עָמָל
toil
also: trouble, labour fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Construct-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Gender
- Both
- Attested as both masculine and feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
Every verse where H5999 appears in the Book of Ecclesiastes — 21 distinct verses. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Ecclesiastes
- Ecclesiastes 1:3 עֲמָל֔/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms What does man gain from all his labor in which he labors under the sun?
- Ecclesiastes 2:10 עֲמָלִ֔/י עֲמָלִֽ/י n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs Whatever my eyes desired, I didn't keep from them. I didn't withhold my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced because of all my labor, and this was my portion from all my labor.
- Ecclesiastes 2:11 וּ/בֶֽ/עָמָ֖ל conj + prep det + n c bs Then I looked at all the works that my hands had worked, and at the labor that I had labored to do; and, behold, all was vanity and a chasing after wind, and there was no profit under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 2:18 עֲמָלִ֔/י n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs I hated all my labor in which I labored under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who comes after me.
- Ecclesiastes 2:19 עֲמָלִ֔/י n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs Who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have rule over all of my labor in which I have labored, and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.
- Ecclesiastes 2:20 הֶ֣/עָמָ֔ל ptcl def.art + n c bs Therefore I began to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labor in which I had labored under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 2:21 שֶׁ/עֲמָל֛/וֹ ptcl rel + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, with knowledge, and with skillfulness; yet he shall leave it for his portion to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.
- Ecclesiastes 2:22 עֲמָל֔/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms For what has a man of all his labor, and of the striving of his heart, in which he labors under the sun?
- Ecclesiastes 2:24 בַּ/עֲמָל֑/וֹ prep + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.
- Ecclesiastes 3:13 עֲמָל֑/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms Also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God.
- Ecclesiastes 4:4 עָמָ֗ל n c bs Then I saw all the labor and achievement that is the envy of a man's neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
- Ecclesiastes 4:6 עָמָ֖ל n c bs Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and chasing after wind.
- Ecclesiastes 4:8 עֲמָל֔/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms There is one who is alone, and he has neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his labor, neither are his eyes satisfied with wealth. For whom then, do I labor, and deprive my soul of enjoyment? This also is vanity, yes, it is a miserable business.
- Ecclesiastes 4:9 בַּ/עֲמָלָֽ/ם prep + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3mp Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.
- Ecclesiastes 5:15 בַ/עֲמָל֔/וֹ prep + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms As he came forth from his mother's womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may carry away in his hand.
- Ecclesiastes 5:18 עֲמָל֣/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms Behold, that which I have seen to be good and proper is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, in which he labors under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; for this is his portion.
- Ecclesiastes 5:19 בַּ/עֲמָל֑/וֹ prep + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor--this is the gift of God.
- Ecclesiastes 6:7 עֲמַ֥ל n c bs cs All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
- Ecclesiastes 8:15 בַ/עֲמָל֗/וֹ prep + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms Then I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful: for that will accompany him in his labor all the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 9:9 וּ/בַ/עֲמָ֣לְ/ךָ֔ conj + prep + n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your life of vanity, which he has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity: for that is your portion in life, and in your labor in which you labor under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 10:15 עֲמַ֥ל n c bs cs The labor of fools wearies every one of them; for he doesn't know how to go to the city.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
The Hebrew noun עמל centers on the idea of “toil.” Where the King James Version says “labour,” newer translations reach for “labor” (Berean Standard Bible) and “trouble” (unfoldingWord Literal Text); the renderings breakdown has the detail. The Hebrew Bible uses it across 54 verses — moderately common. Ecclesiastes dominates its distribution — 21 of 54 verses. Beyond “toil” it also covers “trouble” and “labour” — see its full sense range. Dig into 54-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H5999 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 54
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 54 distinct verses.
