H4234 — מָחוֹל (machowl)¶
Core Data¶
- Strong's: H4234
- Original: מָחוֹל
- Transliteration: mâchôwl
- Pronunciation: maw-khole
- Part of Speech: Masculine noun
- Root: חוּל (chuwl, H2342) — to twist, whirl, dance, writhe
- Occurrences: 6 in OT (6 unique verses across 3 books)
- First Occurrence: Psa 30:11 — "Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing"
- Hapax Legomenon: No
Lexicon Definition¶
From H2342 (chuwl); a (round) dance: — dance(-cing).
Etymology note: Strong's derives machowl from H2342 חוּל (chuwl), "to twist or whirl (in a circular or spiral manner), i.e. to dance." The feminine cognate H4246 מְחֹלָה (mechowlah), "a dance," is explicitly identified as "feminine of H4234." Both nouns share the mem-preformative pattern (מ) indicating a noun of action or place derived from a verbal root.
The alternative derivation from H2490 חָלַל (chalal), "to bore, pierce; to play (the flute)," would yield a meaning of "pipe" or "wind instrument" (cf. H2485 חָלִיל, chaliyl, "a flute, as perforated," which is derived from chalal). However, the standard lexical tradition (BDB, Strong's, Gesenius) uniformly assigns machowl to the chuwl root, not the chalal root. The distinction is significant: H2485 chaliyl ("pipe/flute"), the actual instrument word from the chalal root, exists as a separate lexeme with its own 6 OT occurrences (1 Sam 10:5; 1 Kgs 1:40; Isa 5:12; 30:29; Jer 48:36).
Translation Distribution (KJV)¶
| Translation | Verses | % |
|---|---|---|
| in the dance | 2 | 33.3% |
| and dance | 1 | 16.7% |
| in the dances | 1 | 16.7% |
| into dancing | 1 | 16.7% |
| our dance | 1 | 16.7% |
KJV renders machowl consistently as "dance/dancing/dances" in all 6 occurrences without variation toward any instrumental meaning.
Distribution by Book¶
| Book | Count | Per 100 Verses |
|---|---|---|
| Psalms | 3 | 0.1 |
| Jeremiah | 2 | 0.1 |
| Lamentations | 1 | 0.6 |
Concentrated entirely in poetry and prophetic restoration/lament contexts. Absent from narrative, legal, and wisdom literature.
Semantic Categories¶
1. Reversal of Mourning — Joy Restored¶
- Psa 30:11 — "Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness"
- Jer 31:13 — "Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy"
- Lam 5:15 — "The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning" (inverse of the pattern)
2. Communal Celebration / Worship¶
- Psa 149:3 — "Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp"
- Psa 150:4 — "Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs"
- Jer 31:4 — "thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry"
Pattern summary: In every occurrence, machowl is either (a) paired with mourning/sackcloth in a reversal formula (3x), or (b) listed alongside musical instruments (toph, kinnor, ugab) as a distinct activity accompanying them (3x). It never substitutes for an instrument in a list; rather, it appears as the bodily activity done with instruments.
Common Collocations¶
| Word | Strong's | Co-occurrences | Typical Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| הָפַךְ (haphak) | H2015 | 3x (50%) | "turned [mourning] into [machowl]" — reversal formula |
| תֹּף (toph) | H8596 | 3x (50%) | "timbrel and dance" — instrument + activity pair |
| אֵבֶל (ebel) | H60 | 2x (33%) | "mourning into dancing" — antithetic pair |
| בְּתוּלָה (bethulah) | H1330 | 2x (33%) | "virgin" as subject of dance |
| הָלַל (halal) | H1984 | 2x (33%) | "praise his name in the dance" |
| כִּנּוֹר (kinnor) | H3658 | 1x (17%) | "timbrel and dance... harp" (Psa 149:3) |
| מָשׂוֹשׂ (masows) | H4885 | 1x (17%) | "joy" paralleling dance |
| מִסְפֵּד (misped) | H4553 | 1x (17%) | "lamentation" — antonym pair |
| זָמַר (zamar) | H2167 | 1x (17%) | "sing praises" alongside dance |
The dominant collocation pattern is the reversal formula: haphak + ebel/misped → machowl/masows. The secondary pattern is listing machowl alongside instruments (toph, kinnor) as a coordinated but distinct activity.
