chalal · begin, profane

What it means

chalal (חָלַל) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “begin, profane”.

Begin, start doing something. In other forms the same verb means "profane", treat as common what is holy; also pierce.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. To start doing something.
2. To treat what is holy as common.
3. Another word spelled the same: to wound fatally.
4. Another word spelled the same: to play the flute.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Two groups of senses. In one form, to begin. In others, to profane: to treat what is holy as common, or to break one's given word. BDB: properly to bore; hence to wound, to dissolve; figuratively, to profane, to break one's word, to begin; to play the flute. From the same root comes חֹל, “common”. From the root of boring comes חָלָל, “slain, pierced” (H2491).

• Beginning Genesis 6:1Genesis 10:8
• Profaning the name of Elohim Leviticus 19:12Leviticus 21:6Ezekiel 36:22
• “He shall not profane his word”: the vow Numbers 30:2
• Defiling the father's bed Genesis 49:4

How we translate it

“Began” 31 times, “Begin” 11, “had begun” 4, and forms of “profane” (profane 31, profaned 16, be profaned 7, you have profaned 5…); “pierced” 5. In Numbers 30:2 it is left “he shall not profane his word”, as the Hebrew says.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• began ×31
• profane ×31
• profaned ×16
• Begin ×11
• be profaned ×7
• pierced ×5
• you have profaned ×5
• had begun ×4
• profaning ×4
• they profaned ×4
• others ×24

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Genesis×8
• Exodus×2
• Leviticus×16
• Numbers×5
• Deuteronomy×10
• Joshua×1
• Judges×8
• 1 Samuel×4
• 1 Kings×1
• 2 Kings×2
• 1 Chronicles×3
• 2 Chronicles×11
• Ezra×2
• Nehemiah×3
• Esther×2
• Job×1
• Psalms×7
• Isaiah×8
• Jeremiah×4
• Lamentations×1
• Ezekiel×35
• Daniel×1
• Hosea×1
• Amos×1
• Jonah×1
• Zephaniah×1
• Malachi×3

• Genesis 4:26

  And to Seth, to him also, a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. Then people began to call on the name of YHWH.

• Genesis 6:1

  And it happened, when human beings began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them,

• Genesis 9:20

  And Noah, a man of the ground, was the first to plant a vineyard.

• Genesis 10:8

  And Cush fathered Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth.

• Genesis 11:6

  And YHWH said, “Look, they are one people, and they all have one language, and this is what they have begun to do; and now nothing that they plan to do will be out of reach for them.

• Genesis 41:54

  and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

• Genesis 44:12

  He searched, beginning with the oldest and finishing with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s bag.

• Genesis 49:4

  Turbulent as water, you will not have preeminence, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it; he went up to my couch!

• Exodus 20:25

  And if you make me an altar of stones, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you lift your tool on it, you profane it.

• Exodus 31:14

  You shall keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Whoever profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.

• Leviticus 18:21

  And you shall not give any of your offspring to make them pass over to Molech, and you shall not profane the name of your Elohim. I am YHWH.

• Leviticus 19:8

  And whoever eats it shall bear his iniquity, for he has profaned what is holy to YHWH; and that person shall be cut off from their people.

• Leviticus 19:12

  And you shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your Elohim. I am YHWH.

• Leviticus 19:29

  Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, so that the land does not prostitute itself and the land become full of infamy.

• Leviticus 20:3

  And I will set my face against that man and cut him off from among his people, because he has given some of his offspring to Molech, so as to make unclean my sanctuary and to profane my holy name.

• Leviticus 21:4

  He shall not make himself unclean as a leader among his people, so as to profane himself.

• Leviticus 21:6

  They shall be holy to their Elohim and shall not profane the name of their Elohim, for they present the fire offerings of YHWH, the food of their Elohim; so they shall be holy.

• Leviticus 21:9

  And the daughter of a priest, if she profanes herself by prostituting herself, she profanes her father; she shall be burned in the fire.

• Leviticus 21:12

  And he shall not go out from the sanctuary, and he shall not profane the sanctuary of his Elohim, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his Elohim is on him. I am YHWH.

• Leviticus 21:15

  so that he does not profane his offspring among his people; for I am YHWH, who sanctifies him.”

• Leviticus 21:23

  only he shall not go to the veil and shall not come near to the altar, for he has a defect, so that he does not profane my sanctuaries; for I am YHWH, who sanctifies them.”

• Leviticus 22:2

  “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, that they keep themselves apart from the holy things of the sons of Israel, which they consecrate to me, and do not profane my holy name. I am YHWH.

• Leviticus 22:9

  So they shall keep my charge, so that they do not bear sin because of it and die by it when they profane it. I am YHWH, who sanctifies them.

• Leviticus 22:15

  And they shall not profane the holy things of the sons of Israel, which they set apart to YHWH,

• Leviticus 22:32

  And you shall not profane my holy name, so that I may be sanctified among the sons of Israel. I am YHWH, who sanctifies you,

• Numbers 16:46

  And Moses said to Aaron, “Take the censer and put fire in it from the altar, and lay on it incense, and carry it quickly to the community and make expiation for them, for wrath has gone out from the presence of YHWH; the plague has begun.”

• Numbers 16:47

  So Aaron took it as Moses had said and ran into the midst of the assembly, and look, the plague had begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made expiation for the people.

• Numbers 18:32

  And you shall not bear sin because of it, when you set apart the best of it from it; and you shall not profane the holy things of the sons of Israel, so that you will not die.’”

• Numbers 25:1

  Israel stayed in Shittim, and the people began to prostitute themselves with the daughters of Moab.

• Numbers 30:2

  When a man vows a vow to YHWH or swears an oath to bind an obligation on his soul, he shall not profane his word; according to all that comes out of his mouth he shall do.

• Deuteronomy 2:24

  “Rise up, set out, and cross the Wadi Arnon. See, I have given into your hand Sihon, the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession, and provoke him to war.

• Deuteronomy 2:25

  This day I will begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you on the face of the peoples under all the heavens, who will hear the report of you and tremble and be in anguish because of you.”

• Deuteronomy 2:31

  YHWH said to me, “See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his land before you. Begin to take possession, so as to take possession of his land.”

• Deuteronomy 3:24

  “Adonai YHWH, you have begun to show your servant your greatness and your strong hand; for what god is there in the heavens or on the earth who can do according to your works and according to your mighty deeds?

• Deuteronomy 16:9

  Seven weeks you shall count for yourself; from when the sickle is first put to the standing grain you shall begin to count seven weeks.

• Deuteronomy 20:6

  And who is the man who has planted a vineyard and has not begun to use it? Let him go and return to his house, so that he does not die in the war and another man begin to use it.

• Deuteronomy 28:30

  You will become engaged to a woman, and another man will lie with her; you will build a house, and you will not live in it; you will plant a vineyard, and you will not begin to use it.

• Joshua 3:7

  YHWH said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to make you great in the eyes of all Israel, so that they may know that just as I was with Moses, I will be with you.

• Judges 10:18

  The people, the chiefs of Gilead, said to one another, “Who is the man who will begin to fight against the sons of Ammon? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

• Judges 13:5

  For look, you will be pregnant and bear a son. And no razor shall come up on his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite of Elohim from the womb, and he will begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”

And 102 more times.