Topical Encyclopedia
The term "foul" in the Bible is often associated with impurity, uncleanness, or moral corruption. It is used to describe both physical and spiritual states that are contrary to the holiness and purity that God desires for His people. The concept of "foul" can be found in various contexts throughout the Scriptures, including ceremonial law, moral teachings, and spiritual symbolism.
Ceremonial and Ritual ImpurityIn the Old Testament, the concept of being "foul" or unclean is frequently addressed in the context of the Levitical laws. These laws were given to the Israelites to maintain ceremonial purity and to distinguish them from other nations. For example, in
Leviticus 11, certain animals are deemed unclean or "foul" for consumption, such as pigs and shellfish. The Israelites were instructed to avoid these animals to remain ceremonially clean: "You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you" (
Leviticus 11:8).
The laws of uncleanness also extended to other areas, such as skin diseases and bodily discharges, which rendered a person ceremonially unclean and required specific purification rituals (Leviticus 13-15). These regulations underscored the importance of holiness and separation from anything that defiles.
Moral and Spiritual CorruptionBeyond ceremonial laws, the Bible uses the term "foul" to describe moral and spiritual corruption. In the New Testament, Jesus addresses the issue of inner purity, emphasizing that true defilement comes from within a person rather than external sources. In
Mark 7:20-23, Jesus states, "What comes out of a man, that is what defiles him. For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man" .
The Apostle Paul also speaks to the issue of moral impurity in his epistles. In
Ephesians 5:3-4, he exhorts believers to avoid any form of impurity: "But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of character, but rather thanksgiving" .
Symbolism and ImageryThe Bible often uses vivid imagery to convey the concept of foulness in a spiritual sense. In Revelation, Babylon is depicted as a "dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast" (
Revelation 18:2). This imagery highlights the complete moral and spiritual corruption of Babylon, symbolizing the ultimate judgment against sin and impurity.
Application for BelieversFor believers, the call to avoid what is foul is a call to pursue holiness and purity in all aspects of life. The Apostle Peter reminds Christians of their identity as a holy nation, urging them to "abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul" (
1 Peter 2:11). The pursuit of purity is not merely an external adherence to rules but a transformation of the heart and mind, aligning one's life with the righteousness of Christ.
In summary, the concept of "foul" in the Bible encompasses both ceremonial and moral dimensions, serving as a reminder of the holiness that God requires and the transformative power of the Gospel to cleanse and purify the believer.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) A bird.
2. (superl.) Covered with, or containing, extraneous matter which is injurious, noxious, offensive, or obstructive; filthy; dirty; not clean; polluted; nasty; defiled; as, a foul cloth; foul hands; a foul chimney; foul air; a ship's bottom is foul when overgrown with barnacles; a gun becomes foul from repeated firing; a well is foul with polluted water.
3. (superl.) Scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive; as, foul words; foul language.
4. (superl.) Hateful; detestable; shameful; odious; wretched.
5. (superl.) Loathsome; disgusting; as, a foul disease.
6. (superl.) Ugly; homely; poor.
7. (superl.) Not favorable; unpropitious; not fair or advantageous; as, a foul wind; a foul road; cloudy or rainy; stormy; not fair; -- said of the weather, sky, etc.
8. (superl.) Not conformed to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.; unfair; dishonest; dishonorable; cheating; as, foul play.
9. (superl.) Having freedom of motion interfered with by collision or entanglement; entangled; -- opposed to clear; as, a rope or cable may get foul while paying it out.
10. (v. t.) To make filthy; to defile; to daub; to dirty; to soil; as, to foul the face or hands with mire.
11. (v. t.) To incrust (the bore of a gun) with burnt powder in the process of firing.
12. (v. t.) To cover (a ship's bottom) with anything that impeded its sailing; as, a bottom fouled with barnacles.
13. (v. t.) To entangle, so as to impede motion; as, to foul a rope or cable in paying it out; to come into collision with; as, one boat fouled the other in a race.
14. (v. i.) To become clogged with burnt powder in the process of firing, as a gun.
15. (v. i.) To become entangled, as ropes; to come into collision with something; as, the two boats fouled.
16. (n.) An entanglement; a collision, as in a boat race.
