--- title: חַיִל — strength · The Tanakh dictionary description: חַיִל (2428), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 245 times: strength. BDB 1906: n.m. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/2428.html) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [Tanakh](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/) / [ח](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1495-2.md)‎ / חַיִל‎ # חַיִל «חַיִל» in the Tanakh dictionary: **strength** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers. **Used:** 245 times · **Key:** 2428 · **BDB:** חַ֫יִל ### Glosses of.strength (48); the.army (32); strength (30) ### Meaning (OSHB) strength [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2428/#m1) ### Meaning (BDB 1906) n.m. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2428/#m2) **The whole BDB entry:** n.m. 2 K 10:2 strength, efficiency, wealth, army;—abs. ח׳ Gn 47:6 +, חָ֑יִל ψ 60:14 +, חָ֑יִל ψ 60:14 +, חֵיל Is 36:2 2 K 18:17; cstr. חֵיל Ex 14:28 + (on ψ 10:10 v. חלכה); sf. חֵילִי Jb 31:25 + 2 times; חֵילְךָ Je 15:13 +; חֵילוֹ Ex 14:4 +, etc.; pl. חֲיָלִים 1 Ch 7:5 + 19 times; sf. חֵילֵיהֶם Is 30:6;— strength, usually physical: seld. alone (chiefly poet.) 1 S 2:4 ψ 18:33, 40 = 2 S 22:33, 40; also גָּֽבְרוּ ח׳ Jb 21:7, cf. Ec 10:10; מֵחַיִל אֶל־חָ֑יִל ψ 84:8; בְּכֹחַ ח׳ 2 Ch 26:13; of virility Pr 31:3; of י׳’s power ψ 59:12; 110:3, cf. Hb 3:19; strength of horse ψ 33:17; fig. of product of vine and fig-tree Jo 2:22 (‖ פְּרִי). of result or display of strength עשׂה ח׳ achieve might = do valiantly Nu 24:18 (JE), 1 S 14:48 ψ 60:14 = 108:14, 118:15, 16. often in phrases גִּבּוֹר(הַ)ח׳, גִּבּוֹרֵי(הַ)ח׳ hero(es) of strength, mighty man (men) of valour Jos 1:14 (D), 6:2; 8:3; 10:7 (all JE), Ju 6:12; 11:1; 1 S 9:1 16:18 1 K 11:28 2 K 5:1; 15:20; 24:14, 16 1 Ch 5:24; 7:2, 9; 8:40 + (very freq. in Ch), note especially הַגִּבּוֹרִים וכל גבורי ח׳ 28:1; also ג׳ ח׳ 2 Ch 13:3 (‖ ג׳ מלחמה); ג׳ (הַ)חֲיָלִים 1 Ch 7:5, 7, 11, 40; 11:26 (v. also גִּבּוֹר, p. 150); בֶּן־(הַ)ח׳, בְּנֵי(הַ)ח׳ Dt 3:18 Ju 18:2 + (v. בֵּן 8, p. 121); אִישׁ ח׳, אַנְשֵׁי ח׳ Ju 3:29; 20:44, 46 1 S 31:12; 2 S 11:16; 23:20; (Qr; Kt חי, on phr. בן־אישׁ חיל cf. Dr) = 1 Ch 11:22 (Kt חיל), 2 S 24:9 Na 2:4 Je 48:14 1 Ch 10:12 Ne 11:6 ψ 76:6; ironical א׳ ח׳ לִמְסֹךְ שֵׁבָר Is 5:22 (‖ גבורים לשׁתות יין); Ec 12:3 metaph. of legs. ability, efficiency, often involving moral worth אַנְשֵׁי ח׳ Gn 47:6 (J), Ex 18:21, 25 (both E); of a woman אֵשֶׁת ח׳ Pr 12:4; 31:10 Ru 3:11; cf. 1 K 1:42, 52 (opp. רעה), and especially אַנְשֵׁי ח׳ יִרְאֵי אלהים אַנְשֵׁי אֱמֶת שׂנְאֵי בָּ֑צַע Ex 18:21 (E); עָשָׂה היל Pr 31:29 do worthily, efficiently, perhaps also Ru 4:11; late (with weakened meaning of גִּבּוֹר) גִּבּוֹרֵי חֵיל מְלֶאכֶת עֲבוֹדַת בֵּית הָאלהים 1 Ch 9:13, cf. אישׁ ח׳ בַּכֹּחַ לַעֲכֹדָה 26:8. So also 1 S 10:26 (read בְּנֵי ח׳, v. 