Wages

Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology

Payment given for services rendered. The semantic field of this term is usually found in economic contexts, where payment means some type of monetary compensation. During earlier periods payments would be made as a result of barter arrangements, where goods (cattle, food, etc.) would be given in exchange for work ( Genesis 30:32;  38:16-17 ). As culture evolved the use of standardized forms and weights of metals such as gold and silver were substituted for goods because of convenience and efficiency. It was not until the Persian period that coins came into common use as currency. The price for service was usually set in advance as a result of an agreement between the employer and employee. The time allotted for work could be as short as a day ( Deuteronomy 24:15 ) or as long as a year ( Isaiah 16:14 ).

The Old Testament . The first explicit mention of the term for wage in the Bible occurs in a theological context. After humanity's rebellion against God and the consequent catastrophic judgments of the fall, the deluge, and Babel, God calls Abram to be the bearer of salvation for the world. A threefold promise is made to him, ensuring a relationship with God, descendants, and land. Abram obeys the divine call, leaving Mesopotamia for Canaan, but requires a sign that the promise is to be fulfilled. His aged wife is still childless, the land is occupied, and consequently the relationship with God is threatened. In  Genesis 15 God gives the sign by formally ratifying a covenant with Abram guaranteeing both descendants and land. The text is introduced by a formal announcement declaring that there is no need for doubt or fear since God himself will be Abram's shield of protection and his "very large wage" ( sakar [   Genesis 23 ).

If the Abram story stresses the goodness of God in rewarding faith and obedience, the ensuing narrative demonstrates what it is like for Israel to serve a hard taskmaster. Jacob has his wages changed ten times by a deceitful Laban, who simply wishes to exploit his son-in-law ( Genesis 28-31 ). This "Mesopotamian exile" is a prelude to Israel's oppressive sojourn in Egypt, where a tyrannical Pharaoh pays her the "wages" of a slave ( Exodus 1-3 ). In both situations God overrules these despots and Israel makes an exodus from each location laden with wealth and riches ( Genesis 30:43;  Exodus 12:35-36 ).

When Israel is formally constituted as a nation at Sinai, some of the laws given to her are specifically concerned with wages. In Israelite society the wage-earning class was small, placed on the social scale somewhere between land owners and slaves. Consequently, hired laborers could be classed with the personae miserabiles, the widow, orphan, and stranger. Working for wages was often the only way members of this class could support themselves. But they could be easily exploited, and were totally dependent on a daily wage. It was required, therefore, that hired servants receive a wage promptly. If this did not happen, they could have recourse to God, who was passionately concerned about such matters, and it would be reckoned as a sin against the employer ( Deuteronomy 24:15 ,; cf.  Exodus 22:14 ). Moreover, the law intended to prevent the Israelite legal system from corruption. Judges had to be persons of integrity. They were not only to refuse to take unjust wages or "bribes" but to hate them ( Exodus 18:21 ). Other wages were regarded as unjust by virtue of the way they were acquired (e.g., through prostitution) and therefore could not be offered to the sanctuary ( Deuteronomy 23:19 ).

The narrative of the conquest relates God's reward to his people, fulfilling the promise of the gift of land. Israel thrives and is prosperous in the land, but there is the constant temptation to assume that the fertility deities of the Canaanites are the ones responsible for making the land productive and the population numerous. Hosea's verdict at a later time is true also of the period of the judges: "She has not acknowledged I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold" (2:8). Consequently idolatry is common, which results in material gain becoming the paramount concern of the people, especially the leaders. The moral nadir of this period occurs when Eli is high priest and his sons exploit their position to gratify their material and sensual lusts ( 1 Samuel 1-2 ). Samuel's birth means the dawn of a new era in which God will intervene to bring justice, one consequence being that the wealthy will be humbled to the status of hired servants in order to earn a few scraps of food ( 1 Samuel 2:5 ). The Elide priesthood is judged harshly, but the new order evolves slowly. Even the new leader, Samuel, has sons who are more concerned with material gain than justice ( 1 Samuel 8:3 ). One of the few bright moments during the dark days of the judges is reflected in the story of Ruth, a Moabite widow, who faithfully determines to help her widowed Israelite mother-in-law. She merits the blessing of Boaz, who believes that Yahweh is a good God, who will fully pay her wages ( Ruth 2:12 ).

