to spare
cha.mal denotes withholding harm or destruction, and in some contexts showing compassionate restraint toward a person.
The verb most often marks the withholding of lethal, punitive, or destructive action, commonly in statements that such restraint will not be shown. It also describes compassionate treatment of persons and, in a smaller group of contexts, holding back from taking or releasing something.
Senses in use
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Withhold destruction or punishment · dominant
The term frequently occurs in commands or declarations that no restraint is to be shown in violence or judgment. In 1 Samuel 15:3 the APB renders the command, “Do not spare him,” while 2 Chronicles 36:17 says that the invading king “did not spare” any age group; Ezekiel 9:5 likewise joins the plural jussive with an order to strike through the city without pity.
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Show compassionate restraint toward people · common
In several clauses, the verb concerns a person or people receiving favorable restraint rather than harm. Exodus 2:6 places the feminine sequential imperfect after the child is seen weeping, and the APB renders that response as compassion; 2 Samuel 21:7 says that the king spared Mephibosheth because of an oath, and Malachi 3:17 compares divine sparing with a man's treatment of a serving son.
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Hold back from taking or letting go · occasional
The verb can concern retaining an object rather than protecting a threatened person. In 2 Samuel 12:4 the rich man is unwilling to take from his own flock for the traveller, while Job 20:13 describes keeping something in the mouth and not letting it go; the APB renders the latter clause “He spares it and does not let it go.”
In the Anselm Project Bible: Across these verses, the APB commonly uses “spare” or “did not spare,” especially where destruction or killing is in view; it also uses “compassion” or “pity” in clauses about persons. Because the APB is a whole-verse translation, those English expressions confirm the clauses' overall presentation rather than establish separate definitions by themselves.