Baleh describes something old and worn out through prolonged use — threadbare garments, crumbling wineskins, or decayed provisions. It is the adjectival form related to the verb balah (H1086), "to wear out" or "become old." The word conveys not merely age but deterioration through use and exposure.
The Gibeonites' deception of Joshua is the most memorable context for baleh. They dressed in worn-out clothes and carried stale provisions to trick Israel into thinking they had traveled from a distant land (Joshua 9:4–5). Their baleh garments were props in a lie — yet God honored the oath Israel swore to them. The image of worn-out things also appears in promises of divine provision: Israel's clothes did not wear out during forty years of wilderness wandering (Deuteronomy 8:4).