חֲלָלָה chalalah (H2491) literally means to be bored through and is mostly translated as “slain” for when a person is bored through or pierced by something such as a sword (cf. Genesis 34:27; Numbers 19:16). When referencing a woman, it’s usually translated as polluted, profaned, or common. (cf. Genesis 49:4; Leviticus 19:29; Leviticus 21:14). The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan interprets the word חֲלָלָה chalalah as “who was born illegitimate.”
In Leviticus 21:7, a priest is commanded to not marry a woman who is a whore (זֹנָה zonah), profaned (חֲלָלָה chalalah), or a woman cast out from her husband (גְּרוּשָׁה gerushah). In Leviticus 21:14, the High Priest was commanded not to marry a widow (אַלְמָנָה almanah), one cast out (גְּרוּשָׁה gerushah), profaned (חֲלָלָה chalalah), or a whore (זֹנָה zonah), but to take a virgin (בְּתוּלָה betulah) of his own people as a wife.
In Judaism, a Chalalah is defined as a daughter of a union between a high priest or priest and a woman prohibited to them and any daughters born through such a union are also Chalalot.
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