מְלָאכָה
mᵉlâʼkâh · mel-aw-kaw'
properly, deputyship, i.e. ministry; generally, employment (never servile) or work (abstractly or concretely); also property (as the result of labor)
Lexicon
Derivation: from the same as H4397 (מֲלְאָךְ);
properly, deputyship, i.e. ministry; generally, employment (never servile) or work (abstractly or concretely); also property (as the result of labor)
- properly, deputyship, i.e. ministry
- generally, employment (never servile) or work (abstractly or concretely)
- also, property (as the result of labor)
Definition from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890). Wording is Strong's own, including his etymological notes, which are not separate meanings.
KJV renderings: business, [phrase] cattle, [phrase] industrious, occupation, ([phrase] -pied), [phrase] officer, thing (made), use, (manner of) work((-man), -manship).
Letters
- מMem40
Picture: waves of water
- Concrete
- water · sea · blood · liquid
- Extended
- chaos · mighty and uncontrollable · the masses · from / out of
- לLamed30
Picture: shepherd's staff or goad
- Concrete
- staff · goad · yoke · cattle prod
- Extended
- authority · to lead · to teach · to bind · toward
- אAlef1
Picture: ox head
- Concrete
- ox · bull · cattle
- Extended
- strength · leader · first · the one in front
- כKaf20
Picture: open palm
- Concrete
- palm · open hand · sole of the foot
- Extended
- to open · to allow · to cover · to tame · like / as
- הHe5
Picture: a person with both arms raised
- Concrete
- a man calling out · a window · breath
- Extended
- behold! · revelation · to reveal · the (definite article)
Possible cultural reading (auto-composed)
water, chaos, the mighty deep › authority, the one who leads › strength, the leader › the open hand that covers › to reveal, behold
Water, chaos, the mighty deep of authority, the one who leads of strength, the leader of the open hand that covers that works to reveal, behold.
Interpretive, not lexical. The dictionary sense of מְלָאכָה above is the attested meaning; this pictographic reading is a tradition about how the sign-shapes may have been heard. Both can be held at once, they are answering different questions.
Usage
167 occurrences · 167 OT · 0 NT · 68 distinct forms
KJV renderings of this word, by how often each one is used.
- work20 · 19%
- the work19 · 18%
- in the work7 · 7%
- any work7 · 7%
- business5 · 5%
- of the work5 · 5%
- all the work4 · 4%
- no work4 · 4%
- of the workmen3 · 3%
- for the work3 · 3%
- and in all manner of workmanship2 · 2%
- all thy work2 · 2%
- goods2 · 2%
- shall work2 · 2%
- and for all the work2 · 2%
- and the work2 · 2%
- for any work2 · 2%
- for his work2 · 2%
- unto the work2 · 2%
- all manner of work2 · 2%
- from all his work2 · 2%
- in his business2 · 2%
- his business1 · 1%
- the cattle1 · 1%
- his work1 · 1%
Where it is used, by book.
Inflected forms found in the text.
Counts are computed from the tagged Hebrew and Greek text aligned to the King James Version, not from an estimate.