H7936b H7936b
To hire or engage someone for wages; to earn wages by labor; to hire oneself out for service
The verb שָׂכַר governs the transactional world of labor and wages in the Hebrew Bible. Its semantic center is the act of hiring — one party engaging another for compensated service. Rachel tells Leah, 'I have hired you' (Gen 30:16), Abimelech hires worthless men (Judg 9:4), and Balak hires Balaam to curse Israel (Deut 23:4). The Ethiopic cognate sekur ('hired') and Arabic shakara ('to reward, thank') confirm that payment and recompense are embedded in the root. In two occurrences from Haggai, the reflexive Hitpael stem shifts the focus from employer to worker: the one who 'earns wages earns them for a bag with holes' (Hag 1:6) — a vivid portrait of futile labor during the neglect of God's house.
1. hire, engage for pay — The primary Qal sense of hiring or engaging someone for wages or service, accounting for 17 of 20 occurrences. The word covers a wide transactional range: Rachel hiring Jacob for the night with mandrakes (Gen 30:16), the hiring of mercenary soldiers (2 Sam 10:6, 1 Chr 19:6-7), craftsmen for Temple repair (2 Chr 24:12), and the political bribery of counselors against Judah (Ezra 4:5). The Spanish 'alquilar/contrato' and English 'hired/engaged' reflect straightforward employment. Notably, Nehemiah 6:12-13 shows how hiring shades into bribing — Tobiah and Sanballat 'hired' Shemaiah to intimidate Nehemiah. 17×
AR["اسْتَأْجَراهُ","اسْتَأْجَرَ","اسْتَأْجَرَ-","اسْتَأْجَرْتُكَ","اسْتِئْجَارًا","فَاسْتَأْجَرَ","فَـ-اسْتَأْجَرَ","لِ-يَسْتَأْجِرُوا","مُسْتَأْجَرًا","وَ-اسْتَأْجَرَنِي","وَ-اسْتَأْجَرُوا","وَ-مَنْ-يَسْتَأْجِرُ","وَاستَأجَروا","وَاسْتَأْجَرُوا","يَسْتَأْجِرُونَ"]·ben["আর-ভাড়া-করেছিল","এবং-ভাড়া-করলেন","এবং-ভাড়া-করেছেন-আমাকে","এবং-যে-ভাড়া-করে","ও-ভাড়া-করলেন","কিন্তু-যে-ভাড়া-করে","তারা-ভাড়া-করে","ভাড়া-করছিলেন","ভাড়া-করতে","ভাড়া-করল","ভাড়া-করা-হয়েছিল","ভাড়া-করে","ভাড়া-করেছি","ভাড়া-করেছিল-তাকে","ভাড়া-করেছেন-"]·DE["[וישכר]","[וישכרו]","[ושכר]","[ישכרו]","[לשכר]","[שכור]","[שכרו]","[שכרים]","er-mietete","gemietet","habe-ich-dich-gemietet","hat-hired-","und-mietete","und-mietete-mich","und-sie-hired"]·EN["I-hired-you","and-he-hired","and-hired","and-hired-me","and-one-who-hires","and-they-hired","being-hired","had-hired-him","has-hired-","he-hired","hiring","they-hire","to-hire"]·FR["Je-loua-tu","[ישכרו]","a-hired-","engager","et-engager","et-hired","et-hired-moi","et-ils-hired","et-ושכר","hiring","il-hired"]·heb["ו-ישכר","ו-ישכרו","ו-שוכר","ו-שכר","ו-שכרני","ישכרו","ל-שכר","שכור","שכר","שכר-","שכרו-ו","שכרים","שכרתיך-ך"]·HI["और-उसने-मुझे-भाड़े-पर-रखा","और-किराए-पर-लिया","और-भाड़े-पर-रखता","और-भाड़े-पर-रखा","किराए-पर-रखा-गया-था","किराए-पर-लेने","किराए-पर-लेनेवाले","किराये-पर","किराये-पर-लिया-तुझे-मैंने","ने-किराए-पर-रखा-था-उसे","परन्तु-भाड़े-पर-रखा-था","भाड़े-पर-लिया","वे-भाड़े-पर-लेते-हैं","साखर-"]·ID["aku menyewamu","dan-dia-menyewa","dan-ia-menyewa","dan-menyewa","dan-menyewa-aku","dan-mereka-menyewa","dan-siapa-menyewa","disewa","menyewa","menyewanya","mereka-menyewa","telah-menyewa-","untuk-menyewa","yang-menyewa"]·IT["[ישכרו]","e-e-one-chi-hires","e-essi-hired","e-hired","e-hired-me","e-ingaggiare","egli-assoldo","ha-hired-","hiring","ingaggiare","io-hired-tu"]·jav["Lan-nyewa","Piyambakipun-narik","ingkang-nyewa","kanggé-nyewa","kasewa","kula-sampun-nyewa-panjenengan","lan-nyewa","lan-nyewa-kawula","lan-nyéwa","lan-tiyang-kang-nyewa","nyewa","nyewa-","nyewa-piyambakipun","nyéwa"]·KO["고용된-자로","고용하기-위해","고용하는","고용하는다","고용하여","고용했다","고용했다-너를-내가","그를-고용했다","그리고-고용하는-자는","그리고-고용하였다","그리고-고용했다"]·PT["E-alugaram","E-contratou","alugando","alugou","aluguei-te","contratado","contratam","contratando","contratou","e-alugaram","e-contratador-de","e-contratou","e-contratou-me","o-contrataram","para-alugar"]·RU["и-нанимающий