Tale

"Tale" in biblical English most commonly carries the archaic sense of a count or tally (from Old English talu, "reckoning"), rather than a narrative. In the KJV, the Egyptian taskmasters require the Israelites to deliver the same "tale of bricks" (i.e., the same number or quota) without being provided straw (Ex. 5:8, 18). Psalm 90:9 speaks of spending years as "a tale that is told" — life passing swiftly as a spoken word. The related sense of "talebearing" (spreading gossip or slander) is condemned in the law (Lev. 19:16) and in Proverbs (11:13; 18:8; 20:19; 26:20–22).