חֹבֵל
𐤇𐤁𐤋
chôbêl
H2259 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A person who handles ropes on a ship, specifically referring to a sailor, seafarer, or crew member responsible for the technical work of seamanship. The term denotes someone with expertise in nautical tasks, especially navigation and control of ropes, such as those used for sails or mooring.
Semantic Range
sailor, seafarer, ship's crewman, one who handles ropes, mariner, nautical worker
Root / Etymology
Root: חבל. The root חבל primarily means 'to bind, tie, pledge,' and in extended usage, 'to act as a surety, to take or give as security.' The noun חֹבֵל is an active participle form derived from this root and, in the context of seafaring, refers to one who 'manages ropes' — in other words, a sailor or ship's crew member responsible for ropes and rigging.
Historical & Contextual Notes
The word חֹבֵל appears almost exclusively in poetic or wisdom literature (e.g., Proverbs, Ezekiel, Jonah), in passages that make reference to ships and maritime activity. In the Hebrew Bible, sailing and navigation are associated primarily with foreigners, as maritime trade was not central to most Israelite livelihoods; thus, חֹבֵל may sometimes connote a professional or non-Israelite sailor. English translations often use terms like 'mariner,' 'sailor,' or 'shipmaster,' but the term does not imply command over a vessel (as 'captain' or 'shipmaster' later would), rather technical seamanship. In the ancient Near East, distinctions existed between different types of mariners and navigational specialists, and חֹבֵל denotes primarily the technical or working crew. In post-biblical Hebrew, the word's use dwindles, as maritime terminology shifted or became more specific. The term is unrelated to the modern English 'pilot,' which suggests navigation or command.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
active participle from חָבַל (in the sense of handling ropes); a sailor; pilot, shipmaster.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
חבל (ḥ-b-l) — bind, tie, pledge, act as surety
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H2248 | חֲבוּלָה | injury |
| H2254 | חָבַל | he bound |
| H2255 | חֲבַל | they severely harmed me |
| H2256 | חֶבֶל | in her binding-cords |
| H2257 | חֲבַל | he harmed |
Word Forms
4 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2259-01 |
חֹבְלָֽיִ/ךְ | chovelayikhe | HNcmpc/Sp2fs |
of your pilots | your rope-handlers | 2 |
H2259-04 |
וְ/חֹבְלָ֑יִ/ךְ | vechovelayikhe | HC/Ncmpc/Sp2fs |
and your pilots | and your rope-handling sailors | 1 |
H2259-03 |
הַ/חֹבֵ֔ל | hachovel | HTd/Ncmsa |
of the sailors | the rope-handler | 1 |
H2259-02 |
חֹבְלֵ֣י | choveley | HNcmpc |
pilots | rope-handlers of | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
5 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2259-01 |
Ezekiel 27:8 | חֹבְלָֽיִ/ךְ | chovelayikhe | HNcmpc/Sp2fs |
pilots | your rope-handlers |
H2259-04 |
Ezekiel 27:27 | וְ/חֹבְלָ֑יִ/ךְ | vechovelayikhe | HC/Ncmpc/Sp2fs |
and your pilots | and your rope-handling sailors |
H2259-01 |
Ezekiel 27:28 | חֹבְלָ֑יִ/ךְ | chovelayikhe | HNcmpc/Sp2fs |
of your pilots | your rope-handlers |
H2259-02 |
Ezekiel 27:29 | חֹבְלֵ֣י | choveley | HNcmpc |
pilots | rope-handlers of |
H2259-03 |
Jonah 1:6 | הַ/חֹבֵ֔ל | hachovel | HTd/Ncmsa |
of the sailors | the rope-handler |