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# נָבַל

Biblical Hebrew

**be senseless** — used 5 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

be senseless [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1504/lemma_3a_5e0_5b8_5d1_5b7_5dc/#m1)

### Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906

נָבַל: vb. be senseless, foolish Qal [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1504/lemma_3a_5e0_5b8_5d1_5b7_5dc/#m2)

**The whole BDB entry:** vb. be senseless, foolish (NH נְבָלָה, נַבְלוּת of immodesty; Arabic نَبُلَ = (per contra) be noble, distinguished, نَبَلَ also be gracious (Frey); Aramaic נְבַל Pa. reject, despise, v. 𝔗 Na 3:6; Je 14:21; in deriv. as NH);— Pf. 2 ms. נָבַלְתָּ Pr 30:32 if thou hast been foolish in lifting up thyself (opp. וַמּוֹתָ). \[Qal = be foolish †Pr 30:32 is doubted by Frankenberg Toy (where see various renderings), al., who think text crpt.\] Pf. 1 s. sf. consec. וְנִבַּלְתִּיךְ Na 3:6; Impf. 3 ms. וַיְנַבֵּל Dt 32:15; 2 ms. תְּנַבֵּל Je 14:21; Pt. מִנַבֵּל Mi 7:6;—regard or treat as a נָבָל (q.v.), i.e. with contumely, c. acc.: בֵּן מְנַבֵּל אָב Mi 7:6 son treateth father as a fool (with contumely); וַיְנ׳ צוּר Dt 32:15 and he treated with contumely the Rock of his salvation (i.e. י׳; ‖ נטשׁ); י׳ subj., Na 3:6 I will treat thee (Nineveh) with contumely (‖ וְהִשְׁלַכְתִּ֫י עָלַיִךְ שִׁקֻּצִים); Je 14:21 do not treat with contumely the throne of thy glory (‖ נאץ).

Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 5 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses (7 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 0 with the glosses (6 candidates)

## Glosses

MACULA's English glosses of the word in the text, with how often each is used: I (1); \[is\] treating with contempt (1); he treated with contempt (1).

## In the verses

[Proverbs 30:32](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PRO.30.32/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PRO.30.32/#tree)

אִם־נָבַ֥לְתָּ בְהִתְנַשֵּׂ֑א וְאִם־זַ֝מּ֗וֹתָ יָ֣ד לְפֶֽה׃

*Word for word:* if you.have.been.foolish by exalting.yourself and if you.have.planned hand to mouth

*JPS 1917:* If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast planned devices, lay thy hand upon thy mouth.

[Nahum 3:6](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/NAM.3.6/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/NAM.3.6/#tree)

וְהִשְׁלַכְתִּ֥י עָלַ֛יִךְ שִׁקֻּצִ֖ים וְנִבַּלְתִּ֑יךְ וְשַׂמְתִּ֖יךְ כְּרֹֽאִי׃

*Word for word:* and I.will.throw on you detestable.things and I will.treat.you.with.contempt and I will.make.you like a.spectacle

*JPS 1917:* And I will cast detestable things upon thee, and make thee vile, and will make thee as dung.

## On Mova

- [This word in the Tanakh dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/lemma_3a_5e0_5b8_5d1_5b7_5dc.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of its meanings](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1504/lemma_3a_5e0_5b8_5d1_5b7_5dc/): 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).