Lexical Summary
chebel: cord, rope, territory, lot, pain, sorrow
Original Word:חֶבֶל
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:chebel
Pronunciation:kheh'-bel
Phonetic Spelling:(kheh'-bel)
KJV: band, coast, company, cord, country, destruction, line, lot, pain, pang, portion, region, rope, snare, sorrow, tackling
Word Origin:[fromH2254 (חָבַל - To bind)]
1. a rope (as twisted), especially a measuring line
2. (by implication, as measured) a district or inheritance
3. (by implication, as of cords) a noose
4. (figuratively) a company (as if tied together)
5. (also) a violent pang or spasm (especially of childbirth)
6. (also) ruin
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
band, coast, company, cord, country, destruction, line, lot,
Or chebel {khay'-bel}; fromchabal; a rope (as twisted), especially a measuring line; by implication, a district or inheritance (as measured); or a noose (as of cords); figuratively, a company (as if tied together); also a throe (especially of parturition); also ruin -- band, coast, company, cord, country, destruction, line, lot, pain, pang, portion, region, rope, snare, sorrow, tackling.
see HEBREWchabal
Brown-Driver-Briggs
I.
Joshua 2:14Zephaniah 2:6 (but see below) ; absolute
Joshua 2:15 +; construct
Deuteronomy 3:4 +,
Joshua 19:29; suffix
Job 18:10; plural
2 Samuel 8:2 10t. +
Ezekiel 47:13;
Job 21:7 see below; construct
Joshua 17:5 5t.;
Psalm 116:3 2t. +
Psalm 18:5 (read see below); suffix
Isaiah 33:23;
Isaiah 33:20; —
cord, rope, by which men were loweredJoshua 2:15 (JE),Jeremiah 38:6,11,12,13, or stones dragged2 Samuel 17:13; of tentsIsaiah 33:20; tackling of shipIsaiah 33:23; for bindingEzekiel 27:24;Job 40:25;Esther 1:6; symbol of captivity or subjection1 Kings 20:31,32; figurative of snare for wickedJob 18:10 ("" ), set by wickedPsalm 140:6 ("" );Psalm 119:61cords of wicked men have surrounded me; of wicked heldProverbs 5:22;Isaiah 5:18cords (ropes)of wickedness ("" ); of cords of distress ()Job 36:8 ("" ); so (probably)Psalm 116:3,Psalm 18:6 =2 Samuel 22:6 ("" ); — forPsalm 18:5 read , see2 Samuel 22:5 and "" , De Che Bae; to drawHosea 11:4 (i.e.humanely, kindly); of cord of lifeEcclesiastes 12:6.
measuring-cord, lineZechariah 2:5; so alone2 Samuel 8:2 (3 t. in verse);Amos 7:17;Micah 2:5;Psalm 78:55; figurative (of favoured life)Psalm 16:5; in General of one's portion, fortuneJob 21:17 according to Thes Add. Ew Di and others, but < see . Thence
measured portion, lot, part, region,inherited portionDeuteronomy 32:9;1 Chronicles 16:18 =Psalm 105:11; also aloneJoshua 17:5,14;Joshua 19:9;Ezekiel 47:13 (; read as dual, see Ew Sm Da and others; Co strike out on internal grounds); of particular regionsDeuteronomy 3:4,13,14;1 Kings 4:13;Joshua 19:29 (si vera 1., see WMMAsien 194);Zephaniah 2:5; alsoZephaniah 2:6, but here dubious; Sta proposes 2 feminine singular , and strike out ; without ,Zephaniah 2:7.
band, company of prophets1 Samuel 10:5,10. — II. see below II. .
Isaiah 66:7 (but seeJeremiah 49:24) ; — absoluteIsaiah 66:7; elsewhere pluralIsaiah 13:8 3t. +Job 21:17 see below; constructHosea 13:13; suffixIsaiah 26:17;Job 39:3 (on suffix see Ges§ 135, 5, R 1); —pain, pang:
pains of travail:
object ofJob 39:3 meton. foroff spring ("" ; see Di; of goats and hinds).
Isaiah 26:17; figurative of anguish of nationsIsaiah 13:8 ("" ), alsoJeremiah 13:21;Jeremiah 22:23;Jeremiah 49:24; of crisis of redemptionHosea 13:13 ("" ), of birth of new IsraelIsaiah 66:7.
Job 21:17;pains, pangs, sorrows (so Thes, — otherwise Add. — Rob-Ges Hi Da and others; "" , ); > others,portion, fortune, see .
