What does כָּלָה (kālāh) mean in the Bible?
H3615 is a Hebrew verb for reaching an end. Depending on its form and object, something may be finished or completed, strength or supply may fail, or an agent may consume or bring something to an end.
Hebrew · H3615
כָּלָה
To end , whether intransitive (to cease , be finished , perish ) or transitive (to complete , prepare , consume )
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כָּלָהH3615
Pronunciationkālāh
What does כָּלָה (kālāh) mean in the Bible?
H3615 is a Hebrew verb for reaching an end. Depending on its form and object, something may be finished or completed, strength or supply may fail, or an agent may consume or bring something to an end.
Reader summary
Full entry for כָּלָה (H3615) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H3615?
The BSB source-word alignment has 207 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include had finished (20), fail (6), finished (4), and vent (3), they are finished off (3).
Where does כָּלָה (kālāh) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 2:1. Its strongest book concentrations include Psalms (23), 2 Chronicles (17), Ezekiel (17), Genesis (17).
What This Word Actually Means
H3615 is a Hebrew verb for reaching an end. Depending on its form and object, something may be finished or completed, strength or supply may fail, or an agent may consume or bring something to an end. Genesis 2:1 says the heavens and earth were completed in all their array. Exodus 40:33 states that Moses finished the tabernacle work. Psalm 73:26 acknowledges that flesh and heart may fail while God remains the psalmist's strength and portion.
Lamentations 3:22 uses a negative construction to confess that the people are not consumed because of the Lord's loving devotion. The range includes successful completion, exhaustion, disappearance, destruction, and consumption, so the surrounding grammar is decisive. H3615 helps teachers honor faithful completion without worshiping productivity. Some work reaches its intended end; some resources run out; bodies and courage can fail; judgment texts can speak of consuming destruction.
Human limits are not automatically moral failure, and biblical completion does not justify pushing workers, caregivers, or sufferers beyond safety.
Passage contextgrammaticalCanonical parallelPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
H3615 moves across completed creation, finished craftsmanship, depleted food, fulfilled speech, exhausted strength, and consuming judgment. Its broad end-point range requires attention to subject, object, verbal form, and whether the passage celebrates completion or laments loss.
- Gen.2.1
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
The creation account declares the heavens and earth completed in their vast array, marking the finished ordering that leads into God's seventh-day rest.
- Exod.40.33
And Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and the altar, and he hung the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.
Moses finishes the tabernacle work after carrying out the commanded construction, and the following glory of the Lord confirms the project's covenant purpose.
- Ps.73.26
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
The psalmist admits that flesh and heart may fail while confessing God as enduring strength and portion, allowing embodied limitation inside faith rather than outside it.
- Lam.3.22
Because of the loving devotion of the Lord we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.
A negative form declares that the afflicted community is not consumed because the Lord's loving devotion and mercies have not ended, placing survival within sustained lament.
Book context
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Ithad finished20×Genesis 2:2, Genesis 18:33, Genesis 24:15, Genesis 24:22
fail6×Psalms 69:3, Psalms 119:82, Psalms 119:123, Jeremiah 14:6
finished4×Exodus 40:33, Numbers 7:1, 1 Kings 7:40, 2 Chronicles 4:11
and vent3×Ezekiel 7:8, Ezekiel 20:8, Ezekiel 20:21
they are finished off3×1 Kings 22:11, 2 Chronicles 18:10, Jeremiah 44:27
will fail3×Job 11:20, Job 17:5, Isaiah 32:10
consume2×Numbers 25:11, Psalms 59:13
