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גֻּלָּה gullāh – bowl, hemispherical basin

Semantic Fields: Utensils   
Author(s): Willem Smelik
First published: 2011-05-18
Last update: 2025-10-9
Citation: Willem Smelik, גֻּלָּה gullāh – bowl, hemispherical basin,
               Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database (sahd-online.com), 2011 (update: 2025) (WORK IN PROGRESS)

Introduction

Grammatical type: noun fem.

Occurrences: 15x HB (0/11/4); 0x Sir; 0x Qum; 0x Inscr. (Total: 15)

  • Nebiim: Josh 15:19 (3x); Judg 1:15 (3x); 1 Kgs 7:41 (2x), 42; Zech 4:2, 3;
  • Ketubim: Eccl 12:6; 2 Chron 4:12 (2x), 13.

1. Root and Comparative Material

A.1 Root: The word גֻּלָּה derives from the √gll ‘to be round’ and basically designates a spherical vessel.1 Other derivatives of the same root designate circular objects, like wheels, disks and balls. In several Semitic languages, among them Arabic, derivatives of the √gwl have similar meanings.

A.2 Akkadian: In Mari the gullum, a Syrian vessel, was a large hemispherical drinking cup of gold, silver, or, more rarely, bronze, provided with one or more handles, sometimes decorated with indented hammering imitating a basket.2

A.3 Ugaritic: gl ‘cup’ (of silver and gold).3

A.4 Phoenician, Punic: See under Greek and Latin.

A.5 Samaritan Aramaic: אגול ‘pond’, and גולה, a ‘jewel’ (as rendering of כוּמָז, a roundish gold jewel, in Exod. 35:22).4

A.6 Classical Arabic: ǧullat ‘a large receptacle ... for dates’; 489, ǧūll ‘wall surrounding a well’.5

A.7 Ethiopic: gwellelāt ‘metal ornament surmounted by a cross placed atop a church’6; gullelat, ‘clay pot put on the top of an Ethiopian house, cupola, dome’.7

A.8 Sanskrit, Greek and Latin: Probably Sanskrit gôlas, ‘a waterpot’, Greek γαυλός ‘milk-pail, water-bucket, machine for raising water, any round vessel’, γαῦλος ‘round-built Phoenician ship’8 and Latin gaulus, ‘pail, round vessel’9 are all loans from Semitic languages.10

A.9 Rabbinical Literature: In LevR 32.8 the occurrence of גּוּלָה in the meaning of ‘cup, bowl’ is a quotation from Zech 4:2.

2. Formal Characteristics

A.1 [Discussion will be added later.]

3. Syntagmatics

A.1 [Discussion will be added later.]

4. Ancient Versions

a. Septuagint (LXX) and other Greek versions (αʹ, σʹ, θʹ):11

  • Γολαθμαιν (Josh 15:19, 3x, with many orthographic variants, apparently taking it as a placename, *מים גאלת), like λύτρωσις ὕδατος ‘ransom of water’ (Judg 1:15, 3x, representing *מים גאלת);
  • λύτρωσις, ‘act of procuring release from bondage’, here ‘claim on that which is currently not in one's possession’: Judg 1:15;
  • στρεπτός, ‘twisted’, here ‘wreathed decorative work on the capital of a column’: 1 Kgs 7:41-42 (LXX 7:27-28);
  • λαμπαδεῖον, ‘bowl (of a lamp)’: Zech 4:2-3;
  • ἀνθέμιον, ‘small flower’: Qoh 12:6;
  • γωλαθ, ‘ball, small globe’: 2 Chron 4:12-13.15 CHECK: STAAT NIET IN GELS.

In Qoh. 12:6 α´ has λύτρωσις, probably representing גְּאֻלָה; σ´ περιφερὴς, ‘round shape’; θ´ χελώνη, ‘tortoise-shell’.16 VERWIJZING NAAR FIELD ERBIJ?

b. Peshitta (Pesh):17

  • ܚܦܪܐ (ḥefrā), ‘ditch, pit’: Josh 15:19;
  • ܒܝܬ ܫܩܝܐ (bēt šeqyā), ‘well-watered place’, ‘house of irrigation’: Judg 1:15;
  • ܐܓܢܐ (ʾagnā), ‘basin’, ‘pitcher’, ‘base of a vessel’: 1 Kgs 7:41-42;
  • ܟܦܬܐ (keftā), ‘dish, pan’: Zech 4:2-3.

c. Targum (Tg):

  • שקיא בית אתר, ‘irrigation place’: Josh 15:19; Judg 1:15;
  • אגנא, ‘basin, kettle, vessel’: 1 Kgs 7:41-42);
  • גולתא, ‘bowl’: Zech 4:2-3;
  • גּוּלגֹּלֶת, ‘skull’: Qoh 12:6 (apparently, paraphrastic).

d. Vulgate (Vg):

  • inriguum, ‘watered, sprinkled’: Josh 15:19; Judg 1:15;
  • funiculos, ‘cord’: 1 Kgs 7:41-42;
  • lampas, ‘lampstand’: Zech 4:2-3;
  • vitta, ‘cord’: Qoh 12:6ܚ
  • epistylia, ‘architrave’: 2 Chron 4:12-13.

