חוֹל (chol)
chol
sand
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 20 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun chol refers to the loose, granular material found on beaches and in deserts. Its etymology suggests something that rolls or whirls, capturing the way wind moves particles across the ground. In the Old Testament, this word appears twenty times, featuring prominently in the poetic books of Job and Psalms as well as in the prophetic writings of Jeremiah.
Scripture frequently uses chol as a metaphor for immense quantity or weight. God promises Abraham that his descendants will be as numerous as the sand of the sea (Genesis 32:12), while Psalm 139:18 describes God’s thoughts as more than the grains of sand. The imagery also conveys heaviness, as Job compares his suffering to the weight of the sand (Job 6:3).
Translators consistently render this word as "sand," preserving its concrete physical nature. Unlike abstract terms for multitude, chol grounds the concept of abundance in a tangible, visible reality that ancient readers would immediately recognize from their coastal and desert environments.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word chol points to the loose, granular material found on beaches and in deserts. Its root suggests something that rolls or whirls with the wind. In Scripture, this concrete image grounds abstract concepts of abundance and weight in a reality ancient readers knew well from their coastal and desert environments.
God uses chol to promise Abraham descendants as numerous as the sand (Genesis 22:17). It also describes the heaviness of Job’s suffering (Job 6:3) and the boundless nature of God’s thoughts (Psalm 139:18). This imagery reminds us that God’s promises are vast, yet His care is intimate and personal.
When you feel overwhelmed by life’s burdens or uncertain about the future, remember that the same God who set the sand as a boundary for the sea (Jeremiah 5:22) holds your days in His hands. You can trust in His steady presence, even when circumstances feel as shifting as the desert wind.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 20 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- like the/ sand6×
- more than/ [the] sand of2×
- like/ [the] sand of2×
- sand1×
- more than/ sand1×
- like <the>/ sand1×
- in the/ sand1×
- and/ like/ [the] sand of1×
- and/ like the/ sand1×
- and/ like <the>/ sand1×
- [the] sand of1×
- [the] sand1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- מֵ/ח֣וֹל3×
- כַּ/ח֛וֹל3×
- כַּ/ח֥וֹל2×
- כַּ/ח֖וֹל1×
- כְּ/ח֥וֹל1×
- כְּ/ח֣וֹל1×
- כַ/חוֹל֙1×
- חוֹל֙1×
- חֽוֹל\׃\ \ס1×
- ח֣וֹל1×
- וּֽ/כְ/ח֥וֹל1×
- וְ֝/כַ/ח֗וֹל1×
Key Verses
-
Genesis 22:17
that I will bless you greatly, and I will multiply your offspring greatly like the stars of the heavens, and like the sand which is on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the gate of his enemies.
This verse establishes sand as the primary metaphor for God’s promise of innumerable descendants to Abraham.
-
Job 6:3
For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas, therefore my words have been rash.
Job uses the weight of sea sand to illustrate the crushing heaviness of his personal suffering.
-
Jeremiah 5:22
Don’t you fear me?’ says Yahweh; ‘Won’t you tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it can’t pass it? Though its waves toss themselves, yet they can’t prevail. Though they roar, they still can’t pass over it.’
God places sand as a fixed boundary for the sea, demonstrating His sovereign control over chaotic forces.