[h=1]Chol (Bible)[/h]
Chol (Hebrew: ח֗וֹל), in most passages of the Hebrew Bible, is a word for sand.[SUP][1][/SUP] It is used, for example, in the idiom "like sand" in which something (such as a population) is compared to sand in multitude. However, in one verse of the Bible, Job 29:18, the word chol is used with a disputed meaning.
The Westminster Leningrad Codex reads:
In one English translation, this reads:
A number of English translations use the term "phoenix"[SUP][4][/SUP] in this verse, while the King James Version and the Luther Bibleuse "sand" (German "Sand").[SUP][5][/SUP] In Jewish folklore, chol refers to a supernatural bird, often glossed as, or identified with, the Greek phoenix.
Modern scholars have differed in their understanding of Job 29:18. Roelof Van den Broek (1971) believed that "sand" was the most appropriate interpretation in this verse, following the usage in other verses. On his interpretation, "multiply my days like the sand" would be a metaphor for a long life.[SUP][6][/SUP] On the other hand, Mitchell Dahood (1974) argued in favor of the interpretation "phoenix" on the basis of parallels between Job and Ugaritic texts.[SUP][7][/SUP]
The understanding of chol as a phoenix-like bird has resulted in an amount of discourse on the topic.[SUP][8][/SUP]
Chol (Hebrew: ח֗וֹל), in most passages of the Hebrew Bible, is a word for sand.[SUP][1][/SUP] It is used, for example, in the idiom "like sand" in which something (such as a population) is compared to sand in multitude. However, in one verse of the Bible, Job 29:18, the word chol is used with a disputed meaning.
The Westminster Leningrad Codex reads:
In one English translation, this reads:
Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,
and I shall multiply my days like the phoenix; -- New Revised Standard Version
In the Greek Septuagint (circa 200 BCE), the translators used the Ancient Greek expression στέλεχος φοίνικος (stélechos phoínikos, "stem/trunk of a palm tree") when they reached the Hebrew chol in Job 29.[SUP][2][/SUP] Similarly, the Latin Vulgate (circa 400 CE), uses palma (Latin for "palm tree").[SUP][3][/SUP]and I shall multiply my days like the phoenix; -- New Revised Standard Version
A number of English translations use the term "phoenix"[SUP][4][/SUP] in this verse, while the King James Version and the Luther Bibleuse "sand" (German "Sand").[SUP][5][/SUP] In Jewish folklore, chol refers to a supernatural bird, often glossed as, or identified with, the Greek phoenix.
Modern scholars have differed in their understanding of Job 29:18. Roelof Van den Broek (1971) believed that "sand" was the most appropriate interpretation in this verse, following the usage in other verses. On his interpretation, "multiply my days like the sand" would be a metaphor for a long life.[SUP][6][/SUP] On the other hand, Mitchell Dahood (1974) argued in favor of the interpretation "phoenix" on the basis of parallels between Job and Ugaritic texts.[SUP][7][/SUP]
The understanding of chol as a phoenix-like bird has resulted in an amount of discourse on the topic.[SUP][8][/SUP]
