Word Study for H3607 (כָּלָא)

kâlâʼ /kaw-law'/ Ask about this word

Roota primitive root

Meaningto restrict, by act (hold back or in) or word (prohibit)

KJV usagefinish, forbid, keep (back), refrain, restrain, retain, shut up, be stayed, withhold.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of kâlâʼ — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Hebrew word kâlâʼ, represented by H3607, is a primitive root meaning to restrict, by act (hold back or in) or word (prohibit). It also carries the meanings to finish, forbid, keep back, refrain, restrain, retain, shut up, be stayed, or withhold. It appears 18 times across 17 unique verses, illustrating its application in a variety of contexts involving restriction and cessation.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In biblical narratives, H3607 is used to describe physical, natural, and personal restriction. It can denote physical confinement, as when King Zedekiah had shut up the prophet Jeremiah in the court of the prison Jeremiah 32:3. It is also used to describe the cessation of a natural event, such as when the rain from heaven was restrained after the great flood Genesis 8:2. In the context of human action, the people were restrained from bringing any more work for the sanctuary offering at the command of Moses Exodus 36:6. On a personal level, the psalmist declares, "I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word" Psalms 119:101.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words help to clarify and expand upon the concept of restriction and finality:

H4513 mânaʻ (to debar... deny, keep back, refrain, restrain, withhold): This word functions very similarly to H3607. It is used to describe God's generosity, stating that no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly Psalms 84:11.
H2856 châtham (to close up; especially to seal; make an end, mark, seal up, stop): This term relates to the idea of closing or finalizing something. In a key prophetic passage, it appears alongside H3607 to describe the time when God will seal up the vision and prophecy Daniel 9:24.
H5341 nâtsar (to guard... protect, maintain, obey... conceal): This word carries the sense of protective guarding. In the Psalms, a plea is made for God not to withhold H3607 His tender mercies, but to let His lovingkindness and truth continually preserve H5341 the speaker Psalms 40:11.

Theological Significance

The theological significance of H3607 is seen in its application to divine, human, and prophetic actions.

Divine Sovereignty: The word is used to demonstrate God's control over the natural world. He restrained the floodwaters Genesis 8:2 and stayed the heavens from giving dew and the earth from yielding fruit as a consequence of the people's actions Haggai 1:10.
Moral and Spiritual Restraint: H3607 highlights the importance of actively preventing sin. Abigail's wise advice kept David from the sin of avenging himself 1 Samuel 25:33, and the psalmist purposefully refrained his feet from evil paths Psalms 119:101.
Prophetic Completion: Its most profound theological use is in Daniel's prophecy, which states that a period of seventy weeks is determined "to finish the transgression" Daniel 9:24. Here, the word points to the ultimate end and restriction of sin as part of God's redemptive plan.

Summary

In summary, H3607 is a versatile term that conveys the concept of restriction in multiple dimensions. From the physical act of shutting up a person or animal (Jeremiah 32:3, 1 Samuel 6:10) to the divine power that can restrain the forces of nature Genesis 8:2, the word is consistently applied to acts of holding back or bringing to an end. Its use culminates in a prophetic context, signifying the ultimate goal of God's plan to finish transgression and bring in everlasting righteousness Daniel 9:24.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a verb across 18 occurrences, inflected in 15 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

יִּכָּלֵא
כָלוּא
כָּלְאוּ
יִּכָּלְאוּ
כַלֵּא
כְּלָאֵ
אֶכְלָא
תִּכְלָאִי
תִכְלָא
יִכְלֶה
כְלוֹא
כָּלִאתִי
כְּלִתִ
כָּלְאָה
כְּלָא

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 17 verses across 11 of the 39 books. Most frequent in Psalms (4 verses); never once in the other 28.

Genesis

Exodus

Numbers

1 Samuel

Psalms

Ecclesiastes

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Ezekiel

Daniel

Haggai

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.