Lexical Summary chamal: To spare, to have compassion, to pity Original Word: חָמַל Strong's Exhaustive Concordance have compassion, have pity, spare A primitive root; to commiserate; by implication, to spare -- have compassion, (have) pity, spare. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to spare NASB Translation concern (1), desires (1), had compassion (2), had pity (1), had...compassion (2), have compassion (1), have pity (4), have...pity (1), mercy (1), ruthlessly* (1), show pity (1), spare (11), spared (5), spares (2), sparing (5), unsparing* (1), unwilling (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs חָמַל verb spare (Arabic  ; is bear, become responsible; Aramaic  comportavit, congessit); — Qal Perfect ׳ח 1 Samuel 15:15 3t.; חָמָ֑ל 2 Samuel 12:6; Lamentations 2:17; חָמָ֑לְתָּ Lamentations 2:21; Lamentations 3:43; וְחָמַלְתִּ֫י Malachi 3:17; Imperfect יַחְמֹל Job 16:13 6t.; יַחְמוֺל Job 6:10 3t.; וַיַּחְמֹל 1 Samuel 15:9 3t.; 3 feminine singular וַתַּחְמֹל Exodus 2:6; 2masculine singular תַּחְמֹל Deuteronomy 13:9; 1 Samuel 15:3; אֶחְמֹל Ezekiel 8:18; Ezekiel 9:10; אֶחְמוֺל Jeremiah 13:14 4t.; וָאֶחְמֹל Ezekiel 36:21; יַחְמֹ֑לוּ Isaiah 9:18; תַּחְמְלוּ Jeremiah 50:14; Jeremiah 51:3; תַּחְמֹ֑לוּ Ezekiel 9:5; Infinitive construct חֻמְלָה Ezekiel 16:5 (Ges§ 45, 1. b); — spare, have compassion, with על Exodus 2:6 (E), 1 Samuel 15:3,9,15; 1 Samuel 23:21; 2 Samuel 21:7; 2Chronicles 36:15,17; Jeremiah 15:5; Ezekiel 16:5; Ezekiel 36:21; Job 20:13; Zechariah 11:5,6; Malachi 3:17 (twice in verse); Joel 2:18; Deuteronomy 13:9 ("" חוס followed by על), Jeremiah 21:7 ("" חוס followed by על + רחם), Ezekiel 9:10 ("" חוס followed by עלaccording to ᵑ6 ᵑ7 Co); followed by אֶלֿ Jeremiah 51:3; Isaiah 9:18; note poetic אֶלחֵֿץ ׳אַלתַּֿחְ = spare no arrow Jeremiah 50:14; followed by Infinitive 2 Samuel 12:4; absolute 2 Samuel 12:6; Isaiah 30:14; Lamentations 2:17,21, also Lamentations 2:2 where apparently followed by accusative, Lamentations 3:43; Job 6:10; Job 16:13; Job 27:22; Proverbs 6:34; Habakkuk 1:17; "" חוס Ezekiel 5:11; Ezekiel 7:4 (strike out Co as doubl. of Ezekiel 7:9), Ezekiel 7:9; Ezekiel 8:18; Ezekiel 9:5; Jeremiah 13:14 ("" אחוס and ארחם). Topical Lexicon Overview חָמַל (chamal) is a verb of personal response, usually rendered “to spare,” “to pity,” “to show compassion,” or negatively, “to refuse pity.” It occurs about forty-one times in the Hebrew canon and twice in Biblical Aramaic (Daniel 3:28; Daniel 6:10 [Eng. 6:13]). The contexts move from tender mercy toward an infant (Exodus 2:6) to implacable judgment upon hardened rebellion (Ezekiel 7:4); from a king’s disobedient leniency (1 Samuel 15:9) to the Lord’s patient heart for His covenant people (2 Chronicles 36:15). Range of Meaning and Translation Equivalents • To spare from harm, death, or destruction (1 Samuel 15:9; Jeremiah 50:14). Distribution Pentateuch (8×), Former Prophets (8×), Writings (6×, including Job and Daniel), Major Prophets (6×), and Ezekiel alone (10×). The concentration in Ezekiel underscores the prophet’s emphasis on the certainty of divine judgment that no human appeal can avert. Representative Texts 1. Compassion expressed: 2. Compassion denied: 3. Misguided pity: 4. Valuing beyond life: Contrasts with Other Hebrew Terms חָמַל overlaps with רָחַם (racham, deep compassion) and חוּס (chus, to feel sorry for), yet maintains a distinct nuance of withholding harm or preserving something of worth. Racham describes visceral mercy; chus often highlights a felt sympathy; chamal stresses the decision to spare or not spare, whether grounded in mercy, selfishness, or disobedience. Theological Themes 1. Divine Sovereignty in Mercy and Judgment Chamal underscores that compassion and severity both reside in God’s righteous character. He is free to spare (2 Chronicles 36:15) or to withhold pity (Ezekiel 7:4) according to covenant faithfulness and human response. 