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# הוֹלֵלָה

Biblical Hebrew · Strong's H1947

**madness** — used 4 times in the Hebrew Bible. Below: its meanings with their sources, MACULA's glosses, and 2 verses word for word and in JPS 1917.

## Meaning

### OpenScriptures lexical index

madness [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1492/1947/#m1)

### Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906

הוֹלֵלָה: n.f. madness [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1492/1947/#m2)

**The whole BDB entry:** n.f. madness (on text v. infr.), only pl. הֹלֵלוֹת, הוֹלֵלוֹת, and only Ec: Ec 1:17 and I set my heart (וָאֶתְּנָה לִבִּי) to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly (הֹלֵלוֹת וְשִׂכְלוּת), cf. הוֹלֵלוֹת 2:12 (‖ id.); וְלָדַעַת רֶשַׁע כֶּסֶל וְהַסִּכְלוּת ה׳ 7:25, i.e. to know folly to be madness; possibly read חוֹלֵלוּת, cf. סִכְלוּת & foll.; the moral evil of it is specif. recognised in Ec 9:3 (‖ רָע).

Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 4 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (2 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (1 candidates)

## Glosses

MACULA's English glosses of the word in the text, with how often each is used: madness(es) (4).

## In the verses

[Ecclesiastes 1:17](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC.1.17/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC.1.17/#tree)

וָאֶתְּנָ֤ה לִבִּי֙ לָדַ֣עַת חָכְמָ֔ה וְדַ֥עַת הוֹלֵל֖וֹת וְשִׂכְל֑וּת יָדַ֕עְתִּי שֶׁגַּם־זֶ֥ה ה֖וּא רַעְי֥וֹן רֽוּחַ׃

*Word for word:* and I gave heart my to know wisdom and to.know madness(es) and folly I.knew (cmp) also this it \[is\].a.striving of.wind

*JPS 1917:* And I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly — I perceived that this also was a striving after wind.

[Ecclesiastes 2:12](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC.2.12/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC.2.12/#tree)

וּפָנִ֤יתִֽי אֲנִי֙ לִרְא֣וֹת חָכְמָ֔ה וְהוֹלֵל֖וֹת וְסִכְל֑וּת כִּ֣י ׀ מֶ֣ה הָאָדָ֗ם שֶׁיָּבוֹא֙ אַחֲרֵ֣י הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ אֵ֥ת אֲשֶׁר־כְּבָ֖ר עָשֽׂוּהוּ׃

*Word for word:* and I.turned I to consider wisdom and madness(es) and folly (dm) what? \[is\].the person who he.will.come after the king (et) \[that\].which already people have.done.it

*JPS 1917:* And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness and folly; for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of its meanings](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1492/1947/): every English meaning parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.

Sources. The words, their counts, glosses and the word-for-word renderings: MACULA Hebrew (the Westminster Leningrad Codex; Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0). Meanings: the OpenScriptures lexical index (CC BY 4.0), Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906 and Jastrow 1903 (public domain, via Sefaria); Targum Onkelos from Sefaria (public domain). Translation: JPS 1917 (public domain, from eBible.org).