Churl
Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897) · International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)
THE DICTIONARY — Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)
in Isaiah 32:5 (R.V. marg., “crafty”), means a deceiver. In 1 Samuel 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 Matthew 25:24, and there is rendered “hard.”
THE FULL ARTICLE — from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), general editor James Orr — public domain, printed whole.
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.
John Richard Sampey