Hebrew word · H2457

חֶלְאָה

chel'atah

rust

Found only in Ezek 24:6 (twice), 11 and 12 (twice). Most lexicons (BDB, HALOT) give 'rust' or 'corrosion'. Verse 11 says the pot is bronze or copper (נְחֹשֶׁת), so the picture is the tarnish or verdigris that eats into the metal, plus any burnt-on crust.

Appears 5 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

rust, scum

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Ezekiel 24:6

Range of meaning

Found only in Ezek 24:6 (twice), 11 and 12 (twice). Most lexicons (BDB, HALOT) give 'rust' or 'corrosion'. Verse 11 says the pot is bronze or copper (נְחֹשֶׁת), so the picture is the tarnish or verdigris that eats into the metal, plus any burnt-on crust. Many link it to the verb חָלָא, 'to be sick or diseased' (2 Chr 16:12), which gives the sense of a festering, corroding sickness in the vessel.

Against the English

KJV 'scum' suggests the froth that rises on a boiling stew and is skimmed off. BSB, WEB, NASB 'rust' and ESV 'corrosion' place the problem in the metal of the pot, where the Hebrew puts it. NIV 'encrusted… deposit' is a careful middle option.

How it drifted

In 1611 'scum' could mean any impurity thrown up or left behind. Today it means surface foam that is easily skimmed away, which is the opposite of a stain that will not come out.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) renders it ἰός, 'rust, verdigris', the same word used of corroding gold and silver in James 5:3. The Vulgate (the Latin translation) has rubigo, 'rust'. Verses 11–13 then describe the empty pot heated red-hot 'so that its bronze glows and its uncleanness melts, its corrosion consumed', and God saying 'I tried to cleanse you'.

Where it appears

Ezekiel · 5

  1. Ezekiel 24:6 חֶלְאָתָ֣ה וְחֶ֨לְאָתָ֔הּ rust its, and rust its

    Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the city of bloodshed, to the pot now rusted, whose rust will not come off! Empty it piece by piece; cast no lots for its contents.

    Here: The crusted corrosion eaten into the pot's metal (on bronze, the green-brown tarnish called verdigris). It is a defect in the vessel itself and not something floating in the stew. The word is found only in this passage.

  2. Ezekiel 24:11 חֶלְאָתָֽהּ׃ rust its

    Set the empty pot on its coals until it becomes hot and its copper glows. Then its impurity will melt within; its rust will be consumed.

  3. Ezekiel 24:12 חֶלְאָתָ֔הּ חֶלְאָתָֽהּ׃ rust its

    It has frustrated every effort; its thick rust has not been removed, even by the fire.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.