The experience of kingship is generally negative for Israel. The kings become harsh taskmasters whose reign results in oppressive taxes ( 1 Samuel 8:11-18 ,; cf.  1 Kings 12:1-17 ) and the exploitation of workers ( Jeremiah 22:13 ). Few are the rulers who, like Josiah, protected the powerless from the powerful; the majority are like his son, whose life was obsessed with making a profit through oppression and extortion ( Jeremiah 22:16-17 ). Forced labor of the corvée becomes a characteristic of oppressive regimes, as does the exploitation of the personae miserabiles . Such economic oppression is accompanied by idolatry.

The prophets relate how an idolatrous society quickly became corrupt, as the focus was placed on material gain rather than on a relationship with Yahweh and neighbor. Children, who were regarded as God's reward to his people ( Psalm 127:3 ), could be offered up as sacrifices to a nature god ( Micah 6:7 ). Amos criticizes the merchants who use dishonest measures to increase their wages, and who cannot wait for the Sabbath to end in order to resume their exploitive businesses (8:5-6). Micah laments that Judah's "leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money" (3:11). A century later the situation is more critical. "From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain" ( Jeremiah 6:13;  8:10 ). The moral consequence is hideous as justice is perverted and people are treated like commodities, especially the personae miserabiles . Judah suffers the same fate as her sister, the northern kingdom of Israel, had experienced a few centuries earlier. The Assyrians laid Israel waste as the prophets predicted, and the Babylonians destroyed Judah, demonstrating clearly the principle that the wages for serving a false god are quite different than those obtained from serving Yahweh. Instead of having land, the people live in exile; instead of numerous descendants, the population has been decimated. And the razed temple demonstrates what has happened to the relationship with Yahweh. To use the metaphor of marriage, the people have been divorced from their Divine Husband ( Isaiah 50:1 ). In exile the people can be described simply as dead ( Ezekiel 37 ).

It is during the exile that Israel hears a new word of hope. She is going to be liberated by a foreign king who will work for Yahweh without a wage ( Isaiah 45:13 ). Israel is called to believe that Yahweh is for her even in the midst of judgment. In fact, the time of her hard service of judgment is over; she has paid double for all her sins ( Isaiah 40:2 ). She can now come to Yahweh and purchase milk and wine without paying a fee ( Isaiah 55:1 ). God is depicted as a shepherd leading his sheep home to Judah from Babylon; the prophet switches the metaphor to describe God as a strong liberator who brings wages to distribute to his people: the wages of grace and salvation ( Isaiah 40:10-11;  62:11 ). This is a word of life from death ( Ezekiel 37 ) and means not only a return to the land, but an increase in population ( Isaiah 54 ) and a restoration of the relationship with the Lord ( Isaiah 49:14-16;  62:3-5 ).

During the times of blessing and judgment on Israel, the wisdom tradition contributed its perspective on the issues of wages and reward. Proverbs repeatedly condemns the pursuit of profit for its own sake and stresses the inextricable relation between actions and consequences. A theme in Ecclesiastes is that there is no profit to be made in anything in life (1:3; 2:11,13; 3:9; 5:15); yet, in contrast to Grecian thought, Ecclesiastes encourages faith instead of moral licence. But the Book of Job is the book that deals principally with the issue of wages or rewards: Satan's accusation against Job is that he serves God for "a good wage" (1:9-11). It is because Job has been so richly blessed that he serves God, says Satan. But an important message of the book is that Lord himself is the believer's reward. Job eventually learns this in his vision of God (38-42).

Toward the end of the Old Testament period, when Israel returned to the land, the people again lost the divine focus as they became preoccupied with material comforts. They were more concerned with their own work than the temple and earned wages only to put them in torn purses ( Haggai 1:6 ). They began to question God's goodness: "It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements?" ( Malachi 3:14 ). It is on such a bleak note that the Old Testament ends.

