translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: PRO

label: NET translator note

text: The title הַמַּשָּׂא ( hammasa ’) means “the burden,” a frequently used title in prophetic oracles. It may be that the word is a place name, although it is more likely that it describes what follows as an important revelation.


text: The definite article is used here as a demonstrative, clarifying the reference to Agur.


text: The particle כִּי ( ki ) functions in an asseverative sense, “surely; indeed; truly” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax , 73, §449).


text: The noun בַּעַר ( ba ’ ar ) means “brutishness”; here it functions as a predicate adjective. It is followed by מֵאִישׁ ( me ’ ish ) expressing comparative degree: “more than a man” or “more than any man,” with “man” used in a generic sense. He is saying that he has fallen beneath the level of mankind. Cf. NRSV “I am too stupid to be human.”


text: Heb “than man.” The verse is using hyperbole; this individual feels as if he has no intelligence at all, that he is more brutish than any other human. Of course this is not true, or he would not be able to speculate on the God of the universe at all.


text: Heb “the understanding of a man,” with “man” used attributively here.


text: The epithet “the Holy One” is the adjective “holy” put in the masculine plural (as in 9:10 ). This will harmonize with the plural of majesty used to explain the plural with titles for God. However, NRSV takes the plural as a reference to the “holy ones,” presumably referring to angelic beings.


text: The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.


text: The form of the verb is a Niphal perfect tense with a vav consecutive from the root כָּזַב ( kazav , “to lie”). In this stem it has the ideas of “been made deceptive,” or “shown to be false” or “proved to be a liar.” One who adds to or changes the word of the Lord will be seen as a liar.


text: Assuming that the contents of vv. 7-9 are a prayer, several English versions have supplied a vocative phrase: “O Lord ” (NIV); “O God” (NLT); others have supplied a similar phrase without the vocative “O”: NCV, CEV “Lord”; TEV “God.”


text: The two words might form a hendiadys: “falsehood and lies” being equivalent to “complete deception.” The word שָׁוְא means “false; empty; vain; to a false purpose.” The second word means “word of lying,” thus “a lying word.” Taken separately they might refer to false intentions and false words.


text: The word חֹק ( khoq ) means “statute”; it is also used of a definite assignment in labor ( Exod 5:14 ; Prov 31:15 ), or of a set portion of food ( Gen 47:22 ). Here it refers to food that is the proper proportion for the speaker.


text: The verb כָּחַשׁ ( kakhash ) means “to be disappointing; to deceive; to fail; to grow lean.” In the Piel stem it means “to deceive; to act deceptively; to cringe; to disappoint.” The idea of acting deceptively is illustrated in Hos 9:2 where it has the connotation of “disowning” or “refusing to acknowledge” (a meaning very close to its meaning here).


text: The Hebrew verb literally means “to take hold of; to seize”; this produces the idea of doing violence to the reputation of God.


text: The form תַּלְשֵׁן ( talshen ) is the Hiphil jussive (with the negative אַל , ’ al ); it is a denominative verb from the noun “tongue” (Heb “wag the tongue”). It means “to defame; to slander,” if the accusation is untrue. Some have suggested that the word might have the force of “denouncing” a slave to his master, accusing him before authorities (e.g., Deut 23:15-16 ). This proverb would then be a warning against meddling in the affairs of someone else.


text: If what was said were true, then there would be no culpability. But the implication here is that it was slander. And the effect of that will be a curse – the person who is the target of the slander will “curse” the person who slandered him ( קָלַל [ qalal ] in the Piel means “to treat lightly [or, with contempt]; to curse”), and culpability will result (the verb וֹשׁם means “to be guilty; to make a guilt offering [or, reparation offering]”). This word for guilt suggests a connection to the Levitical teaching that the guilty had to make reparation for damages done (). Cf. NAB “you will have to pay the penalty”; NIV, NLT “you will pay for it.”


text: The verb רָחַץ ( rakhats ) means “to wash; to wash off; to wash away; to bathe.” It is used of physical washing, ceremonial washings, and hence figuratively of removing sin and guilt through confession (e.g., Isa 1:16 ). Here the form is the Pual perfect (unless it is a rare old Qal passive, since there is no Piel and no apparent change of meaning from the Qal). sn The point of the verse is that there are people who observe outer ritual and think they are pure ( טָהוֹר [ tahor ] is the Levitical standard for entrance into the sanctuary), but who pay no attention to inner cleansing (e.g., Matt 23:27 ).


text: Heb “how high are its eyes!” This is a use of the interrogative pronoun in exclamatory sentences (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax , 25, §127).


