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חָבַל

𐤇𐤁𐤋

châbal

H2254 verb

SILEX Entry

Root חבל to bind, to pledge, to act as surety, to inflict pain, to ruin

Definition

To bind, pledge, take a security or guarantee, often in a contractual or legal setting; to act as a guarantor or to give security for a debt. By extension, to exact a pledge or forcibly require a guarantee, particularly from someone in hardship. In poetic and metaphorical contexts, to act violently, corruptly, or destructively, or to inflict writhing pain or anguish (e.g., as in childbirth). The term is frequently used in legal, economic, and social contexts regarding surety, collateral, and the coercive taking of pledges, as well as metaphoric usage signifying destruction or suffering.

Semantic Range

to bind or tie, to take a pledge (as security for a loan), to act as a guarantor, to require or confiscate a pledge (sometimes abusively), to act violently or corruptly, to destroy or ruin, to writhe in pain or anguish (especially childbirth), to pervert justice, to withhold, to spoil

Root / Etymology

From the Hebrew root ח-ב-ל (חָבַל), meaning 'to bind, pledge, be a surety.' The root conveys the act of intertwining, binding or obligating, from which the legal and social senses of surety and contractual obligation developed. The sense of causing pain or ruin is likely an extension of the consequences of failed obligations, or from the sense of being tightly bound or entangled leading to distress.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, חָבַל functions prominently in legal and economic texts, particularly in the contexts of taking or giving pledges, often relating to the protection or exploitation of the poor (cf. Exodus 22:25-26; Deuteronomy 24:6,10-13). Pledges could refer to physical objects (such as a garment) taken as collateral for a loan—laws frequently warn against the abuse of this system, especially toward vulnerable members of society. The verb also appears with metaphorical force in poetic literature, symbolizing corruption, violent action, or destructive behavior (e.g., Job 17:1, Psalm 7:15). In some instances, particularly in Job and Isaiah, חָבַל expresses writhing in pain, especially the anguished labor of childbirth, extending the sense of being 'bound' or 'pressed' by pain. Later translations and interpretation sometimes render the word as 'spoil,' 'corrupt,' or 'destroy,' but the legal/economic sense remains primary. Care must be taken not to anachronistically equate all uses with later concepts of debt or indenture, as the social setting was distinct. The nuance between חָבַל ('to bind, pledge') and related terms such as עָרַב (to give a surety or be liable) lies in the greater emphasis חָבַל places on the act of taking or exacting a pledge, and often, the resulting hardship. The semantic field thus shifts from literal binding to legal obligation, and then metaphorically to distress, ruination, or pain.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to wind tightly (as a rope), i.e. to bind; specifically, by a pledge; figuratively, to pervert, destroy; also to writhe in pain (especially of parturition); [idiom] at all, band, bring forth, (deal) corrupt(-ly), destroy, offend, lay to (take a) pledge, spoil, travail, [idiom] very, withhold.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

חבל (ḥ-b-l) — binding, pledging, surety, inflicting pain, ruining

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H2248 חֲבוּלָה injury
H2255 חֲבַל they severely harmed me
H2256 חֶבֶל in her binding-cords
H2257 חֲבַל he harmed
H2258 חֲבֹל to take in pledge

Word Forms

22 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H2254-11 לְ/חַבֵּ֖ל lechabel HR/Vpc to destroy to exact a pledge 3
H2254-14 תַּחְבֹּ֖ל tachebol HVqi2ms you have taken pledges you take in pledge 2
H2254-04 חָבֹ֥ל chavol HVqa to act corruptly binding in pledge 2
H2254-03 חַבְלֵֽ/הוּ chavelehu HVqv2ms/Sp3ms hold him in pledge bind him in pledge 2
H2254-02 חָבַ֣לְנוּ chavalenu HVqp1cp we have acted corruptly we have ruined 1
H2254-20 יַחְבֹּֽלוּ yachebolu HVqi3mp they take in pledge they take a pledge 1
H2254-19 יַ֝חְבְּל֗וּ yachebelu HVqi3mp they take they bind in pledge 1
H2254-05 חֲבֻלִים֙ chavulim HVqsmpa taken in pledge bound ones 1
H2254-21 יְחַבֶּל yechabel HVpi3ms he-travails he exacts a pledge 1
H2254-06 חִבְּלָ֥ה chibelah HVpp3fs she was in labor she bound tightly 1

Occurrences in Scripture

27 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H2254-04 Exodus 22:25 חָבֹ֥ל chavol HVqa you pledge binding in pledge
H2254-14 Exodus 22:25 תַּחְבֹּ֖ל tachebol HVqi2ms you pledge you take in pledge
H2254-18 Deuteronomy 24:6 יַחֲבֹ֥ל yachavol HVqi3ms shall take he will bind in pledge
H2254-08 Deuteronomy 24:6 חֹבֵֽל chovel HVqrmsa is taking as pledge one who exacts a pledge
H2254-13 Deuteronomy 24:17 תַחֲבֹ֔ל tachavol HVqi2ms you shall take in pledge you bind as pledge
H2254-17 Isaiah 10:27 וְ/חֻבַּ֥ל vechubal HC/VPq3ms and will be destroyed and was ruined
H2254-11 Isaiah 13:5 לְ/חַבֵּ֖ל lechabel HR/Vpc to destroy to exact a pledge
H2254-11 Isaiah 32:7 לְ/חַבֵּ֤ל lechabel HR/Vpc to destroy/ruin to exact a pledge
H2254-11 Isaiah 54:16 לְ/חַבֵּֽל lechabel HR/Vpc to destroy to exact a pledge
H2254-01 Ezekiel 18:16 חָבָ֔ל chaval HVqp3ms retained he bound
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