A cable is considered as a system of helical wires and a core with distributed dry friction forces at their interfaces. Deformations of the cable subjected to a uniform bending are analyzed. It is shown that there is a critical bending curvature when a slip at the wire-core interface occurs. It originates at the neutral axis of the cross section of the cable and then spreads symmetrically over the cross section with the increase of bending. The effect of slippage on the cable stiffness is investigated. This model is also used to analyze a cable under the quasi-static cyclic bending. Explicit expression for the hysteretic losses per cycle of bending is derived. Numerical examples are given to show the influence of dry friction and helix angle on the bending stiffness and hysteretic losses in the cable.