Wages

VIEW:17 DATA:01-04-2020

WAGES.—Under the conditions of life in Palestine in OT times, work on the land, at all times the chief occupation, was done for the most part by the peasant and his family, assisted, in the case of the well-to-do, by a few slaves. The ‘hired servants’ were never numerous, and mainly aliens. We have no information as to the wages of such field-labourers. Deu_15:18 seems to say that a hireling cost the farmer twice as much as a slave, and since the latter received only his keep and his few clothes, it follows that the former will have earned the equivalent thereof, over and above, in wages. The first definite engagement—disregarding the special case of Jacob and Laban—with stipulated wages is that of the Levite whom Micah hired as his domestic chaplain for 10 shekels a year, with ‘a suit of apparel’ and his ‘victuals’ (Jdg_17:10). The next instance is Tobit’s engagement of the angel Raphael as his son’s travelling-companion for a drachm a day and all found (Tob_5:14). This amount—in Tobit’s day nearly a shilling—would probably be equal in purchasing power to three shillings at the present day. From the NT we have the familiar case of the labourers in the vineyard who received a denarius for their day’s labour (Mat_20:1 ff.; see Money, §§ 6, 7 (b)).
Information is now available as to the wages of different classes of ‘hirelings,’ from doctors to tailors, in Babylonia c [Note: circa, about.] . b.c. 2000, from the Code of Hammurabi (see Hastings’ DB [Note: Dictionary of the Bible.] , Ext. Vol. 592 f., 606 f.; S. A. Cook, The Laws of Moses and the Code of Hammurabi, 171 ff.), but it is perilous to compare too closely the highly developed social conditions of Babylonia, even at this early period, with the simpler forms of Hebrew life, say under the monarchy. A still better reflexion of the actual conditions of labour in the valley of the Euphrates is found in the numerous written contracts that have been deciphered in recent years, a specimen of which will be given below (see esp. Johns, Bab. [Note: Babylonian.] and Assyr. [Note: Assyrian.] Laws, ch. xxv. ‘Wages of Hired Labourers’; Meissner, Aus d. altbab. Recht, 13 f.). The Code of Hammurabi (§ 273) enacts that a field labourer shall receive from the beginning of the year (April) to the fifth month—the period of longer days and harvest operations—6 she (180 she = 1 shekel) per day; and from the sixth month to the end, 5 she. At best this is only a shekel a month; but, according to Meissner, this early introduction of a ‘standard wage’ did not lead to a rise of wages, for only on very rare occasions do these exceed 6 shekels a year in addition to food and clothing. It was customary to give a sum, probably a shekel, as earnest-money, the remainder being paid at stipulated intervals, daily or monthly, or in a lump sum at the expiry of the engagement.
Brickmakers and tailors are to receive 5 she a day (§ 274), and herdsmen—the name nâqîd is the Babylonian form of that denoting the occupation of Amos, the prophet—8 gur of corn a year, the gur being worth probably about a shekel. In other cases as well, it was customary to pay in grain, Frequently, as has been said, a written contract was drawn up, specifying the wages and the period of engagement. An example may be given from Meissner (op. cit. 14):—
‘Asir-Ramman, the son of Libit Urra, has hired Shamash-bel-ili from the priestess of the sun, Achatani, the daughter of Shamash-khazir, for one year. He will pay 31/2 shekels as yearly wages. He will find his own clothes. He will begin work on the 4th of the month Dur-Ramman, and will finish and leave in the month Mamitu.’
In OT times we hear also of yearly engagements (Lev_25:53), but the Deuteronomic Law enjoins daily payment of wages, in cases of poverty at least (Deu_24:15, cf. Lev_19:13). Details of the conditions of hire and the mutual obligations of master and servant at a much later period are to be found in the Mishna (see esp. Baba mezîa, vi. and vii.).
A. R. S. Kennedy.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909

