Proverbs 1:7

Introduction to the Theme of the Book

1:7 Fearing the Lord ¹  is the beginning ²  of moral knowledge, ³ 

but ⁴  fools ⁵  despise ⁶  wisdom and instruction. ⁷ 

Proverbs 2:5

2:5 then you will understand ⁸  how to fear the Lord, ⁹ 

and you will discover ¹⁰  knowledge ¹¹  about God. ¹² 

Proverbs 9:10

9:10 The beginning ¹³  of wisdom is to fear the Lord, ¹⁴ 

and acknowledging ¹⁵  the Holy One ¹⁶  is understanding.

Proverbs 10:27

10:27 Fearing the Lord ¹⁷  prolongs life, ¹⁸ 

but the life span ¹⁹  of the wicked will be shortened. ²⁰ 

Proverbs 14:27

14:27 The fear of the Lord ²¹  is like ²²  a life-giving fountain, ²³ 

to turn ²⁴  people ²⁵  from deadly snares. ²⁶ 

Proverbs 15:33

15:33 The fear of the Lord provides wise instruction, ²⁷ 

and before honor comes humility. ²⁸ 

Proverbs 19:23

19:23 Fearing the Lord ²⁹  leads ³⁰  to life, ³¹ 

and one who does so will live ³²  satisfied; he will not be afflicted ³³  by calamity.

Proverbs 22:4

22:4 The reward ³⁴  for humility ³⁵  and fearing the Lord ³⁶ 

is riches and honor and life.

Proverbs 8:13

8:13 The fear of the Lord is to hate ³⁷  evil;

I hate arrogant pride ³⁸  and the evil way

and perverse utterances. ³⁹ 

Proverbs 31:30

31:30 Charm is deceitful ⁴⁰  and beauty is fleeting, ⁴¹ 

but a woman who fears the Lord ⁴²  will be praised.

[1:7]  ¹ tn Heb “fear of the Lord.” The expression יְהוָה יִרְאַת (yir’at yÿhvah, “fear of Yahweh”) is a genitive-construct in which יְהוָה (“the Lord”) functions as an objective genitive: He is the object of fear. The term יָרַא (yara’) is the common word for fear in the OT and has a basic three-fold range of meanings: (1) “dread; terror” (Deut 1:29; Jonah 1:10), (2) “to stand in awe” (1 Kgs 3:28), (3) “to revere; to respect” (Lev 19:3). With the Lord as the object, it captures the polar opposites of shrinking back in fear and drawing close in awe and adoration. Both categories of meaning appear in Exod 20:20 (where the Lord descended upon Sinai amidst geophysical convulsions); Moses encouraged the Israelites to not be afraid of God arbitrarily striking them dead for no reason (“Do not fear!”) but informed the people that the Lord revealed himself in such a terrifying manner to scare them from sinning (“God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him in you so that you do not sin”). The fear of the Lord is expressed in reverential submission to his will – the characteristic of true worship. The fear of the Lord is the foundation for wisdom (9:10) and the discipline leading to wisdom (15:33). It is expressed in hatred of evil (8:13) and avoidance of sin (16:6), and so results in prolonged life (10:27; 19:23).

[1:7]  ² tn The noun רֵאשִׁית (re’shit) has a two-fold range of meaning (BDB 912 s.v.): (1) “beginning” = first step in a course of action (e.g., Ps 111:10; Prov 17:14; Mic 1:13) or (2) “chief thing” as the principal aspect of something (e.g., Prov 4:7). So fearing the Lord is either (1) the first step in acquiring moral knowledge or (2) the most important aspect of moral knowledge. The first option is preferred because 1:2-6 focuses on the acquisition of wisdom.

[1:7]  ³ tn Heb “knowledge.” The noun דָּעַת (da’at, “knowledge”) refers to experiential knowledge, not just cognitive knowledge, including the intellectual assimilation and practical application (BDB 394 s.v.). It is used in parallelism to מוּסָר (musar, “instruction, discipline”) and חָכְמָה (khokhmah, “wisdom, moral skill”).

[1:7]  ⁴ tn The conjunction “but” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the antithetical parallelism. It is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:7]  ⁵ tn The term אֱוִיל (’evil, “fool”) refers to a person characterized by moral folly (BDB 17 s.v.). Fools lack understanding (10:21), do not store up knowledge (10:14), fail to attain wisdom (24:7), and refuse correction (15:5; 27:22). They are arrogant (26:5), talk loosely (14:3) and are contentious (20:3). They might have mental intelligence but they are morally foolish. In sum, they are stubborn and “thick-brained” (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 6).

[1:7]  ⁶ tn The verb of בָּזָה (bazah, “despise”) means to treat things of value with contempt, as if they were worthless (BDB 102 s.v.). The classic example is Esau who despised his birthright and sold it for lentil stew (Gen 25:34). The perfect tense of this verb may be classified as characteristic perfect (what they have done and currently do) or gnomic perfect (what they always do in past, present and future). The latter is preferred; this describes a trait of fools, and elsewhere the book says that fools do not change.

[1:7]  ⁷ sn Hebrew word order is emphatic here. Normal word order is: verb + subject + direct object. Here it is: direct object + subject + verb (“wisdom and instruction fools despise”).

[2:5]  ⁸ tn The verb בִּין (bin, “to perceive; to understand; to discern”) refers to ability to grasp, discern or be sensitive to what it means to fear the Lord.

