Hebrew word · H2049
הֲתֻלִֿים
hatulim
mockery
This word occurs only here. It comes from the root התל / תלל, 'to mock, deride, trifle with, deceive'. Related verbs: Elijah 'mocked' the prophets of Baal (1 Kgs 18:27), and Jacob says Laban 'cheated' him (Gen 31:7).
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
mockery, mocker
Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
This word occurs only here. It comes from the root התל / תלל, 'to mock, deride, trifle with, deceive'. Related verbs: Elijah 'mocked' the prophets of Baal (1 Kgs 18:27), and Jacob says Laban 'cheated' him (Gen 31:7). So the scorn includes making a fool of someone and toying with them, not only laughing at them.
- Against the English
Most English versions personalise it as 'mockers' (BSB, KJV, WEB, ESV, NASB). YLT's 'mockeries' keeps the abstract plural. Both readings are possible. 'Mockers' points straight at people; 'mockeries' makes scorn itself his constant companion.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Because the word occurs only here, its meaning rests on the root's use elsewhere in Hebrew (BDB s.v. התל). The ancient versions do not settle it: the Greek and Latin take the line in quite different directions.
Where it appears
Job · 1
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Job 17:2 הֲ֭תֻלִים mockeries
Surely mockers surround me, and my eyes must gaze at their rebellion.
Here: A word that occurs only here in the Bible, from a root meaning 'to mock, make a fool of'. The form is a plural noun, so it can mean either 'mockeries' (acts of scorn) or 'mockers' (people). In the first case scorn itself keeps him company; in the second, the scorners do.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.