What does Chalal mean?

Chalal (חָלַל, Strong's H2490) is a Hebrew word. Strong's defines it as 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). The King James Bible translates it as begin (× men began), defile, × break, defile, × eat (as common things), × first, × gather the grape thereof, × take inheritance, pipe, player on instruments, pollute, (cast as) profane (self), prostitute, slay (slain), sorrow, stain, wound.

What is the Strong's number for Chalal?

The Strong's number for Chalal (חָלַל) is H2490. It is a Hebrew word from Strong's public-domain dictionary keyed to the King James Bible.

Bible word study

Chalal (Strong’s H2490): Meaning in the Bible

Chalal (חָלַל) is the Hebrew word numbered H2490 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as 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). In the King James Bible it is translated defile, defile, pipe, player on instruments, pollute.

חָלַל

châlal · Hebrew

Strong’s H2490 · khaw-lal'

Original wordחָלַל
Transliterationchâlal
Pronunciationkhaw-lal'
Part of speechverb (v)
Strong’s numberH2490
LanguageHebrew

The full Strong’s 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); also denominative (from H2485)

How the King James Bible translates it

begin (× men began), defile, × break, defile, × eat (as common things), × first, × gather the grape thereof, × take inheritance, pipe, player on instruments, pollute, (cast as) profane (self), prostitute, slay (slain), sorrow, stain, wound. (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 Chalal 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.

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