Topical Encyclopedia
Definition and Meaning:Guile refers to deceitful cunning, duplicity, or craftiness. In the biblical context, it is often associated with deception and the intent to mislead others. The term is used to describe actions or words that are insincere or fraudulent, often with the purpose of achieving a hidden agenda.
Biblical References:The concept of guile is addressed in various passages throughout the Bible, highlighting its negative connotations and the moral imperative to avoid deceit.
1.
Old Testament: · In the Psalms, guile is associated with wickedness and is contrasted with righteousness.
Psalm 34:13 advises, "Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech."
· Proverbs frequently warns against deceitful practices.
Proverbs 12:20 states, "Deceit is in the hearts of those who devise evil, but the counselors of peace have joy."
2.
New Testament: · Jesus Christ, in His teachings, emphasized the importance of sincerity and truthfulness. In
John 1:47 , Jesus commends Nathanael, saying, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit."
· The Apostle Peter instructs believers to rid themselves of guile. In
1 Peter 2:1 , he writes, "Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander."
· The Apostle Paul also speaks against deceit, urging believers to speak the truth. In
2 Corinthians 4:2 , he declares, "Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God."
Theological Significance:Guile is seen as antithetical to the character of God, who is described as truthful and faithful. The absence of guile is a mark of integrity and purity, qualities that are highly esteemed in the biblical narrative. The call to live without guile is a call to reflect the nature of God, who desires truth in the inward being (
Psalm 51:6).
Moral and Ethical Implications:The Bible consistently encourages believers to live lives marked by honesty and transparency. Guile is viewed as a barrier to genuine relationships and community, as it undermines trust and fosters division. The exhortation to avoid guile is part of the broader biblical ethic that values truth, integrity, and love for one's neighbor.
Practical Application:Believers are encouraged to examine their hearts and actions for any trace of deceit. This involves a commitment to truthfulness in speech and conduct, as well as a reliance on the Holy Spirit to cultivate sincerity and integrity. The pursuit of a guileless life is part of the sanctification process, aligning one's character with the example set by Christ.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) Craft; deceitful cunning; artifice; duplicity; wile; deceit; treachery.
2. (n.) To disguise or conceal; to deceive or delude.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
GUILEgil (mirmah; dolos): "Guile" is twice the translation of mirmah, "fraud," "deceit" (Psalm 34:13, "Keep. thy lips from speaking guile";Psalm 55:11, "deceit and guile," the Revised Version (British and American) "oppression (margin "fraud") and guile"); once of `ormah, "craftiness," "guile" (Exodus 21:14); once of remiyah, "deception," "fraud" (Psalm 32:2, "in whose spirit there is no guile"); in the New Testament of dolos, "bait," hence, generally, "fraud," "guile," "deceit"; Septuagint for mirmah (Isaiah 53:9, English Versions of the Bible "deceit") and for remiyah (Job 13:7, English Versions of the Bible "deceitfully";John 1:472 Corinthians 12:16, "Being crafty, I caught you with guile";1 Thessalonians 2:31 Peter 2:1;1 Peter 2:22;1 Peter 3:10, quoted fromPsalm 34:13Revelation 14:5, "In their mouth was found no guile," the Revised Version (British and American) after corrected text, "no lie").
Paul's words in2 Corinthians 12:16 have sometimes been quoted in justification of "guile" in religious work, etc.; but he is not describing his actual procedure; but that which the Corinthians might have attributed to him; the lips of the Christian must be kept free from all guile (Psalm 34:131 Peter 2:1, etc.; The Wisdom of Solomon 1:5 "A holy spirit of discipline will flee deceit" (dolos), the Revised Version (British and American) "A holy spirit"). "Guile" does not appear in Apocrypha; dolos is frequently rendered "deceit."
The Revised Version (British and American) has "guile" for "subtilty" (Genesis 27:35Acts 13:10); "cover itself with guile" for "is covered by deceit" (Proverbs 26:26); "with guile" for "deceitfully" (Genesis 34:13); "spiritual milk which is without guile" for "sincere milk of the word," the English Revised Version, margin "reasonable," the American Revised Version, margin, Greek "belonging to the reason" (compareRomans 12:11 Peter 2:2); "guileless" for "harmless" (Hebrews 7:26).
W. L. Walker
Greek
1388. dolos -- a bait, fig. craft, deceit... craft, deceit. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: dolos Phonetic Spelling:
(dol'-os) Short Definition: deceit,
guile, treachery Definition: deceit
...539. apate -- deceit
... Cognate: 539 -- a false impression, made to deceive or cheat -- ie deceit motivated
byguile and treachery (trickery, fraud). See 538 ()....
Strong's Hebrew
4860. mashshaon --guile, dissimulation... 4859, 4860. mashshaon. 4861 .
guile, dissimulation. Transliteration: mashshaon
Phonetic Spelling: (mash-shaw-ohn') Short Definition:
guile.
...4820. mirmah -- deceit, treachery
... treachery (2). craft, deceitful false, feigned,guile, treachery. From ramah
in the sense of deceiving; fraud -- craft, deceit(-ful...
