מְלָאכָה167 H4399
Work, occupation, labor; craftsmanship; property, goods; any productive activity from temple construction to daily business.
Melakhah is the Hebrew Bible's broadest term for productive activity and its results. It covers everything from the six days of God's creative work (Gen 2:2) to the skilled artisanship of Bezalel in constructing the tabernacle (Exod 31:3-5), from the Sabbath prohibition against 'any work' (Exod 20:10) to Nehemiah's rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls. The word's range is beautifully exposed by multilingual translation patterns: Arabic 'amal and German Werk both center on effortful production, while French splits between travail (labor), ouvrage (product/opus), and oeuvre (artistic work). Korean distinguishes 일 (general work) from 공예 (craftsmanship), and Swahili kazi covers the labor while ufundi marks skilled craft. Two marginal senses — property and commercial enterprise — show the word extending metonymically from the activity to what the activity produces or involves.
5. sense 5 — Business or commercial enterprise — a single occurrence at Ps 107:23, describing those who 'do business on great waters.' Here melakhah means trading activity or commercial occupation rather than physical labor. English 'business,' Spanish negocio, and the broader context of seafaring merchants all confirm a specialized commercial sense. Jonah 1:8's question 'what is your occupation (melakhah)?' shows a related occupational sense, though that occurrence falls within the dominant cluster. 1×
AR["عَمَلًا"]·ben["ব্যবসা"]·DE["business"]·EN["business"]·FR["de-œuvre"]·heb["מלאכה"]·HI["काम"]·ID["pekerjaan"]·IT["opera"]·jav["padamelan"]·KO["일-을"]·PT["trabalho"]·RU["работу"]·ES["negocio"]·SW["biashara"]·TR["işi"]·urd["کاروبار"]
▼ 4 more senses below
Senses
1. work, labor, task — General work, labor, or task — the overwhelming majority at 158 occurrences. This encompasses construction projects (the tabernacle in Exodus 35-40, the temple in 1 Kings 5-7, Jerusalem's walls in Nehemiah), agricultural labor, royal service, and especially the Sabbath prohibition against melakhah (Exod 20:10, 31:14-15, Lev 23:7-8). Arabic 'amal and Spanish obra both select broad productive-activity vocabulary. The Sabbath usage is theologically foundational: the same word describes God's six-day creative work (Gen 2:2-3) and the work humans must cease on the seventh day, creating a profound link between divine and human labor. 158×
AR["العَمَلِ","الـ-صَّنْعَةِ","الـ-عَمَلِ","الْعَمَلَ","الْعَمَلِ","فِي-الـ-عَمَلِ","ٱلْعَمَلِ"]·ben["-কাজ","-কাজ।","-কাজের","কাজ","কাজে","কাজের","কাজের-জন্য","শত"]·DE["das-Werk","der-Werk","die-Arbeit"]·EN["the-work"]·FR["le-travail","le-œuvre","ouvrage"]·heb["ב-ה-מלאכה","ה-מלאכה","הַ-מְּלָאכָה"]·HI["-काम","कअम","काम","काम-के","कारीगरी","कारीगरी-की","कार्य","कार्य-में","ह-मेलाकाह","हम्मलाखाह-की"]·ID["-pekerjaan","pekerjaan"]·IT["il-opera","l'-opera","opera"]·jav["ing-pakaryan","ing-pedamelan","padamelan","padamelan-punika","pakaryan","pedamelan"]·KO["그-공사에","그-일","그-일을","그-일의","그-일이","일을"]·PT["a-obra","o-trabalho","obra"]·RU["в-работе","имущество","работа","работе","работой","работу","работы"]·ES["la-obra"]·SW["ambayo","hiyo","kazi","nyumba-ya","wa-kazi"]·TR["-işe","-işi","-işin","-mal","iş","işi","işin","işin-o"]·urd["-کام","-کے-کام","میں-کام","کام","کام-","کام-کے-لیے"]
