Chebel
Smith's Bible Dictionary [1]
Che'bel. (cord). One of the singular topographical terms in which the ancient Hebrew language abounded. We find it always attached to the region of Argob . Deuteronomy 3:4; Deuteronomy 3:13-14; 1 Kings 4:13.
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [2]
(חֶבֶל, che´ bel; usually rendered in the older versions σχοίνισμα, περίμετρον, περίχωρον; regio, funiculus), one of the singular topographical terms (q.v.) in which the ancient Hebrew language abounded, and which add so, much force and precision :to its records. The ordinary meaning of the word is a "rope" or " cord;" and in this sense it frequently occurs both literally (as Joshua 2:15, "cord;" 1 Kings 20:31, "ropes;" Isaiah 33:23, "tacklings;" Amos 7:17, "line") and metaphorically (as Ecclesiastes 12:6; Isaiah 5:18; Hosea 11:4). From this it has passed — with a curious correspondence to our own modes of speech — to denote a body of men, a "band" (as in Psalms 119:61). In 1 Samuel 10:5; 1 Samuel 10:10, our word " string" would not be inappropriate to the circumstances — "a string of prophets coming down from the high place." Further it is found in other metaphorical senses, arising out of its original meaning (as Job 18:10; Psalms 18:4; Jeremiah 13:21). From the idea of a measuring-line ( Micah 2:5), it has come to mean a "portion" or "allotment" (as 1 Chronicles 16:18; Psalms 105:11; Ezekiel 47:13). It is the word used in the familiar passage "the lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places" ( Psalms 16:6). But in its topographical sense, as meaning a "tract" or "district," we find it always attached to the region of Argob, which is invariably designated by this, and by no other term ( Deuteronomy 3:4; Deuteronomy 3:13-14; 1 Kings 4:13). Its propriety is illustrated by a late traveler in those regions, who shows the abrupt definiteness of the boundary of the district (Graham, in Cambridge Essays, 1858). A comparison of the fact that Argob was taken possession of by Manasseh — a part of the great tribe of Joseph — with the use of this word by that tribe, and by Joshua in his retort, in the very early and characteristic fragment, Joshua 17:5; Joshua 17:14 (A. V. "portion"), prompts the suggestion that it may have been a provincialism in use among that large and independent part of Israel. Or its application to the "rocky shore" of Argob may be illustrated and justified by its use ( Zephaniah 2:5-7; A. V. "coast") for the "coast line" of the' Mediterranean along Philistia. In connection with the sea-shore it is also employed in Joshua 19:29. (See Argob).
