word = saying or utterance. Hebrew. imrah. App-73 . The only occurrence of this word in Proverbs. GOD. Hebrew Eloah. App-4 . The only occurrence of this title in Proverbs. Occurs forty-one times in Job, four times in Psalms, twelve times in the other books. pure = tried [in a furnace]. Compare Psalms 12:6 . unto them. Some codices read "unto all them". put their trust = flee for refuge. Hebrew. hasah. App-69 . read more
AN EXHORTATION TO TRUST GOD"Every Word of God is tried:He is a shield to them that take refuge in him.Add thou not unto his words,Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.""All of the revelation of God is free from error. As originally given, the Bible was free of any error. The alleged mistakes, errors, etc. in ancient manuscripts are insignificant. They do not affect even one percent of the text";[11] and they are of no more consequence than a flyspeck on the Washington Monument!"Add... read more
5. (Compare Psalms 12:6; Psalms 119:140). read more
VI. COLLECTION 6: THE WISDOM OF AGUR CH. 30Chapters 30 and 31 form a distinct section in Proverbs, because neither Solomon (Proverbs 1:1 to Proverbs 22:16; chs. 25-29), nor the unnamed sages (Proverbs 22:17 to Proverbs 24:34), wrote them. Two other wise men, whose names the text records, did. Some expositors speculate that because these men’s discourses occur at the end of the book, the writers probably lived later than the men of Hezekiah. [Note: E.g., Toy, p. 517.] Nevertheless who Agur and... read more
B. Wisdom about God 30:2-9Agur began with three declarations. The subject of each is God. read more
Agur treasured the revelation that God had given. "Tested" means "smelted," purified (cf. Psalms 12:6). It was trustworthy. Agur correctly regarded the aim of revelation to be the promotion of trust in God, not just knowledge (Proverbs 30:5 b). Agur warned against adding to God’s revelation because that is a serious offense (Proverbs 30:6; cf. Deuteronomy 4:2; Revelation 22:18). read more
The Words of AgurThe simplest way of treating the title is to read as follows: ’The words of Agur, son of Yakeh, of Massa.’ Then we may proceed, with RM, ’The man saith, I have wearied myself, O God; I have wearied myself, O God, and am consumed; for I am too stupid to be a man.’ Nothing is known of Agur or Yakeh, and we can only say of these proverbs that they are unlike any that have preceded, and are evidently of later date. The grouping of objects in twos, threes, and fours reminds us of... read more
(5) Every word of God is pure.—Comp. Psalms 19:0, where first (Proverbs 30:1-6) the glories of God as revealed in nature are described, and then (Proverbs 30:7 sqq.) the excellence of the revelation of Himself in His word is extolled. Every word of God is “pure,” i.e., tested and proved in the furnace of experience; e.g., His promise to be a “shield” (Genesis 15:1) to those that trust in Him. (Comp. Psalms 18:30.) read more
God's Riddle Proverbs 30:4 'What is His name? and what is His Son's name? Canst thou tell?' It is God Almighty's great conundrum spoken out of eternity into time; it is the riddle propounded by the Supreme Intelligence to the heart and reason of every man born into the world. I. 'Canst thou tell?' The history of humanity is little else than one long wrestle with God's infinite conundrum. And there are noble souls and able thinkers who never guess the riddle here, though who can dare to doubt... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Proverbs 30:1-9
30:1-31:31 OTHER COLLECTIONS OF WISE SAYINGSThe personal testimony of Agur (30:1-9)Agur, some of whose sayings are collected here, was apparently a well known wisdom teacher in the Palestine region. He begins his instruction with a confession that though he longs to know God he cannot, because he is merely a man. No human being can do the great works God has done. Agur challenges his hearers to tell him the name of any person (or the name of that person’s son, if they prefer) who has been to... read more