What does עָרוּם (ʿārûm) mean in the Bible?
עָרוּם (ʿārûm): Cunning that veers between practical wisdom and deceptive manipulation; morally ambiguous shrewdness
Hebrew · H6175
עָרוּם
Cunning (usually in a bad sense)
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עָרוּם H6175
Pronunciation ʿārûm
What does עָרוּם (ʿārûm) mean in the Bible?
עָרוּם (ʿārûm): Cunning that veers between practical wisdom and deceptive manipulation; morally ambiguous shrewdness
Full entry for עָרוּם (H6175) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H6175?
The BSB source-word alignment has 11 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include of the crafty (2), The prudent (2), A shrewd (1), but a prudent [man] (1), but the prudent (1).
Where does עָרוּם (ʿārûm) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 3:1. Its strongest book concentrations include Proverbs (8), Job (2), Genesis (1).
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 the crafty 2× Job 5:12, Job 15:5
The prudent 2× Proverbs 22:3, Proverbs 27:12
A shrewd 1× Proverbs 12:23
but a prudent [man] 1× Proverbs 12:16
but the prudent 1× Proverbs 14:18
but the prudent man 1× Proverbs 14:15
more crafty 1× Genesis 3:1
of the prudent 1× Proverbs 14:8
prudent [man] 1× Proverbs 13:16
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 3:1 עָר֔וּם to more crafty Adjective - masculine singular Job 5:12 עֲרוּמִ֑ים to of the crafty Adjective - masculine plural Job 15:5 עֲרוּמִֽים׃ to of the crafty Adjective - masculine plural Proverbs 12:16 עָרֽוּם׃ to but a prudent [man] Adjective - masculine singular Proverbs 12:23 עָ֭רוּם to A shrewd Adjective - masculine singular Proverbs 13:16 עָ֭רוּם to prudent [man] Adjective - masculine singular Proverbs 14:8 עָ֭רוּם to of the prudent Adjective - masculine singular Proverbs 14:15 וְ֝עָר֗וּם to but the prudent man Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular Proverbs 14:18 וַֽ֝עֲרוּמִ֗ים to but the prudent Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine plural Proverbs 22:3 עָר֤וּם׀ to The prudent Adjective - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 3:1
Aligned rows 11
Books represented 3
Genesis 1 Job 2 Proverbs 8
Source forms
עָ֭רוּם 3x ‘ā·rūm Proverbs 12:23, Proverbs 13:16, Proverbs 14:8
וְ֝עָר֗וּם 1x wə·‘ā·rūm Proverbs 14:15
וַֽ֝עֲרוּמִ֗ים 1x wa·‘ă·rū·mîm Proverbs 14:18
עָר֔וּם 1x ‘ā·rūm Genesis 3:1
עָר֤וּם 1x ‘ā·rūm Proverbs 27:12
עָר֤וּם׀ 1x ‘ā·rūm Proverbs 22:3
עָרֽוּם׃ 1x ‘ā·rūm Proverbs 12:16
עֲרוּמִ֑ים 1x ‘ă·rū·mîm Job 5:12
Parsing patterns
Adjective - masculine singular 7x Genesis 3:1, Proverbs 12:16, Proverbs 12:23, Proverbs 13:16
Adjective - masculine plural 2x Job 5:12, Job 15:5
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine plural 1x Proverbs 14:18
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular 1x Proverbs 14:15
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Cunning that veers between practical wisdom and deceptive manipulation; morally ambiguous shrewdness
Source Gloss
cunning (usually in a bad sense)
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Cunning that veers between practical wisdom and deceptive manipulation; morally ambiguous shrewdness
cunning (usually in a bad sense) BDB: crafty Usage: crafty, prudent, subtil.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
cunning deception used by serpent to manipulate Eve into disobedience
cleverness or wisdom in understanding one's own way and discerning danger
foresight and cautious wisdom to avoid evil and trouble
shrewd discretion contrasted with simple foolishness in believing everything
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 11 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
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