[2:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” The noun is an objective genitive; the Lord is to be the object of fear and reverence.

[2:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “find” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[2:5]  ¹¹ tn The term דַּעַת (da’at, “knowledge”) goes beyond cognition; it is often used metonymically (cause) for obedience (effect); see, e.g., Prov 3:6, “in all your ways acknowledge him,” and BDB 395 s.v. This means that the disciple will follow God’s moral code; for to know God is to react ethically and spiritually to his will (e.g., J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 18).

[2:5]  ¹² tn Heb “knowledge of God.” The noun is an objective genitive.

[9:10]  ¹⁵ 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).

[9:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “fear of the Lord.”

[9:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “knowledge of the Holy One” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[9:10]  ¹⁸ 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).

[10:27]  ²² tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) functions as an objective genitive.

[10:27]  ²³ tn Heb “days” (so KJV, ASV).

[10:27]  ²⁴ tn Heb “years.” The term “years” functions as a synecdoche of part (= years) for the whole (= lifespan).

[10:27]  ²⁵ sn This general saying has to be qualified with the problem of the righteous suffering and dying young, a problem that perplexed the sages of the entire ancient world. But this is the general principle: The righteous live longer because their life is the natural one and because God blesses them.

[14:27]  ²⁹ sn The verse is similar to Prov 13:14 except that “the fear of the Lord” has replaced “the teaching of the wise.”

[14:27]  ³⁰ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[14:27]  ³¹ tn Heb “fountain of life.”

[14:27]  ³² tn The infinitive construct with prefixed ל (lamed) indicates the purpose/result of the first line; it could also function epexegetically, explaining how fear is a fountain: “by turning….”

[14:27]  ³³ tn The term “people” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[14:27]  ³⁴ tn Heb “snares of death” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); CEV “deadly traps.”

[15:33]  ³⁶ tn Heb “[is] instruction of wisdom” (KJV and NASB similar). The noun translated “wisdom” is an attributive genitive: “wise instruction.”

[15:33]  ³⁷ tn Heb “[is] humility” (so KJV). The second clause is a parallel idea in that it stresses how one thing leads to another – humility to honor. Humble submission in faith to the Lord brings wisdom and honor.

[19:23]  ⁴³ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” This expression features an objective genitive: “fearing the Lord.”

[19:23]  ⁴⁴ tn The term “leads” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and style.

[19:23]  ⁴⁵ tn Here “life” is probably a metonymy of subject for “blessings and prosperity in life.” The plural form often covers a person’s “lifetime.”

[19:23]  ⁴⁶ tn The subject of this verb is probably the one who fears the Lord and enjoys life. So the proverb uses synthetic parallelism; the second half tells what this life is like – it is an abiding contentment that is not threatened by calamity (cf. NCV “unbothered by trouble”).

[19:23]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “he will not be visited” (so KJV, ASV). The verb פָּקַד (paqad) is often translated “visit.” It describes intervention that will change the destiny. If God “visits” it means he intervenes to bless or to curse. To be “visited by trouble” means that calamity will interfere with the course of life and change the direction or the destiny. Therefore this is not referring to a minor trouble that one might briefly experience. A life in the Lord cannot be disrupted by such major catastrophes that would alter one’s destiny.

[22:4]  ⁵⁰ tn The Hebrew term עֵקֶב (’eqev, “reward”) is related to the term meaning “heel”; it refers to the consequences or the reward that follows (akin to the English expression “on the heels of”).

[22:4]  ⁵¹ tn “Humility” is used here in the religious sense of “piety”; it is appropriately joined with “the fear of the Lord.” Some commentators, however, make “the fear of the Lord” the first in the series of rewards for humility, but that arrangement is less likely here.

[22:4]  ⁵² tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” This is an objective genitive; the Lord is the object of the fear.

[8:13]  ⁵⁷ tn The verb שָׂנֵא (sane’) means “to hate.” In this sentence it functions nominally as the predicate. Fearing the Lord is hating evil.

[8:13]  ⁵⁸ tn Since both גֵּאָה (ge’ah, “pride”) and גָּאוֹן (ga’on, “arrogance; pride”) are both from the same verbal root גָּאָה (ga’ah, “to rise up”), they should here be interpreted as one idea, forming a nominal hendiadys: “arrogant pride.”

[8:13]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “and a mouth of perverse things.” The word “mouth” is a metonymy of cause for what is said; and the noun תַהְפֻּכוֹת (tahpukhot, “perverse things”) means destructive things (the related verb is used for the overthrowing of Sodom).

[31:30]  ⁶⁴ tn The first word of the twenty-first line begins with שׁ (shin), the twenty-first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The graphic distinction between שׁ (shin) and שׂ (sin) had not been made at the time the book of Proverbs was written; that graphic distinction was introduced by the Masoretes, ca. a.d. 1000.

[31:30]  ⁶⁵ sn The verse shows that “charm” and “beauty” do not endure as do those qualities that the fear of the Lord produces. Charm is deceitful: One may be disappointed in the character of the one with beauty. Beauty is vain (fleeting as a vapor): Physical appearance will not last. The writer is not saying these are worthless; he is saying there is something infinitely more valuable.

[31:30]  ⁶⁶ sn This chapter describes the wise woman as fearing the Lord. It is the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom – that was the motto of the book (1:7). Psalm 111:10 also repeats that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.