Paid by Laban to Jacob in kind (Gen_29:15; Gen_29:20; Gen_30:28; Gen_31:7-8; Gen_31:41; "I served 14 years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle".) The labourer's daily wages (misthos) in Matthew 20 are set at one denarius ("penny") a day, 7 3/4 d. of our money; compare Tob_5:14, "a drachm." The term opsoonia for "wages" (Luk_3:14) and Paul's words, 2Co_11:8 (opsoonion), "charges," 1Co_9:7, imply that provisions were part of a soldier's wages. They should be paid every night (Lev_19:13; Deu_24:14-15; compare Job_24:11; Jas_5:4; Jer_22:13; Mal_3:5); spiritually, Joh_4:36; Rom_6:28.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.

Wages. The earliest mention of wages is of a recompense, not in money, but in kind, to Jacob from Laban. Gen_29:15; Gen_29:20; Gen_30:28; Gen_31:7-8; Gen_31:41. In Egypt, money payments by way of wages were in use, but the terms cannot now be ascertained. Exo_2:9.
The only mention of the rate of wages in Scripture is found in the parable of the householder and the vineyard, Mat_20:2, where the laborer's wages was set at one denarius per day, probably 15 to 17 cents, a sum which may be fairly taken as equivalent to the denarius, and to the usual pay of a soldier, (ten asses per diem), in the later days of the Roman republic. Tac. Ann. i. 17; Polyb. Vi. 39.
In earlier times, it is probable that the rate was lower; but it is likely that laborers, and also soldiers, were supplied with provisions. The law was very strict in requiring daily payment of wages. Lev_19:13; Lev_24:14-15. The employer who refused to give his laborers sufficient victuals is censured Job_22:11 and the iniquity of withholding wages is denounced. Jer_22:13; Mal_3:5; Jas_6:4.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863

wā?jez, wā?jiz (חנּם, ḥinnām, משׂכּרת, maskōreth, פּעלּה, pe‛ullāh, שׂכר, sākhar, שׂכר, sākhār; μισθός, misthós, ὀψώνιον, opsṓnion): (1) Ḥinnām means ?gratis,? without cost or any advantage, for nought, or in vain; wages in the sense of reasonable return. Jeremiah pronounces woe upon him who ?useth his neighbor's service without wages, and giveth him not his hire? (Jer_22:13; the only place where the word is used). (2) Maskōreth means ?reward? or ?wages.? Laban said to Jacob: ?Shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? Tell me, what shall thy wages be?? (Gen_29:15). Jacob said, concerning Laban, speaking to Rachel and Leah: ?Your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times? (Gen_31:7; compare Gen_31:41). (3) Pe‛ullāh generally means ?work,? ?labor,? ?reward,? ?wages.? The old Levitical Law was insistent on honesty in wages and on promptness in payments: ?The wages of a hired servant shall not abide with thee all night until the morning? (Lev_19:13). (4) Mistakkēr means ?earning,? ?hire,? ?reward,? ?wages,? from root sākhar, meaning ?to hire,? and has in it the idea of temporary purchase: ?He that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes? (Hag_1:6). (5) Sākhār means ?payment of contract,? in the material way of salary, maintenance, fare, and so compensation, reward, price, benefit, wages - seemingly wages received after an understanding as to time, manner and amount of payment. Laban (employer) said to Jacob (employee): ?Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it? (Gen_30:28); ?If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages? (Gen_31:8); Pharaoh's daughter said to Moses' mother: ?Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages? (Exo_2:9); Nebuchadrezzar and his army served against Tyre, ?yet had he no wages, nor his army? (Eze_29:18), and the prey of Egypt ?shall be the wages for his army? (Eze_29:19); swift and sure judgment is predicted against ?those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless? (Mal_3:5). (6) Misthos means either in a literal or figurative sense ?pay for service,? either primitive or beneficial, and so reward, hire, wages. In Joh_4:36 Jesus said, ?He that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal.? 2Pe_2:15 has changed ?wages? (the King James Version) to ?hire,? reading ?who loved the hire of wrongdoing.? (7) Opsōnion, meaning primarily ?rations for soldiers? (opson being the word for cooked meat) and so ?pay? or stipend, provision wages. In Luk_3:14 John said to the soldiers, ?Be content with your wages?; ?The wages of sin is death? (Rom_6:23); Paul said: ?I robbed other churches, taking wages of them? (2Co_11:8); the same word in 1Co_9:7 is translated ?charges.?
The Bible refers to wages actual and wages figurative. Of actual wages there are three kinds: (1) money wages, (2) provision (usually food) wages, and (3) what may be called ?exchange? wages, wages in kind, sometimes ?human-kind,? e.g. Jacob's wages from Laban. Often laborers and soldiers received both money and ?keep? wages. The laborer in New Testament times received about 15 cents per day (the ?shilling? of Mat_20:2), besides in some cases his provisions. The old Law required daily payment, honesty in dealing, also sufficient food for the laborer.
It is practically impossible to test ?Bible? wages by any of theories of modern economists. In this connection, however, mere mention of the six principal theories may be of interest. Concisely put, they are: (1) the wage-fund theory, (2) the standard-of-living theory, (3) the German-socialistic theory, (4) the production theory, (5) Henry George's theory, and (6) the laborer's value theory. The incidents in the Old Testament of Jacob and in the New Testament of Mt 20 both show that the laborer was at the caprice of the employer. Therefore, we may designate the Bible law of wages as the ?employer's theory.?

