H2258a H2258a
pledge, security (as binding debt)
A noun denoting a pledge taken as security for a loan. It appears in Ezekiel's descriptions of righteous and wicked conduct: the righteous 'restores the pledge' (Ezek 18:16; 33:15), while the wicked keeps it (Ezek 18:12). The word derives from the verb 'to bind' and reflects the legal-economic practice of holding collateral. The Spanish prenda and French/German cognates all denote the object held as surety. This is covenant and commerce language: what binds debtor to creditor, and what justice demands be returned.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Refers to the pledge or collateral taken as security in three Ezekiel contexts (Ezek 18:12, 16; 33:15). The righteous restore it; the wicked do not. Multilingual glosses (pledge, prenda) uniformly reflect the legal-economic practice of holding security. The word evokes the ethical demands of lending: not exploiting the vulnerable by keeping what must be returned. 3×
AR["رَهْنًا"]·ben["বন্ধক"]·DE["[חבל]"]·EN["pledge"]·FR["[חבל]"]·heb["חבול"]·HI["और-दुष्ट", "बंधक"]·ID["gadaian"]·IT["[חבל]"]·jav["gadhahanipun", "jaminan"]·KO["담보물을", "저당물을"]·PT["Penhor", "penhor"]·RU["залог"]·ES["Prenda", "prenda"]·SW["Rehani", "rehani"]·TR["rehin", "rehini"]·urd["رہن", "گروی"]
Related Senses
H5414 1. give, bestow (1855×)H3947 1. take, seize, grasp (Qal) (940×)G2192 1. possess / have (680×)G1325 1. give, bestow (336×)H5159 1. inherited land or property (170×)G2983 1. receive, obtain (134×)H3423 1. Qal: take possession of land (130×)G2983 2. take, take up (113×)G2398 1. one's own, belonging to oneself (91×)G3860 1. hand over, deliver to custody (78×)H7998 1. spoil, plunder, booty (74×)G1325 2. be given, be granted (70×)H5414 2. put, place, set (68×)H7999a 1. pay, repay, recompense (63×)H7069 1. Buy, purchase (59×)H1892 1. vanity, futility, absurdity (58×)H5159 2. heritage as covenant portion (52×)H6299 1. redeem or ransom (Qal active) (49×)H4376 1. Sell (Qal active) (47×)H1350a 1. Redeem, buy back (46×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† חֲבֹל n.[m.] pledge (as binding)—יָשִׁיב ח׳ Ez 18:12; 33:15; as cogn. acc. c. חָבַל Ez 18:16.