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.