Hebrew word · H4156

מוֹעֵצָה

mimo'atzoteihem

counsel

Counsel, plan, deliberation. It occurs mostly in the plural and nearly always in a negative sense: self-devised schemes followed in defiance of God or of wise advice. It comes from the root y-ʿ-ts, 'to advise, counsel'.

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

counsel, plan, principal, device

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

From the study of Proverbs 1:31

Range of meaning

Counsel, plan, deliberation. It occurs mostly in the plural and nearly always in a negative sense: self-devised schemes followed in defiance of God or of wise advice. It comes from the root y-ʿ-ts, 'to advise, counsel'.

Against the English

KJV and BSB 'devices' meant 'plans, contrivances' in 1611 but now suggests gadgets. WEB and others have 'schemes', which keeps the negative tone. YLT 'counsels' keeps the wordplay with v. 30 but loses the negative tone.

How it drifted

In older English 'device' meant a plan or scheme (compare 'left to their own devices'). The everyday modern sense of a mechanical or electronic object has pushed that meaning aside.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 5:10 (Eng. 5:10/Heb. 5:11) 'let them fall by their own counsels'; Ps 81:12 'I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to walk in their own counsels'; Jer 7:24 'they walked in their own counsels'; Mic 6:16; Hos 11:6. Prov 22:20 (in some readings) is a rare neutral or positive use. The LXX here translates it with 'asebeia', 'ungodliness'.

From the study of Jeremiah 7:24

Range of meaning

A plan, piece of advice, deliberation, scheme. It comes from ya'ats, 'to advise, plan'. It occurs only a handful of times and almost always means human plans that rival or oppose God's.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and YLT 'counsels' is accurate but can sound like receiving wise advice. WEB, ESV and NASB add 'their own', which brings out the self-made sense. BSB folds the word into 'stubborn inclinations' and drops it as a separate idea.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 81:12 [Heb 13] is the closest parallel: 'So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own counsels.' It uses both of this verse's words. Also Mic 6:16 ('you have walked in their counsels', the policies of Omri and Ahab); Hos 11:6; Prov 1:31; Ps 5:10 [11].

From the study of Micah 6:16

Range of meaning

Counsel, plan, deliberate policy (from yāʿaṣ, 'to advise, plan'). In the Old Testament it nearly always means plans that stand against God (Ps 5:10; 81:12; Prov 1:31; Jer 7:24; Hos 11:6).

Against the English

'Counsels' (KJV, ESV, WEB) can sound like private advice. NASB's 'devices' gets the scheming side. NIV's 'traditions' brings in the idea of inherited custom, which fits the sense of passing down but loses the sense of deliberate policy.

How it drifted

In modern English 'counsel' usually means advice or therapy. Here it is the planned policy of a ruling house.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jer 7:24: 'they walked in their own counsels'. Ps 81:12: 'let them walk in their own counsels'. The closest parallel is 2 Chr 22:3–5. Ahaziah of Judah, son of Athaliah of the house of Ahab, 'walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counsellor… and he walked in their counsel.'

Where it appears

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 5:10 מִֽמֹּעֲצ֪וֹתֵ֫יהֶ֥ם from own schemes their

    Declare them guilty, O God; let them fall by their own devices. Drive them out for their many transgressions, for they have rebelled against You.

    Here: "From/because of their schemes." The preposition "from" can mean "fall away from" (their plans come to nothing) or "fall because of" (their plots bring them down). The noun almost always means people's self-directed plotting, the plans they make instead of listening to God.

  2. Psalm 81:12 בְּֽמוֹעֲצוֹתֵיהֶֽם׃ in own schemes their

    So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.

    Here: 'In their counsels'. These are their own plans and policies, set against the counsel God gave and they refused to hear (v. 11). The word is plural and usually negative: home-made schemes that end up trapping the people who make them (compare Proverbs 1:31; Psalm 5:10).

Proverbs · 2

  1. Proverbs 1:31 וּֽמִמֹּעֲצֹ֖תֵיהֶ֣ם and from own schemes their

    So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

    Here: A plural of 'counsel, plan, scheme', from the same root as the 'counsel' (ʿetsah) of Wisdom that they rejected in vv. 25 and 30. They would not take her counsel, so they are left to choke on their own. In the plural the word almost always means self-chosen, stubborn plans.

  2. Proverbs 22:20 בְּמ֖וֹעֵצֹ֣ת <in> counsels

    Have I not written for you thirty sayings about counsel and knowledge,

    Here: 'Counsels' means practical plans and sound advice for acting wisely. The preposition be- here describes what the writings contain: 'made up of counsel', 'containing counsel'. Elsewhere this plural noun usually means people's own bad schemes (Psalm 81:12; Jeremiah 7:24). Here it is good counsel.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 7:24 בְּמֹ֣עֵצ֔וֹת in counsels

    Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but they followed the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.

    Here: 'In counsels', meaning plans or policies worked out on their own. The word is almost always used negatively in the Bible: self-made schemes set against God's instruction.

Hosea · 1

  1. Hosea 11:6 מִֽמֹּעֲצ֖וֹתֵיהֶֽם׃ from schemes their

    A sword will flash through their cities; it will destroy the bars of their gates and consume them in their own plans.

Micah · 1

  1. Micah 6:16 בְּמֹֽעֲצוֹתָ֑ם in schemes their

    You have kept the statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab’s house; you have followed their counsel. Therefore I will make you a desolation, and your inhabitants an object of contempt; you will bear the scorn of the nations.”

    Here: Deliberate plans or policies, usually bad ones in the Old Testament (Jer 7:24; Ps 81:12). 'Their' refers to Omri's and Ahab's dynasty: Judah is taking its policy from that royal house.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.