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
H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)H1697 1. word, speech, utterance (1235×)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×)
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.