907. bad

Lexical Summary

bad: Linen, alone, apart

Original Word: בּד
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: bad
Pronunciation: bahd
Phonetic Spelling: (bad)
KJV: liar, lie
NASB: idle boasts, boasters, boasts, oracle priests
Word Origin: [from H908 (בָּדָא - devised)]

1. a brag or lie
2. also a liar

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

liar, lie

From bada'; a brag or lie; also a liar -- liar, lie.

see HEBREW bada'

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
empty, idle talk
NASB Translation
boasters (1), boasts (1), idle boasts (2), oracle priests (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

III. [בַּד] noun masculine only Plural בַּדִּים.

a. empty, idle talk (Phoenician CIS^{3, 6 listen not to} בדנם = Hebrew בַּדֵּיהֶם; compare vain talk), especially with collateral idea of imaginary pretensions or claims: Job 11:3 בַּדֶּיךָ מְתִיםיַחֲרִישׁוּ thy idle talk brings men to silence ("" וַתִּלְעַג), Isaiah 16:6 (of Moab) לֹא כֵן בַּדָּיו his boastings are not right (unfounded), hence Jeremiah 48:30.

b. concrete empty talkers, praters (compare Late Hebrew בַּדָּאָה, Syriac , liar), of false prophets, Isaiah 44:25; Jeremiah 50:36.

Topical Lexicon

Meaning and Scope

בּד (Strong’s Hebrew 907) designates speech that is empty, boastful, or deceitful—words that promise much but accomplish nothing. It portrays verbal swagger divorced from substance and opposed to truth.

Biblical Occurrences

1. Job 11:3 – Zophar rebukes Job: “Should your empty talk reduce men to silence? And will you scoff without rebuke?” Here בּד is self-justifying chatter that masks spiritual blindness.
2. Isaiah 16:6 – Concerning Moab: “We have heard of Moab’s pride… and the boasting of his heart.” Empty bravado underscores national hubris that invites judgment.
3. Isaiah 44:25 – The LORD “overturns the wisdom of the wise and makes their knowledge foolishness.” The proud claims of idolaters collapse under divine scrutiny.
4. Jeremiah 48:30 – “I know his insolence,” declares the LORD concerning Moab, “but it is futile; his boasts accomplish nothing.” God exposes the impotence of proud rhetoric.
5. Jeremiah 50:36 – “A sword is against her boastful diviners, and they will become fools.” Babylon’s pretentious prophets cannot avert the sword of judgment.

Historical and Cultural Background

In the ancient Near East, rulers and prophets often advanced their agendas through grandiose proclamations. Such oratory shaped public morale and affirmed political legitimacy. בּד unmasks this rhetoric when it is cut off from reality or covenant faithfulness. Whether rising from a suffering individual like Job, from Moabite nationalism, or from Babylonian occultism, empty boasts invariably clash with the God who “desires truth in the inmost being” (Psalm 51:6).

Theological Significance

1. God’s Character: The LORD is the God of truth. He confronts and nullifies verbal pretension, demonstrating that His word stands while human boasts evaporate (Isaiah 40:8).
2. Human Pride: בּד illustrates the heart’s impulse to trust in self-exalting speech rather than in the living God. Such pride provokes divine opposition (James 4:6).
3. Judgment and Salvation: By exposing בּד, God both humbles the arrogant and invites repentance. True deliverance is found not in persuasive words but in the fear of the LORD (Proverbs 1:7).

Practical Ministry Implications

• Preaching and Teaching: Ministers must proclaim Scripture rather than peddle persuasive but empty slogans (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).
• Pastoral Care: Counsel that flatters or evades truth harms souls. Authentic shepherding replaces בּד with biblical reality.
• Personal Holiness: Believers are called to “let your ‘Yes’ be yes and your ‘No,’ no” (Matthew 5:37). Integrity in speech mirrors God’s own faithfulness.
• Cultural Engagement: The church should expose contemporary forms of empty rhetoric—whether political spin, prosperity promises, or self-help platitudes—and answer them with the gospel’s enduring truth.

Summary

בּד spotlights the futility of proud, deceptive, or vacuous speech. Across every occurrence, God confronts and dismantles such boasting, affirming that only His word is sure. The term challenges God’s people to reject hollow rhetoric, embrace humble truth, and speak with integrity that accords with the whole counsel of Scripture.

Forms and Transliterations

בַּ֭דֶּיךָ בַּדִּ֔ים בַּדָּ֖יו בַּדָּֽיו׃ בדיו בדיו׃ בדיך בדים הַבַּדִּ֖ים הבדים bad·dāw bad·de·ḵā bad·dîm badDav baddāw Baddeicha baddeḵā badDim baddîm hab·bad·dîm habbadDim habbaddîm

Englishman's Concordance

Job 11:3
HEB: בַּ֭דֶּיךָ מְתִ֣ים יַחֲרִ֑ישׁו
NAS: Shall your boasts silence men?
KJV: Should thy lies make men
INT: shall your boasts men silence

Isaiah 16:6
HEB: לֹא־ כֵ֥ן בַּדָּֽיו׃ ס
NAS: and fury; His idle boasts are false.
KJV: and his wrath: [but] his lies [shall] not [be] so.
INT: not after that his idle

Isaiah 44:25
HEB: מֵפֵר֙ אֹת֣וֹת בַּדִּ֔ים וְקֹסְמִ֖ים יְהוֹלֵ֑ל
NAS: Causing the omens of boasters to fail,
KJV: the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners
INT: to fail the omens of boasters of diviners Making

Jeremiah 48:30
HEB: וְלֹא־ כֵ֑ן בַּדָּ֖יו לֹא־ כֵ֥ן
NAS: But it is futile; His idle boasts have accomplished
KJV: the LORD; but [it shall] not [be] so; his lies shall not so effect
INT: nothing after that his idle nothing after that

Jeremiah 50:36
HEB: חֶ֥רֶב אֶל־ הַבַּדִּ֖ים וְנֹאָ֑לוּ חֶ֥רֶב
NAS: against the oracle priests, and they will become fools!
KJV: A sword [is] upon the liars; and they shall dote:
INT: A sword against the oracle will become A sword

5 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 907
5 Occurrences

bad·dāw — 2 Occ.
bad·de·ḵā — 1 Occ.
bad·dîm — 1 Occ.
hab·bad·dîm — 1 Occ.