Definition of Scoffer in Proverbs
The Hebrew term לֵץ (lets, "scoffer") appears 18 times in the Hebrew Bible, primarily in the book of Proverbs [1, 2, 3]. Proverbs 21:24 defines the scoffer as "the proud and haughty man" who acts "in the arrogance of pride" [1].
Lexical Range and Connotation
The term לֵץ is associated with pride, haughtiness, and a lack of respect for authority and wisdom. According to Keil & Delitzsch, a לֵץ is one who treats "religious questions without respect, moral questions in a frivolous way, serious things jestingly" [4]. This understanding is echoed in the Babylonian Talmud, where Rabbi Oshaya links the scoffer's haughtiness to a fate of Gehenna [10].
Biblical Distribution and Key Passages
The book of Proverbs is the primary source for understanding the concept of the scoffer. Key passages include Proverbs 15:12, where a scoffer is characterized as one who "doesn't love to be reproved" and will not seek out the wise [2]. Proverbs 14:6 notes that a scoffer "seeks wisdom, and doesn't find it" [3]. The New Testament also references scoffers, as in 2 Peter 3:3, where they are described as "walking after their own lusts" [9, 11].
Interpretive Traditions
Various interpretive traditions offer insights into the concept of the scoffer. In the Jewish (Rabbinic) tradition, Rashi interprets being drawn to scoffers as leading one to scoff as well [6]. The Babylonian Talmud warns that scoffing can lead to extermination [10]. In Christian traditions, commentators like John Gill and Adam Clarke view scoffers as those who mock religion and truth, often without solid argument [5, 7, 9].
Semantic Nuances and Comparative Usage
The term לֵץ is related to the concept of interpretation or mediation, as seen in its connection to the word מֵלִיץ (melitz, "interpreter") in Genesis 42:23. Abraham Ibn Ezra suggests that the scoffer is one who reveals secrets or gossips, acting as a negative interpreter [8]. This nuance highlights the complex nature of the term, encompassing not just mockery but also a form of twisted communication.
Translation History
Major English versions render לֵץ as "scoffer," "scorner," or "mocker." The LXX translates it as λοιδορος (loidoros, "reviler") or ἐμπαίκτης (empaiktēs, "mocker"), reflecting the term's negative connotations [4].
The concept of the scoffer in Proverbs serves as a warning against the dangers of pride, haughtiness, and the rejection of wisdom. As Proverbs 22:10 suggests, removing the scoffer from a community can lead to the cessation of contention and strife [4].
Sources
- Proverbs “The proud and haughty man, “scoffer” is his name; he works in the arrogance of pride. -- Proverbs 21:24”
- Proverbs “A scoffer doesn’t love to be reproved; he will not go to the wise. -- Proverbs 15:12”
- Proverbs “A scoffer seeks wisdom, and doesn’t find it, but knowledge comes easily to a discerning person. -- Proverbs 14:6”
- Proverbs (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 22:10: 10 Chase away the scorner, and contention goeth out, And strife and reproach rest. If in a company, a circle of friends, a society (lxx ἔκβαλε ἐκ συνεδρίου), a wicked man is found who (vid., the definition of לץ, Pro 21:24) treats religious questions without respect, moral questions in a frivolous way, serious things jestingly, and in his scornful spirit, his passion for witticism, his love of anecdote, places himself above the duty of showing reverence, veneration, and respect, there will arise ceaseless contentions and conflicts. Such a man one ought t”
- 2 Peter (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on 2 Peter 3:3: Knowing this first - Considering this in an especial manner, that those prophets predicted the coming of false teachers: and their being now in the Church proved how clearly they were known to God, and showed the Christians at Pontus the necessity of having no intercourse or connection with them. There shall come - scoffers - Persons who shall endeavor to turn all religion into ridicule, as this is the most likely way to depreciate truth in the sight of the giddy multitude. The scoffers, having no solid argument to produce against revelation, endeavor to make a scar”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) on Proverbs 3:34: If [one goes] to the scoffers If a person is attracted to them, he too will scoff with them.”
- Proverbs (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Proverbs 9:7: He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame,.... Intimating, that though the simple, and such as want understanding, and of whom there is hope of doing them good, are to be invited into Wisdom's house; yet not the haughty scorner, the abandoned sinner, the scoffer at all religion, who walks after his own lusts, and is quite irreclaimable; it is but casting pearls before swine, and giving that which is holy to dogs, to reprove and exhort such persons; though the Gospel is to be preached to every creature, yet when men despise it, and make a mock at it, they a”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Rationalist)) “Abraham Ibn Ezra on Psalms 1:1: And "scoffers" ( letzim ) derives from the same root as "interpreter" ( melitz ) in (Genesis 42:23): "for the interpreter ( ha-melitz ) was between them"—implying [negatively, in the context of letzim ] one who reveals Reuben's secret to Simeon [i.e., a gossip or talebearer]. The letzim are the opposite of the humble/meek ( anavim ), as in (Proverbs 3:34): "Surely He scorns the scoffers, but He gives grace ( chen ) unto the humble." The humble are the modest/bashful who refrain from: speaking slander ( dibah ), finding fault ( dofi ), and revealing secrets [whic”
- 2 Peter (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 2 Peter 3:3: Knowing this first,.... In the first place, principally, and chiefly, and which might easily be known and observed from the writings of the apostles and prophets; see Ti1 4:1; that there shall come in the last days scoffers, or "mockers"; such as would make a mock at sin, make light of it, plead for it, openly commit it, and glory in it; and scoff at all religion, as the prejudice of education, as an engine of state, a piece of civil policy to keep subjects in awe, as cant, enthusiasm, and madness, as a gloomy melancholy thing, depriving men of true pleasure; and th”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Avodah Zarah 18b.15: Rabbi Oshaya says, based on the same verse: Anyone who is haughty falls into Gehenna, as it is stated: “A proud and haughty man, scorner is his name, he acts in arrogant wrath” (Proverbs 21:24). And wrath means nothing other than Gehenna, as it is stated: “That day is a day of wrath” (Zephaniah 1:15). Rabbi Ḥanilai bar Ḥanilai says: Anyone who scoffs causes extermination to be wrought upon the world, as it is stated: “Now therefore do not be scoffers, lest your suffering be made strong; for an extermination wholly determined have I heard from the Lord, t”
- 2 Peter (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 2 Peter 3:3: Knowing this first--from the word of the apostles. shall come--Their very scoffing shall confirm the truth of the prediction. scoffers--The oldest manuscripts and Vulgate add, "(scoffers) in (that is, 'with') scoffing." As Rev 14:2, "harping with harps." walking after their own lusts-- (Pe2 2:10; Jde 1:16, Jde 1:18). Their own pleasure is their sole law, unrestrained by reverence for God.”