Matthew C. Mitchell's Blog, page 107
November 19, 2014
"Well, I Think..."
"A fool finds no pleasure in understandingbut delights in airing his own opinions."
- Proverbs 18:2 (NIV 1984)
November 18, 2014
The Gossip Mask of Shame
My kids found this in one of the books they're reading for school.The caption says, "A German 'mask of shame' worn by women found guilty of gossiping."
Ouch.
A few questions and thoughts about this mask:
1. Where is the corresponding mask for men found gossiping?
2. What kind of gossip qualified a lady for this costume? Slanderous? Idle? Malicious? Careless?
3. I'm sure this was effective at curtailing the outward behavior, for a time, for certain folks. But it probably pushed the gossip into even more sneaky modes because it doesn't really get at the core problem.
4. The worst part of this approach, I think, is that it's not redemptive. There is no place to go with the shame. Thankfully, followers of Christ have a safe place to run.
November 17, 2014
Evil Listening
Our series towards a biblical definition of gossip moves on from the Hebrew words most often translated "gossip" to other phenomenon in the Old Testament we call "gossip" even when a technical term is not used. Today's post is about the first of four important and related concepts, along with exposition of key texts.
No Taste for Truth
Evil Listening. We encountered the importance of listening in Proverbs 18:8 and 26:22.The words of a gossiping person are very attractive to a listener but very harmful. Now we learn something more. The book of Proverbs warns not just of evil speech but of evil listening. For example, Proverbs 17:4 states, “A wicked man listens to evil lips; a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.” Popular paraphrases see gossip in this verse. The NLT renders it, “Wrongdoers eagerly listen to gossip; / liars pay close attention to slander.” The Message has “Evil people relish malicious conversation; the ears of liars itch for dirty gossip.”39
The important thing to grasp is that Proverbs 17:4 is saying that a certain kind of listening to evil speech is just as evil as saying it. Waltke summarizes, “The synonymous parallelism of v.4 underscores the startling truth that the one who listens to lies is himself a liar. . . . How one uses his lips and tongue is inseparably connected to that which he inclines his ears. Both the liar and his willing audience have no taste for truth.”40 Kidner adds, “Evil words die without a welcome; and the welcome gives us away.”41
Consequences for Evil Listening
The rest of the Old Testament bears this out. Listening is vitally important, and if we listen to the wrong people or in the wrong way, there will be disastrous consequences. Adam “listened” to his wife, and it resulted in the curse (Gen 3:17). Proverbs 29:12 says, “If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials become wicked.” Evil listening is contagious. Proverbs 25:26 says, “Like a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked.” A compromise in listening will sully your soul.
Notes
[39] Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: New Testament With Psalms and Proverbs (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1995), 900.
[40] Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005), 41.
[41] Derek Kidner, Proverbs, TOTC 15 (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1971), 123.
Previous Posts in "Toward a Definition of Gossip"
New Blog Series: Toward a Definition of Gossip
Gossip in the Old Testament
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Rakil"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Nirgan"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Lashon Seter"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Libo Yiqebbats Aven Lo Yetse Lahuts Yedabber"
No Taste for Truth
Evil Listening. We encountered the importance of listening in Proverbs 18:8 and 26:22.The words of a gossiping person are very attractive to a listener but very harmful. Now we learn something more. The book of Proverbs warns not just of evil speech but of evil listening. For example, Proverbs 17:4 states, “A wicked man listens to evil lips; a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.” Popular paraphrases see gossip in this verse. The NLT renders it, “Wrongdoers eagerly listen to gossip; / liars pay close attention to slander.” The Message has “Evil people relish malicious conversation; the ears of liars itch for dirty gossip.”39
The important thing to grasp is that Proverbs 17:4 is saying that a certain kind of listening to evil speech is just as evil as saying it. Waltke summarizes, “The synonymous parallelism of v.4 underscores the startling truth that the one who listens to lies is himself a liar. . . . How one uses his lips and tongue is inseparably connected to that which he inclines his ears. Both the liar and his willing audience have no taste for truth.”40 Kidner adds, “Evil words die without a welcome; and the welcome gives us away.”41
Consequences for Evil Listening
The rest of the Old Testament bears this out. Listening is vitally important, and if we listen to the wrong people or in the wrong way, there will be disastrous consequences. Adam “listened” to his wife, and it resulted in the curse (Gen 3:17). Proverbs 29:12 says, “If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials become wicked.” Evil listening is contagious. Proverbs 25:26 says, “Like a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked.” A compromise in listening will sully your soul.
Notes
[39] Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: New Testament With Psalms and Proverbs (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1995), 900.
[40] Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005), 41.
[41] Derek Kidner, Proverbs, TOTC 15 (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1971), 123.