17. (n.) See Foul ball, under Foul, a.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
FOULfoul (raphas; akdthartos):
The verb "to foul" (defile) occurs as the translation of raphas, "to trample" or "muddle" (streams) (Ezekiel 32:2;Ezekiel 34:18); of chalmar, "to burn," "to be red" (Job 16:16, "My face is foul with weeping," the American Standard Revised Version and the English Revised Version, margin "red"); of mirpas, "a treading" (Ezekiel 34:19). The adjective is the translation of akathartos, "unclean," "impure," "wicked" (Mark 9:25Revelation 18:2, "foul spirit," the Revised Version (British and American) "unclean"), and of cheimon, "winter," "stormy or foul weather" (Matthew 16:3). the Revised Version (British and American) has "The rivers shall become foul" (Isaiah 19:6) instead of the King James Version "They shall turn the rivers far away," the English Revised Version "The rivers shall stink."
W. L. Walker
Greek
169. akathartos -- unclean, impure... prefix) and kathairo Definition unclean, impure NASB Word Usage impure person
(1), unclean (29), unclean things (1).
foul, unclean.
...5494. cheimon -- winter, a storm
... Word Origin from the same as cheimazo Definition winter, a storm NASB Word
Usage storm (2), winter (4). tempest,foul weather, winter....
3393. miasma -- a stain, defilement
... 20). See 3392 (). Word Origin from miaino Definition a stain, defilement
NASB Word Usage defilements (1). pollution,foul deed. From...
946. bdelugma -- a detestable thing
... 946 (from 948 , derived from , "to reek with stench") -- properly, what emits a
foul odor and hence is (); (figuratively) as a (like when people refuse to hear...
4508. rhuparos -- filthy
... dirty. Cognate: 4508 (an adjective, derived from 4509 , "moral filth") --
filthy,foul (used only in Js 2:2). See 4509 (). Word...
948. bdelussomai -- to detest
... Cognate: 948 -- properly, stink, becomefoul (abhorrent), detestable as ; "to strongly
detest something on the basis that it is abominable -- 'to abhor, to...
148. aischrologia -- abusive language
... Noun, Feminine Transliteration: aischrologia Phonetic Spelling: (ahee-skhrol-og-
ee'-ah) Short Definition: filthy speech Definition: filthy speech,foul language...
3435. moluno -- to stain, defile
... a person with its spiritual . For the antonym of this term, see 2511
("to what isfoul or polluted"). [3435 used of "moral soil...
496. antipipto -- to fall against, strive against
... to fall against, strive against. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: antipipto
Phonetic Spelling: (an-tee-pip'-to) Short Definition: I fallfoul of, resist...
5337. phaulos -- worthless, bad
... evil. Apparently a primary word; "foul" or "flawy", ie (figuratively) wicked --
evil. (phaula) -- 2 Occurrences. (phaulon) -- 4 Occurrences. 5336, 5337....
Strong's Hebrew
7515. raphas --foul, trouble... raphas. 7516 .
foul, trouble. Transliteration: raphas Phonetic Spelling:
(raw-fas') Short Definition:
foul. Word Origin the same as raphas, qv.
foul, trouble
...2092. zaham -- to befoul, loathsome
... 2091, 2092. zaham. 2093 . to befoul, loathsome. Transliteration: zaham Phonetic
Spelling: (zaw-ham') Short Definition: loathes. Word Origin a prim....
6292. piggul --foul thing, refuse
... 6291, 6292. piggul. 6293 .foul thing, refuse. Transliteration: piggul
Phonetic Spelling: (pig-gool') Short Definition: offense....
887. baash -- to have a bad smell, to stink
... 886, 887. baash. 888 . to have a bad smell, to stink. Transliteration: baash
Phonetic Spelling: (baw-ash') Short Definition:foul. Word Origin a prim....
7511. raphas -- to stamp, tread
... raphas or raphas. 7512 . to stamp, tread. Transliteration: raphas or raphas Phonetic
Spelling: (raw-fas') Short Definition:foul. Word Origin a prim....
4833. marpes -- (water) befouled
... 4832, 4833. marpes. 4834 . (water) befouled. Transliteration: marpes
Phonetic Spelling: (meer-paws') Short Definition:foul. Word...
5122. nevalu -- a refuse heap
... dunghill. (Aramaic) or nvaliy (Aramaic) {nev-aw-lee'}; from an unused root probably
meaning to befoul; a sink -- dunghill. 5121, 5122....
6709. tsachanah -- a stench
... Word Origin from an unused word Definition a stench NASB Word Usagefoul smell
(1). ill savour. From an unused root meaning to putrefy; stench -- ill savour....
