The Usages of the Word "Evil" In Scripture

by Melvin Blalock

1988 PSN

29 Jan 2019X

Evil and its consequences are very familiar to all of us. We have seen its consequences in our present world and we have read often of the tragedy of evil as recorded in the sacred text. In this study we will be dealing with it primarily from the basis of Scripture. We cannot hope to deal with every Scripture where the word is found, but we will endeavor to deal with many of those that are germane to our study. In the first part of the study we will view the word in the Old Testament setting. It will be our purpose to define the word and classify it in its various uses. We will study verses dealing with moral evil and natural evil. This will necessarily lead to the discussion of punishment evil which is an important part of this study.

The defmition of the word "evil" as it is used in the Old Testament is important to consider. Lawerence 0. Richards in his Expository Dictionary of Bible Words, page 251, offers the following definitions and observations.

A single family of Hebrew words focuses on the Old Testament concept of evil. Ra'a' is the verb, which means "to do evil, or bad," or more often, "to act wickedly, to do harm." The masculine noun ra' means "evil or bad." The feminine noun ra'ah means "evil, misery, or “distress" and includes every kind of calamity and wickedness. Other words in the family are roa, "badness, evil;" resa, "wickedness, evil;" and rasa, "wicked, criminal.

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance provides an interesting definition of the verb form of this word. Quoting from Strong's Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, page 110, (7489) we find the following: "Ra'a (raw-ah), a prim. r(x)t; prop. to spoil (lit. by breaking to pieces)." It is easy for us to relate to this definition for we know that evil is a destructive force in our world.

In explaining the Ra word group Lawerence 0. Richards writes,

“These words are used throughout the Old Testament. They focus on two aspects of evil. Morally, they identify actions that violate God's intentions for human beings. The words are also used to describe the consequences of doing evil; the tragedy, distress, and physical and emotional harm that come as a result of wrong moral choices are, like the choices themselves, labeled evil.”

Moral Evil

When we speak of moral choices, it brings to our attention one class of evil that we are to deal with. Moral evil is ever present with humanity. Moral evil is defined by Edward P. Meyers in his book, The Problem of Evil and Suffering, (p. 15), "Moral evil includes all those frustrations of human values which are perpetrated. not by natural elements of the universe, but by the free agency of man himself." Mr. Meyers is telling us that because of our free moral agency we have the possibility of being morally evil or morally good. It is within our will to choose good or evil.

When we think of the word "evil," it is probably moral evil that first comes to our minds. We usually equate evil with sin. Mr. Richards writes,

“In the Old Testament, there is no hint of the modem notion that good and evil are simply matters of personal preference; that is, that something can be good for me but evil for you. Instead of relativism, the Old Testament observes that "there is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death" (Proverbs 14:12). Only God is capable of making truly moral judgments. Thus the Old Testament defines wrong actions as that which is evil "in the eyes of the Lord." It is God's evaluation of good and evil that the Old Testament calls you and me to deal with.”

Let us observe some Scriptures where the word "evil" is used. The Hebrew word for evil in these verses is ra meaning "bad or evil." Observe the following Scriptures: "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5); "And God saw that the wickedness [ra'] of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5); "And the Lord's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the Lord, was consumed" (Numbers 32:13); "When thou shalt beget children, and children's children and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to provoke him to anger" (Deuteronomy 4:25).

Because God is the moral measure of all things an objective revelation of morality is essential. Thus Moses completes his review of the Old Testament law with these words: "See I have set before you today life and prosperity (tob, "good"), death and destruction” (Deuterony 30:15), (ra' — "destruction") God's Word communicates all we need in order to develop a moral sen-sitivity enabling us to know what is good and evil (Richards).

It is evident from these Scriptures as well as a host of others that moral evil is the result of our free moral agency. Man has been granted the privilege of choosing good or evil. Some have questioned why God created us with the ability to do evil. God did not create a robot or machine when he created man, but He created an intelligent being with the ability to make choices. God would not be glorified by man if man did not possess the will to serve Him or not serve Him. The choice to do evil or not do evil lies with us. Deuteronomy 30:19 says "I call heaven and earth to record against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live."

In reference to moral evil Richards writes, "What is moral evil? Moral evil is that which God regards as wrong. God, the Creator and Judge, has the right and obligation to make this determination. We creatures have the obligation to understand His standards—and choose them."

