TALE. A tr. of several words in the Bible. 1. תֹּ֫כֶנ֒, H9420, מַתְכֹּ֫נֶת, H5504, מִסְפָּר֒, H5031. Three words tr. in the KJV as “tale” but all with the sense of measurement or number (Exod 5:8, 18; 1 Chron 9:28; cf. 1 Sam 18:27). The verb “tell” is often used in the KJV in the sense of “to count” (Gen 15:5; Ps 22:17).

2. הֶ֫גֶה, H2049. In the sense of an inward sigh, utterance, or meditation Psalm 90:9 says, “as a tale that is told” (KJV); “as a spider’s web” (LXX); literally, “like a sigh” (RSV).

3. רָכִיל, H8215; λῆρος, G3333. “Tale” is used in the Bible to mean slander or to carry an idle tale (Ezek 22:9; Luke 24:11).

4. A classification of a literary type found in the Bible as well as in other lit. “Short story tales” are encountered frequently in the narratives of Jacob and Esau (Gen 24-33) and in the Joseph story (Gen 37; 39-50), also in Ruth, Job, and Esther in the OT and Judith and Tobit in the Apoc. In a broader sense, tales include fables of animals and plants (Judg 9:8-15; 2 Kings 14:9).