טְחֹר

From the study of 1 Samuel 5:6

Range of meaning

ṭəḥōrîm: swellings or growths. Later Hebrew and Aramaic use it for hemorrhoids, from a root associated with straining. 'ōpel: a swelling or mound. The same word names the hill of Ophel in Jerusalem. Elsewhere in the Bible these words appear only in Deut 28:27 (a covenant curse: 'the boil of Egypt, swellings, scab and itch') and in 1 Sam 5–6.

Against the English

KJV 'emerods' is an old English form of 'hemorrhoids'. Modern versions say 'tumors', which today suggests cancer. The original means visible, painful swellings, without specifying the disease.

How it drifted

Wherever the written text has 'ŏpālîm, the Masoretic reading tradition says ṭəḥōrîm aloud instead. Rabbinic tradition explains this as replacing a word thought indelicate (b. Megillah 25b lists such euphemistic substitutions). The Greek (hedrai, 'seats', i.e. the backside) and the Latin Vulgate (striking 'the more secret part of the buttocks') took it as an anal complaint, and that reading passed into the KJV as 'emerods'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 28:27 has the same written word and the same spoken substitute. In 1 Sam 6:4–5, golden models of the swellings are sent back with golden mice. Sending a model of the affliction or of the afflicted body part is a known ancient practice of reparation and healing.

From the study of 1 Samuel 6:5

Range of meaning

Swellings, tumors, boils. It occurs only in 1 Samuel 6 (vv. 11, 17 and the reading tradition of 5:6–6:5) and in Deuteronomy 28:27 among the covenant curses ('the boils of Egypt, the ṭəḥōrîm, the scab and the itch'). The written text in 1 Sam 5–6 often has ʿŏpālîm, 'mounds, swellings', which the Masoretic reading tradition replaced with ṭəḥōrîm, possibly as a more delicate word.

Against the English

KJV 'emerods' is an old English form of 'hemorrhoids', following the Greek and Latin tradition that the swellings were in 'the seat'. Modern versions say 'tumors', which is neutral but makes modern readers think of cancer. 'Swellings' is probably closest.

How it drifted

'Emerods' reflects the ancient interpretation found in the Septuagint and Vulgate. 'Tumor' has narrowed in modern English toward cancerous growth, which the Hebrew does not imply.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint renders the word with hedrai ('seats', i.e. ailments of the anus). The Vulgate speaks of the hidden parts of the buttocks. Deuteronomy 28:27 places the condition among Egypt-like plagues.

From the study of Deuteronomy 28:27

Range of meaning

Ophel means 'mound, swelling' (the same word names the Ophel hill in Jerusalem), so ophalim are 'swellings, lumps'. Teḥorim, the word read aloud, is the term later Hebrew and Aramaic use for hemorrhoids, swellings at the anus. The Greek translation uses hedrai ('seats', a polite term for the anus or hemorrhoids). The Vulgate spells it out: 'the part of the body through which waste is expelled'.

Against the English

'Emerods' (KJV, YLT) is an old English form of 'hemorrhoids'. 'Tumors' (BSB, WEB and most modern versions) is deliberately general, but today 'tumor' suggests cancer, which is not the point.

How it drifted

'Emerods' fell out of use. 'Tumor' narrowed in modern medical English to mean an abnormal growth, often cancerous.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same written/read pair appears in 1 Sam 5:6, 9, 12 and 6:4–5 (the Philistines struck after taking the ark, who send back golden models of the swellings along with golden mice). The Talmud (b. Megillah 25b) lists bā'ophalim/baṭṭeḥorim among words 'written indelicately but read delicately'.