fails2×Psalms 71:9, Psalms 143:7
faints2×Psalms 84:2, Psalms 119:81
have finished2×Numbers 4:15, Deuteronomy 20:9
intentions2×1 Samuel 20:7, 1 Samuel 20:9
so that I may consume2×Numbers 16:21, Numbers 16:45
they were consumed2×2 Samuel 22:38, Psalms 18:37
to fail2×1 Samuel 2:33, Job 31:16
to fulfill2×2 Chronicles 36:22, Ezra 1:1
was completed2×Exodus 39:32, 2 Chronicles 29:28
was finished2×1 Kings 6:38, 2 Chronicles 29:34
were completed2×Genesis 2:1, 2 Chronicles 29:29
When He had finished2×Genesis 17:22, 2 Kings 10:25
When you have finished2×2 Samuel 11:19, Ezekiel 43:23
will perish2×Isaiah 1:28, Isaiah 31:3
. . .1×Isaiah 24:13
[and] consumed1×Psalms 71:13
[Jacob’s sons] had eaten all1×Genesis 43:2
After she1×Genesis 24:19
all the way1×Leviticus 23:22
am perishing1×Psalms 39:10
And after I have vented1×Ezekiel 13:15
And as he finished1×2 Samuel 13:36
and consume1×Joshua 24:20
and consume them1×Exodus 32:10
and consumed them1×Ezekiel 22:31
and destroy it1×Zechariah 5:4
and ending1×Genesis 44:12
and finished1×1 Kings 6:14
and finished him off1×Jeremiah 10:25
and finished it1×1 Kings 6:9
and put an end to them1×Ezekiel 20:13
and they finished1×2 Chronicles 31:7
and to end1×Jeremiah 20:18
And when I have spent1×Ezekiel 5:13
And when Saul had finished1×1 Samuel 10:13
And when they had finished off1×2 Chronicles 20:23
and wipe them1×Exodus 32:12
and you will be destroyed1×Ezekiel 13:14
are spent1×Proverbs 5:11
As soon as [Moses] had finished1×Numbers 16:31
At the end1×Ezekiel 43:27
be exhausted1×1 Kings 17:14
been destroyed1×Malachi 3:6
came to an end1×Genesis 41:53
consume them1×Psalms 59:13
consumed us1×2 Samuel 21:5
continued1×Joshua 10:20
David had finished1×1 Samuel 18:1
destroyed1×2 Chronicles 8:8
destroys1×Job 9:22
Ehud had finished1×Judges 3:18
exhausted1×1 Kings 17:16
finish1×1 Chronicles 27:24
finish [its walls]1×Genesis 6:16
finishing1×2 Chronicles 29:17
Fulfill1×Exodus 5:13
fulfilled1×Exodus 5:14
had been accomplished1×Ezra 9:1
had ended1×2 Chronicles 31:1
has ceased1×Isaiah 16:4
has destroyed1×Lamentations 2:22
has ended1×Jeremiah 8:20
has exhausted1×Lamentations 4:11
has finally been1×Daniel 12:7
he had finished1×1 Kings 3:1
He has exterminated1×Deuteronomy 28:21
he has finished1×Ruth 3:3
he has resolved1×Ruth 3:18
I devoured1×2 Samuel 22:39
I finish them off1×Jeremiah 49:37
I have finished them off1×Jeremiah 9:16
I have spent1×Isaiah 49:4
I might destroy1×Exodus 33:3
I will spend1×Deuteronomy 32:23
I would destroy you1×Exodus 33:5
is bent on1×Proverbs 16:30
is completed1×Daniel 11:36
is consumed1×Psalms 31:10
is finished1×1 Chronicles 28:20
is gone1×Isaiah 15:6
is spent1×Ezekiel 5:13
it was finished1×2 Chronicles 8:16
it was full1×2 Chronicles 24:10
it will completely destroy1×Isaiah 10:18
it will destroy1×Hosea 11:6
Just as he finished1×1 Samuel 13:10
longed1×2 Samuel 13:39
looms1×1 Samuel 25:17
may fail1×Psalms 73:26
Now when [the man] had finished1×Ezekiel 42:15
or be consumed1×Ezekiel 5:12
so as to destroy them1×Leviticus 26:44
So He ended1×Psalms 78:33
So I will vent1×Ezekiel 6:12
so that you may put an end1×Numbers 17:10
So they finished1×Joshua 19:51
that will destroy1×Leviticus 26:16
the locusts had1×Amos 7:2
then they end1×Job 36:11
Therefore I have consumed1×Ezekiel 43:8
they are consumed1×Job 4:9
they come to an end1×Job 7:6
they had dealt1×Ezra 10:17
they had utterly destroyed them all1×2 Chronicles 31:1
they have finished gathering1×Ruth 2:21
they have had enough1×Genesis 24:19
they strip1×Isaiah 27:10
They will be finished off1×Jeremiah 16:4
they will fade away1×Psalms 37:20
They will vanish1×Psalms 37:20
Thus conclude1×Psalms 72:20
to complete1×1 Kings 7:1
to destroy them1×Psalms 74:11
to eliminate them1×Deuteronomy 7:22
to end1×1 Samuel 3:12
to reap1×Leviticus 19:9
to stop1×Daniel 9:24
vanish1×Psalms 102:3
vanishes1×Job 7:9
was determined1×1 Samuel 20:33
was gone1×Genesis 21:15
was planning1×Esther 7:7
wastes away1×Job 33:21
we are consumed1×Psalms 90:7
we finish1×Psalms 90:9
were failing1×Lamentations 4:17
were finished1×Ruth 2:23
were finishing1×1 Kings 1:41
When [Aaron] has finished1×Leviticus 16:20
when [Samson] had finished1×Judges 15:17
When [the LORD] had finished1×Exodus 31:18