The New Testament . The stress on wages and rewards is an important religious concern in the Judaism of Jesus' time. It forms the background to the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus emphasizes that those for whom religion is an external form already have their reward, while the true disciple will receive in secret a wage from God ( Matthew 6:1-4,5-6,16-18;  5:12,46 ). When Jesus commissions the twelve disciples to preach throughout Israel, they are urged not to take money with them; it is expected that they will be paid by those to whom they minister, for "the worker is worth his keep" ( Matthew 10:10 ). In some of his parables Jesus instructed his disciples to be diligent about their calling since a day of judgment would reward the righteous as well as recompense the unrighteous ( Matthew 24:45-51;  25:14-30,31-46 ).

But overshadowing all of this is Jesus' announcement of the gospel. The poor are richly rewarded because they can now be members of God's kingdom even though they have no money. God's incredible grace is lavished on all who are mired in spiritual debt. The parable of the unforgiving servant demonstrates that all are deeply in debt to God; all debts that human beings owe to each other are trivial in comparison. Consequently God's act of forgiveness should stimulate believers to forgive each other ( Matthew 18:21-35 ). The parable of the workers in the vineyard shows that God is in the business of hiring employees until the very end of the working day. The fact that all receive the same wage teaches that it is a privilege even to work for God. The payment is not calculated on the basis of performance but is purely gracious ( Matthew 20:1-16 ).

In the epistles Paul stresses the importance of wages. Practically, he argues that those who minister the gospel are entitled to a monetary payment, just as people are paid for work done in the secular sphere ( 1 Corinthians 9:7 ). He himself received similar support on occasion ( 2 Corinthians 11:8 ). Teaching elders in the churches are to be paid since "the worker deserves his wages" ( 1 Timothy 5:17-18 ). Moreover, the gospel affects the working lives of all those who embrace it. Slaves must primarily work for their Lord, not their human master, since it is he who will pay them the wage that really matters ( Colossians 3:22-25 ); masters need to remember that unpaid wages scream out to God for justice ( James 5:4 ). On the judgment day all will appear before the throne of Christ to receive "final payment" ( Romans 2:6-8; cf.  1 Corinthians 3:8;  2 Corinthians 5:10;  Revelation 20:11-15 ).

This practical and sober teaching is balanced by exhilarating good news. There is a radical difference in the human condition apart from and in Christ. Satan is a hard taskmaster, doling out the wages of death for sin ( Romans 6:23 ), but God is a loving Father who lavishes believers with the gifts of life and adoption and promises an infinitely rich inheritance—all things! ( 1 Corinthians 3:22-23;  Ephesians 1:5-12 ). God is immeasurably rich in mercy ( Ephesians 2:4 )! As proof he has offered up Christ as a payment for humanity's sins, and given believers a downpayment of their gracious wage to come in the presence of the Holy Spirit who takes up residence within them ( 2 Corinthians 1:22;  5:5;  Ephesians 1:14 ). They now await the time of the full payment of the Spirit without measure, when they will enter the glorious liberty of the children of God ( Romans 8:21 ), experience the beatific vision, and partake of the divine nature ( Revelation 22:4 ), God himself being their exceeding great reward ( Genesis 15:1 ). All previous experience of the Lord will be regarded as so much hearsay. Until then, believers are encouraged with the promise that "no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" ( 1 Corinthians 2:9 ).

Stephen G. Dempster

See also Money; Reward; Wealth; Work

Bibliography . P. Barrios, IDB, 4:795; O. Becker, NIDNTT, 3:144-45; P. Bottger, NIDNTT, 3:134-36; M. Dandamaev, ABD, 6:58-65; P. Davies, IDB, 4:71-77; G. Goosen, The Theology of Work  ; D. E. Gowan, Int 41 (1987): 341-53; N. K. Gottwald, The Tribes of Yahweh  ; H. Hamburger, IDB, 4:423-35; B. Malina, Int 41 (1987): 354-67; I. Mendelsohn, BASOR 143 (1956): 17-22; H. Preisker and E. Wurthwein, TDNT, 4:695-728; R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Social Institutions  ; H. E. von Waldrow, CBQ 32 (1970): 182-204; C. Wiener, Dictionary of Biblical Theology , pp. 505-8; C. H. J. Wright, God's People in God's Land: Family, Land and Property in the Old Testament .

