חֶ֫לֶד

From the study of Psalm 39:5

Range of meaning

Duration or lifespan (Job 11:17; Ps 89:47 'remember how short my cheled is'). It can also mean 'the world' in the sense of the passing world of the living (Ps 49:1; 17:14, 'men of the world whose portion is in this life').

Against the English

BSB/WEB 'lifetime'; KJV 'mine age' (meaning 'my lifespan', not 'how old I am'); ESV 'lifetime'; NIV 'the span of my years'; Septuagint hypostasis ('substance, existence').

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 89:47 is very close in thought: 'Remember how short my cheled is.' The sound-echo with chadel ('ceasing, fleeting') in verse 4 matches the pair cheled/chedel in Isaiah 38:11, where the manuscripts themselves waver between the two, which shows how easily the two words were heard together.

From the study of Psalm 49:1

Range of meaning

A rare word (about five times). (1) A span of life, duration: Ps 39:5 'my lifetime (ḥeldi) is as nothing before you'; Ps 89:47 'remember how short my lifespan (ḥeled) is'; Job 11:17 'your life will be brighter than noon'. (2) The world, the earth as inhabited: Ps 17:14 'men of the world (meḥeled)' whose share is in this life; here. HALOT lists these as two meanings. Many scholars, following Delitzsch, think the 'world' sense grows out of the 'duration' sense: the world seen as a temporary, time-bound place.

Against the English

All the major English versions say 'world'. That is correct as a reference, but it covers up the word's link to the shortness of life. A modern reader hears 'world' as the planet or the global population. A Hebrew poet choosing ḥeled rather than the common words erets or tevel was likely hinting at the passing world.

How it drifted

English has no single word for 'world as a span of time'. Translators choose 'world' for the sense, and the overtone of transience falls away.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 17:14 is the closest parallel. There 'men of ḥeled' are people whose portion is in this life and who leave their wealth to their children, which is exactly the subject of Psalm 49. Isa 38:11 has 'inhabitants of ḥedel' (cessation), which many scholars read as a scribal swap for ḥeled, giving the same phrase as here. The Septuagint uses oikoumenē, 'the inhabited world', and the Vulgate uses orbem.

From the study of Psalm 89:47

Range of meaning

(1) Duration of life, lifetime, lifespan. (2) The world, the earthly sphere where people live out their short lives. Both senses carry a sense of what is passing and temporary.

Against the English

KJV and WEB 'how short my time is', BSB 'the briefness of my lifespan', NIV 'how fleeting is my life'. All of these add 'short', 'brief' or 'fleeting', which the Hebrew implies through the exclamation 'what a lifespan!' but does not spell out. YLT's 'what [is] life-time?' keeps the bare Hebrew.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 39:5: 'my lifetime (cheldi) is as nothing before you.' Job 11:17: 'your life (cheled) will be brighter than noon.' Psalm 17:14 and 49:1 use it for 'the world'. HALOT lists both senses.