Lexical Summary chasal: To finish, consume, destroy Original Word: חָסַל Strong's Exhaustive Concordance consume A primitive root; to eat off -- consume. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to finish off, consume NASB Translation consume (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [חָסַל] verb finish off, consume (Aramaic חֲסַל come to an end, Aph`el bring to an end) — Qal Imperfect יַחְסְלֶנּוּ הָאַרְבֶּה Deuteronomy 28:38 of locusts destroying crops. Topical Lexicon Meaning and imagery חָסַל describes the total stripping or finishing-off of produce, pictured through the voracious work of locusts. It conveys not a temporary nibbling but a decisive, comprehensive consumption that leaves nothing useful behind. The verb therefore becomes a vivid emblem of judgment that exhausts human resources and exposes reliance on self rather than on God. Covenantal setting The word appears in the long list of covenant curses delivered by Moses. “You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because locusts will consume it” (Deuteronomy 28:38). Israel’s agricultural life was bound to obedience; when loyalty failed, God’s sovereign control over creation turned the very ground against them. חָסַל seals the warning: disobedience ends in utter depletion. Agricultural and economic implications Ancient Near-Eastern economies depended on predictable harvest cycles. A locust infestation could erase an entire year’s labor within hours, reducing granaries to dust and driving families into debt or famine. By using חָסַל, Scripture confronts readers with the fragility of material security and the ease with which God can withdraw common grace (compare Joel 1:4; Amos 4:9). The verb thus underlines the biblical principle that prosperity is a stewardship, not an entitlement (Deuteronomy 8:17-18). Prophetic and eschatological echoes While חָסַל itself is unique to Deuteronomy 28:38, its imagery reappears wherever locusts symbolize divine chastening. Joel’s “army” of insects (Joel 2:25) anticipates the day of the Lord; Amos warns that successive plagues aim to bring a covenant people to repentance (Amos 4:6-10). Revelation 9:3-11 transforms the picture into an apocalyptic judgment against a rebellious world. The single occurrence of חָסַל in Torah therefore becomes a seed that blossoms throughout prophetic literature, testifying to the unified storyline of Scripture. Spiritual lessons for ministry 1. Urgency of obedience: חָסַל reminds believers that spiritual complacency invites loss more severe than mere crop failure (John 15:6). Forms and Transliterations יַחְסְלֶ֖נּוּ יחסלנו yachseLennu yaḥ·sə·len·nū yaḥsəlennūLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Deuteronomy 28:38 HEB: תֶּאֱסֹ֔ף כִּ֥י יַחְסְלֶ֖נּוּ הָאַרְבֶּֽה׃ NAS: for the locust will consume it. KJV: in; for the locust shall consume it. INT: will gather for will consume the locust 1 Occurrence |
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