Exod 12:16, Exod 20:10, Exod 31:14, Exod 31:15, Exod 31:15, Exod 35:2, Exod 35:2, Exod 35:29, Exod 35:35, Exod 36:2, Exod 36:6, Exod 36:7 (+38 more)
2. craftsmanship, workmanship — Skilled craftsmanship or workmanship — 5 occurrences, clustered around the tabernacle construction narratives. God fills Bezalel with wisdom for 'all craftsmanship' (Exod 31:3, 5; 35:31), and Ezekiel 28:13 describes the 'workmanship' of the cherub's settings. The distinction from generic work is cross-linguistically marked: Korean uses 기술/솜씨 ('skill/artistry') rather than plain 일 ('work'), and French shifts to artisanat. Leviticus 13:48 extends this to the woven 'workmanship' of fabric — skilled craft producing an artifact rather than mere exertion of effort. 5×
AR["صَنعَةٍ","صَنْعَةُ","صُنْعَةِ","صِناعَةٍ"]·ben["কাজে","কারিগরি","কার্যে।","জিনিসে"]·DE["Arbeit-von","article-von","craftsmanship"]·EN["article-of","craftsmanship","workmanship-of-"]·FR["article-de","craftsmanship","oeuvre"]·heb["מלאכה","מלאכת"]·HI["कारीगरी","कारीगरी-से","बनावट","सूत"]·ID["barang","keahlian","pekerjaan-"]·IT["article-di","craftsmanship","lavoro"]·jav["padamelan","pakaryan.","pakaryan;","pandamel"]·KO["만든-것-의","솔씨가-","솜씨로"]·PT["arte-de","obra","trabalho-de"]·RU["изделии","работа","работе"]·ES["obra","obra-de"]·SW["kazi","kazi-ya","ufundi-wa"]·TR["iş","işinde","işçiliği","zanaat"]·urd["چیز","کاریگری","کاریگری-","کام-میں"]
3. sense 3 — Property or goods entrusted to another's care — 2 occurrences at Exod 22:8 and 22:11, both in the context of property dispute laws. When someone claims that their neighbor has misappropriated 'property' (melakhah), the case comes before God/the judges. English 'property,' Spanish propiedad, and German Eigentum all shift from activity to the thing produced or owned. This is a metonymic extension: the work that went into acquiring goods transfers to designate the goods themselves. 2×
AR["إِلى-مَتاعِ"]·ben["জিনিসে"]·DE["auf-property-von"]·EN["upon-property-of"]·FR["sur-propriété-de"]·heb["ב-מלאכת"]·HI["संपत्ति-पर"]·ID["kepada-pekerjaan"]·IT["sopra-property-di"]·jav["dhateng-barang-garapan"]·KO["재산-에"]·PT["na-propriedade-de"]·RU["к-имуществу"]·ES["en-la-propiedad-de"]·SW["kwa-mali"]·TR["malına"]·urd["مال-پر"]
4. sense 4 — Livestock or movable possessions — a single occurrence at Gen 33:14, where Jacob tells Esau he will travel slowly 'according to the pace of the livestock (melakhah) before me.' Strikingly, English renders this as 'livestock,' Spanish as obra, and French as bétail — a sharp divergence revealing a specialized pastoral sense. The animals are Jacob's 'property-in-motion,' the productive assets of a herdsman. This extends the metonymic property sense into specifically pastoral wealth. 1×
AR["الْماشِيَةِ"]·ben["-কাজের"]·DE["der-Arbeit"]·EN["the-livestock"]·FR["le-bétail"]·heb["ה-מלאכה"]·HI["काम"]·ID["pekerjaan"]·IT["il-livestock"]·jav["padamelan"]·KO["그-가축의"]·PT["o-trabalho"]·RU["-стада"]·ES["la-obra"]·SW["kazi"]·TR["-malın"]·urd["مویشیوں-کے"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
מְלָאכָה167 n.f. occupation, work (for מַלְאָכָה; cf. Ph. מלאכת labour)—מ׳ Ex 12:16 + 102 times; מְלָ֑אכֶת 2 Ch 13:10; cstr. מְלֶאכֶת Ex 35:24 + 42 times; sf. מְלַאכְתְּךָ Jon 1:8; מְלַאכְתֶּ֑ךָ Ex 20:9 + 2 times; מְלַאכְתּוֹ Gn 2:2 + 13 times; pl. cstr. מַלְאֲכוֹת 1 Ch 28:19; sf. מַלְאֲכוֹתֶיךָ ψ 73:28;— 1. occupation, business, מַה מְּלַאכְתְּךָ what is thy occupation Jon 1:8; business of a…