The Consequences of Evil

In thinking of the different ways that the word "evil" is used, we need to consider the tragic consequences of evil. Evil things often happen to men because of evil decisions. All of the bad in this world is either directly or indirectly related to evil in some way. The innocent are often affected by the evil of others. We continue to suffer the effect of Adam and Eve's sin even today. In Genesis 3:16-19, 24 we read,

“Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy and sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children: and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And to Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree which I com-manded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns and thistles shall it being forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. . . So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

Romans 6:12 reads "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." While it can be emphatically stated that we do not inherit original sin, we surely did inherit the evil consequences of Adam's sin.

Natural Evil In the Old Testament

As we discuss the consequences of evil, our attention is focused upon natural evil and punishment evil. All the bad things in this world are related in some way to evil. We should not conclude that every bad thing that happens to us is the result of some evil that we have committed. We continue to reap the consequences of Adam's sin. The sins of others adversely affect us. We live in a world where we are socially connected with one another. Innocent people are often victims of crime perpetrated by the evil doer.

Natural evil may be defined as follows:

“Natural evil includes all the frustrations of human values which are perpetrated, not by the free agency of man, but by natural elements in the universe. These would include such things as hurricanes, tornadoes, wind storms, hail storms, disease, and birth defects. Any event that happens within nature itself and causes destruction on man is referred to as a natural evil” (Edward P. Meyers).

Punishment Evil In the Old Testament

In the Old Testament not only do we see natural evil come upon man, but we see many examples of punishment evil as well. This brings us to the second major meaning of "evil" as it is recorded in the Old Testament.

Mr. Richards writes, "This second major meaning of ra', "evil," in the Old Testament is expressed in the NIV and NASB. In such words as "harm," "distress," "disaster," "troubles," and a number of similar terms."

Perhaps a few examples are in order to show how this word is used. We will read the following Scriptures from the NIV: "But Lot said to them, 'No my Lords, please! Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can't flee to the moun-tains; this disaster [will will overtake me, and I'll die. . ." (Genesis 19:18-19); "When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles [ra' "evil"] that had had come upon him they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him" (Job 2:11);

"Therefore the curse and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us great disaster [ra']" (Daniel 9:11-12).

The list of Scripture references where ra' means harm, distress, disaster, and troubles is almost endless in the Old Testament. However we particularly want to notice some examples of "punishment evil." The following Scriptures are examples of "punishment evil."

Deuteronomy 7:15 "And the Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.

Deuteronomy 31:29 "For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands."

Joshua 23:15-16 "Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the Lord your God hath given you. When ye have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, Which he com-manded you, and have gone and served other Gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you."

Deuteronomy 32:23-24 "I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them. They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust."

Judges 2:14-15 "And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of their enemies round about,so that they could not any longer stand before them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed."

In light of the above Scriptures it is evident that God brought evil upon man in the form of punishment. Lawerence 0. Richards states,

“Although the Old Testament does not explore theoretical ques-tions, it does make clear statements about God's involvement with evil . . . In regard to choices that are morally evil, the Old Testament agrees with Elihu's evaluation: "Far be if from God to do evil" (Job. 34:10). Habakkuk goes so far as to say, "Your eyes are to pure to look on evil" (Habakkuk 1:13). God does not condone or participate in evil and certainly is "not a God who takes pleasure in evil" (Psalm 5:4). Instead, the Old Testament reports God's commitment "I will punish the world for its evil" (Isaiah 13:11) . . . While the Old Testament rejects the notion that God is responsible for moral evil, it strongly affirms that the Lord is involved in supervising the consequences that result after evil is chosen. A number of passages indicate that God will accept responsibility for many consequent evils that trouble us. For example, "I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster [evil]; I, the Lord, do all these things" (Isaiah 45:7). Again, "I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you" (Jeremiah 18:11). "When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it?" (Amos 3:6).”

John Haley in his book, Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible on page 77, offers this observation: "When Pompeii is buried by the volcano, Jerusalem destroyed by war, London depopulated by the plague, Lisbon overthrown by an earthquake, Chicago devastated by fire; it is God who sends these evils or calamities."

Regarding Isaiah 45:7, Jeremiah 18:11, and Amos 3:6; Richards observes,

Such statements reveal a basic aspect of the Old Testament concept of God. God is the measure of what is morally right, and He is responsible for the consequences of doing evil.

The divine responsibility for consequences may be direct, as when God intervened in Egypt at the time of the Exodus. But normally God's responsibility is indirect, worked out through natural consequences. In our morally ordered universe there are moral laws, even as there are natural laws. Any violation of the moral laws as well as of the natural laws brings in-evitable consequences.

But whether consequences that come from doing evil are direct or indirect, the Old Testament is confident that God, who defines the good and the evil, acts righteously. He is right to bring on us those evils that come as a result of our violation of His moral order.

