What is…
Froward

also known as: frowardly, frowardness, backsliding

Meaning: turning back to one’s own ways; difficult to deal with: stubbornly disobedient or contrary; going in one’s own willful ways

This comes from the Old English word “fraward” meaning: in a direction leading away from, which comes from Old Norse: fr (from) + ward

The New King James Version translates “frowardly” as “backsliding” (Isaiah 57:17).

Translated from the Hebrew word: showbab (apostate, i.e. idolatrous: backsliding, turn away).

“Froward” appears 21 times in 20 verses in the King James Version. “Frowardly” appears once. “Frowardness” is used 3 times in 3 verses of Proverbs.

Author: Paul S. Taylor.
Article Version: March 13, 2018