A1080 — בְּלָא (bᵉlâʼ)¶
Core Data¶
- Strong's: H1080
- File Prefix: A (Aramaic)
- Original: בְּלָא
- Transliteration: bᵉlâʼ
- Pronunciation: bel-aw
- Part of Speech: Verb
- Root: Corresponds to Hebrew H1086 בָּלָה (balah) — to fail, wear out, decay (but the Aramaic form is used only in the mental/figurative sense)
- Occurrences: 1 in OT (hapax legomenon)
- First Occurrence: Dan 7:25 (only occurrence)
- Hapax Legomenon: YES — appears only once in the entire Bible
Lexicon Definition¶
(Aramaic) corresponding to H1086 (but used only in a mental sense); to afflict: — wear out.
BDB Outline of Biblical Usage: verb Pael — wear away, out (cf. Biblical Hebrew בָּלָה); Imperfect 3ms יְבַלֵּא Daniel 7:25, figurative for harass continually (accusative of person).
Verb Stem Distribution¶
| Stem | Count | Typical Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Pael | 1 | wear out, afflict by attrition (intensive active) |
Tallied from hebrew_parser.py --verse "Dan 7:25" — יְבַלֵּא parsed as Verb.pael.Impf.3ms.
Translation Distribution (KJV)¶
| Translation | Count | % |
|---|---|---|
| shall wear out | 1 | 100% |
Distribution by Book¶
| Book | Count | Per 100 Verses |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel | 1 | 0.3 |
Confined entirely to the Aramaic section of Daniel (chapters 2–7).
Semantic Categories¶
1. Relentless Attrition of the Saints¶
The single usage is figurative — not physical wearing down but psychological and spiritual harassment, grinding down over time.
- Dan 7:25 — "And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out (יְבַלֵּא) the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time."
Verse Context: Co-occurring Words (Dan 7:25)¶
Key Aramaic content words in the same verse:
| Word | Strong's | Gloss |
|---|---|---|
| מִלִּין (millin) | H4406 | words/things |
| עִלָּאָה (illaaah) | H5943 | Most High |
| קַדִּישִׁין (qaddishin) | H6922 | holy ones, saints |
| זִמְנִין (zimmin) | H2166 | appointed times |
| דָת (dath) | H1882 | law, decree |
| עִדָּן (iddan) | H5732 | time, season |
The word appears in a cluster of Daniel's prophetic vocabulary: the horn speaks against God, wears out the saints, and attempts to alter zimmin (appointed times) and dath (law).
Related Words¶
Word Family / Cognates¶
- H1086 בָּלָה (balah) — Hebrew root: to fail, wear out, decay, become old (physical sense: garments wasting, body aging). Compare Deut 8:4; 29:4; Ps 102:26.
- H1087 בָּלֶה (baleh) — adjective: worn out, old
- H1094 בְּלוֹא (belo) — noun: worn-out things, rags (hapax: Jer 38:11–12)
The Aramaic verb narrows and intensifies the root: where Hebrew בָּלָה describes slow physical decay, the Pael בְּלָא applies the concept to the act of wearing down persons by relentless pressure.
Synonyms¶
No synonym entries were returned by search_relationships.py for this Aramaic hapax.
Antonyms¶
No antonym entries were returned by search_relationships.py for this Aramaic hapax.
Easily Confused Words¶
| Word | Strong's | Shared Translation | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| בָּלָה (balah) | H1086 | both can render "wear out" | Hebrew; physical deterioration (garments, body, earth); Qal/Piel; 16 occurrences. The Aramaic בְּלָא is the Pael counterpart but restricted to mental/spiritual harassment. |
Semantic Domains¶
No semantic-domain data was returned by search_relationships.py for this single-occurrence Aramaic verb.
LXX Mapping¶
No LXX alignments found in database. The Aramaic chapters of Daniel were not translated through the same process as the Hebrew OT; Theodotion's Greek Daniel uses κατατρίψει (from κατατρίβω — to wear away by rubbing) for this verb.
Generated from: gather_word_data.py, hebrew_parser.py, search_strongs.py, search_relationships.py Last updated: 2026-04-27