2447. chaklili
Lexical Summary
chaklili: Dark, reddish, sparkling

Original Word: חַכְלִיל
Part of Speech: Adjective Masculine
Transliteration: chakliyl
Pronunciation: khak-lee-lee
Phonetic Spelling: (khak-leel')
KJV: red
NASB: dull
Word Origin: [by reduplication from an unused root apparently meaning to be dark]

1. darkly flashing (only of the eyes)
2. in a good sense, brilliant (as stimulated by wine)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
red

By reduplication from an unused root apparently meaning to be dark; darkly flashing (only of the eyes); in a good sense, brilliant (as stimulated by wine) -- red.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from the same as Chakilah
Definition
dull
NASB Translation
dull (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
חַכְלִילִי adjective (dark) dull, from wine, ׳ח עינים מִיָּ֑יִן Genesis 49:12.

Topical Lexicon
Canonical Occurrence

The term appears once, in Genesis 49:12, within Jacob’s blessing over Judah: “His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk”. The word describes the rich hue of Judah’s eyes, employing the color of fermented wine as its point of comparison.

Literary Setting

Judah’s benediction stands at the literary and theological climax of Genesis. Immediately after announcing that the scepter will not depart from Judah (Genesis 49:10), Jacob paints a portrait of abundance—vines so prolific that the royal colt is tethered to them, garments washed in wine, and eyes and teeth revealing vitality and prosperity. The chromatic pair—wine-dark eyes and milk-white teeth—functions as a poetic merism conveying comprehensive well-being.

Color Imagery and Semantic Nuance

חַכְלִיל evokes a dark, ruddy, wine-tinted brightness, suggesting sparkling life and healthy vigor rather than mere redness or bloodshot exhaustion. The image signals:

• Vitality: the sparkle of eyes refreshed, not dulled.
• Abundance: eyesight “marinated,” as it were, in the plenty of vineyards.
• Joy: wine in Scripture symbolizes covenant blessing and festive gladness (Judges 9:13; Psalm 104:15).

Agricultural and Cultural Background

In the ancient Near East, thriving vineyards signified permanent settlement, covenant peace, and divinely granted prosperity (Deuteronomy 8:7-10). By linking Judah’s gaze to wine, Jacob implicitly testifies that Judah’s land allotment—and by extension Judah’s ultimate heir—will overflow with covenant blessings. The milk imagery complements the pastoral side of Israelite life, uniting field and flock in a single oracle of fruitfulness.

Theological and Messianic Significance

Because Genesis 49:8-12 undergirds later messianic expectation, חַכְלִיל contributes to the portrait of the coming ruler:

1. Abundance for His people: the Messiah dispenses the new-wine blessings anticipated in Isaiah 25:6 and fulfilled at Cana (John 2:1-11).
2. Penetrating, life-giving gaze: Revelation 1:14 portrays the risen Christ with “eyes like a blazing fire,” an intensification of Judah’s wine-dark eyes, now rendered in eschatological glory.
3. Covenant joy: the prophetic cup of blessing (Jeremiah 31:12) is secured through Judah’s line and realized in the new covenant (Luke 22:20).

Intertextual Echoes

While חַכְלִיל itself is unique, related imagery resonates throughout Scripture:
• “Blood of the grape” (Genesis 49:11) anticipates Deuteronomy 32:14.
• The luxuriant vine motif recurs in Zechariah 3:10 and Micah 4:4.
• Eyes that reflect covenant blessing surface in Song of Solomon 5:12 (“His eyes are like doves beside the streams”).
• The New Testament intensifies the theme with the fiery eyes of Christ (Revelation 19:12).

Pastoral and Homiletical Reflections

1. Assurance of Provision: The term invites believers to trust that the King from Judah supplies both daily bread and celebratory wine.
2. Spiritual Vision: Healthy, wine-bright eyes call the church to cultivate clear, Spirit-illuminated sight (Ephesians 1:18).
3. Eschatological Joy: חַכְלִיל anticipates the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7-9), where abundance, purity, and joy converge.

Summary

חַכְלִיל serves as a richly layered emblem of Judah’s—and ultimately Christ’s—vitality, prosperity, and covenant joy. Its lone appearance in Genesis 49:12 radiates throughout the canon, coloring biblical hope with the deep hue of wine, the brightness of health, and the certainty of messianic blessing.

Forms and Transliterations
חַכְלִילִ֥י חכלילי chachliLi ḥaḵ·lî·lî ḥaḵlîlî
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Genesis 49:12
HEB: חַכְלִילִ֥י עֵינַ֖יִם מִיָּ֑יִן
NAS: His eyes are dull from wine,
KJV: His eyes [shall be] red with wine,
INT: are dull his eyes wine

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 2447
1 Occurrence


ḥaḵ·lî·lî — 1 Occ.

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