Advanced Commentary

Texts -- Proverbs 26:1-20 (NET)

Context
26:1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest , so honor is not fitting for a fool . 26:2 Like a fluttering bird or like a flying swallow , so a curse without cause does not come to rest. 26:3 A whip for the horse and a bridle for the donkey , and a rod for the backs of fools ! 26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly , lest you yourself also be like him. 26:5 Answer a fool according to his folly , lest he be wise in his own estimation . 26:6 Like cutting off the feet or drinking violence , so is sending a message by the hand of a fool . 26:7 Like legs that hang limp from the lame , so is a proverb in the mouth of fools . 26:8 Like tying a stone in a sling , so is giving honor to a fool . 26:9 Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard , so is a proverb in the mouth of a fool . 26:10 Like an archer who wounds at random , so is the one who hires a fool or hires any passer-by . 26:11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit , so a fool repeats his folly . 26:12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes ? There is more hope for a fool than for him. 26:13 The sluggard says , “There is a lion in the road ! A lion in the streets !” 26:14 Like a door that turns on its hinges , so a sluggard turns on his bed . 26:15 The sluggard plunges his hand in the dish ; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth . 26:16 The sluggard is wiser in his own estimation than seven people who respond with good sense . 26:17 Like one who grabs a wild dog by the ears , so is the person passing by who becomes furious over a quarrel not his own. 26:18 Like a madman who shoots firebrands and deadly arrows , 26:19 so is a person who deceives his neighbor , and says , “Was I not only joking ?” 26:20 Where there is no wood , a fire goes out, and where there is no gossip , contention ceases .

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Thistle

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. hoah (2 Kings 14:9; Job 31:40). In Job 41:2 the Hebrew word is rendered "thorn," but in the Revised Version "hook." It is also rendered "thorn" in 2 Chr. 33:11; Prov. 26:9; Cant. 2:2; "brambles" in Isa. 34:13. It i...

  • Speaking

    [nave] SPEAKING. Evil Ex. 22:28; Job 19:18; Psa. 10:7, 8; Psa. 12:3, 4; Psa. 34:13; Psa. 35:21; Psa. 41:5-9; Psa. 52:2-4; Psa. 59:12; Psa. 64:2-5; Psa. 69:12, 26; Psa. 70:3; Psa. 102:8; Psa. 106:33; Psa. 119:23; Psa. 120:1-7; Psa...

  • SWALLOW

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. sis (Isa. 38:14; Jer. 8:7), the Arabic for the swift, which "is a regular migrant, returning in myriads every spring, and so suddenly that while one day not a swift can be seen in the country, on the next they have...
    [isbe] SWALLOW - swal'-o (deror; strouthos, in Proverbs and Psalms, chelidon, in Isa; Latin Hirundo rustica): A small long-winged bird of exhaustless flight, belonging to the family Hirundinidae. Deror means the bird of freedom, an...
    [smith] Heb. deror in (Psalms 84:3; Proverbs 26:2) Heb. ?agur in (Isaiah 38:14; Jeremiah 8:7) but "crane" is more probably the true signification of ?agur [CRANE]). The rendering of the Authorized Version for deror seems correct. The...

  • Pride

    [nave] PRIDE. Ex. 18:10, 11; Lev. 26:19; Deut. 8:11-14, 17-20; Judg. 9:14, 15; 1 Sam. 2:3-5; 1 Kin. 20:11; 2 Kin. 14:9, 10 2 Chr. 25:18, 19. Job 11:12; Job 12:2, 3; Job 13:2, 5; Job 15:1-13; Job 18:3, 4; Job 21:31, 32; Job 32:9-13...

  • PROVERB

    [isbe] PROVERB - prov'-erb (mashal, chidhah; parabole (Lk 4:23), paroimia (Jn 16:25,29)): I. FOLK MEANING AND USE 1. The Primitive Sense 2. The Communal Origin 3. Animus of Proverbs II. LITERARY DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROVERB 1. Discov...