Previous Posts in "Toward a Definition of Gossip"
New Blog Series: Toward a Definition of Gossip
Gossip in the Old Testament
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Rakil"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Nirgan"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Lashon Seter"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Libo Yiqebbats Aven Lo Yetse Lahuts Yedabber"
November 16, 2014
November 15, 2014
November 14, 2014
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Libo Yiqebbats Aven Lo Yetse Lahuts Yedabber"
Our series continues towards a biblical definition of gossip, starting with a tour of the Old Testament and the Hebrew words most often translated "gossip."
Gathering Gossip and Spreading It
Libo Yiqebbats Aven Lo Yetse Lahuts Yedabber. “Gathering Gossip and Spreading It.” Psalm 41 is a plaintive song about experiencing the pain of gossip. King David seems to have experienced a debilitating illness, and some of his associates, instead of encouraging and supporting him, eagerly look for his downfall. “My enemies say of me in malice, ‘When will he die and his name perish?’” (Ps 41:5).
In verse 6 (verse 7 in Hebrew), David describes his enemies’ treacherous actions, “Whenever one comes to see me, he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander; then he goes out and spreads it abroad.” The NLT reads, “They visit as if they are my friends, but all the while they gather gossip, and when they leave, they spread it everywhere.” The Hebrew for the gathering and spreading action of David’s two-faced enemies could be woodenly translated, “to their hearts they gather trouble/iniquity/wickedness/sorrow and going out from me they speak it.” Gossip, here, is gathering negative information about someone and then sharing it indiscriminately with others. Eugene Peterson’s The Message puts it into lively language, “If someone comes to see me, he mouths empty platitudes, / All the while gathering gossip about me to entertain the street-corner crowd.”37
Imagining the Worst and Publishing It
David has gotten word of what they are saying about him. “All my enemies whisper38 together against me; they imagine the worst for me, saying, ‘A vile disease has beset him; he will never get up from the place where he lies’” (Ps 41:7-8). Gossip does not come from love, but from hate. It imagines the worst for its subject and publishes it abroad.
Gossip is treachery. David laments, “Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me” (Ps 41:9). This prefigured the betrayal of great David’s greater Son, the Lord Jesus (John 13:18-30).
The answer to this kind of gossip is faith in the LORD. “But you, O LORD, have mercy on me; raise me up, that I may repay them. I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me. In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever. Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen” (Ps 41:10-13).
Notes
[37] Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: New Testament With Psalms and Proverbs (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1995), 708.
[38] This is a different Hebrew word for “whisper” than what we have seen already, but the effect is the same.
Previous Posts in "Toward a Definition of Gossip"
New Blog Series: Toward a Definition of Gossip
Gossip in the Old Testament
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Rakil"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Nirgan"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Lashon Seter"
Gathering Gossip and Spreading It
Libo Yiqebbats Aven Lo Yetse Lahuts Yedabber. “Gathering Gossip and Spreading It.” Psalm 41 is a plaintive song about experiencing the pain of gossip. King David seems to have experienced a debilitating illness, and some of his associates, instead of encouraging and supporting him, eagerly look for his downfall. “My enemies say of me in malice, ‘When will he die and his name perish?’” (Ps 41:5).
In verse 6 (verse 7 in Hebrew), David describes his enemies’ treacherous actions, “Whenever one comes to see me, he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander; then he goes out and spreads it abroad.” The NLT reads, “They visit as if they are my friends, but all the while they gather gossip, and when they leave, they spread it everywhere.” The Hebrew for the gathering and spreading action of David’s two-faced enemies could be woodenly translated, “to their hearts they gather trouble/iniquity/wickedness/sorrow and going out from me they speak it.” Gossip, here, is gathering negative information about someone and then sharing it indiscriminately with others. Eugene Peterson’s The Message puts it into lively language, “If someone comes to see me, he mouths empty platitudes, / All the while gathering gossip about me to entertain the street-corner crowd.”37
Imagining the Worst and Publishing It
David has gotten word of what they are saying about him. “All my enemies whisper38 together against me; they imagine the worst for me, saying, ‘A vile disease has beset him; he will never get up from the place where he lies’” (Ps 41:7-8). Gossip does not come from love, but from hate. It imagines the worst for its subject and publishes it abroad.
Gossip is treachery. David laments, “Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me” (Ps 41:9). This prefigured the betrayal of great David’s greater Son, the Lord Jesus (John 13:18-30).
The answer to this kind of gossip is faith in the LORD. “But you, O LORD, have mercy on me; raise me up, that I may repay them. I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me. In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever. Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen” (Ps 41:10-13).
Notes
[37] Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: New Testament With Psalms and Proverbs (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1995), 708.
[38] This is a different Hebrew word for “whisper” than what we have seen already, but the effect is the same.
