Handful
Handful [1]
hand´fool : There are five words in Hebrew used to indicate what may be held in the hand, either closed or open.
(1) חפן , ḥōphen , חפנים , ḥophnayim ̌ . The fist or closed hand occurs in the dual in Exodus 9:8 , where it signifies what can be taken in the two hands conjoined, a double handful.
(2) כּף , kaph , "hollow of the hand," the palm; an open handful ( Leviticus 9:17; 1 Kings 17:12; Ecclesiastes 4:6 ).
(3) עמיר , ‛āmı̄r , "sheaf or bundle." It signifies the quantity of grain a gleaner may gather in his hand ( Jeremiah 9:22 (Hebrew 21)).
(4) קמץ , ḳōmec , "the closed handful" ( Genesis 41:47; Leviticus 2:2; Leviticus 5:12; Leviticus 6:15 ( Hebrews 6:8 ); Numbers 5:26 ).
(5) שׁעל , shō‛al , "the hollow of the hand," or what can be held in it ( 1 Kings 20:10; Ezekiel 13:19 ). In Isaiah 40:12 it signifies "measure."
(6) פסּה , piṣṣāh ( Psalm 72:16 ) is rendered "handful" by the King James Version, but is properly "abundance" as in the Revised Version (British and American).
