Abstract

This white paper explores the biblical command to “avoid every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22) through a biblicist lens, tracing the semantic, theological, and practical meanings of “wickedness” and “evil” in both Hebrew and Greek. It analyzes the original Hebrew concepts underlying moral and covenantal wickedness, compares them with Greek ethical and philosophical uses of ponēros, and evaluates how biblical usage diverged from secular Greek thought. The study concludes with a doctrinal and ethical framework for biblicist avoidance of wickedness in thought, speech, and conduct.

I. The Command to Avoid Wickedness

1. Scriptural Foundation

The central text for this inquiry is:

“Abstain from every form of evil.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:22 (NKJV)

This injunction encapsulates a total moral vigilance that spans physical acts, spiritual corruption, and moral compromise. The word “form” (eidous) suggests both visible manifestations and subtle appearances of evil. Thus, avoidance includes discernment and distance from both deeds and influences contrary to divine law.

II. The Hebrew Foundations of Wickedness

1. Major Hebrew Roots

Hebrew Word

Transliteration

Core Meaning

Scriptural Example

רַע (raʿ)

ra‘

Evil, bad, harmful, morally wrong

Gen. 6:5 – “Every imagination… only evil continually”

רֶשַׁע (reshaʿ)

resha‘

Wickedness, guilt, injustice

Ps. 1:1 – “Nor sits in the seat of the scornful”

אָוֶן (ʾāwen)

aven

Iniquity, vanity, deceit, idolatry

Isa. 1:13 – “Iniquity, even the solemn meeting”

עָוֹן (ʿāwōn)

avon

Guilt, punishment for sin

Ex. 34:7 – “Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin”

2. Theological Layers

Moral Evil (Raʿ): Pertains to the corruption of good order, the reversal of divine intention. Covenantal Evil (Reshaʿ): Violation of divine law and justice. Deceptive Evil (Awen): False worship, idolatry, and spiritual corruption. Consequential Evil (Avon): The guilt and punishment resulting from moral wrongdoing.

Each Hebrew term integrates the relational and covenantal dimensions of wickedness—evil is not merely bad behavior; it is rebellion against God’s character and law.

III. Greek Concepts of Wickedness in the Bible

1. Key Greek Terms

Greek Word

Transliteration

Core Meaning

Scriptural Example

πονηρός (ponēros)

ponēros

Evil, wicked, morally corrupt, harmful

Matt. 6:13 – “Deliver us from the evil one”

κακός (kakos)

kakos

Bad, harmful, worthless

Rom. 12:9 – “Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good”

φαῦλος (phaulos)

phaulos

Base, trivial, morally insignificant

John 5:29 – “Those who have done evil…”

ἀδικία (adikia)

adikia

Injustice, unrighteousness

1 John 1:9 – “Cleanse us from all unrighteousness”

2. Distinctions in Usage

Ponēros describes evil as active corruption—a person or thing that causes moral harm (used for Satan: “the evil one”). Kakos implies deficiency—a lack of moral goodness. Adikia focuses on injustice or lawlessness—wrongdoing in a covenantal or legal sense. Phaulos represents petty or worthless conduct—not necessarily malicious, but contrary to divine purpose.

3. Lexical Note: Ponēros in Koine Greek

Outside Scripture, ponēros often meant “toilsome,” “diseased,” or “corrupting.” In secular Greek literature:

Aristotle used ponēros to describe a morally inferior man who acts against reason and virtue. Plato viewed ponēria as the disordering of the soul. Hellenistic ethics sometimes linked ponēros to idleness or parasitism—those who live off others’ labor.

In contrast, the New Testament sharpened the word into a moral and spiritual category: a state of active opposition to divine holiness.

IV. The Semantic Bridge: Septuagint Parallels

The Septuagint (LXX)—the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible—serves as a vital linguistic bridge.

