Hebrew word · H5036

נָבָל

naval

foolish

Nabal is a person who is morally and religiously senseless: churlish, ungrateful and contemptuous of what he owes, especially to God and to his community. It means the opposite of the nadiv, the noble or generous man, in v. 5.

Appears 18 times in 18 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

foolish, senseless, fool

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 32:6

Range of meaning

Nabal is a person who is morally and religiously senseless: churlish, ungrateful and contemptuous of what he owes, especially to God and to his community. It means the opposite of the nadiv, the noble or generous man, in v. 5. Nebalah is the deed that suits such a person: a disgraceful outrage that breaks the bonds of the community.

Against the English

English 'fool' and 'folly' suggest someone silly or slow, or a bad decision. KJV 'vile person… villany' is closer to the moral weight.

How it drifted

In modern English 'fool' has become mainly about intelligence. The Hebrew word was about character and how a person behaves toward God and neighbor.

Used elsewhere in the period

Nabal in 1 Samuel 25:25 ('Nabal is his name, and nebalah is with him'). He refuses bread and water to David's men (25:11), which is a striking parallel to this verse. Psalm 14:1 / 53:1: the nabal says 'There is no God' and acts corruptly. Deuteronomy 32:6 calls Israel 'a nabal people' for ingratitude. Nebalah is used for rape and sexual outrage (Gen 34:7; Deut 22:21; Judg 19:23–24; 20:6; 2 Sam 13:12) and for Achan's sacrilege (Josh 7:15). In Isaiah 9:17 (Heb. 9:16) 'every mouth speaks nebalah' stands alongside ḥanef, 'godless', the same pairing as here.

From the study of Job 2:10

Range of meaning

A nābāl is a person who is morally and religiously senseless. Such a person disregards God, sacred obligations and the bonds of community, and acts with crude contempt. The related noun nəbālâ names an outrageous act that violates the moral order: rape, sacrilege, gross betrayal (Gen 34:7; Deut 22:21; Judg 19:23; 2 Sam 13:12). The nābāl is not mainly someone with low intelligence. He may be rich and shrewd. His “folly” is a practical godlessness.

Against the English

English “foolish” now mostly means silly, unwise or lacking sense. That makes Job's reply sound like he is calling his wife stupid or scatterbrained. The Hebrew accusation is heavier and different. Her advice sounds like the talk of people who have no reverence for God. Only the BSB/NIV-type rendering “a foolish woman” loses the “one of the ...” and so sounds more like a direct personal insult.

How it drifted

Over time the English word “fool” narrowed toward intellectual deficiency. Older biblical English (“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God,” Ps 14:1 KJV) still carried the moral-religious sense, but modern readers rarely hear it.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 14:1 / 53:1: the nābāl says in his heart, “There is no God.” 1 Sam 25:25: Nabal, “Fool is his name, and folly (nəbālâ) is with him,” a rich man who repays kindness with contempt. Isa 32:6: “the nābāl speaks nəbālâ … uttering error concerning the LORD.” Deut 32:6, 21: Israel as a “foolish and unwise people” that repays God with ingratitude. 2 Sam 13:13 has nearly the same construction as Job 2:10: Tamar warns Amnon he will be “like one of the nəbālîm in Israel.” Within Job, 30:8 has “sons of the nābāl” (outcasts), and in 42:8 God tells the friends he will not deal with them according to their nəbālâ. The Septuagint renders the word here with aphrōn, “senseless.”

From the study of Ezekiel 13:3

Range of meaning

A person who has no regard for God or for his social duties: impious, boorish, outrageous, shameful. The related noun nevalah means a shocking act that breaks the bonds of the community: rape (Gen 34:7; 2 Sam 13:12), sexual betrayal (Deut 22:21), sacrilege (Josh 7:15). The naval is the opposite of the wise man who fears God.

Against the English

English 'foolish' points to poor judgment or silliness. NRSV's 'senseless' is closer. The Jewish Publication Society's 1985 translation uses 'degenerate', which brings out the moral side. NLT's 'false' gives the effect but loses the word's own meaning.

How it drifted

English 'fool' has come to mean mainly someone short on intelligence or common sense. The Hebrew word is about character and how one stands with God. It is closer to 'godless scoundrel' than to 'dimwit'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 14:1 / 53:1: 'The naval says in his heart, There is no God.' This is a practical atheism, not a philosophical one. Nabal in 1 Sam 25:25 is a man whose 'name is naval and nevalah is with him'. Isa 32:6: 'the naval speaks nevalah… to utter error concerning YHWH.' HALOT and BDB both stress the religious and moral sense.

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 2

  1. Deuteronomy 32:6 נָבָ֖ל foolish

    Is this how you repay the LORD, O foolish and senseless people? Is He not your Father and Creator? Has He not made you and established you?

