חֲבֹ֖ל
𐤇𐤁𐤋
châbal
to act corruptly
To bind, pledge, take a security or guarantee, often in a contractual or legal setting; to act as a guarantor or to give security for a debt. By extension, to exact a pledge or forcibly require a guarantee, particularly from someone in hardship. In poetic and metaphorical contexts, to act violently, corruptly, or destructively, or to inflict writhing pain or anguish (e.g., as in childbirth). The term is frequently used in legal, economic, and social contexts regarding surety, collateral, and the coercive taking of pledges, as well as metaphoric usage signifying destruction or suffering.
Nehemiah 1:7 · Word #1
Lexicon H2254
| Lemma | חָבַל |
| Lemma (Paleo) | 𐤇𐤁𐤋 |
| Transliteration | châbal |
| Strong's | H2254 |
| Definition | To bind, pledge, take a security or guarantee, often in a contractual or legal setting; to act as a guarantor or to give security for a debt. By extension, to exact a pledge or forcibly require a guarantee, particularly from someone in hardship. In poetic and metaphorical contexts, to act violently, corruptly, or destructively, or to inflict writhing pain or anguish (e.g., as in childbirth). The term is frequently used in legal, economic, and social contexts regarding surety, collateral, and the coercive taking of pledges, as well as metaphoric usage signifying destruction or suffering. |
Morphology HVqc
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | V — Verb — An action or state |
| Binyan | q — Qal — Simple active |
| Conjugation | c — Infinitive Construct — The verbal noun ("to ...") |
Common Translation
| Phrase | to act corruptly |
SIBI-P1 Translation H2254-04
binding in pledge
| Morphological Notes | Qal infinitive absolute of חבל; verbal noun expressing the core action of the root in simple active stem. |
| Rendering Rationale | The Qal infinitive absolute conveys the verbal idea in its pure form; "binding in pledge" preserves the root sense of binding/obligating in a legal-surety context without adding contextual nuance. |
View full lexicon entry for H2254 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
to act corruptly
| Same as P1 | No — adjusted for context |
| Rationale | P1 'binding in pledge' does not fit the poetic-metaphorical sense here; in context (confession of sin), 'to act corruptly' is correct per common and broader SILEX definition. |