2930. tame -- to be or become unclean
... A primitive root; to befoul, especially in a ceremial or moral sense (contaminated) --
defile (self), pollute (self), be (make, make self, pronounce) unclean...
2931. tame -- unclean
... defiled, infamous, polluted, unclean. From tame';foul in a relig. Sense -- defiled, +
infamous, polluted(-tion), unclean. see HEBREW tame'. 2930, 2931....
Library
But Perhaps thisFoul Pollution May be Less Apparent in the Rest....
... Book IV. 21 But perhaps thisfoul pollution may be less apparent in the rest.? But
perhaps thisfoul pollution may be less apparent in the rest....
! is thatFoul Smell...
... Book VII. 16 What say you, O you " ! is thatfoul smell? What say you,
O you"! is thatfoul smell, then, which is given forth...
What Then was this Feeling? for of a Truth it was TooFoul...
... Book II Chapter IX What then was this feeling? For of a truth it was toofoul?...
For of a truth it was toofoul: and woe was me, who had it....
Who Can Disentangle that Twisted and Intricate Knottiness?Foul is...
... Book II Chapter X Who can disentangle that twisted and intricate knottiness?
Foul is it?...Foul is it: I hate to think on it, to look on it....
Deluded by an Insane Love, He, ThoughFoul and Dishonourable...
... Book III. Chapter I."Deluded by an Insane Love, He, ThoughFoul and
Dishonourable, Desires to Be Thought Elegant and Urbane. 1...
The Bible the Great Civilizer
... For thoughts are the food of a man's mind; and as the mind feeds, so will it grow.
If it feeds on coarse andfoul food, coarse andfoul it will grow....
Morning Hymn
... Fraud and Deceit love only night, Their wiles they practise out of sight; Curtained
by dark, Adultery too Doth hisfoul treachery pursue,....
Songs from 'the Water-Babies'
... Dank andfoul, dank andfoul, By the smoky town in its murky cowl;Foul and dank,
foul and dank, By wharf and sewer and slimy bank; Darker and darker the...
A Clean Tongue.
... If the tongue isfoul, he knows that there is inward mischief, and he must lose
no time in cleansing that of which the tongue is but an indicator....
Of Three Means in the which a Contemplative Prentice Should be...
... And right as thou seest that if afoul spot be in thy bodily visage, the eyes of
the same visage may not see that spot nor wit where it is, without a mirror or...
Thesaurus
Foul (41 Occurrences)... extraneous matter which is injurious, noxious, offensive, or obstructive; filthy;
dirty; not clean; polluted; nasty; defiled; as, a
foul cloth;
foul hands; a
...Foul-mouthed (1 Occurrence)
Foul-mouthed. Fouledst,Foul-mouthed. Foulness . Noah Webster's Dictionary...
Multi-Version ConcordanceFoul-mouthed (1 Occurrence)....
Possessed (100 Occurrences)
... RSV NIV). Mark 3:30 This was because they said, "He is possessed by afoul
spirit." (WEY). Mark 5:2 At once, on His landing, there...
Dirt (9 Occurrences)
... 1. (n.) Anyfoul of filthy substance, as excrement, mud, dust, etc.; whatever, adhering
to anything, renders itfoul or unclean; earth; as, a wagonload of dirt...
Cured (62 Occurrences)
... Luke 6:18 and those who were tormented byfoul spirits were cured.... But Jesus rebuked
thefoul spirit, and cured the youth and gave him back to his father....
Weather (5 Occurrences)
... And in the morning, It will befoul weather to-day: for the heaven is red and lowering"
(Matthew 16:2, 3). The general conditions of the weather in the...
Foulness (1 Occurrence)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (n.) The quality or condition of beingfoul.
Multi-Version Concordance Foulness (1 Occurrence). Ezekiel...
Filth (21 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.)Foul matter; anything that soils or defiles;
dirt; nastiness. 2. (n.) Anything that sullies or...
Filthy (22 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (superl.) Defiled with filth, whether material or
moral; nasty; dirty; polluted;foul; impure; obscene. Int....
Roams (3 Occurrences)
... Matthew 12:43 "No sooner however has thefoul spirit gone out of the man, then he
roams about in places where there is no water, seeking rest but finding none....
Resources
What is a reviler in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgWhat does the Bible say about the power of words? | GotQuestions.orgWhat does the Bible say about coarse jesting and crude joking? | GotQuestions.orgFoul: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
Bible Dictionary •
Bible Encyclopedia •
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