ATS Bible Dictionary
WheelPsalm 83:13, translated "rolling thing" in Isaiah 17:13. Mr. Thomson, for many years a missionary in Syria, thinks the wild artichoke may here be referred to. This plant sends out numerous stalks or branches of equal length in all directions, forming a globe a foot in diameter. These globes become rigid and light as a feather in autumn, and thousands of them fly rolling and bounding over the plains, the sport of every wind. This "rolling thing" furnishes the modern Arabs with a current proverb and a curse.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
WHEELhwel:
(1) 'ophan, is the usual word (Exodus 14:25, etc.). In Proverbs 20:26 Isaiah 28:27 the rollers of a threshing wagon are meant (see AGRICULTURE).
(2) galgal, "rolling thing," generally in the sense of "wheel" (Isaiah 5:28, etc.), but the Revised Version (British and American) in Ezekiel 10:2, 6, 13 has "whirling wheels," an advantageous change. The "wheel.... broken at the cistern" in Ecclesiastes 12:6 is the windlass for drawing the water, and by the figure the breakdown of the old man's breathing apparatus is probably meant. In Psalm 83:13, the King James Version has "wheel," but this translation (that of the Septuagint) is quite impossible; the Revised Version (British and American) "whirling dust" (sucked up by a miniature whirlwind) is perhaps right, but the translations proposed are end-less.
(3) gilgal, Isaiah 28:28, the roller of a threshing wagon.
(4) 'obhnayim, Jeremiah 18:3. See POTTER.
(5) pa`am, Judges 5:28, literally, "step" (so the Revised Version margin), and the sound of horses' hoofs is intended.
(6) trochos, Sirach 33:5; James 3:6 (the King James Version "course"). In the former passage, "The heart of a fool is as a cart-wheel," the changeableness of a light disposition is satirized. In James the figure is of a wheel in rotation, so that a flame starting at any point is quickly communicated to the whole. Just so an apparently insignificant sin of the tongue produces an incalculably destructive effect.
The phrase "wheel of nature" (trochos tes geneseos) is used here for "the world in progress." It is not a very natural figure and has given rise to much discussion. the King James Version accents trochos ("course") instead of trochos (" wheel"). but the language throughout is metaphorical and "course" is not a sufficiently metaphorical word. The translation "birth" for geneseos (so the Revised Version margin). i.e. "a wheel set in motion by birth." is out of the question. as the argument turns on results wider than any individual's existence. "Wheel of nature" is certainly right. But a comparison of life to a wheel in some sense or other (chiefly that of "Fortune's wheel") is common enough in Greek and Latin writers, and, indeed the exact combination trochos geneseos is found in at least one (Orphic) writer (full references in the commentaries of Mayor and W. Bauer). It would seem, then, that James had heard the phrase, and he used it as a striking figure, with entire indifference to any technical significance it might have. This supposition is preferable to that of an awkward translation from the Aramaic.
See COURSE.
Burton Scott Easton
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Hebrews galgal; rendered "wheel" in
Psalm 83:13, and "a rolling thing" in Isaiah 17:13; R.V. in both, "whirling dust"). This word has been supposed to mean the wild artichoke, which assumes the form of a globe, and in autumn breaks away from its roots, and is rolled about by the wind in some places in great numbers.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) A circular frame turning about an axis; a rotating disk, whether solid, or a frame composed of an outer rim, spokes or radii, and a central hub or nave, in which is inserted the axle, -- used for supporting and conveying vehicles, in machinery, and for various purposes; as, the wheel of a wagon, of a locomotive, of a mill, of a watch, etc.
2. (n.) Any instrument having the form of, or chiefly consisting of, a wheel.
3. (n.) A spinning wheel. See under Spinning.
4. (n.) An instrument of torture formerly used.
5. (n.) A circular frame having handles on the periphery, and an axle which is so connected with the tiller as to form a means of controlling the rudder for the purpose of steering.
6. (n.) A potter's wheel. See under Potter.
7. (n.) A firework which, while burning, is caused to revolve on an axis by the reaction of the escaping gases.
8. (n.) The burden or refrain of a song.
9. (n.) A bicycle or a tricycle; a velocipede.
10. (n.) A rolling or revolving body; anything of a circular form; a disk; an orb.
11. (n.) A turn revolution; rotation; compass.
12. (v. t.) To convey on wheels, or in a wheeled vehicle; as, to wheel a load of hay or wood.
13. (v. t.) To put into a rotatory motion; to cause to turn or revolve; to cause to gyrate; to make or perform in a circle.
14. (v. i.) To turn on an axis, or as on an axis; to revolve; to more about; to rotate; to gyrate.
15. (v. i.) To change direction, as if revolving upon an axis or pivot; to turn; as, the troops wheeled to the right.
16. (v. i.) To go round in a circuit; to fetch a compass.
17. (v. i.) To roll forward.
Strong's Hebrew
212. ophan -- a wheel... << 211, 212. ophan. 213 >>. a
wheel. Transliteration: ophan Phonetic Spelling:
(o-fawn') Short Definition: wheels. Word Origin of uncertain
... /hebrew/212.htm - 5k 1534. galgal -- a wheel, whirl, whirlwind
... galgal. 1535 >>. a wheel, whirl, whirlwind. Transliteration: galgal Phonetic Spelling:
(gal-gal') Short Definition: wheels. ... heaven, rolling thing, wheel. ...
/hebrew/1534.htm - 6k
1536. gilgal -- a wheel
... gilgal. 1537 >>. a wheel. Transliteration: gilgal Phonetic Spelling: (ghil-gawl')
Short Definition: wheel. ... of galgal Definition a wheel NASB Word Usage wheel (1) ...
/hebrew/1536.htm - 6k
70. oben -- a wheel, disk
... << 69, 70. oben. 71 >>. a wheel, disk. Transliteration: oben Phonetic Spelling:
(o'ben) Short Definition: birthstool. Word ... 1). wheel, stool. ...
/hebrew/70.htm - 6k
1535. galgal -- a wheel
... << 1534, 1535. galgal. 1536 >>. a wheel. Transliteration: galgal Phonetic Spelling:
(gal-gal') Short Definition: wheels. Word ... wheel. (Aramaic ...
/hebrew/1535.htm - 6k
2840. chishshur -- a nave, hub (of a wheel)
... chishshur or chishshur. 2841 >>. a nave, hub (of a wheel). Transliteration: chishshur
or chishshur Phonetic Spelling: (khish-shoor') Short Definition: hubs. ...
/hebrew/2840.htm - 6k
2839. chishshuq -- spoke (of a wheel)
... chishshuq or chishshuq. 2840 >>. spoke (of a wheel). Transliteration: chishshuq
or chishshuq Phonetic Spelling: (khish-shook') Short Definition: spokes. ...
/hebrew/2839.htm - 6k
6471. paam -- a beat, foot, anvil, occurrence
... anvil, corner, foot(-step), going, (hundred-)fold, X now, (this) + once, order,
rank, step, + thrice, ((often-)), second, this, two) time(-s), twice, wheel. ...
/hebrew/6471.htm - 6k
