Dictionaries :: Churl

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Churl:

in Isa 32:5 (R.V. marg., "crafty"), means a deceiver. In 1 Sam. 25:3, the word churlish denotes a man that is coarse and ill-natured, or, as the word literally means, "hard." The same Greek word as used by the LXX. here is found in Mat 25:24, and there is rendered "hard."

International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia

Churl:

churl (kilay or kelay): The Hebrew word occurs only in Isa 32:5,7, in the latter verse in a form slightly modified so as to produce a pleasing assonance with the word immediately following. The word probably means "crafty" or "miserly," both ideas being suitable to the context, though "miserly" accords with the setting in Isa somewhat better.

In 1Sa 25:3 the Hebrew qasheh which means "hard," "severe," "rough," is rendered "churlish." In Saxon, churl, as the name for the lowest order of freemen, came to be used of persons boorish in manner. The rough and ill-mannered Nabal is aptly described as churlish.

Written by John Richard Sampey

King James Dictionary

Churl: A Rude, Fraudulent Person.

The instruments also of the CHURL are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. (Isaiah 32:7)