5. Lexical/Semantic Fields

A.1 [Discussion will be added later.]

6. Exegesis

6.1 Literal Use

A.1 In Josh 15:19 (= Judg 1:15) the גֻּלָּה refers to a reservoir of water (מָיִם גֻּלֹּת), or perhaps a spring, located in the Judaean hill country.

A.2 The same noun refers to the piece on top of the pillars Boaz and Jachin (הָעַמּוּדִים עַל ־רֹאשׁ אֲשֶׁר הַכֹּתָרֹת גֻּלֹּת) in 1 Kgs 7:41 (הָעַמּוּדִים עַל ־פְּּנֵי in 1 Kgs 7:42; | 2 Chron 4:12-13). Both these spheres were covered with a network (שְׁתַֹּיִם הַשְּׂבָכֹות), each of which was embellished by two rows of pomegranates (הָרִמֹּנִים), 400 in all. The symbolical meaning of the spheres is disputed,19 but if the two pillars Boaz and Jachin represented the guarding ancestors of the Davidic dynasty, as argued by De Moor, the spheres may simply represent their heads in an aniconic way.20 See for an artist’s impression of the two pillars.21 Possibly this is a later development and were the capitals originally provided with faces.

A.3 Zech 4:2-3 גּוּלָּה describes a hemispherical bowl on top of a golden lampstand (זָהָב מְנֹורַת). Presumably this bowl too was made of gold and served as a reservoir for the oil of the seven lamps that were mounted round about upon it.22 What these occurrences seem to have in common, is neither their function (water; building material; oil for lighting) nor their material (gold, stone, rock), but only their (hemi)spherical shape.

A.4 In view of the fact that the cognate words in Akkadian and Ugaritic denote golden and silver hemispherical drinking bowls (see Root and Comparative Material), it is unlikely that the word גֻּלָּה in Qoh 12:6 denotes anything else.23 It is also overstretching the meaning of Hebrew → חֶבֶל to make it ‘a silver tendril’ of a golden lampstand.24 Precious metals could be worked into torques resembling ropes or cords in antiquity.25 Qoh 12:6a therefore depicts the end of a wealthy man: the silver chain he was wearing proudly will be removed and the golden cup from which he used to drink will be broken into pieces to be melted down again. Qoh 12:6b compares this man’s end with that of a humble woman: her earthen jar (→ כַּד) and the wheel (→ גַּלְגַּל) with which she had to haul up water will be broken. It was a task of girls to fetch water in their earthen jars,26 just as grinding was a daily chore of women.27 Both Qoh 12:3 and Qoh 12:6 depict the unexpected cruel end of men and women in the prime of life who become victims of warfare or plague. In this way the wisdom teacher brings home his message that death might come just as unexpectedly to the youth he is addressing (Qoh 12:1) as to aged people.

6.2 Figurative Use

A.1 It is possible that the designation of a pond or spring by the word גֻּלָּה is a metaphorical use of the term (see Conclusion).

A.2 Some scholars have suggested that the golden גֻּלָּה in Qoh 12:6 should be taken as a metaphor for the beauty of life.28 As shown above, this is an unnecessary assumption.

6.3 Pictorial Material

A.1 For possible examples of lampstands with multiple spouts arond a circular basin in the middle see North 1970. The meaning ‘pool, natural water-basin’ is suggested by the fact that swirling water from a natural water outlet tends to hollow out a roundish basin in the rock.29

6.4 Archeological Remarks

A.1 [Will be added later.]30

7. Conclusion

A.1 It is likely that a hemispherical cup or bowl stands at the basis of all meanings, including larger convex vessels, the spheres crowning the pillars Boaz and Jachin, the bowl-shaped form on top of lampstands (though not in stone) and (metaphorically) a bowl-shaped natural basin filled by a natural water outlet. The English word ‘bowl’ has the same broad semantic spectrum. While both contents and construction material may vary, in most instances the bowl or basin contains a liquid. Originally it seems to have been a fairly large hemispherical drinking vessel, provided with handles, often made of precious metals like gold and silver. This meaning is still likely in Qoh 12:6.

Bibliography

For the abbreviations see the List of Abbreviations.

BDB, 165: ‘basin, bowl’

BL, 598: ‘Ölgefäß’

BRL2, 200

Brown 1995
J.P. Brown, Israel and Hellas, vol. 1 (BZAW, 231), Berlin 1995, 146-8

Busink, 315-7

Klein, CEDHL, 99

Alonso Schökel, DBHE, 140: ‘Copa, cuenco ... Esfera ... aljibe’

DCH, 352: ‘bowl; bowl shaped lower part of capital; spring’