2. Covenant Responsibility Israel is commanded to withhold pity from persistent evil (Deuteronomy 19:13) lest mercy become complicity. Misapplied compassion—such as Saul’s sparing of Agag—incurs severe rebuke because it contradicts God’s explicit word (1 Samuel 15:22-23). 3. Redemptive Foreshadowing Pharaoh’s daughter “had compassion” on Moses, an act God used to preserve Israel’s deliverer. Human compassion thus becomes a conduit of God’s redemptive plan. 4. Prophetic Warning Ezekiel’s repeated negation (“I will not spare, nor will I have pity,” Ezekiel 7:4; 8:18) anticipates Babylon’s siege and reveals the inevitability of judgment once divine patience is exhausted. 5. Exemplary Sacrifice Daniel’s friends “did not spare” their own bodies (Daniel 3:28), foreshadowing the New Testament call to present our bodies as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) and echoing the Father who “did not spare His own Son” (Romans 8:32). Historical Background In Near Eastern warfare, kings often spared valuable plunder or royal hostages for prestige or profit. Saul’s partial obedience fits this pattern but is condemned because it contradicts holy war principles aimed at eradicating Amalekite aggression (1 Samuel 15). Conversely, Assyrian and Babylonian conquerors boasted of “showing no mercy,” which the prophets mirror in portraying God’s instrument of judgment. Pastoral and Devotional Application • Discernment in Mercy – Believers are to show compassion yet never compromise clear biblical standards of justice and holiness. Christological Implications The root idea of “not sparing” culminates at the cross: “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all” (Romans 8:32). Every Old Testament use of chamal that withholds sparing in judgment points to the day when judgment fell upon the sinless Substitute, while every compassionate sparing anticipates the mercy secured by His sacrifice. See Also Racham (Strong’s 7355) – compassion, tender mercy Chus (Strong’s 2347) – to pity, look with sorrow Selach (Strong’s 5545) – to forgive, pardon Forms and Transliterations אֶחְמ֑וֹל אֶחְמ֥וֹל אֶחְמ֧וֹל אֶחְמֹ֑ל אֶחְמֽוֹל׃ אחמול אחמול׃ אחמל וְחָמַלְתִּ֣י וַיַּחְמֹ֖ל וַיַּחְמֹ֗ל וַיַּחְמֹ֣ל וַיַּחְמֹל֩ וַתַּחְמֹ֣ל וָאֶחְמֹ֖ל ואחמל וחמלתי ויחמל ותחמל חֲמַלְתֶּ֖ם חָמַ֗ל חָמַ֛ל חָמַ֤ל חָמַ֥ל חָמָ֑ל חָמָֽלְתָּ׃ חָמָֽל׃ חמל חמל׃ חמלת׃ חמלתם יַ֝חְמ֗וֹל יַחְמ֑וֹל יַחְמ֖וֹל יַחְמֹ֑ל יַחְמֹ֖ל יַחְמֹ֣ל יַחְמֹ֤ל יַחְמֹֽלוּ׃ יַחְמֽוֹל׃ יחמול יחמול׃ יחמל יחמלו׃ לְחֻמְלָ֣ה לחמלה תַּחְמְל֖וּ תַּחְמְלוּ֙ תַּחְמֹֽלוּ׃ תַחְמֹ֖ל תַחְמֹ֥ל תחמל תחמלו תחמלו׃ ’eḥ·mō·wl ’eḥ·mōl ’eḥmōl ’eḥmōwl chaMal chaMalta chamalTem echMol ḥā·mā·lə·tā ḥā·mal ḥā·māl ḥă·mal·tem ḥāmal ḥāmāl ḥāmālətā ḥămaltem lə·ḥum·lāh lechumLah ləḥumlāh tachmeLu tachMol tachMolu taḥ·mə·lū taḥ·mō·lū ṯaḥ·mōl taḥməlū ṯaḥmōl taḥmōlū vaechMol vaiyachMol vattachMol vechamalTi wā’eḥmōl wā·’eḥ·mōl wat·taḥ·mōl wattaḥmōl way·yaḥ·mōl wayyaḥmōl wə·ḥā·mal·tî wəḥāmaltî yachMol yachMolu yaḥ·mō·lū yaḥ·mō·wl yaḥ·mōl yaḥmōl yaḥmōlū yaḥmōwlLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Exodus 2:6 HEB: נַ֖עַר בֹּכֶ֑ה וַתַּחְמֹ֣ל עָלָ֔יו וַתֹּ֕אמֶר NAS: was crying. And she had pity on him and said, KJV: wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, INT: boy was crying had on and said Deuteronomy 13:8 1 Samuel 15:3 1 Samuel 15:9 1 Samuel 15:15 1 Samuel 23:21 2 Samuel 12:4 2 Samuel 12:6 2 Samuel 21:7 2 Chronicles 36:15 2 Chronicles 36:17 Job 6:10 Job 16:13 Job 20:13 Job 27:22 Proverbs 6:34 Isaiah 9:19 Isaiah 30:14 Jeremiah 13:14 Jeremiah 15:5 Jeremiah 21:7 Jeremiah 50:14 Jeremiah 51:3 Lamentations 2:2 Lamentations 2:17 41 Occurrences |
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