Word Study for H1088 (בָּלָה)

Bâlâh /baw-law'/ Ask about this word

Meaningfailure; Balah, a place in Palestine

KJV usageBalah.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of Bâlâh — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Hebrew word Bâlâh, represented by H1088, identifies a specific place in Palestine. Its base definition also suggests the concept of failure. The term is highly specific, appearing only 1 time in 1 unique verse in the entire Bible.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

The sole appearance of H1088 occurs in the book of Joshua. The word is used to identify a town or settlement named Balah. It is mentioned in a geographical list of places alongside Hazarshual and Azem Joshua 19:3, establishing its identity as a specific location within ancient Palestine.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words are found in the immediate context of its only biblical mention:

H2705 Chătsar Shûwʻâl (Hazar-shual): Defined as the "village of (the) fox," this place is listed immediately before Balah in the same verse Joshua 19:3.
H6107 ʻEtsem (Azem, Ezem): Meaning "bone," this location is listed immediately after Balah, completing the trio of cities mentioned in the passage Joshua 19:3.

Theological Significance

The significance of H1088 is primarily geographical rather than theological.

Geographical Marker: Balah's primary role is to serve as a specific geographical point of reference in the biblical record.
Territorial Component: Its inclusion in a list of cities Joshua 19:3 indicates it was recognized as a component of a larger collection of settlements.
A Name of Failure: While identified as a place, the base definition of H1088 is "failure." The scripture does not provide context for why a location would carry this name.

Summary

In summary, H1088 Balah is a singular reference to a place in Palestine. Its significance is rooted entirely in its single appearance as a geographical marker in the book of Joshua. While its name carries the meaning of "failure," its biblical function is simply to identify a specific town in a list of settlements, existing alongside other known locations like Hazar-shual and Azem.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a noun across 1 occurrence, inflected in 1 grammatical form — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

בָלָה

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

1 verse, all in Joshua — and none of the other 38 Old Testament books.

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.