5530. sakal
Lexical Summary
sakal: To be prudent, to act wisely, to prosper, to have success

Original Word: סָכָל
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: cakal
Pronunciation: sah-kal'
Phonetic Spelling: (saw-kawl')
KJV: fool(-ish), sottish
NASB: fool, foolish, stupid
Word Origin: [from H5528 (סָכַל - acted foolishly)]

1. silly

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
foolish, sottish

From cakal; silly -- fool(-ish), sottish.

see HEBREW cakal

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from sakal
Definition
a fool
NASB Translation
fool (5), foolish (1), stupid (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
סָכָל noun masculine fool (on formation compare LagBN 48): — Jeremiah 5:21; Ecclesiastes 2:19; Ecclesiastes 7:17; Ecclesiastes 10:3 (twice in verse); Ecclesiastes 10:14; plural adjective סְכָלִים Jeremiah 4:22.

Topical Lexicon
Definition and Scope

The Hebrew noun סָכָל denotes a person characterized by moral and spiritual folly rather than mere intellectual deficiency. It exposes an inner defect that resists the fear of the Lord, resulting in reckless behavior, distorted judgment, and eventual ruin.

Occurrences in Scripture

Ecclesiastes 2:19; Ecclesiastes 7:17; Ecclesiastes 10:3 (twice); Ecclesiastes 10:14; Jeremiah 4:22; Jeremiah 5:21.

Ecclesiastes: Folly in Life’s Pursuits

Ecclesiastes 2:19 voices Solomon’s angst that all his labor could fall to “a man who has not worked for it—yet he will have control over everything I have labored for and achieved.” The “fool” here threatens the permanence of wise enterprise, underscoring the fleeting value of earthly achievements unmoored from eternal wisdom.
Ecclesiastes 7:17 warns, “Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool; why should you die before your time?” Folly accelerates self-destruction, linking moral waywardness with premature judgment.
Ecclesiastes 10:3 pictures folly as conspicuous: “Even as the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking, and he shows everyone that he is a fool.” In verse 14 the fool’s loquacity adds to the indictment: “A fool multiplies words, though no one knows what is coming.” Together these texts portray סָכָל as public, audible, and ultimately empty.

Jeremiah: National Folly and Impending Judgment

Jeremiah 4:22: “For My people are foolish; they have not known Me. They are senseless children… skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.” The prophet applies סָכָל to covenant people whose practiced sin eclipses covenant knowledge, provoking the coming Babylonian siege.
Jeremiah 5:21: “Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.” Folly manifests as spiritual deafness and blindness, echoing Deuteronomy 29:4 and anticipating Isaiah’s motif of hardened hearts.

Theological Themes

1. Folly as Rebellion: סָכָל is not ignorance but defiant unbelief that rejects divine revelation (Psalm 14:1 uses a cognate idea).
2. Visibility of Folly: Both writers stress that folly cannot be hidden (Ecclesiastes 10:3); it eventually surfaces in speech and conduct (Ecclesiastes 10:14).
3. Consequences: Personal ruin (Ecclesiastes 7:17) and national catastrophe (Jeremiah 4–5) trace directly to persistent folly.
4. Wisdom’s Antithesis: By contrasting סָכָל with חָכְמָה (wisdom), Scripture elevates the fear of the Lord as the only antidote (Proverbs 1:7).

Historical Setting

Ecclesiastes reflects the late-life reflections of Solomon (tenth century B.C.), a monarch wrestling with the futility of achievements detached from God. Jeremiah prophesied in the final decades of Judah (late seventh to early sixth century B.C.), addressing a populace hardened by idolatry and political intrigue. In both epochs, folly threatened the covenant community’s future.

Related Hebrew Terms

• כְּסִיל — the dull, obstinate fool (Proverbs 26:3).
• אֱוִיל — the arrogant, quarrelsome fool (Proverbs 12:15).
• נָבָל — the morally perverse fool (Psalm 14:1).

While overlapping, סָכָל uniquely stresses careless, senseless conduct that publicly betrays a heart estranged from God.

Ministry Implications

• Preaching: Expose cultural and personal folly that trivializes sin and dismisses divine authority.
• Discipleship: Cultivate habits of wisdom—listening, humility, measured speech—to counteract the traits cataloged in Ecclesiastes 10.
• Leadership Succession: Ecclesiastes 2:19 warns churches and ministries to entrust labor to those shaped by wisdom, lest hard-won gains be squandered by folly.

Canonical Trajectory and Christological Fulfillment

The Old Testament’s critique of folly finds its resolution in Jesus Christ, “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). At the cross, what the world deems foolish becomes the ultimate wisdom, reversing the verdict against God’s people and offering redemption to every repentant fool. Believers, therefore, are summoned to “walk circumspectly, not as the foolish but as the wise, redeeming the time” (Ephesians 5:15-16), embodying the opposite of סָכָל in a watching world.

Forms and Transliterations
וְהַסָּכָ֖ל והסכל כְּשֶׁסָּכָ֥ל כשסכל סְכָלִים֙ סָכָ֑ל סָכָ֔ל סָכָ֖ל סָכָ֥ל סכל סכלים kə·šes·sā·ḵāl kəšessāḵāl keshessaChal sā·ḵāl saChal sāḵāl sə·ḵā·lîm sechaLim səḵālîm vehassaChal wə·has·sā·ḵāl wəhassāḵāl
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Englishman's Concordance
Ecclesiastes 2:19
HEB: יִהְיֶה֙ א֣וֹ סָכָ֔ל וְיִשְׁלַט֙ בְּכָל־
NAS: or a fool? Yet he will have control over
KJV: whether he shall be a wise [man] or a fool? yet shall he have rule
INT: become or foolish over all

Ecclesiastes 7:17
HEB: וְאַל־ תְּהִ֣י סָכָ֑ל לָ֥מָּה תָמ֖וּת
NAS: wicked and do not be a fool. Why
KJV: wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die
INT: nay not be a fool Why die

Ecclesiastes 10:3
HEB: [כְּשֶׁהַסָּכָל כ] (כְּשֶׁסָּכָ֥ל ק) הֹלֵ֖ךְ
NAS: when the fool walks
KJV: [him], and he saith to every one [that] he [is] a fool.
INT: Even the road the fool walks his sense

Ecclesiastes 10:3
HEB: וְאָמַ֥ר לַכֹּ֖ל סָכָ֥ל הֽוּא׃
NAS: to everyone [that] he is a fool.
KJV: Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh
INT: demonstrates to everyone the fool he

Ecclesiastes 10:14
HEB: וְהַסָּכָ֖ל יַרְבֶּ֣ה דְבָרִ֑ים
NAS: Yet the fool multiplies words.
KJV: A fool also is full of words:
INT: the fool multiplies words

Jeremiah 4:22
HEB: יָדָ֔עוּ בָּנִ֤ים סְכָלִים֙ הֵ֔מָּה וְלֹ֥א
NAS: They know Me not; They are stupid children
KJV: they have not known me; they [are] sottish children,
INT: know children are stupid like no

Jeremiah 5:21
HEB: זֹ֔את עַ֥ם סָכָ֖ל וְאֵ֣ין לֵ֑ב
NAS: this, O foolish and senseless
KJV: Hear now this, O foolish people,
INT: likewise people foolish and without understanding

7 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 5530
7 Occurrences


kə·šes·sā·ḵāl — 1 Occ.
sā·ḵāl — 4 Occ.
sə·ḵā·lîm — 1 Occ.
wə·has·sā·ḵāl — 1 Occ.

5529
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