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חָדַל

𐤇𐤃𐤋

châdal

H2308 verb

SILEX Entry

Root חדל to cease, to desist, to be lacking

Definition

To cease, stop, come to an end, refrain from an action, or to leave off doing something. It denotes the discontinuation or suspension of activity, whether voluntary or involuntary. Depending on context, it can also mean to desist, withhold, neglect, or be wanting/lacking (in reference to something being absent or failing to occur).

Semantic Range

to stop, to desist, to leave off, to refrain, to be wanting/lacking, to forbear, to neglect, to abandon, to fail, to be unoccupied

Root / Etymology

Rooted in ח־ד־ל (חָדַל), the core sense is 'to cease' or 'to discontinue.' The most common stem is Qal, meaning 'to stop,' 'to desist,' or 'to refrain.' It likely derives from a concrete image of becoming slack, loose, or inactive, though the figurative range goes beyond physical flabbiness.

Historical & Contextual Notes

חָדַל appears broadly throughout the Hebrew Bible, including legal, narrative, and poetic contexts, to describe ceasing from activity (e.g., Genesis 18:11, Exodus 9:34), refraining from something negative (e.g., Job 7:16 – 'let me be'), or the cessation of a process or phenomenon (e.g., rain, labor). It is distinct from verbs like שָׁבַת (shavat, 'to rest, cease'), which often implies a positive, purposeful cessation (such as Sabbath rest), whereas חָדַל does not necessarily imply rest or completion, but simple cessation or lack. In some contexts, it carries a negative connotation of failing, neglecting, or being incomplete. Over time, the meaning did not fundamentally change, but in later Hebrew, related nouns (like chadel, 'one who is lacking/poor') echoed the sense of want or deficiency. English translations often render חָדַל as 'cease,' 'stop,' or 'refrain,' but some nuances of voluntary versus involuntary cessation, or of neglect and deficiency, can be lost. The figurative extension to notions of 'being lacking' is context-dependent (e.g., Isaiah 1:16 – 'cease to do evil'). The word is not used to refer to religious cessation (e.g., Sabbath observance), and should not be confused with specialized liturgical or cultic terms. In post-biblical Hebrew, the sense narrows toward 'to lack, be deficient.'

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; properly, to be flabby, i.e. (by implication) desist; (figuratively) be lacking or idle; cease, end, fall, forbear, forsake, leave (off), let alone, rest, be unoccupied, want.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

חדל (ḥ-d-l) — to cease, to desist, to be lacking

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H2309 חֶדֶל cessation
H2310 חָדֵל a lacking one
H2311 חַדְלַי Ceasing-One

Word Forms

22 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H2308-01 חָדַל֙ chadal HVqp3ms cease he ceased 13
H2308-04 חָדְל֖וּ chadelu HVqp3cp ceased they ceased 7
H2308-14 וַ/יֶּחְדַּ֖ל vayechedal HC/Vqw3ms and he ceased and he ceased 5
H2308-06 אֶחְדָּֽל echedal HVqi1cs shall I refrain I will cease 5
H2308-20 יֶחְדַּ֥ל yechedal HVqi3ms cease he will cease 4
H2308-21 יֶחְדָּ֔לוּ yechedalu HVqi3mp they cease they cease 3
H2308-07 הֶ/חֳדַ֨לְתִּי֙ hechodaleti HTi/Vqp1cs have I ceased I ceased 3
H2308-16 וְ/חָדַל֙ vechadal HC/Vqq3ms and-ceases and he ceased 2
H2308-05 חִדְל֖וּ chidelu HVqv2mp cease Cease, you all 2
H2308-10 תֶחְדַּ֖ל techedal HVqi2ms will cease you will cease 2

Occurrences in Scripture

59 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H2308-13 Genesis 11:8 וַֽ/יַּחְדְּל֖וּ vayachedelu HC/Vqw3mp they stopped and they ceased
H2308-01 Genesis 18:11 חָדַל֙ chadal HVqp3ms had ceased he ceased
H2308-01 Genesis 41:49 חָדַ֥ל chadal HVqp3ms he stopped he ceased
H2308-22 Exodus 9:29 יֶחְדָּל֗וּ/ן yechedalun HVqi3mp/Sn will cease they will cease
H2308-13 Exodus 9:33 וַֽ/יַּחְדְּל֤וּ vayachedelu HC/Vqw3mp and ceased and they ceased
H2308-01 Exodus 9:34 חָדַ֨ל chadal HVqp3ms had ceased he ceased
H2308-01 Exodus 14:12 חֲדַ֥ל chadal HVqv2ms Leave alone he ceased
H2308-17 Exodus 23:5 וְ/חָדַלְתָּ֖ vechadaleta HC/Vqp2ms and you refrain and you ceased
H2308-16 Numbers 9:13 וְ/חָדַל֙ vechadal HC/Vqq3ms and fails and he ceased
H2308-20 Deuteronomy 15:11 יֶחְדַּ֥ל yechedal HVqi3ms cease he will cease
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