# Emerods

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{{Short description|Archaic word for hemorrhoids}}
'''''<nowiki/>'Emerods'''''' is an archaic term for [hemorrhoids](/source/hemorrhoids). Derived from the [Old{{nbsp}}French](/source/Old_French) word {{lang|fro|emoroyde}}, it was used as the common English term until the nineteenth century, after which it was replaced in medicine by a direct [transliteration](/source/transliteration) of the Ancient Greek [etymon](/source/Etymon_(etymology)), {{langx|grc|αἱμορροΐς|haimorrhoḯs|label=none}}.{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite book| title=[The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English](/source/The_Concise_Oxford_Dictionary_of_Current_English) |author= Fowler FG |edition=7th |year=1919 }}</ref>

The word is most commonly encountered in the [King{{nbsp}}James Bible](/source/King_James_Bible){{nbsp}}({{abbr|KJV|King James Version}}), where it appears in the [First Book{{nbsp}}of Samuel](/source/First_Book_of_Samuel) describing a plague that afflicted the [Philistines](/source/Philistines) who had captured the [Ark{{nbsp}}of the Covenant](/source/Ark_of_the_Covenant) from the [Israelites](/source/Israelites). Chapter{{nbsp}}5 of 1{{nbsp}}Samuel describes a "plague of emerods" that smote the people of [Ashdod](/source/Ashdod_(ancient_city)) in their "secret parts", causing many to die.{{zwj}}<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Sam|5:6|KJV}}</ref> According to chapter{{nbsp}}6, the plague was not relieved until the Philistines returned the Ark{{nbsp}}of the Covenant to the Israelites, along with a [trespass offering](/source/trespass_offering) of "five golden emerods and five golden{{nbsp}}mice" (the "plague of emerods" occurred simultaneously with a plague of mice).{{zwj}}<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Sam|6:4|KJV}}</ref> The concept of "golden hemorrhoids" has on occasion given rise to puzzlement or humor.{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite journal |title=A Bible Disease |journal=[Freethinker](/source/Freethinker_(journal)) |author=Forder R |volume=10 |year=1890 |page=39 |publisher=G. W. Foote & Co. Ltd. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W1wvAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA39 }}</ref>

Modern scholars have pointed out that the Hebrew{{nbsp}}term {{langx|he|עפלים|apholim|label=none|rtl=yes}}, translated "emerods" in the{{nbsp}}{{abbr|KJV|King James Version}}, could also be translated as "[tumors](/source/tumors)", as is done in the {{nowr|19th-century}} [Revised Version](/source/Revised_Version) of the{{nbsp}}{{abbr|KJV|King James Version}}.{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.internationalstandardbible.com/E/emerods.html |title=Emerods |encyclopedia=International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Online |author=Alex. Macalister |access-date=8 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240815033412/http://www.internationalstandardbible.com/E/emerods.html |archive-date=2024-08-15 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the fourth {{nowr|century A.D.}}, [Jerome](/source/Jerome) in the [Vulgate](/source/Vulgate) translated it as "swellings of the secret parts".{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite journal |author=Conrad LI |title=The biblical tradition for the plague of the Philistines |journal=[Journal of the American Oriental Society](/source/Journal_of_the_American_Oriental_Society) |volume=104 |issue=2 |year=1984 |pages=281–7|doi=10.2307/602172 |jstor=602172 }}</ref> It has often been speculated that the "plague of emerods" was actually an outbreak of [bubonic plague](/source/bubonic_plague), and that the "plague of mice" was actually a plague of [rats](/source/rats), which are not distinguished from [mice](/source/mice) in [Ancient Hebrew](/source/Ancient_Hebrew_writings).{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Khan IA |title=Plague: the dreadful visitation occupying the human mind for centuries |journal=[Trans. R. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg.](/source/Trans._R._Soc._Trop._Med._Hyg.) |volume=98 |issue=5 |pages=270–7 |year=2004 |pmid=15109549 |doi=10.1016/S0035-9203(03)00059-2 }}</ref> Other scholars have identified the "plague of emerods" with other medical conditions, such as [bilharziasis](/source/bilharziasis),{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite journal|author=King DF |title=The biblical plague of 'hemorrhoids' An outbreak of bilharziasis |journal=[The American Journal of Dermatopathology](/source/The_American_Journal_of_Dermatopathology) |year=1985 |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=341–6 |doi=10.1097/00000372-198508000-00005 |pmid=3939579 }}</ref> or the bites of [camel spider](/source/camel_spider)s.{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite book| author=Punzo F |title=The Biology of Camel-Spiders: Arachnida, Solifugae |publisher=[Springer Science & Business Media](/source/Springer_Science_%26_Business_Media) |year=2012 |page=3 |isbn=978-1-4615-5727-2 |oclc=851704983 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4615-5727-2 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{wikt-inline}}

Category:Archaic English words and phrases
Category:Bible versions and translations
Category:Diseases of veins, lymphatic vessels and lymph nodes
Category:Obsolete medical terms

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Emerods](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerods) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerods?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.