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FOOL.—The Heb. language is rich in words which express various kinds of folly. 1. The kesîl is glib of tongue, ‘his mouth is his destruction’ (Pro_18:7; cf. Pro_9:13; Pro_14:33); in Ecc_5:1 f. ‘the sacrifice of fools’ is offered by him who is rash with his mouth. But such an one is ‘light-hearted, thoughtless and noisy rather than vicious.’ 2. The sâkhâl manifests his folly not in speech, but in action; it was after David had numbered the people that he reproached himself for acting ‘very foolishly’ (2Sa_24:10). Consequences prove that fools of this class have blundered in their calculations (Gen_31:28, 1Sa_13:13, Isa_44:25). 3. The ’evîl is stupid, impatient of reproof, often sullen and quarrelsome. He despises wisdom and instruction (Pro_1:7; cf. Pro_15:5), is soon angry (Pro_12:16; Pro_27:3), and may sometimes be described as sinful (Pro_5:22 f., Pro_24:9). 4. The folly of the nâbhâl is never mere intellectual deficiency or stupidity; it is a moral fault, sometimes a crime, always a sin. ‘To commit folly’ is a euphemism for gross unchastity (Deu_22:21, Jer_29:23); the word is used also of sacrilege (Jos_7:15), of blasphemy (Psa_74:18), as well as of impiety in general (Deu_32:6, Psa_14:1). These words are sometimes employed in a more general sense; to determine the shade of meaning applicable in any passage, a study of the context is essential. For further details see Kennedy, Hebrew Synonyms, p. 29 ff.
In the NT the Gr. words for ‘fool’ describe him as ‘deficient in understanding’ (Luk_24:25), ‘unwise’ (Eph_5:16), ‘senseless’ (Luk_12:20), ‘unintelligent’ (Rom_1:21). The Gr. word which corresponds to the ‘impious fool’ of the OT is found in Mat_5:22 : Raca expresses ‘contempt for a man’s head = you stupid!’ But ‘fool’ (môre) expresses ‘contempt for his heart and character = you scoundrell’ (Bruce, EGT [Note: Expositor’s Greek Testament.] , in loc.). If môre were ‘a Hebrew expression of condemnation’ (RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ), it would ‘enjoy the distinction of being the only pure Hebrew word in the Greek Testament’ (Field, Notes on the Translation of NT, p. 3). A ‘pure Hebrew word’ means a word not taken from the LXX [Note: Septuagint.] and not Aramaic.
J. G. Tasker.