Evil and the Providence of God

Another aspect of evil should be mentioned in connection with its use in the Old Testament. 

“Through God's overruling providence man may be required to suffer evil in order to accomplish God's purpose. Joseph is a good example. Notice Genesis 45:5-8 and Genesis 50:20:

Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing or harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all Egypt. . . But as for you, ye thought evil against me; But God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”

God in his providence has at times used evil individuals or kingdoms to punish with evil. Observe the Scripture in Isaiah 10:5-7:

“0 Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither cloth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.”

Now that we have given a good deal of attention to the subject of "evil" in the Old Testament, let us observe "evil" as it is revealed in the New Testament We will define the term; give the categories of evil and again consider the subject of punishment Richards states:

“Two word groups are used in the New Testament to express the idea of evil. Although the two (kakos and poneros, with their derivatives) are synonyms, they have different shades of meaning. Kakos represents evil in a negative way. It is a lack of those qualities that make a person or thing what it should be. Thus kakos looks at evil from the perspective of the nature of a thing. Poneros is a stronger concept. It represents evil as an active force. Poneros takes pleasure in injuring others and is both dangerous and destructive. This word looks at evil from the perspective of its effects” (p. 253). Each of these Greek words is used with equal frequency to render the Old Testament ra' in the Septuagint

The Use of "kakos" In the New Testament

The first group of words that we will deal with is kakos. Richards writes,

“The words in this group are variously translated to represent the full range of Biblical concepts associated with evil. However, one passage in Romans is theologically definitive in explaining the kakos done by human beings who know what is good and who want to do it.

Romans 7:7-25 contains Paul's report of his personal struggle with sin. In this passage he links the law of God, expressed in commandments, with 'another law [principle] at work in the members of. . . [His] body' (v. 23). Paul sees in Scripture the divine revelation of righteousness and agrees that God's will is both right and beautiful. But when Paul tries to do what this revelation unveils, he discovers that he cannot. "I know that nothing good lives in me that is, in my sinful nature" is the apostle's agonized confession (v. 18). Thus he says, "What I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil [kakos] I do not want to do this I keep on doing. . . When I want to do good, evil [kakos] is right there with me" (vv. 19, 21).

This is Paul's explanation of the moral gap that exists between what human beings recognize as good and what they actually do. The problem is that sin has warped human nature: "kakos is right there with me." There is a flaw within us that keeps us from being what we should be and what we want to be.

In considering kakos, we will look at it as it is employed in the New Testament. Kakia, (the noun) is translated "evil, or wickedness" and in the NIV often "malice." It is used eleven times in the New Testament. Some examples are as follow: "Take no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil (NIV-trouble) thereof” (Matthew 6:34). "Repent therefore of this they wickedness [kakia], and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee" (Acts 8:22). "Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice [kakia] be ye children, but in understanding be men" (1 Corin-thians 14:20). "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice [kakia]" (Ephesians 4:31).

Kakoo (the verb) means "to do harm or evil" and it is found in such Scriptures as Acts 7:6, "And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage and entreat them evil [kakoo] four hundred years." The NIV reads, "mistreated four hundred years." "And about that time Herod, the king stretched forth his hands to vex [kakoo] “certain of the church" (Acts 12:1). "For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt [kakoo] thee: for I have much people in this city" (Acts 18:10).

Kakos, is the adverb form of this word. Quoting W. E. Vine's Greek Expository Dictionary the word kakos, "May be rendered, badly or evilly." He explains that it is used in the physical sense, to be sick, e.g. Matthew 4:24, “And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him sick [kakos] people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic and those that had the palsy; and he healed them” . . . In Matthew 21:41 this adverb is used with the adjective, “He will miserably destroy those miserable men,” more lit., “He will evilly destroy those men (evil as they are),” with stress on the adjective."

Richards states, "Finally, kakos itself is variously translated: 'evil,' wicked,"crime,"bad things,' harm,' and 'ill effects.' A key passage is Romans 13:3-10. Human government has been structured by God to restrain the harm and ill effects that would result were persons free to express the evil that warps human character."

The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 13:3-4 "For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil [kakos]. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil Ikakos] be afraid: for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil [kakos]."

The Use of "poneros" In the New Testament

“Words in this group are variously translated: 'evil,' bad,' 'wicked,' and 'wickedness.' But this Greek term is stronger and more active than (kakos). The difference is illustrated in the fact that poneros is chosen to describe the character of Satan. . . poneros portrays active rebellion against God. . . The rebelliousness of (poneros) calls the natural man to turn against God and against good. But the beauty of God's own goodness is still glimpsed in his fallen creations . . . The two primary words used in this family are poneria translated 'evil' and 'wickedness,' and poneros. Poneria appears only seven times in the New Testament” (Richards).

