חבל
cord
also: rope, territory, band, company fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Construct-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Gender
- Both
- Attested as both masculine and feminine.
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Grammatical forms
- Noun, Common, Both, Singular, Construct 16 times (26%)
- Noun, Common, Both, Plural, Construct 13 times (21%)
- Noun, Common, Both, Plural, Absolute 12 times (19%)
- Noun, Common, Both, Singular, Absolute 9 times (15%)
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute 7 times (11%)
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct 3 times (5%)
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 2 times (3%)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 62 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where H2256 appears — 60 distinct verses across 19 books. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Deuteronomy 4 verses
- Deuteronomy 3:4 חֶ֣בֶל n c bs cs We took all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we didn't take from them; sixty cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
- Deuteronomy 3:13 חֶ֤בֶל n c bs cs and the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, gave I to the half-tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, even all Bashan. (The same is called the land of Rephaim.
- Deuteronomy 3:14 חֶ֣בֶל n c bs cs Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob, to the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called them, even Bashan, after his own name, Havvoth Jair, to this day.)
- Deuteronomy 32:9 חֶ֥בֶל n c bs cs For Yahweh's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
Joshua 5 verses
- Joshua 2:15 בַּ/חֶ֖בֶל prep det + n c bs Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was on the side of the wall, and she lived on the wall.
- Joshua 17:5 חַבְלֵֽי n c bp cs There fell ten parts to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan;
- Joshua 17:14 וְ/חֶ֣בֶל conj + n c bs The children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, Why have you given me but one lot and one part for an inheritance, seeing I am a great people, because hitherto Yahweh has blessed me?
- Joshua 19:9 מֵ/חֶ֨בֶל֙ prep + n c bs cs Out of the part of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon; for the portion of the children of Judah was too much for them: therefore the children of Simeon had inheritance in the midst of their inheritance.
- Joshua 19:29 מֵ/חֶ֥בֶל prep + n c bs and the border turned to Ramah, and to the fortified city of Tyre; and the border turned to Hosah; and the goings out of it were at the sea by the region of Achzib;
1 Samuel 2 verses
- 1 Samuel 10:5 חֶ֤בֶל n c bs cs After that you shall come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall happen, when you are come there to the city, that you shall meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tambourine, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they will be prophesying:
- 1 Samuel 10:10 חֶֽבֶל n c bs cs When they came there to the hill, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came mightily on him, and he prophesied among them.
2 Samuel 3 verses
- 2 Samuel 8:2 בַּ/חֶ֨בֶל֙ חֲבָלִים֙ הַ/חֶ֖בֶל prep det + n c bs n c bp ptcl def.art + n c bs He struck Moab, and measured them with the line, making them to lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and one full line to keep alive. The Moabites became servants to David, and brought tribute.
- 2 Samuel 17:13 חֲבָלִ֑ים n c bp Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there not be one small stone found there.
- 2 Samuel 22:6 חֶבְלֵ֥י n c bp cs The cords of Sheol were round about me; The snares of death came on me.
1 Kings 3 verses
- 1 Kings 4:13 חֶ֤בֶל n c bs cs Ben Geber, in Ramoth-gilead (to him [pertained] the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; [even] to him [pertained] the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and brazen bars);
- 1 Kings 20:31 וַ/חֲבָלִ֣ים conj + n c bp His servants said to him, See now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, we pray you, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save your life.
- 1 Kings 20:32 וַ/חֲבָלִ֣ים conj + n c bp So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and [put] ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Your servant Ben Hadad says, please let me live. He said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.
1 Chronicles 1 verse
Esther 1 verse
Job 5 verses
- Job 18:10 חַבְל֑/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms A noose is hidden for him in the ground, A trap for him in the way.
- Job 21:17 חֲ֝בָלִ֗ים n c mp "How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity comes on them? That God distributes sorrows in his anger?
