Proverbs (Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 22 | WBC)

Top Highlights

“Human judgment is fallible, despite good intentions. It is the Lord who sees straight, and evaluates human motives. Even those who fear the Lord need to be reminded of the possibility of self-deception. Their judgment is necessarily subjective; the Lord’s is objective.” (Page 120)

“But personified Wisdom is to be seen as another authoritative voice, and in fact more than a voice; she is a persona who is to be loved, one who loves those who love her (8:17).” (Page 11)

“The fear of the Lord (יראת יהוה) is a concept that is central to the biblical wisdom literature, and especially to the book of Proverbs. Its position within the book calls attention to the idea: it is the motto at the beginning, 1:7, and this unites with 9:10 to form a frame for the collection in chaps. 1–9. A further frame for the entire book is the connection between 1:7 and 31:30. But the idea did not suddenly appear with this book or with wisdom literature. In one form or another fear of the Lord/God permeates the entire Bible. It must be seen in its biblical context if one is to understand it more clearly and especially its place within wisdom. It seems undeniable that fear of God is rooted in a basic attitude of mortal beings before the Numen.” (Pages 254–255)

“Most important is the emphasis on wisdom as a gift of God. This is somewhat paradoxical. On the one hand, the teacher speaks as if everything depends upon the listening and obedience of the youth. On the other hand, wisdom is a divine gift. Her origin is described as from the mouth (see Note 6.a.) of the Lord, an anticipation of Sir 24:3; cf. Prov 8:22–24. As things develop, it will be seen that there is divine mystery lurking behind the security and the certainty of wisdom teaching. One must strive for the goal, but also realize that wisdom remains a divine gift. Ultimately we have a picture of the acquisition of wisdom by means of human industry and divine aid and generosity.” (Pages 15–16)