Phi'chol (Heb. Pikol', פַּיכֹל, of doubtful meaning [see below]; Sept. Φιχώλ v.r. Φικόλ; Josephus Φίκωλος), the proper, or, more probably, the titular name of the commander of the troops of Abimelech, the Philistine king of Gerar in the patriarchal period. SEE ABIMEILECH. If the Abimelech of the time of Isaac was the son of the Abimelech of the time of Abraham, we may conclude that the Phichol who attended on the second Abimelech (Ge 21:22) was the successor of the one who was present with the first at the interview with Abraham (Ge 26:26). Josephus mentions him on the second occasion only. On the other hand the Sept. introduces Ahuzzath, Abimelech's other companion, on the first also. By Gesenius the name is treated as Hebrew, and as meaning the "m mouth of all." By Furst (Heb. Lex. s.v.) it is derived from a root פָּכִל, to be strong. But Hitzig (Philistdaer, § 57) refers it to the Sanscrit pitshula, a tamarisk, pointing out that Abraham had planted a tamarisk in Beersheba. and comparing the name with Elah, Berosus, Tappuach, and other names of persons and places signifying different kinds of trees; and with the name Φίγαλος, a village of Palestine (Josephus, Ant. 12:4, 2), and (Φιγαλία in Greece.
Stark (Gaza, etc. page 96) more cautiously avoids such speculations. The natural conclusion from these mere conjectures is that Phichol is a Philistine name, the derivation and meaning of which are lost to us.
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John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More