Fool

April 1

Fool (1)
aphrōn

Traditionally, of course, this is the day of practical jokes, April Fools’ Day (or All Fools’ Day). According to one encyclopedia, the custom probably began in France in 1564, when New Year's Day was changed from April 1 to January 1. Those who continued to observe April 1 as the beginning of the New Year were ridiculed.

The Bible, however, has much to say about the fool. There are some 160 references to the fool (or “fools” and “foolish” ) in the Bible (AV), thirty-three of which are in the NT.

One Greek word for this is aphrōn (G40). The root phrēn (G5424) is interesting. As Greek scholar Spiros Zodhiates writes, it literally referred to “the diaphragm, that which curbs or restrains” and figuratively spoke of the “seat of all mental and emotional activity.”

He goes on to explain: “It was the diaphragm which determined the strength of the breath and hence also the human spirit and its emotions. It precisely refers to the ability not only to think, but also to control one’s thoughts and attitudes. It is the heart as the seat of passions as well as the mind as the seat of mental faculties.”

When the prefix a (which is called the “alpha-negative;” 1) is added to a word, however, it makes it the exact opposite. We do this in English with words such as amoral and amillennial. So with the “alpha-negative,” aphrōn means the exact opposite.

In all the other ten occurrences of aphrōn in the NT, it is translated “fool,” “fools,” or “foolish.”

A fool, then, is a person who not only does not think correctly, but also cannot control the thoughts and attitudes he does have. He not only doesn’t think the right things, but when he does think, that’s not right either.

Joseph Thayer, nineteenth-century Greek scholar, defines it this way: “Without reason . . . senseless, foolish, stupid, without reflection or intelligence, acting rashly.”

In Luk_11:40, the Lord Jesus calls the Pharisees “fools” because they thought doing something external would satisfy God. Nothing is more foolish than thinking that a Holy God could be satisfied by any works a man could do.

Likewise, He called the rich farmer a fool in Luk_12:20 because he thought wealth and possessions were all he needed. That is, indeed, the height of folly.

Let us each thank God that we no longer need act like the fool but that we can think straight because His Word dominates our minds.

Scriptures for Study: What is a characteristic of the fool (“unwise,” aphrōn) in Eph_5:17? What will silence foolish men, according to 1Pe_2:15?

 
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