Advanced Commentary

(ex.: John 3:14-18)

Table of Contents Bible Dictionary
Arts
Questions
Sermon Illustrations
Resources/Books

Context
30:13 There is a generation <01755> whose <04100> eyes <05869> are so lofty <07311>, and whose eyelids <06079> are lifted up <05375> disdainfully. 30:14 There is a generation <01755> whose teeth <08127> are like swords <02719> and whose molars <04973> are like knives <03979> to devour <0398> the poor <06041> from the earth <0776> and the needy <034> from among the human <0120> race. 30:15 The leech <05936> has two <08147> daughters <01323>: “Give <03051>! Give <03051>!” There <02007> are three things <07969> that are never <03808> satisfied <07646>, four <0702> that never <03808> say <0559>, “Enough <01952>”– 30:16 the grave <07585>, the barren <06115> womb <07356>, land <0776> that is not <03808> satisfied <07646> with water <04325>, and fire <0784> that never <03808> says <0559>, “Enough <01952>!” 30:17 The eye <05869> that mocks <03932> at a father <01> and despises <0936> obeying <03349> a mother <0517>– the ravens <06158> of the valley <05158> will peck <05365> it out <05365> and the young <01121> vultures <05404> will eat <0398> it. 30:18 There <01992> are three things <07969> that are too <04480> wonderful <06381> for me, four <0702> that I do not <03808> understand <03045>: 30:19 the way <01870> of an eagle <05404> in the sky <08064>, the way <01870> of a snake <05175> on <05921> a rock <06697>, the way <01870> of a ship <0591> in the sea <03220>, and the way <01870> of a man <01397> with a woman <05959>. 30:20 This <03651> is the way <01870> of an adulterous <05003> woman <0802>: she eats <0398> and wipes <04229> her mouth <06310> and says <0559>, “I have not <03808> done <06466> wrong <0205>.” 30:21 Under <08478> three things <07969> the earth <0776> trembles <07264>, and under <08478> four <0702> things it cannot <03201> <03808> bear up <05375>: 30:22 under <08478> a servant <05650> who <03588> becomes king <04427>, under a fool <05036> who <03588> is stuffed <07646> with food <03899>, 30:23 under <08478> an unloved <08130> woman who <03588> is married <01166>, and under a female servant <08198> who <03588> dispossesses <03423> her mistress <01404>. 30:24 There <01992> are four things <0702> on earth <0776> that are small <06996>, but they <01992> are exceedingly <02449> wise <02450>: 30:25 ants <05244> are creatures <05971> with little <03808> strength <05794>, but they prepare <03559> their food <03899> in the summer <07019>; 30:26 rock badgers <08227> are creatures <05971> with little <03808> power <06099>, but they make <07760> their homes <01004> in the crags <05553>; 30:27 locusts <0697> have no <0369> king <04428>, but they all <03605> go forward <03318> by ranks <02686>; 30:28 a lizard <08079> you can catch <08610> with the hand <03027>, but it <01931> gets into the palaces <01964> of the king <04428>. 30:29 There <01992> are three <07969> things that are magnificent <03190> in their step <06806>, four <0702> things that move <01980> about magnificently <03190>: 30:30 a lion <03918>, mightiest <01368> of the beasts <0929>, who does not <03808> retreat <07725> from <06440> anything <03605>; 30:31 a strutting rooster <04975> <02223>, a male goat <08495>, and a king <04428> with <05973> his army <0510> around him. 30:32 If <0518> you have done foolishly <05034> by exalting <05375> yourself or if <0518> you have planned evil <02161>, put your hand <03027> over your mouth <06310>! 30:33 For <03588> as the churning <04330> of milk <02461> produces <03318> butter <02529> and as punching <04330> the nose <0639> produces <03318> blood <01818>, so stirring <04330> up anger <0639> produces <03318> strife <07379>.

• Pro 30:1-33 -- The Words of Agur

• AGUR

  [ebd] gatherer; the collector, mentioned as author of the sayings in Prov. 30. Nothing is known of him beyond what is there recorded.
  [isbe] AGUR - a'-gur ('aghur, seeming, from comparison with Arabic roots, to mean either "hireling," or "collector," "gatherer"): One of the contributors to Proverbs; his words being included in Prov 30. He takes an agnostic attitu...
  

• MASSA

  [isbe] MASSA - mas'-a (massa', "burden"): Descendant of Abraham through Ishmael (Gen 25:14; 1 Ch 1:30). His people may be the Masani of Ptolemy, having Eastern Arabia near Babylon as their habitat. The marginal reading of the headi...
  

• Riddle

  [nave] RIDDLE Used as a test of wit at Samson's feast, Judg. 14:12-18. By Agur, Prov. 30:15, 16, 18-31. See: Parable; Proverbs.
  