- 11 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 11 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #686
- by frequency
- Top 1000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 686 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 54 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Ecclesiastes 21 verses 39%
- Psalms 13 verses 24%
- Job 8 verses 15%
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 54 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 44 verses · 81%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 7 verses · 13%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 3 verses · 6%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 2 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Labour 14×, Mischief 7×, All his labour 5×
- American Standard Version†: Labor 13×, All his labor 5×, Mischief 4×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Labor 14×, Trouble 13×, Misery 4×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Trouble 19×, Toil 18×, And 3×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H5999 across 55† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 17 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H5999 across 58† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 22 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H5999 across 55† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 14 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H5999 across 59† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 10 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 3 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
עמל I
- 1. trouble (‖ sorrow): one’s own suffering, עָמָל וְיָגוֹן Je 20:18; ע׳ וָכַעַם ψ 10:14; עֳנִי וע׳ Dt 26:7 ψ 25:18; ע׳ וָאָ֑וֶן 90:10; ‖ אָוֶן Nu 23:21; Jb 5:6; ‖ שָֽׁוְא Jb 7:3; ע׳ נפשׁו Is 53:11; ע׳ בְּעֵינָ֑י ψ 73:16; וַיַּסְתֵּר ע׳ מֵעֵינָ֑י Jb 3:10; מְנַחֲמֵי ע׳ 16:2; אדם לע׳ יוּלָּד 5:7; בע׳ אנושׁ אינימוֹ ψ 73:5; שׁכח ע׳ Jb 11:16; נַשַּׁנִי ע׳ Gn 41:51 (E); ע׳ לא זכר Pr 31:7; תקצר נפשׁו בע׳ Ju 10:16. e.g. Jeremiah 20:18
- 2. trouble, mischief, as done to others: ‖ שֹׁד Pr 24:2; יֹצֵר ע׳ ψ 94:20; ‖ רָע Hb 1:13; יָשׁוּב ע׳ בְרֹאשׁוֹ ψ 7:17; ע׳ וָאָ֑וֶן 10:7; און וע׳ 55:11; ‖ אָוֶן Is 10:1; 59:4; Hb 1:3 ψ 7:15; Jb 4:8; 15:35; עֲמַל שְׂפָתֵימוֹ ψ 140:10 mischief of their lips. e.g. Proverbs 24:2
- 3. toil, labour (late in Heb.): Ec 2:10(×2), 21, 24; 3:13; 4:4, 6, 8, 9; 5:14, 18; 6:7; 8:15; 10:15; c. עָמַל (q.v.) 1:3; 2:11, 19, 20; 5:17; עָמֵל (שְׁהוּא) ע׳ שֶׁאֲנִי 2:18, 22; ע׳ אֲשֶׁר עָמֵל 9:9; = fruit of labour, ע׳ לְאֻמִּים יִירָ֑שׁוּ ψ 105:44; וַיַּכְנַע בע׳ לִבָּם 107:12 he humbled their mind by toil. e.g. Ecclesiastes 2:10
עמל II m. name in Asher 1 Ch 7
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. n.m. Jb 4:8 f. Ec 10:15 (against AlbrZAW xvi (1896), 113, v. KöSynt. § 249 m) trouble, labour, toil (on this form as abstr. v. LagBN 143 BaNB 105);—ע׳ Nu 23:21 +; cstr. עֲמַל Ju 10:16 +; sf. עֲמָלִי Gn 41:51 +, etc.;—
