la'-ber (yeghia`, `amal; kopos): The word (noun and verb) denoting hard work or "toil" (thus in the Revised Version (British and American) of Deuteronomy 26:7; Joshua 7:3; Revelation 2:2) represents several Hebrew and Greek words, chiefly those above. Occasionally, as in Habakkuk 3:17 (ma`aseh), it stands for "fruit of labor." Sometimes, in conjunction with "travail," it refers to childbirth (Genesis 35:16-17, yaladh; compare 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:8). Examples of the word in the ordinary sense are: of yeghia`, Genesis 31:42; Job 39:11,16; Psalms 128:2; of `amal, common in Ecclesiastes 1:3,8; 2:10-11,18, etc.; of kopos, 1 Corinthians 15:58 ("your labor is not vain," etc.); 1 Thessalonians 1:3 ("work of faith and labor of love"; compare Hebrews 6:10); 1 Timothy 5:17 ("labor in the word and in teaching").

See WORK; WORKS ;SLAVERY .

James Orr

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

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