Previous Posts in "Toward a Definition of Gossip"
New Blog Series: Toward a Definition of Gossip
Gossip in the Old Testament
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Rakil"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Nirgan"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Lashon Seter"
November 13, 2014
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Lashon Seter"
We are working towards a biblical definition of gossip, starting with a tour of the Old Testament and the Hebrew words most often translated "gossip." First was
rakil
, the spy. Second was
nirgan
, the grumbling whisperer.
A Tongue of Secrecy
Lashon Seter. Modern paraphrases use the English word “gossip” in a few places where neither rakil nor nirgan is present. Proverbs 25:23 says, “As a north wind brings rain, so a sly tongue brings angry looks.” The NLT glosses, “As surely as a wind from the north brings rain, so a gossiping tongue causes anger!” The Message offers, “A north wind brings stormy weather, / and a gossipy tongue stormy looks.”30 The Hebrew phrase is: lashon seter. Lashon means “tongue.”31 Seter means “covering, hiding-place, secrecy.”32 Put together, they refer to “a tongue of secrecy.” The offending speech is hidden, sly, furtive, stealthy.
Waltke suggests that the rest of the proverb emphasizes this secretive, and therefore unexpected, aspect. He argues that, in Israel, the north wind generally did not bring rain. “The point of comparison is precisely that rain from a north wind is hidden and so unexpected. Hidden slander, like rain from a north wind, brings unexpected damage.”33 Further, Waltke says, “Secret speech by nature is malevolent; were it otherwise, why hide it? The damaging effects of the secret speech/curse, which is written all over the face of the victim, assumes that its unsuspecting target suddenly ‘gets wind’ of its circulation.”34
Rid the Kingdom of The Sly Tongues
The phrase lashon seter appears also in Psalm 101 where David vows to exclude unrighteous people from his household, city, and kingdom. He says, “Men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil. Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret,35 him will I put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, him will I not endure” (Ps 101:4-5).
King David’s plan is to rid his administration of malicious gossipers. Charles Spurgeon writes, “He had known so bitterly the miseries caused by slanderers that he intended to deal severely with such vipers when he came into power, not to revenge his own ills, but to prevent others from suffering as he had done.”36
The word lashon is used as a verb again in Proverbs 30:10 but without the slyness of seter, “Do not slander [lashon] a servant to his master, or he will curse you, and you will pay for it.” It is not clear if this is gossip in the clandestine sense, but it does demonstrate again the power of the tongue and its evil effects. Malicious speech upsets the order of things and has inevitable injurious consequences.
Notes
30 Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: New Testament With Psalms and Proverbs (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1995), 923.
31 BDB 546.
32 BDB 712.
33 Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005), 333.
34 Ibid.
35 Lashon is used here as a verb, more literally, “he that secretly tongues his neighbor.”
36 Charles H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: An Expository and Devotional Commentary on the Psalms (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978), 5:406.
Previous Posts in "Toward a Definition of Gossip"
New Blog Series: Toward a Definition of Gossip
Gossip in the Old Testament
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Rakil"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Nirgan"
A Tongue of Secrecy
Lashon Seter. Modern paraphrases use the English word “gossip” in a few places where neither rakil nor nirgan is present. Proverbs 25:23 says, “As a north wind brings rain, so a sly tongue brings angry looks.” The NLT glosses, “As surely as a wind from the north brings rain, so a gossiping tongue causes anger!” The Message offers, “A north wind brings stormy weather, / and a gossipy tongue stormy looks.”30 The Hebrew phrase is: lashon seter. Lashon means “tongue.”31 Seter means “covering, hiding-place, secrecy.”32 Put together, they refer to “a tongue of secrecy.” The offending speech is hidden, sly, furtive, stealthy.
Waltke suggests that the rest of the proverb emphasizes this secretive, and therefore unexpected, aspect. He argues that, in Israel, the north wind generally did not bring rain. “The point of comparison is precisely that rain from a north wind is hidden and so unexpected. Hidden slander, like rain from a north wind, brings unexpected damage.”33 Further, Waltke says, “Secret speech by nature is malevolent; were it otherwise, why hide it? The damaging effects of the secret speech/curse, which is written all over the face of the victim, assumes that its unsuspecting target suddenly ‘gets wind’ of its circulation.”34
Rid the Kingdom of The Sly Tongues
The phrase lashon seter appears also in Psalm 101 where David vows to exclude unrighteous people from his household, city, and kingdom. He says, “Men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil. Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret,35 him will I put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, him will I not endure” (Ps 101:4-5).
King David’s plan is to rid his administration of malicious gossipers. Charles Spurgeon writes, “He had known so bitterly the miseries caused by slanderers that he intended to deal severely with such vipers when he came into power, not to revenge his own ills, but to prevent others from suffering as he had done.”36
The word lashon is used as a verb again in Proverbs 30:10 but without the slyness of seter, “Do not slander [lashon] a servant to his master, or he will curse you, and you will pay for it.” It is not clear if this is gossip in the clandestine sense, but it does demonstrate again the power of the tongue and its evil effects. Malicious speech upsets the order of things and has inevitable injurious consequences.
