Hebrew word · H5528

סָכַל

sakel-

be foolish

To act foolishly, to behave as a fool. In the reflexive/passive stem used here (Niphal) it means "to have made oneself a fool, to have acted foolishly." In the causative stem (Hiphil) it means "to do a foolish thing" (Gen 31:28; 1 Sam 26:21).

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to be foolish, be a fool

1a) (Piel) to make foolish, turn into foolishness

1b) (Niphal) to act or do foolishly

1c) (Hiphil) to do foolishly, play the fool

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 1 Samuel 13:13

Range of meaning

To act foolishly, to behave as a fool. In the reflexive/passive stem used here (Niphal) it means "to have made oneself a fool, to have acted foolishly." In the causative stem (Hiphil) it means "to do a foolish thing" (Gen 31:28; 1 Sam 26:21). In the intensive stem (Piel) it means "to turn something into foolishness" (2 Sam 15:31; Isa 44:25). Related nouns are sekel and siklût ("folly," common in Ecclesiastes). In biblical usage folly means acting against the order God set up and against one's obligations. It is a moral and religious category, not a measure of brainpower. A near sound-alike, śākal (spelled with a different s), means the opposite: "to be prudent, to act wisely, to succeed." A Hebrew ear would catch the irony.

Against the English

English translations agree: "acted foolishly" (BSB, NIV), "done foolishly" (KJV, ESV, WEB), "been foolish" (YLT). The rendering is fine, but today "foolish" sounds mild, like silly, clumsy or a bad call. In Hebrew it is a weighty charge: Saul's choice broke faith with God.

How it drifted

In modern English "fool" and "foolish" mostly mean lacking sense or being ridiculous. In the King James era "to do foolishly" still carried moral weight, but that weight has faded.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same Niphal form appears in David's confession after the census: "I have acted very foolishly" (niskaltî meʾōd, 2 Sam 24:10 = 1 Chr 21:8). The seer Hanani uses it of King Asa relying on Aram instead of YHWH (2 Chr 16:9). Saul later says of himself, "I have played the fool" (hiskaltî, 1 Sam 26:21). In every case a king fails to trust or obey God in a matter of royal and military policy. The Septuagint renders the word here with mataioō ("to act emptily, in vain"), and the Vulgate with stulte egisti ("you have acted stupidly").

From the study of 2 Chronicles 16:9

Range of meaning

To act foolishly, behave senselessly. In the niphal it means to commit a folly, often a decisive and costly misjudgment before God. In the hiphil, God 'makes foolish' counsel (2 Sam 15:31).

Against the English

All major versions render 'acted/done foolishly'. That is accurate, but English 'foolish' can sound mild or merely unwise. The Hebrew carries the weight of a verdict.

Used elsewhere in the period

Samuel to Saul: 'You have acted foolishly' (niskalta, 1 Sam 13:13), followed by the loss of his dynasty. David after the census, another act of trusting military numbers: 'I have acted very foolishly' (1 Chr 21:8 // 2 Sam 24:10).

From the study of Isaiah 44:25

Range of meaning

To act foolishly; in the piel form, to make foolish or turn into folly.

Against the English

'Maketh their knowledge foolish' (KJV), 'turns their knowledge into nonsense' (BSB), 'turns it into nonsense' (NIV). All are adequate. The KJV is the most literal.

Used elsewhere in the period

2 Samuel 15:31: David prays, 'O LORD, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness' (sakkel), and God answers by 'frustrating' (hāpēr, the same verb as the first word of our verse) that counsel (17:14). Our verse pairs the same two verbs. In the Masoretic text the word is spelled with śin (שׂ), which makes it look like śākal 'to act prudently', the opposite meaning. Lexicons treat it as a spelling variant of sākal.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 31:28 הִסְכַּ֥לְתָּֽ you have behaved foolishly

    But you did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye. Now you have done a foolish thing.

1 Samuel · 2

  1. 1 Samuel 13:13 נִסְכָּ֑לְתָּ you have acted foolishly

    “You have acted foolishly,” Samuel declared. “You have not kept the command that the LORD your God gave you; if you had, the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.

    Here: A one-word verdict that opens the speech: "You have played the fool." In Hebrew, folly is a moral and religious failure toward God, not low intelligence. David uses the same form of the word when he confesses after his census (2 Sam 24:10).

  2. 1 Samuel 26:21 הִסְכַּ֛לְתִּי I have behaved foolishly

    Then Saul replied, “I have sinned. Come back, David my son. I will never harm you again, because today you considered my life precious. I have played the fool and have committed a grave error!”

    Here: To act like a fool in the Hebrew sense: to behave in a way that is morally and practically senseless and self-destructive. It echoes Samuel's verdict on Saul at the start of his decline, 'You have acted foolishly' (13:13).

2 Samuel · 2

  1. 2 Samuel 15:31 סַכֶּל־ make foolish

    Now someone told David: “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David pleaded, “O LORD, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”

    Here: A command in the form that means causing something to be or become a certain way: “make it folly.” David asks that this brilliant advice become senseless, either by going wrong or by being judged worthless and dropped. In the event (17:14) the advice is good but gets rejected and comes to nothing.

  2. 2 Samuel 24:10 נִסְכַּ֖לְתִּי I have acted foolishly

    After David had numbered the troops, his conscience was stricken and he said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O LORD, I beg You to take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

    Here: To act like a fool in the Hebrew moral sense: blameworthy, senseless disregard of God. It is the same verb Samuel used to condemn Saul (1 Sam 13:13).

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 21:8 נִסְכַּ֖לְתִּי I have acted foolishly

    Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing. Now I beg You to take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 16:9 נִסְכַּ֣לְתָּ you have acted foolishly

    For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.”

    Here: 'You have acted foolishly': a verdict on a senseless choice, not on low intelligence. It is the same form Samuel used to condemn Saul (1 Samuel 13:13).

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 44:25 יְשַׂכֵּֽל׃ he makes foolish

    who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense,

    Here: 'He turns into folly.' This is the same verb David used when he prayed that God would 'turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness' (2 Samuel 15:31). Here the spelling uses the letter śin, which makes the word look like śākal 'to be prudent'. This may be a deliberate irony.

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