Lexical Summary kalal: To complete, perfect, finish, accomplish Original Word: כָּלַל Strong's Exhaustive Concordance make perfect A primitive root; to complete -- (make) perfect. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to complete, perfect NASB Translation perfected (2). Brown-Driver-Briggs I. כָּלַל verb complete, perfect (Late Hebrew comprehend, include, Pi`el complete, כְּלָל a General rule, בִּכְלָל in General; Biblical Aramaic and Syriac Shaph`el שׁכלל,  complete, finish; Assyrian kalâli III. I. 2. complete; Arabic  is be wearied, fatigued; Aramaic כְּלִילָא,  is a crown, hence denominative אַכְלֵיל,  to crown; Ethiopic I. 2  to crown,  a crown,  crowning (of bride), nuptials; Arabic  a crown, loan-word (Frä62)): — Ezekiel 27:4 בֹּנַיִךְ כָּֽלְלוּ יָפְיֵךְ thy builders have perfected thy beauty (of Tyre, under figure of ship), Ezekiel 27:11. [כְּלַל] verb complete (see Biblical Hebrew I. [כָּלַל]; but ׳שַׁכ perhaps loan-word from Assyrian šuklulu, ušaklil, uštaklil, DIWB 331, compare שֵׁיוֵב, שֵׁיצֵא and Buhl14); — Shaph`el of building: Perfect3masculine singular suffix שַׁכְלְלֵהּ Ezra 5:11 he finished it; 3 masculine plural שַׁכְלִלוּ Ezra 6:14, also (with accusative of thing) Ezra 4:12 (Kt שׁודי אשׁכללו, read Qr) ׳שׁוּרַיָא שׁ; Infinitive לְהַשְׁכְּלָלָה, accusative of thing Ezra 5:3,9. Ishtaph. be completed, of walls; Imperfect3masculine plural יִשְׁתַּכְלְלוּן Ezra 4:13,16. Topical Lexicon Root Sense Kālal depicts the bringing of something to full completion, the rounding out of a thing until nothing is lacking. In Ezekiel it is used transitively: craftsmen “perfect” the beauty of a city by supplying every needed element. Scriptural Occurrences 1. Ezekiel 27:4 – “Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders perfected your beauty.” Historical Setting: Tyre’s Maritime Splendor Both occurrences belong to Ezekiel’s lament over Tyre (Ezekiel 27). Sixth-century B.C. Tyre was a commercial empire whose wealth drew on cedar from Lebanon, silver from Tarshish, ivory from Dedan, war horses from Beth-togarmah, and the finest purple cloth from its own looms. Ezekiel stacks image upon image to convey how ship-builders, merchants, soldiers, and craftsmen “perfected” Tyre’s outward appearance. Kālal is deliberately chosen to portray a flawless façade at the very moment God announces judgment (Ezekiel 28). The empire is, in effect, finished—both in the sense of completed and of doomed. Theological Themes • Human completion is temporary. Tyre’s beauty was painstakingly finished, yet in one storm of divine judgment it was shattered (Ezekiel 27:26-36). Christological Horizon In Jesus Christ, God supplies the true and final perfection humankind seeks. “By one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14). The root idea behind kālal finds its ultimate fulfillment in the cry from the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30), where the work of redemption is brought to completion. Ministry Implications • Preaching: Ezekiel 27 offers a vivid sermon illustration on the danger of judging spiritual health by outward success. Practical Application 1. Examine whether personal or congregational “perfection” is cosmetic or spiritual. Key Cross-References for Further Study Psalm 138:8; Ecclesiastes 3:14; Isaiah 41:4; Philippians 1:6; Colossians 2:10; Hebrews 12:2; Revelation 21:6. Forms and Transliterations כָּלְל֖וּ כָּלְל֥וּ כללו kā·lə·lū kāləlū kalLuLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Ezekiel 27:4 HEB: גְּבוּלָ֑יִךְ בֹּנַ֕יִךְ כָּלְל֖וּ יָפְיֵֽךְ׃ NAS: Your builders have perfected your beauty. KJV: thy builders have perfected thy beauty. INT: your borders your builders have perfected your beauty Ezekiel 27:11 2 Occurrences |
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