melacha · work

What it means

melacha (מְלָאכָה) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “work”.

The task someone carries out and also what results from it; also property, goods.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. The work one does or is assigned: building, serving, tending.
2. Something made, or any object in use: of wood, cloth or skin.
3. What one owns: his goods, his property.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Work: the task one does and what results from it; also goods. BDB: properly deputyship, ministry; generally employment (never servile) or work; also property, as the result of labor. Related to מַלְאָךְ, “messenger” (H4397).

• Elohim's work in creation Genesis 2:2
• The work of the six days: “do all your work” Exodus 20:9
• The work of the dwelling and of the temple Exodus 36:21 Kings 5:16
• Goods, livestock Exodus 22:8Genesis 33:14

How we translate it

“Work” 152 times, “works” 2, “goods” 2… One English word serves both for the work forbidden on the Sabbath and the feasts (“You shall not do any work”, Exodus 20:10) and for the building of the dwelling and the temple, so the reader sees that it is the same word. In a few cases, by the sense, “goods” or “livestock”.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• work ×152
• anything useful ×2
• goods ×2
• works ×2
• article made ×1
• business ×1
• livestock ×1
• material ×1
• occupation ×1
• property ×1
• others ×3

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Genesis×5
• Exodus×33
• Leviticus×16
• Numbers×8
• Deuteronomy×3
• Judges×1
• 1 Samuel×2
• 1 Kings×10
• 2 Kings×6
• 1 Chronicles×20
• 2 Chronicles×16
• Ezra×5
• Nehemiah×22
• Esther×2
• Psalms×2
• Proverbs×3
• Jeremiah×5
• Ezekiel×5
• Daniel×1
• Jonah×1
• Haggai×1

• Genesis 2:2

  And on the seventh day Elohim finished his work that he had done, and on the seventh day he ceased from all his work that he had done.

• Genesis 2:3

  And Elohim blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he ceased from all his work that Elohim had created to make.

• Genesis 33:14

  Please let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly, at the pace of the livestock that is ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.”

• Genesis 39:11

  It happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was there in the house.

• Exodus 12:16

  On the first day a holy convocation, and on the seventh day a holy convocation you shall have. No work shall be done on them; only what is eaten by every person, that alone may be done by you.

• Exodus 20:9

  Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

• Exodus 20:10

  but the seventh day is a Sabbath to YHWH your Elohim. You shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave, or your female slave, or your livestock, or your resident alien who is within your gates.

• Exodus 22:8

  If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to Elohim to declare that he has not put his hand to the goods of his neighbor.

• Exodus 22:11

  an oath of YHWH shall be between the two of them that he has not put his hand to the goods of his neighbor; its owner shall accept it, and he shall not repay.

• Exodus 31:3

  and I have filled him with the spirit of Elohim, with wisdom, and with understanding, and with knowledge, and with all kinds of work,

• Exodus 31:5

  and in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in all kinds of work.

• Exodus 31:14

  You shall keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Whoever profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.

• Exodus 31:15

  For six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to YHWH. Whoever does work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death.

• Exodus 35:2

  Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day there shall be for you a holy day, a Sabbath of solemn rest to YHWH; whoever does work on it shall be put to death.

• Exodus 35:21

  And they came, every man whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and they brought the contribution of YHWH for the work of the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments.

• Exodus 35:24

  Everyone who set apart a contribution of silver and bronze brought the contribution of YHWH; and everyone with whom was found acacia wood for any work of the service brought it.

• Exodus 35:29

  Every man and woman whose heart moved them to bring something for all the work that YHWH had commanded to be done through Moses, the sons of Israel brought a freewill offering to YHWH.

• Exodus 35:31

  and he has filled him with the spirit of Elohim, with wisdom, with understanding, and with knowledge, and with all kinds of work,

• Exodus 35:33

  and in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every work of design.

• Exodus 35:35

  He has filled them with wisdom of heart to do all the work of the engraver, and of the designer, and of the embroiderer in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, doers of every work and devisers of designs.

• Exodus 36:1

  “And Bezalel and Oholiab and every man wise of heart, in whom YHWH has put wisdom and understanding to know how to do all the work of the service of the sanctuary, shall do according to all that YHWH has commanded.”

• Exodus 36:2

  And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every man wise of heart, in whose heart YHWH had put wisdom, everyone whose heart stirred him to come near to the work to do it.

• Exodus 36:3

  And they received from Moses all the contribution that the sons of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to do it. And they kept bringing to him still freewill offerings morning by morning.

• Exodus 36:4

  And all the wise men who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each man from his work that they were doing,

• Exodus 36:5

  and they said to Moses, saying, “The people are bringing much more than enough for the service for the work that YHWH commanded to do it.”

• Exodus 36:6

  So Moses commanded, and they made a proclamation pass through the camp, saying, “Let no man or woman do any more work for the contribution of the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing.

• Exodus 36:7

  For the material was enough for all the work to do it, and more.

• Exodus 36:8

  And all the wise of heart among those who did the work made the dwelling with ten curtains of twisted fine linen and blue and purple and scarlet, with cherubim, the work of a skilled craftsman, he made them.

• Exodus 38:24

  All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary, the gold of the wave offering, was twenty-nine talents and seven hundred and thirty shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary.

• Exodus 39:43

  And Moses saw all the work, and look, they had done it; as YHWH had commanded, so they had done. And Moses blessed them.

• Exodus 40:33

  And he set up the courtyard all around the dwelling and the altar, and put the screen of the gate of the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.

• Leviticus 7:24

  The fat of a carcass and the fat of an animal torn by beasts may be used for any other work, but you shall certainly not eat it.

• Leviticus 11:32

  And anything on which any of them falls when they are dead will be unclean, whether any article of wood or garment or skin or sack, any article with which work is done; it shall be put into water, and it will be unclean until the evening; then it will be clean.

• Leviticus 13:48

  or in the woven material or in the knitted material of linen or of wool, or in a skin or in any article made of skin,

• Leviticus 13:51

  He shall examine the mark on the seventh day; if the mark has spread in the garment or in the woven material or in the knitted material or in the skin, for whatever the skin is made for use, the mark is a malignant leprosy; it is unclean.

• Leviticus 16:29

  And this shall be for you a statute forever: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls and do no work the native or the resident alien who resides among you.

• Leviticus 23:3

  Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work at all; it is a Sabbath to YHWH in all your dwellings.

• Leviticus 23:7

  On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work at all.

• Leviticus 23:8

  And you shall present a fire offering to YHWH seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work at all.”

• Leviticus 23:21

  And on this very day you shall proclaim: there shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall do no laborious work at all; it is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

And 127 more times.