Related Words¶
Word Family / Cognates¶
- H2342 חוּל (chuwl) — root verb: to twist, whirl, dance, writhe in pain, travail (62 occurrences). The semantic range of the root includes circular motion, dancing (Judg 21:21, 23), writhing in labor, and trembling in fear.
- H4246 מְחֹלָה (mechowlah) — feminine cognate noun: a dance, company of dancers (8 occurrences). Used of Miriam's dance (Exo 15:20), Jephthah's daughter (Judg 11:34), women greeting Saul/David (1 Sam 18:6; 21:11; 29:5), the Shulammite (Song 7:1). Consistently translated "dances/dancing/company" in KJV.
Easily Confused Words¶
| Word | Strong's | Shared Translation | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| מְחֹלָה (mechowlah) | H4246 | "dance/dances" | Feminine form; used in narrative contexts (Exodus, Judges, Samuel); machowl is masculine and restricted to poetry/prophecy |
| חָלִיל (chaliyl) | H2485 | None shared in KJV | Chaliyl = "pipe/flute" (from chalal H2490 "to bore/pierce"); different root, different meaning; always translated "pipe" in KJV |
| רָקַד (raqad) | H7540 | Action of dancing | Verb meaning "to stamp, spring about, leap, skip" (9 occ.); describes vigorous physical leaping, not circular dance |
| כָּרַר (karar) | H3769 | "dance/dancing" | Verb meaning "to dance, whirl" (2 occ.); used only of David's dance (2 Sam 6:14, 16) |
| חָגַג (chagag) | H2287 | Related concept | Verb meaning "to move in a circle, march in sacred procession, keep a feast" (16 occ.); root of chag "festival" |
Synonyms (from SDBH)¶
- H2167 זָמַר (zamar) — to sing, play music
- H3658 כִּנּוֹר (kinnor) — harp
- H4482 מֵן (men) — stringed instrument
- H4885 מָשׂוֹשׂ (masows) — joy, exultation
- H5748 עוּגָב (ugab) — reed instrument, organ
- H8055 שָׂמַח (samach) — to rejoice
- H8057 שִׂמְחָה (simchah) — joy, gladness (94 occ.)
- H8596 תֹּף (toph) — tambourine, timbrel
Antonyms (from SDBH)¶
- H59 אֵבֶל (ebel) — mourning
- H4553 מִסְפֵּד (misped) — lamentation, wailing
- H8242 שַׂק (saq) — sackcloth
Semantic Domain¶
- [002002001020] Turn — Other members: גלל (H1556), הפך (H2015), חול (H2342), יָד (H3027), מְחֹלָה (H4246), סבב (H4142)
LXX Mapping¶
| Greek Equivalent | Co-occurrences | PMI Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| χορός (choros) G5525 | 4 | 10.08 | Primary equivalent; "a ring, round dance" — of uncertain derivation; NT only at Luke 15:25 |
| στρέφω (strepho) G4762 | 3 | 8.42 | "to twist, turn" — used in LXX for the "turning" reversal formula (haphak) rather than for machowl itself |
The LXX consistently renders machowl with choros (G5525), a word meaning "round dance" (whence English "chorus/choir"). This confirms the dance meaning rather than any instrumental sense: the LXX translators, working centuries before the Masoretic vowel pointing, understood machowl as denoting circular dance. G5525 choros appears in the NT only at Luke 15:25 (prodigal son parable: "he heard music and dancing").
Reverse mapping (G5525 → Hebrew sources): The Greek choros maps back to H4246 mechowlah (5 co-occ.) and H4234 machowl (4 co-occ.), confirming these two cognate Hebrew words as the semantic core of "round dance" in the OT.
Generated from: gather_word_data.py, search_strongs.py, search_relationships.py Last updated: 2026-04-30