Notes
30 Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: New Testament With Psalms and Proverbs (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1995), 923.
31 BDB 546.
32 BDB 712.
33 Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005), 333.
34 Ibid.
35 Lashon is used here as a verb, more literally, “he that secretly tongues his neighbor.”
36 Charles H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: An Expository and Devotional Commentary on the Psalms (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978), 5:406.
Previous Posts in "Toward a Definition of Gossip"
New Blog Series: Toward a Definition of Gossip
Gossip in the Old Testament
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Rakil"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Nirgan"
November 12, 2014
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Nirgan"
We are working towards a biblical definition of gossip, starting with a tour of the Old Testament and the Hebrew words most often translated "gossip." First was
rakil
, the spy.
Whisperer
Nirgan. The second major Hebrew word translated “gossip” in the Old Testament is the niphal participle of ragan, “murmur, complain”12 and “whisper (maliciously), backbite, slander.”13 This root word is one of the words used to describe the evil grumblings of the people of Israel in their tents (Deut 1:27, Ps 106:25). It connotes complaint and criticism. The niphal participle nirgan is used substantively in its four appearances in the Proverbs so that, again, the action of gossip is localized in a person (16:28, 18:8, 26:22, 26:20). A nirgan is a gossip. Gary Smith explains, “It refers to murmuring about another person behind their back rather than openly complaining about their behavior.”14 The KJV uses the translation “whisperer” for nirgan in Proverbs 16:28 and 26:20 and “talebearer” in Proverbs 18:8 and 26:22.15 BDB offers the translation “backbiter.”16 The ESV uses “whisperer” in all four occurrences. “Whisperer” and “backbiter” emphasize the furtive, clandestine nature of this communication. The one being complained about is not present.
Divider
Proverbs 16:28 teaches, “A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip [nirgan] separates close friends.” Gossip disrupts community. Waltke helpfully observes,
The emphasis in Proverbs 16:27-28 is the damage done to relationships. A nirgan “separates close friends.” Proverbs 17:9 describes the same wrongdoing, “He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” While the word nirgan does not appear, the harm effected is described in the exact same words. The parallelism suggests that the matter being repeated is an offense committed by a fellow community member. Sinful gossip is about someone’s shameful actions being repeated. Proverbs 17:9 suggests an opposite course of action: covering over an offense in love. Waltke describes this virtuous action, “The disciple restores a community threatened by wrong-doing by drawing a veil over another’s sin to win his friendship and by not repeating his failure to avoid alienation.”19 The Lord hates it when someone “stirs up dissension” among his people (Prov 6:16-19, cf. Prov 10:12, 15:18, 28:25, 29:22 and Ps 133 for a beautiful picture of dissension’s antithesis).
"A Delectable Contagion" Dispenser
Proverbs 18:8 and 26:22 are exactly the same, word for word:20“The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts.” Older translators thought that the word translated “choice morsels” in the NIV was from the Hebrew word halam for “smite, hammer, strike down”;21 thus the KJV has, “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.” Though this translation makes sense of the destructive power of gossip, it is more likely that the word in question is the hithpael plural participle of laham: “things swallowed greedily,” “savory morsels,” “choice morsels,” or “delicious morsels.”22
While we are still learning about a person who is a nirgan, these two verses are actually about the words of the gossip. They are very attractive. Waltke summarizes them as “a delectable contagion.”23 Even though they are bad for you, these words are difficult to resist.
Fools eagerly devour the words of a gossip, and they have a deleterious effect on the listener, “they go down to a man’s inmost parts.” Waltke explains, “‘The innermost being’ represents the deepest and most complete stratum of a person’s psyche. Because slander so thoroughly penetrates a person’s thoughts and emotions, it remains indelibly imprinted and effective. Since gossip is so highly contagious because the human heart has no resistance to it, the wise quarantine it by not repeating it.”24 Some rich foods may make us sick to our stomachs, but gossip makes us sick in the heart. It defiles and poisons and corrupts.25
Remove the Nirgan
The nirgan appears, as well, in Proverbs 26:20, “Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.”26It is not clear from the NIV that the nirgan is a kind of person. The ESV is more literal, “For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.” Kidner comments, “It is the whisperer or quarreler himself, not (as he would claim) the truth, that feeds the fires; for his mind refashions facts into fuel.”27
The force of this proverb is communicated by painting a picture of peace. If the gossip is removed, the quarrel dies down like a fire burning out. Waltke says, “Without a person seeking to secure his will by attacking the rights of another, even the most bitter conflicts and old hurts calm down.”28 The key is to remove the gossiper. Charles Bridges urges, “We must remove the whisperer; stop him in his words; compel him to produce his authority; face him, if possible, with the subject of his tales. This decisive course will prevent a mass of slander and put him to shame.”29 Whether we run from the rakil or we remove the nirgan, peace is served when gossip is gone (Prov 22:10).
