אֱוִיל
e.vil (H0191)
fool(ish)
AI Word Study
# Analysis of Hebrew אֱוִיל (e.vil) The Hebrew word אֱוִיל (e.vil) denotes a "fool" or "foolish" person and appears 26 times throughout the biblical text. This relatively modest frequency suggests it refers to a recognizable character type or quality that biblical writers considered worth naming and addressing, though not as extensively as some other moral or intellectual categories. The term functions primarily as a descriptor of human character or behavior rather than as a rare exception. Its presence across multiple biblical books indicates that the concept of foolishness was a recurring concern for Hebrew writers across different time periods and contexts. The word itself is straightforward in meaning—it identifies those who lack wisdom or sound judgment—but its frequent appearance suggests that foolishness was understood as a substantive problem worth discussing, warning against, or analyzing within Hebrew thought. Without additional contextual data about specific passages where the word appears, we can conclude that אֱוִיל represents a basic category in biblical discourse about human nature and conduct. It functioned as a term to distinguish one type of person (the fool) from others, likely within wisdom literature and moral instruction, making it a foundational concept in how biblical writers categorized human behavior and character.
AI synthesis uses only provided lexicon data -- never training knowledge.
For resentment kills the foolish man, and jealousy kills the simple.
I have seen the foolish taking root, but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
Fools are afflicted because of their disobedience, and because of their iniquities.
The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.
He followed her immediately, as an ox goes to the slaughter, as a fool stepping into a noose.
The wise in heart accept commandments, but a chattering fool will fall.
One winking with the eye causes sorrow, but a chattering fool will fall.
Wise men lay up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near ruin.
The lips of the righteous feed many, but the foolish die for lack of understanding.
He who troubles his own house shall inherit the wind. The foolish shall be servant to the wise of heart.
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who is wise listens to counsel.
A fool shows his annoyance the same day, but one who overlooks an insult is prudent.
The fool’s talk brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them.
Fools mock at making atonement for sins, but among the upright there is good will.
A fool despises his father’s correction, but he who heeds reproof shows prudence.
Understanding is a fountain of life to one who has it, but the punishment of fools is their folly.
Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is counted wise. When he shuts his lips, he is thought to be discerning.
It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.
Wisdom is too high for a fool. He doesn’t open his mouth in the gate.
A stone is heavy, and sand is a burden; but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, yet his foolishness will not be removed from him.
If a wise man goes to court with a foolish man, the fool rages or scoffs, and there is no peace.
The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish. The counsel of the wisest counselors of Pharaoh has become stupid. How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?”
A highway will be there, a road, and it will be called “The Holy Way”. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it will be for those who walk in the Way. Wicked fools shall not go there.
“For my people are foolish. They don’t know me. They are foolish children, and they have no understanding. They are skillful in doing evil, but they don’t know how to do good.”
The days of visitation have come. The days of reckoning have come. Israel will consider the prophet to be a fool, and the man who is inspired to be insane, because of the abundance of your sins, and because your hostility is great.