(literallybinders) name of Zechariah's second symbolic staffZechariah 11:7 and with articleZechariah 11:14. see
II. —Micah 2:10; compare II.
above
Topical Lexicon
Scope and Main Ideasחֶבֶל is used in the Old Testament for (1) literal ropes or cords, (2) measuring lines and the boundaries or regions established by them, (3) bands or companies of people, and (4) the pangs or cords of pain, death, or judgment. From these four spheres spring numerous theological, historical, and pastoral themes.
Literal Ropes and Cords
1. Salvation and deliverance
•Joshua 2:15,18 – Rahab’s scarlet cord not only lowers the spies to safety but becomes the tangible sign of her own rescue, a vivid Old-Covenant foreshadowing of redemption by a scarlet-covered house.
•Hosea 11:4 – “I led them with cords of kindness, with ropes of love,” where divine grace replaces bondage with benevolent leading.
2. Bondage and oppression
•Judges 15:13-14; 16:11 – The Philistines rely on new ropes to subdue Samson, yet Spirit-empowered freedom destroys the cords; physical release mirrors the greater deliverance God grants His covenant people.
•1 Kings 20:31-32 – Rebel servants approach the king of Israel with ropes on their heads, openly displaying submission and dependence on royal mercy.
3. Measuring and judgment
•2 Samuel 8:2 – David measures Moab “with a length of rope,” determining life or death; the cord becomes an implement of just rule under the king who prefigures Messiah.
Boundary Lines, Regions, and Allotments
1. Covenant inheritance
•Psalm 16:6 – “The lines have fallen in pleasant places for me; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” The believer’s contentment rests on God-drawn boundary cords.
•Deuteronomy 32:9;Psalm 78:55 – Israel itself is God’s allotted portion, reminding the Church that divine election is no mere abstraction but a carefully measured possession.
2. Geographic regions
•Deuteronomy 3:4,13;1 Kings 4:13 – “the region of Argob” identifies whole tracts of land by the measuring cord that once marked them off.
•1 Samuel 11:7 – Saul’s severed oxen are sent “throughout all the territory of Israel,” using חֶבֶל for the united tribal lands summoned to battle.
3. Land loss through sin
•Amos 7:17 – Divine judgment divides the land “with a measuring line,” reversing covenant privilege.
•Micah 2:5 – No one remains “to divide the land by lot,” a sober reminder that inheritance can be forfeited through persistent rebellion.
Bands or Companies
1. Prophetic ministry
•1 Samuel 10:5; 19:20 – A “band of prophets” (chebel nevi’im) signals a Spirit-formed community, bound together in praise and proclamation.
2. Social cohesion or turmoil
• Genesis examples are absent, but later texts apply the term to groups of warriors or workers, picturing either solidarity under God or collective hostility to His will.
Cords and Pangs of Death, Sin, or Travail
1. Mortal peril
•Psalm 18:4-5; 116:3;2 Samuel 22:6 – “The cords of death encompassed me.” What threatens the psalmist bodily anticipates the greater deliverance achieved in the resurrection of Christ.
2. Spiritual bondage
•Proverbs 5:22 – “The cords of his sin entangle him,” revealing sin’s power to bind until the greater Samson breaks the ropes.
•Job 36:8 – “caught in cords of affliction,” a theme echoed whenever suffering draws souls to seek divine mercy.
3. Birth pangs and eschatological hope
•Isaiah 13:8;Hosea 13:13;Micah 4:9-10 – Labor pains herald both judgment and the birth of a renewed people. Jesus will later describe the “beginning of birth pains,” showing that חֶבֶל imagery bridges Testaments.
Maritime and Occupational Imagery
Isaiah 33:23 portrays Jerusalem’s endangered ship: “Your ropes are slack,” emphasizing national weakness that only the LORD can remedy. Mariners’ rigging, farmers’ plumb-lines, and surveyors’ cords all converge to picture a life held together—or falling apart—by the strength of the God-given חֶבֶל.
Theological Threads
1. Sovereignty and stewardship – Whether cord or coastline, every boundary belongs to the LORD; crossing them unlawfully invites judgment, respecting them secures blessing.
2. Bondage versus freedom – Human cords fail; divine cords rescue (Joshua 2;Hosea 11). The gospel transforms restraints into instruments of grace.
3. Suffering unto glory – The pangs of judgment become the birth pangs of restoration; pain is not purposeless but preparatory for new creation.
Ministry Applications
• Preaching:Psalm 16:6 offers assurance to believers struggling with discontent; God Himself has drawn their boundaries.