• NUMBER

  [isbe] NUMBER - num'-ber: I. NUMBER AND ARITHMETIC II. NOTATION OF NUMBERS 1. By Words 2. By Signs 3. By Letters III. NUMBERS IN OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY IV. ROUND NUMBERS V. SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS 1. Seven and Its Multiples (1) Ritual U...
  

• Coney

  [ebd] (Heb. shaphan; i.e., "the hider"), an animal which inhabits the mountain gorges and the rocky districts of Arabia Petraea and the Holy Land. "The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks" (Prov. ...
  [isbe] CONEY - ko'-ni (shaphan (Lev 11:5; Dt 14:7; Ps 104:18; Prov 30:26)): The word "coney" (formerly pronounced cooney) means "rabbit" (from Latin cuniculus). Shaphan is rendered in all four passages in the Septuagint choirogrull...
  [smith] (shaphan), a gregarious animal of the class Pachydermata, which is found in Palestine, living in the caves and clefts of the rocks, and has been erroneously identified with the rabbit or coney. Its scientific name as Hyrax sy...
  [nave] CONEY, Lev. 11:5; Deut. 14:7; Psa. 104:18; Prov. 30:26.
  

• FOUR

  [isbe] FOUR - for ('arba`; tessares): "Four" (cardinal number) was a sacred and complete number with the Hebrews, as well as with several other peoples. It occurs very frequently in the Old Testament and the New Testament. (1) It i...
  

• Spider

  [ebd] The trust of the hypocrite is compared to the spider's web or house (Job 8:14). It is said of the wicked by Isaiah that they "weave the spider's web" (59:5), i.e., their works and designs are, like the spider's web, vain and...
  [isbe] SPIDER - spi'-der ((1) `akkabhish; compare Arabic `ankabut, English Versions of the Bible "spider"; Septuagint arachne (Job 8:14; Isa 59:5); (2) semamith, "lizard," the King James Version "spider"; Septuagint kalabotes (Prov...
  [smith] The Hebrew word ?accabish in (Job 8:24; Isaiah 59:5) is correctly rendered "spider." Put semamith is wrongly translated "spider" in (Proverbs 30:28) it refers probably to some kind of lizard. (But "there are many species of s...
  [nave] SPIDER Mentioned in one of Agur's riddles, Prov. 30:28. Web of, figurative of the hope of the hypocrite, Job 8:14; Isa. 59:5.
  

• Raven

  [ebd] Heb. 'orebh, from a root meaning "to be black" (comp. Cant. 5:11); first mentioned as "sent forth" by Noah from the ark (Gen. 8:7). "Every raven after his kind" was forbidden as food (Lev. 11:15; Deut. 14:14). Ravens feed mo...
  [isbe] RAVEN - ra'-vn (`orebh; korax; Latin Corvus corax): A large family of the smaller birds of prey belonging to the genus Corvus corax. A bird of such universal distribution that it is known from Iceland to Japan, all over Asia...
  [smith] (black). The Hebrew oreb is applied to the several species of the crow family, a number of which are found in Palestine. The raven belongs to the order Insessores , family Corvidae . (It resembles the crow, but is larger weig...
  [nave] RAVEN A black carnivorous bird, Prov. 30:17; Song 5:11. Forbidden as food, Lev. 11:15; Deut. 14:14. Preserved by Noah in the ark, Gen. 8:7. Fed Elijah, 1 Kin. 17:4-6. Cared for by divine providence, Luke 12:24.
  

• Serpent

  [ebd] (Heb. nahash; Gr. ophis), frequently noticed in Scripture. More than forty species are found in Syria and Arabia. The poisonous character of the serpent is alluded to in Jacob's blessing on Dan (Gen. 49:17; see Prov. 30:18, ...
  [isbe] SERPENT - sur'-pent: 1. General: Serpents are not particularly abundant in Palestine, but they are often mentioned in the Bible. In the Hebrew there are 11 names. The New Testament has four Greek names and the Septuagint emp...
  [nave] SERPENT Satan appears in the form of, to Eve, Gen. 3:1-15; 2 Cor. 11:3. Subtlety of, Gen. 3:1; Eccl. 10:8; Matt. 10:16. Curse upon, Gen. 3:14, 15; 49:17. Feeds upon the dust, Gen. 3:14; Isa. 65:25; Mic. 7:17. Unfit for f...
  

• Animals

  [nave] ANIMALS Creation of, Gen. 1:24, 25; 2:19; Jer. 27:5. Food of, Gen. 1:30. Named, Gen. 2:20. Ordained as food for mankind, Gen. 9:2, 3; Lev. 11:3, 9, 21, 22; Deut. 14:4-6, 9, 11, 20. God's care of, Gen. 9:9, 10; Deut. 25:4...
  

