“Do not muzzle an ox... The worker is worthy of his wages”
1 Timothy 5:18
Legal referenceSettledPaul
For the Scripture says, 'Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,' and, 'The worker is worthy of his wages.' (1 Timothy 5:18 BSB)
What it sounds like today
Two proverbs about fair pay.
The cultural key
Two quotations under one label, and the label is the surprise. The first is Deuteronomy 25:4, the humane farm rule (let the threshing ox eat as it works) that Paul had already applied to paying ministers (1 Corinthians 9:9). The second is not from the Old Testament at all: it is a saying of Jesus, word for word as Luke 10:7 records it. Both stand together under 'the Scripture says,' making this one of the earliest visible moments of Jesus' words being cited with full scriptural rank.
Recovered meaning
Elders who labor well should be paid, argued from Moses and from Jesus in one breath. And quietly, momentously: within the first generation, the church is already quoting the words of Jesus as Scripture.
Parallels: Deuteronomy 25:4; Luke 10:7; 1 Corinthians 9:9–14