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

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.   Deuteronomy 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’ (  Judges 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 (  Matthew 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 3 1 / 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 ( Leviticus 25:53 ), but the Deuteronomic Law enjoins daily payment of wages, in cases of poverty at least (  Deuteronomy 24:15 , cf.   Leviticus 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 New Testament

WAGES. — 1. ὀψώνιον is the technical term for a soldier’s pay, and occurs only in  Luke 3:14. ‘From a root πεπ we get ἕψω, ὄψον, “cooked” meat, fish, etc., as contrasted with bread. Hence the compound ὀψώνιον (ὠνέομαι, “to buy”) = (1) provision money, ration money, or the rations in kind given to troops. (2) In a more general sense, “wages” ’ (Sanday-Headlam on  Romans 6:23). In the time of Julius Caesar, a foot soldier received ⅔ of a denarius a day. This was increased by Augustus. John the Baptist bids the soldiers (probably those engaged in police duty connected with the customs) abstain from adding to their wages by extortion through violence, threats, or false accusations.

2. μισθὁς is the ordinary term for wages, and is translated indifferently throughout the Gospels as ‘wages,’ ‘reward,’ ‘hire.’ The labourers in the parable hire themselves for a denarius a day ( Matthew 20:8). That was a fairly generous rate for such work (cf.  Tobit 5:14). The denarius was equivalent in money value to 9½d., and in purchasing value to about 2s. (see artt. ‘Money,’ § 8, and [in Ext. Vol.] ‘Wages’ in Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible).

The analogy of service and wages is freely used by Jesus in His teaching; but it is not so much the receipt of wages that rules the thought as the quarter whence they come. The labourer is always worthy of his hire, but what that will be depends upon whether he is serving the world or God. The Pharisee is really the world’s hireling, and receives his wages from it, viz. honour, consideration, power, wealth, and not from God, whom nominally he serves ( Matthew 6:2;  Matthew 6:5;  Matthew 6:18). But those persecuted for righteousness’ sake ( Matthew 5:11), those whose religious obedience is unobtrusive and self-forgetting ( Matthew 6:4;  Matthew 6:6;  Matthew 6:18), those who help any of God’s servants and do them a kindness for His sake ( Matthew 10:41-42,  Mark 9:41), those who go beyond the world’s self-regarding way, and love their enemies, and do good and lend, hoping for nothing again ( Luke 6:35,  Matthew 5:45-46), are servants of the unseen Father. Their wages are not counted out to them in the world’s coin; they receive the Father’s open acknowledgment and gather fruit unto life eternal ( Matthew 6:4;  Matthew 6:6;  Matthew 6:18,  John 4:36).

Jesus’ remark that the labourer is worthy of his hire, or of his meat ( Luke 10:7, cf.  Matthew 10:10), probably a quotation of a common proverb, is of a different order. It is an encouragement to His disciples to accept hospitality, in their missionary journeys, from those to whom they have ministered in spiritual enlightenment.

Literature.—The vols. on the Parables, esp. Bruce, Parabolic Teaching , 178; Phillips Brooks, New Starts in Life , p. 1; Griffith Jones, The Economics of Jesus (1905); Expos , i. iii. (1876) 81, 427; ExpT [Note: xpT Expository Times.] v. (1894) 549.

Richard Glaister.

