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חֲבַל

𐤇𐤁𐤋

chăbal

H2257 noun

SILEX Entry

Root חבל to bind, to damage, to ruin, to destroy

Definition

To inflict harm, cause damage, or injury, whether to a person, property, or rights; to endanger, spoil, or ruin. In Aramaic biblical texts, it typically indicates the act or experience of suffering harm, with attention to harm done to personal well-being, possessions, or standing.

Semantic Range

harm, injury, damage, ruin, endanger, financial loss, physical injury, spoil, devastate

Root / Etymology

Root: חבל. The root חבל in Hebrew and Aramaic carries a range of meanings around binding, pledging, or causing harm/damage. While in Hebrew the root commonly refers to 'to bind, take in pledge,' in Aramaic, its primary sense is 'to harm, damage.' The noun derives directly from the root with the sense of 'harm' or 'damage.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Aramaic sections of the Hebrew Bible (primarily Daniel and Ezra), חֲבַל is used for both physical and non-physical harm, including financial or legal injury. The context determines if the injury is bodily, reputational, or pecuniary. In biblical Aramaic, the term is more restricted to the notion of harm or loss, in contrast to its Hebrew cognate, which focuses more on 'taking a pledge' or 'binding.' Later Jewish Aramaic sources continue the sense of legal or financial harm. English translations may render the word as 'hurt,' 'damage,' or 'harm,' but these terms may not fully capture the legal nuance possible in some settings. There is no necessary theological implication in the term; it describes the act or result of being harmed or damaged, not the cause or justification.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

(Aramaic) from חֲבַל; harm (personal or pecuniary); damage, hurt.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

חבל (ḥ-b-l) — bind, damage, ruin, destroy

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H2248 חֲבוּלָה injury
H2254 חָבַל he bound
H2255 חֲבַל they severely harmed me
H2256 חֶבֶל in her binding-cords
H2258 חֲבֹל to take in pledge

Word Forms

3 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H2257-02 חֲבָלָ֔/א chavala ANcmsd/Td harm the harm 1
H2257-03 וַ/חֲבָ֖ל vachaval AC/Ncmsa and hurt and harm 1
H2257-01 חֲבָל֙ chaval ANcmsa accusers he harmed 1

Occurrences in Scripture

3 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H2257-03 Daniel 3:25 וַ/חֲבָ֖ל vachaval AC/Ncmsa and hurt and harm
H2257-01 Daniel 6:24 חֲבָל֙ chaval ANcmsa accusers he harmed
H2257-02 Ezra 4:22 חֲבָלָ֔/א chavala ANcmsd/Td harm the harm
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