- Job 36:8 בְּ/חַבְלֵי prep + n c bp cs If they are bound in fetters, And are taken in the cords of afflictions,
- Job 39:3 חֶבְלֵי/הֶ֥ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp They bow themselves, they bring forth their young, They end their labor pains.
- Job 41:1 וּ֝/בְ/חֶ֗בֶל conj + prep + n c bs "Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook? Or press down his tongue with a cord?
Psalms 8 verses
- Psalms 16:6 חֲבָלִ֣ים n c bp The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance.
- Psalms 18:4 חֶבְלֵי n c bp cs The cords of death surrounded me. The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
- Psalms 18:5 חֶבְלֵ֣י n c bp cs The cords of Sheol were round about me; The snares of death came on me.
- Psalms 78:55 בְּ/חֶ֣בֶל prep + n c bs cs He also drove out the nations before them, Allotted them for an inheritance by line, And made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
- Psalms 105:11 חֶ֝֗בֶל n c bs cs Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan, The lot of your inheritance;"
- Psalms 116:3 חֶבְלֵי n c bp cs The cords of death surrounded me, The pains of Sheol got a hold of me. I found trouble and sorrow.
- Psalms 119:61 חֶבְלֵ֣י n c bp cs The ropes of the wicked bind me, But I won't forget your law.
- Psalms 140:5 וַ/חֲבָלִ֗ים conj + n c bp The proud have hidden a snare for me, They have spread the cords of a net by the path. They have set traps for me. Selah.
Proverbs 1 verse
Ecclesiastes 1 verse
Isaiah 6 verses
- Isaiah 5:18 בְּ/חַבְלֵ֣י prep + n c bp cs Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, And wickedness as with cart rope;
- Isaiah 13:8 וַֽ/חֲבָלִים֙ conj + n c mp and they shall be dismayed; pangs and sorrows shall take hold [of them]; they shall be in pain as a woman in travail: they shall look in amazement one at another; their faces [shall be] faces of flame.
- Isaiah 26:17 בַּ/חֲבָלֶ֑י/הָ prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3fs Like as a woman with child, who draws near the time of her delivery, is in pain and cries out in her pangs; so we have been before you, Yahweh.
- Isaiah 33:20 חֲבָלָ֖י/ו n c bp cs + sfx pers 3ms Look on Zion, the city of our solemnities: your eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tent that shall not be removed, the stakes of it shall never be plucked up, neither shall any of the cords of it be broken.
- Isaiah 33:23 חֲבָלָ֑יִ/ךְ n c bp cs + sfx pers 2fs Your rigging is untied; they could not strengthen the foot of their mast, they could not spread the sail: then was the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame took the prey.
- Isaiah 66:7 חֵ֛בֶל n c ms Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man-child.
Jeremiah 7 verses
- Jeremiah 13:21 חֲבָלִים֙ n c mp What will you say, when he shall set over you as head those whom you have yourself taught to be friends to you? shall not sorrows take hold of you, as of a woman in travail?
- Jeremiah 22:23 חֲבָלִ֔ים n c mp Inhabitant of Lebanon, who makes your nest in the cedars, how greatly to be pitied shall you be when pangs come on you, the pain as of a woman in travail!
- Jeremiah 38:6 בַּ/חֲבָלִ֑ים prep + n c bp Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchijah the king's son, that was in the court of the guard: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. In the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire.
- Jeremiah 38:11 בַּ/חֲבָלִֽים prep + n c bp So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took there rags and worn-out garments, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
- Jeremiah 38:12 לַ/חֲבָלִ֑ים prep + n c bp Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, Put now these rags and worn-out garments under your armholes under the cords. Jeremiah did so.
- Jeremiah 38:13 בַּֽ/חֲבָלִ֔ים prep + n c bp So they drew up Jeremiah with the cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
- Jeremiah 49:24 וַ/חֲבָלִ֛ים conj + n c mp Damascus has grown feeble, she turns herself to flee, and trembling has seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in travail.