","и-нанял","и-нанял-меня","и-наняли","нанимают","нанимающие","нанял","нанял-","наняла-тебя","наняли-его","нанятый","нанять","чтобы-нанять"]·ES["Y-alquilaron","Y-contrató","alquilar","alquilé-te","contratan","contratando","contrató","lo-sobornaron","para-alquilar","sobornado","y-alquilaron","y-alquiló","y-contrató","y-el-que-contrata","y-me-contrató"]·SW["Na-akaajiri","Na-wakaajiri","akikodishwa","aliajiri","ametuajiri-","kuajiri","kukodisha","na-akaajiri","na-akaniajiri","na-anayemwajiri","na-wakaajiri","nimekukodisha","wakaajiri","wakiajiri","walimkodisha","wanaajiri"]·TR["Ve-kiraladı","Ve-kiraladılar","gerçekten","kiraladi-","kiraladı-onu","kiralamak-için","kiralanmış","kiralarlar","kiralayan","kiralayım-seni","tuttu","ve-kiraladı-beni","ve-kiraladılar","ve-kiralayan","ve-tuttular"]·urd["انہوں-نے-کرایے-پر-رکھا","اور-اجرت-دینے-والا","اور-رکھّے-کرایے-پر","اور-کرائے-پر-رکھا-مجھے-اُس-نے","اور-کرایے-پر-رکھا","اور-کرایے-پر-لیا","اور-کرایے-پر-لیے","بُھرتی-کیا-ہے-","خریدا-گیا","نے-اُسے-خریدا-تھا","وہ-رکھتے-ہیں","کرایے-پر","کرایے-پر-لیا-میں-نے-تجھے","کرایے-پر-لینے"]
Gen 30:16, Gen 30:16, Deut 23:4, Judg 9:4, Judg 18:4, 2 Sam 10:6, 2 Kgs 7:6, 1 Chr 19:6, 1 Chr 19:7, 2 Chr 24:12, 2 Chr 25:6, Neh 6:12 (+5 more)
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
2. earn wages — The Hitpael reflexive sense of earning wages or gaining a livelihood by one's own labor, attested in 2 occurrences in Haggai 1:6. Here the focus shifts from the employer's act to the worker's perspective: 'the one earning wages earns them into a bag with holes.' The Spanish 'gana salario' and English 'earns wages' capture the reflexive emphasis. Haggai's repetition in a single verse underscores the prophet's message that labor without God's blessing yields nothing — the wages themselves are the subject, not the hiring transaction. 2×
AR["وَالْمُكْتَسِبُ","يَكْتَسِبُ"]·ben["উপার্জন-করে","ও-উপার্জনকারী"]·DE["[והמשתכר]","[משתכר]"]·EN["and-the-one-earning-wages","earns-wages"]·FR["engager","et-engager"]·heb["ו-ה-משתכר","משתכר"]·HI["और-कमाने-वाला","कमाता-है"]·ID["bekerja-untuk-upah","dan-yang-bekerja-untuk-upah"]·IT["e-guadagnare","guadagnare"]·jav["lan-kang-nyambut-damel","nyambut-damel"]·KO["그리고-일하는-자가","일한다"]·PT["e-o-que-ganha-salário","ganha-salário"]·RU["зарабатывает","и-зарабатывающий"]·ES["gana-salario","y-el-que-gana-salario"]·SW["anapata-mshahara","na-mwenye-kupata-mshahara"]·TR["kazanır","ve-kazanan-"]·urd["اور-مزدوری-کمانے-والا","کماتا-ہے-مزدوری"]
3. hire oneself out — A rare Niphal reflexive-passive sense of hiring oneself out — entering into service as a laborer rather than being the one who hires. In 1 Samuel 2:5 Hannah's song declares that 'those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,' depicting a reversal of fortune where the formerly prosperous must sell their labor to survive. The Spanish 'se alquilaron' preserves the reflexive voice perfectly. This is the mirror image of sense 1: the same transaction viewed from the side of the one who offers labor rather than the one who engages it. 1×
AR["أُجِّرُوا"]·ben["ভাড়ায়-দেয়"]·DE["hire-sich-selbst-heraus"]·EN["hire-themselves-out"]·FR["hire-eux-mêmes-dehors"]·heb["נשכרו"]·HI["काम-करते"]·ID["menyewakan-diri"]·IT["hire-sé-stessi-fuori"]·jav["disewaké"]·KO["고용되다"]·PT["alugaram-se"]·RU["нанялись"]·ES["se-alquilaron"]·SW["wamejiajiri"]·TR["kiralandı"]·urd["مزدوری-کرتے-ہیں"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† שָׂכַר vb. hire (NH id.; Sab. תשכר hire oneself out(?), recompense(?) DHMHofmus. 11; Ethiopic ሥኩር: hired; Arabic شَكَرَ reward, thank, mod. Pal. شكارة hired, of land ploughed by hire, BergheimPEQ 1894, 196; Palm. שכרא perhaps rewarding Lzb375);— Qal Pf. 3 ms. שׂ׳ Dt 23:5, ס׳ Ezr 4:5 sf. שְׂכָרוֹ Ne 6:12; 1 s. sf. שְׂכַרְתִּיךָ Gn 30:16; Impf. 3 ms. וַיִּשְׂכֹּר Ju 9:4 +, etc.; Inf. abs. שָׂכֹר…