The word poneria is translated "evil," "wicked," or "iniquity." "But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?" (Matthew 22:18). "Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities" (Acts 3:26). "Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetous-ness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers." (Romans 1:29). This is three of the seven times this word is used in the New Testament. We can see that it is stronger than kakos. "Kakos stands for whatever is evil in character, base, in distinction (Wherever the distinction is observable) from poneros . . . akin to ponos, labour, toil, denotes evil that cause labor, pain, sorrow, malignant evil" (W. E. Vine).

One should remember that the word poneros is an active force and rebel-lious, which leads the natural man to turn against God. This word is used frequently in the New Testament. The following Scriptures are examples: "But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also" (Martthew 5:39). "But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness!" (Matthew 6:33). "But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd [poneros] fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason and sought to bring him out to the people" (Acts. 17:5).

Richards notes: "The New Testament always uses poneros to represent the active malevolence of Satan's personality. As a leader of the 'spiritual forces of evil' that are ranged against God and His saints” (Ephesians 6:12), “Satan is the chief 'evil spirit."

Natural Evil In the New Testament

Thus far we have been discussing moral evil as it is dealt with in the New Testament. Now let us focus on the subject of natural evil. There will always be natural evil in the experience of man while on the earth. There are noteworthy examples of natural evil in the New Testament The Greek word kakos is sometimes used in the physical sense to denote sickness and disease. We readily understand these to be natural evils. W. E. Vine points to these examples: (Matthew 6:24) "And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick [kakos] people that were taken with divers diseases and torments." (Mark 1:32) "And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, [kakos] and them that were possessed with devils."

There are other references to natural evil in the New Testament. Jesus said, "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil [trouble] thereof” (Matthew 6:34). Jesus warned of impending woes in Matthew 24:7, "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places."

Punishment Evil In the New Testament

We have observed in the Old Testament that God at times used natural evil to punish the evil doer. Does God punish in this manner during the New Testament dispensation? There is no doubt that these evils are present with us because sin is in the world, but does He punish in this fashion today? Sometimes a person will ask, "Am I suffering this illness because of some sin in my life?" We may indeed suffer a physical affliction because of some abuse of our bodies such as smoking or the consumption of alcohol, but it does not follow that every disease is a direct punishment for sin. Jesus dispelled that idea with His disciples long ago as is recorded in John 9:1-3. "And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned or his parents, but that the works or God should be manifest in him."

We should be hard pressed to prove that a disease or a natural disaster was visited upon an individual or a group because of some personal sin, but we are sure that men suffer certain penalties as a result of their rejection of God. Man is said to be given over to a reprobate mind as a consequence of his sin in Romans 1:28. He suffers the hardness of heart due to unbelief (Hebrews 3:13). He is blinded spiritually (John 12:40) and he is sent a strong delusion that he may believe a lie if he does not have a love for the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12). These are the natural outgrowth of sinful and rebellious hearts, but divine retribution for evil is reserved for the day of judgment.

“And thinkest thou this, 0 man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day or wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds.”

It is apparent that evil does come upon Christians as a trial of their faith and as a source of chastisement to refine them. (Hebrews 12:5) "And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him." "Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor, and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:6-7).

While we are called upon to suffer natural evil in this life and experience the trying of our faith it should be remembered that God never tempts us to commit moral evil. James made that clear in James 1:13-14, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil [kakos], neither tempteth he any man."

Conclusion

In this study we have defined the word "evil" and observed the various usages of the word in both the Old Testament and the New Testament We have shown that evil belongs in two primary classifications, moral and natural. We have discussed punishment, evil and God's providence. From the Scriptures it is evident that God is not responsible for moral evil, but that He is involved with the consequences of evil. We have observed that natural evil is in the world because of moral evil and that all men suffer natural evil. 

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References

Expository Dictionary of Bible Words, by Lawrence 0. Richards, Zonder-van Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, p. 251-255.

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance on the Bible, Macdonald Publishing Co., McLead, Virginia, (Hebrew Dictionary).

Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, W. E. Vine.

The Problem of Evil and Suffering by Edward P. Myers, Howard Book House, West Monroe, La.

The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. XIV, Macdonald Publishing Co., McLean, Virginia, (The Book of Amos).

Alleged Discrepancies of The Bible by John W. Haley, Gospel Advocate Company, Nashville, Tenn