Ezekiel 2 verses
- Ezekiel 27:24 בַּ/חֲבָלִ֧ים prep + n c bp These were your traffickers in choice wares, in wrappings of blue and embroidered work, and in chests of rich clothing, bound with cords and made of cedar, among your merchandise.
- Ezekiel 47:13 חֲבָלִֽים n c bp Thus says the Lord Yahweh: This shall be the border, by which you shall divide the land for inheritance according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph [shall have two] portions.
Hosea 2 verses
- Hosea 11:4 בְּ/חַבְלֵ֨י prep + n c bp cs I drew them with cords of a man, with ties of love; And I was to them like those who lift up the yoke on their necks; And I bent down to him and I fed him.
- Hosea 13:13 חֶבְלֵ֥י n c mp cs The sorrows of a travailing woman will come on him. He is an unwise son; For when it is time, he doesn't come to the opening of the womb.
Amos 1 verse
Micah 2 verses
Zephaniah 3 verses
- Zephaniah 2:5 חֶ֥בֶל n c bs cs Woe to the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of Yahweh is against you, Canaan, the land of the Philistines. I will destroy you, that there will be no inhabitant.
- Zephaniah 2:6 חֶ֣בֶל n c bs cs The sea coast will be pastures, with cottages for shepherds and folds for flocks.
- Zephaniah 2:7 חֶ֗בֶל n c bs The coast will be for the remnant of the house of Judah. They will find pasture. In the houses of Ashkelon, they will lie down in the evening, for Yahweh, their God, will visit them, and restore them.
Zechariah 3 verses
- Zechariah 2:1 חֶ֥בֶל n c bs cs I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and, behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand.
- Zechariah 11:7 חֹֽבְלִ֔ים n c mp So I fed the flock of slaughter, especially the oppressed of the flock. I took for myself two staffs. The one I called "Favor," and the other I called "Union," and I fed the flock.
- Zechariah 11:14 הַ/חֹֽבְלִ֑ים ptcl def.art + n c mp Then I cut apart my other staff, even Union, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
חבל — transliterated chebel — is a Hebrew noun carrying the sense “cord.” The King James Version usually renders it “cords,” while modern versions prefer “cords of” (unfoldingWord Literal Text) — see the renderings breakdown. With 60 verses in 19 books, it is a moderately common word in the Hebrew Bible. Debuting at Deuteronomy 3:4, it then recurs through the corpus. Alongside “cord” the lexicon also lists “rope”, “territory”, and “band” — part of its full sense range. See the sense tree, 60-verse concordance, and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H2256 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 60
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 60 distinct verses.
- 19 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 19 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #623
- by frequency
- Top 1000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 623 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 60 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 60 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 39 verses · 65%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 17 verses · 28%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 4 verses · 7%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 4 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Cords 10×, Sorrows 9×, Line 5×
