Proverbs 9:10

9:10 The beginning ¹  of wisdom is to fear the Lord, ² 

and acknowledging ³  the Holy One ⁴  is understanding.

Job 28:28

28:28 And he said to mankind,

‘The fear of the Lord ⁵  – that is wisdom,

and to turn away from evil is understanding.’” ⁶ 

Jeremiah 32:40-41

32:40 I will make a lasting covenant ⁷  with them that I will never stop doing good to them. ⁸  I will fill their hearts and minds with respect for me so that ⁹  they will never again turn ¹⁰  away from me. 32:41 I will take delight in doing good to them. I will faithfully and wholeheartedly plant them ¹¹  firmly in the land.’

¹ sn The difference between תְּחִלַּת (tÿkhillat) here and רֵאשִׁית (re’shit) of 1:7, if there is any substantial difference, is that this term refers to the starting point of wisdom, and the earlier one indicates the primary place of wisdom (K&D 16:202).

² tn Heb “fear of the Lord.”

³ tn Heb “knowledge of the Holy One” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

⁴ tn The word is in the plural in the Hebrew (literally “holy ones”; KJV “the holy”). It was translated “holy men” in Tg. Prov 9:10. But it probably was meant to signify the majestic nature of the Lord. As J. H. Greenstone says, he is “all-holy” (Proverbs, 94). This is an example of the plural of majesty, one of the honorific uses of the plural (see IBHS 122-23 §7.4.3b).

⁵ tc A number of medieval Hebrew manuscripts have YHWH (“Lord”); BHS has אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Lord”). As J. E. Hartley (Job [NICOT], 383) points out, this is the only occurrence of אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Lord”) in the book of Job, creating doubt for retaining it. Normally, YHWH is avoided in the book. “Fear of” (יִרְאַת, yir’at) is followed by שַׁדַּי (shadday, “Almighty”) in 6:14 – the only other occurrence of this term for “fear” in construct with a divine title.

⁶ tc Many commentators delete this verse because (1) many read the divine name Yahweh (translated “Lord”) here, and (2) it is not consistent with the argument that precedes it. But as H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 185) points out, there is inconsistency in this reasoning, for many of the critics have already said that this chapter is an interpolation. Following that line of thought, then, one would not expect it to conform to the rest of the book in this matter of the divine name. And concerning the second difficulty, the point of this chapter is that wisdom is beyond human comprehension and control. It belongs to God alone. So the conclusion that the fear of the Lord is wisdom is the necessary conclusion. Rowley concludes: “It is a pity to rob the poem of its climax and turn it into the expression of unrelieved agnosticism.”

⁷ tn Heb “an everlasting covenant.” For the rationale for the rendering “agreement” and the nature of the biblical covenants see the study note on 11:2.

⁸ tn Or “stop being gracious to them” or “stop blessing them with good”; Heb “turn back from them to do good to them.”

⁹ tn Or “I will make them want to fear and respect me so much that”; Heb “I will put the fear of me in their hearts.” However, as has been noted several times, “heart” in Hebrew is more the center of the volition (and intellect) than the center of emotions as it is in English. Both translations are intended to reflect the difference in psychology.

¹⁰ tn The words “never again” are not in the text but are implicit from the context and are supplied not only by this translation but by a number of others.

¹¹ tn Heb “will plant them in the land with faithfulness with all my heart and with all my soul.” The latter expressions are, of course, anthropomorphisms (see Deut 6:5).