Hebrew word · H3616

כָּלֶה

vekhalot

longing

An adjective that appears only here. It comes from the verb kalah, "to be finished, used up, spent; to waste away." Applied to eyes, it describes eyes worn out by straining, weeping and longing for something that does not come.

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament.

What it means

failing with desire, longing, longing for

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 Deuteronomy 28:32

Range of meaning: An adjective that appears only here. It comes from the verb kalah, "to be finished, used up, spent; to waste away." Applied to eyes, it describes eyes worn out by straining, weeping and longing for something that does not come.
Against the English: KJV/WEB "fail [with longing]", BSB "grow weary", YLT "consuming". Today "fail" can suggest going blind or failing to see. The Hebrew picture is eyes used up by looking.
How it drifted: In older English "fail" commonly meant "give out, be exhausted" (as in "his strength failed"). Modern readers tend to hear "not succeed".
Used elsewhere in the period: The same idiom of failing eyes recurs: Lev 26:16 ("wasting the eyes", in the parallel curse list); Deut 28:65 ("failing of eyes"); Ps 69:3 [Hebrew 69:4], "my eyes fail, looking for my God"; Ps 119:82, 123; Lam 2:11; 4:17, "our eyes failed, watching for help in vain"; Job 11:20; 17:5.

Similar words

כַּלְכֹּל vekhalkol · Calcol

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 1

Deuteronomy 28:32 וְכָל֥וֹת and longing

Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, while your eyes grow weary looking for them day after day, with no power in your hand.

Here: "And spent / used up." From the verb kalah, "to come to an end, be finished." The eyes wear themselves out with straining and longing until they give out.

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