- American Standard Version†: Cords 14×, Line 6×, All the region 3×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Cords 10×, Ropes 9×, Region 4×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Cords of 8×, Rope 6×, Region of 5×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H2256 across 60† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 18 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H2256 across 58† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 22 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H2256 across 60† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 21 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 2 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H2256 across 62† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 20 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
8 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 8 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
חבל I Jos 2
- 1. cord, rope, by which men were lowered Jos 2:15 (JE), Je 38:6, 11, 12, 13, or stones dragged 2 S 17:13; of tents Is 33:20; tackling of ship v 23; for binding Ez 27:24 Jb 40:25 Est 1:6; symbol of captivity or subjection 1 K 20:31, 32; fig. of snare for wicked Jb 18:10 (‖ מַלְכֻּדְתּוֹ), set by wicked ψ 140:6 (‖ פַּח); ψ 119:61 cords of wicked men have surrounded me; of wicked held בחבלי חַטָּאתוֹ Pr 5:22; ח׳ הַשָּׁ֑וְא Is 5:18 cords (ropes) of wickedness (‖ כַּעֲבוֹת הָעֲגָלָה); of cords of distress (עֹ֑נִי) Jb 36:8 (‖ זִקִּים); so חֶבְלֵי מָוֶת (prob.) ψ 116:3, חֶבְלֵי שׁאוֹל ψ 18:6 = 2 S 22:6 (‖ מוֹקְשֵׁי מָוֶת);—for חֶבְלֵי מות ψ 18:5 read מִשְׁבְּרֵי, v. 2 S 22:5 and ‖ נַחֲלֵי בְלִיַּעַל, De Che Bae; to draw בְּחַבְלֵי אָדָם Ho 11:4 (i.e. humanely, kindly); of cord of life חֶבֶל הַכֶּסֶף Ec 12:6. e.g. Joshua 2:15
- 2. measuring-cord, line ח׳ מִדָּה Zc 2:5; so ח׳ alone 2 S 8:2(×3) Am 7:17 Mi 2:5 ψ 78:55; fig. (of favoured life) ψ 16:6; in gen. of one’s portion, fortune Jb 21:17 according to 𝔗 Thes Add. Ew Di al., but חֵבֶל. Thence e.g. Zechariah 2:5
- 3. measured portion, lot, part, region, ח׳ נַחֲלָה inherited portion Dt 32:9 1 Ch 16:18 = ψ 105:11; also ח׳ alone Jos 17:5, 14; 19:9 Ez 47:13 (חבלים; 𝔙 𝔗 read as dual, v. Ew Sm Da al.; Co del. on intern. grounds); of particular regions ח׳ אַרְגֹּב Dt 3:4, 13, 14 1 K 4:13; ח׳ אַכְזִיב Jos 19:29 (si vera l., v. WMMAsien 194); ח׳ הַיָּם Zp 2:5; also v 6, but היתה ח׳ here dub.; Sta proposes 2 fs. הָיִת, and del. ח׳ הים; without היס, v 7. e.g. Deuteronomy 32:9
- 4. band, company of prophets 1 S 10:5, 10.—ii. חֶבֶל v. sub ii. חָבַל. e.g. 1 Samuel 10:5
חבל II
- 1. pains of travail:
- a. obj. of תְּשַׁלַּחְנָה Jb 39:3 meton. for offspring (‖ יַלְדֵיהֶן; v. Di; of goats and hinds). e.g. Job 39:3
- b. sim. of distress of exiles Is 26:17; fig. of anguish of nations צִירִים וַחֲבָלִים יֹאחֵזוּן Is 13:8 (‖ כַּיּוֹלֵדָה יְחִילוּן), also Je 13:21; 22:23; 49:24; of crisis of redemption Ho 13:13 (‖ חֶבְלֵי יוֹלֵדָה), of birth of new Isr. Is 66:7. e.g. Isaiah 26:17
- 2. of other than birth-pangs only חבלים Jb 21:17; pains, pangs, sorrows (so 𝔊 𝔙 Thes,—otherwise Add.—RobGes Hi Da al.; ‖ נֵר יִדְעָ֑ךְ, יָבֹא אֵידָם); > others, portion, fortune, v. חֶבֶל. e.g. Job 21:17
חבל III [m.]pl. union (lit. binders) name of Zec.’s second symbolic staff Zc 11
חבל IV destruction
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. n.m. Jos 2:14 f. †Zp 2:6 (but v. infr.) cord, territory, band; ח׳ abs. Jos 2:15 +; cstr. Dt 3:4 +, חֵ֫בֶל Jos 19:29; sf. חַבְלוֹ Jb 18:10; pl. חֲבָלִים 2 S 8:2 + 10 times + Ez 47:13 Jb 21:7 v. infr.; cstr. חַבְלֵי Jos 17:5 + 5 times; חֶבְלֵי ψ 116:3 + 4 times + ψ 18:5 (read משׁברי v. infr.); sf. חֲבָלָ֑יִךְ Is 33:23; חֲבָלָיו Is 33:20;—
I. n.m. Is 66:7 (but v. Je 49:24) pain, pang;—ח׳ abs. Is 66:7; elsewhere pl. חֲבָלִים Is 13:8 + 3 times + Jb 21:17 v. infr.; cstr. חֶבְלֵי Ho 13:13; sf. חֲבָלֶיהָ Is 26:17; חֶבְלֵיהֶם Jb 39:3 (on sf. v. Ges§ 135, 5, R 1);—pain, pang:
