נְבָלָהnᵉbâlâh

senselessness, (as shewn in disregard of moral and religious claims), especially of disgraceful sins; also disgrace

Pronunciation: neb-aw-law' · Hebrew/Aramaic (Old Testament) · H5039

Meanings

1. disgraceful folly, especially of sins of unchastity (Judges 19:23; Judges 19:24; 2 Samuel 13:12)

2. contumely, disgrace (Job 42:8; 2 Samuel 3:33)

Same root

Where it appears

Appears 13 times in the Bible.

  • Genesis 34:7 Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the field as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious that their sister had been raped. Shechem had done a disgraceful thing against Jacob’s family, something that should never be done.
  • Deuteronomy 22:21 The woman must be taken to the door of her father’s home, and there the men of the town must stone her to death, for she has committed a disgraceful crime in Israel by being promiscuous while living in her parents’ home. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you.
  • Joshua 7:15 The one who has stolen what was set apart for destruction will himself be burned with fire, along with everything he has, for he has broken the covenant of the Lord and has done a horrible thing in Israel.”
  • Judges 19:23 The old man stepped outside to talk to them. “No, my brothers, don’t do such an evil thing. For this man is a guest in my house, and such a thing would be shameful.
  • Judges 19:24 Here, take my virgin daughter and this man’s concubine. I will bring them out to you, and you can abuse them and do whatever you like. But don’t do such a shameful thing to this man.”
  • Judges 20:6 So I cut her body into twelve pieces and sent the pieces throughout the territory assigned to Israel, for these men have committed a terrible and shameful crime.
See every passage

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).