Labor

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

⇒See a list of verses on LABOR in the Bible.

See WORK;SLAVERY .

James Orr

⇒See also the McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia.