Strong's H2490 · Hebrew
חָלַל
châlal · /khaw-lal'/
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)
KJV: begin ([idiom] men began), defile, [idiom] break, defile, [idiom] eat (as common things), [idiom] first, [idiom] gather the grape thereof, [idiom] take inheritance, pipe, player on instruments, pollute, (cast as) profane (self), prostitute, slay (slain), sorrow, stain, wound.
Root / derivation: a primitive root (compare H2470 (חָלָה)); also denominative (from H2485 (חָלִיל))
KJV usage breakdown
How the Authorized (KJV) translators rendered חָלַל across 126 verses.
Every occurrence (KJV)
126 verses use this word, grouped by book — the translated form is highlighted.
Genesis8 verses
And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD. Enos: Heb. Enosh to call: or, to call themselves by the name of the Lord
Genesis 6:1And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
Genesis 9:20And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
Genesis 10:8And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
Genesis 11:6And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
Genesis 41:54And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.
Genesis 44:12And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
Genesis 49:4Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch. thou shalt: Heb. do not thou excel he went: or, my couch is gone
Exodus2 verses
And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. build: Heb. build them with hewing
Exodus 31:14Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
Leviticus15 verses
And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. Molech: Gr. Moloch
Leviticus 19:8Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
Leviticus 19:12And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
Leviticus 19:29Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness. prostitute: Heb. profane
Leviticus 20:3And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
Leviticus 21:4But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. he: or, being an husband among his people, he shall not defile himself for his wife, etc
Leviticus 21:6They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
Leviticus 21:9And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.
Leviticus 21:12Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.
Leviticus 21:15Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him.
Leviticus 21:23Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.
Leviticus 22:2Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow unto me: I am the LORD.
Leviticus 22:9They shall therefore keep mine ordinance, lest they bear sin for it, and die therefore, if they profane it: I the LORD do sanctify them.
Leviticus 22:15And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer unto the LORD;
Leviticus 22:32Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the LORD which hallow you,
Deuteronomy7 verses
Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle. begin: Heb. begin, possess
Deuteronomy 2:25This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.
Deuteronomy 2:31And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.
Deuteronomy 3:24O Lord GOD, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?
Deuteronomy 16:9Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn.
Deuteronomy 20:6And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it. eaten: Heb. made it common
Deuteronomy 28:30Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof. gather: Heb. profane, or, use it as common meat
Judges8 verses
And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
Judges 13:5For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
Judges 13:25And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol. the camp: Heb. Mahanehdan
Judges 16:19And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
Judges 16:22Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. after: or, as when he was shaven
Judges 20:31And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel. to smite: Heb. to smite of the people wounded as at, etc the house: or, Bethel
Judges 20:39And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle. to smite: Heb. to smite the wounded
Judges 20:40But when the flame began to arise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the flame of the city ascended up to heaven. the flame of: Heb. the whole consumption of
1 Samuel4 verses
And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;
1 Samuel 3:12In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. when: Heb. beginning and ending
1 Samuel 14:35And Saul built an altar unto the LORD: the same was the first altar that he built unto the LORD. the same: Heb. that altar he began to build unto the LORD
1 Samuel 22:15Did I then begin to enquire of God for him? be it far from me: let not the king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more. less: Heb. little or great
2 Kings2 verses
1 Chronicles3 verses
And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be mighty upon the earth.
1 Chronicles 5:1Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.
1 Chronicles 27:24Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but he finished not, because there fell wrath for it against Israel; neither was the number put in the account of the chronicles of king David. was: Heb. ascended
2 Chronicles9 verses
Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. where: or, which was seen of David his father
2 Chronicles 3:2And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.
2 Chronicles 20:22And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. And when: Heb. And in the time that they, etc to sing: Heb. in singing and praise they were: or, they smote one another
2 Chronicles 29:17Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.
2 Chronicles 29:27And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel. when: Heb. in the time the instruments: Heb. hands of instruments
2 Chronicles 31:7In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month.
2 Chronicles 31:10And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the LORD hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great store.
2 Chronicles 31:21And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
2 Chronicles 34:3For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.
Ezra2 verses
From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid. the foundation: Heb. the temple of the LORD was not yet founded
Ezra 3:8Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD.
Nehemiah3 verses
But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, were made up: Heb. ascended
Nehemiah 13:17Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?
Nehemiah 13:18Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath.
Esther2 verses
And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every thing that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him.
Esther 9:23And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them;
Psalms7 verses
He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant. broken: Heb. profaned
Psalms 74:7They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground. They have cast: Heb. They have sent thy sanctuary unto the fire
Psalms 87:7As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.
Psalms 89:31If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; break: Heb. profane
Psalms 89:34My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
Psalms 89:39Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.
Psalms 109:22For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
Isaiah8 verses
The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth. to stain: Heb. to pollute
Isaiah 43:28Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches. princes: or, holy princes
Isaiah 47:6I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.
Isaiah 48:11For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.
Isaiah 51:9Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?
Isaiah 53:5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. wounded: or, tormented stripes: Heb. bruise
Isaiah 56:2Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
Isaiah 56:6Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;
Jeremiah4 verses
And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.
Jeremiah 25:29For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts. which: Heb. upon which my name is called
Jeremiah 31:5Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things. eat: Heb. profane them
Jeremiah 34:16But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.
Ezekiel31 verses
And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it.
Ezekiel 7:22My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it. robbers: or, burglers
Ezekiel 7:24Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled. their holy: or, they shall inherit their holy places
Ezekiel 9:6Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. utterly: Heb. to destruction
Ezekiel 13:19And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?
Ezekiel 20:9But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.
Ezekiel 20:13But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.
Ezekiel 20:14But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.
Ezekiel 20:16Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.
Ezekiel 20:21Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.
Ezekiel 20:22Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth.
Ezekiel 20:24Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols.
Ezekiel 20:39As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.
Ezekiel 22:8Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths.
Ezekiel 22:16And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. shalt take: or, shalt be profaned
Ezekiel 22:26Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. violated: Heb. offered violence to
Ezekiel 23:38Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.
Ezekiel 23:39For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house.
Ezekiel 24:21Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword. that: Heb. the pity of your soul
Ezekiel 25:3And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity;
Ezekiel 28:7Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.
Ezekiel 28:9Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee. of him that slayeth: or, of him that woundeth
Ezekiel 28:16By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
Ezekiel 28:18Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
Ezekiel 32:26There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living.
Ezekiel 36:20And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land.
Ezekiel 36:21But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.
Ezekiel 36:22Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.
Ezekiel 36:23And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. their: or, your
Ezekiel 39:7So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
Ezekiel 44:7In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations. strangers: Heb. children of a stranger
Zephaniah1 verse
Malachi3 verses
But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.
Malachi 2:10Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
Malachi 2:11Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god. loved: or, ought to love
Topics that use this word
Frequently asked questions
What does Strong's H2490 (châlal) mean?
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)
How many times does H2490 appear in the Bible?
Strong's H2490 (חָלַל) appears in 126 verses of the King James Version, most often translated “began.”
How is châlal translated in the KJV?
In the KJV, Strong's H2490 is rendered as “began” (32×), “profane” (18×), “profaned” (15×), “polluted” (13×), among other words.
Where does the Hebrew word חָלַל come from?
a primitive root (compare H2470 (חָלָה)); also denominative (from H2485 (חָלִיל))