Notes
12 Gary V. Smith, “8087” NIDOTTE, 3:1053.
13 BDB 920.
14 Gary V. Smith, “8087” NIDOTTE, 3:1053.
15 This inconsistency in translation seems to have confused a number of commentators who when writing on Proverbs 18:8 and 26:22 seem to have assumed rakil as the underlying term.
16 BDB 920.
17 Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005), 33.
18 Richard S. Hess, “4125” NIDOTTE, 2:713-16.
19 Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005), 49-50.
20 This is not unusual in the Proverbs. While teaching the exact same truth, their unique placements flavor their respective contexts in different ways.
21 BDB 240.
22 Robert H. O’Connell, “4269” NIDOTTE, 2:766-67; P.J.J.S. Els, “4260” NIDOTTE, 2:760; Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005), 74; Derek Kidner, Proverbs, TOTC 15 (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1971), 128. It must be noted, however, that the translators of the Septuagint assumed that it was “wounds,” as well.
23 Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005), 73.
24 Ibid., 74.
25 For an enlightening (if not encouraging) survey of the sinfulness of sin and its nefarious effects, see Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1995).
26 Proverbs 26:20 and 26:22 both include nirgan. The second half of chapter 26 contains many proverbs that pertain to speech.
27 Derek Kidner, Proverbs, TOTC 15 (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1971), 164.
28 Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005), 360.
29 Charles Bridges and George F. Santa, A Modern Study in the Book of Proverbs: Charles Bridges’ Classic Revised for Today’s Reader (Millford: Mott Media, 1978), 587.
Previous Posts in "Toward a Definition of Gossip"
New Blog Series: Toward a Definition of Gossip
Gossip in the Old Testament
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Rakil"
Whisperer
Nirgan. The second major Hebrew word translated “gossip” in the Old Testament is the niphal participle of ragan, “murmur, complain”12 and “whisper (maliciously), backbite, slander.”13 This root word is one of the words used to describe the evil grumblings of the people of Israel in their tents (Deut 1:27, Ps 106:25). It connotes complaint and criticism. The niphal participle nirgan is used substantively in its four appearances in the Proverbs so that, again, the action of gossip is localized in a person (16:28, 18:8, 26:22, 26:20). A nirgan is a gossip. Gary Smith explains, “It refers to murmuring about another person behind their back rather than openly complaining about their behavior.”14 The KJV uses the translation “whisperer” for nirgan in Proverbs 16:28 and 26:20 and “talebearer” in Proverbs 18:8 and 26:22.15 BDB offers the translation “backbiter.”16 The ESV uses “whisperer” in all four occurrences. “Whisperer” and “backbiter” emphasize the furtive, clandestine nature of this communication. The one being complained about is not present.
Divider
Proverbs 16:28 teaches, “A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip [nirgan] separates close friends.” Gossip disrupts community. Waltke helpfully observes,
This synthetic proverb adds two more to the catalogue of malicious speakers: the perverse person and the perfidious slanderer. The former, who turns the moral order on its head, sets the whole community at loggerheads; the latter, who sullies another’s reputation behind his back, alienates his closest friend from himself and from others. Both types distort reality to put others in the worst light (cf. 6:19). The talebearer, however, escalates the social damage in that by sowing suspicion and promoting hostilities he looses the closest ties.17Grasping the near context for Proverbs 16:28 may be important. The preceding verse says, “A scoundrel plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire” (Prov 16:27). The word for “plot,” (koreh), literally means “to dig.”18 The New American Standard Bible (NASB) translates, “A worthless man digs up evil, / While his words are as a scorching fire” (see also the KJV). The New Living Translation (NLT) renders it, “Scoundrels hunt for scandal; their words are a destructive blaze.” The nirgan may be on the hunt for damaging information to pass along, and when he gets it, the burning of reputations will begin (cf. Jas 3:5-6).
The emphasis in Proverbs 16:27-28 is the damage done to relationships. A nirgan “separates close friends.” Proverbs 17:9 describes the same wrongdoing, “He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” While the word nirgan does not appear, the harm effected is described in the exact same words. The parallelism suggests that the matter being repeated is an offense committed by a fellow community member. Sinful gossip is about someone’s shameful actions being repeated. Proverbs 17:9 suggests an opposite course of action: covering over an offense in love. Waltke describes this virtuous action, “The disciple restores a community threatened by wrong-doing by drawing a veil over another’s sin to win his friendship and by not repeating his failure to avoid alienation.”19 The Lord hates it when someone “stirs up dissension” among his people (Prov 6:16-19, cf. Prov 10:12, 15:18, 28:25, 29:22 and Ps 133 for a beautiful picture of dissension’s antithesis).
