H6418 H6418
A spindle (for spinning thread) or an administrative district; two genuinely distinct senses from one noun.
The noun פֶּלֶךְ presents one of Hebrew's more surprising cases of polysemy: the same word denotes both a spindle for spinning thread and an administrative district. The connection may lie in the idea of 'turning' or 'circling' -- a spindle whirls, and a district is a defined circuit of territory. In 2 Samuel 3:29, David curses the house of Joab with men who 'hold the spindle,' implying weakness or effeminacy, while Proverbs 31:19 praises the capable woman whose hands grasp the פֶּלֶךְ. The administrative sense dominates Nehemiah 3, where eight different districts of post-exilic Jerusalem are named in the wall-rebuilding account. Spanish 'huso' (spindle) versus 'distrito' (district) keeps the two senses neatly apart.
Senses
1. district, administrative region — An administrative district or region, used exclusively in Nehemiah 3 for the sub-provinces of post-exilic Judah whose leaders contributed to the Jerusalem wall reconstruction. The term appears with construct forms like פֶּלֶךְ בֵּית צוּר, 'district of Beth-zur' (Neh 3:16), and פֶּלֶךְ מִצְפָּה, 'district of Mizpah' (Neh 3:15). The underlying notion may be a 'circuit' of territory. Spanish 'distrito,' French 'district,' and German 'Bezirk' all converge on this administrative meaning across eight occurrences. 8×
AR["دَائِرَةِ", "لِـ-دَائِرَتِهِ"]·ben["-তার-জেলার-জন্য", "জেলার"]·DE["Bezirk"]·EN["district-of", "for-district-his"]·FR["district"]·heb["ל-פלכו-ו", "פלך"]·HI["अपने-जिले-के-लिए", "जिले-का"]·ID["daerah", "untuk-daerahnya"]·IT["distretto"]·jav["dhistrik", "kangge-dhistrikipun"]·KO["에게-그의-지역", "지역"]·PT["distrito-de", "para-distrito-dele"]·RU["для-округа-его", "округа"]·ES["distrito-de", "para-su-distrito"]·SW["kwa-wilaya-yake", "wilaya-ya"]·TR["bölgesi-için", "bölgesinin"]·urd["علاقے-کے", "کے-لیے-علاقے-اپنے"]
2. spindle (for spinning thread) — A spindle or distaff used in textile production for spinning thread, representing the concrete, physical sense of the word. In Proverbs 31:19, the woman of valor 'sends her hands to the פֶּלֶךְ,' paired with כִּישׁוֹר (distaff), making the spinning context unmistakable. In 2 Samuel 3:29, David's curse envisions men of Joab's house reduced to 'holding the spindle' -- a gendered insult implying incapacity for warfare. Spanish 'huso' and 'rueca' (distaff/spindle) capture the textile craft precisely. 2×
AR["بِ-الْمِغْزَلِ", "فَلْكَةً"]·ben["টাকু", "তকলি"]·DE["Bezirk", "der-spindle"]·EN["the-spindle"]·FR["le-spindle", "פלך"]·heb["ב-פלך", "פלך"]·HI["तकला।", "तकली-को"]·ID["baling-baling-pemintal", "tongkat"]·IT["il-spindle"]·jav["jantra", "tongkat"]·KO["물레", "물레를"]·PT["no-fuso", "roca"]·RU["за-прялку", "прялку"]·ES["en-el-huso", "rueca"]·SW["fimbo", "pia"]·TR["iği"]·urd["تکلا-کو", "تکلے-کو"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† פֶּ֫לֶךְ n.[m.] 1. whirl of spindle. 2. district (proposes circle, circuit);—abs. פ׳ 2 S 3:29, פָּ֑לֶךְ Pr 31:19; cstr. פֶּלֶךְ Ne 3:9 +; sf. פִּלְכּוֹ v 17;— 1. whirl of spindle, 2 S 3:29 (prob., v. Dr), Pr 31:19 (‖ כִּישׁוֹר). 2. district, Ne 3:9, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17(×2), 18.