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.

The word rendered in the English Version by this term, signifies primarily 'to purchase,' to obtain by some consideration on the part of the purchaser; thence to obtain on the part of the seller some consideration for something given or done, and hence to hire, to pay, or receive wages. Wages, then, according to the earliest usages of mankind, are a return made by a purchaser for something of value?specifically for work performed. And thus labor is recognized as property, and wages as the price paid or obtained in exchange for such property. In this relation there is obviously nothing improper or humiliating on the side either of the buyer or the seller. They have each a certain thing which the other wants, and in the exchange which they in consequence make, both parties are alike served. In these few words lies the theory and also the justification of all service. The entire commerce of life is barter. In hire, then, there is nothing improper or discreditable. It is only a hireling, that is, a mercenary, a mean sordid spirit, that is wrong. So long as a human being has anything to give which another human being wants, so long has he something of value in the great market, of life; and whatever that something may be, provided it does not contribute to evil passions or evil deeds, he is a truly respectable capitalist, and a useful member of the social community. The Scriptural usage in applying the term translated 'wages' to sacred subjects?thus the Almighty himself says to Abraham (Gen_15:1), 'I am thy exceeding great reward'?tends to confirm these views, and to suggest the observance of caution in the employment of the words 'hire' and 'hireling,' which have acquired an offensive meaning by no means originally inherent in themselves, or in the Hebrew words for which they stand (Gen_30:18; Gen_30:32-33).




The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.

Hag_1:6 (a) This is a reference to the results obtained from labor which in this case are not permanent. The wages are lost instead of saved because they are not invested for the glory of GOD.

Joh_4:36 (b) It refers to the eternal rewards which will be given to those who work for the Lord in His service. The reward of the wicked is found in Rom_6:23.

2Pe_2:15 (b) Here we see the results of living a wicked life. It describes the satisfaction that is received by the sinner from yielding to evil desires. (See Rom_6:23).
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types
press 1957.