6195. ormah -- craftiness, prudence
...guile, prudence, subtilty, wilily, wisdom. Feminine of orem; trickery; or (in a
good sense) discretion --guile, prudence, subtilty, wilily, wisdom....
7423. rmiyah -- deceit, treachery
... remissness, treachery From ramah; remissness, treachery -- deceit(- ful, -fully),
false,guile, idle, slack, slothful. see HEBREW ramah. 7422, 7423....
3868. luz -- to turn aside, depart
... Word Origin a prim. root Definition to turn aside, depart NASB Word Usage depart
(1), devious (3),guile (1), vanish (1). depart, froward, perverseness....
7723. shav -- emptiness, vanity
... Or shav {shav}; from the same as show' in the sense of desolating; evil (as
destructive), literally (ruin) or morally (especiallyguile); figuratively idolatry...
Library
WhetherGuile is a Sin Pertaining to Craftiness?
... OF VICES OPPOSED TO PRUDENCE BY WAY OF RESEMBLANCE (EIGHT ARTICLES) Whether
guile is a sin pertaining to craftiness? Objection 1...
Maximus the Tyrant. Concerning the Occurrences Between the Empress...
... and St. Ambrose. The Emperor Gratian was killed byGuile. Valentinian
and his Mother fled to Theodosius in Thessalonica. As the...
Of the Things Mystically Prefigured in Esau and Jacob.
... Lest we should think thisguile of Jacob's was fraudulentguile, instead of seeking
in it the mystery of a great thing, the Scripture has predicted in the...
Whether These vices Arise from Covetousness?
... vii, 6) that "Venus is full ofguile and her girdle is many colored" and
that "he who is incontinent in desire acts with cunning."...
Whether Hypocrisy is Contrary to the virtue of Truth?
... Objection 2: Further, all dissimulation seems to proceed fromguile, wherefore
it is opposed to simplicity. Nowguile is opposed...
"Every Man is a Liar," Owing to Himself Alone; but "Every Man is...
... that are liars cannot remember her, but men of truth shall be found in her.' [1491]
Again in the Apocalypse: And in their mouth was found noguile, for they...
Whether the Prohibitive Precepts Relating to the vices Opposed to...
... that the Law should contain precepts forbidding the execution of craftiness, in
so far as this pertains to injustice, as when a man usesguile and fraud in...
The Testament of Joseph Concerning Sobriety.
... me; in bonds, and He released me; amid slanders, and He pleaded my cause; amid bitter
words of the Egyptians, and He rescued me; amid envy andguile, and He...
On the Words of the Gospel, Luke ix. 57, Etc. , Where the Case of...
... For if he saw himself to be a dissembler now, if he had known himself at this time
to be full of duplicity andguile, then he did not know with Whom he was...
(2) Whether There is in this World a Man Without Sin.
... hundred and forty and four thousand" saints, "which were not defiled with women;
for they continued virgins: and in their mouth was found noguile; for they...
Thesaurus
Guile (21 Occurrences)... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia.
GUILE. gil (mirmah; dolos): "
Guile" is twice the
translation of mirmah, "fraud," "deceit" (Psalm 34:13, "Keep.
...Subtilty (9 Occurrences)
... 3. (n.) Cunning; skill; craft. 4. (n.) Slyness in design; artifice;guile; a cunning
design or artifice; a trick; subtlety. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia....
Nathanael (6 Occurrences)
... Given or gift of God, one of our Lord's disciples, "of Cana in Galilee" (John
21:2). He was "an Israelite indeed, in whom was noguile" (1:47, 48)....
Subtil (3 Occurrences)
... Version "subtle." Genesis 27:35, mirmah, "deceit," "fraud," "Thy brother came with
subtlety," the Revised Version (British and American) "withguile"; Psalm 105...
Subtlety (3 Occurrences)
... Version "subtle." Genesis 27:35, mirmah, "deceit," "fraud," "Thy brother came with
subtlety," the Revised Version (British and American) "withguile"; Psalm 105...
Sincere (18 Occurrences)
... Four different words are rendered "sincere," "sincerely" "sincerity," in the New
Testament: adolos, "withoutguile," "unadulterated," "desire the sincere milk...
Subtle (5 Occurrences)
... Version "subtle." Genesis 27:35, mirmah, "deceit," "fraud," "Thy brother came with
subtlety," the Revised Version (British and American) "withguile"; Psalm 105...
Sincerity (17 Occurrences)
... Four different words are rendered "sincere," "sincerely" "sincerity," in the New
Testament: adolos, "withoutguile," "unadulterated," "desire the sincere milk...
Deceit (160 Occurrences)
... 17; Proverbs 26:26 1 Thessalonians 2:3, renders a variety of words, more accurately
than the King James Version, by "oppression," "falsehood," "guile," "error...
Villany (4 Occurrences)
... Acts 13:10 and said, O full of allguile and all villany, thou son of the devil,
thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways...
Resources
What is guile in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgWho was Bartholomew in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgWhat does it mean to be pure in heart? | GotQuestions.orgGuile: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
Bible Dictionary •
Bible Encyclopedia •
Topical Bible •
Bible Thesuarus
