Beguile

To deceive; lead astray.

And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent BEGUILED me, and I did eat. ( Genesis 3:12-13 )

BEGUILE

be-gil':

In 2 Peter 2:14 the King James Version (compare James 1:14) the word deleazo, is translated "beguile," and means particularly to "entice," "catch by bait." Doubtless Peter got this idea from his old business of fishing, baiting the hook to beguile the fish. In Romans 7:11; 16:18; 1 Corinthians 3:18 the word is exapatao, and means "to cheat" or "to thoroughly deceive." The thought is to be so completely deceived as to accept falsehood for the truth, believing it to be the truth. In Colossians 2:4,18 the King James Version; James 1:22 the word is paralogizomai, and means "to miscalculate," "to be imposed upon." It refers particularly to being beguiled by mere probability.

See DECEIT; DELUSION.

Jacob W. Kapp