Labor

Labor, (properly עָבִד, abad’, to work, Gr. ἐργάζομαι; also עָמִל, amal’, to toil, Gr. κοπιάω; and other terms). From Genesis ii, 15 (where the same word עָבִד is used, A. V. “till”), we learn that man, even in a state of innocence, and surrounded by all the external sources of happiness, was not to pass his time in indolent repose. By the very constitution of his animal frame, exercise of some kind was absolutely essential to him (comp. Ecclesiastes 5:12). In Genesis 3:19, labor, in its more rigorous and exhausting forms, is set forth as a part of the primeval curse,” In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat bread;” and doubtless there is a view of labor which exhibits it in reality as a heavy, sometimes a crushing burden (compare Genesis 35:16). But labor is by no means exclusively an evil, nor is its prosecution a dishonor (comp. Psalms 103:22,22). It is the prostration of strength, wherewith is also connected the temporary incapacity of sharing in the enjoyments of life, and not labor itself, which constitutes the curse pronounced on the fallen man. Hence we find that, in primitive times, manual labor was neither regarded as degrading nor confined to a certain class of society, but was more or less prosecuted by all. By the institution of the Sabbath, moreover, one seventh of man’s brief life was rescued from labor, and appropriated to rest of body and to that improvement of the mind which tends to strengthen, invigorate, and sustain the entire man. SEE SABBATH.

Labor was enjoined on all Israelites as a sacred duty in the fourth commandment (Exodus 20:9; Deuteronomy 5:13); and the Bible entertains so high a respect for the diligent and skilful laborer, that we are told in Proverbs 22:29,” Seest thou a man skilled in his work, he shall stand before kings” (comp. also ibid, 10:4; 12:24,27). Among the beautiful features which grace an excellent housewife, it is prominently set forth that” she worketh willingly with her own hands” (Proverbs 31:13). With such an honorable regard for labor, it is not to be wondered at that when Nebuchadnezzar carried the Jews away into captivity, he found among them a thousand craftsmen and smiths (2 Kings 24:14-16; Jeremiah 29:2). The ancient rabbins, too, regarded manual labor as most honorable, and urged it upon every one as a duty, as may be seen from the following sayings in the Talmud: “He who does not teach his son a craft is, as it were, bringing him up to robbery” (Cholin, 105); “Labor is greatly to be prized, for it elevates the laborer, and maintains him” (Chagiga, 5; Nedarim, 49, b; Baba Bathrc, 110, a). SEE HANDICRAFT.

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Author: McClintock and Strong Cyclopedia

Keywords: Labor

Bible reference(s): 1 Chronicles 27:28, 1 Kings 19:19, 1 Kings 4:25, 1 Samuel 11:5, 2 Kings 21:7, 2 Kings 24:14, Amos 7:14, Deuteronomy 24:20, Deuteronomy 34:3, Deuteronomy 5:13, Ecclesiastes 5:12, Exodus 20:9, Ezekiel 27:17, Ezekiel 37:25, Genesis 26:12, Genesis 3:19, Genesis 33:19, Genesis 35:16, Genesis 4:2, Genesis 43:11, Hosea 14:6, Isaiah 16:10, Isaiah 17:6, Isaiah 24:13, Isaiah 5:2, Jeremiah 25:30, Jeremiah 29:2, Jeremiah 8:22, Judges 1:16, Judges 20:33, Judges 4:11, Judges 6:11, Judges 9:27, Leviticus 23:40, Matthew 21:33, Numbers 13:24, Proverbs 22:29, Proverbs 31:13, Psalms 103:22

Source: John McClintock and James Strong, Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature.

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