Lexical Summary sakar: Wages, reward, payment, hire Original Word: שָׂכַר Strong's Exhaustive Concordance earn wages, hire out self, reward, surely Or (by permutation) cakar (Ezra 4:5) {saw-kar'}; a primitive root (apparently akin (by prosthesis) to karah through the idea of temporary purchase; compare shakar); to hire -- earn wages, hire (out self), reward, X surely. see HEBREW karah see HEBREW shakar NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to hire NASB Translation earns (2), hire (3), hired (11), hires (2), surely hired (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs II. [סָכַר] verb hire ( = שָׂכַר; ס erroneously for שׂ); — only Qal Participle plural וְסֹכְרִים Ezra 4:5 and hiring against (על) them agents. שָׂכַר verb hire (Late Hebrew id.; Sabean תשכר hire oneself out (?), recompense (?) DHMHofmus. 11; Ethiopic Qal Perfect3masculine singular ׳שׂ Deuteronomy 23:5; 2 Kings 7:6, suffix שְׂכָרוֺ Nehemiah 6:12; 1singular suffix שְׂכַרְתִּיךָ Genesis 30:16; Imperfect3masculine singular וַיִּשְׂכֹּר Judges 9:4 +, etc.; Infinitive absolute שָׂכֹר Genesis 30:16; construct לִשְׂכֹּר 1 Chronicles 19:6; Participle active שׂכֵר Proverbs 26:10 (twice in verse), plural שׂכְרִים2Chronicles 24:12 (Ezra 4:5 see II. סכר); passive שָׂכוּר Nehemiah 6:13; — hire, retainers Judges 9:4 (ב pret.), soldiers, etc. 2 Samuel 10:6 = 1 Chronicles 19:6,7; 2 Kings 7:6; 2Chronicles 25:6 (ב pret.), priest Judges 18:4, artificers Isaiah 46:6; 2Chronicles 24:12, husband's favour שָׂכֹר שְׂכַרְתִּיךָ Genesis 30:16 (J; ב pret.); Proverbs 26:10 (twice in verse) obscure, see De Now Toy; for evil purpose Deuteronomy 23:5 = Nehemiah 13:2 (על against), Nehemiah 6:12,13, Niph`al hire oneself out, Perfect בַּלֶּחֶם נִשְׂכָּ֑רוּ 1 Samuel 2:5. Hithpa`el earn wages, Participle הַמְּשְׂתַּכֵּר Haggai 1:6 (as substantive), ׳מ Haggai 1:6 (as verb, + אֶל location, construction praegn.). Topical Lexicon General Concept and Thematic Overview The verb שָׂכַר (sākar, Strong’s 7936) revolves around the idea of paying or receiving wages for a service. In Scripture it spans ordinary labor, military contracts, priestly stipends, prophetic bribery, and even relational bargaining. By touching every social stratum—from patriarchal households to royal courts—it exposes the heart-attitude behind financial exchange, contrasting mercenary self-interest with covenantal faithfulness. Narrative Occurrences and Their Contexts • Patriarchal bargaining – Genesis 30:16 records Leah’s words to Jacob, “I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” A domestic “hire” underscores the brokenness caused by rivalry, reminding readers that transactional relationships cannot produce covenantal rest. Covenantal Ethics of Labor and Compensation The Mosaic Law repeatedly insists on timely, just wages (compare Leviticus 19:13; Deuteronomy 24:14-15). Each occurrence of sākar either upholds or violates that ethic: • Positive: 2 Chronicles 24:12 honors workers rebuilding the Temple; labor is dignified and compensated. The pattern teaches that compensation is never morally neutral; motive and purpose determine whether wages bless or corrupt. Military and Political Hire Ancient Near Eastern kings often bought foreign armies. Scripture records Israel’s neighbors—and at times Judah’s own monarchs—following the practice (2 Samuel 10:6; 2 Kings 7:6; 2 Chronicles 25:6). The chronicler’s rebuke of Amaziah’s Ephraimite mercenaries (2 Chronicles 25:7-9) underscores God’s sufficiency: “The LORD can give you much more than