Foundations of Wisdom: What Does Simple Mean in the Bible?

Father,
Let us be positively simple, that is, open to You, as we go through this word study. Help us to not be open to anything else as we study this concept today. Give us heaven-sense, not common sense now. We look to You, we fix our eyes on You, now. Give us understanding and humility to genuinely seek You and heed You, rather than just doing whatever we may “feel”. In Jesus’s name,
Amen

So, what word is used in Hebrew (since we are primarily looking at the Old Testament wisdom literature in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes) that we usually see as “simple” in most of our English translations? The word in question is pethi, and it has a range of meanings from “open” to “open-minded” to “lacking understanding”. So is the default state of human beings described, depending on the context around the word. When I told my wife that I would be talking about the word “simple”, she assumed that I meant “the opposite of complex”, along the lines of Ockham’s Razor, or the principle of parsimony, the removal of unnecessary things or thoughts from one’s life. That is not what this devotion is about. This is not Proverbs meets Marie Kondo. This devotion is about the word “pethi”. Pethi is based on the verbal root, Patah, which means “to open”. As I said earlier, the connotation is “open” for pethi. Is it a good, neutral, or bad kind of openness in view? Well that depends on the context. That is like the difference between simply lacking knowledge through no fault of your own, versus being willfully ignorant, going out of your way to avoid information or knowledge of a certain kind. One can be simple in a good sense, that being that you are open to being instructed, open to mentoring. Think about Star Wars: A New Hope, where Obi Wan is just starting to teach Luke about the Force, and he encourages him to clear his mind and be open to all that was around him, rather than being tied to his 5 senses. Luke was searching for something larger, but could have been shaped in a number of different ways, because he was simple, or just plain “open”. He took up with Obi Wan because he seemed wise. In that, he was more on the positive end, but ultimately neutral. One can also be simple in a neutral sense, that you lack knowledge, but are open to it in general. On the other hand, one can be simple in a very negative sense, where you purposely avoid gaining wisdom. That last one is the second step on the path to becoming a fool. In Star Wars, these are the ones who take in with the Dark Side, who are, at least at first, taught to be controlled by their emotions (fear, anger, hate, lust, envy, etc), because those can be powerful things that make you think that you are free, however, it leads nowhere in the end. Taking the wise path will get you to power, but you will be free to wield it, rather than being wielded by it. Taking the path toward wisdom is harder, but will lead you where you really want to be, in the end.
We all start out neutrally simple, or just “open” (see Proverbs 1:22, 32). Our environment and our own choices can slant us in one direction or the other, whether towards wisdom, through being open to mentoring (Proverbs 9:4), or towards folly (Proverbs 14:15), by being set against “prudent”.
As I said earlier, it can be used in 3 different ways. I guess it is kind of complex to be simple in the Bible, isn’t it? Don’t be perplexed by the term pethi, though. All you have to do in areas of your life where you are simple is to choose to start down the path toward wisdom. Is that an easy path? No. Can it suck? Absolutely, in the short term, but the ultimate end is far better than for those who choose the path of folly.
Next week, the plan is to talk about the different words for “fool” in Proverbs, then tie them to familiar figures and examples of those who would fit in each category. We will also see what aspects of foolishness each of us may have, and we all do, for there are none who are perfectly wise, in this world. Everybody has weak spots and blind spots, and that is why we need one another in loving community. For “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).
As an aside, if you aren’t already watching my memesplanation shorts, I am now crafting them to fit in with my Sunday devotions, to tug at some of the themes I present in the devotions, so you should watch them and be blessed.