  • Lintel

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. mashkoph, a projecting cover (Ex. 12:22, 23; ver. 7, "upper door post," but R.V. "lintel"); the head-piece of a door, which the Israelites were commanded to mark with the blood of the paschal lamb. (2.) Heb. kaphta...

  • Laziness

    [nave] LAZINESS Prov. 6:6, 9-11 Prov. 24:33. Prov. 10:4, 5, 26; Prov. 12:9, 24, 27; Prov. 13:4; Prov. 14:23; Prov. 15:19; Prov. 18:9; Prov. 19:15, 24; Prov. 20:4, 13; Prov. 21:25, 26; Prov. 23:21; Prov. 24:30, 31, 33, 34; Prov. 26:...

  • HINGE

    [ebd] (Heb. tsir), that on which a door revolves. "Doors in the East turn rather on pivots than on what we term hinges. In Syria, and especially in the Hauran, there are many ancient doors, consisting of stone slabs with pivots ca...
    [isbe] HINGE - hinj (poth): Hinges of Jewish sacred buildings in Scripture are mentioned only in connection with Solomon's temple. Here those for the doors, both of the oracle and of the outer temple, are said to have been of gold ...
    [smith] Both ancient Egyptian and modern Oriental doors were and are hung by means of pivots turning in sockets on both the upper and lower sides. (1 Kings 7:50) In Syria, and especially the Hauran, there are many ancient doors co...

  • Fool

    [nave] FOOL: Psa. 5:5; Psa. 14:1 Psa. 53:1. Psa. 74:18, 22; Psa. 107:17; Prov. 1:7, 22; Prov. 3:35; Prov. 9:6-8, 13-17; Prov. 10:1, 8 v. 10.13,14,18,23Prov. 14:1, 7-9, 15; Prov. 15:7, 20, 21; Prov. 17:24, 25; Prov. 18:2, 6, 7; Pro...

  • FIREBRAND

    [ebd] Isa. 7:4, Amos 4:11, Zech. 3:2, denotes the burnt end of a stick (Heb. 'ud); in Judg. 15:4, a lamp or torch, a flambeau (Heb. lappid); in Prov. 26:18 (comp. Eph. 6:16), burning darts or arrows (Heb. zikkim).
    [isbe] FIREBRAND - fir'-brand ('udh, used for a burning stick taken out of the fire): In Jdg 15:4,5 describing the "brands" (margin "torches") which Samson tied to the foxes' tails, the word is lappidh ("lamp"; see Jdg 7:16,20 the ...

  • Doors

    [ebd] moved on pivots of wood fastened in sockets above and below (Prov. 26:14). They were fastened by a lock (Judg. 3:23, 25; Cant. 5:5) or by a bar (Judg. 16:3; Job 38:10). In the interior of Oriental houses, curtains were frequ...

  • DISH

    [isbe] DISH - The rendering in English Versions of the Bible in some connections of three Hebrew and one Greek word. The qe`arah of Ex 25:29; 37:16; Nu 4:7 was apparently a kind of salver, in this case of gold, for holding the loav...

  • DISCREPANCIES, BIBLICAL

    [isbe] DISCREPANCIES, BIBLICAL - dis-krep'-an-siz, bib'-li-kal: 1. Definition: By this term should be understood substantial disagreements in the statements of Biblical writers. Such disagreements might subsist between the, stateme...

  • DAMAGE

    [isbe] DAMAGE - dam'-aj (chabhala'): This word expresses any inflicted loss of value or permanent injury to persons or things. "Why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?" (Ezr 4:22). In Prov 26:6 "damage" means "wrong," "inj...

  • Cruse

    [ebd] a utensil; a flask or cup for holding water (1 Sam. 26:11, 12, 16; 1 Kings 19:6) or oil (1 Kings 17:12, 14, 16). In 1 Kings 14:3 the word there so rendered means properly a bottle, as in Jer. 19:1, 10, or pitcher. In 2 Kings...

