חָלָק

From the study of Proverbs 5:3

Range of meaning

"Smooth" as a physical quality: smooth stones (1 Sam 17:40, ḥallûq) and Jacob's smooth skin (Gen 27:11). From that it means "slippery" (Ps 73:18, ḥălāqôt, "slippery places"). Applied to speech, it means flattering or deceptively pleasant (Ps 12:2–3; Prov 26:28; Ezek 12:24).

Against the English

"Smoother than oil" is accurate in every major version. Modern English "smooth talker" is actually a close match. The Hebrew adds a shade the English may miss: smooth surfaces are also slippery, places where a foot does not hold (compare 5:5–6, her steps go down to death and her paths wander).

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 55:21 is an almost word-for-word parallel to Proverbs 5:3–4: "Smoother than butter was his mouth, but war in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords." Proverbs 2:16 and 7:5 describe the outsider woman as one "who makes her words smooth" (heḥĕlîqâ, the same root).

From the study of Genesis 27:11

Range of meaning

An adjective meaning 'smooth'. It is used of skin (here), of stones worn smooth (Isa 57:6; compare 1 Sam 17:40, ḥallūqê ʾăḇānîm), and, often in a moral sense, of speech that is slippery, flattering or deceptive: 'her mouth is smoother than oil' (Prov 5:3), 'a smooth mouth works ruin' (Prov 26:28), 'smooth (flattering) divination' (Ezek 12:24). The related verb ḥālaq (hiphil) means 'to flatter, make smooth' (Ps 5:9; Prov 29:5). A separate root with the same letters means 'to divide, apportion', which gives ḥēleq, 'portion, share'.

Against the English

KJV, WEB, YLT, ESV and NASB keep 'a smooth man', which mirrors 'a hairy man' and leaves room for the figurative overtone, as English 'smooth' (a 'smooth talker') does too. BSB and several dynamic versions say 'smooth-skinned' or 'my skin is smooth'. That is clear, but it confines the word to the body and drops the parallel 'a man… a man'.

Used elsewhere in the period

BDB and HALOT list the physical sense ('smooth' of skin and stones) beside the figurative sense ('slippery, flattering' of lips, tongue and speech). Joshua 11:17 and 12:7 name a 'Mount Halak (the Bare/Smooth Mountain) that rises toward Seir', where the same two words, smooth and Seir, stand together on the southern border facing Edom. Jewish and modern commentators (e.g., Sarna) have noted this pairing.

From the study of Proverbs 26:28

Range of meaning

Smooth, slick, slippery. Used of skin (Jacob is "a smooth man", Gen 27:11), of stones and ground, and, in a figure of speech, of speech that is pleasant, ingratiating or falsely reassuring.

Against the English

Most versions say "flattering". In modern English, flattery is mostly over-the-top compliments, a minor social vice. Chalaq speech is broader and more dangerous: seductive talk (Prov 5:3; 7:5, 21), false prophetic comfort ("speak to us smooth things", Isa 30:10; "flattering divination", Ezek 12:24), and the friendly words of an enemy (Ps 55:21, "smoother than butter, but war was in his heart").

How it drifted

"Flatter" in older English also carried the sense of smoothing or caressing deceitfully. Today it mostly means excessive praise, so the picture of slippery, treacherous speech has faded.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 12:2–3 ("smooth lips"); Ps 73:18 (God sets the wicked "in slippery places", חֲלָקוֹת, and casts them down); Prov 28:23; 29:5 ("a man who flatters his neighbour spreads a net for his feet").