• Counseling:Proverbs 5:22 warns addicts of sin’s tightening cords while holding out the stronger cords of love (Hosea 11:4).
• Missions: Rahab’s scarlet rope invites every outsider to trust the covenant LORD for deliverance.
• Social ethics:2 Samuel 8:2 andAmos 7:17 remind rulers and citizens alike that divine justice governs every allotment of power, land, and wealth.
• Eschatology: The recurrent labor pains orient the church toward the promised full redemption when every cord of death is finally snapped (Revelation 21:4).
Summary
Across its sixty-plus occurrences, חֶבֶל entwines history, geography, worship, and prophecy. From Rahab’s window to Zion’s birth pangs, from David’s measuring line to the believer’s pleasant places, the word teaches that every rope, boundary, and pang lies under the wise and gracious hand of God, who alone can bind or loose and who draws His people to Himself with cords of everlasting love.
Forms and Transliterations
בְּחֶ֣בֶל בְּחַבְלֵ֣י בְּחַבְלֵ֨י בְּחַבְלֵי־ בַּֽחֲבָלִ֔ים בַּחֲבָלִ֑ים בַּחֲבָלִ֧ים בַּחֲבָלִֽים׃ בַּחֲבָלֶ֑יהָ בַּחֶ֖בֶל בַּחֶ֙בֶל֙ בַּחֶ֣בֶל בחבל בחבלי בחבלי־ בחבליה בחבלים בחבלים׃ הַחֶ֖בֶל הַחֹֽבְלִ֑ים החבל החבלים וְחֶ֣בֶל וְחֶ֥בֶל וַֽחֲבָלִים֙ וַחֲבָלִ֗ים וַחֲבָלִ֛ים וַחֲבָלִ֣ים וּ֝בְחֶ֗בֶל ובחבל וחבל וחבלים חֲ֝בָלִ֗ים חֲבָלִ֑ים חֲבָלִ֔ים חֲבָלִ֣ים חֲבָלִֽים׃ חֲבָלִים֙ חֲבָלָ֑יִךְ חֲבָלָ֖יו חֵ֛בֶל חֶ֖בֶל חֶ֗בֶל חֶ֝֗בֶל חֶ֣בֶל חֶ֤בֶל חֶ֥בֶל חֶֽבֶל־ חֶבְלֵ֣י חֶבְלֵ֥י חֶבְלֵי־ חֶבְלֵיהֶ֥ם חַבְל֑וֹ חַבְלֵֽי־ חֹֽבְלִ֔ים חבל חבל־ חבלו חבלי חבלי־ חבליהם חבליו חבליך חבלים חבלים׃ יִתָּמֵֽךְ׃ יתמך׃ לַחֲבָלִ֑ים לחבלים מֵחֶ֙בֶל֙ מֵחֶ֥בֶל מחבל ba·ḥă·ḇā·le·hā ba·ḥă·ḇā·lîm ba·ḥe·ḇel bachavaLeiha bachavaLim baChevel baḥăḇālehā baḥăḇālîm baḥeḇel bə·ḥaḇ·lê bə·ḥaḇ·lê- bə·ḥe·ḇel bechavlei beChevel bəḥaḇlê bəḥaḇlê- bəḥeḇel chavaLav chavaLayich chavaLim chavlei chavLo Chevel chevLei chevleiHem choeLim ḥă·ḇā·lā·yiḵ ḥă·ḇā·lāw ḥă·ḇā·lîm ha·ḥe·ḇel ha·ḥō·ḇə·lîm ḥaḇ·lê- ḥaḇ·lōw ḥăḇālāw ḥăḇālāyiḵ ḥăḇālîm ḥaḇlê- ḥaḇlōw haChevel hachoeLim haḥeḇel haḥōḇəlîm ḥe·ḇel ḥê·ḇel ḥe·ḇel- ḥeḇ·lê ḥeḇ·lê- ḥeḇ·lê·hem ḥeḇel ḥêḇel ḥeḇel- ḥeḇlê ḥeḇlê- ḥeḇlêhem ḥō·ḇə·lîm ḥōḇəlîm la·ḥă·ḇā·lîm lachavaLim laḥăḇālîm mê·ḥe·ḇel meChevel mêḥeḇel ū·ḇə·ḥe·ḇel ūḇəḥeḇel uveChevel vachavaLim veChevel wa·ḥă·ḇā·lîm waḥăḇālîm wə·ḥe·ḇel wəḥeḇel yit·tā·mêḵ yittaMech yittāmêḵ
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