Original Language Studio
Genesis 41:54
“And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.” (KJV)
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Lexical meaning
חָלַלchâlal · khaw-lal'
H2490 · Hebrew
H2490 · Hebrew
- Definition
- properly, to bore, i.e. (by implication) to wound, to dissolve; figuratively, to profane (a person, place or thing), to break (one's word), to begin (as if by an 'opening wedge'); to play (the flute)
- Derivation
- a primitive root (compare H2470 (חָלָה)); also denominative (from H2485 (חָלִיל))
- KJV renderings
- begin ([idiom] men began), defile, [idiom] break, defile, [idiom] eat (as common things), [idiom] first, [idiom] gather the grape thereof, [idiom] take inheritance, pipe, player on instruments, pollute, (cast as) profane (self), prostitute, slay (slain), sorrow, stain, wound.
- Grammar
- וַ — conjunction
- תְּחִלֶּ֜ינָה — verb Hiphil, sequential imperfect, 3rd person, feminine, plural
- Usage
- Occurs 143 times in the Hebrew Bible.Genesis 4:26Genesis 6:1Genesis 9:20Genesis 10:8Genesis 11:6
Theological interpretation (AI)
The card on the left shows lexical data from published sources. Interpretation is separate: ask the Companion to explain how traditions read חָלַל here.
Hebrew text: Westminster Leningrad Codex (public domain). Morphology & lemmas: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, CC BY 4.0 (hb.openscriptures.org). Lexicon: Strong's Hebrew Dictionary (1894, public domain; JSON edition © Open Scriptures, CC BY-SA). Verse numbers follow the Hebrew text, which occasionally differs from English Bibles.