The Hebrew verb bada means to fabricate, invent, or devise — especially to make up false stories or create unauthorized religious innovations. It carries a negative connotation of manufacturing something that lacks divine authorization.
The term appears most notably in 1 Kings 12:33 to describe Jeroboam's invented festival — he 'devised in his own heart' a month for sacrifice, setting up a counterfeit religious calendar. This becomes the paradigm of unauthorized worship in Israel, repeated as a warning throughout Kings: the sin of Jeroboam who 'made Israel sin.' The theological principle is clear: worship must be according to God's revealed pattern, not human invention. The New Testament carries this forward — Jesus rebukes worship that follows 'rules taught by men' (Matthew 15:9). True faith receives; it does not fabricate.