Bible Dictionary
ANKLE
The ankle is the joint of the foot and leg. Biblical references also describe shallow water reaching the ankles and ornaments or chains worn around the ankles.
Definition
The ankle is the joint connecting the foot and leg. Biblical language also uses the term for shallow water reaching the ankles and for chains or ornaments worn around the ankles or legs.
Biblical Usage
Ezekiel describes water reaching the ankles. Acts refers to anklebones, while other passages mention ankle chains or ornaments of the legs.
Historical Background
The expressions translated “ankle chains,” “bracelet,” and “ornaments of the legs” derive from related Hebrew terminology associated with walking or proud movement.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>an'-k'-l (in older editions of the King James Version, ancle): From Hebrew me'aphecayim literally, "water of ankles," i.e. shallow water (Eze 47:3); "anklebones" (Ac 3:7) from sphudron "ankle chains" (the King James Version "chains"), from a Hebrew root meaning "to walk about proudly" (Nu 31:50). The same Hebrew word is translated "bracelet" (2Sa 1:10), but in Isa 3:20 another word from the same root "ankle chains" (the King James Version "ornaments of the legs"). Compare ANKLET (Isa 3:18).</p>