Folly
נְבָלָהStrong’s H5039nevalah (ne-va-lah)
Appears in 13 verses of the Old Testament
In short
Nevalah is the Hebrew word usually translated “folly”, “disgraceful folly” and “punishment for folly”. It appears in 13 verses of the Old Testament.
“And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter; which thing ought not to be done.”
Meaning
- Senselessness, follydisgraceful folly · disgrace, contumely disgrace
How it's translated
- folly 3
- disgraceful folly 3
- the disgraceful folly 3
- and disgraceful folly 2
- a disgraceful folly 1
- punishment for folly 1
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Judges 4
- Isaiah 2
- Genesis 1
- Deuteronomy 1
- Joshua 1
- 1 Samuel 1
9 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Deuteronomy 22:21Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.
- Joshua 7:15And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.
- Judges 19:23And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly.
- Judges 19:24Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing.
- Judges 20:6And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.
- Judges 20:10And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.
Hebrew dictionary
נְבָלָה nevalah · folly
1) senselessness, folly 1a) disgraceful folly 1a1) of immorality, profane actions 1b) disgrace, contumely disgrace
From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “folly” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
FOL'LY, noun
[See Fool.]
- Weakness of intellect; imbecility of mind. want of understanding.“A fool layeth open his folly” Proverbs 13:16
- A weak or absurd act not highly criminal; an act which is inconsistent with the dictates of reason, or with the ordinary rules of prudence.
- An absurd act which is highly sinful; any conduct contrary to the laws of God or man; sin; scandalous crimes; that which violates moral precepts and dishonors the offender. Genesis 34:7Joshua 7:15“Shechem wrought folly in Israel. Achan wrought folly in Israel” Genesis 34:7
- Criminal weakness; depravity of mind.
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Hebrew, not from any one translation.