"A Delectable Contagion" Dispenser
Proverbs 18:8 and 26:22 are exactly the same, word for word:20“The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts.” Older translators thought that the word translated “choice morsels” in the NIV was from the Hebrew word halam for “smite, hammer, strike down”;21 thus the KJV has, “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.” Though this translation makes sense of the destructive power of gossip, it is more likely that the word in question is the hithpael plural participle of laham: “things swallowed greedily,” “savory morsels,” “choice morsels,” or “delicious morsels.”22
While we are still learning about a person who is a nirgan, these two verses are actually about the words of the gossip. They are very attractive. Waltke summarizes them as “a delectable contagion.”23 Even though they are bad for you, these words are difficult to resist.
Fools eagerly devour the words of a gossip, and they have a deleterious effect on the listener, “they go down to a man’s inmost parts.” Waltke explains, “‘The innermost being’ represents the deepest and most complete stratum of a person’s psyche. Because slander so thoroughly penetrates a person’s thoughts and emotions, it remains indelibly imprinted and effective. Since gossip is so highly contagious because the human heart has no resistance to it, the wise quarantine it by not repeating it.”24 Some rich foods may make us sick to our stomachs, but gossip makes us sick in the heart. It defiles and poisons and corrupts.25
Remove the Nirgan
The nirgan appears, as well, in Proverbs 26:20, “Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.”26It is not clear from the NIV that the nirgan is a kind of person. The ESV is more literal, “For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.” Kidner comments, “It is the whisperer or quarreler himself, not (as he would claim) the truth, that feeds the fires; for his mind refashions facts into fuel.”27
The force of this proverb is communicated by painting a picture of peace. If the gossip is removed, the quarrel dies down like a fire burning out. Waltke says, “Without a person seeking to secure his will by attacking the rights of another, even the most bitter conflicts and old hurts calm down.”28 The key is to remove the gossiper. Charles Bridges urges, “We must remove the whisperer; stop him in his words; compel him to produce his authority; face him, if possible, with the subject of his tales. This decisive course will prevent a mass of slander and put him to shame.”29 Whether we run from the rakil or we remove the nirgan, peace is served when gossip is gone (Prov 22:10).
Notes
12 Gary V. Smith, “8087” NIDOTTE, 3:1053.
13 BDB 920.
14 Gary V. Smith, “8087” NIDOTTE, 3:1053.
15 This inconsistency in translation seems to have confused a number of commentators who when writing on Proverbs 18:8 and 26:22 seem to have assumed rakil as the underlying term.
16 BDB 920.
17 Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005), 33.
18 Richard S. Hess, “4125” NIDOTTE, 2:713-16.
19 Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005), 49-50.
20 This is not unusual in the Proverbs. While teaching the exact same truth, their unique placements flavor their respective contexts in different ways.
21 BDB 240.
22 Robert H. O’Connell, “4269” NIDOTTE, 2:766-67; P.J.J.S. Els, “4260” NIDOTTE, 2:760; Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005), 74; Derek Kidner, Proverbs, TOTC 15 (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1971), 128. It must be noted, however, that the translators of the Septuagint assumed that it was “wounds,” as well.
23 Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005), 73.
24 Ibid., 74.
25 For an enlightening (if not encouraging) survey of the sinfulness of sin and its nefarious effects, see Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1995).
26 Proverbs 26:20 and 26:22 both include nirgan. The second half of chapter 26 contains many proverbs that pertain to speech.
27 Derek Kidner, Proverbs, TOTC 15 (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1971), 164.
28 Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005), 360.
29 Charles Bridges and George F. Santa, A Modern Study in the Book of Proverbs: Charles Bridges’ Classic Revised for Today’s Reader (Millford: Mott Media, 1978), 587.
Previous Posts in "Toward a Definition of Gossip"
New Blog Series: Toward a Definition of Gossip
Gossip in the Old Testament
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Rakil"
November 11, 2014
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Rakil"
We are working towards a biblical definition of gossip, starting with a tour of the Old Testament and the Hebrew words most often translated "gossip."
The Spy
Rakil and Ragal. The first word is (rakil) which Robert O’Connell defines as “peddler, huckster, hawker, deceiver, slanderer, defamer (?)”1 The origin of this word is uncertain, though it likely comes from a verb form (rakal), which probably means “go about, from one to another (for trade or gossip).”2 Scholars also connect it with the similar word (ragal) “to go about” or “make traveled, explored, spied out, exposed, defamed.”3 Rakil is used six times in the Old Testament, five times in conjunction with the verb (halak) which also has travel connotations. O’Connell says this “may allude to the reputation of the rakil as a deceptive door-to-door peddler/hawker.”4 It seems that this person has something to trade, perhaps secrets. BDB defines rakil as “tale-bearer, informer,” the King James Version (KJV) consistently translates it “talebearer,” and the English Standard Version (ESV) consistently translates it “whoever goes about slandering.”