this.” Military hire thus becomes a test of trust—will God’s people depend on divine covenant or purchased muscle? False Prophecy and Spiritual Compromise Shemaiah (Nehemiah 6:12-13) accepted wages to prophesy fear, echoing Balaam’s ancient hire. The pattern culminates in the New Testament figure of Judas, paid thirty silver pieces (Matthew 26:15). Scripture consistently exposes paid religion as counterfeit, contrasting it with faithful servants who minister “without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1). Wisdom Perspective on Wealth and Work Proverbs 26:10 warns against indiscriminate hiring; Haggai 1:6 shows wages evaporating when God’s house lies desolate. Together they teach: 1. Discern character before entrusting resources. Prophetic Hope and Eschatological Echoes Haggai’s futile wages propel the remnant to rebuild the Temple, prefiguring the ultimate dwelling of God with humanity (Revelation 21:3). Isaiah 46:6 contrasts the hired goldsmith’s impotent idol with the living God who carries His people (Isaiah 46:4), anticipating the incarnation in which God Himself “took the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:7). New Testament Resonance While sākar is Hebrew, its themes reappear in the Greek misthos (wages). Jesus’ parable of the laborers (Matthew 20:1-16) and Paul’s “wages of sin” (Romans 6:23) echo the Old Testament tension between earned pay and unmerited grace. The Good Shepherd contrasts Himself with “the hired hand” who abandons the flock (John 10:12-13), embodying covenant loyalty over contractual obligation. Pastoral and Ministry Applications • Uphold just, timely compensation; church budgets mirror covenant values. In every occurrence שָׂכַר exposes the heart’s orientation toward money, labor, and trust. Whether wages bless or corrupt depends on alignment with the righteous character of the covenant-keeping God. Forms and Transliterations וְהַ֨מִּשְׂתַּכֵּ֔ר וְסֹכְרִ֧ים וְשֹׂכֵ֥ר וַיִּשְׂכְּר֣וּ וַיִּשְׂכְּרֵ֕נִי וַיִּשְׂכְּרוּ֩ וַיִּשְׂכֹּ֣ר וַיִּשְׂכֹּ֨ר והמשתכר וישכר וישכרו וישכרני וסכרים ושכר יִשְׂכְּר֤וּ ישכרו לִשְׂכֹּ֣ר לשכר מִשְׂתַּכֵּ֖ר משתכר נִשְׂכָּ֔רוּ נשכרו שְׂכַרְתִּ֔יךָ שְׂכָרֽוֹ׃ שָֽׂכַר־ שָׂכַ֨ר שָׂכֹ֣ר שָׂכוּר֙ שֹׂכְרִים֙ שכור שכר שכר־ שכרו׃ שכרים שכרתיך liś·kōr lisKor liśkōr miś·tak·kêr mistakKer miśtakkêr niś·kā·rū nisKaru niśkārū śā·ḵar śā·ḵar- śā·ḵōr śā·ḵūr saChar saChor saChur śāḵar śāḵar- śāḵōr śāḵūr śə·ḵā·rōw śə·ḵar·tî·ḵā sechaRo secharTicha śəḵārōw śəḵartîḵā śō·ḵə·rîm socheRim śōḵərîm vaiyiskeReni vaiyiskeRu vaiyisKor veHammistakKer vesoCher vesocheRim way·yiś·kə·rê·nî way·yiś·kə·rū way·yiś·kōr wayyiśkərênî wayyiśkərū wayyiśkōr wə·ham·miś·tak·kêr wə·sō·ḵə·rîm wə·śō·ḵêr wəhammiśtakkêr wəśōḵêr wəsōḵərîm yiś·kə·rū yiskeRu yiśkərūLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Genesis 30:16 HEB: תָּב֔וֹא כִּ֚י שָׂכֹ֣ר שְׂכַרְתִּ֔יךָ בְּדוּדָאֵ֖י NAS: You must come in to me, for I have surely hired KJV: Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired INT: come for have surely hired mandrakes Genesis 30:16 Deuteronomy 23:4 Judges 9:4 Judges 18:4 1 Samuel 2:5 2 Samuel 10:6 2 Kings 7:6 1 Chronicles 19:6 1 Chronicles 19:7 2 Chronicles 24:12 2 Chronicles 25:6 Ezra 4:5 Nehemiah 6:12 Nehemiah 6:13 Nehemiah 13:2 Proverbs 26:10 Proverbs 26:10 Isaiah 46:6 Haggai 1:6 Haggai 1:6 21 Occurrences |
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hired; Arabic 
reward, thank, modern Palestinian 
hired, of land ploughed by hire, BergheimPEQ 1894, 196; Palmyrene שכרא perhaps rewarding Lzb375); —