De Moor 1995
J.C. de Moor, ‘Standing Stones and Ancestor Worship’, UF 27 (1995), 1-20
De Moor 1997
J.C. de Moor, The Rise of Yahwism: The Roots of Israelite Monotheism (BEThL, 91B), Leuven 1997
De Moor 1998
J.C. de Moor, ‘Seventy!’, in: M. Dietrich & I. Kottsieper (eds.), ‘‘Und Mose schrieb dieses Lied auf’’: Studien zum Alten Testament und zum Alten Orient (Fs O. Loretz) (AOAT, 250), Münster 1998, 199-203
Fritz 1992
V. Fritz, ‘Die Kapitelle der Säulen des salomonischen Tempels’, ErIs23 (1992), 36*-42*, esp. 39*

GB, 140: II ‘Ölgefäß’, III ‘Teil des Säulenkapitäls’; sv. גלת, p. 143: ‘Wasserquellen’

Gordis 1968
R. Gordis, Koheleth: The Man and his World: A Study of Ecclesiastes, New York 31968, 347-8

HAHAT, 217: ‘1. (Öl-) Schale Sach 4,2... die Goldschale (sc. des Hängeleuchters) Qoh 12, 6 ... 2. architekt. (an Säulen)Teil des Kapitells ... 3. Becken topogr.’

HALAT, 184-85: ‘Becken, Schale; Wasserbecken’

HCHAT, Bd. 1, 261: ‘1) ... Oelkrug, -gefäss ... 2) krugförmige Gestalt der Kapitäle ... 3)... Wasserquellen’

HWAT, 123: ‘1) Schale a) für Öl ... b) als architekton. Bezeichnung: Kugel des Kapitäls ... 2) Quelle’

KBL, 183: ‘Becken; wagrechte Scheiben (Becken) an Säulen’ and sv. גֻּלּׂת, 186: place name

LHA, 152: ‘res pilae seu sphaerae figuram habens ... 1) receptaculum olei in lampade pretiosa, ampulla Zch 4 2 (lgd. גֻּלָּה) s. Ec 12 6 2) ornamentum quoddam capitellorum columnarum, prob. sphaerale’

Maxwell-Hyslop 1971
K.R. Maxwell-Hyslop, Western Asiatic Jewellery c. 3000-612 B.C., London 1971

MHH, 157: 1. ,מנורה ראש על אגן שמן המכיל עגול כלי כנראה ... ובועז יכין עמודי של הכתורת חלק

North 1970
R. North, ‘Zechariah’s Seven-Spout Lampstand’, Bib 51 (1970), 183-206
Petersen 1984
D.L. Petersen, Haggai and Zechariah 1-8: A Commentary (OTL), London 1984, 220-1

Salonen, Hausgeräte, vol. 2, 96-7

Seow 1997
C.-L. Seow, Ecclesiastes: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (AncB, 18C), New York 1997, 381

Loewenstamm & Blau, TLB, vol. 2, 228: ‘1. Basin on top of chandelier, apparently round vessel containing oil (Zech. 4,2); so also perhaps ... in Eccl. 12,6; but according to another view, the word there means the chandelier itself. 2. Part of capitals of the pillars Yachin and Boaz (1 K. 7,451), possibly a kind of circular basin round the top of a pillar’

Gesenius & Roediger, TPC, 288: ‘lampas aurea’

Guichard, VLRM, 189-93, 234-5.

  1. Klein, CEDHL, 99; Guichard, VLRM, 178. ↩

  2. Guichard, VLRM, 189-93, 234-5. See also Salonen, Hausgeräte, vol. 2, 96-7; Sallaberger, BTG, 111. ↩

  3. Del Olmo Lete & Sanmartín, DULAT, vol. 1, 297. ↩

  4. Tal, DSA, 147. ↩

  5. Lane, AEL, 437. ↩

  6. Leslau, CDG, 191. ↩

  7. Leslau, CAmhD, 204. ↩

  8. LSJ, 339, Suppl. 33. ↩

  9. LD, 803. ↩

  10. cf. Lewy SFG, 150-1; Brown 1995. ↩

  11. The translations of the Greek are based on GELS. ↩

  12. GELS-L, 94. ↩

  13. See also Muraoka, GHTIS, 175. ↩

  14. The translations of the Syriac are based on Sokoloff, SLB. ↩

  15. Busink, 315-7; Fritz 1992. ↩

  16. De Moor 1995, esp. 16-7; 1997, 356-8; 1998, 200-1. ↩

  17. Busink, Pl. 52, opposite p. 174. ↩

  18. cf. North 1970; Petersen 1984; → מְנֹרָה. ↩

  19. contrast e.g. Kelso, CVOT, §38; Gordis 1968. ↩

  20. Seow 1997. ↩

  21. CAD D, 66; CAD Š/2, 321; Maxwell-Hyslop 1971; Exod 28:14, 22; 39:3: Judg 8:26. ↩

  22. Gen 24; KTU 1.16:I.50-51. ↩

  23. Qoh 12:3; cf. Exod 11:5; Isa 47:2; Mt 24:41 par.; Curtis, AFT, 115. ↩

  24. e.g. Gesenius & Roediger, TPC, 288. ↩

  25. See e.g. PLBL, vol. 2, Benjamin, Gibeon pool (72-30tb.jpg); vol. 4, En Gedi, Nahal Arugat pool (df 022702.jpg). ↩

  26. See North 1970; BRL2, 200. ↩

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