Idle; Idleness:
i'-d'-l, i'-d'-l-nes: Both words, adjective and noun, render different Hebrew words (from atsel, "to be lazy," raphah, "to relax," and shaqaT, "to be quiet"). According to the Yahwistic narrative Pharaoh's retort to the complaints of the Israelites was a charge of indolence (Ex 5:8,17). It was a favorite thought of Hebrew wisdom-practical philosophy of life-that indolence inevitably led to poverty and want (Pr 19:15; Ec 10:18). The "virtuous woman" was one who would not eat the "bread of idleness" (Pr 31:27). In Eze 16:49 for the King James Version "abundance of idleness," the Revised Version (British and American) has "prosperous ease." In the New Testament "idle" generally renders the Greek word argos, literally, "inactive," "useless" (Mt 20:3,6). In Lu 24:11 "idle talk" corresponds to one Greek word which means "empty gossip" or "nonsensical talk."
Written by Thomas Lewis
The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.
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