מַחֲלֹ֫קֶת H4256
Division, course; an organizational unit especially of priests and Levites, or an allotted tribal portion of land.
A technical term of administrative and liturgical organization, appearing almost exclusively in Chronicles and related texts. Primarily denotes the rotating courses or divisions of priests and Levites who served at the temple, as established by David (1 Chr 23-27). Spanish divisiones, French divisions, and German Abteilungen all confirm this organizational meaning. The word also appears in the Deuteronomistic and Priestly sources for the tribal allotments of the promised land (Josh 11:23; 12:7; 18:10), where it refers to the portions distributed among the tribes. Ezekiel 48:29 uses it for the eschatological redistribution of the land.
Senses
1. division, course — An organizational division or rotating course, especially of priests and Levites serving at the temple in scheduled turns. This is the dominant usage (41 occurrences), concentrated in 1 Chronicles 23-27 and 2 Chronicles. Multilingual evidence converges on division/división/division/Abteilung. Key passages include David's organization of Levitical courses (1 Chr 23:6; 24:1) and the monthly military divisions (1 Chr 27:1-15). The land-allotment passages in Joshua (11:23; 12:7; 18:10) also fall here, denoting tribal divisions of territory. 41×
AR["أَقْسامُ", "الْفِرَقَ", "الْفِرَقِ", "فَرِيقِهِ", "فِرَقَ", "كَ-أَقْسامِهِمْ"]·ben["-দলগুলোকে", "তাদের-বিভাগ-অনুসারে", "তাদের-ভাগ-অনুসারে", "তার-বিভাগের", "দল", "বিভাগগুলি", "বিভাগগুলি-", "বিভাগসমূহের"]·DE["Abteilungen", "[מחלקות]", "der-Abteilungen", "gemaess-zu-ihr-Abteilungen", "seine-Abteilung"]·EN["according-to-their-divisions", "divisions-of", "his-division", "the-divisions", "the-divisions-of"]·FR["der-divisions", "divisions", "sa-division", "selon-à-leur-divisions"]·heb["ה-מחלקות", "כ-מחלקותם", "מחלקות", "מחלקתו-ו"]·HI["-के-विभाग", "-के-विभागों", "उसके-विभाग", "टुकड़ियोंको।", "भाग", "भागों-को", "विभागों", "विभाजन-के-अनुसार"]·ID["-pembagian-pembagian", "dua-puluh", "menurut-pembagian-mereka", "pembagiannya", "rombongan-rombongan"]·IT["divisioni", "il-divisioni", "la-sua-divisione", "secondo-loro-divisions"]·jav["bagian", "golongan-golongan", "miturut-pandom-ipun", "para-regu", "pèrang-pèrangan", "péranganing-péranganing", "péranganipun"]·KO["구획들이었다", "그-구분들의", "그-반들을", "그의-구분", "반들", "반들-을", "에-따라-그들의-구분에"]·PT["as-divisões", "conforme-suas-divisões", "divisões-de", "sua-divisão", "vinte"]·RU["отделения", "по-разделениям-их", "разрядов", "разрядом-его", "смены", "череды", "черёды"]·ES["divisiones-de", "división-de-él", "las-divisiones", "según-sus-divisiones"]·SW["kundi-lake", "kwa-migawanyo-yao", "machlkwot", "makundi", "migawanyo-ya", "zamu", "zamu-zile"]·TR["bölükleri", "bölüklerin", "bölümleri", "bölümlerine-göre", "bölümlerini", "bölüğünün"]·urd["-قسموں", "اُس-کے-گروہ", "تقسیم", "تقسیموں-کے-مطابق", "حصے", "ٹولیوں", "گروہوں-کے"]
Josh 11:23, Josh 12:7, Josh 18:10, 1 Chr 23:6, 1 Chr 24:1, 1 Chr 26:1, 1 Chr 26:12, 1 Chr 26:19, 1 Chr 27:1, 1 Chr 27:1, 1 Chr 27:2, 1 Chr 27:2 (+29 more)
2. allotted portion, share — An allotted portion or share distributed as inheritance, with emphasis on the distributive result rather than the organizational structure. Attested in Ezekiel 48:29, where the prophet describes the eschatological redistribution of the land. English 'their portions' and Spanish sus porciones highlight the shift from organizational grouping to the share itself that is received. 1×
AR["أَقْسَامُهُمْ"]·ben["তাদের-ভাগ"]·DE["Abteilung"]·EN["their-portions"]·FR["division"]·heb["מחלקותם"]·HI["उनके-भाग"]·ID["pembagian-pembagian-mereka"]·IT["divisione"]·jav["pérangané"]·KO["그들의-분배이다"]·PT["suas-divisões"]·RU["разделы-их"]·ES["sus-porciones"]·SW["sehemu-zao"]·TR["payları"]·urd["حصے-اُن-کے"]
Related Senses
H3605 1. all, every, whole (5352×)H0259 1. one (cardinal numeral) (940×)H8147 1. cardinal number two (666×)G3956 1. all (collective plural) (616×)H3967 1. cardinal numeral hundred (550×)H1419a 1. great, large (general quality) (486×)H7969 1. cardinal number three (431×)H0505 1. cardinal number thousand (427×)H7651 1. seven (cardinal number) (393×)G1520 1. cardinal number one (339×)H6240 1. ten (cardinal number) (334×)H6242 1. twenty (cardinal number) (315×)H2568 1. cardinal number five (309×)H0702 1. four (cardinal number) (277×)G3956 2. every, each (distributive) (227×)H8337 1. six (cardinal number) (215×)G3956 3. all things, everything (substantive) (211×)G3956 4. (187×)H6235 1. ten (177×)G3173 1. great in size or extent (176×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
מַחֲלֹ֫קֶת n.f. division, course (almost wholly Chr.)—מ׳ abs. 1 Ch 27:1, 2; cstr. 1 Ch 27:4; sf. מַחֲלֻקְתּוֹ 1 Ch 27:2 + 14 times 1 Ch 27; abs. מַחְלְקוֹת 1 Ch 23:6 + 6 times Ch + 1 S 23:28 (v. infr.); cstr. id. 1 Ch 26:12 + 5 times Ch + Ne 11:36; sf. מַהְלְקוֹתֵיכֶם 2 Ch 35:4; מַחְלְקוֹתֵיהֶם 2 Ch 31:16, 17; מַחְלְקוֹתָם 1 Ch 24:1 + 3 times in Ch; מַחְלְקֹתָם Jos 11:23; 12:7; 18:10 Ez 48:29;—…