Bible word study

Chabal (Strong’s H2254): Meaning in the Bible

Chabal (חָבַל) is the Hebrew word numbered H2254 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as to wind tightly (as a rope), i.e. to bind; specifically, by a pledge; figuratively, to pervert, destroy; also to writhe in pain (especially of parturition). In the King James Bible it is translated band, bring forth, (deal) corrupt(-ly), destroy, offend.

חָבַל
châbal · Hebrew
Strong’s H2254 · khaw-bal'

The full Strong’s definition

to wind tightly (as a rope), i.e. to bind; specifically, by a pledge; figuratively, to pervert, destroy; also to writhe in pain (especially of parturition)

Derivation. a primitive root;

How the King James Bible translates it

× at all, band, bring forth, (deal) corrupt(-ly), destroy, offend, lay to (take a) pledge, spoil, travail, × very, withhold. (The × marks places where the word shapes the phrasing rather than being rendered by a single English word.)

Why the word matters

Every word the biblical writers chose carries weight. Studying Chabal in the original Hebrew lets you read the passages where it appears more carefully, closer to what the first hearers understood, so the meaning is drawn from the text itself rather than from the English alone.

The lexical data on this page comes from the public-domain Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890), a Hebrew and Greek dictionary keyed to the King James Bible. It is a reference tool, not a settled verdict: no single word decides a doctrine, and meaning is finally shaped by how a word is used in its sentences. Read the passages themselves, prayerfully, and in full.

Related words

Chebel (H2256)All Bible word studies

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