אֱוִיל26 H0191
fool, foolish person — one who is morally obtuse, despising wisdom and discipline
Evil (pronounced eh-VEEL) is the Hebrew wisdom tradition's portrait of the moral fool — not someone lacking intelligence but someone who willfully rejects wisdom, discipline, and the fear of the LORD. Of its 26 occurrences, 19 appear in Proverbs, where the evil is a fixed character type set alongside the naive (peti) and the scoffer (lets). This fool despises wisdom and instruction (Prov 1:7; 15:5), mocks at guilt (Prov 14:9), picks quarrels needlessly (Prov 20:3), and cannot be reformed even when ground in a mortar with a pestle (Prov 27:22). The prophets deploy the term as a devastating label: Hosea calls the prophet himself evil (Hos 9:7), Isaiah mocks Egypt's counselors as sons of the wise who give foolish advice (Isa 19:11), and Jeremiah indicts Israel as a people 'foolish, who do not know me' (Jer 4:22). Job's friend Eliphaz warns that 'vexation kills the fool' (Job 5:2-3). The Psalms note that fools suffer for their transgressions (Ps 107:17).
Senses
1. fool, foolish person — A person characterized by willful moral and spiritual obtuseness who rejects wisdom, discipline, and the fear of the LORD. Proverbs builds an extensive profile: the evil despises instruction (Prov 1:7; 15:5), mocks at guilt (Prov 14:9), provokes strife (Prov 20:3), and is incorrigible even under extreme correction (Prov 27:22). Prophets wield the term as indictment: Hosea labels the prophet foolish (Hos 9:7), Isaiah mocks Egypt's sages (Isa 19:11), and Jeremiah brands Israel as morally senseless (Jer 4:22). Spanish 'necio/insensato' captures the moral rather than intellectual dimension. 26×
AR["أحْمَقٌ", "أحْمَقٍ", "أَحْمَقٌ", "أَحْمَقَ", "الْأَحْمَقِ", "الْجاهِلِ", "الْحَمْقَى", "جاهِلٍ", "حَمْقى", "وَ-أَحْمَقُ", "وَ-الْجُهَّالُ", "وَ-جُهَّالٌ"]·ben["এবং-মূর্খ", "এবং-মূর্খগণ", "ও-মূর্খেরা", "মূর্খ", "মূর্খকে", "মূর্খগণ", "মূর্খদের", "মূর্খের", "মূর্খেরা"]·DE["Tor", "[אויל]", "[ואוילים]", "und-Tor"]·EN["a-fool", "but-a-fool-of", "but-fools", "fool", "foolish", "fools", "not", "stocks", "will-be-the-fool"]·FR["[אויל]", "[ואוילים]", "et-insensé", "insensé"]·heb["אוויל", "אווילים", "ו-אוויל", "ו-אווילים"]·HI["और-मूर्ख", "मूर्ख", "मूर्ख-का", "मूर्ख-की", "मूर्ख-के", "मूर्खों-की", "मूर्खों-ने"]·ID["Orang-bodoh", "Orang-orang-bodoh", "bodoh", "dan-orang-bodoh", "orang-bodoh", "orang-orang-bodoh", "tetapi-orang-bodoh", "tetapi-orang-orang-bodoh"]·IT["e-stolto", "stolto"]·jav["bodho", "gemblung", "lan-tiyang-bodho", "tiyang-bodho", "tiyang-gemblung"]·KO["그러나-미련한-자-는", "그러나-미련한-자-들-은", "그리고-미련한-자-는", "그리고-어리석은-자들이", "미련한-자-는", "미련한-자-들-은", "미련한-자-의", "어리석다", "어리석은", "어리석은-자-들-은", "어리석은-자가", "어리석은-자는", "어리석은-자도", "어리석은-자들-의", "어리석은-자의"]·PT["Tolo", "Tolos", "e-insensatos", "e-tolo-de", "e-tolos", "insensato", "tolo", "tolos"]·RU["а-глупые", "а-глупый", "глуп", "глупец", "глупец.", "глупого", "глупца", "глупцов", "глупцы", "глупым", "и-глупцы"]·ES["Necio", "Necios", "insensato", "necio", "necios", "y-los-necios", "y-necio-de", "y-necios"]·SW["lakini-mpumbavu", "lakini-wapumbavu", "mpumbavu", "na-mpumbavu", "na-wajinga", "ni-mtumwa", "wapumbavu"]·TR["ahmak", "ahmaklar", "ahmakın", "akılsız", "akılsızlar", "akılsızların", "akılsızın", "ve-ahmak", "ve-ahmaklar", "ve-akılsızlar"]·urd["احمق", "احمق-کا", "احمق-کی", "احمق-کے", "احمقوں-کی", "اور-احمق", "اور-بےوقوف", "بیوقوف", "بے-وقوف", "بےوقوف-کو"]
Job 5:2, Job 5:3, Ps 107:17, Prov 1:7, Prov 7:22, Prov 10:8, Prov 10:10, Prov 10:14, Prov 10:21, Prov 11:29, Prov 12:15, Prov 12:16 (+14 more)
Related Senses
H3045 1. Qal: to know, perceive, understand (829×)H5315 1. soul, inner being (647×)H3820a 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (572×)H4672 1. Qal: find, discover (289×)G1492 1. know facts or truths (285×)H3824 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (250×)H1245 1. seek, search for (200×)G1097 1. know, be acquainted with (196×)H2142 1. Qal: remember, recall (173×)G2588 1. heart (inner self, mind, will) (158×)H0977 1. choose, select (Qal active) (145×)G2147 1. find, discover (144×)G5590 1. soul, inner self (100×)H4672 2. Niphal: be found, be discovered (99×)H1875 1. seek, search for (96×)H5315 2. life, vitality (94×)H1847 1. knowledge, discernment (90×)H2450 1. wise, prudent (84×)H7911 1. Qal: to forget (83×)H3684 1. fool, dullard (70×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
אֱוִיל26 adj. foolish—א׳ Jb 5:2 +; pl. אֱוִילִים ψ 107:17 +, etc.;—foolish, Pr 29:9 (אִישׁ א׳) Ho 9:7 (pred. of prophet); cf. Is 35:8, elsewhere n.m. fool (always morally bad), who despises wisdom & discipline Pr 1:7; 15:5; mocks at guilt 14:9; is quarrelsome 20:3; licentious 7:22; it is folly & useless to instruct him 16:22; 27:22 (19 times Pr); cf. also Je 4:22; Jb 5:2, 3; Is 19:11 ψ 107:17.