Holman Bible Dictionary

In a mixed economy of agriculture and pastoralism without coined money, wages often included little more than meals and a place of employment (Compare  Job 7:2;  John 10:12 ). Still, a skilled shepherd, like Jacob, might receive a portion of the flock and thus begin his own herd ( Genesis 30:32-33;  Genesis 31:8; and legal texts from both Assyria and Babylonia). No fixed wage was set for farm laborers. They may have received a portion of the harvest ( John 4:36 ), or, as in  Matthew 20:1-8 an agreed upon daily wage. By law, these landless workers were to be paid at the end of each day for their efforts (  Leviticus 19:13;  Deuteronomy 24:14-15 ). Texts mention enough instances of fraud, however, to suggest that this group was often cheated out of their wages ( Jeremiah 22:13;  Malachi 3:5;  James 5:4 ).

Kings hired mercenary troops to fight their wars ( Judges 9:4;  2 Samuel 10:6 ) and employed skilled laborers, along with slaves and unpaid draftees, to build and decorate their palaces and temples ( 1 Kings 5:6-17;  Isaiah 46:6;  2 Chronicles 24:11-12 ). The services of priests ( Judges 18:4 ).  Malachi 1:10 ) and the advice of elders ( Ezra 4:5;  1 Timothy 5:17-18 ) were obtained for gold or silver at fees to match their abilities. The authority of prophets could also be purchased. Balaam, for example, was paid “fees for divination” in exchange for his cursing of Israel ( Numbers 22:7 ), and Shemaiah was hired by Sanballat to trap Nehemiah with a false prophecy ( Nehemiah 6:10-13 ).

Theological usage of these terms promises God's reward for the faithful ( Genesis 15:1 ) and proper recompense for His people Israel ( Isaiah 40:10;  Isaiah 62:11 ). His justice also ensured that the reward of the unrighteous was equal to their crimes ( Psalm 109:20;  Romans 6:23;  2 Peter 2:15 ). See Commerce; Economic Life; Slavery.

Victor H. Matthews

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

1: Ὀψώνιον (Strong'S #3800 — Noun Neuter — opsonion — op-so'-nee-on )

for which see Charge , A, No. 5, denotes (a) "soldiers' pay,"  Luke 3:14;  1—Corinthians 9:7 ("charges"); (b) in general, "hire, wages of any sort," used metaphorically,   Romans 6:23 , of sin;  2—Corinthians 11:8 , of material support which Paul received from some of the churches which he had established and to which he ministered in spiritual things; their support partly maintained him at Corinth, where he forebore to receive such assistance ( 2—Corinthians 11:9,10 ).

2: Μισθός (Strong'S #3408 — Noun Masculine — misthos — mis-thos' )

"hire," is rendered "wages" in  John 4:36; in  2—Peter 2:15 , AV (RV, "hire"). See Hire , A.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Wages. The earliest mention of wages is of a recompense, not in money, but in kind, to Jacob from Laban.  Genesis 29:15;  Genesis 29:20;  Genesis 30:28;  Genesis 31:7-8;  Genesis 31:41. In Egypt, money payments by way of wages were in use, but the terms cannot now be ascertained.  Exodus 2:9.

The only mention of the rate of wages in Scripture is found in the parable of the householder and the vineyard,  Matthew 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.  Leviticus 19:13;  Leviticus 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.  Jeremiah 22:13;  Malachi 3:5;  James 6:4.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Paid by Laban to Jacob in kind ( Genesis 29:15;  Genesis 29:20;  Genesis 30:28;  Genesis 31:7-8;  Genesis 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  Tobit 5:14, "a drachm." The term Opsoonia for "wages" ( Luke 3:14) and Paul's words,  2 Corinthians 11:8 ( Opsoonion ), "charges,"  1 Corinthians 9:7, imply that provisions were part of a soldier's wages. They should be paid every night ( Leviticus 19:13;  Deuteronomy 24:14-15; compare  Job 24:11;  James 5:4;  Jeremiah 22:13;  Malachi 3:5); spiritually,  John 4:36;  Romans 6:28.

King James Dictionary

WAGES, n. plural in termination, but singular in signification.

1. Hire reward that which is paid or stipulated for services but chiefly for services by manual labor, or for military and naval services. We speak of servants wages, a laborers wages, or soldiers wages but we never apply the word to the rewards given to men in office, which are called fees or salary. The word is however sometimes applied to the compensation given to representatives in the legislature. U. States

Tell me, what shall thy wages be?  Genesis 29 .