𝔊 We Dr, men of worth, opp. בני בליעל v 27).for MT ח׳ force, band. wealth Gn 34:29 Nu 31:9 (both P), Dt 8:17, 18; 33:11 Is 8:4; 10:14; 30:6 (‖ אוֹצְרֹתָם), 60:5 (‖ הֲמוֹן יָם), v 11; 61:6 Mi 4:13 Je 15:13; 17:3 (both ‖ אצרות), Zp 1:13 Ez 26:12; 28:4, 5(×2) Zc 14:14 Jb 5:5; 15:29; 20:15, 18; 31:25 ψ 49:7, 11; 62:11; 73:12 Pr 13:22. force, army, very often Ex 14:4, 9, 17, 28 (all P), 15:4 (song), 1 S 17:20; 2 S 8:9 2 K 6:4, 15; 25:1, 5(×2), 10 2 Ch 13:3 (בְּחַיִל גִּבּוֹרֵי מלחמה), 14:7; 16:7; 23:14 +; so usually Jer.: Je 32:2; 34:1 +; freq. Ezek.: Ez 17:17; 27:10 +; Dn 11:7, 13, 25(×2), 26; = a band 1 S 10:26 (MT, but v. 2, ad fin.); of queen’s train ח׳ כָּבֵד 1 K 10:2 = 2 Ch 9:1; חֵיל כָּבֵד Is 36:2 = 2 K 18:17 (var. חַיִל) a powerful army (on form cf. Sta§ 194 c); also (late) חֵיל הַצָּבָא 1 Ch 20:1 2 Ch 26:13, חֵיל עָם Est 8:11; הֲמוֹן חֲיָלִים Dn 11:10; שַׂר־הח׳ 2 S 24:2 captain of the host, שָׂרֵי הח׳ v 4, 4; שָׂרֵי הַחֲיָלִים captains of armies (bands, divisions) 1 K 15:20 = 2 Ch 16:4, 2 K 25:23 Je 40:7, 13; 41:11, 13, 16; 42:1, 8; 43:4, 5; פִּקּוּדֵי החיל Nu 31:14 (P).—חֵילוֹ Ez 32:31 om. B Hi Co; for חֵילֵךְ Ez 27:11 read prob. a n.pr.loc., cf. Da; Co proposes חתלון (cf. 47:15; 48:1), HalMél. Epigr. 1874, 69 חלך = Cilicia, v. LagM i, 211. Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 150 of its verses cited, 0 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (17 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (13 candidates) ### Trees and pragmatics [Every English meaning of «חַיִל» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2428/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames. ### In the verses [1 Samuel 2:4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/1SA.2.4/) קֶ֥שֶׁת גִּבֹּרִ֖ים חַתִּ֑ים וְנִכְשָׁלִ֖ים אָ֥זְרוּ חָֽיִל׃ *Word for word:* \[the\].bow of.warriors \[are\].shattered and \[those.who\].stumble they.gird.on strength *JPS 1917:* The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. [Job 21:7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.21.7/) מַדּ֣וּעַ רְשָׁעִ֣ים יִחְי֑וּ עָ֝תְק֗וּ גַּם־גָּ֥בְרוּ חָֽיִל׃ *Word for word:* why? wicked.\[people\] do.they.live do.they.grow.old? also do.they.become.strong? strength *JPS 1917:* Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, wax mighty in power? - ← previous: [חִיל](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/2427.md) - next →: [חִיל](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/lemma_3a_5d7_5b4_5d9_5dc.md) - ↑ back to [ח](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1495-2.md)