What is guile in the Bible?

Answer

Guile is craftiness, deceit, or cunning. The term is primarily used in the King James Version and other older translations of the Bible. Derived from the root word guile, we have the adjective beguiling, which means “charming in a deceptive manner.”

Various Hebrew words in the Old Testament are translated as “guile.” Each of them signifies “deceit, treachery, and dishonesty,” as seen in Psalm 32:2, which states, “Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile” (KJV). In the New Testament, guile is mentioned in John 1:47, where Jesus describes Nathanael as “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” (KJV), and in 1 Peter 3:10, which advises, “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile” (KJV).

Jacob serves as an illustration of a man who practiced guile (Genesis 25). His very name is a Hebrew expression for “deceiver.” Jacob employed guile to deceive his brother, Esau, out of his birthright (Genesis 25:29-34). He also used guile to deceive his elderly father into blessing him, the second-born, instead of the firstborn (Genesis 27). Jacob himself experienced deceit as well. His father-in-law turned out to be as deceitful as Jacob (Genesis 29:16-30). While guile may help achieve immediate desires, God does not endorse it, and often individuals become victims of their own deceit.

In the Bible, the term guile always carries a negative connotation. There is no positive aspect to guile. “The serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty” «But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. », (2 Corinthians 11:3, KJV). God is truthful, and He requires His human creations to be truthful as well (Leviticus 19:11; Ephesians 4:25). Jesus “did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth” «who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: », (1 Peter 2:22). All forms of dishonesty, deception, and evil cunning are soundly condemned throughout Scripture (see Proverbs 6:16-17). When Jesus said of Nathanael that he had “no guile,” He was giving Nathanael a high compliment. May it be said of each of us that we are also without guile.