H2455 — חֹל (chol)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H2455
Original: חֹל
Transliteration: chol
Pronunciation: khole
Part of Speech: Masculine noun (n-m)
Root: חָלַל (chalal, H2490) — to bore, wound; denominatively: to profane, defile, begin
Occurrences: 7 unique verses (7 tokens) across 3 books
First Occurrence: Lev 10:10 — "And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From H2490; properly, exposed; hence, profane: — common, profane (place), unholy.

The underlying image is of that which is "laid open," i.e., not fenced off or set apart. The word is the conceptual opposite of קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh, H6944, "holy/sacred"). Where qodesh marks what is withdrawn for God's use, chol marks what remains in the ordinary, accessible sphere.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
profane / and profane / a profane	3	43%
common	2	29%
unholy	1	14%
profane place	1	14%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Ezekiel	4	0.31
1 Samuel	2	0.25
Leviticus	1	0.12

Concentrated in priestly and temple contexts. Ezekiel accounts for over half of all uses, always in the context of priestly teaching about holy/profane distinctions. The single Leviticus occurrence is the foundational statement of the holy/profane binary (Lev 10:10). The 1 Samuel occurrences are the only narrative uses, both in the Nob episode with David and the showbread.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Priestly Distinction Formula: Holy vs. Profane¶

The core usage — defining the boundary between the sacred and the ordinary as a priestly teaching responsibility.

Lev 10:10 — "And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean"
Eze 22:26 — "Her priests have violated my law... they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean"
Eze 44:23 — "And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean"

2. Common / Non-Sacred Bread¶

The only narrative usage — bread that is not sanctified, ordinary rations as opposed to consecrated showbread.

1 Sam 21:4 — "There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread"
1 Sam 21:5 — "the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel"

3. Profane / Non-Sacred Space¶

Architectural zoning in Ezekiel's temple vision — land or space that is ordinary, not consecrated to worship.

Eze 42:20 — "it had a wall round about... to make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place"
Eze 48:15 — "the five thousand, that are left in the breadth... shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
בֵּין (beyn)	H996	4x (57%)	"put difference between holy and chol" — always in the distinction formula
בָּדַל (badal)	H914	3x (43%)	"to separate/distinguish between holy and chol" — the verb of priestly discernment
טָהוֹר (tahowr)	H2889	3x (43%)	Four-term distinction: holy/chol + clean/unclean
טָמֵא (tame)	H2931	3x (43%)	Four-term distinction: holy/chol + clean/unclean
כֹּהֵן (kohen)	H3548	3x (43%)	Priests as the agents responsible for teaching the holy/chol boundary

The dominant collocation pattern is the four-term priestly formula: qodesh/chol + tahowr/tame (holy/profane + clean/unclean). This formula appears in Lev 10:10, Eze 22:26, and Eze 44:23 — three of the seven occurrences.

Word Family / Cognates¶

H2490 חָלַל (chalal) — root verb: to profane, defile, pollute; also to begin, to play (the flute). The verbal form of the profanation concept (141 occurrences). Used in Eze 22:26 itself: "they have profaned [chalal] mine holy things."
H2491 חָלָל (chalal) — homonym from same root: pierced, slain, wounded. Different semantic branch (physical wounding rather than ritual profanation).

Synonyms¶

No synonyms returned by search_relationships.py for H2455.

Antonyms¶

H2889 טָהוֹר (tahowr) — "clean." Paired with chol in the priestly distinction formula's second axis: holy/profane + clean/unclean.
H6944 קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh) — "holy, sacred." Direct antonym and regular contrast word in Lev 10:10; Eze 22:26; Eze 44:23.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
κοινός (koinos)	G2839	"common"	Greek NT word for ritually common/profane; closest semantic equivalent to chol in NT vocabulary. Not an LXX translation of chol but fills the same conceptual slot.
κοινόω (koinoo)	G2840	"common" (verb)	"to make common/profane" — verbal form of koinos; used in Acts 10:15, Mark 7:15 for ritual defilement.
חָלַל (chalal)	H2490	"profane" (verb)	Root verb — the act of profaning; chol is the resulting state/category of being profane/common.

Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
002001001016	Common	`search_relationships.py` places chol in the semantic field of what is ordinary, accessible, and non-sacred, matching its consistent contrast with qodesh and its derivation from H2490.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
βέβηλος (bebelos) G952	5	11.40	Primary. Highest PMI of any mapping. "Accessible, profane" — from βαίνω (to walk) + βηλός (threshold): literally "what may be trodden." Used 5/7 times chol appears in LXX.
διαστέλλομαι (diastellomai) G1291	3	7.72	Not a translation of chol itself — translates בָּדַל (badal) "to distinguish" in the same verses.

The LXX translators overwhelmingly chose βέβηλος for chol. This is significant because the NT uses βέβηλος 5 times (1 Tim 1:9, 4:7, 6:20; 2 Tim 2:16; Heb 12:16) but uses κοινός (G2839) for the "common/profane" concept in Acts 10:14, 28; Rom 14:14. The two Greek words carry different nuances: βέβηλος = "profane, godless" (moral weight); κοινός = "common, shared, not holy" (ritual status).