In the IMHO “Dueling Quotes” thread, I had pointed out to me that Proverbs uses “fool” a lot. So for all our Talmudic Scholars, is that the best translation? Does the original Hebrew use a variety of words, and the KJV bowlderize them into just “fool”?
The Hebrew word for “fool” in Proverbs is /evil/.
Not a connection the the English word “evil”, which is Germanic in origin. The Hebrew word is spelled: alef-vav-yod-lamed.
Thanks, I was starting to think you folks were thinking this was an insulting thread, or something. It would be more clear with “” around “fool”, but the titles don’t like “”.
However, how about my other queries? Is the word in Proverbs always “evil”? And does “evil” have the same connotation as “fool”?
Upon further dictionary review:
There is the word /ksil/ (kaf-samekh-yod-lamed) in Proverbs as well meaning “fool” with the connotation “blasphemous” but also “stupid, useless”.
/evil/ seems to be particularly “foolish”, but I guess you would have to do some serious biblical interpreting to find out the real difference.
In Prov 17,7 there is also /nabal/ for a bad, godless person.
And outside of Prov. there is also /sekhel/ or /sakhal/ (samekh-khaf-lamed).
Interestingly, they all end in lamed. What does that mean? And so does fool! And so does “TheThill”…
There are a number of Hebrew terms for those who are not wise in Proverbs:
Chacham B’Einav, Peti, K’sil, Evil, and Letz. According to the Da’at Mikra introduction to Mishlei (Proverbs) by Yehuda Kil, the break-up is as follows:
a)Chacham B’Einav – wise in his own eyes (3:7)
b)Peti – believes in everthing (14:15)
c)Evil - primative, no self restraint, irresponsible, proud
d)Ksil - heartless, hates knowledge, liar
e)Letz - cynic, sarcastic, mocking
While I don’t have a copy of Proverbs handy, there’s one other word for “fool” in Hebrew that wasn’t mentioned here: “Tipesh,” which seems to have a connotation of “uselessness.”
And my understanding was that “Pesi” had more of a “simpleton” connotation, someone who takes everything at face value. Not necessarily that he believes everything, but rather, that he doesn’t look beneath surface appearances to see if people might be plotting secretly or some such.
CM, I always believed tipesh indicated ‘stupid’. At least, that’s how it’s used in Modern Hebrew. Am I wrong, or has the meaning changed? Or am I just being nitpicky?
Nah, “stupid” is definitely a good enough translation, especially in modern hebrew. But I thought the point of this thread was about the distinction between the various hebrew words for fool.
Chaim Mattis Keller
CMK- right, and the various possible translations of them by the KJV panel.