נָבֵלnâbêl
נָבַל: be senseless, foolish
Pronunciation: naw-bale' · Hebrew/Aramaic (Old Testament) · H5034
Meanings
Qal: be foolish, hast been foolish (Proverbs 30:32)
Pi`el: regard or treat as a נָבָל, i.e. with contumely (Nahum 3:6; Deuteronomy 32:15; Jeremiah 14:21)
נָבֵל: sink or drop down, languish, wither and fall, fade
Qal
1. sink or drop down (Exodus 18:18; 2 Samuel 22:46; Psalms 18:46)
2. usually fall like a leaf, or flower wither and fall, fade (Isaiah 1:30; Isaiah 34:4; Ezekiel 47:12)
Same root
- נֶבֶלnebel · H5035a skin-bag for liquids (from collapsing when empty); hence, a vase (as similar in shape when full); also a lyre (as having a body of like form)
- נָבָלnâbâl · H5036stupid; wicked (especially impious)
- נְבֵלָהnᵉbêlâh · H5038a flabby thing, i.e. a carcase or carrion (human or bestial, often collectively); figuratively, an idol
Where it appears
Appears 25 times in the Bible.
- Exodus 18:18 “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself.
- Deuteronomy 32:15 “But Israel soon became fat and unruly; the people grew heavy, plump, and stuffed! Then they abandoned the God who had made them; they made light of the Rock of their salvation.
- 2 Samuel 22:46 They all lose their courage and come trembling from their strongholds.
- Job 14:18 “But instead, as mountains fall and crumble and as rocks fall from a cliff,
- Psalms 1:3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.
- Psalms 18:45 They all lose their courage and come trembling from their strongholds.
Source: Brown, Driver and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain; markup by unfoldingWord, CC BY (github.com/unfoldingWord/Brown-Driver-Briggs-Enhanced).