Revealing Secrets
When the rakil appears in the Proverbs, he is revealing secrets. The first occurrence is Proverbs 11:13, “A gossip [rakil] betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.” Keeping a confidence is not a matter of indifference. Revealing a secret is not innocent and harmless. Derek Kidner writes of rakil, “Other Old Testament references to the talebearer (apart from the indeterminate 20:19) portray him as malicious rather than indiscreet; he is an informer, out to hurt.”5 Of Proverbs 11:13, Bruce Waltke points out, “The antithesis between the verses is imprecise, suggesting that the slanderer is disloyal and that the loyal do not slander. A person who reveals secrets cannot be trusted.”6
Forbidden
The warning in Proverbs is not novel. God had already forbidden being a rakil. In Leviticus 19, a chapter about harmonious and loving relationships among the people of God, the LORD commands, “Do not go about spreading slander [rakil] among your people. Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD” (Lev 19:16). The KJV translates, “Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.”7 R. K. Harrison says, “People who spread malicious gossip come under the condemnation of this legislation, as do those who stand by idly or indifferently, not wishing to become involved when the life . . . of a neighbour is in danger. These straightforward humanitarian provisions were by no means always observed in Near Eastern society, or even among the Israelites.”8
Indeed. In fact, Israel often transgressed this command, and it led (among their other sins) to their judgment and exile. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel use rakil in their denunciations of the thorough wickedness of Israel (Jer 6:28, 9:4, Ezek 22:9). Gossip, in the sense of rakil, is clearly not neutral. It is evil.
A Failure to Love
Conversely, to refuse to live like a rakil is to be commended. In Psalm 15, David asks what kind of person can live with a holy God and answers his question with a series of virtuous qualities to which true worshipers should aspire. In his list, David uses the verb form ragal, “He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman” (Ps 15:2-3). The KJV says, “He that backbiteth not with his tongue.” Kidner adds, “The word for slander has a background of ‘going around’, to spy things out or spread them abroad. . . . It seems nearer scandal than slander.”9 The ideal Israelite lives out the Law’s requirement to love his neighbor and will be rewarded. He will live with God in his temple and “never be shaken” (Ps 15:5).
Not so the rakil. He should be avoided at all costs. Proverbs 20:19 teaches, “A gossip [rakil] betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much.” Kidner concisely quips, “The point of the first line is that it may be your secrets next.”10 Proverbs 20:19 is similar to 11:13 in that the rakil is revealing secrets, but where 11:13 exhibited antithetical parallelism so that the gossip is compared to a trustworthy man, 20:19 exhibits synonymous parallelism–the rakil is like a man who talks too much, a chatterer, “one who handles words in a careless, not thoughtful and unguarded way. . . . Although gossiping may be compulsive and careless, not a malicious calumny, idle speech springs from the immoral flaw of unfaithfulness. . . . The gossip lacks wisdom because he lacks love.”11
Next: nirgan.
Notes
1 Robert H. O’Connell, “8215,” NIDOTTE, 3:1114-15. The question mark is in the original.
2 BDB 940.
3 Robert H. O’Connell, “8215,” NIDOTTE, 3:1114. See also BDB 920 and 940.
4 Robert H. O’Connell, “8215,” NIDOTTE, 3:1114-15.
5 Derek Kidner, Proverbs, TOTC 15 (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1971), 91.
6 Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 1-15, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004), 494.
7 This subsection of Leviticus ends with “Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD” (Lev 19:18). Refraining from being a rakil is neighbor-love which the Lord Jesus told us is part of the greatest commandment in the Law (Matt 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-33, and Luke 10:25-37).
8 R. K. Harrison, Leviticus: An Introduction and Commentary, TOTC 3 (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1980), 198.
9 Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72: An Introduction and Commentary, TOTC 14a (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1973), 81.
10 Derek Kidner, Proverbs, TOTC 15 (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1971), 139.
11 Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005), 148. For more about revealing confidences, see Proverbs 25:9-10, “If you argue your case with a neighbor, do not betray another man’s confidence, or he who hears it may shame you and you will never lose your bad reputation.” It is more important to keep faith with someone than to win your case in court.
Previous Posts in "Toward a Definition of Gossip"
New Blog Series: Toward a Definition of Gossip
Gossip in the Old Testament
The Spy
Rakil and Ragal. The first word is (rakil) which Robert O’Connell defines as “peddler, huckster, hawker, deceiver, slanderer, defamer (?)”1 The origin of this word is uncertain, though it likely comes from a verb form (rakal), which probably means “go about, from one to another (for trade or gossip).”2 Scholars also connect it with the similar word (ragal) “to go about” or “make traveled, explored, spied out, exposed, defamed.”3 Rakil is used six times in the Old Testament, five times in conjunction with the verb (halak) which also has travel connotations. O’Connell says this “may allude to the reputation of the rakil as a deceptive door-to-door peddler/hawker.”4 It seems that this person has something to trade, perhaps secrets. BDB defines rakil as “tale-bearer, informer,” the King James Version (KJV) consistently translates it “talebearer,” and the English Standard Version (ESV) consistently translates it “whoever goes about slandering.”
