×1 Kings 5:6
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 15:1שְׂכָרְךָ֖torewardNoun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singularGenesis 30:18שְׂכָרִ֔יto. . .Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singularGenesis 30:28שְׂכָרְךָ֛toyour wagesNoun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singularGenesis 30:32שְׂכָרִֽי׃tomy wagesNoun - masculine singular construct | first person common singularGenesis 30:33שְׂכָרִ֖יtomy wagesNoun - masculine singular construct | first person common singularGenesis 31:8שְׂכָרֶ֔ךָtoyour wagesNoun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singularGenesis 31:8שְׂכָרֶ֔ךָtoyour wagesNoun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singularExodus 2:9שְׂכָרֵ֑ךְtoyour wagesNoun - masculine singular construct | second person feminine singularExodus 22:15בִּשְׂכָרֽוֹ׃סtothe fee covers the lossPreposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singularNumbers 18:31שָׂכָ֥רtois the compensationNoun - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 15:1
Aligned rows28
Books represented14
Genesis7Exodus2Numbers1Deuteronomy21 Kings12 Chronicles1Psalms1Ecclesiastes2Isaiah2Jeremiah1Ezekiel2Jonah1Zechariah4Malachi1
Source forms
שְׂכָרִ֖י3xśə·ḵā·rîGenesis 30:33, Zechariah 11:12
שָׂכָ֥ר2xśā·ḵārNumbers 18:31, Ecclesiastes 4:9
שָׂכָ֖ר2xśā·ḵār2 Chronicles 15:7, Ezekiel 29:19
שְׂכָרוֹ֙2xśə·ḵā·rōwIsaiah 40:10, Isaiah 62:11
שְׂכָרֶ֔ךָ2xśə·ḵā·re·ḵāGenesis 31:8
בִּשְׂכָרֽוֹ׃ס1xbiś·ḵā·rōwExodus 22:15
וְ֠שָׂכָר1xwə·śā·ḵārEzekiel 29:18
וּשְׂכַ֤ר1xū·śə·ḵar1 Kings 5:6
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular7xNumbers 18:31, 2 Chronicles 15:7, Psalms 127:3, Ecclesiastes 4:9
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular5xGenesis 30:18, Genesis 30:32, Genesis 30:33, Zechariah 11:12
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular4xGenesis 15:1, Genesis 30:28, Genesis 31:8
Noun - masculine singular construct3xDeuteronomy 15:18, Zechariah 8:10, Malachi 3:5
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular3xDeuteronomy 24:15, Isaiah 40:10, Isaiah 62:11
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct2x1 Kings 5:6, Zechariah 8:10
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular1xEzekiel 29:18
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person feminine singular1xExodus 2:9
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- A Bible study about payment does not settle individual legal employment disputes.
- Avoid pressuring unpaid workers to treat financial dependence as spiritual failure.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim serving God earns salvation as wages; the selected word range supplies no such saving contract.
- Do not claim delayed payment is harmless; Deuteronomy explicitly names dependence and guilt when wages are withheld.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. payment of contract ; concretely, salary , fare , maintenance ; by implication, compensation , benefit
Source Gloss
payment of contract ; concretely, salary , fare , maintenance ; by implication, compensation , benefit
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
payment of contract; concretely, salary, fare, maintenance; by implication, compensation, benefit BDB: hire Usage: hire, price, reward(-ed), wages, worth.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Word Origins
שָׂכָר is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Deuteronomy does not present payment delay as a small administrative inconvenience. It says the poor laborer depends on the wage and may cry to the Lord if it is withheld. That attention to dependence should shape the teaching emphasis. Genesis's wage discussion and Exodus's nursing arrangement show payments within different family and labor situations, while Malachi places defrauded laborers among people against whom God witnesses wrongdoing.
A reader can therefore ask whether a promised payment is actually reaching the person who needs it. The wider word range still requires care: God's reward language to Abram is not a declaration that Abram has sold services to obtain grace. Concrete financial responsibility and the gracious character of God's promises should both remain visible without being merged.
Anchor passage
Deut.24.15
Doctrinal connections
- Deuteronomy 24:14-15 protects the poor hired worker and names the guilt of withholding depended-on wages.
- Genesis 30:28-30 places wages beside Jacob's labor and concern for his own household's provision.
- Exodus 2:9 records promised payment within Moses's continuing nursing care after rescue.
- Malachi 3:5 includes defrauding laborers of wages within the Lord's judgment against concrete injustice.
- Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 describes a good return for shared labor alongside mutual help.
- Genesis 15:1 locates reward language within God's reassurance to Abram rather than a quoted employment contract.
The licensed Hebrew range includes hire, wages, and reward. Surrounding relationships determine whether a negotiated payment, labor's return, or God's reassurance is present; one gloss should not flatten those differences.
From Old to New Testament
Concern for laborers and the distinction between wage and gift can support a thematic Christian discussion of justice and grace. No direct New Testament quotation is claimed from this noun alone, and salvation through Christ is not compensation for employment-like service.