The Hebrew noun yegiya (יְגִיעַ) means labor, toil, or the product/fruit of one's labor. It comes from the root yaga (H3021), meaning to be tired, to grow weary, to toil. The word captures both the effort of work and the result produced by that effort. It appears in contexts of both blessing (enjoying the fruit of one's labor) and curse (toiling for others to consume).
The theology of yegiya runs through the biblical narrative of work from Eden to eternity. After the Fall, God declared that man would toil in sorrow, eating bread by the sweat of his face (Genesis 3:19). Yet Psalm 128:2 calls blessed the one who eats the labor (yegiya) of his own hands — suggesting that honest work, even under the curse, still carries dignity and divine blessing. Isaiah 45:14 and 55:2 use it for wealth that is surrendered or wasted. Ecclesiastes extensively explores the vanity of human yegiya apart from God (Ecclesiastes 2:18–23). The New Testament transforms work through the gospel: 'Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men' (Colossians 3:23).