📖 Biblical Definition
"A threefold cord is not quickly broken" (Eccl 4:12). Rahab's scarlet cord saved her household (Josh 2:18). Paul made whips of cord to drive moneychangers from the temple (John 2:15). "The cords of death entangled me" (Ps 18:4) — the grip of the grave. "Hosea... will allure her... with cords of kindness, with the bands of love" (Hos 11:4). Cords in Scripture bind and deliver, strangle and rescue, depending on whose hand holds them.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
CORD, n.
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CORD, n. [L. chorda.] A small rope; a string. In Scripture, cord is the material of rescue (Rahab's scarlet), of brotherhood (Ecclesiastes' threefold strength), of correction (Jesus' cord whip in the temple), and of death (the cords of Sheol gripping the dying). The theology is always about whose hand holds the cord.
📖 Key Scripture
Ecclesiastes 4:12 — "And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him — a threefold cord is not quickly broken."
Joshua 2:18 — "Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down."
Hosea 11:4 — "I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them."
Psalm 18:4-5 — "The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Ecclesiastes' threefold cord is the biblical ideal of brotherhood. Modern friendship often stops at two or one.
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Ecclesiastes 4:12 introduces a geometric truth about community: a single strand breaks; two threads resist; three strands together are almost unbreakable. The implication for the Christian life: pursue brotherhood in threes, not just ones or twos. A man and his wife is two cords — strong; a man, his wife, and God is three — unbreakable. Cultivate the threefold.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
H2256 — chevel. G4979 — schoinion.
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H2256 — chevel (חֶבֶל) — cord, rope; also a region or inheritance portion.
G4979 — schoinion (σχοινίον) — small rope, cord.
Usage
"A threefold cord is not quickly broken. Cultivate brotherhood in threes; marriage in three (husband, wife, Christ)."
"Rahab hung a scarlet cord from her window. The sign of rescue was red, and the red saved the house."