Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 5. The sanctification of the first-born 13:1-16
  This section is somewhat repetitive, but the emphasis is on the Lord's right to the first-born in Israel and how the Israelites were to acknowledge that right. The repetition stresses its importance.13:1-2 "Every"refers to th...
• 1. Events in the wilderness of Shur 15:22-27
  15:22-26 The wilderness of Shur was a section of semi-desert to the east of Egypt's border. It occupied the northwestern part of the Sinai peninsula, and it separated Egypt from Palestine (v. 22).". . . wilderness does not im...
• The seventh commandment 5:18
  This commandment deals with adultery only. Whereas murder violates life itself, adultery violates the most important and sacred human relationship, marriage.88God dealt with other forms of sexual sin elsewhere (cf. chs. 22-25...
• 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...
• B. Instruction for Young People 1:8-7:27
  The two ways (paths) introduced in 1:7 stretch out before the reader (cf. Matt. 7:13-14). In this section Solomon spoke to his son guiding him into God's way. "My son"was and is a customary way of addressing a disciple."It de...
• Teaching the love of wisdom 4:1-9
  The first section of verses in this chapter shows how parents can pass along the love of wisdom, mainly by personal influence. Note how positive Solomon's instruction is. Rather than saying, "Don't do this and that!"which he ...
• The two paths 4:10-19
  In verses 10-19 two paths again lie before the youth, the way of wisdom (vv. 10-13) and the way of the wicked (vv. 14-17).60"Upright"paths (v. 11) are straightforward ways of behaving morally and practically. God's way is the...
• The importance of persistence 4:20-27
  The last pericope of this chapter emphasizes the importance of persisting in the good practices that will lead to life. Success usually comes to those who keep concentrating on and perfecting the basics in their work. Our tem...
• Wisdom's feast 9:1-6
  The parallel between wisdom's invitation and the one Jesus Christ extended to everyone to come to His feast shows the similarity between wisdom and responding positively to God's Word (Matt. 22:1-14; Luke 14:15-24). The "seve...
• II. COUPLETS EXPRESSING WISDOM 10:1--22:16
  Chapters 1-9, as we have seen, contain discourses that Solomon evidently wrote urging his sons to choose the way of wisdom for their lives.92At 10:1 we begin the part of the book that sets forth what the wise way is in a vari...
• 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...
• Introduction to the first 10 sayings 22:17-21
  As in chapters 1-9, the writer began this section of the book with an exhortation to hear and give heed to the words of wisdom that follow (22:17-21)."This extended introduction reminds us that the wise sayings were not curio...
• IV. MAXIMS EXPRESSING WISDOM chs. 25--29
  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...
• 1. Wise and foolish conduct ch. 25
  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...
• B. A Discourse on Prudence 27:23-27
  This poem recalls the earlier discourses in chapters 1-9. In this one, Solomon gave some basic and practical advice designed to assure success in the context of Israel's most common occupation, animal husbandry.The essentials...
• 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...
• Bibliography
  Aitken, Kenneth T. Proverbs. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1986.Alden, Robert L. Proverbs: A Commentary on an Ancient Book of Timeless Advice. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1984.Archer, Gleason L., Jr. Encyclopedia of Bi...
• 1. Adversity and prosperity 7:1-14
  He began by exposing our ignorance of the significance of adversity and prosperity (7:1-14; cf. Job). Both of these conditions, he noted, can have good and bad effects depending on how a person responds to them. Prosperity is...
• 2. Righteousness and wickedness 7:15-29
  Even though the righteous sometimes do not receive a reward in this life and the wicked prosper, it is still better to live righteously."Proper evaluation of a man's character helps to explain the apparent inequalities in div...
• The siege of Jerusalem predicted 6:1-8
  "The striking feature of this chapter is its rapidity of movement leading to the gathering storm of invasion soon to engulf the capital and the land."1506:1 The Lord called the Benjamites, Jeremiah's tribal kinsmen, to flee f...
• A. The anger and goodness of Yahweh 1:2-8
  "The opening verses of Nahum form a prologue dominated by the revelation of God's eternal power and divine nature in creation (cf. Rom 1:20). As in Romans 1:18-32, this revelation is characterized preeminently by God's justic...
• The illustration 4:1-7
  4:1-3 Already Paul had compared the Law to a prison warden (3:22) and a baby sitter (3:24). Now he compared it to a trustee appointed to care for a young child and his property, a guardian. The purpose of all three comparison...
• 3. The need for greater strength 12:12-13
  The writer next urged his readers to take specific action that would enhance their continuance in the faith.This word of exhortation, as well as the others, reveals that the original readers were spiritually weak. Consequentl...
• V. Life in a Hostile World 12:14--13:25
  This final major section of the book apparently grew out of the writer's reflection on the Greek text of Proverbs 4:26-27 (cf. 12:13). He specified how his readers could "make straight paths for your feet.""In the final divis...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• The Two Paths
  Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. 11. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. 12. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when th...
• Monotony And Crises
  When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not Stumble.'--Proverbs 4:12.The old metaphor likening life to a path has many felicities in it. It suggests constant change, it suggests c...
• From Dawn To Noon
  The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.'--Proverbs 4:18.Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father,' --Matt. 13:43.THE metaphor common...
• Keeping And Kept
  Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.'--Proverbs 4:23.Kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.'--1 Peter 1:5.THE former of these texts imposes a stringent duty, the latter prom...