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taÌ„l (תּכן, toÌ„khen, ×ž×ª×›Ö¼× ×ª, mithkoÌ„neth, מספּר, misÌ£paÌ„r; λῆÏος, leÌ„Ìros): In the King James Version of the Old Testament (with one exception, ) “tale†(in the sing.) means number. “Tell†often has the same meaning, e.g. “I may tell (i.e. reckon) all my bones†(). When Moses requested permission to go three days' journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to Yahweh, Pharaoh replied by demanding the full “tale†of bricks from the Israelites although they were compelled to provide themselves with straw (, ; see also ; ). In , “as a tale that is told†is a doubtful rendering (see GAMES). The Septuagint and the Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) render “as a spider's web.†The literal and perhaps accurate translation is “as a sigh†(Driver, in the Parallel Psalter, gives “as a murmurâ€). The word used in this psalm means “to whisper,†or “speak sotto voce,†as a devout believer repeats to himself the words of a favorite hymn or passage ().
The disciples considered the account given by the women in regard to the resurrection as “idle tales†(the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) “idle talkâ€), literally, “nonsensical talk†().
In talebearer the word has another meaning, namely, “slanderous talk or gossip.†The word occurs 5 times in ; ; ; , (the King James Version) and once in Leviticus (). The word used in Leviticus and also in means a person who gads about from house to house hawking malicious gossip (compare ). From the same root comes the Hebrew word for “merchant.†In for the King James Version “men that carry tales†the Revised Version (British and American) gives “slanderous men,†as Doeg (, ); Ziba (; ); and a certain maid-servant (). See SLANDER.