Boulomai (βούλομαι) expresses deliberate will and intention — a settled, purposeful desire that goes beyond passing wish (thelo) to considered resolve. It often conveys the sense of sovereign purposefulness, especially when used of God. The distinction between boulomai (deliberate intention) and thelo (want/desire) is often significant: boulomai = the determined will that acts; thelo = the desired outcome.
When boulomai describes God's will, it speaks of His sovereign, settled purpose: 1 Timothy 2:4 — God 'desires' (thelo in some texts, boulomai in others) all people to be saved. James 1:18: 'Of his own will (bouletheis) he brought us forth by the word of truth' — our new birth is the result of God's deliberate decision. Hebrews 6:17: 'God desired (boulamenos) even more to show the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose.' The word thus conveys divine intentionality — not divine wishing or hoping, but God's purposeful, effective will.
The theological weight of boulomai in divine contexts is significant for understanding election, providence, and prayer. When God 'wills' something, it is not casual preference but effective purpose — the will that 'works all things according to the counsel of his will' (Ephesians 1:11, where boule — the noun form — appears). Yet the NT also uses boulomai of human deliberate choices, maintaining real creaturely agency. The mystery of divine sovereignty and human responsibility is encoded in the NT's careful use of will-language.