What does מָחוֹל (māḥôl) mean in the Bible?
מָחוֹל (māḥôl): Circular communal movement expressing joy, celebration, or religious devotion—typically performed by women or mixed groups in ceremonial contexts
Hebrew · H4234
מָחוֹל
A (round) dance
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מָחוֹל H4234
Pronunciation māḥôl
What does מָחוֹל (māḥôl) mean in the Bible?
מָחוֹל (māḥôl): Circular communal movement expressing joy, celebration, or religious devotion—typically performed by women or mixed groups in ceremonial contexts
Full entry for מָחוֹל (H4234) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H4234?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include with dancing (2), and dancing (1), dancing (1), into dancing (1), our dancing (1).
Where does מָחוֹל (māḥôl) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Psalms 30:11. Its strongest book concentrations include Psalms (3), Jeremiah (2), Lamentations (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It with dancing 2× Psalms 149:3, Jeremiah 31:13
and dancing 1× Psalms 150:4
dancing 1× Jeremiah 31:4
into dancing 1× Psalms 30:11
our dancing 1× Lamentations 5:15
Show sample aligned rows
Psalms 30:11 לְמָח֪וֹל to into dancing Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular Psalms 149:3 בְמָח֑וֹל to with dancing Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular Psalms 150:4 וּמָח֑וֹל to and dancing Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular Jeremiah 31:4 בִּמְח֥וֹל to dancing Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct Jeremiah 31:13 בְּמָח֔וֹל to with dancing Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular Lamentations 5:15 מְחֹלֵֽנוּ׃ to our dancing Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Psalms 30:11
Aligned rows 6
Books represented 3
Psalms 3 Jeremiah 2 Lamentations 1
Source forms
בְמָח֑וֹל 1x ḇə·mā·ḥō·wl Psalms 149:3
בְּמָח֔וֹל 1x bə·mā·ḥō·wl Jeremiah 31:13
בִּמְח֥וֹל 1x bim·ḥō·wl Jeremiah 31:4
וּמָח֑וֹל 1x ū·mā·ḥō·wl Psalms 150:4
לְמָח֪וֹל 1x lə·mā·ḥō·wl Psalms 30:11
מְחֹלֵֽנוּ׃ 1x mə·ḥō·lê·nū Lamentations 5:15
Parsing patterns
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular 2x Psalms 149:3, Jeremiah 31:13
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular 1x Psalms 150:4
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common plural 1x Lamentations 5:15
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct 1x Jeremiah 31:4
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular 1x Psalms 30:11
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Circular communal movement expressing joy, celebration, or religious devotion—typically performed by women or mixed groups in ceremonial contexts
Source Gloss
a (round) dance
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Circular communal movement expressing joy, celebration, or religious devotion—typically performed by women or mixed groups in ceremonial contexts
a (round) dance BDB: dance Usage: dance(-cing).
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
Dancing; a round dance; a rhythmic expression of communal and spiritual celebration
Showing 1 selected witness from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain