1091. ballahah

Lexical Summary

ballahah: Terror, Dismay, Sudden Fear

Original Word: בַּלָּהָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: ballahah
Pronunciation: bal-lah-hah
Phonetic Spelling: (bal-law-haw')
KJV: terror, trouble
NASB: terrors, terrified, sudden terrors, terror
Word Origin: [from H1089 (בָּלַה - frightened)]

1. alarm
2. (hence) destruction

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

terror, trouble

From balahh; alarm; hence, destruction -- terror, trouble.

see HEBREW balahh

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from balah
Definition
terror, dreadful event, calamity, destruction
NASB Translation
sudden terrors (1), terrified (2), terror (1), terrors (6).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

בַּלָּהָה noun feminine terror, dreadful event, calamity, destruction — בַּלָּהָה Isaiah 17:14; plural בַּלָּהוֺת Job 18:11 7t.; construct בַּלְהוֺת Job 24:17; —

1 only plural terrors Job 18:11; Job 27:20; Job 30:15; ׳מֶלֶךְ בּ Job 18:14 #NAME?צַלְמָוֶת ׳בּ Job 24:17.

2 calamity Isaiah 17:14, plural Psalm 73:19; calamity, destruction Ezekiel 26:21; Ezekiel 27:36; Ezekiel 28:19.

Topical Lexicon

Overview

Strong’s Hebrew 1091 בַּלָּהָה describes a sudden, overwhelming terror that breaks upon the wicked like an ambush. It never denotes wholesome fear or holy reverence; it always portrays devastating panic that accompanies divine judgment.

Semantic Nuances and Imagery

The word paints a picture of ruin arriving without warning—nightfall that swallows light, a storm that crashes in, or invading troops that leave desolation. Its associations include darkness, ruin, storm-surge, and military defeat. The emphasis lies on the psychological impact: hearts melt, strength flees, hope collapses. Such “terror” is not mere anxiety; it is the climactic dread that accompanies the realization that one stands opposed to God’s moral order.

Occurrences in Job: The Terror of Judgment

Six of the ten occurrences appear in Job, each underscoring retribution upon the ungodly:

• Job 18:11 – “Terrors frighten him on every side and harass his every step.”
• Job 18:14 – Death is called “the king of terrors,” presenting בַּלָּהָה as the climax of human helplessness.
• Job 24:17 – Darkness and terror become companions of those who embrace evil deeds.
• Job 27:20 – Wealth cannot shield against “terrors” that sweep the wicked away like a flood.
• Job 30:15 – Job, speaking of his own humiliation, says, “Terror overwhelms me,” revealing the vocabulary’s flexibility: the righteous sufferer experiences what the wicked deserve, raising the book’s central question of innocent suffering.

In Job, בַּלָּהָה demonstrates the principle of retributive justice while also exposing the limitations of retribution theology; the righteous may taste the terror that ultimately belongs to the wicked.

Psalm 73: The Crisis of the Wicked

Psalm 73:19 portrays the sudden collapse of arrogant worldlings: “How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors!” The psalmist’s sanctuary experience resolves the tension between present prosperity and future ruin: the terrors are God’s sure answer to unrepentant pride.

Isaiah 17: Eschatological Overtones

Isaiah 17:14 likens Aram-Israelite confederacy to a marauding band destroyed overnight: “In the evening, sudden terror; before the morning, they are gone.” The verse pushes the term beyond personal judgment to geopolitical catastrophe, hinting at the Day of the Lord when human alliances crumble before divine sovereignty.

Ezekiel’s Oracles Against Tyre: Commercial Pride Crushed

• Ezekiel 26:21 – Tyre will become “a terror, and you will cease to exist.”
• Ezekiel 27:36 – International merchants gasp: “You have become a terror, and you will be no more.”
• Ezekiel 28:19 – The lament over the prince of Tyre concludes, “All who know you are appalled; you have become a terror and will be no more.”

Here בַּלָּהָה punctures economic hubris; empires fortified by trade cannot escape the horror of divine judgment.

Theological Themes

1. Divine Justice: Terror is an instrument in God’s moral government—measured, purposeful, never arbitrary.
2. Suddenness: Judgment falls without delay once God’s decree ripens (Isaiah 17:14; Psalm 73:19).
3. Universality: Whether patriarchal (Job), poetic (Psalms), prophetic (Isaiah, Ezekiel), the concept remains consistent, reinforcing the unity of Scripture’s witness.
4. Inevitability: Human defenses—wealth, power, alliances—prove futile when terror ordained by God arrives.

Biblical Theology Across the Canon

The New Testament echoes this theme: “while people are saying, ‘Peace and security,’ destruction will come upon them suddenly” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). The sudden terror motif converges on final judgment, where only those in Christ are preserved from eschatological dread (Revelation 6:15-17 versus Hebrews 10:19-22).

