2488. chalitsah
Lexical Summary
chalitsah: Removal, deliverance, or drawing off

Original Word: חֲלִיצָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: chaliytsah
Pronunciation: khah-lee-tsah'
Phonetic Spelling: (khal-ee-tsaw')
KJV: armour
NASB: spoil
Word Origin: [from H2503 (חֶלֶץ חֵלֶץ - Helez)]

1. spoil

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
armour

From Chelets; spoil -- armour.

see HEBREW Chelets

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from chalats
Definition
what is stripped off (a person)
NASB Translation
spoil (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
[חֲלִיצָה] noun feminine what is stripped off a person, as plunder, in war; — only suffix חֲלִצָתוֺ 2 Samuel 2:21; חֲלִיצוֺתָם Judges 14:19.

Topical Lexicon
Overview

Strong’s Hebrew 2488, חֲלִיצָה, designates what is taken off an enemy after defeat—his armor, garments, or other military accoutrements. Both Old Testament occurrences appear in narratives of hand-to-hand combat where one warrior urges another to take spoils, or himself seizes them. The idea of “stripping” is primary, yet in Israel’s theological vocabulary it is inseparably linked to victorious deliverance granted by the LORD.

Occurrences in Scripture

Judges 14:19 records Samson, empowered by the Spirit, killing thirty Philistines: “He stripped them and gave their clothes to those who had solved the riddle”.
2 Samuel 2:21 depicts Abner urging Asahel, “Turn aside … seize one of the young men and take his armor”.

In both texts חֲלִיצָה functions as a tangible token of conquest, attesting that the slain no longer pose a threat.

Military and Cultural Background

Ancient Near Eastern warfare regarded armor as the most prized portion of spoil. Because metalwork was costly, capturing an enemy’s cuirass or mail shirt instantly enriched the victor and humiliated the defeated. To “strip” a foe was therefore both an economic and symbolic act. It declared the warrior’s supremacy, made public the opponent’s vulnerability, and visually demonstrated that the gods—Yahweh, in Israel’s case—had judged in favor of the conqueror.

Theological Significance

1. Divine Enablement in Battle

Samson’s stripping of Philistine warriors follows the statement, “the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him.” The sequence underscores that true victory and its spoils originate in divine power, not human prowess (compare Zechariah 4:6).

2. Deliverance and Disarmament

The underlying verb root (commonly meaning “draw out” or “deliver”) hints that spoils signify rescue; the enemy’s weapons are removed so that God’s people may live unthreatened. Colossians 2:15 later affirms that God “disarmed the powers and authorities,” showing the theological trajectory from physical disarmament to spiritual.

3. Honor versus Ambition

Abner’s counsel to Asahel invites him to gain honor by taking armor from a lesser opponent rather than rashly pursuing the commander himself. The episode warns against ungodly ambition that overruns wisdom, a principle echoed in Proverbs 16:18.

Christological Echoes

Just as warriors removed the armor of their foes, Jesus Christ at the cross stripped spiritual adversaries of their power. His resurrection declares the definitive spoil—“death has been swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54). Thus חֲלִיצָה foreshadows the ultimate triumph in which the enemy is left weaponless.

Ministry Application

• Spiritual Warfare: Believers are called to “put on the full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11). Because Christ has already stripped the enemy, Christians fight from a position of secured victory, not uncertain struggle.
• Stewardship of Victory: Spoils were to be used responsibly. Samson squandered his by appeasing wager winners; leaders today must steward God-given victories for edification, not self-indulgence.
• Humility in Triumph: Abner’s warning reminds ministers that honor sought apart from God’s leading courts disaster. Victories—and the visible tokens that attend them—must never eclipse obedience.

Related Concepts

Armor (Ephesians 6:10-18); Spoils of War (Numbers 31:25-54); Deliverance (Psalm 34:7); Disarmament of Powers (Colossians 2:15).

See also Strong’s Hebrew 2502 חָלַץ (to draw out, equip, deliver), which supplies the verbal backdrop for חֲלִיצָה.

Forms and Transliterations
חֲלִ֣יצוֹתָ֔ם חֲלִצָת֑וֹ חליצותם חלצתו chalitzaTo chaLitzoTam ḥă·li·ṣā·ṯōw ḥă·lî·ṣō·w·ṯām ḥăliṣāṯōw ḥălîṣōwṯām
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Judges 14:19
HEB: וַיִּקַּח֙ אֶת־ חֲלִ֣יצוֹתָ֔ם וַיִּתֵּן֙ הַחֲלִיפ֔וֹת
NAS: of them and took their spoil and gave
KJV: of them, and took their spoil, and gave
INT: men and took their spoil and gave the changes

2 Samuel 2:21
HEB: לְךָ֖ אֶת־ חֲלִצָת֑וֹ וְלֹֽא־ אָבָ֣ה
NAS: for yourself, and take for yourself his spoil. But Asahel
KJV: and take thee his armour. But Asahel
INT: of the young and take his spoil was not willing

2 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 2488
2 Occurrences


ḥă·li·ṣā·ṯōw — 1 Occ.
ḥă·lî·ṣō·w·ṯām — 1 Occ.

2487
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