text: Heb “its eyelids are lifted up,” a gesture indicating arrogance and contempt or disdain for others. To make this clear, the present translation supplies the adverb “disdainfully” at the end of the verse. sn The verbs “to be high” (translated “are…lofty”) and “to be lifted up” depict arrogance and disdain for others. The emphasis on the eyes and eyelids (parasynonyms in poetry) is employed because the glance, the look, is the immediate evidence of contempt for others (e.g., also 6:17 and Ps 131:1 ).


text: Heb “teeth” (so NRSV) or “jaw teeth” (so KJV, ASV, NASB) or perhaps “jawbone.” This is a different Hebrew word for “teeth” than the one in the previous line; if it refers to “jaw teeth” then a translation like “molars” would be appropriate, although this image might not fit with the metaphor (“like knives”) unless the other teeth, the incisors or front teeth, are pictured as being even longer (“like swords”).


text: The Hebrew form לֶאֱכֹל ( le ’ ekhol ) is the Qal infinitive construct; it indicates the purpose of this generation’s ruthless power – it is destructive. The figure is an implied comparison (known as hypocatastasis) between “devouring” and “destroying.”


text: The two imperatives הַב הַב ( hav hav , “give, give,” from יָהַב , yahav ) correspond to the two daughters, and form their appeal. This would then be a personification – it is as if the leech is crying out, “Give! Give!”


text: Throughout the book of Proverbs הוֹן ( hon ) means “wealth”; but here it has the nuance of “sufficiency” (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT “satisfied”) or “enough” (BDB 223 s.v.).


text: The term שְׁאוֹל ( she ’ ol , “Sheol”) refers here to the realm of the dead: “the grave” (so KJV, NIV, NLT); cf. TEV, CEV “the world of the dead”; NAB “the nether world.”


text: Heb “the closing of the womb,” a situation especially troubling for one who is consumed with a desire for children (e.g., Gen 16:2; 30:1 ).


text: The Hebrew word לִיקֲּהַת ( liqqahat , “obeying”) occurs only here and in Gen 49:10 ; it seems to mean “to receive” in the sense of “receiving instruction” or “obeying.” C. H. Toy suggests emending to “to old age” ( לְזִקְנַת , lÿziqnat ) of the mother ( Proverbs [ICC], 530). The LXX with γῆρας ( ghra" , “old age”) suggests that a root lhq had something to do with “white hair.” D. W. Thomas suggests a corruption from lhyqt to lyqht ; it would have read, “The eye that mocks a father and despises an aged mother” (“A Note on לִיקֲּהַת in Proverbs 30:17 ,” JTS 42 [1941]: 154-55); this is followed by NAB “or scorns an aged mother.”


text: The form נִפְלְאוּ ( niflÿ ’ u ) is the Niphal perfect from פָּלָא ( pala ’); the verb means “to be wonderful; to be extraordinary; to be surpassing”; cf. NIV “too amazing.” The things mentioned are things that the sage finds incomprehensible (e.g., Gen 18:14 ; Judg 13:18 ; Ps 139:6 ; and Isa 9:6 [5]). The sage can only admire these wonders – he is at a loss to explain them.


text: This last item in the series is the most difficult to understand. The MT reads וְדֶּרֶךְ גֶּבֶר בְּעַלְמָה ( vÿderekh gever bÿ ’ almah , “and the way of a man with a maid,” so KJV, NASB). The last term does not in and of itself mean “virgin” but rather describes a young woman who is sexually ready for marriage. What is probably in view here is the wonder of human sexuality, for the preposition בְּ ( bet ) in this sequence indicates that the “way of the man” is “with” the woman. This mystery might begin with the manner of obtaining the love of the young woman, but focuses on the most intimate part of human relationships. And all of this was amazing to the sage. All of it is part of God’s creative plan and therefore can be enjoyed and appreciated without fully comprehending it.


text: Heb “filled with food” (so ASV); NASB “satisfied with food”; NAB, NRSV “glutted with food”; CEV “who eats too much”; NLT “who prospers.” sn The expression stuffed with food probably represents prosperity in general. So the line portrays someone who suddenly comes into wealth, but continues to be boorish and irreligious.


text: The Hebrew term means “hated,” from שָׂנֵא ( sane ’), a feminine passive participle. The text does not say why she is hated; some have speculated that she might be odious (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB) or unattractive, but perhaps she is married to someone incapable of showing love (e.g., Gen 29:31, 33 ; Deut 21:15 ; Isa 60:5 ). Perhaps the strange situation of Jacob was in the mind of the sage, for Leah was described as “hated” ( Gen 29:31 ).