Ministry and Pastoral Application

• Evangelism: בַּלָּהָה reminds preachers that eternal realities demand urgent proclamation.
• Counseling: Believers wracked by panic can be pointed to Job’s journey—from terror to restored confidence—showing that God does not abandon His own.
• Social Ethics: Ezekiel’s usage warns nations and corporations that economic prowess does not immunize against moral accountability.

Homiletic and Devotional Considerations

• Illustrate sudden terror with historical collapses (e.g., Babylon, Rome) to drive home the frailty of human security.
• Contrast the “king of terrors” (Job 18:14) with the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6) to exalt Christ’s victory over death.
• Encourage repentance and holy living: “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?” (2 Peter 3:11).

Forms and Transliterations

בַּלְה֥וֹת בַּלָּ֫ה֥וֹת בַּלָּה֑וֹת בַּלָּה֣וֹת בַּלָּה֥וֹת בַּלָּהֽוֹת׃ בַלָּה֑וֹת בַלָּהָ֔ה בלהה בלהות בלהות׃ bal·hō·wṯ ḇal·lā·hāh bal·lā·hō·wṯ ḇal·lā·hō·wṯ balHot balhōwṯ ḇallāhāh ballaHot ballāhōwṯ ḇallāhōwṯ vallaHah vallaHot

Englishman's Concordance

Job 18:11
HEB: סָ֭בִיב בִּֽעֲתֻ֣הוּ בַלָּה֑וֹת וֶהֱפִיצֻ֥הוּ לְרַגְלָֽיו׃
NAS: All around terrors frighten
KJV: Terrors shall make him afraid
INT: All frighten terrors and harry step

Job 18:14
HEB: וְ֝תַצְעִדֵ֗הוּ לְמֶ֣לֶךְ בַּלָּהֽוֹת׃
NAS: him before the king of terrors.
KJV: him to the king of terrors.
INT: march the king of terrors

Job 24:17
HEB: כִּֽי־ יַ֝כִּ֗יר בַּלְה֥וֹת צַלְמָֽוֶת׃
NAS: For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.
KJV: if [one] know [them, they are in] the terrors of the shadow of death.
INT: for is familiar the terrors darkness

Job 27:20
HEB: תַּשִּׂיגֵ֣הוּ כַ֭מַּיִם בַּלָּה֑וֹת לַ֝֗יְלָה גְּנָבַ֥תּוּ
NAS: Terrors overtake him like a flood;
KJV: Terrors take hold on him as waters,
INT: overtake A flood Terrors the night steals

Job 30:15
HEB: הָהְפַּ֥ךְ עָלַ֗י בַּלָּ֫ה֥וֹת תִּרְדֹּ֣ף כָּ֭רוּחַ
NAS: Terrors are turned against
KJV: Terrors are turned
INT: are turned against Terrors pursue as the wind

Psalm 73:19
HEB: תַ֝֗מּוּ מִן־ בַּלָּהֽוֹת׃
NAS: swept away by sudden terrors!
KJV: consumed with terrors.
INT: are utterly by sudden

Isaiah 17:14
HEB: עֶ֙רֶב֙ וְהִנֵּ֣ה בַלָּהָ֔ה בְּטֶ֥רֶם בֹּ֖קֶר
NAS: behold, [there is] terror! Before
KJV: And behold at eveningtide trouble; [and] before the morning
INT: evening behold terror Before morning

Ezekiel 26:21
HEB: בַּלָּה֥וֹת אֶתְּנֵ֖ךְ וְאֵינֵ֑ךְ
NAS: I will bring terrors on you and you will be no more;
KJV: I will make thee a terror, and thou [shalt be] no [more]: though thou be sought for,
INT: terrors will bring will be no

Ezekiel 27:36
HEB: שָׁרְק֖וּ עָלָ֑יִךְ בַּלָּה֣וֹת הָיִ֔ית וְאֵינֵ֖ךְ
NAS: at you; You have become terrified And you will cease
KJV: shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never [shalt be] any more.
INT: hiss and terrified have become will cease

Ezekiel 28:19
HEB: שָׁמְמ֖וּ עָלֶ֑יךָ בַּלָּה֣וֹת הָיִ֔יתָ וְאֵינְךָ֖
NAS: at you; You have become terrified And you will cease
KJV: shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never
INT: are appalled and terrified have become will cease

10 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 1091
10 Occurrences

bal·hō·wṯ — 1 Occ.
bal·lā·hō·wṯ — 7 Occ.
ḇal·lā·hāh — 1 Occ.
ḇal·lā·hō·wṯ — 1 Occ.