• Industry

  [nave] INDUSTRY. Gen. 2:15; Ex. 23:12 Deut. 5:13. Ex. 35:2; Prov. 10:4, 5; Prov. 12:11, 24, 27; Prov. 13:4, 11, 23; Prov. 14:4, 23; Prov. 16:26; Prov. 20:13; Prov. 21:5; Prov. 22:29; Prov. 27:23 vs. 23-27.; Prov. 28:19; Prov. 30:2...
  

• Lasciviousness

  [nave] LASCIVIOUSNESS. Ex. 32:6; Prov. 2:16-18; Prov. 5:3-5, 8-13; Prov. 7:6-27; Prov. 9:13-18; Prov. 20:16; Prov. 30:18-20; Joel 3:3; Mark 7:21-23; Rom. 1:22-29; Rom. 7:8; Rom. 13:13; 1 Cor. 6:9, 10, 13, 15-18; 1 Cor. 9:27; 2 Cor...
  

• Adultery

  [nave] ADULTERY. Gen. 20:3; 2 Sam. 12:14; Job 24:15-17 v. 18.; Job 31:1, 9-12; Prov. 2:16, 18, 19 v. 17.; Prov. 5:3, 4 vs. 5-22.; Prov. 6:24-29, 32, 33; Prov. 7:5-23; Prov. 9:13-18; Prov. 22:14; Prov. 23:27, 28; Prov. 29:3; Prov. ...
  

• Servant

  [nave] SERVANT Distinguished as bond servant, who was a slave, and hired servant. Bond Laws of Moses concerning, Ex. 21:1-11, 20, 21, 26, 27, 32; Lev. 19:20-22; 25:6, 10, 35-55; Deut. 15:12, 14, 18; 24:7. Kidnapping forbidden, D...
  

• Greyhound

  [ebd] (Prov. 30:31), the rendering of the Hebrew zarzir mothnayim, meaning literally "girded as to the lions." Some (Gesen.; R.V. marg.) render it "war-horse." The LXX. and Vulgate versions render it "cock." It has been by some in...
  [smith] the translation in the text of the Authorized Version, (Proverbs 30:31) of the Hebrew word zarzir mothnayin ; i.e. "one girt about the loins." Various are the opinions as to what animal "comely in going" is here intended Some...
  [nave] GREYHOUND, Prov. 30:31.
  

• Hell

  [ebd] derived from the Saxon helan, to cover; hence the covered or the invisible place. In Scripture there are three words so rendered: (1.) Sheol, occurring in the Old Testament sixty-five times. This word sheol is derived from a...
  [nave] HELL The word used in the King James Version of the O.T. to translate the Hebrew word sheol, signifying the unseen state, in Deut. 32:22; 2 Sam. 22:6; Job 11:8; 26:6; Psa. 9:17; 16:10; 18:5; 55:15; 86:13; 116:3; 139:8; Prov....
  

• Women

  [nave] WOMEN Creation of, Gen. 1:27; 2:21, 22. Named, Gen. 2:23. Fall of, and curse upon, Gen. 3:1-16; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14. Promise to, Gen. 3:15. Had separate apartments in dwellings, Gen. 24:67; 31:33; Esth. 2:9, 11. Ve...
  

• Wife

  [nave] WIFE Called Desire of the Eyes, Ezek. 24:16. Help, Gen. 2:18, 20. Fruitful Vine, Psa. 128:3. The judgment denounced against Eve, Gen. 3:16. Relation of, to husband, Gen. 2:18, 23, 24; 1 Cor. 11:3-12. Domestic duties of,...
  

• Ant

  [ebd] (Heb. nemalah, from a word meaning to creep, cut off, destroy), referred to in Prov. 6:6; 30:25, as distinguished for its prudent habits. Many ants in Palestine feed on animal substances, but others draw their nourishment pa...
  [smith] (Heb. nemalah). This insect is mentioned twice in the Old Testament: in (Proverbs 6:6; 30:25) In the former of these passages the diligence of this insect is instanced by the wise man as an example worthy of imitation; in the...
  [nave] ANT, Prov. 6:6-8; 30:25.
  

• Gluttony

  [nave] GLUTTONY. Ex. 16:20, 21, 27; Num. 11:32, 33; Deut. 21:20, 21; Prov. 23:21; Prov. 30:21, 22; Eccl. 10:17; Isa. 22:13; Amos 6:4-7; Luke 12:19, 20, 45, 46; Luke 21:34; Rom. 13:13, 14; 1 Cor. 15:32; Phil. 3:19; 1 Pet. 4:3; Jude...
  

• The Words of Agur

  

• Does the Bible speak more about Hell than Heaven?
  I've heard and read the same statement a number of times, but have never troubled myself to look up each passage. I'm not surprised that looking up "heaven" and "hell" in a concordance would give you contradictory results. T...
• What Is a "Generation''?
  "Generation" is used in a variety of senses in the Scriptures. In some cases, it means a period of limitless duration; in others it means the past (Isa. 51:8), and still others the future (Ps. 100:5) > again, it means both th...

Proverbs 22:6

Back to Commentary Page