H4246 — מְחֹלָה (mecholah)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H4246
Original: מְחֹלָה
Transliteration: mᵉchôlâh
Pronunciation: mek-o-law
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: חוּל (chuwl, H2342) — to twist, whirl, dance
Occurrences: 8 in OT (8 unique verses across 4 books)
First Occurrence: Exo 15:20 — "all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Feminine of H4234 (machowl); a dance: — company, dances(-cing).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
in dances	3	37.5%
and with dances	2	25.0%
As it were the company	1	12.5%
and dancing	1	12.5%
and the dancing	1	12.5%

Note: "dances/dancing" accounts for 7 of 8 uses (87.5%). The sole exception is Song 6:13 KJV "company," where the underlying Hebrew כִּמְחֹלַת הַמַּחֲנָיִם is literally "as the dance of two camps/Mahanaim."

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
1 Samuel	3	0.37
Judges	2	0.32
Exodus	2	0.16
Song of Solomon	1	0.85

Genre concentration: entirely narrative and poetry. All narrative uses involve women dancing in celebration after military victory or at festivals. The single poetic use (Song 6:13) is a simile describing the Shulamite's beauty.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Victory Celebration — Women Dancing After Battle¶

Exo 15:20 — "Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances"
1 Sam 18:6 — "the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick"
1 Sam 21:11 — "did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?"
1 Sam 29:5 — "Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?"

2. Religious or Communal Festival Dancing¶

Exo 32:19 — "as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot"
Jdg 11:34 — "his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child"
Jdg 21:21 — "if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards"

3. Poetic Simile — Dance as Image of Beauty/Movement¶

Song 6:13 — "What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies" (lit. "as the dance of Mahanaim")

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יָצָא (yatsaʾ)	H3318	4x (50%)	women "went out" to dance — processional formula
אִשָּׁה (ʾishshâh)	H802	3x (38%)	women as the dancers
דָּוִד (David)	H1732	3x (38%)	David as the honored warrior in victory dances
נָכָה (nakah)	H5221	3x (38%)	"slew" — dance celebrates military victory
שָׁאוּל (Shaʾul)	H7586	3x (38%)	Saul in the victory refrain "Saul slew his thousands"
תֹּף (toph)	H8596	3x (38%)	"timbrel/tabret" — paired percussion instrument
בַּת (bath)	H1323	2x (25%)	"daughter(s)" — young women as dancers
מַחֲנֶה (machaneh)	H4264	2x (25%)	"camp" — military/settlement context

Word Family / Cognates¶

H2342 חוּל (chuwl) — root verb: to twist, whirl, dance, writhe (62 uses; broader semantic range including writhing in pain)
H4234 מָחוֹל (machowl) — masculine cognate: dance, round dance (6 uses; Pss 30:11, 149:3, 150:4; Jer 31:4, 13; Lam 5:15)
H4235 מָחוֹל (Machowl) — proper name: Mahol ("dancing"), father of wise men (1 Ki 4:31)

Synonyms (SDBH)¶

H7891 שִׁיר (shiyr) — to sing (87 uses; co-occurs with mecholah at 1 Sam 18:6; singing and dancing as paired activities)
H7991 שָׁלִישׁ (shaliysh) — musical instrument, triangle/three-stringed lute (20 uses; co-occurs at 1 Sam 18:6)
H8057 שִׂמְחָה (simchah) — joy, gladness (94 uses; co-occurs at 1 Sam 18:6; joy as the broader emotional context of dance)
H8596 תֹּף (toph) — timbrel, tambourine (17 uses; co-occurs 3x — Exo 15:20, Jdg 11:34, 1 Sam 18:6)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
מָחוֹל (machowl)	H4234	both = "dance(s)"	H4234 is masculine, used in Psalms/prophets for worship/restoration; H4246 feminine, used in narratives for processional celebration
רָקַד (raqad)	H7540	both = "dancing"	raqad = stamping/leaping (individual, vigorous); mecholah = group dance (communal procession)
כָּרַר (karar)	H3769	both = "dancing"	karar = whirling (only 2x, both of David in 2 Sam 6:14, 16); mecholah = women's celebratory dance

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Frequency	Notes
χορός (choros) G5525	5x (primary)	PMI 10.18; ring-dance, chorus — closest semantic match
ἐξέρχομαι (exerchomai) G1831	3x	PMI 4.19; reflects the "going out" context rather than the word itself