חִבֵּל
a mast
Definition
The Hebrew noun חִבֵּל (chibbêl) refers specifically to a ship's mast. It denotes the tall vertical spar or pole that supports the sails and rigging of a sailing vessel. The word appears only once in the Old Testament, in Proverbs 23:34, where it is part of a vivid metaphor describing the disorientation of drunkenness, comparing a person to one who lies down in the heart of the sea or on top of a ship's mast. There are no other attested biblical meanings for this specific noun form.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the entire Old Testament, in the book of Proverbs. It is employed in a poetic, metaphorical context within a wisdom saying warning against drunkenness (Proverbs 23:34). The imagery depicts the extreme instability and danger of being intoxated, likening the drunkard to someone perilously perched 'on top of a mast.' There is no literal, nautical description of a ship using this term elsewhere in the biblical text.
Etymology
The noun חִבֵּל (chibbêl) is derived from the root חָבַל (chāval, H2254), which carries a core meaning related to binding or pledging. In this specific derivation, the sense shifts to something 'furnished with ropes' or 'that which is bound,' aptly describing the central spar of a ship to which the rigging and sails are secured. This connects the mast intrinsically to the idea of the ship's tied-down apparatus.
Semantic Range
While the word itself is a mundane object, its single biblical use is theologically significant. In Proverbs 23:34, the 'mast' is a key component in a powerful metaphor for the spiritual and physical folly of drunkenness. Understanding this Hebrew term enriches the reading by highlighting the deliberate choice of imagery: the mast represents the highest, most exposed, and most unstable point on a ship, perfectly capturing the reckless vulnerability and lack of self-control induced by alcohol. It serves wisdom literature's goal of creating memorable, striking pictures for moral instruction.
In the ancient Near East, maritime travel and trade were common, especially for cultures like the Phoenicians and, to a lesser extent, Israelites involved in Mediterranean and Red Sea commerce. The mast was a central and visually prominent feature of larger sailing vessels. The metaphor in Proverbs would have been immediately understandable to an audience familiar with ships, evoking a sense of extreme height, swaying motion, and imminent danger of falling.
אֹנִיָה (ʾoniyâ, H591) — A general term for a ship or large vessel. תַּרְנִית (tarnît, H8650) — Another term for a ship's mast, though it does not appear in the Hebrew Bible.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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