Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• David's cutting off of Saul's hem 24:1-7
  Engedi lay near the Salt Sea's western shore close to its mid-point north to south. Even today it is a refreshing oasis with waterfall, tropical plants, and wild goats. The Hebrew word means "spring of the kid."It may have be...
• David's trust in God 26:21-25
  Saul again confessed that he had sinned, as he had done when he had sacrificed at Gilgal (v. 21; cf. 15:24, 30) and when David had spared his life in the cave (24:17). Nevertheless he seems to have failed again to follow thro...
• Title
  The title of this book in the Hebrew Bible is "The Proverbs of Solomon, the Son of David, King in Israel"(cf. 1:1). The Greek Septuagint called this book "Proverbs of Solomon."The Latin Vulgate named it "The Book of Proverbs....
• Writer
  Proverbs claims to be a compendium of the wise sayings of several different individuals.4Solomon originated some of them (10:1-22:16 and chs. 25-29 definitely, and probably chs. 1-9 as well).5Unnamed wise men (sages) wrote ot...
• Message10
  The Book of Proverbs contains no history. It is purely didactic. It is a book of explicit instruction. Like the other Old Testament wisdom books, Job and Ecclesiastes, it does not contain references to Israel's laws, rituals,...
• Outline
  I. Discourses on wisdom chs. 1-9A. Introduction to the book 1:1-71. The title of the book 1:12. The purpose of the book 1:2-63. The thesis of the book 1:7B. Instruction for young people 1:8-7:271. Warning against consorting w...
• I. DISCOURSES ON WISDOM chs. 1--9
  Verse one introduces both the book as a whole and chapters 1-9 in particular. The Book of Proverbs is a collection of at least five separate groups of proverbs. There are those that Solomon spoke and or wrote (possibly chs. 1...
• 3. The thesis of the book 1:7
  This verse enjoys almost universal recognition as the key statement not only in Proverbs but in all the wisdom literature of the Bible (cf. 9:10; 15:33; Job 28:28; Ps. 111:10; Eccles. 12:13). Some people think of it as the mo...
• III. WISE SAYINGS 22:17--24:34
  A third major section of the Book of Proverbs begins with 22:17. This is clear from several indicators. The proverbs lengthen out again from the typical one verse couplet that characterizes 10:1-26:16 (cf. chs. 1-9). The phra...
• A. Thirty Sayings of the Wise 22:17-24:22
  Many scholars have called attention to the similarities between Proverbs 22:17-24:22, the 30 sayings of the wise, and The Instruction of Amen-em-Ope.157The Instruction of Amen-em-Opeis a piece of Egyptian wisdom literature th...
• The last 20 sayings 23:13-24:22
  23:13-14 The sage again advocated discipline. Beating with a rod is not the only form of discipline advocated in Proverbs. It is simply one form used here as a poetic parallel to discipline (Heb. musar, moral correction). Oth...
• B. Six More Sayings of the Wise 24:23-34
  The first sentence in 24:23 indicates that what follows was not part of the collection of 30 sayings that preceded. Other wise men (lit. sages) evidently provided these proverbs.24:23-25 This saying advocates justice and stra...
• V. TWO DISCOURSES BY OTHER WISE MEN chs. 30--31
  Chapters 30 and 31 form a distinct section in Proverbs because neither Solomon (1:1-22:16; chs. 25-29) nor the unnamed sages (22:17-24:34) wrote them. Two other wise men whose names the text records did. Some expositors specu...
• Conclusion
  The quality of wisdom that Proverbs presents is much more than the ability to apply knowledge to various situations in life effectively. It also involves submission to the way of God that is the order of life God has revealed...
• 3. The nature of Ezekiel's ministry 2:8-3:11
  This pericope contains 10 commands, and it is the center of the chiasm in chapters 1-3."The Lord's charge to Ezekiel emphasized the absolute necessity of hearing, understanding, and assimilating God's message prior to going f...
• 4. The execution of the king's command 3:19-23
  3:19 The determination of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to withhold the form of allegiance that Nebuchadnezzar required made the king as angry as he could be. He apparently ordered the furnace heated to seven times its nor...
• God's will concerning retaliation 5:38-42
  5:38 Retaliation was common in the ancient Near East. Frequently it led to vendettas in which escalating vengeance continued for generations. Israel's "law of retaliation"(Lat. lex talionis) limited retaliation to no more tha...
• The disciple's relationship to God 7:7-12
  This section of verses brings the main body of the Sermon to a climactic conclusion.7:7-8 In view of such hard opposition Jesus' disciples need to pray for God's help. He will always respond positively to their words, though ...
• The importance of forgiving a disciple 18:21-35
  From a discussion of discipline Jesus proceeded to stress the importance of forgiveness. Sometimes zealous disciples spend too much time studying church discipline and too little time studying the importance of forgiveness.18...
• 4. The encouraging prospect 6:9-12
  Even though the danger his readers faced was great, the writer believed they could avoid it. Consequently he concluded this warning as he did the ones in 2:1-4 and 3:1-4:16 with a word of hope to encourage his audience.6:9 Th...
• 3. Rebuke 2:20-23
  Evidently a woman claiming to be a prophetess (cf. Luke 2:36; Acts 21:9; 1 Cor. 11:5) had been influencing some in this church to join the local trade guilds without which a tradesman could not work in Thyatira. This meant pa...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• The Crime Of Negligence
  If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; 12. If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth...
• The Sluggard's Garden
  I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; 31. And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.'...