μισθ-ωτός G3411
hired servant, hireling, one who works for pay rather than ownership or loyalty
A hireling is someone who works for wages rather than out of ownership or devotion. Mark records that James and John left their father 'with the hired servants' (Mark 1:20). Jesus contrasts the good shepherd, who owns the sheep, with the hired hand who flees when danger comes because 'he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep' (John 10:12, 13). The term implies mercenary motivation—present for pay, absent when costly. The consistent translations—'asalariado,' 'Mietling,' 'mercenaire'—emphasize wage-based, non-committed labor.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A hired servant or wage-laborer, contrasted with owners or those with intrinsic commitment. Mark 1:20 neutrally mentions hired workers on Zebedee's boat. John 10:12, 13 uses μισθωτός pejoratively for the hireling shepherd who abandons sheep in danger, caring only for wages. The term highlights mercenary motivation versus ownership or love. German 'Mietling' and French 'mercenaire' capture the negative connotation of hired-but-uncommitted service. 3×
AR["أَجير", "الأُجَرَاءِ"]·ben["বেতনভোগী", "মজুরদের,"]·DE["Mietling"]·EN["a-hired-man", "hired-man", "hired-workers"]·FR["mercenaire"]·heb["שְׂכִירִים", "שָׂכִיר"]·HI["के", "मज़दूर"]·ID["orang-orang-upahan,", "orang-upahan"]·IT["misthoton", "misthotos"]·jav["buruh-upahan,", "upahan"]·KO["삯꾼은", "삯꾼이기", "품꾼들-과"]·PT["empregados,", "mercenário"]·RU["Наёмник", "наёмник", "наёмниками"]·ES["asalariado", "jornaleros"]·SW["mtu-wa-mshahara", "waajiriwa,"]·TR["işçilerle,", "ücretli"]·urd["مزدور", "مزدوروں-کے"]
Related Senses
H5971a 1. people, nation (1836×)H5973a 1. accompaniment, together with (956×)H0854 1. with (accompaniment) (665×)H1471a 1. nations, peoples (plural/collective) (466×)G3326 1. with (368×)H1285 1. covenant, pact, treaty (284×)G2453 1. Jewish person, Jew (194×)H4150 1. meeting (tent of meeting) (151×)G2992 1. people/nation (an ethnic or political community) (142×)G4862 1. (129×)G1484 1. Gentiles, non-Jewish nations (128×)H1471a 2. nation, people-group (singular) (98×)H3162b 1. together (97×)H1616 1. sojourner, resident alien (92×)H0567 1. Amorite (people group) (87×)H3064 1. Jew, Jewish person (81×)H3669a 1. Canaanite (ethnic designation) (70×)G1122 1. scribe / expert in the Law (63×)H2114a 1. stranger, foreigner (person) (54×)H5608b 1. scribe, royal secretary (48×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
μισθ-ωτός, ή, όν, hired, ἐπίκουροι Refs 5th c.BC+ __II substantive, hireling, hired servant, NT+5th c.BC+: frequently of soldiers, mercenaries, Refs 5th c.BC+; of a spy or agent, Refs 4th c.BC+