HIRE.—‘Hire’ (μισθός) occurs in two passages as the regular payment given for service rendered. In the parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:8) it is spoken of the day’s wage, the denarius, owing by agreement to the workers. The proverbial phrase, ‘The labourer is worthy of his hire’ (Luke 10:7), is used by Christ in connexion with the mission of the Seventy. In Matthew 10:10 τροφή, ‘food,’ is substituted for μισθός . The latter Greek word occurs again (John 4:36) as the wages of the reaper. It is used in a good sense as the reward of devotion and service to God (Matthew 5:12, Matthew 6:1, Matthew 10:41, Mark 9:41, Luke 6:23), as well as to describe the ‘empty popularity’ attaching to the religious ostentation of the hypocrites (Matthew 6:2, Matthew 6:5, Matthew 6:16). It is employed (Revelation 22:12) of Christ’s reward to His faithful followers: ‘My reward is with me.’
The term ‘hired servant’ or ‘hireling’ (μισθωτός) is used in speaking of Zebcdee’s servants (Mark 1:20), and of the false shepherd who deserts his flock at the approach of danger (John 10:12-13). A similar derivative (μίσθιος) describes the father’s servants in the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:19). The verb ‘to hire’ (μισθόω) occurs (Matthew 20:1) of the householder who engaged the labourers for his vineyard. See also next article.
C. H. Prichard.