    Here: Not "unintelligent" but morally and religiously senseless: someone who ignores obligations to God and to benefactors. The word returns in v. 21, where God answers this "foolish people" with a "foolish nation."

  2. Deuteronomy 32:21 נָבָ֖ל foolish

    They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation without understanding.

    Here: Not low intelligence but moral and religious senselessness: boorish, disgraceful, without regard for God. The sting is that v.6 called Israel itself *ʿam nāḇāl*, "a senseless people." A senseless people will be humbled by a senseless nation.

2 Samuel · 2

  1. 2 Samuel 3:33 נָבָ֖ל a fool

    And the king sang this lament for Abner: “Should Abner die the death of a fool?

  2. 2 Samuel 13:13 הַנְּבָלִ֖ים the fools

    Where could I ever take my shame? And you would be like one of the fools in Israel! Please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.”

Job · 2

  1. Job 2:10 הַנְּבָלוֹת֙ the foolish women

    “You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

    Here: Not women who lack intelligence. They are the godless, morally senseless kind of people who treat God and what is sacred with contempt. Feminine plural adjective used as a noun.

  2. Job 30:8 נָ֭בָל a fool

    A senseless and nameless brood, they were driven off the land.

Psalms · 5

  1. Psalm 14:1 נָבָ֣ל a fool

    For the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their acts are vile. There is no one who does good.

    Here: Not a person short on intelligence. This is a person who is morally and religiously senseless and treats God and neighbour with contempt. It is the most severe of the Hebrew words for “fool.”

  2. Psalm 39:8 נָ֝בָ֗ל [the] foolish

    Deliver me from all my transgressions; do not make me the reproach of fools.

    Here: "A fool," singular but standing for a type of person. Nāvāl is not someone of low intelligence. It is the person who scorns God and social obligation, the one who "says in his heart, There is no God" (Ps 14:1). Such a person would read the psalmist's suffering as proof that his God has failed him.

  3. Psalm 53:1 נָבָ֣ל a fool

    For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath. A Maskil of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their ways are vile. There is no one who does good.

    Here: A morally and religiously senseless person, someone who throws off the obligations owed to God and neighbour. It is not a word for low intelligence. Singular, but it names a type, so the verse moves at once to 'they'.

  4. Psalm 74:18 נָ֝בָ֗ל foolish

    Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD, how a foolish people has spurned Your name.

    Here: Not 'unintelligent'. A nabal is morally and religiously senseless: someone who acts as if God does not count and so behaves disgracefully. The word comes back in v. 22 ('how the fool mocks you all day long').

  5. Psalm 74:22 נָ֝בָ֗ל a fool

    Rise up, O God; defend Your cause! Remember how the fool mocks You all day long.

    Here: Not someone stupid but someone who behaves as if God does not count, and does shameful, outrageous things because of it. It points back to the 'foolish people' (ʿam naval) of v. 18, so it most likely means the enemy nation as a group, not one individual.

Proverbs · 3

  1. Proverbs 17:7 לְנָבָ֣ל for a fool

    Eloquent words are unfit for a fool; how much worse are lying lips to a ruler!

    Here: Not a dim or silly person. It means a boor who is morally and socially worthless, someone who ignores what he owes to God and to his neighbours. The prefix lə- means "for" ("fitting for").

  2. Proverbs 17:21 נָבָֽל׃ a fool

    A man fathers a fool to his own grief; the father of a fool has no joy.

  3. Proverbs 30:22 וְ֝נָבָ֗ל and a fool

    a servant who becomes king, a fool who is filled with food,

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 32:5 לְנָבָ֖ל to a fool

    No longer will a fool be called noble, nor a scoundrel be respected.

  2. Isaiah 32:6 נָבָל֙ a fool

    For a fool speaks foolishness; his mind plots iniquity. He practices ungodliness and speaks falsely about the LORD; he leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink.

    Here: Not someone with low intelligence. He is a morally and socially worthless man who ignores what he owes to God and to his neighbor. It is the name of Nabal in 1 Samuel 25.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 17:11 נָבָֽל׃ a fool

    Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay is the man who makes a fortune unjustly. In the middle of his days his riches will desert him, and in the end he will be the fool.”

    Here: Not a dim-witted person. A nābāl is someone who lives as if God and his duties to others don't count, and who ends in disgrace. It is the word behind Nabal, the rich and grasping man of 1 Samuel 25. It is the verse's last word and its verdict.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 13:3 הַנְּבָלִ֑ים the fools

    This is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit yet have seen nothing.

    Here: 'The fools'. The word stands right beside 'prophets' and sounds almost the same: nevi'im / nevalim. It points to a man who acts as though God does not count, not to someone who simply lacks brains. The sound-play turns their title into an insult.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.