הֵחֵ֣ל
𐤄𐤇𐤋
châlal
men began
To bore, pierce, or wound (physically); to profane, violate, or treat as common (ritually or ethically, especially what is considered sacred); to begin or initiate (something previously unbegun); to play an instrument (specifically the flute, as a denominative sense); to defile, desecrate, dishonor, or pollute persons, places, or objects.
Genesis 6:1 · Word #3
Lexicon H2490
| Lemma | חָלַל |
| Lemma (Paleo) | 𐤇𐤋𐤋 |
| Transliteration | châlal |
| Strong's | H2490 |
| Definition | To bore, pierce, or wound (physically); to profane, violate, or treat as common (ritually or ethically, especially what is considered sacred); to begin or initiate (something previously unbegun); to play an instrument (specifically the flute, as a denominative sense); to defile, desecrate, dishonor, or pollute persons, places, or objects. |
Morphology HVhp3ms
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | V — Verb — An action or state |
| Binyan | h — Hiphil — Causative active |
| Conjugation | p — Perfect — Completed action |
| Person | 3 — 3rd person — Third person ("he/she/they") |
| Gender | m — Masculine — Masculine |
| Number | s — Singular — Singular |
Common Translation
| Phrase | men began |
SIBI-P1 Translation H2490-20
he caused to begin
| Morphological Notes | Hiphil (causative) perfect, 3rd person masculine singular from חלל. |
| Rendering Rationale | The Hiphil stem expresses causative action, so from the root sense of "to open/pierce" extending to "to begin," the form means "he caused to begin" or "he initiated." The 3rd masculine singular perfect is reflected in "he caused." |
View full lexicon entry for H2490 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
began
| Same as P1 | No — adjusted for context |
| Rationale | Here the meaning is not causative but simple 'began' as an intransitive verb; context is collective, so passive nuance is lost. P1 'he caused to begin' is unnecessarily complex. |