When they had finished1×Joshua 19:49
When they were finished1×2 Chronicles 24:14
When you finish1×Jeremiah 51:63
When you have completed1×Ezekiel 4:6
will be completed1×Daniel 12:7
will be destroyed1×Proverbs 22:8
will be gone1×Isaiah 21:16
will devastate1×Genesis 41:30
will disappear1×Isaiah 29:20
will finish them off1×Jeremiah 14:12
will subside1×Isaiah 10:25
Will they complete it1×Nehemiah 4:2
wipe us out1×Ezra 9:14
wiped me1×Psalms 119:87
yearns1×Job 19:27
You finished them off1×Jeremiah 5:3
you had put an end to it1×2 Kings 13:19
you have finished1×Ezekiel 4:8
you have finished laying aside1×Deuteronomy 26:12
you have put an end to them1×2 Kings 13:17
you have wiped them out1×1 Samuel 15:18
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 2:1וַיְכֻלּ֛וּtowere completedConjunctive waw | Verb - Pual - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine pluralGenesis 2:2וַיְכַ֤לtohad finishedConjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularGenesis 6:16תְּכַלֶ֣נָּהtofinish [its walls]Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine singular | third person feminine singularGenesis 17:22וַיְכַ֖לtoWhen He had finishedConjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularGenesis 18:33כִּלָּ֔הtohad finishedVerb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singularGenesis 21:15וַיִּכְל֥וּtowas goneConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine pluralGenesis 24:15כִּלָּ֣הtohad finishedVerb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singularGenesis 24:19וַתְּכַ֖לtoAfter sheConjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singularGenesis 24:19כִּלּ֖וּtothey have had enoughVerb - Piel - Perfect - third person common pluralGenesis 24:22כִּלּ֤וּtohad finishedVerb - Piel - Perfect - third person common plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 2:1
Aligned rows207
Books represented29
Genesis17Exodus10Leviticus5Numbers7Deuteronomy7Joshua5Judges2Ruth41 Samuel112 Samuel71 Kings122 Kings31 Chronicles32 Chronicles17Ezra4Nehemiah1Esther1Job10Psalms23Proverbs3Isaiah12Jeremiah13Lamentations5Ezekiel17Daniel4Hosea1Amos1Zechariah1Malachi1
Source forms
וַיְכַ֣ל6xway·ḵalExodus 34:33, Deuteronomy 32:45, 2 Samuel 6:18, 1 Kings 7:40
כְּכַלּ֣וֹת6xkə·ḵal·lō·wṯDeuteronomy 31:24, Joshua 8:24, 1 Samuel 24:16, 1 Kings 8:54
כָּ֣לָה4xkā·lāhIsaiah 15:6, Isaiah 16:4, Jeremiah 8:20, Daniel 11:36
כְּכַלֹּתוֹ֙3xkə·ḵal·lō·ṯōwExodus 31:18, 1 Samuel 13:10, 1 Samuel 18:1
כָּלָ֣ה3xkā·lāh1 Kings 6:38, Job 7:9, Isaiah 32:10
כַּלּוֹתָֽם׃3xkal·lō·w·ṯām2 Samuel 22:38, 2 Chronicles 18:10, Psalms 18:37
לִכְל֥וֹת3xliḵ·lō·wṯ2 Chronicles 29:28, 2 Chronicles 36:22, Ezra 1:1
וַיְכַ֤ל2xway·ḵalGenesis 2:2, Genesis 49:33
Parsing patterns
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular14xGenesis 2:2, Genesis 17:22, Genesis 49:33, Exodus 34:33
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural11xJob 19:27, Psalms 31:10, Psalms 37:20, Psalms 69:3
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular10xGenesis 18:33, Genesis 24:15, Genesis 27:30, Genesis 44:12
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular10x1 Samuel 20:33, 1 Kings 6:38, Job 7:9, Psalms 73:26
Preposition-k | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct9xDeuteronomy 20:9, Deuteronomy 31:24, Joshua 8:24, Joshua 10:20
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular8x1 Samuel 20:7, 1 Samuel 20:9, 1 Samuel 25:17, 1 Kings 17:16
Preposition-k | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular7xExodus 31:18, Numbers 16:31, Judges 15:17, 1 Samuel 13:10
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person common plural7xGenesis 24:19, Genesis 24:22, Genesis 43:2, Ruth 2:21
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Define completion responsibly, distribute labor, document handoffs, and allow rest or stopping when health, safety, or changed circumstances require it.
- When strength fails, offer practical care and accommodation rather than treating dependence as a spiritual defect.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that H3615 promises every faithful person will finish every project, calling, relationship, or life plan as intended.
