Foolery (Hastings' Dictionary)
Sir 22" 'Talk not much with a fool ... and thou shalt never be defiled ^vith his fooleries ' (ou ^7) fioXwO^t {v n^ lvTi.va.yfuf auroD BS, ■flxaTi A ; RV ' thou shalt not be defiled in liis onslaught '). The form in A, ivrlvayiia., is found in Aq. at Is 28' 322, ^nd in Symm. Tbeod. at Is 28- ; neither form elsewhere in Greek. The verb from which the subst. is derived, ivriviaau, is used in LXX, 1 Mac 2^ and 2 Mac 4'" of casting stones, and in 2 Mac 1 1" of charging an enemy.
It is probably with the last passage in mind that RV renders 'onslaught.' Edersheira (Speaker's Com.) prefers the more etymological tr" ' that which he throws out,' but understands that either saliva is meant literally, or that it is used figuratively for foolish words ; Bissell follows Fritzsche and Bunsen, and renders slaver, 'which, of course, is used for low and foolish words.' For the Eng. word, cf. Shaks. Winter's Tale, III. ii.
185 — ' Thy tyranny Together working with tby jealousies, — Fancies too wealt for boys, too green and idle For girls of nine, — O, thiiilt, what they have done, And then run mad, indeed ; stark mad ! for all Thy bygone fooleries were but spices of it.' J. Hastings.
This topic also has an entry in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Both articles offer independent scholarly perspectives.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Foolery
Foolery fool'-er-i: The plural "fooleries" occurs Ecclesiasticus 22:13 King James Version: "Talk not much with a fool .... and thou shalt never be defiled with his fooleries." The Greek word is entinagmos, "a striking or throwing in," "an attack," from entinasso, "to strike into," "cast at," etc. (1 Macc 2:36; 2 Macc 4:41; 11:11). the Revised Version (British and American) renders "Thou shalt not be defiled in his onslaught," margin "defiled: in his onslaught turn." The meaning is most probably "with what he throws out," i.e. his foolish or vile speeches, as if it were slaver. ⇒See a list of verses on FOOL in the Bible. ⇒See the definition of fool in the KJV Dictionary ⇒See also the McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia.
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia