pōr´shun : As far as a distinction between these words is possible in English, it lies in the fact that a "portion" is a "part" about whose destiny something is implied ( Psalm 142:5 , etc.). The Hebrew has no two synonyms similarly related, and in consequence the use of the words in English Versions of the Bible is settled either by rather arbitrary considerations (מנה , menāh , is always "portion" in the Revised Version (British and American), but is "part" in the King James Version, Exodus 29:26; Leviticus 7:33; Leviticus 8:29 ) or by the context, irrespective of the Hebrew word used. So "part" and "portion" both represent דּבר , dābhār , 1 Kings 6:38; Nehemiah 12:47; פּה , peh , Zechariah 13:8; Deuteronomy 21:17; חבל , ḥebhel , Joshua 17:5 (Revised Version); Ezekiel 47:13; μέρος , méros , Luke 11:36; Luke 12:46 . And in the vast majority of cases in the Old Testament both words represent simply some derivative of חלק , ḥālaḳ , normally the noun חלק , ḥēleḳ .
Source
- part_of
source-manifest/isbe— ISBE (PD)