What does כְּסִיל (kesil) mean in the Bible?
כְּסִיל (kesil): Stupidity conceived as mental heaviness or dullness; the fool's mind lacks quickness and agility
Hebrew · H3684
כְּסִיל
Properly, fat , i.e. (figuratively) stupid or silly
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כְּסִיל H3684
Pronunciation kesil
What does כְּסִיל (kesil) mean in the Bible?
כְּסִיל (kesil): Stupidity conceived as mental heaviness or dullness; the fool's mind lacks quickness and agility
Full entry for כְּסִיל (H3684) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H3684?
The BSB source-word alignment has 70 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include of a fool (10), of fools (10), a fool (9), The fool (5), but a foolish (4).
Where does כְּסִיל (kesil) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Psalms 49:10. Its strongest book concentrations include Proverbs (49), Ecclesiastes (18), Psalms (3).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It of a fool 10× Proverbs 15:14, Proverbs 17:24, Proverbs 26:6, Proverbs 26:7
of fools 10× Proverbs 1:32, Proverbs 13:20, Proverbs 14:8, Proverbs 14:24
a fool 9× Proverbs 17:10, Proverbs 17:12, Proverbs 17:21, Proverbs 18:2
The fool 5× Proverbs 10:23, Ecclesiastes 2:16, Ecclesiastes 4:5, Ecclesiastes 6:8
but a foolish 4× Proverbs 10:1, Proverbs 12:23, Proverbs 15:20, Proverbs 21:20
a foolish 3× Proverbs 14:7, Proverbs 17:25, Proverbs 19:13
for a fool 3× Proverbs 19:10, Proverbs 26:12, Proverbs 29:20
of the fool 3× Proverbs 15:2, Ecclesiastes 2:15, Ecclesiastes 7:6
A fool’s 2× Proverbs 18:6, Proverbs 18:7
but a fool 2× Proverbs 13:16, Proverbs 14:16
is a fool 2× Proverbs 10:18, Proverbs 28:26
O fools 2× Psalms 94:8, Proverbs 8:5
to a fool 2× Proverbs 23:9, Proverbs 26:8
among fools 1× Ecclesiastes 9:17
and a fool 1× Psalms 92:6
and fools 1× Proverbs 1:22
and the foolish 1× Psalms 49:10
but foolish 1× Ecclesiastes 4:13
but fools 1× Proverbs 3:35
but the fool 1× Ecclesiastes 2:14
fools 1× Proverbs 14:33
in fools 1× Ecclesiastes 5:4
should the fool 1× Proverbs 17:16
so a fool 1× Proverbs 26:11
than a fool 1× Proverbs 19:1
to fools 1× Proverbs 13:19
Show sample aligned rows
Psalms 49:10 כְּסִ֣יל to and the foolish Noun - masculine singular Psalms 92:6 וּ֝כְסִ֗יל to and a fool Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular Psalms 94:8 וּ֝כְסִילִ֗ים to O fools Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural Proverbs 1:22 וּ֝כְסִילִ֗ים to and fools Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural Proverbs 1:32 כְּסִילִ֣ים to of fools Noun - masculine plural Proverbs 3:35 וּ֝כְסִילִ֗ים to but fools Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural Proverbs 8:5 וּ֝כְסִילִ֗ים to O fools Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural Proverbs 10:1 כְּ֝סִ֗יל to but a foolish Noun - masculine singular Proverbs 10:18 כְסִֽיל׃ to is a fool Noun - masculine singular Proverbs 10:23 לִ֭כְסִיל to The fool Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Psalms 49:10
Aligned rows 70
Books represented 3
Psalms 3 Proverbs 49 Ecclesiastes 18
Source forms
לִכְסִ֣יל 5x liḵ·sîl Proverbs 19:10, Proverbs 26:1, Proverbs 26:8, Proverbs 26:12
וּ֝כְסִילִ֗ים 4x ū·ḵə·sî·lîm Psalms 94:8, Proverbs 1:22, Proverbs 3:35, Proverbs 8:5
כְ֭סִיל 4x ḵə·sîl Proverbs 18:6, Proverbs 18:7, Proverbs 23:9, Proverbs 26:5
כְּ֝סִ֗יל 4x kə·sîl Proverbs 10:1, Proverbs 17:12, Proverbs 26:10, Proverbs 26:11
כְּסִ֑יל 4x kə·sîl Proverbs 14:7, Proverbs 17:16, Proverbs 17:25, Proverbs 19:13
כְּסִילִ֣ים 4x kə·sî·lîm Proverbs 1:32, Proverbs 14:8, Proverbs 14:24, Proverbs 15:7
וּ֝כְסִ֗יל 3x ū·ḵə·sîl Psalms 92:6, Proverbs 13:16, Proverbs 14:16
כְּ֭סִיל 3x kə·sîl Proverbs 17:21, Proverbs 18:2, Proverbs 26:4
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular 26x Psalms 49:10, Proverbs 10:1, Proverbs 10:18, Proverbs 14:7
Noun - masculine plural 17x Proverbs 1:32, Proverbs 12:23, Proverbs 13:19, Proverbs 13:20
Article | Noun - masculine singular 6x Ecclesiastes 2:15, Ecclesiastes 2:16, Ecclesiastes 4:5, Ecclesiastes 6:8
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular 6x Psalms 92:6, Proverbs 13:16, Proverbs 14:16, Proverbs 15:20
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular 6x Proverbs 10:23, Proverbs 19:10, Proverbs 26:1, Proverbs 26:8
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural 4x Psalms 94:8, Proverbs 1:22, Proverbs 3:35, Proverbs 8:5
Article | Noun - masculine plural 2x Ecclesiastes 5:1, Ecclesiastes 10:15
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine plural 2x Ecclesiastes 5:4, Ecclesiastes 9:17
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Stupidity conceived as mental heaviness or dullness; the fool's mind lacks quickness and agility
Source Gloss
properly, fat , i.e. (figuratively) stupid or silly
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Stupidity conceived as mental heaviness or dullness; the fool's mind lacks quickness and agility
properly, fat, i.e. (figuratively) stupid or silly BDB: stupid fellow Usage: fool(-ish).
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
a morally stubborn person who rejects wisdom
Showing 1 selected witness from 70 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
כְּסִיל is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Foolishness results in destructive behavior that harms others. Proverbs 10:1
Canonical Themes
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain