Did God Create Evil ?
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Isaiah 45:7 KJV
Evil
. . . what does this word mean to us (human beings) today? What did the word mean hundreds of years ago when translators of our Bibles chose this particular word evil as the English language equivalent for the Hebrew word “rah”, as used in the Hebrew Scriptures? What is God’s position concerning evil?
These question to many are quite simple on the surface. Yet to others, questions arise as to what evil means and where does evil come from. The bottom line for believers in the God of the Bible . . . “Is God the author, or originator, of evil?
Not long ago I understood the answer to these questions to be cut and dry, quite easy to understand. I was wrong in that analysis! I have now come to the opposite conclusion. God has taught me a valuable lesson through the issues connected to evil. Please, do not misunderstand what I am trying to convey to you. I will restate this another way . . . the answer to the questions associated with evil are not cut and dry and they are not easy to understand! They are muddled by changes in the language and questionable translations of ancient Hebrew words.
Important Point
The reason this issue (Is God the author, that is to say, the originator, of evil?) is so important, is that it directly affects our view of God, our understanding of God’s actions towards other beings, our insight into His character, and even our close relationship with Him. These are but a few of the perceptions about God which are potentially altered by a skewed and/or incomplete investigative conclusion.
Consequently, our goal for this investigation into the word evil, will be to ascertain whether the use of this word (as it is understood today) accurately represents the intent of the KJV version translators, and other versions from the same era as well. Please pay attention to the emphasis on the phrase “as it is understood today”. If you misunderstand this point, the intent of this article will improperly shift,
רעה
rah – the Hebrew word translated evil.
Hebrew is the original language most of our Bible was written in. To better understand the meaning of the Hebrew word “rah” (from which the translators rendered as evil) we must address the following questions:
- What is the Hebrew definition of “rah”?
- What does the word evil mean today?
- AND . . . just what did the translated word evil mean some 400 years ago to the translators of the Bible (KJV)
- Has that translated word evil changed in how we use it and what it means from then to now?
1. What is the Hebrew definition of “rah“?
rah is noted as the Strong’s # H7451 – ra‛ râ‛âh rah, raw-aw’ רָעָה רַע
From H7489; bad or (as noun) evil (naturally or morally). This includes the second (feminine) form; as adjective or noun: – adversity, affliction, bad, calamity, + displease (-ure), distress, evil ([-favouredness], man, thing), + exceedingly, X great, grief (-vous), harm, heavy, hurt (-ful), ill (favoured), + mark, mischief, (-vous), misery, naught (-ty), noisome, + not please, sad (-ly), sore, sorrow, trouble, vex, wicked (-ly, -ness, one), worse (-st) wretchedness, wrong. [Including feminine ra’ah; as adjective or noun.] Total KJV occurrences: 664 End of Strong’s Definition.
Please note that “rah” is translated in the KJV Bible in many ways including:
adversity, affliction, bad, calamity, displease, displeasure, distress, evil, exceedingly, great, grief, harm, heavy, hurt, hurtful, ill, ill favoured, mark, mischief, mischievous, misery, naught, naughty, noisome, not please, sad, sadly, sore, sorrow, trouble, vex, wicked, wickedly, wickedness, wicked one, worse, worst, wretchedness, wrong.
What that means is that because this Hebrew word “rah” has such a variety of possible meanings the context of the passage will dictate the intent of the potential choice/choices.
These question to many are quite simple on the surface. Yet to others, questions arise as to what evil means and where does evil come from. The bottom line for believers in the God of the Bible . . . “Is God the author, or originator, of evil?
Not long ago I understood the answer to these questions to be cut and dry, quite easy to understand. I was wrong in that analysis! I have now come to the opposite conclusion. God has taught me a valuable lesson through the issues connected to evil. Please, do not misunderstand what I am trying to convey to you. I will restate this another way . . . the answer to the questions associated with evil are not cut and dry and they are not easy to understand! They are muddled by changes in the language and questionable translations of ancient Hebrew words.