  • Conceit

    [isbe] CONCEIT - kon-set': An idiomatic rendering of a phrase, phronimoi en heautois, in Rom 11:25; 12:16; meaning literally, "wise with one's self," i.e. "in one's own opinion," or, as in parallel Old Testament passages (Prov 26:5...
    [nave] CONCEIT. Prov. 3:5, 7; Prov. 12:15; Prov. 23:4; Prov. 26:5, 12, 16; Prov. 28:11, 26; Isa. 5:21; Jer. 9:23; Luke 18:11, 12; Rom. 1:22; Rom. 11:25; Rom. 12:16 See: Hypocrisy; Pride.

  • BRAND

    [isbe] BRAND - In the double signification of an object on fire and of objects used to feed a fire. The first meaning is expressed by 'udh, "a bent stick" for stirring fire (Am 4:11; Zec 3:2; compare Isa 7:4); the second by lappidh...

  • BOSOM

    [isbe] BOSOM - booz'-um: In the ordinary signification of the anterior upper portion of the trunk of the body, choq or cheq, "inlet, "lap" (Ex 4:6,7; Nu 11:12; Dt 13:6; 28:54,56; Ruth 4:16; Ps 74:11; Isa 65:6,7; Lam 2:12). "A prese...

  • BIT AND BRIDLE

    [isbe] BIT AND BRIDLE - bri'-d'-l (methegh wa-recen): The two words occur in conjunction (Ps 32:9 the King James Version, "Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding; whose mouth must be held in with bit an...

  • BETRAY

    [isbe] BETRAY - be-tra' (ramah; paradidomi): In the Old Testament only once (1 Ch 12:17). David warns those who had deserted to him from Saul: "If ye be come to betray me to mine adversaries .... the God of our fathers look thereon...

Arts

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • 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...
  • 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,...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • As was true in the chapter 10-15 section, this one (16:1-22:16) also becomes more difficult to outline as it ends because there are fewer groupings of proverbs.19:7 The first part of this verse is hyperbole (overstatement to ...
  • 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...
  • We return now to the proverbs of Solomon (cf. 1:1-22:16). Chapters 25-26 contain proverbs that are mainly comparisons. The key words in these chapters are "like . . . so."Chapter 27 is a mixture of comparative and antithetica...
  • 25:1 A group of scholars who served during King Hezekiah's reign (715-686 B.C.) added more of Solomon's 3,000 proverbs (1 Kings 4:32) to the former collection (1:1-22:16). These men lived about 250 years after Solomon. Solomo...
  • The analogies in chapter 25 dealt with both wise and foolish conduct, but those in chapter 26 deal mainly with fools and folly.26:2 If someone curses another person who does not deserve it, the curse will not be effective (cf...
  • 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...
  • Some commentators have regarded only the first nine verses of this chapter as Lemuel's writing. One reason for this is that the Septuagint translators separated verses 1-9 from verse 10-31 by five chapters (chs. 25-29). Howev...
  • 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...
  • 3:19 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...
  • "John is interested in the way the coming of Jesus divides people."3479:35 The healed man had responded positively and courageously to the light that he had so far, but he did not have much light. Therefore Jesus took the ini...
  • To answer his critics and prove the extent of his own service and sufferings for Christ, Paul related many of his painful experiences as an apostle.11:16 Paul apologized again for having to resort to mentioning these experien...
  • Paul proceeded to deal with a significant group of antagonists that the Philippians faced.3:2 Jesus and other prophets used the term "dogs"to refer to opponents of God's truth (Matt. 7:6; cf. Deut. 23:18; 1 Sam. 17:43; 24:14;...
  • Peter focused his discussion next on the false teachers' final doom to warn his readers of the serious results of following their instruction.2:20 To whom does "they"refer? Some interpreters believe the antecedent is the new ...
Back to Commentary Page
Display Bible



Universal Search:

NET Only
Exact Search
Commentary
Study Dictionary
Word Study
Lexicon
Study Maps System
Sermon Illustrations
Expository
Arts
Resource
Daily Bible Reading
Training Video
Classic NET Bible
iPhone NET Bible
Mobile Bible
TIP #34: What tip would you like to see included here? Click "To report a problem/suggestion" on the bottom of page and tell us. [ALL]
created in 0.15 seconds
powered by
bible.org - YLSA