Employee(hireling)
“One hired for wages”
Summary
A laborer employed for wages, typically hired by the day and paid at day's end according to Mosaic law.
☩Biblical Background
A hireling (hired servant or employee) was a laborer working for wages for a limited time. By Mosaic law, such workers were to be paid their wages before sunset on the day their work was completed—withholding wages was considered oppression of the poor. The day's wage was typically a denarius (about a day's sustenance). Hired servants were distinct from household slaves; they were not considered part of the family and had fewer privileges.
☩Jesus' Teaching
Jesus used the hireling to illustrate unfaithfulness in John 10, contrasting the hired man who flees when the wolf comes with the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. The hireling cares more for his wages than for the flock—he works for self-interest rather than from love. The parable of the laborers in the vineyard also features day laborers hired at various hours.
Related Verses22 mentions
References
- 1.Unknown source, "Hireling."
- 2.George Morrish, "Hireling," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).