Hebrew word · H6191

עָרֹם

arom

be shrewd

Be shrewd, crafty, prudent. The adjective ʿarum can be negative ('crafty' serpent, Gen 3:1; Job 5:12; 15:5) or positive ('prudent' person, Prov 12:16, 23; 14:8). The causative form appears only here and in 1 Sam 23:22, where Saul says of David 'he is very cunning'.

Appears 6 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to be subtle, be shrewd, be crafty, beware, take crafty counsel, be prudent

1a) (Qal) to be crafty, be subtle

1b) (Hiphil) to be crafty, be or become shrewd

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 Psalm 83:3

Range of meaning

Be shrewd, crafty, prudent. The adjective ʿarum can be negative ('crafty' serpent, Gen 3:1; Job 5:12; 15:5) or positive ('prudent' person, Prov 12:16, 23; 14:8). The causative form appears only here and in 1 Sam 23:22, where Saul says of David 'he is very cunning'.

Against the English

KJV/YLT 'crafty counsel', BSB/WEB 'with cunning', other modern versions 'shrewd' or 'crafty'. All are accurate. Some English versions move the craftiness into an adverb; the Hebrew puts it in the verb.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Sam 23:22 (hiphil). The Septuagint renders it κατεπανουργεύσαντο, 'they acted with villainous cunning' (from panourgia, knavery).

From the study of Proverbs 19:25

Range of meaning

To be shrewd, cunning, crafty, prudent. The adjective ʿārûm describes the serpent in Gen 3:1 ("crafty") and schemers in Job 5:12. In Proverbs the noun ʿormâ and the adjective are positive: the practical good sense of someone who sees consequences ahead, keeps his own counsel, and is not easily fooled (1:4; 8:5, 12; 12:16, 23; 14:8, 15, 18). The same verb form as here appears in Prov 15:5: "whoever heeds reproof becomes prudent (yaʿrim)." In 1 Sam 23:22 it is used of David: "he is very cunning."

Against the English

BSB and KJV "will beware" make the result simple caution or fear. WEB/ESV/NIV "learn prudence" and NASB "become shrewd" are closer: the naive person gains a lasting skill, not just a moment of alarm.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gen 3:1; Job 5:12; 15:5; 1 Sam 23:22; Prov 1:4; 8:5, 12; 12:16, 23; 13:16; 14:8, 15, 18; 15:5; 22:3; 27:12. The Septuagint here: panourgoteros ginetai, "becomes more shrewd". The Greek word is also double-edged, "crafty" elsewhere and "shrewd" in Proverbs.

From the study of Job 5:13

Range of meaning

To be shrewd, prudent, crafty. It is a two-edged word. Positively it means prudence, the shrewdness the simple need to learn (Prov 1:4; 8:5, 12; 15:5). Negatively it means scheming cunning (Exod 21:14, killing 'by craft'; Josh 9:4, the Gibeonites' trick). The related adjective ʿārûm describes the serpent in Genesis 3:1.

Against the English

'Craftiness' (BSB, KJV, WEB) catches the negative sense needed here. YLT's 'subtilty' is archaic. Because Proverbs praises the same word as 'prudence', English readers cannot see that Hebrew uses one word for both good and bad shrewdness.

Used elsewhere in the period

Job 5:12 has the adjective ʿărûmîm, 'the crafty', so verse 13 picks up the word again. The Septuagint here reads phronēsis ('good sense, prudence'), the neutral or positive side. Paul in 1 Cor 3:19 uses panourgia ('cunning, unscrupulous cleverness'), the negative side, which fits the Hebrew context better.

Where it appears

1 Samuel · 2

  1. 1 Samuel 23:22 עָר֥וֹם יַעְרִ֖ם certainly <to be crafty>, he is crafty

    Please go and prepare further. Investigate and watch carefully where he goes and who has seen him there, for I am told that he is extremely cunning.

Job · 1

  1. Job 5:13 בְּעָרְמָ֑ם when are crafty they

    He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.

    Here: Literally 'in their being shrewd'. The word 'in' (bə-) can mean both 'by means of' and 'in the very act of': God catches them with their own cunning, while they are using it.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 83:3 יַעֲרִ֣ימוּ they make crafty

    With cunning they scheme against Your people and conspire against those You cherish,

    Here: A causative form, 'they make crafty' or 'they make cunning'. The secret council they hold is deliberately clever and calculated. The same root describes the serpent in Genesis 3:1. In Proverbs, though, it can mean good prudence. Here the context makes it hostile.

Proverbs · 2

  1. Proverbs 15:5 יַעְרִֽם׃ he is prudent

    A fool rejects his father’s discipline, but whoever heeds correction is prudent.

    Here: Means shrewd, savvy, alert to how things work. The same root describes the serpent's cunning in Genesis 3:1, but in Proverbs it is the healthy, practical good sense of someone nobody can fool. The verb can mean 'acts shrewdly' or 'becomes shrewd'.

  2. Proverbs 19:25 יַעְרִ֑ם he will become prudent

    Strike a mocker, and the simple will beware; rebuke the discerning man, and he will gain knowledge.

    Here: "Will become shrewd." Watching the scoffer's punishment gives the naive person street-wise good sense: he learns to see where a road leads before he walks it. It means more than becoming afraid.

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