Words the Bible translates as vanity
English uses one word here. The Bible uses 5 words, and they do not mean the same thing. Each is listed with what it actually means, most frequent first.
- avenאָוֶןevil that comes to nothing: the emptiness, harm, and wickedness of a life set against God
- hevelהֶבֶלa breath or puff of vapor, and so anything that is fleeting, insubstantial, or comes to nothing: too thin to grasp, gone before you can hold it.
+1 more meaning
- idols and false gods, dismissed as worthless nothings: powerless objects of worship that promise much and deliver nothing.
- shavשָׁוְאthat which has no substance and so cannot be trusted: emptiness that shows up as futile effort, as lying speech, and as worthless idols
- tohuתֹּהוּemptiness: something drained of its proper contents and so unable to serve its purpose, from a trackless desert to a worthless idol to the unformed earth
- riqרִיקemptiness that yields nothing: a container with nothing in it, and so work, strength, or scheming that comes back with no result
Keep looking
Every English meaning beginning with V is on its letter page, and the whole index starts at Browse.