Revealing Secrets
When the rakil appears in the Proverbs, he is revealing secrets. The first occurrence is Proverbs 11:13, “A gossip [rakil] betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.” Keeping a confidence is not a matter of indifference. Revealing a secret is not innocent and harmless. Derek Kidner writes of rakil, “Other Old Testament references to the talebearer (apart from the indeterminate 20:19) portray him as malicious rather than indiscreet; he is an informer, out to hurt.”5 Of Proverbs 11:13, Bruce Waltke points out, “The antithesis between the verses is imprecise, suggesting that the slanderer is disloyal and that the loyal do not slander. A person who reveals secrets cannot be trusted.”6
Forbidden
The warning in Proverbs is not novel. God had already forbidden being a rakil. In Leviticus 19, a chapter about harmonious and loving relationships among the people of God, the LORD commands, “Do not go about spreading slander [rakil] among your people. Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD” (Lev 19:16). The KJV translates, “Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.”7 R. K. Harrison says, “People who spread malicious gossip come under the condemnation of this legislation, as do those who stand by idly or indifferently, not wishing to become involved when the life . . . of a neighbour is in danger. These straightforward humanitarian provisions were by no means always observed in Near Eastern society, or even among the Israelites.”8
Indeed. In fact, Israel often transgressed this command, and it led (among their other sins) to their judgment and exile. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel use rakil in their denunciations of the thorough wickedness of Israel (Jer 6:28, 9:4, Ezek 22:9). Gossip, in the sense of rakil, is clearly not neutral. It is evil.
A Failure to Love
Conversely, to refuse to live like a rakil is to be commended. In Psalm 15, David asks what kind of person can live with a holy God and answers his question with a series of virtuous qualities to which true worshipers should aspire. In his list, David uses the verb form ragal, “He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman” (Ps 15:2-3). The KJV says, “He that backbiteth not with his tongue.” Kidner adds, “The word for slander has a background of ‘going around’, to spy things out or spread them abroad. . . . It seems nearer scandal than slander.”9 The ideal Israelite lives out the Law’s requirement to love his neighbor and will be rewarded. He will live with God in his temple and “never be shaken” (Ps 15:5).
Not so the rakil. He should be avoided at all costs. Proverbs 20:19 teaches, “A gossip [rakil] betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much.” Kidner concisely quips, “The point of the first line is that it may be your secrets next.”10 Proverbs 20:19 is similar to 11:13 in that the rakil is revealing secrets, but where 11:13 exhibited antithetical parallelism so that the gossip is compared to a trustworthy man, 20:19 exhibits synonymous parallelism–the rakil is like a man who talks too much, a chatterer, “one who handles words in a careless, not thoughtful and unguarded way. . . . Although gossiping may be compulsive and careless, not a malicious calumny, idle speech springs from the immoral flaw of unfaithfulness. . . . The gossip lacks wisdom because he lacks love.”11
Next: nirgan.
Notes
1 Robert H. O’Connell, “8215,” NIDOTTE, 3:1114-15. The question mark is in the original.
2 BDB 940.
3 Robert H. O’Connell, “8215,” NIDOTTE, 3:1114. See also BDB 920 and 940.
4 Robert H. O’Connell, “8215,” NIDOTTE, 3:1114-15.
5 Derek Kidner, Proverbs, TOTC 15 (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1971), 91.
6 Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 1-15, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004), 494.
7 This subsection of Leviticus ends with “Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD” (Lev 19:18). Refraining from being a rakil is neighbor-love which the Lord Jesus told us is part of the greatest commandment in the Law (Matt 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-33, and Luke 10:25-37).
8 R. K. Harrison, Leviticus: An Introduction and Commentary, TOTC 3 (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1980), 198.
9 Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72: An Introduction and Commentary, TOTC 14a (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1973), 81.
10 Derek Kidner, Proverbs, TOTC 15 (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1971), 139.
11 Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005), 148. For more about revealing confidences, see Proverbs 25:9-10, “If you argue your case with a neighbor, do not betray another man’s confidence, or he who hears it may shame you and you will never lose your bad reputation.” It is more important to keep faith with someone than to win your case in court.
Previous Posts in "Toward a Definition of Gossip"
New Blog Series: Toward a Definition of Gossip
Gossip in the Old Testament
November 10, 2014
Deadly Joking
"Like a madman shooting firebrands or deadly arrowsis a man who deceives his neighbor and says, "I was only joking!"
- Proverbs 26:18-19 (NIV 1984)
