---
title: נָבָל — foolish · The Tanakh dictionary
description: נָבָל (5036), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 18 times: foolish. BDB 1906: adj. foolish, senseless fool. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# נָבָל

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«נָבָל» in the Tanakh dictionary: **foolish** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

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**Used:** 18 times · **Key:** 5036 · **BDB:** נָבָל

### Glosses

a.fool (8); foolish (3); of.a.fool (3)

### Meaning (OSHB)

foolish [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1504/5036/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

adj. foolish, senseless fool [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1504/5036/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** adj. foolish, senseless, especially of the man who has no perception of ethical and religious claims, and with collat. idea of ignoble, disgraceful;—abs. נ׳ 2 S 3:33 + 14 times; mpl. נְבָלִים 13:13 Ez 13:3 (𝔊 Co מִלִּבָּם); fpl. נְבָלוֹת Jb 2:10;—senseless, especially of religious and moral insensibility: עַם נ׳ Dt 32:6 (of Isr., unappreciative of J.’s benefits; opp. חָכָם), so of heathen nation ψ 74:18 (blaspheming name of י׳), גּוֹי נ׳ Dt 32:21 (‖ לֹא עָם); הַנְּבִאִים הַנּ׳ Ez 13:3 (si vera l., v. supr.); elsewhere as subst. (impious and presumptuous) fool, Is 32:5 (opp. נָדִיב noble-minded), characterized as at once irreligious and churlish, v 6; denying God ψ 14:1 = 53:2; insulting God 74:22, and God’s servant 39:9; Pr 17:7 arrogant speech becometh not the (impious and presumptuous) fool (whose faults it only makes the more conspicuous), much less do lying lips him that is noble (נדיב), v 21 (‖ כְּסִיל), 30:22 ונבל כי ישׂבע לחם (one of the things under which the earth trembles), בְּנֵי נָבָל Jb 30:8 i.e. ignoble men (‖ בְּנֵי בְלִי־שֵׁם); as one who might be expected to have a contumelious end, הַכְּמוֹת נ׳ ימות אבנר 2 S 3:33 was Abner (destined) to die, as a נ׳ dieth? of the man who amasses riches unjustly ובאחריתו יהיה נבל Je 17:11 i.e. will prove himself to be a נ׳; as acting immorally (with collat. idea of disgracefully) 2 S 13:13 ואתה תהיה כְּאַחַד הַנְּבָלִים בישׂראל (cf. נְבָלָה); f. only in כְּדַבֵּר אַחַת הַנְּבָלוֹת Jb 2:10 (of Job’s wife). Cf. Dr Dt 22:21, 32:6, 15, 21; Psalt. 457.

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 18 of its verses cited, 2 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (7 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (6 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «נָבָל» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1504/5036/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Proverbs 30:22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PRO.30.22/)

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תַּֽחַת־עֶ֭בֶד כִּ֣י יִמְל֑וֹךְ וְ֝נָבָ֗ל כִּ֣י יִֽשְׂבַּֽע־לָֽחֶם׃

*Word for word:* under a.slave (dm) he.will.become.king and a.fool (dm) he.will.be.satisfied food

*JPS 1917:* For a servant when he reigneth; and a churl when he is filled with food;

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[Job 30:8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.30.8/)

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בְּֽנֵי־נָ֭בָל גַּם־בְּנֵ֣י בְלִי־שֵׁ֑ם נִ֝כְּא֗וּ מִן־הָאָֽרֶץ׃

*Word for word:* sons of.a.fool also sons of.not a.name they.have.been.scourged from the land

*JPS 1917:* They are children of churls, yea, children of ignoble men; they were scourged out of the land.

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