H7916 H7916
A hired worker or day laborer; also a mercenary soldier; occasionally adjectival for something rented or hired
Sakir is rooted in the economic realities of ancient Israel, where a day laborer's wages were his lifeline. The Torah repeatedly insists that the hired worker be paid promptly before sunset (Lev 19:13, Deut 24:14-15), and Job compares human life to the weary days of a hireling longing for evening (Job 7:1-2). Spanish 'jornalero' and French 'ouvrier à gages' capture this daily-wage worker perfectly. Isaiah measures divine judgment in 'years of a hireling' — precisely counted, not a day more (Isa 16:14, 21:16). Jeremiah 46:21 extends the term to mercenary soldiers, fattened calves who turn and flee.
Senses
1. hired worker, day laborer — A hired worker or day laborer — the most common sense, appearing in legal, wisdom, and prophetic texts. Leviticus 19:13 and 25:40 establish the hireling's rights under Torah law; Job 7:1-2 and 14:6 use the figure for the weariness of human existence. Isaiah 16:14 and 21:16 invoke 'years of a sakir' as a precise, strictly reckoned measure. French 'ouvrier à gages,' Spanish 'jornalero,' and German 'Lohnarbeiter' all denote a temporary wage-earner. 15×
AR["أَجيرٍ", "أَجِيرًا", "أَجِيرٍ", "كَ-أَجِيرٍ", "كَ-أَجِيرِ", "وَ-الْأَجِيرُ", "وَأَجِيرٌ", "وَكَأَجيرٍ", "وَلِ-أَجِيرِكَ"]·ben["এবং-তোমার-মজুরের-জন্য", "এবং-মজুর", "এবং-মজুরের", "এবং-মজুরের-মতো", "মজুর", "মজুরের", "মজুরের-মতো"]·DE["[וכשכיר]", "[כשכיר]", "[שכיר]", "ein-mietete-worker", "mietete-worker", "und-ein-hired-Knecht", "und-ein-mietete-worker", "und-fuer-dein-mietete-worker", "wie-ein-mietete-worker"]·EN["a-hired-worker", "and-a-hired-servant", "and-a-hired-worker", "and-for-your-hired-worker", "and-like-hired-worker", "as-a-hired-worker", "hired-worker", "like-hired-worker", "worker"]·FR["[שכיר]", "comme-un-ouvrier-à-gages", "comme-כשכיר", "engagé", "et-pour-ton-hired-worker", "et-un-loua-serviteur", "et-un-ouvrier-à-gages", "et-וכשכיר", "ouvrier-à-gages", "un-ouvrier-à-gages", "שכיר"]·heb["ו-כ-שכיר", "ו-לשכירך", "ו-שכיר", "כ-כשכיר", "כ-שכיר", "שכיר"]·HI["और-तेरे-मज़दूर-के-लिए", "और-मज़दूर", "और-मज़दूर-की-तरह", "जैसे-मज़दूर", "मजदूर-की", "मजदूर-के", "मज़दूर", "मज़दूर-की", "मज़दूर-की-तरह", "मज़दूर-के"]·ID["Seperti-orang-upahan", "buruh-upahan", "dan-bagi-orang-upahanmu", "dan-orang-upahan", "dan-pekerja-upahan", "dan-seperti-buruh-upahan", "pekerja-upahan", "seperti-buruh-upahan", "seperti-hari-hari"]·IT["[שכיר]", "assoldo-worker", "come-like-hired-worker", "come-un-assoldo-worker", "e-come-e-like-hired-worker", "e-per-tuo-assoldo-worker", "e-un-assoldo-worker", "e-un-hired-servo", "hired-worker", "un-assoldo-worker"]·jav["Kados-buruh", "buruh", "buruh-opahan", "kados-buruh-opahan", "kuli", "lan-buruh", "lan-kados-buruh-opahan", "lan-kanggé-buruh-ira", "lan-tiyang-upahan", "tiyang-sewan", "tiyang-upahan"]·KO["같이", "고용된-자의", "고용인의", "그리고-같이-일꾼이", "그리고-고용인은", "그리고-네-고용인에게", "그리고-일꾼", "일꾼", "일꾼의", "일꿠-의", "품꾼-같이", "품꾼을", "품꾼의"]·PT["Como-assalariado", "assalariado", "como-diário", "diarista", "e-assalariado", "e-como-diarista", "e-para-teu-assalariado", "trabalhador"]·RU["и-как-наёмник", "и-наёмник", "и-наёмнику-твоему", "как-наёмник", "наёмника"]·ES["Como-jornalero", "como-jornalero", "el-jornalero", "jornalero", "y-asalariado", "y-como-jornalero", "y-jornalero", "y-para-tu-jornalero"]·SW["Kama-mfanyakazi-wa-mshahara", "kama-mfanyakazi", "kibarua", "mfanya-kazi", "mfanyakazi", "mfanyakazi-wa-mshahara", "na-kama-mfanyakazi", "na-kwa-mfanyakazi-wako-wa-mshahara", "na-mfanyakazi-wa-mshahara", "ya-mfanyakazi"]·TR["-gibi-ücretli", "işçinin", "ucretlinin", "ve--e-ücretlinin", "ve-işçi", "ve-ücretli", "ve-ücretli-gibi", "ücretli", "ücretli-gibi", "ücretli-işçinin", "ücretlinin", "ücretliyi"]·urd["اور-جیسے-مزدور", "اور-مزدور", "اور-مزدور-تیرے", "مزدور", "مزدور-کی", "مزدور-کی-طرح", "مزدور-کے"]
Exod 12:45, Lev 19:13, Lev 22:10, Lev 25:6, Lev 25:40, Lev 25:50, Lev 25:53, Deut 15:18, Deut 24:14, Job 7:1, Job 7:2, Job 14:6 (+3 more)
2. mercenary, hired soldier — Mercenary soldiers — hired foreign troops. In Jeremiah 46:21, Egypt's mercenaries are compared to fattened calves who turn and flee rather than stand. Spanish 'mercenarios' and English 'mercenaries' distinguish this military application from the ordinary laborer. A single but semantically distinct occurrence. 1×
AR["مُرْتَزَقُوهَا"]·ben["তার-ভাড়াতে-করারা"]·DE["[שכריה]"]·EN["her-mercenaries"]·FR["[שכריה]"]·heb["שכיריה"]·HI["उसके-किराए-के-सिपाही"]·ID["tentara-tentara-bayaran-nya"]·IT["[שכריה]"]·jav["prajurit-bayaranipun"]·KO["그녀의-용병들이"]·PT["seus-mercenários"]·RU["наёмники-её"]·ES["sus-mercenarios"]·SW["waajiriwa-wake"]·TR["paralı-askerleri"]·urd["کرائے-کے-سپاہی-اُس-کے"]
3. hired, rented (adjectival) — Used adjectivally to describe something obtained by hire rather than owned (Exod 22:15), where a hired animal incurs different liability than a borrowed one. Spanish 'alquilado' ('rented') and French 'un ouvrier salarié' preserve the adjectival quality. This is the rarest sense, where the focus is on the mode of acquisition rather than a person. 1×
AR["مُستَأجَرَةً"]·ben["ভাড়া"]·DE["ein-Lohnarbeiter"]·EN["a-hired-worker"]·FR["un-ouvrier-salarié"]·heb["שכיר"]·HI["किराये-पर"]·ID["yang disewa"]·IT["un-hired-worker"]·jav["tiyang-ingkang-nyewa"]·KO["세낸"]·PT["alugado"]·RU["наёмник"]·ES["alquilado"]·SW["aliyekodishwa"]·TR["kiralık"]·urd["کرایے-پر"]
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×)H4421 1. war, battle, armed conflict (319×)H0341 1. enemy, adversary, foe (284×)H1285 1. covenant, pact, treaty (284×)G2453 1. Jewish person, Jew (194×)H3898a 1. Nifal: to fight, wage war (167×)H4150 1. meeting (tent of meeting) (151×)H2026 1. kill, slay (active) (146×)H2451 1. wisdom, discernment (146×)G2992 1. people/nation (an ethnic or political community) (142×)H5483b 1. horse (the animal) (138×)G4862 1. (129×)G1484 1. Gentiles, non-Jewish nations (128×)H0006 1. to perish, be destroyed (105×)H1471a 2. nation, people-group (singular) (98×)H3162b 1. together (97×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† שָׂכִיר adj. hired;—abs. שׂ׳ Ex 12:45 +, f. שְׂכִירָה Is 7:20; cstr. שְׂכִיר Lv 25:53; sf. שְׂכִירְךָ v 6; pl. sf. שְׂכִרֶיהָ Je 46:21;— 1. hired, of beast Ex 22:14 (E), razor Is 7:20 (fig.). 2. usually as subst. hireling, hired labourer Dt 15:18; 24:14; Lv 19:13; 22:10; 25:6, 40, 53 (all H), Ex 12:45; Lv 25:50 (both P), Mal 3:5; Jb 7:1, 2; 14:6; כִּשְׁנֵי שׂ׳ Is 16:14 years like a hireling’s years (reckoned strictly), so 21:16; mercenaries Je 46:21.