An adjective meaning deceptive or disappointing, used metaphorically of streams that fail during drought. Jeremiah 15:18 employs it in the prophet's bitter complaint against God: 'Will you be to me like a deceptive brook, like waters that fail?' Micah 1:14 uses it in wordplay on the town name Achzib, which sounds like this word: the town will prove 'a deception' to Israel's kings. The term contrasts with 'eitan' (constant, reliable), describing the bitter disappointment of finding a dry wadi when water is desperately needed.