translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: PRO

label: NET translator note

text: Heb “head.” The word רֹאשׁ ( ro ’ sh , “head”) refers to the highest area or most important place in the elevated area. The contrast with chapter is striking. There the wayward woman lurked at the corners in the street at night; here wisdom is at the highest point in the open places in view of all.


text: Heb “at the house of the paths.” The “house” is not literal here, but refers to where the paths meet (cf. ASV, NIV), that is, the “crossroads” (so NAB, NRSV, NLT).


text: Heb “at the mouth of.”


text: The cry is a very loud ringing cry that could not be missed. The term רָנַן ( ranan ) means “to give a ringing cry.” It is often only a shrill sound that might come with a victory in battle, but its use in the psalms for praise shows that it also can have clear verbal content, as it does here. For wisdom to stand in the street and give such a ringing cry would mean that it could be heard by all. It was a proclamation.


text: Heb “men.” Although it might be argued in light of the preceding material that males would be particularly addressed by wisdom here, the following material indicates a more universal appeal. Cf. TEV, NLT “to all of you.”


text: The verb “calls” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of style.


text: Heb “sons of man.” Cf. NAB “the children of men”; NCV, NLT “all people”; NRSV “all that live.”


text: The imperative of בִּין ( bin ) means “to understand; to discern.” The call is for the simple to understand what wisdom is, not just to gain it.


text: Heb “heart.” The noun לֵב ( lev , “heart”) often functions metonymically for wisdom, understanding, discernment.


text: Heb “noble” or “princely.” Wisdom begins the first motivation by claiming to speak noble things, that is, excellent things.


text: Heb “opening of my lips” (so KJV, NASB). The noun “lips” is a metonymy of cause, with the organ of speech put for what is said.


text: Heb “roof of the mouth.” This expression is a metonymy of cause for the activity of speaking.


text: The word “truth” ( אֱמֶת , ’ emet ) is derived from the verbal root אָמַן (’ aman ) which means “to support.” There are a number of derived nouns that have the sense of reliability: “pillars,” “master craftsman,” “nurse,” “guardian.” Modifiers related to this group of words includes things like “faithful,” “surely,” “truly” ( amen ). In the derived stems the verb develops various nuances: The Niphal has the meanings of “reliable, faithful, sure, steadfast,” and the Hiphil has the meaning “believe” (i.e., consider something dependable). The noun “truth” means what is reliable or dependable, firm or sure.


text: Heb “wickedness is an abomination to my lips” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).


text: The phrase could be rendered with an understood ellipsis: “all the words of my mouth [are said] in righteousness”; or the preposition could be interpreted as a beth essentiae : “all the words of my mouth are righteousness.”


text: Heb “front of.” Describing the sayings as “right in front” means they are open, obvious, and clear, as opposed to words that might be twisted or perverse. The parallel word “upright” means “straight, smooth, right.” Wisdom’s teachings are in plain view and intelligible for those who find knowledge.


text: Heb “discipline.” The term refers to instruction that trains with discipline (e.g., Prov 1:2 ).


text: Heb “and not” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “in preference to.”


text: The verb יִשְׁווּ ( yishvu , from שָׁוָה , shavah ) can be rendered “are not comparable” or in a potential nuance “cannot be compared” with her.


text: 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.


text: 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.


text: The verb שָׂנֵא ( sane ’) means “to hate.” In this sentence it functions nominally as the predicate. Fearing the Lord is hating evil. sn The verb translated “hate” has the basic idea of rejecting something spontaneously. For example, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” ( Mal 1:2 b, 3a). It frequently has the idea of disliking or loathing (as English does), but almost always with an additional aspect of rejection. To “hate evil” is not only to dislike it, but to reject it and have nothing to do with it.


text: 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.”


text: 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).


label: NET textual note

text: In the second half of v. 14 instead of אֲנִי (’ ani ) the editors propose reading simply לִי ( li ) as the renderings in the LXX, Latin, and Syriac suggest. Then, in place of the לִי that comes in the same colon, read וְלִי ( vÿli ). While the MT is a difficult reading, it can be translated as it is. It would be difficult to know exactly what the ancient versions were reading, because their translations could have been derived from either text. They represent an effort to smooth out the text. tn Heb “To me [belong] counsel and sound wisdom.” The second colon in the verse has: “I, understanding, to me and might.” sn In vv. 14-17 the pronouns come first and should receive greater prominence – although it is not always easy to do this with English.


text: The verb רָזַן ( razan ) means “to be weighty; to be judicious; to be commanding.” It only occurs in the Qal active participle in the plural as a substantive, meaning “potentates; rulers” (e.g., Ps 1:1-3 ). Cf. KJV, ASV “princes”; NAB “lawgivers.”


text: The term “and” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and readability.


text: Many of the MT mss read “sovereigns [princes], all the judges of the earth.” The LXX has “sovereigns…rule the earth.” But the MT manuscript in the text has “judges of righteousness.” C. H. Toy suggests that the Hebrew here has assimilated Psalm 148:11 in its construction ( Proverbs [ICC], 167). The expression “judges of the earth” is what one would expect, but the more difficult and unexpected reading, the one scribes might change, would be “judges of righteousness.” If that reading stands, then it would probably be interpreted as using an attributive genitive.


text: The two synonyms, “than gold, than fine gold” probably form a hendiadys here to express “the very finest gold.”


text: The infinitive construct expressing the purpose of the preceding “walk” in the way of righteousness. These verses say that wisdom is always on the way of righteousness for the purposes of bestowing the same to those who find her. If sin is involved, then wisdom has not been followed.


