---
title: חֵבֶל — pain · The Tanakh dictionary
description: חֵבֶל (lemma:חֵבֶל), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 9 times: pain. BDB 1906: n.m. pain, pang. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/lemma_3a_5d7_5b5_5d1_5b6_5dc.html)

<!-- crumbs -->
[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.md)‎ / חֵבֶל‎

<!-- .hw dir=rtl lang=hbo -->
# חֵבֶל

<!-- .meta -->
«חֵבֶל» in the Tanakh dictionary: **pain** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Used:** 9 times · **Key:** lemma:חֵבֶל · **BDB:** חֵ֫בֶל

### Glosses

labor-pains (6); \[the\].labor-pains (1); labor-pain\[s\] (1)

### Meaning (OSHB)

pain [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/lemma_3a_5d7_5b5_5d1_5b6_5dc/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

n.m. pain, pang [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/lemma_3a_5d7_5b5_5d1_5b6_5dc/#m2)

<!-- fold -->
**The whole BDB entry:** n.m. Is 66:7 (but v. Je 49:24) pain, pang;—ח׳ abs. Is 66:7; elsewhere pl. חֲבָלִים Is 13:8 + 3 times + Jb 21:17 v. infr.; cstr. חֶבְלֵי Ho 13:13; sf. חֲבָלֶיהָ Is 26:17; חֶבְלֵיהֶם Jb 39:3 (on sf. v. Ges§ 135, 5, R 1);—pain, pang: pains of travail: obj. of תְּשַׁלַּחְנָה Jb 39:3 meton. for offspring (‖ יַלְדֵיהֶן; v. Di; of goats and hinds). sim. of distress of exiles Is 26:17; fig. of anguish of nations צִירִים וַחֲבָלִים יֹאחֵזוּן Is 13:8 (‖ כַּיּוֹלֵדָה יְחִילוּן), also Je 13:21; 22:23; 49:24; of crisis of redemption Ho 13:13 (‖ חֶבְלֵי יוֹלֵדָה), of birth of new Isr. Is 66:7. of other than birth-pangs only חבלים Jb 21:17; pains, pangs, sorrows (so 𝔊 𝔙 Thes,—otherwise Add.—RobGes Hi Da al.; ‖ נֵר יִדְעָ֑ךְ, יָבֹא אֵידָם); \> others, portion, fortune, v. חֶבֶל.

<!-- .note -->
Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 9 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses (8 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (9 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «חֵבֶל» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/lemma_3a_5d7_5b5_5d1_5b6_5dc/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

<!-- div verse -->

<!-- .ref -->
[Job 39:3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.39.3/)

<!-- .vt dir=rtl lang=hbo -->
תִּ֭כְרַעְנָה יַלְדֵיהֶ֣ן תְּפַלַּ֑חְנָה חֶבְלֵיהֶ֥ם תְּשַׁלַּֽחְנָה׃

*Word for word:* they.kneel.down young their they.cleave.open labor-pains their they.send.forth

*JPS 1917:* They bow themselves, they bring forth their young, they cast out their fruit.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div verse -->

<!-- .ref -->
[Isaiah 66:7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/ISA.66.7/)

<!-- .vt dir=rtl lang=hbo -->
בְּטֶ֥רֶם תָּחִ֖יל יָלָ֑דָה בְּטֶ֨רֶם יָב֥וֹא חֵ֛בֶל לָ֖הּ וְהִמְלִ֥יטָה זָכָֽר׃

*Word for word:* before she.was.in.labor she.gave.birth before it.came labor-pain\[s\] to her and she.delivered a.male

*JPS 1917:* Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man-child.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [חִבֵּל](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/2260.md)
- next →: [חֶבֶל](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/lemma_3a_5d7_5b6_5d1_5b6_5dc.md)
- ↑ back to [ח](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1495.md)