a people. So are those "made wise" (2 Timothy 3:15 ) who are God's People (Psalms 100:3 ). not strong = very weak. Figure of speech Tapeinosis. So Romans 5:6 (compare Isaiah 40:29 ; Isaiah 45:24 .Job 12:13; Job 12:13 ). prepare = will prepare. Hebrews 10:5 . read more
VI. COLLECTION 6: THE WISDOM OF AGUR CH. 30Chapters 30 and 31 form a distinct section in Proverbs, because neither Solomon (Proverbs 1:1 to Proverbs 22:16; chs. 25-29), nor the unnamed sages (Proverbs 22:17 to Proverbs 24:34), wrote them. Two other wise men, whose names the text records, did. Some expositors speculate that because these men’s discourses occur at the end of the book, the writers probably lived later than the men of Hezekiah. [Note: E.g., Toy, p. 517.] Nevertheless who Agur and... read more
C. Wisdom about life 30:10-33Though his view of and awareness of God are very much behind what Agur said in the rest of this chapter, his counsel deals primarily with practical prudence from this point on. read more
In contrast to the arrogant, here are four examples of humble creatures functioning as God created them to, each remarkably effective and successful. Animals (Proverbs 30:24-28) are sometimes wiser than humans (Proverbs 30:21-23). The small are often more effective than the large. The basic contrast, however, is between humility and arrogance. read more
The Words of AgurThe simplest way of treating the title is to read as follows: ’The words of Agur, son of Yakeh, of Massa.’ Then we may proceed, with RM, ’The man saith, I have wearied myself, O God; I have wearied myself, O God, and am consumed; for I am too stupid to be a man.’ Nothing is known of Agur or Yakeh, and we can only say of these proverbs that they are unlike any that have preceded, and are evidently of later date. The grouping of objects in twos, threes, and fours reminds us of... read more
God's Riddle Proverbs 30:4 'What is His name? and what is His Son's name? Canst thou tell?' It is God Almighty's great conundrum spoken out of eternity into time; it is the riddle propounded by the Supreme Intelligence to the heart and reason of every man born into the world. I. 'Canst thou tell?' The history of humanity is little else than one long wrestle with God's infinite conundrum. And there are noble souls and able thinkers who never guess the riddle here, though who can dare to doubt... read more
CHAPTER 31THE WORDS OF AGURTHE rendering of the first verse of this chapter is very uncertain. Without attempting to discuss the many conjectural emendations, we must briefly indicate the view which is here taken. A slight alteration in the pointing; instead of the Masoretic reading changes the proper name Ithiel into a significant verb; and another slight change gives us another verb in the place of Ucal. To remove the difficulty of the word "oracle," a difficulty which arises from the fact... read more
VI. THE WORDS OF AGUR THE SON OF JAKEH CHAPTER 30 Some hold that Agur is another name for Solomon. This opinion is also upheld by the Talmud, which speaks of six names which belonged to the King: Solomon, Jedidiah, Koheleth, Son of Jakeh, Agur and Lemuel. But this opinion cannot be verified, nor do we know who Agur the son of Jakeh was. The Septuagint and the Vulgate have translated the Hebrew words and formed a sentence out of them. “Agur” means “assembler” and Jakeh has the meaning of... read more
In THE FIVE CHAPTERS now completed are proverbs of Solomon copied out by Hezekiah's servants. The last two chapters show a distinct change in character, both being called "prophecies," and written by two different writers. The number five is plainly characteristic of the book of Proverbs, being the number of man's responsibility and of the government of God; and hence chapter 29, the fifth section of this series, has emphasized this over-ruling government and its results in such a way that it... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Proverbs 30:10-33
The wise sayings of Agur (30:10-33)It is wise not to be hasty in reporting a person for a supposed wrongdoing. Such action could rebound with harm to the talebearer if the person is innocent (10). The arrogant despise those whom they should respect, while considering that they themselves are not only blameless, but superior to their fellows. They are merciless in their treatment of those whom they should rather help (11-14).The expression ‘three things . . . and four’ in the proverbs that... read more