הֶבֶל
Emptiness or vanity ; figuratively, something transitory and unsatisfactory ; often used as an adverb
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What does הֶבֶל (heḇel) mean in the Bible?
הֶבֶל (heḇel) is a Hebrew word meaning "emptiness or vanity ; figuratively, something transitory and unsatisfactory ; often used as an adverb". emptiness or vanity; figuratively, something transitory and unsatisfactory; often used as an adverb BDB: vapour Usage: × altogether, vain, vanity. Characterizes Egypt’s promised help as worthless. This term runs through the canonical themes of Spirit.
Meaning
Ephemeral unreality: what appears substantial but evaporates, leaving existential dissatisfaction and futility.
emptiness or vanity; figuratively, something transitory and unsatisfactory; often used as an adverb BDB: vapour Usage: × altogether, vain, vanity.
Why This Word Matters
Characterizes Egypt’s promised help as worthless. Isaiah 30:1-7
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Canonical Themes
Biblical Occurrences
Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.
Showing 8 of 73 occurrences in the biblical text.
Appears In
Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.