Hebrew noun (feminine) · H5039
נְבָלָה
nebalahneb-aw-law'
folly
13 uses in the Hebrew text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key
Concordance spelling: nᵉbâlâh
Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's H5039is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.
- 9 of 39Old Testament books
- 10spellings
The definition in full
Strong's key (1890) · H5039
foolishness, i.e. (morally) wickedness; concretely, a crime; by extension, punishment
The King James renders it: folly, vile, villany.
James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.
Summary
nebalah is rendered "folly". It stands 13 times in the Hebrew text, across nine books.
- Four of the uses stand in Judges, more than in any other book.
- Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Genesis 34:7When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they returned from the field. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.
- The Greek text spells it ten different ways.
The first use
When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they returned from the field. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.
Genesis 34:7נְבָלָ֞ה
The first use, in the order of the Old Testament's books.
Where the word stands
What the word means
Each meaning, and the words it is translated by
How the Greek text is glossed, word by word
- the disgraceful folly4
- folly3
- and disgraceful folly2
- disgraceful folly2
- a disgraceful folly1
- punishment for folly1
The words built on the same word-part
Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.
| Word | Written | Meaning | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| נְבָא | neba | to prophesy | Uses1 |
The words it stands beside
All 13, in canonical order
Every use, in order
Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.
10 spellings and their grammar
STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.
How it is spelled
- הַנְּבָלָ֥ה3
- וּנְבָלָ֖ה2
- הַ֨נְּבָלָ֔ה1
- נְבָלָ֞ה1
- נְבָלָה֙1
- נְבָלָ֖ה1
- נְבָלָ֔ה1
- נְבָלָ֑ה1
- נְבָלָ֣ה1
- נְבָלָ֜ה1
The grammar of each form
- noun · feminine singular7HNcfsa
- the definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine singular4HTd/Ncfsa
- conjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine singular2HC/Ncfsa
Genesis
one use
When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they returned from the field. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.
- נְבָלָ֞הnevalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: a disgraceful folly
Deuteronomy
one use
she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous in her father’s house. So you must purge the evil from among you.
- נְבָלָה֙nevalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: folly
Joshua
one use
The one who is caught with the things devoted to destruction must be burned, along with all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD and committed an outrage in Israel.’”
- נְבָלָ֖הnevalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: disgraceful folly
Judges
four uses
The owner of the house went out and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Do not commit this outrage.
- הַנְּבָלָ֥הhanevalahthe definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine singulartagged: the disgraceful folly
Look, let me bring out my virgin daughter and the man’s concubine, and you can use them and do with them as you wish. But do not do such a vile thing to this man.”
- הַנְּבָלָ֥הhanevalahthe definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine singulartagged: the disgraceful folly
Then I took my concubine, cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance, because they had committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel.
- וּנְבָלָ֖הunevalahconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine singulartagged: and disgraceful folly
We will take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred out of every thousand, and a thousand out of every ten thousand, to supply provisions for the army when they go to Gibeah in Benjamin to punish them for the atrocity they have committed in Israel.”
- הַ֨נְּבָלָ֔הhanevalahthe definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine singulartagged: the disgraceful folly
1 Samuel
one use
My lord should pay no attention to this scoundrel Nabal, for he lives up to his name: His name means Fool, and folly accompanies him. I, your servant, did not see my lord’s young men whom you sent.
- וּנְבָלָ֖הunevalahconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine singulartagged: and disgraceful folly
2 Samuel
one use
“No, my brother!” she cried. “Do not humiliate me, for such a thing should never be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing!
- הַנְּבָלָ֥הhanevalahthe definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine singulartagged: the disgraceful folly
Job
one use
So now, take seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. Then My servant Job will pray for you, for I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken accurately about Me, as My servant Job has.”
- נְבָלָ֔הnevalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: punishment for folly
Isaiah
two uses
Therefore the Lord takes no pleasure in their young men; He has no compassion on their fatherless and widows. For every one of them is godless and wicked, and every mouth speaks folly. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
- נְבָלָ֑הnevalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: disgraceful folly
For a fool speaks foolishness; his mind plots iniquity. He practices ungodliness and speaks falsely about the LORD; he leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink.
- נְבָלָ֣הnevalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: folly
Jeremiah
one use
For they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with the wives of their neighbors and speaking lies in My name, which I did not command them to do. I am He who knows, and I am a witness, declares the LORD.”
- נְבָלָ֜הnevalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: folly
Where it leads
How the numbers are counted
Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.
Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.
The words it stands beside are the nouns, verbs and adjectives immediately before or after it, counted in every verse where the word stands. The article, the conjunctions and the prepositions are left out, because they stand beside every word.
The family is read from the lexicon by the stem the two words share, with the accents off, and a person or a place named on the stem is left out.