I. n.[m.]pl. union (lit. binders) name of Zec.’s second symbolic staff Zc 11:7 and c. art. v 14. See חָבַל 1.
II. n.m. destruction—חֶבֶל נִמְרָץ Mi 2:10; cf. ii. חָבַל Pi.
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from חבל (châbal) (H2254) — to bind.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
חָבַל
- 1. to seize, to take a pledge. Mekh. B’shall., Vayassa, s. 1, a. e., v. חֲבוֹלָה.—B. Mets. IX, 13 (115ᵃ) החוֹבֵל את הריחים he who seizes millstones (for his debt); a. fr.
- 2. to twist (v. חֶבֶל); to do violence, unshape; to inflict a wound, to hurt (followed by ב of the object). B. Kam. VIII, 1 החוֹבֵל בחבירו he who injures his neighbor. Sabb. XIV, 1. Ib. 106ᵃ חובל בצריך לכלבו one who wounds (an animal on the Sabbath is guilty) when he needs the blood for his dog. Ib. חובל בעלמא one who wounds generally (not for a purpose); a. fr.
- 3. to writhe, travail, v. Pi.
- 1. to be seized. Yalk. Ex. 351 שניתן לֵיחָבֵל ביום (B. Mets. 114ᵇ לַחֲבוֹל) which may be seized as a pledge in day time.
- 2. to be injured. Tosef. B. Kam. IX, 29 אע"פ שלא … מן הנֶחְבָּל וכ׳ although the injurer does not ask the injured (to pray for him), the injured must pray &c.; a. fr.
- 1. to injure, wound; to unshape, ruin, spoil. Ber. 51ᵃ יש לי … לחַבֵּל I have permission to injure (kill). B. Kam. 91ᵇ לחַבֵּל בעצמו to mutilate one’s self.—Kel. XIV, 2 משיְחַבֵּל from the moment he batters (the tube, for fitting it into the top of the staff); Tosef. Kel. B. Mets. IV, 5 משיִחְבּוֹל, v. חָבַר. Num. R. s. 10 (play on חִבֵּל, Prov. XXIII, 34) שחִבְּלָתוֹ יעל וכ׳ whom Jael mutilated on his head. Yalk. Ex. 301 חִבַּלְתֶּם מעשיכם you have ruined (turned to evil) your deeds. Snh. 24ᵃ מְחַבְּלִין זה לזה וכ׳ (Ms. K. זה את זה) wound each other’s feelings in discussions; a. fr. e.g. Proverbs 23:34
- 2. to travail. Taan. 8ᵃ bot. מְחַבֶּלֶת ואינה יולדת (Rashi: חוֹבֶלֶת) travails but cannot give birth.—Pass. pass. מְחוּבָּל ruined. Ex. R. s. 30.
- to be spoiled, ruined. Mekh. B’shall., Vayassa, s. 1 נותן דבר המְחַבֵּל לתוך דבר המִתְחַבֵּל he puts a thing which spoils (the taste) into a thing which is spoiled.
חֲבַל I
- , fut. יַחְבּוֹל same, to wrong, be violent. Targ. Job XXXIV, 31.
- 1. to injure; to ruin, destroy &c. (corresp. to b. h. הִשְׁחִית). Targ. O. Lev. XIX, 27. Targ. Gen. VI, 12; a. fr.—Part. pass. מְחַבַּל mutilated, blemished. Targ. O. Deut. XXIII, 2. Targ. Mal. I, 14.—B. Kam. 87ᵃ אי בעי מְחַבֵּל בה לא מצי חַבֵּיל Ms. M. (ed. מתח׳, incorr.) if he desired to wound her (his daughter), he dared not.