Be content with your wages.  Luke 3 .

2. Reward fruit recompense that which is given or received in return.

The wages of sin is death.  Romans 6 .

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Haggai 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.

 John 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  Romans 6:23.

 2 Peter 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  Romans 6:23).

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( n.) A compensation given to a hired person for services; price paid for labor; recompense; hire. See Wage, n., 2.

(2): ( n. pl.) The share of the annual product or national dividend which goes as a reward to labor, as distinct from the remuneration received by capital in its various forms. This economic or technical sense of the word wages is broader than the current sense, and includes not only amounts actually paid to laborers, but the remuneration obtained by those who sell the products of their own work, and the wages of superintendence or management, which are earned by skill in directing the work of others.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Matthew 20:2 Leviticus 19:13 Deuteronomy 24:14,15 Jeremiah 22:13 Malachi 3:5 James 5:4 Matthew 20:1-14 Genesis 29:15,20 30:28 31:7,8,41

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

The law and the gospel both require the full and prompt payment of a just equivalent for all services rendered according to agreement,  Leviticus 19:13   Jeremiah 22:13   James 5:4 . Eternal death is the wages or just recompense of sin; while eternal life is not a recompense earned by obedience, but a sovereign gift of God,  Romans 6:22-23 .

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(usually some form of שָׂכִר , Sakar, "to hire" [especially in the Hithpael,  Haggai 1:6, to "earn wages"], chiefly שָׂכָר , Sakur [ Genesis 31:8;  Exodus 2:9;  Ezekiel 29:18-19; elsewhere "hire," "reward," etc.], and מַשַׂכֹּרֵת , Miskdreth [ Genesis 39:15; "reward,"  Ruth 2:12]; also פְּעלָּה , peillah [ Leviticus 19:13; "reward,"  Psalms 109:20], work [as elsewhere mostly rendered]; Μισθός [ John 4:36, elsewhere "reward" or " hire"], Pay ; Ὀψωνιον [ Luke 3:14;  Luke 6:23;  2 Corinthians 11:8; "charges,"  1 Corinthians 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 ( Genesis 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 ( Genesis 30:1;  Genesis 30:8;  Genesis 30:32-33). (See Hireling).

The earliest mention of wages is of a recompense, not an money, but in kind, to Jacob from Laban ( Genesis 29:15;  Genesis 29:20;  Genesis 30:28;  Genesis 31:7-8;  Genesis 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 ( Exodus 2:9). Among the Jews wages in general, whether of soldiers or laborers, are mentioned ( Haggai 1:6;  Ezekiel 29:18-19;  John 4:36). The only mention of the rate of wages in Scripture is found in the parable of the householder and vineyard ( Matthew 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  1 Corinthians 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 ( Leviticus 19:13;  Deuteronomy 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 ( Jeremiah 22:13;  Malachi 3:5;  James 5:4). (See Servant).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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" (  Jeremiah 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?" ( Genesis 29:15 ). Jacob said, concerning Laban, speaking to Rachel and Leah: "Your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times" ( Genesis 31:7; compare  Genesis 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" ( Leviticus 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" ( Haggai 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" ( Genesis 30:28 ); "If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages" ( Genesis 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" ( Exodus 2:9 ); Nebuchadrezzar and his army served against Tyre, "yet had he no wages, nor his army" ( Ezekiel 29:18 ), and the prey of Egypt "shall be the wages for his army" ( Ezekiel 29:19 ); swift and sure judgment is predicted against "those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless" ( Malachi 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   John 4:36 Jesus said, "He that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal."   2 Peter 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  Luke 3:14 John said to the soldiers, "Be content with your wages"; "The wages of sin is death" (  Romans 6:23 ); Paul said: "I robbed other churches, taking wages of them" ( 2 Corinthians 11:8 ); the same word in  1 Corinthians 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   Matthew 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  Matthew 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."

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

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 , '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 .