Discovery BoxProverbs 2:5
Context2:5 then you will understand 1 how to fear the Lord, 2
and you will discover 3 knowledge 4 about God. 5
Proverbs 2:10
Context2:10 For wisdom will enter your heart, 6
and moral knowledge 7 will be attractive 8 to you. 9
Proverbs 8:10
Context8:10 Receive my instruction 10 rather than 11 silver,
and knowledge rather than choice gold.
Proverbs 8:12
Context8:12 “I, wisdom, live with prudence, 12
and I find 13 knowledge and discretion.
Proverbs 9:10
Context9:10 The beginning 14 of wisdom is to fear the Lord, 15
and acknowledging 16 the Holy One 17 is understanding.
Proverbs 14:6
Context14:6 The scorner 18 seeks wisdom but finds none, 19
but understanding is easy 20 for a discerning person.
[2:5] 1 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
[2:5] 2 tn Heb “the fear of the
[2:5] 3 tn Heb “find” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[2:5] 4 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] 5 tn Heb “knowledge of God.” The noun is an objective genitive.
[2:10] 6 tn The noun לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as a metonymy of association for “mind” and “thoughts” (BDB 524 s.v. 3). It represents the center of the inner life where the volition and emotions join to bring about actions. It is used here in parallelism with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”), for which see note.
[2:10] 7 tn Heb “knowledge.” For the noun דַּעַת (da’at), see the note on 1:7.
[2:10] 8 tn Heb “pleasant.” The verb יִנְעָם (yin’am, “to be pleasant”) describes what is attractive. It is used of being physically attracted to one’s lover (Song 7:7) or to a close friendship (2 Sam 1:26). Here wisdom becomes attractive to the righteous, that is, the righteous desires to acquire it.
[2:10] 9 tn Heb “your soul.” The term נַפְשְׁךָ (nafshÿkha, “your soul”) functions as a synecdoche of part (= soul) for the whole person (= you); see BDB 660 s.v. 4.a.2. It also might function as a metonymy of association for emotions and passions (BDB 660 s.v. 6) or mental cognition (BDB 660 s.v. 7).
[8:10] 11 tn Heb “discipline.” The term refers to instruction that trains with discipline (e.g., Prov 1:2).
[8:10] 12 tn Heb “and not” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “in preference to.”
[8:12] 16 tn The noun is “shrewdness,” i.e., the right use of knowledge in special cases (see also the discussion in 1:4); cf. NLT “good judgment.” The word in this sentence is an adverbial accusative of specification.
[8:12] 17 tn This verb form is an imperfect, whereas the verb in the first colon was a perfect tense. The perfect should be classified as a gnomic perfect, and this form a habitual imperfect, because both verbs describe the nature of wisdom.
[9:10] 21 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] 22 tn Heb “fear of the
[9:10] 23 tn Heb “knowledge of the Holy One” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[9:10] 24 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
[14:6] 26 sn The “scorner” (לֵץ, lets) is intellectually arrogant; he lacks any serious interest in knowledge or religion. He pursues wisdom in a superficial way so that he can appear wise. The acquisition of wisdom is conditioned by one’s attitude toward it (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 149).
[14:6] 27 tn Heb “and there is not.”
[14:6] 28 sn The Niphal of קָלַל (qalal) means “to appear light; to appear trifling; to appear easy.”
