חֲלוּשָׁה (cha.lu.shah)
cha.lu.shah
weakness
H:N-FQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-F
Word Overview
The noun chaluṣhah describes a state of physical weakness, defeat, or prostration. It appears only once in the Hebrew Bible, in Exodus 32:18. In this context, Moses hears a noise from the camp and identifies it not as a battle cry of victory, but as the sound of chaluṣhah.
This usage highlights a specific sensory experience. The word conveys the collapse or exhaustion that follows intense activity or defeat. By applying it to the noisy celebration at the golden calf, the text contrasts the expected sounds of war with the chaotic, perhaps drunken, prostration of the people. It captures the physical reality of being laid low, whether by battle or by excess.
Translators typically render this rare term as "noise" or "shouting," but the underlying Hebrew meaning points to the bodily state behind that noise. The sources emphasize that chaluṣhah is not just any sound, but one associated with weakness or collapse. This single instance provides a vivid glimpse into how ancient writers distinguished between different kinds of auditory chaos, grounding the spiritual failure in physical exhaustion.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word chaluṣhah describes a state of physical weakness, defeat, or prostration. It appears only once in the Hebrew Bible, in Exodus 32:18. In this context, Moses hears a noise from the camp and identifies it not as a battle cry of victory, but as the sound of chaluṣhah. This usage highlights a specific sensory experience. The word conveys the collapse or exhaustion that follows intense activity or defeat.
By applying it to the noisy celebration at the golden calf, the text contrasts the expected sounds of war with the chaotic, perhaps drunken, prostration of the people. It captures the physical reality of being laid low, whether by battle or by excess. Translators typically render this rare term as "noise" or "shouting," but the underlying Hebrew meaning points to the bodily state behind that noise.
This single instance provides a vivid glimpse into how ancient writers distinguished between different kinds of auditory chaos, grounding the spiritual failure in physical exhaustion. The sources emphasize that chaluṣhah is not just any sound, but one associated with weakness or collapse. We can see here that our actions often reveal what is happening beneath the surface.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- weakness1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- חֲלוּשָׁ֑ה1×
Key Verses
-
Exodus 32:18
He said, “It isn’t the voice of those who shout for victory. It is not the voice of those who cry for being overcome; but the noise of those who sing that I hear.”
Moses identifies the camp's noise not as victory or defeat, but as chaluṣhah, revealing the underlying physical collapse and weakness of the people.