What does subtil mean in the bible?

Answer 1

Subtil is simply an older version of the word subtle, which of course means:

1. (esp. of a change or distinction) So delicate or precise as to be difficult to analyze or describe.

2. (of a mixture or effect) Delicately complex and understated.

Answer 2

"Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field..." (Gen.3:1).

(NIV): "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals...".

(Literal Bible w/Strong's Definitions): "And the snake was clever more than any animal of the field...".

"clever" ('aruwm'; aw-room'): "...cunning (usually in a bad sense): KJV--crafty, prudent, subtil." (Strong's Definitions)

Addendum to above AnswerThe above Answer is strictly correct, but as other versions also translate "subtil" as "shrewd" [NET], "cunning" [NKJV] as well, it means there can be no exact English equivalent of the original Hebrew word, and that the English translation is therefore a synomyn of all these translated words which mean the same thing.

Perhaps the the best synomyn for "subtil" is the modern word "subtle", which the

'Collins English Dictionary" defines as:

"1.not immediately obvious or comphrehensible.

2. difficult to detect or analyze...

6. cunning or wily: for example, a subtle rogue "

I believe these definitions and the example used explain the meaning of what the writer meant by "subtil".