To pledge
חָבַלStrong’s H2254chaval (cha-val)
Appears in 23 verses of the Old Testament
In short
Chaval is the Hebrew word usually translated “take as pledge”, “hold in pledge it” and “ruin”. It appears in 23 verses of the Old Testament.
“If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:”
Meaning
- To bind(Qal)
- To take a pledge, lay to pledge(Qal) to hold by a pledge, take in pledge, hold in pledge · (Niphal) to give a pledge, become pledged
- To destroy, spoil, deal corruptly, offend(Qal) to spoil, corrupt, offend · (Niphal) to be ruined · (Piel) to destroy, ruin · (Pual) to be ruined, be broken
- To bring forth, travail(Piel) to writhe, twist, travail
How it's translated
- you will take as pledge 2
- hold in pledge it 2
- to ruin 2
- certainly 1
- anyone will take as pledge 1
- taking as pledge 1
- surely 1
- we have acted corruptly 1
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Job 5
- Isaiah 4
- Proverbs 3
- Deuteronomy 2
- Song of Solomon 2
- Exodus 1
12 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Deuteronomy 24:6No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he taketh a man’s life to pledge.
- Deuteronomy 24:17Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge:
- Nehemiah 1:7We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
- Job 17:1My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me.
- Job 22:6For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing.
- Job 24:3They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
Hebrew dictionary
חָבַל chaval · to pledge
1) to bind 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to bind 2) to take a pledge, lay to pledge 2a) (Qal) to hold by a pledge, take in pledge, hold in pledge 2b) (Niphal) to give a pledge, become pledged
חָבַל chaval · to destroy
1) to destroy, spoil, deal corruptly, offend 1a) (Qal) to spoil, corrupt, offend 1b) (Niphal) to be ruined 1c) (Piel) to destroy, ruin 1d) (Pual) to be ruined, be broken Aramaic equivalent: cha.val (חֲבַל "to destroy" H2255)
חָבַל chaval · be in labour
1) to bring forth, travail 1a) (Piel) to writhe, twist, travail
From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “pledge” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
PLEDGE, noun
[Latin plico.]
- Something put in pawn; that which is deposited with another as security for the repayment of money borrowed, or for the performance of some agreement or obligation; a pawn.
- Any thing given or considered as a security for the performance of an act.
- A surety; a hostage.
- In law, a gage or security real or personal, given for the repayment of money.
All definitions and other forms of “pledge”
- In law, bail; surety given for the prosecution of a suit, or for the appearance of a defendant, or for restoring goods taken in distress and replevied.
- A warrant to secure a person from injury in drinking.
PLEDGE, verb transitive
- To deposit in pawn; to deposit or leave in possession of a person something which is to secure the repayment of money borrowed, or the performance of some act. [This word is applied chiefly to the depositing of goods or personal property.
- To give as a warrant or security; as, to pledge one's word or honor; to pledge one's veracity.
- To secure by a pledge
- To invite to drink by accepting the cup or health after another.
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Hebrew, not from any one translation.