- 2. to travail. Denom. מְחַבַּלְתָּא.
- to be corrupted, destroyed. Targ. Gen. VI, 11, sq. Targ. Job XVII, 1; a. e. [Targ. Ps. LXII, 11, v. הֲבַל.]—Ithpe. אִיחֲבַל to get sick. B. Mets. 97ᵃ ואי׳ ומית Ms. H. (ed. חֲבִיל).
חֲבַל II
- (preced.)
- 1. injury, v. חַבְלָא I. I.
- 2. woe!, Oh! (cmp. בִּיָּיא II). Targ. Job X, 15 (Var. חֲבֵיל, חֲבוֹל); a. e.—[Also in Hebr. diction] Ned. 74ᵇ ח׳ עליך וכ׳ woe unto thee! (a pity) that &c. Snh. 111ᵃ; Ex. R. s. 6, a. e. ח׳ על דאבדין וכ׳ Oh, for those who are gone and cannot be replaced! Ex. R. s. 26; Mekh. B’shall., Vayassa, s. 6 (prov.) נפל ביתא ח׳ לכוותא (not אבל) when the house falls, woe to the windows!; a. fr.
- 3. (adv.) to ruin. Pes. 20ᵇ תשפך ח׳ (v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note 9) it must be poured out (and go) to ruin; B. Kam. 116ᵃ (ed. הכל, corr. acc., v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note 30), opp. to תעשה זילוף, v. זִילּוּף.
חֲבֵל
- , v. חֲבֵיל
חֶבֶל
- 1. rope, a measure of dimensions, rope’s length. Gen. R. s. 93 קשר ח׳ בח׳ tied rope to rope, v. נִימָא; Cant. R. to I, 1. Erub. V, 4 וכ׳ אין מודדין אלא בח׳ Sabbath distances must be measured with a rope of fifty cubits’ length. Ib. 58ᵃ, v. אַפְסְקִימָא. B. Bath. VII, 2 (103ᵇ) מדה בח׳ measured with the rope (exact dimensions). Peah IV, 5 על הח׳ in a straight line, v. לָקַט; a. fr.—Pl. חֲבָלִים. Erub. l. c. ג׳ ח׳ הם וכ׳ there are three kinds of ropes (used for legal purposes).—Trnsf. share, possession. Sifré Deut. 312 אין ח׳ אלא גורל ḥebel means lot; a. e.
חֵבֶל
- 1. writhing, throes of birth, agony. Snh. 98ᵇ, a. e. חֶבְלוֹ של משיח the sufferings which are to precede the advent of the Messiah.—Pl. חֲבָלִים, constr. חֶבְלֵי. Nidd. 31ᵃ ח׳ נקבה the pains at giving birth to a female. Ib. חבלי של נקבה (read: חבלים). Ib. וזהו ח׳ אשה and this is the cause of woman’s throes.
- 2. damage, injury. Mekh. Mishp., N’zikin, s. 8 ח׳ אשה לבעל the damages for a wife’s injury belong to her husband.
חִיבּוּל
- 1. wound, injury. Targ. Lev. XIX, 28; XXI, 5.—M. Kat. 28ᵇ, v. חֲבִילָא I.
- 2. moral defect, corruption. Targ. Job XI, 15. Ib. XXXI, 7; a. e.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 48 distinct written forms H2256 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H2256, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Shares the same root
- חבל chăbal H2255 to destroy
- חבל chăbôl H2258 pledge
- חבל chôbêl H2259 sailor
- חבל chibbêl H2260 mast
- תחבלה tachbulâh H8458 counsel
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 7 — not the complete family. They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 54 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 60 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Deuteronomy 3:4
- Joshua 2:15
- 1 Samuel 10:5
- 2 Samuel 8:2
- 1 Kings 4:13
- 1 Chronicles 16:18
- Esther 1:6
- Job 18:10
- Psalms 16:6
- Proverbs 5:22
- Ecclesiastes 12:6
- Isaiah 5:18
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
