Forbid
חָלִ֫ילָהStrong’s H2486chalilah (cha-li-lah)
Appears in 19 verses of the Old Testament
In short
Chalilah is the Hebrew word usually translated “far be it”. It appears in 19 verses of the Old Testament.
“That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
Meaning
- Far be it (from me), God forbid that, let it not be
How it's translated
- far be it 21
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- 1 Samuel 8
- Genesis 3
- Joshua 2
- 2 Samuel 2
- Job 2
- 1 Kings 1
7 books in all.
Related words
Explore in Scripture
- Genesis 44:7And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing:
- Genesis 44:17And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.
- Joshua 22:29God forbid that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn this day from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle.
- Joshua 24:16And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;
- 1 Samuel 2:30Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
- 1 Samuel 12:23Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:
Hebrew dictionary
חָלִ֫ילָה chalilah · forbid
far be it (from me), God forbid that, let it not be
From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “forbid” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
FORBID', verb intransitive
To utter a prohibition; but in the intransitive form, there is always an ellipsis. I would go, but my state of health forbids, that is, forbids me to go, or my going.
All definitions and other forms of “forbid”
FORBID', 'DEN, participle passive
- Prohibited; as the forbidden fruit.
- Hindered; obstructed.
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.