חֲתֻלָּה (cha.tul.lah)
cha.tul.lah
swaddling
H:N-FQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-F
Word Overview
The noun chatullah refers to a swaddling band or cloth strip used in ancient infant care. It appears only once in the Hebrew Bible, in Job 38:9. In this context, God uses the image to describe the state of the earth when it was first formed.
God asks if He wrapped the earth in chatullahs like a newborn baby. This vivid metaphor suggests that creation was tender and fragile at its beginning, needing careful handling and protection. The word highlights God’s intimate involvement from the very start, treating the nascent world with the same care given to a helpless infant.
Translators typically render chatullah as "swaddling bands" or "cloths." This single occurrence underscores how deeply personal God’s creative act was, using familiar human practices to explain cosmic origins. The image invites readers to see creation not as a distant event, but as something nurtured with deliberate tenderness.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word chatullah describes the soft strips of cloth used to wrap a newborn baby. It appears only once in the Hebrew Bible, in Job 38:9. God uses this image to describe how He formed the earth. He asks if anyone saw Him wrapping the world in clouds like a helpless infant.
This metaphor reveals a tender side of creation. The earth was not just a distant object but something cared for with intimate attention. It suggests that from the very start, God treated His creation with gentle protection. This image invites us to see our world as nurtured and held with deliberate care.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- swaddling-band/ its1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- חֲתֻלָּתֽ/וֹ\׃1×
Key Verses
-
Job 38:9
when I made clouds its garment, and wrapped it in thick darkness,
This verse uses the word metaphorically, comparing the earth's formation to swaddling a newborn to highlight God's tender care.