(usually some form of שָׂכִר, sakar, “to hire” [especially in the Hithpael, Hag_1:6, to “earn wages”], chiefly שָׂכָר, sakur [Gen_31:8; Exo_2:9; Eze_29:18-19; elsewhere “hire,” “reward,” etc.], and מַשַׂכֹּרֵת, miskdreth [Gen_39:15; “reward,” Rth_2:12]; also פְּעלָּה, peillah [Lev_19:13; “reward,” Psa_109:20], work [as elsewhere mostly rendered]; μισθός [Joh_4:36, elsewhere “reward” or “hire”], pay; ὀψωνιον [Luk_3:14; Luk_6:23; 2Co_11:8; “charges,” 1Co_9:7], strictly rations), according to the earliest usages of mankind, are a return made by a purchaser for something Of value — specifically for work performed. Thus labor is recognised as property, and wages as the price paid or obtained in exchange for such property. In this relation there is obviously nothing improper or humiliating on the side either of the buyer or the seller. They have each a certain thing, which the other wants, and, in the exchange which they in consequence make, both parties are alike served. In these few words lies the theory, and also the justification, of all service. The entire commerce of life is barter. In hire, then, there is nothing improper or discreditable. It is only a hireling-that is, a mercenary, a mean, sordid spirit — that is wrong. So long as a human being has anything to give which another human being wants, so long has he something of value in the great market of life; and whatever that something may be, provided it does not contribute to evil passions or evil deeds, he is a truly respectable capitalist, and a useful member of the social community. The scriptural usage in applying the term translated “wages” to sacred subjects-thus the Almighty himself says to Abraham (Gen_15:1), “I am thy exceeding great reward” — tends to confirm these views, and to suggest the observance of caution in the employment of the words “hire” and “hireling,” which have acquired an offensive meaning by no means originally inherent in themselves, or in the Hebrew words for which they Stand (Gen_30:1; Gen_30:8; Gen_30:32-33). SEE HIRELING.
The earliest mention of wages is of a recompense, not an money, but in kind, to Jacob from Laban (Gen_29:15; Gen_29:20; Gen_30:28; Gen_31:7-8; Gen_31:41). This usage was only natural among a pastoral and changing population like that of the tent-dwellers of Syria. Burckhardt mentions a case in Syria resembling closely that of Jacob with Laban — a man who served eight years for his food, on condition of obtaining his master's daughter in marriage, and was afterwards compelled by his father-in-law to perform acts of service for him (Syria, p. 297). In Egypt, money payments by way of wages were in use, but the terms cannot now be ascertained (Exo_2:9). Among the Jews wages in general, whether of soldiers or laborers, are mentioned (Hag_1:6; Eze_29:18-19; Joh_4:36). The only mention of the rate of wages in Scripture is found in the parable of the householder and vineyard (Mat_20:2), where the laborer's wages are set at one denarius per day, probably fifteen cents, a rate which agrees with Tobit 5, 14 :where a drachma is mentioned as the rate per day, a sum which may be fairly taken as equivalent to the denarius, and to the usual pay of a soldier (ten asses per diem) inn the later says of the Roman republic (Tacituis, Ann. 1, 17; Polybius, 6:39). It was perhaps the traditional remembrance of this sum as a day's wages that suggested the mention of “drachmas wrung from the hard hands of peasants” (Shakspeare, Jul. Caes. 4:3). In earlier times it is probable that the rate was lower, as until lately it was throughout India. In Scotland we know that in the last century a laborer's daily wages did not exceed sixpence (Smiles, Lives of Engineers, 2, 96). But it is likely that laborers, and also soldiers, were supplied with provisions (Michaelis, Laws of Moses [ed. Smith], § 130, 2, 190), as is intimated by the word ὀψώνια, used in Luke 3, 14, and 1Co_9:7, and also by Polybius, 6:39. The Mishna (Baba Mefsia, 6:1, 5) speaks of victuals being allowed, or not, according to the custom of the place, up to the value of a denarius, i.e. inclusive of the pay.
The law was very strict in requiring daily payment of wages (Lev_19:13; Deu_24:14-15); and the Mishna applies the same rule to the use of animals (Baba Metsia, 9:12). The employer who refused to give his laborers sufficient victuals is censured (Job_24:11), and the iniquity of withholding wages is denounced (Jer_22:13; Mal_3:5; Jam_5:4). SEE SERVANT.



CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.

FACEBOOK

Participe de nossa rede facebook.com/osreformadoresdasaude

Novidades, e respostas das perguntas de nossos colaboradores