text: The verb יָרַשׁ ( yarash ) means either (1) “to possess; to inherit” or (2) “to dispossess.” Often the process of possessing meant the dispossessing of those already there (e.g., Hagar and Sarah in Gen 16:5; 21:10 ); another example is the Israelites’ wars against the Canaanites.


text: Heb “Four are the small things of the earth.” TEV has “four animals,” though in the list of four that follows, two are insects and one is a reptile.


text: The construction uses the Pual participle with the plural adjective as an intensive; these four creatures are the very embodiment of wisdom (BDB 314 s.v. חָכַם Pu).


text: Or “hyraxes.” This is the Syrian Hyrax, also known as the rock badger. KJV, ASV has “conies” (alternately spelled “coneys” by NIV), a term usually associated with the European rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ) but which can also refer to the pika or the hyrax. Scholars today generally agree that the Hebrew term used here refers to a type of hyrax, a small ungulate mammal of the family Procaviidae native to Africa and the Middle East which has a thick body, short legs and ears and a rudimentary tail. The simple “badger” (so NASB, NRSV, CEV) could lead to confusion with the badger, an entirely unrelated species of burrowing mammal related to weasels. sn Modern scholars identify this creature with the rock badger (the Syrian hyrax), a small mammal that lives in the crevices of the rock. Its wisdom consists in its ingenuity to find a place of security.


text: The KJV, agreeing with Tg . Prov 30:28 , translated this term as “spider.” But almost all modern English versions and commentators, following the Greek and the Latin versions, have “lizard.” sn The point of this saying is that a weak creature like a lizard, that is so easily caught, cannot be prevented from getting into the most significant places.


text: Although the Hebrew noun translated “king” is singular here, it is traditionally translated as plural: “kings’ palaces” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).


text: The form מֵיטִיבֵי ( metibe ) is the Hiphil participle, plural construct. It has the idea of “doing good [in] their step.” They move about well, i.e., magnificently. The genitive would be a genitive of specification.


text: The construction uses the Hiphil participle again (as in the previous line) followed by the infinitive construct of הָלַךְ ( halakh ). This forms a verbal hendiadys, the infinitive becoming the main verb and the participle before it the adverb.


text: Heb “mighty among the beasts,” but referring to a superlative degree (“mightiest”).


text: The Hebrew term זַרְזִיר ( zarzir ) means “girt”; it occurs only here with “loins” in the Bible: “that which is girt in the loins” (BDB 267 s.v.). Some have interpreted this to be the “greyhound” because it is narrow in the flanks (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs , 327); so KJV, ASV. Others have suggested the warhorse, zebra, raven, or starling. Tg . Prov 30:31 has it as the large fighting cock that struts around among the hens. There is no clear referent that is convincing, although most modern English versions use “strutting rooster” or something similar (cf. CEV “proud roosters”).


label: NET textual note

text: This last line has inspired many suggestions. The MT has “with his army around him” ( אַלְקוּם עִמּוֹ , ’ alqum ’ immo ); so NIV. This has been emended to read “against whom there is no rising up” (so KJV, ASV) or “standing over his people.” The LXX has “a king haranguing his people.” Tg . Prov 30:31 has, “a king who stands up before his people and addresses them.” Some have attempted to identify this with Alcimus, the high priest who aspired to kingship (1 Macc 7:5-22), but such a suggestion is quite remote. Another interpretation sees the word for “God” in the line: “a king with whom God is.” Furthermore, C. H. Toy thinks the text is corrupt and must have at one time referred to some majestic animal ( Proverbs [ICC], 537). While all these suggestions are fascinating, they have not improved or corrected the Hebrew text. At least one can say the focus is on the stately appearance of the king at some auspicious moment. The word occurs only here; but if it is interpreted with its Arabic cognate in mind, then it refers to a band of soldiers (BDB 39 s.v. אַלְקוּם ).


text: The construction has the בְּ ( bet ) preposition with the Hitpael infinitive construct, forming a temporal clause. This clause explains the way in which the person has acted foolishly.


text: Heb “hand to mouth.” This express means “put your hand to your mouth” (e.g., Job 40:4, 5 ); cf. NIV “clap your hand over.”


text: This line provides the explanation for the instruction to keep silent in the previous verse. It uses two images to make the point, and in so doing repeats two words throughout. The first is the word מִיץ ( mits ), which is translated (in sequence) “churning,” “punching,” and “stirring up.” The form is a noun, and BDB 568 s.v. suggests translating it as “squeezing” in all three places, even in the last where it describes the pressure or the insistence on strife. This noun occurs only here. The second repeated word, the verb יוֹצִיא ( yotsir ), also occurs three times; it is the Hiphil imperfect, meaning “produces” (i.e., causes to go out).