Bible Dictionary
REWARD
Reward in Scripture may mean recompense of any kind, including wages, gifts, payment for evil, or recognition for good. Its precise meaning is determined by the context.
Definition
Reward, in older English Bible usage, is a broad term for something given in recompense. It may refer to recognition for good, payment or wages, recompense for evil, a bribe, or a gift. Thus its meaning is not limited to a favorable acknowledgment of merit; the surrounding context determines what kind of recompense is intended.
Biblical Usage
Scripture uses “reward” for the recompense of evil, wages, bribes, and gifts. In several passages the Revised Version specializes or changes the wording to make the particular sense clearer.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>re-word': In modern English (except when influenced by the Biblical forms) a "reward" is something given in recognition of a good act. In English Versions of the Bible, however, "reward" is used quite generally for anything given, and the term covers the recompense of evil (Ps 91:8), wages (1Ti 5:18 the King James Version), bribes (Mic 7:3), and gifts (Jer 40:5 the King James Version). The Revised Version (British and American) has specialized the meaning in a number of cases (Ps 94:2; Eze 16:34; Jer 40:5, etc.), but not systematically.</p>