ἀφροσύνη

From the study of 2 Corinthians 11:1

Range of meaning

Lack of phronēsis, the practical good sense that knows what is fitting. So: senselessness, folly, thoughtless or unseemly behaviour. Its adjective aphrōn ('senseless one, fool') clusters in this section: 11:16 (twice), 11:19, 12:6, 12:11.

Against the English

English 'foolishness' can suggest something silly, playful or merely mistaken. The Greek points to behaviour that lacks judgment about what is proper. Here that means praising yourself.

How it drifted

Readers often connect this word with 1 Corinthians 1:18–25, 'the foolishness of the cross'. But that passage uses a different word (mōria) and means something good: God's wisdom that looks foolish to the world. The 'foolishness' of 2 Corinthians 11 is something Paul disowns, not holy folly.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) uses aphrosynē very often in Proverbs for the folly of the fool, set against wisdom (e.g. Prov 14:24; 15:2, 14). In Greek moral writing, boasting about yourself was a standard example of lacking good sense. Plutarch's essay On Praising Oneself Inoffensively (Moralia 539A–547F) says self-praise is offensive unless circumstances force it, for example to defend yourself or to help your hearers.

From the study of Mark 7:22

Range of meaning

Lack of sound judgement (a-, 'without', + phrēn, 'mind' or 'good sense'): folly, senselessness. In the Septuagint it often translates the Hebrew words for the moral fool (nebalah, ʾiwwelet). That fool is not unintelligent. He lives as if God's order did not apply to him.

Against the English

'Foolishness' and 'folly' are the usual English renderings. Modern 'foolishness' suggests silliness or a lack of brains, which misses the moral weight.

How it drifted

English 'fool' has lost the weight of the wisdom literature, where folly is the opposite of fearing God, not of being clever.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX Proverbs uses aphrosynē often for the way of the fool, as against wisdom, which begins with the fear of the LORD (Proverbs 1:7). The Dead Sea Scrolls list includes 'much folly' among the works of the spirit of deceit (1QS IV 10). In the New Testament it also appears in 2 Corinthians 11:1, 17, 21, where Paul ironically 'speaks as a fool'.