text: The Piel imperfect continues the verbal idea that the infinitive began in the parallel colon even though it does not have the vav on the form.


text: The LXX adds at the end of this verse: “If I declare to you the things of daily occurrence, I will remember to recount the things of old.”


text: There are two roots קָנָה ( qanah ) in Hebrew, one meaning “to possess,” and the other meaning “to create.” The earlier English versions did not know of the second root, but suspected in certain places that a meaning like that was necessary (e.g., Gen 4:1; 14:19 ; Deut 32:6 ). Ugaritic confirmed that it was indeed another root. The older versions have the translation “possess” because otherwise it sounds like God lacked wisdom and therefore created it at the beginning. They wanted to avoid saying that wisdom was not eternal. Arius liked the idea of Christ as the wisdom of God and so chose the translation “create.” Athanasius translated it, “constituted me as the head of creation.” The verb occurs twelve times in Proverbs with the meaning of “to acquire”; but the Greek and the Syriac versions have the meaning “create.” Although the idea is that wisdom existed before creation, the parallel ideas in these verses (“appointed,” “given birth”) argue for the translation of “create” or “establish” (R. N. Whybray, “ Proverbs 8:22-31 and Its Supposed Prototypes,” VT 15 [1965]: 504-14; and W. A. Irwin, “Where Will Wisdom Be Found?” JBL 80 [1961]: 133-42).


text: Verbs of creation often involve double accusatives; here the double accusative involves the person (i.e., wisdom) and an abstract noun in construct ( IBHS 174-75 §10.2.3c).


text: Heb “his way” (so KJV, NASB). The word “way” is an idiom (implied comparison) for the actions of God. sn The claim of wisdom in this passage is that she was foundational to all that God would do.


text: The first parallel verb is נִסַּכְתִּי ( nissakhti ), “I was appointed.” It is not a common word; it occurs here and in Ps 2:6 for the coronation of the king. It means “installed, set.”


text: The verb “existed” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation in the light of the context.


text: The third parallel verb is חוֹלָלְתִּי ( kholalti ), “I was given birth.” Some (e.g., KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV) translate it “brought forth” – not in the sense of being presented, but in the sense of being “begotten, given birth to.” Here is the strongest support for the translation of קָנָה ( qanah ) as “created” in v. 22 . The verb is not literal; it continues the perspective of the personification.


text: Heb “made heavy.”


text: Heb “open places.”


text: Here רֹאשׁ ( ro ’ sh ) means “beginning” with reference to time (BDB 911 s.v. 4 .b).


text: To form a better parallel some commentators read this infinitive בַּעֲזוֹז ( ba ’ azoz ), “when [they] grew strong,” as a Piel causative, “when he made firm, fixed fast” (cf. NIV “fixed securely”; NLT “established”). But the following verse (“should not pass over”) implies the meaning “grew strong” here.


text: Heb “his mouth.”


text: The verb form is a preterite with vav consecutive, although it has not been apocopated. It provides the concluding statement for the temporal clauses as well as the parallel to v. 27 .


text: Critical to the interpretation of this line is the meaning of אָמוֹן (’ amon ). Several suggestions have been made: “master craftsman” (cf. ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV), “nursing child” (cf. NCV), “foster father.” R. B. Y. Scott chooses “faithful” – a binding or living link (“Wisdom in Creation: The ‘Amon of Proverbs 8:30 ,” VT 10 [1960]: 213-23). The image of a child is consistent with the previous figure of being “given birth to” (vv. 24, 25 ). However, “craftsman” has the most support (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac, Tg . Prov 8:30 , Song 7:1 ; Jer 52:15 ; also P. W. Skehan, “Structures in Poems on Wisdom: and Sirach 24,” CBQ 41 [1979]: 365-79).


text: The word is a plural of intensification for “delight”; it describes wisdom as the object of delight. The LXX has the suffix; the Hebrew does not.


text: The two words are synonymous in general and so could be taken to express a superlative idea – the “whole world” (cf. NIV, NCV). But תֵּבֵל ( tevel ) also means the inhabited world, and so the construct may be interpreted as a partitive genitive.


text: Heb “and my delights” [were] with/in.”


text: Heb “the sons of man.”


text: Heb “sons.”


text: Heb “discipline.”


text: The construction uses two imperatives joined with the vav ( ו ); this is a volitive sequence in which result or consequence is being expressed.


text: Heb “the man.”


text: The form לִשְׁקֹד ( lishqod ) is the infinitive construct serving epexegetically in the sentence. It explains how the person will listen to wisdom.


text: Heb “keeping” or “guarding.”


text: Heb “at the posts of my doors” (so KJV, ASV).


text: The Kethib reads plurals: “those who find me are finders of life”; this is reflected in the LXX and Syriac. But the Qere is singular: “whoever finds me finds life.” The Qere is generally favored as the original reading in such cases as these.


text: The preterite with vav ( ו ) consecutive carries the same nuance as the perfect tense that came before it, setting out the timeless principle.


text: Heb “the one sinning [against] me.” The verb חָטָא ( khata ’, “to sin”) forms a contrast with “find” in the previous verse, and so has its basic meaning of “failing to find, miss.” So it is talking about the one who misses wisdom, as opposed to the one who finds it.


text: The Qal active participle functions verbally here. The word stresses both social and physical harm and violence. sn Brings harm. Whoever tries to live without wisdom is inviting all kinds of disaster into his life.


text: Heb “his soul.”


text: The basic idea of the verb שָׂנֵא ( sane ’, “to hate”) is that of rejection. Its antonym is also used in the line, “love,” which has the idea of choosing. So not choosing (i.e., hating) wisdom amounts to choosing (i.e., loving) death.