חֲלַח (cha.lach)
cha.lach
Halah
N:N--LQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 3 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- N:N--L
Word Overview
The noun chalach refers to a specific location in ancient Mesopotamia, identified by some sources as meaning "painful." It appears only three times in the Hebrew Bible, serving as a historical marker for the exile of Israelite captives under Assyrian rule.
These brief mentions in 2 Kings and 1 Chronicles locate the place where prisoners were taken after military defeats. The word does not carry theological weight or metaphorical meaning; it functions strictly as a geographical identifier within the narrative of national history.
Translators typically render chalach simply as "Halah," preserving the proper name without adding interpretive glosses. Its scarcity in Scripture highlights its role as a concrete detail rather than a thematic symbol, anchoring the biblical account in real-world political events.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
Halah appears only three times in the Bible, always as a place name rather than a concept with deep symbolic meaning. It marks where Israelites were taken captive by Assyria, serving as a historical marker for a time of national loss and displacement. While the word itself does not carry theological weight, its presence reminds us that God’s people have walked through seasons of exile and hardship throughout history.
For your faith, this word anchors the biblical narrative in real-world events. It shows that Scripture does not shy away from recording pain or defeat. Instead, it places these moments within the larger story of God’s sovereignty over nations. Even when His people were scattered, the record remains, showing that no event is too small to be noted in God’s account.
Knowing that Halah is a real place helps ground our trust in the reliability of Scripture. The details are specific, and the history is preserved. This encourages us to see our own lives within that same historical continuity, trusting that God sees and records every part of our journey, even the difficult ones.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 3 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- in/ Halah2×
- to/ Halah1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- בַּ/חְלַ֧ח2×
- לַ/חְלַ֨ח1×
Key Verses
-
II Kings 17:6
In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
This verse establishes Halah as the primary destination for the exiled Israelites after the fall of Samaria, marking the beginning of their dispersion.
-
I Chronicles 5:26
So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath Pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried away the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and to the river of Gozan, to this day.
Here Halah is listed among other locations where the tribes of Reuben and Gad were taken, showing that exile affected multiple groups within Israel.