- Do not claim that bodily exhaustion, disability, grief, or depleted capacity proves disobedience, unbelief, or lack of perseverance.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Denotes completion or cessation with often destructive finality; encompasses both natural ending and violent destruction or consumption.
Strong'sH3615
Lexical occurrences205 versesWord forms3 forms87 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkGenesis 2:1-3Source Gloss
to end , whether intransitive (to cease , be finished , perish ) or transitive (to complete , prepare , consume )
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups3Aligned forms87
Qalbasic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense45×
PerfectJer 14:6 · Job 19:27 · Lam 2:11 · Lam 3:22 · Ps 31:11 · Ps 37:20 · Ps 69:4 · Ps 102:4 · Ps 119:82 · Ps 119:123 · 1Kgs 6:38 · Dan 11:36 · Isa 15:6 · Isa 16:4 · Isa 24:13 · Isa 32:1031×
ImperfectEzek 5:12 · Isa 1:28 · Jer 16:4 · Job 4:9 · Ps 71:13 · Dan 12:7 · Job 11:20 · Job 17:5 · Lam 4:17 · 1Kgs 17:14 · Prov 22:811×
Infinitive construct2Chr 29:34 · Ruth 2:232×
JussiveJob 33:211×
Pielintensive active — emphasizes thoroughness or repeated action41×
Perfect1Chr 27:24 · Amos 7:2 · Gen 18:33 · Gen 24:15 · Gen 27:30 · Gen 44:12 · Judg 3:18 · Lam 4:11 · Prov 16:30 · Ruth 3:18 · 1Kgs 1:41 · 2Chr 29:17 · 2Chr 31:7 · Gen 24:19 · Gen 24:22 · Gen 43:221×
ImperfectDeut 26:12 · Lev 19:9 · Lev 23:22 · Deut 32:23 · Gen 24:45 · Job 31:16 · Job 21:13 · Job 36:11 · Isa 10:189×
Sequential imperfectPs 59:14 · Ps 74:11 · Exod 5:134×
Participle activeJer 14:12 · Job 9:22 · Lev 26:163×
Infinitive absolute2Kgs 13:17 · 2Kgs 13:192×
Infinitive constructEzra 9:14 · Num 7:12×
Pualintensive passive — intensive action received by the subject1×
PerfectPs 72:201×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Completed work, bringing something to its accomplished state
Concluded or ended, as in final words before death
Determined or fixed, expressing completion of purpose or resolve
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 205 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
כָּלָה is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
H3615 teaches that endings are not all alike. Genesis 2 celebrates a created work that reaches its intended completeness and opens into divine rest. Exodus 40 similarly records a human work finished according to command, after which God's glory fills the tabernacle. These passages can dignify faithful closure, careful craftsmanship, and the humility to say a task is complete.
Other texts prevent completion language from becoming a cult of achievement. Psalm 73 admits that flesh and heart may fail. The confession does not deny bodily decline or emotional depletion; it locates enduring hope in God as strength and portion. Lamentations 3 uses the verb under negation: amid devastation, the people are not consumed because the Lord's loving devotion remains.
The book's grief remains real, so mercy is not a slogan that declares the losses harmless. H3615 also appears in severe judgment contexts where people or things are consumed, and those texts must not be casually transferred to personal enemies. Pastoral wisdom therefore asks what kind of ending is present. Some assignments should be completed; some destructive practices should end; some resources need replenishment; some bodies require rest; some losses must be mourned.
Churches honor completion when they define responsible scope, share labor, permit Sabbath and disability accommodations, and refuse to sacrifice people to the appearance of finishing.
Anchor passage
Ps.73.26
Doctrinal connections
- Genesis 2:1 presents creation as reaching its intended completeness before seventh-day rest.
- Exodus 40:33 joins finished craftsmanship to covenant obedience and the arrival of divine glory.
- Psalm 73:26 confesses bodily and inward failure while naming God as enduring portion and strength.
- Lamentations 3:22 locates non-consumption in the Lord's loving devotion amid unresolved devastation.
- Judgment passages can use H3615 for consuming endings that require historical and covenant precision.
- Faithful completion includes scope, rest, shared labor, and care for people whose strength or resources fail.
H3615 is a Hebrew verb with intransitive and transitive uses. It can mean be finished, cease, fail, or perish, and in causative or intensive settings complete or consume. Negation can reverse the pastoral force, as in not being consumed.
From Old to New Testament
New Testament completion language gathers around fulfilled assignments, Christ's finished work, perseverance, mortality, and God's promised renewal. Those themes can be traced canonically, but H3615 itself does not make every finished human project an image of atonement or guarantee that faithful workers complete every desired task.
Canonical parallelPastoral application