Hebrew Term

Typical LXX Translation

Example

רַע (raʿ)

πονηρός (ponēros)

Gen. 2:9 – “Tree of the knowledge of good and evil”

רֶשַׁע (reshaʿ)

ἀνομία (anomia), ἀδικία (adikia)

Ps. 1:5 – “The wicked shall not stand in the judgment”

אָוֶן (ʾāwen)

ματαιότης (mataiotēs)

Hos. 10:8 – “High places of Aven”

עָוֹן (ʿāwōn)

ἁμαρτία (hamartia), ἀνομία (anomia)

Ex. 34:7 – “Forgiving iniquity and transgression”

This translation choice shows how Jewish translators mapped their covenantal moral terms into the Greek moral lexicon. Ponēros became the default rendering for “evil,” preserving both moral and relational implications.

V. Biblical Theology of Avoidance

1. Evil as Contagion

In Scripture, wickedness spreads by imitation and tolerance (Psalm 1, Proverbs 4:14–15). Avoidance (apechesthai, 1 Thess. 5:22) thus demands moral quarantine—a conscious separation from what defiles (2 Cor. 6:17).

2. Evil as Appearance and Essence

Paul’s phrase “every form (eidos) of evil” includes both substance and semblance—believers must flee not only sinful acts but also compromising semblances (cf. 2 Tim. 2:22).

3. Evil as Active Opposition

Evil is not neutral; it corrupts and opposes God’s work. Thus, “abstaining” (apechesthai) implies continual refusal—an ongoing moral discipline, not a one-time decision.

VI. Practical Biblicist Application

1. Discernment and Testing

Biblicism requires testing all things by Scripture (1 Thess. 5:21). Moral discernment precedes moral abstinence; one cannot avoid what one cannot recognize.

2. Covenant Separation

As in the Torah, the righteous are called to be a distinct people (Lev. 20:26; 2 Cor. 6:17). Avoidance of wickedness thus reinforces holiness and covenant identity.

3. Active Goodness

Avoidance is not passive withdrawal but replacement of evil with good (Rom. 12:21). Biblicism interprets “abstaining” as part of sanctification—actively imitating divine goodness.

VII. Comparative Ethical Reflections

Source

View of Wickedness

Means of Avoidance

Hebrew Scripture

Rebellion against God’s covenant

Obedience and separation

Greek Philosophy

Disorder of the soul

Reason and virtue

New Testament

Active spiritual corruption

Spiritual vigilance, holiness, testing of spirits

Whereas Greek ethics emphasized balance and rational control, biblical ethics grounded morality in covenantal loyalty and divine holiness. Thus, the biblicist approach unites inner purity with external obedience.

VIII. Conclusion

Avoiding every form of wickedness, in biblicist theology, requires a totalizing sanctification that unites thought, word, and deed under divine law. Both Hebrew and Greek frameworks reveal that “evil” is not merely the absence of good but the active perversion of God’s created order.

From the Torah’s warnings against idolatry to Paul’s exhortation to the Thessalonians, the consistent biblical thread is separation from corruption and imitation of divine holiness. In both linguistic and theological terms, the believer’s moral task is one of perpetual discernment, vigilance, and faithfulness—to see wickedness as God sees it and to shun even its shadow.

Appendix A: Lexical Chart of Key Terms

Language

Term

Transliteration

Root Meaning

Semantic Field

Hebrew

רַע

raʿ

Evil, calamity

Moral, physical, relational

Hebrew

רֶשַׁע

reshaʿ

Wickedness, injustice

Legal, ethical

Hebrew

אָוֶן

ʾāwen

Vanity, deceit

Idolatry, hypocrisy

Hebrew

עָוֹן

ʿāwōn

Guilt, iniquity

Sin and consequence

Greek

πονηρός

ponēros

Evil, corrupting

Active moral evil

Greek

κακός

kakos

Bad, deficient

Passive evil

Greek

φαῦλος

phaulos

Worthless, trivial

Petty immorality

Greek

ἀδικία

adikia

Injustice

Legal/covenantal violation

Appendix B: Recommended Biblicist Principles of Avoidance

Test all things by Scripture before accepting them (1 Thess. 5:21). Reject all appearances of corruption, not just overt sin. Separate from unrighteous partnerships that compromise holiness. Renew the mind daily through the Word to resist conformity (Rom. 12:2). Replace evil with good, not merely abstain. Watch and pray for spiritual vigilance (Matt. 26:41).