Compare the following translations of Psalm 18:4.

“…the wadis of Beli'ya'alwill terrify me.” (RMT)

“…the floods of ungodly menmade me afraid.” (KJV)

In my Revised Mechanical Translation (RMT) I do not translate the Hebrew word b’liy’a’al; instead, I transliterate it.

Now, let’s look at the translations of Deuteronomy 13:13.

“the men, the sons of Beli'ya'al, went out from inside you” (RMT)

“Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you…” (KJV)

In this verse, the KJV does not translate the word b’liy’a’al, like it did in Psalm 18:4, but instead, transliterates it, as I have done in the RMT.

The Hebrew word b’liy’a’al is, in-fact, two Hebrew words that have been combined into one word. These are the words b’liy, meaning  “worthless,” and the word ya’al, meaning “benefit.” When these words are combined into the compound word b’liy’a’al, its meaning becomes “without benefit.”

We use compound words such as this in our language. Some examples are: afternoon, firefighter, arrowhead, boardwalk and ballpark. Other languages use compound words even more frequently. Hebrew, on the other hand, only uses compound words in names. An example of a compound name in Hebrew is Yish’ma’el (Ishmael), which is the Hebrew words yish’ma, meaning “he hears,” and el, meaning “God.” When combined, these words mean “he hears God.”

Therefore, the Hebrew word b’liy’a’al, being a compound word, must be a name and not a noun.