H811 — אֶשְׁכּוֹל (eshkowl)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H811
Original: אֶשְׁכּוֹל
Transliteration: ʼeshkôwl
Pronunciation: esh-kole'
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: Probably prolonged from an unused root (cf. H812 ʼEshkôl, proper noun for the Amorite ally of Abram and the valley near Hebron)
Occurrences: 9 unique verses (10 tokens)
First Occurrence: Gen 40:10 — "And in the vine [were] three branches: and it [was] as though it budded, [and] her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A bunch of grapes or other fruit; cluster (of grapes). Alternate form: אֶשְׁכֹּל (ʼeshkol). Probably prolonged from an unused root.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
cluster	2	20%
a cluster	1	10%
clusters	1	10%
as clusters	1	10%
to clusters	1	10%
in the cluster	1	10%
the clusters thereof	1	10%
of the cluster of grapes	1	10%
with	1	10%

All translations revolve around "cluster" — KJV renders it uniformly as cluster/clusters in 9 of 10 tokens.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Song of Solomon	3	2.6
Micah	1	1.0
Numbers	2	0.2
Genesis	1	0.1
Deuteronomy	1	0.1
Isaiah	1	0.1

Concentrated in Song of Solomon (3 of 10 tokens). Spread across Law (Gen, Num, Deut), Prophets (Isa, Mic), and Writings (Song). No occurrences in the NT.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Literal Grape Cluster — Agricultural Product¶

Gen 40:10 — "the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes" (Pharaoh's butler dream)
Num 13:23 — "cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff" (spies at Eshcol)
Num 13:24 — "The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence"

2. Metaphor for Blessing and Vitality¶

Isa 65:8 — "As the new wine is found in the cluster, and [one] saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing [is] in it" (the cluster as a vessel of divine blessing; the good preserved among the corrupt)
Song 1:14 — "My beloved [is] unto me [as] a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi" (beloved compared to a fragrant cluster)

3. Metaphor for Judgment and Absence¶

Deut 32:32 — "their grapes [are] grapes of gall, their clusters [are] bitter" (Israel's enemies produce poisonous fruit — inverted cluster imagery)
Mic 7:1 — "there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit" (absence of a cluster = moral desolation, no righteous person found)

4. Romantic / Erotic Imagery¶

Song 7:7 — "thy breasts to clusters [of grapes]" (the beloved's body likened to grape clusters)
Song 7:8 — "thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine" (intimate desire expressed through vineyard metaphor)

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
גֶּפֶן (gephen)	H1612	3x	"vine...clusters" — the vine producing the cluster
עֵנָב (ʻenab)	H6025	3x	"cluster of grapes" — eshkol specifying the cluster, enab the fruit
אֶשְׁכֹּל (ʼEshkol)	H812	2x	Place name derived from this word — "brook of Eshcol"
כָּרַת (karath)	H3772	2x	"cut down...a cluster" — harvesting action at Eshcol
נַחַל (nachal)	H5158	2x	"brook of Eshcol" — the wadi location
תָּמָר (tamar)	H8558	2x	"palm tree...clusters" — paired fruit imagery in Song
שַׁד (shad)	H7699	2x	"breasts...as clusters" — erotic metaphor in Song

Word Family / Cognates¶

H812 אֶשְׁכֹּל (ʼEshkol) — proper noun: the Amorite ally of Abram (Gen 14:13, 24) and the valley/brook near Hebron (Num 13:23–24, 32:9, Deut 1:24). Named for the grape clusters found there.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
צַמּוּק (tsammuq)	H6778	"clusters of raisins"	tsammuq = a cake of dried grapes (raisins); eshkol = a bunch of fresh grapes still on the vine

Semantic Domains¶

Plants — cluster as agricultural product of the vine
Names of Landforms — brook of Eshcol (place name from the word)

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Frequency	PMI Score	Notes
βότρυς (botrys)	G1009	6x	11.47	Primary equivalent — "a bunch of grapes"
σταφυλή (staphyle)	G4718	3x	9.38	Secondary — "a cluster of grapes" (also renders H6025 enab)

G1009 botrys appears only once in the NT (Rev 14:18 — "gather the clusters of the vine of the earth"), carrying the eshkol imagery into eschatological harvest judgment.