II. n.pr.m. name in Asher 1 Ch 7:35, 𝔊 Αμαα, 𝔊L Αλαμ.
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from עמל (ʻâmal) (H5998) — to labor.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
עָמֵל I
- (b. h.) to labor, take pains; to be wearied. Deut. R. s. 11 זו היא שילום … שעָמַלְתִּי וכ׳ is this the payment for the service of forty years during which I worked hard, until they became a holy and faithful people? Yalk. Prov. 950 מדבר בעוֹמְלֵי תורה it refers to those studying the Law industriously; Tanḥ. ed. Bub., Mick. 2 בעֲמֵלֵי; a. fr.—Part. or adj. עָמֵל; f. עֲמֵלָה; pl. עֲמֵלִים, עֲמֵלִין; עֲמֵלוֹת. Cant. R. to I, 2 מה המים … כל מי שהוא ע׳ בהן וכ׳ as water raises plants, so the words of the Law raise him who works at (studies) them sufficiently. Deut. R. l. c. ולא אמר בעֲמֵלֶיהָ … בעושיה and he (Moses) did not say (in his blessing, blessed be who delights) in those laboring to study it, or in those who meditate on it, but in those who do it. Ber. 28ᵇ אני ע׳ והם ע׳ I wear myself out (in study), and they wear themselves out (in vanities). Ab. II, 2 כל הע׳ עם הצבור יהיו ע׳ וכ׳ (Var. העוסקים … עוסקים) all those who are engaged in public affairs must do their work for the sake of heaven (disinterestedly); a. fr.
- to work through, knead, esp. to stimulate and heat the body (v. Hithpa.). Sabb. 147ᵇ מפני שמְעַמֶּלֶת ומרפא (read with Alf.: ומרפאת, v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note 10) because it (the mud of Dimsith) exercises the body and loosens (the bowels).
- 1. to be kneaded, have massage. Ib. XXII, 6 סכין … אבל לא מִתְעַמְּלִים וכ׳ you may have yourself ointed and rubbed on the Sabbath, but not kneaded or scraped.
- 2. to wear one’s self out, esp. to exercise (and heat) the body. Tosef. Peah IV, 10 Hillel bought for a poor man of good breeding סוס שהיה מִתְעַמֵּל בו a horse on which to take exercise; Y. ib. VIII, 21ᵃ bot. להִתְעַמֵּל בו; (Keth. 67ᵇ לרכיב עליו). Tosef. Sabb. XVI (XVII), 22 אין רצין בשבת כדי להִתְעַמֵּל וכ׳ you must not run on the Sabbath for the sake of exercise, but you may walk in an ordinary way the entire day.
עֲמַל I
- Targ. Jon. IV, 13.
עָמֵל II
- m., v. עָמֵל I
עָמָל
- preced. wds.) toil, trouble; fruit of labor, achievement. Midr. Till. to Ps. XC, 10 אפי׳ מלכותו ע׳ ואוו even man’s rulership is toil and vanity; Yalk. ib. 841. Ber. 17ᵃ אשרי מי … ועֲמָלוֹ בתורה blessed he that has been reared in the Law, and whose toil is in the Law. Gen. R. s. 31 שהיתה … בעמלו של רשע a curse rested on the wicked man’s labor. Ex. R. s. 22 שלא היה בעמלו גזל in whose acquired property there was no robbery; a. fr.—Gen. R. s. 39 בית הע׳, v. דָּהוֹן.
עֲמַל II
- Targ. Gen. III, 17 (h. text עצבין). Targ. O. Deut. XXVI, 7. Targ. Ps. VII, 17 Ms. (ed. לעותא); a. e.—Esp. acquisition, income, rent. B. Bath. 67ᵃ מגבינן אפי׳ מע׳ דבתי we used to collect (the daughter’s share, v. עִישּׂוּר) even from house rents; Keth. 69ᵃ (not דביתי; Rashi: דבֵיתֵיה).—Pl. עַמְלִין. B. Mets. 15ᵃ אינון ועַמְלֵיהוֹן וכ׳ Rashi a. Tosaf. (ed. ועמיליהון) (I vouch for) themselves (the lands), and the income from them and eventual improvements; [Ar. a. Tosaf. עמליהון the cost of acquisition, original value].
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 34 distinct written forms H5999 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H5999, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Shares the same root
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → 1 of the same-root words is a proper name (a person or place). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 51 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 54 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 41:51
- Numbers 23:21
- Deuteronomy 26:7
- Judges 10:16
- Job 3:10
- Psalms 7:14
- Proverbs 24:2
- Ecclesiastes 1:3
- Isaiah 10:1
- Jeremiah 20:18
- Habakkuk 1:3
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
