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פְּעֻלָּה

𐤐𐤏𐤋𐤄

pᵉʻullâh

H6468 noun

SILEX Entry

Root פעל to do, to make, to work, to act

Definition

Result or product of labor; wage, recompense, or compensation for work performed. The noun refers both to the actual labor carried out and, more commonly in biblical usage, to the outcome or reward resultant from such labor. In legal and wisdom literature, it generally signifies the wages due to a worker as just compensation.

Semantic Range

work done, act performed, labor, wages, reward, compensation, outcome or product of work, fruit of labor

Root / Etymology

From the root פעל (p-ʻ-l), 'to do, make, perform, work.' פְּעֻלָּה is a feminine noun form indicating either the action undertaken (work, labor) or, more prominently in Hebrew usage, its concrete result (reward, compensation, wages).

Historical & Contextual Notes

פְּעֻלָּה occurs relatively infrequently but appears primarily in legal (Leviticus 19:13; Jeremiah 22:13), poetic (Proverbs 10:16; 11:18; Job 7:2—often in parallel with עָמָל 'toil, strenuous work'), and wisdom literature contexts. In legal settings, it refers to the wages due to a hired worker—instructions prohibit withholding פְּעֻלָּה overnight (Leviticus 19:13) indicating early Israelite social concern for the economic rights of laborers. In wisdom and prophetic texts, פְּעֻלָּה conveys broader ideas of reward or just recompense, not infrequently with moral or ethical connotations (i.e., whether the reward fits the deed, Proverbs 11:18). In later Hebrew, especially postbiblical periods, פְּעֻלָּה becomes codified as the technical term for wages. Although frequently rendered "reward" or "wages" in English translations, its nuance sometimes overlaps with the abstract result of labor as in "fruit" or "outcome" of one's work. Unlike מַשְׂכֹּרֶת (H7939), which can refer more narrowly to "pay" or "hire," פְּעֻלָּה tends toward the productive result or fair recompense due to a worker, maintaining the link to the act of labor itself. Translation traditions (e.g., Septuagint, Vulgate) often use Greek and Latin terms for "wages" or "reward," but these do not always capture the full breadth of the Hebrew term, which visually anchors wage to actual labor performed. Terminology such as "wages" (a later English word) may sometimes obscure the biblical setting in which the term referred to more than simply monetary compensation, potentially including grain or produce paid to workers. Usage and nuance may shift in post-exilic contexts as economic systems evolve, but the underlying association of פְּעֻלָּה with just recompense for labor remains consistent.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

feminine passive participle of פָּעַל; (abstractly) work; labour, reward, wages, work.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

פעל (p-ʿ-l) — to do, to make, to work, to act

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4659 מִפְעָל his deeds
H508 אֶלְפַּעַל God-acts
H6466 פָּעַל I accomplish
H6467 פֹּעַל in their deed
H6469 פְּעֻלְּתַי Work-of-Yah

Word Forms

10 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H6468-06 פְּעֻלַּ֥ת peulat HNcfsc be the reward of wage of 3
H6468-02 פְעֻלָּתָ/ם֙ feulatam HNcfsc/Sp3mp their recompense their wage 2
H6468-10 וּ/פְעֻלָּת֖/וֹ ufeulato HC/Ncfsc/Sp3ms and his recompense and his wage 2
H6468-01 פְעֻלַּת feulat HNcfsc work wage of 1
H6468-08 פְּעֻלֹּ֣ת peulot HNcfpc deeds wages of 1
H6468-03 לִ/פְעֻלָּתֵ/ךְ֙ lifeulatekhe HR/Ncfsc/Sp2fs for your work for your recompense 1
H6468-09 וּ/פְעֻלָּתִ֖/י ufeulati HC/Ncfsc/Sp1cs and my reward my wage-reward 1
H6468-04 לִ/פְעֻלַּתְ/כֶֽם lifeulatekhem HR/Ncfsc/Sp2mp for your work for your compensation 1
H6468-07 פְּעֻלָּת/וֹ֙ peulato HNcfsc/Sp3ms his wages his work-result 1
H6468-05 לִ/פְעֻלּ֣וֹת lifeulot HR/Ncfpc as to the works to the wages of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

14 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H6468-06 Leviticus 19:13 פְּעֻלַּ֥ת peulat HNcfsc wages-of wage of
H6468-10 Isaiah 40:10 וּ/פְעֻלָּת֖/וֹ ufeulato HC/Ncfsc/Sp3ms and his recompense and his wage
H6468-09 Isaiah 49:4 וּ/פְעֻלָּתִ֖/י ufeulati HC/Ncfsc/Sp1cs and my reward my wage-reward
H6468-02 Isaiah 61:8 פְעֻלָּתָ/ם֙ feulatam HNcfsc/Sp3mp their recompense their wage
H6468-10 Isaiah 62:11 וּ/פְעֻלָּת֖/וֹ ufeulato HC/Ncfsc/Sp3ms and his work and his wage
H6468-02 Isaiah 65:7 פְעֻלָּתָ֛/ם feulatam HNcfsc/Sp3mp their work their wage
H6468-03 Jeremiah 31:16 לִ/פְעֻלָּתֵ/ךְ֙ lifeulatekhe HR/Ncfsc/Sp2fs for your work for your recompense
H6468-07 Ezekiel 29:20 פְּעֻלָּת/וֹ֙ peulato HNcfsc/Sp3ms his wages his work-result
H6468-05 Psalms 17:4 לִ/פְעֻלּ֣וֹת lifeulot HR/Ncfpc as to the works to the wages of
H6468-08 Psalms 28:5 פְּעֻלֹּ֣ת peulot HNcfpc deeds wages of
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