The Hebrew word mavon refers to understanding or discernment β the faculty of perceiving and making sense of what is before one. It is related to the root bin (to understand, discern, perceive), one of the richest wisdom vocabulary roots in the Hebrew Bible.
Wisdom literature in the Hebrew Bible prizes binah (understanding) alongside chokmah (wisdom) and daat (knowledge). Mavon represents the capacity to penetrate through the surface of a matter to its essential truth. Proverbs 21:30 declares that no wisdom or understanding (binah/mavon) can stand against the LORD. In Isaiah 29:14, God promises to destroy the wisdom of the wise and hide the discernment of the discerning β a judgment on self-sufficient human intellect that Paul quotes in 1 Corinthians 1:19. True understanding begins with the fear of the LORD (Proverbs 9:10).