◄ 1089. balah ►
Lexical Summary
balah: To wear out, to waste away, to decay

Original Word: בָּלַהּ
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: balahh
Pronunciation: bah-LAH
Phonetic Spelling: (baw-lah')
KJV: trouble
NASB: frightened
Word Origin: [a primitive root (rather by transposition for H926 (בָּהַל - dismayed))]

1. to palpitate
2. (hence) (causatively) to terrify

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
trouble

A primitive root (rather by transposition for bahal); to palpitate; hence, (causatively) to terrify -- trouble.

see HEBREW bahal

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to be troubled
NASB Translation
frightened (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
[בָּלַהּ] verb trouble (Aramaic , compare Arabic be weak in intellect; see also בהל — only

Pi`el Participle מְבַלֲהִים אותם לִבְנוֺת Kt (Qr מְבַהֲלִים needless) Ezra 4:4 troubled them in building.

Topical Lexicon
Meaning and Thematic Range

The stem behind בָּלַהּ evokes the idea of something that is so thoroughly used that it becomes threadbare or decays. Scripture often employs this imagery of worn-out garments or wasting flesh to underline the brevity of earthly existence and the ultimate frailty of created things in contrast to the unchanging nature of God.

Decay as a Reminder of Human Frailty

“Like clothing You will change them, and they will be discarded” (Psalm 102:26). Verses such as Job 13:28; Isaiah 50:9; 51:6; and James 5:2 depict human life, earthly wealth, and even the present heavens and earth as subject to wearing out. The vocabulary of decay becomes a sober reminder that all that is merely temporal will unravel, placing every generation face-to-face with its mortality (Psalm 90:10).

Garments, Holiness, and Covenant Faithfulness

Garments symbolize both physical provision and moral standing. In Deuteronomy 8:4 and 29:5 the wilderness generation is told, “Your clothes did not wear out,” a miracle underscoring God’s covenant love and sustaining power. Conversely, the injunction of Isaiah 64:6, “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags,” contrasts human effort with divine holiness. The worn garment thus pictures self-made righteousness proven inadequate before a holy God.

Prophetic and Eschatological Dimensions

The prophets press the metaphor toward cosmic horizons: “The earth will wear out like a garment” (Isaiah 51:6), anticipating the “new heavens and a new earth” (Isaiah 65:17). Hebrews 1:11-12 applies Psalm 102 to Jesus Christ, declaring the universe subject to decay while the Son remains eternally the same. In New Testament expectation, the present order is wearing thin, preparing the way for final renewal (2 Peter 3:10-13; Revelation 21:1-5).

Historical and Cultural Background

Textiles in the ancient Near East were precious commodities. Clothing might be inherited, patched, or repurposed until threadbare. The imagery of garments “eaten by moths” (Job 4:19; Isaiah 51:8) draws on everyday experience. Because cloth was expensive and labor-intensive to produce, something utterly worn signaled both material poverty and the relentless passage of time.

Christological Fulfillment

Jesus speaks of “new wine into new wineskins” and patches that tear away from an old cloak (Matthew 9:16-17), illustrating the incompatibility of the gospel’s new life with the old order that is wearing out. At the cross, soldiers cast lots for His seamless robe (John 19:23-24), an ironic counterpoint: the Sin-bearer is stripped so believers may be “clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49) and ultimately “clothed in white garments” (Revelation 3:5).

Pastoral and Ministry Implications

1. Mortality and hope: The certainty of physical decline urges believers toward what is imperishable (1 Peter 1:3-4).
2. Stewardship: While all possessions will ultimately perish, they are to be used in service of eternal purposes (Matthew 6:19-21).
3. Comfort amid aging: Congregations benefit from teaching that aging bodies anticipate resurrection bodies (2 Corinthians 4:16-5:5).
4. Ethical exhortation: Just as old garments need replacing, believers “put off the old self” and “put on the new” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

Conclusion

בָּלַהּ, though unattested in a discrete Old Testament verse, crystalizes a rich biblical theme: the inevitable wearing out of everything fallen, set against God’s promise of enduring life and a new creation. It calls the faithful to live with eyes fixed on the Eternal One, who alone renews and who will one day clothe His people with immortality.

Links
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