Word Study for H6468 (פְּעֻלָּה)

pᵉʻullâh /peh-ool-law'/ Ask about this word

Rootfeminine passive participle of פָּעַל

Meaning(abstractly) work

KJV usagelabour, reward, wages, work.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of pᵉʻullâh — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Hebrew word pᵉʻullâh, represented by H6468, encapsulates the concepts of work, labour, reward, and wages. Derived from the root for "to work," this term appears 14 times in 14 unique verses. It carries a dual meaning, referring both to the action of working and the resulting compensation or consequence of that action.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In biblical usage, H6468 bridges the gap between physical labor and divine recompense. In a practical sense, it denotes the wages due to a hired worker, which are to be paid promptly Leviticus 19:13. The term is also used to describe the work or actions of humanity, both righteous and wicked. The labour of the righteous leads to life Proverbs 10:16, while the wicked produce a deceitful work Proverbs 11:18. Prophetically, it describes the coming of the Lord, who brings His reward with Him and whose work is before Him (Isaiah 40:10, Isaiah 62:11).

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words help clarify the scope of H6468:

H7939 sâkâr (payment of contract... reward(-ed), wages, worth): This word is frequently paired with pᵉʻullâh to emphasize the idea of compensation. The promise that one's work will be rewarded often uses both terms for clarity and impact (2 Chronicles 15:7, Jeremiah 31:16).
H4639 maʻăseh (an action (good or bad)... deed, do(-ing), labor... work): Often used in parallel with pᵉʻullâh, this term also refers to a deed or work. In Psalms 28:5, the wicked are condemned because they do not regard the works H6468 of the Lord, nor the operation H4639 of his hands.
H3021 yâgaʻ (to be exhausted, to tire, to toil... labour): This verb describes the act of toiling itself. It is connected to H6468 in Isaiah 49:4, where the speaker laments having laboured H3021 in vain, yet trusts that his work H6468 is with God.

Theological Significance

The theological weight of H6468 is significant, highlighting themes of justice and divine accounting.

Principle of Just Recompense: The word underscores the biblical principle that actions have consequences. God directs the work of His people in truth Isaiah 61:8 and promises that their work will be rewarded Jeremiah 31:16. Conversely, the Lord will measure the former work of the disobedient into their bosom Isaiah 65:7.
Economic and Social Justice: The command in Leviticus 19:13 not to withhold the wages H6468 of a hired person establishes a foundation for just labor practices, reflecting God's own character. Defrauding a laborer of their wages is a violation of this principle.
God's Sovereign Work: H6468 is not limited to human activity. It also refers to God's own work, particularly His acts of salvation and judgment that He brings with Him Isaiah 40:10. To disregard the works H6468 of the Lord is a serious offense Psalms 28:5.

Summary

In summary, H6468 is a dynamic term that connects action to outcome. It moves fluidly between the concepts of a task performed, the wages earned, the moral quality of a deed, and the ultimate reward or judgment from God. It serves as a constant reminder that all work, whether human or divine, carries inherent value and will be met with a just and certain result.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a noun across 14 occurrences, inflected in 2 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

פְּעֻלַּת
פְעֻלּוֹת

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 14 verses across 7 of the 39 books. Most frequent in Isaiah (5 verses); never once in the other 32.

Leviticus

2 Chronicles

Psalms

Proverbs

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Ezekiel

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.