chadal · cease, stop

What it means

chadal (חָדַל) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “cease, stop”.

Stop doing something, cease; leave off.

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 stop something that was being done, or not go on with it.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

To leave off, to cease: to stop doing something, to refrain; also to leave something or someone alone. With an infinitive it means to stop doing that action.

• Stopping doing something Genesis 11:8Genesis 41:49Ruth 1:18
• Ceasing: the thunder, the hunger Exodus 9:331 Samuel 2:5
• “Should I give up my fatness?”: Jotham’s fable Judges 9:9Judges 9:11
• “Whether they listen or stop {listening}” Ezekiel 2:5Ezekiel 2:7
• “Stop doing evil” Isaiah 1:16Isaiah 2:22

Historical and cultural background

In Jotham’s fable, the olive tree, the fig tree and the vine refuse to give up what is theirs to sway over the trees (Judges 9:9-13).

How we translate it

“Stop” or “stopped” in most cases (“they stopped building the city”, Genesis 11:8; “stop doing evil”, Isaiah 1:16), “refrain” when someone holds back, and “cease” when what stops is a phenomenon (“the thunder and the hail ceased”, Exodus 9:33). In Jotham’s fable, “Should I give up”. In Deuteronomy 15:11, with a negative, “will never cease”.

How it is translated

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

• Stop ×10
• ceased ×10
• cease ×9
• refrain ×4
• stopped ×4
• Should I give up ×3
• he stopped ×3
• shall I refrain ×3
• Have done ×1
• Leave us alone ×1
• others ×10

Related words

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

Where it appears

• Genesis×3
• Exodus×5
• Numbers×1
• Deuteronomy×2
• Judges×8
• Ruth×1
• 1 Samuel×4
• 1 Kings×3
• 2 Chronicles×6
• Job×7
• Psalms×2
• Proverbs×3
• Isaiah×3
• Jeremiah×4
• Ezekiel×4
• Amos×1
• Zechariah×1

• Genesis 11:8

  So YHWH scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city.

• Genesis 18:11

  Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in days; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

• Genesis 41:49

  Joseph stored up grain like the sand of the sea, very much, until he stopped counting, for it was without number.

• Exodus 9:29

  Moses said to him, “As soon as I go out of the city, I will spread out my palms to YHWH; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth belongs to YHWH.

• Exodus 9:33

  So Moses went out from Pharaoh, out of the city, and spread out his palms to YHWH; and the thunder and the hail ceased, and rain no longer poured on the earth.

• Exodus 9:34

  But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned again and made his heart insensitive, he and his servants.

• Exodus 14:12

  Is not this the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

• Exodus 23:5

  When you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its load, you shall refrain from leaving it to him; you shall surely help with him.

• Numbers 9:13

  But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, and fails to keep the Passover, that person shall be cut off from his people, because he did not present the offering of YHWH at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin.

• Deuteronomy 15:11

  For the needy one will never cease from the midst of the land; therefore I am commanding you, saying, “You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your poor, and to your needy in your land.”

• Deuteronomy 23:22

  But if you refrain from vowing, it will not be sin in you.

• Judges 5:6

  In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the paths ceased, and those who walked on trails went by crooked paths.

• Judges 5:7

  The villages ceased in Israel; they ceased, until I arose, Deborah, I arose, a mother in Israel.

• Judges 9:9

  But the olive tree said to them, ‘Should I give up my fatness, by which through me Elohim and men are honored, and go to sway over the trees?’

• Judges 9:11

  But the fig tree said to them, ‘Should I give up my sweetness and my good fruit and go to sway over the trees?’

• Judges 9:13

  But the vine said to them, ‘Should I give up my new wine, which cheers Elohim and men, and go to sway over the trees?’

• Judges 15:7

  And Samson said to them, “If you act like this, surely I will take vengeance on you, and after that I will cease.”

• Judges 20:28

  and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was standing before it in those days— saying, “Shall I again go out once more to war with the sons of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease?” And YHWH said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give him into your hand.”

• Ruth 1:18

  When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.

• 1 Samuel 2:5

  Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, and those who were hungry have ceased to hunger; even the barren woman has borne seven, and she who has many sons languishes.

• 1 Samuel 9:5

  When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his young man who was with him, “Come, let us go back, or else my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and worry about us.”

• 1 Samuel 12:23

  As for me, far be it from me to sin against YHWH by ceasing to pray for you; and I will instruct you in the good and right way.

• 1 Samuel 23:13

  David and his men, about six hundred men, arose and went out from Keilah and went about wherever they could go. When it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up going out.

• 1 Kings 15:21

  And it happened when Baasha heard it that he stopped building Ramah, and lived in Tirzah.

• 1 Kings 22:6

  Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to war, or shall I refrain?” They said, “Go up, and Adonai will give it into the hand of the king.”

• 1 Kings 22:15

  When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to war, or shall we refrain?” He said to him, “Go up and prosper, for YHWH will give it into the hand of the king.”

• 2 Chronicles 16:5

  And it happened when Baasha heard it that he stopped building Ramah and halted his work.

• 2 Chronicles 18:5

  Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to war, or shall I refrain?” They said, “Go up, and Elohim will give it into the hand of the king.”

• 2 Chronicles 18:14

  When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to war, or shall I refrain?” He said, “Go up and prosper, for they will be given into your hand.”

• 2 Chronicles 25:16

  And it happened, as he was speaking to him, that the king said to him, “Have we made you a counselor to the king? Stop! Why should they strike you down?” So the prophet stopped, but said, “I know that Elohim has decided to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”

• 2 Chronicles 35:21

  But he sent messengers to him, saying, “What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I am not coming against you today, but against the house with which I am at war; and Elohim has told me to hurry. Stop opposing Elohim, who is with me, so that he does not destroy you.”

• Job 3:17

  There the wicked cease from turmoil, and there the weary in strength rest.

• Job 7:16

  I despise my life; I will not live forever. Let me alone, for my days are a vapor.

• Job 10:20

  Are not my days few? So cease, and turn away from me, that I may brighten up a little,

• Job 14:6

  look away from him that he may cease, until he takes pleasure, like a hired worker, in his day.

• Job 14:7

  For there is hope for a tree: if it is cut down, it will renew itself again, and its shoots will not cease.

• Job 16:6

  If I speak, my pain is not restrained; and if I cease, what goes away from me?

• Job 19:14

  My relatives have ceased, and my intimates have forgotten me.

• Psalms 36:3

  The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; he has ceased to understand, to do good.

• Psalms 49:8

  for costly is the ransom of their soul, and it ceases forever,

And 18 more times.