The Hebrew cheled refers to the duration of a human life or the transient world. Psalm 39:5 laments: 'You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.' The word carries the note of brevity and ephemerality β life as a cheled is measured and passing.
The theology of cheled runs through the wisdom literature as a corrective to human pretension. Our days are a cheled β a brief span. Psalm 17:14 speaks of 'men of this world (cheled)' whose portion is in this life only. The contrast is always with eternity (Hebrew: olam). Knowing that life is cheled β brief and transient β is meant to produce not despair but wisdom: 'Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom' (Psalm 90:12). The brevity of cheled makes the eternal weight of covenant all the more precious.