What does חֶלֶד (ḥeleḏ) mean in the Bible?
חֶלֶד (ḥeleḏ): Life understood as transient duration; the world grasped through the lens of human mortality and ephemerality.
Hebrew · H2465
חֶלֶד
Life (as a fleeting portion of time); hence, the world (as transient)
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חֶלֶד H2465
Pronunciation ḥeleḏ
What does חֶלֶד (ḥeleḏ) mean in the Bible?
חֶלֶד (ḥeleḏ): Life understood as transient duration; the world grasped through the lens of human mortality and ephemerality.
Full entry for חֶלֶד (H2465) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H2465?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include of the world (2), and my lifetime (1), the briefness (1), Your life (1).
Where does חֶלֶד (ḥeleḏ) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Job 11:17. Its strongest book concentrations include Psalms (4), Job (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It of the world 2× Psalms 17:14, Psalms 49:1
and my lifetime 1× Psalms 39:5
the briefness 1× Psalms 89:47
Your life 1× Job 11:17
Show sample aligned rows
Job 11:17 חָ֑לֶד to Your life Noun - masculine singular Psalms 17:14 מֵחֶ֗לֶד to of the world Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular Psalms 39:5 וְחֶלְדִּ֣י to and my lifetime Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular Psalms 49:1 חָֽלֶד׃ to of the world Noun - masculine singular Psalms 89:47 חָ֑לֶד to the briefness Noun - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Job 11:17
Aligned rows 5
Books represented 2
Job 1 Psalms 4
Source forms
חָ֑לֶד 2x ḥā·leḏ Job 11:17, Psalms 89:47
וְחֶלְדִּ֣י 1x wə·ḥel·dî Psalms 39:5
חָֽלֶד׃ 1x ḥā·leḏ Psalms 49:1
מֵחֶ֗לֶד 1x mê·ḥe·leḏ Psalms 17:14
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular 3x Job 11:17, Psalms 49:1, Psalms 89:47
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular 1x Psalms 39:5
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular 1x Psalms 17:14
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Life understood as transient duration; the world grasped through the lens of human mortality and ephemerality.
Source Gloss
life (as a fleeting portion of time); hence, the world (as transient)
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Life understood as transient duration; the world grasped through the lens of human mortality and ephemerality.
life (as a fleeting portion of time); hence, the world (as transient) BDB: duration Usage: age, short time, world.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
Duration; fleeting life; this world; refers to the temporary nature of earthly existence
Showing 1 selected witness from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain