Chol marks what is set apart from the holy, including ordinary activity, land, or things.

The attested use most often marks what is distinguished from the holy: priests are to teach or maintain that distinction, and a surrounding wall separates the two. In 1 Samuel 21:5 it characterizes a journey in contrast with holy vessels, while Ezekiel 48:15 applies it to land assigned for city dwelling and pasture.

1. What is distinguished from the holy · dominant

   In Leviticus 10:10, Ezekiel 22:26, and Ezekiel 44:23, the form occurs in instructions or accusations concerning distinguishing the holy from it; the same verses also contrast unclean and clean. In Ezekiel 42:20 the APB renders a wall's purpose as separating “the holy from the common.”

   Leviticus 10:10Ezekiel 22:26Ezekiel 42:20Ezekiel 44:23
2. Ordinary journey or civic land · occasional

   In 1 Samuel 21:5, the form describes a journey while the young men's vessels are called holy. In Ezekiel 48:15, the APB presents the remaining measured land as land for the city, dwelling, and pasture.

   1 Samuel 21:5Ezekiel 48:15
3. Bread contrasted with holy bread · rare

   In 1 Samuel 21:6, the form occurs in the account where the priest gives bread and the verse contrasts that setting with the bread of the Presence. The lemma's precise English contribution is not isolated by the translation, but the clause places it in the holy-bread context.

   1 Samuel 21:6

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the contrast as “the holy and the common,” including contexts of priestly instruction and separation. It also uses “a common journey” and “common land”; These renderings confirm the verse contexts rather than establish separate definitions.