VII. The Words of King Lemuel. Chap. Proverbs 31:1-9 We have here another short Appendix. King Lemuel records, as his oracle, or wise teaching, the counsel given him by his mother (Proverbs 31:1). With terms of ardent affection (Proverbs 31:2) she bids him beware of lust (Proverbs 31:3), and excess... [ Continue Reading ]
_The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy_&c. Like Agur (Proverbs 30:1) Lemuel is some unknown king, whose _oracle or prophecy_is here preserved for us among the "words of the Wise." The rendering of R.V. marg. _King of Massa_, is arrived at by neglecting the accents, and taking the word _massa, orac... [ Continue Reading ]
_What_ This word thrice repeated finds its sufficient explanation in the yearning earnestness of a mother's heart. The LXX. expand it, "What, my son, shalt thou keep? What? the sayings of God." Similarly Maurer and Rosenmuller, "What shall I say unto thee? With what precepts shall I be able sufficie... [ Continue Reading ]
that which] Or, with a slight change in the Heb., "them that"; thus preserving more exactly the parallelism with the first clause of the verse. Comp. Deuteronomy 17:17; 1 Kings 11:1-8.... [ Continue Reading ]
It is _not for_ or, _Far be it from_. _for princes strong drink_ Rather, FOR PRINCES _to say_, WHERE IS STRONG DRINK? This is the corrected Heb. reading for that noticed in R.V., marg., "Another reading is, _to desire strong drink_.... [ Continue Reading ]
_of any of the afflicted_ "Heb. _of all the sons of affliction_," A.V. and R.V. marg.... [ Continue Reading ]
_of heavy hearts_ Better, with R.V. text and A.V. marg., BITTER IN SOUL. Comp. 1 Samuel 1:10, where the same Heb. expression is used.... [ Continue Reading ]
_for the dumb_ for all who cannot plead their own cause. _such as are appointed to destruction_ Lit. THE SONS OF PASSING AWAY. We may understand this either of those who are in danger of ruin by being condemned to loss of life or goods; or of those who are _left desolate_(R.V. text), and have no on... [ Continue Reading ]
_plead the cause of_ Rather, MINISTER JUDGEMENT TO, R.V. Lit JUDGE.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Who can find_ It is no easy thing to do. _a virtuous woman_ The R.V. follows the order of the Heb.: _A virtuous woman who can find?_, giving emphasis by the arrangement of the words to the subject of the whole Section. _virtuous_ Lit. A WOMAN OF MIGHT, or POWER, or CAPACITY; γυναῖκα ἀνδρείαν, LXX;... [ Continue Reading ]
VIII. The Virtuous Woman. Chap. Proverbs 31:10-31 This short Appendix differs from the other Sections of the Book of Proverbs in having one subject throughout, and in being in form acrostic or alphabetical. Each verse begins with a letter, taken in order, of the Hebrew alphabet. There is nothing in... [ Continue Reading ]
_doth safely trust in her_ Or, _trusteth in her_, R.V. "The very first item in the catalogue of good qualities is the rarest of all: -the heart of her husband doth safely trust in her." The husband in nine cases out of every ten does not feel very confident that -she will do him good and not evil,... [ Continue Reading ]
_seeketh_ Some would render, _applies herself to, busies herself about_. The LXX. have _draws out_; μηρυομένη.... [ Continue Reading ]
_She is like the merchant's ships_ The principles of profitable exchange which regulate foreign trade are exemplified in the narrower sphere of her wise domestic economy. The reference to merchant-ships is interesting as pointing to an age when trade with foreign countries was common.... [ Continue Reading ]
_a portion_ So R.V. margin. But R.V. text, _their task_, the _pensum_, or amount of wool weighed out to each maiden for her day's task. Comp. "Noctem addens operi, famulasque ad lumina longo Exercet penso." Virg. _Æn_. VIII. 411, 412. Dean Plumptre (_Speak. Comm_.) compares the picture of Lucret... [ Continue Reading ]
_perceiveth_ Lit. TASTETH, A.V. margin (ἐγεύσατο, LXX.; gustavit, Vulg.), finds by experience. _good_ i.e. _profitable_, R.V. Comp. "better than the merchandise of silver," Proverbs 3:14. _her candle_ Rather, LAMP. To be understood literally, see Proverbs 31:15, not figuratively as in Proverbs 13:... [ Continue Reading ]
_spindle … distaff_ Rather, DISTAFF … SPINDLE, with R.V. Of the two Heb. words here used the first occurs nowhere else, but it is derived from a root which means _to be straight_, and therefore may properly denote the _distaff_, or straight rod. Of the second word, the root-meaning is _to be round_.... [ Continue Reading ]
_stretcheth out_ Rather, SPREADETH OUT. _her hand_ Lit. HER PALM. The whole expression, _spreadeth out her palm_(holding out the gift for acceptance) denotes the open-handed liberality with which she disperses abroad and gives to the poor (Psalms 112:9; 2 Corinthians 9:9). "The hand which is thus... [ Continue Reading ]
_scarlet_ It has been proposed to change the Heb. vowel-points and render, _double_garments, or garments of _double_texture and warmth, δισσὰς χλαίνας, LXX; _duplicibus_, Vulg. There is no reason, however, to alter the word. There is a touch of poetry in the contrast between the white snow, the embl... [ Continue Reading ]
_coverings_ i.e. _carpets_or _cushions_, to be spread out on the bed or divan. Comp. Proverbs 7:16. _silk_ Rather, FINE LINEN, as the word is rendered both of Egyptian robes of honour (Genesis 41:42) and of the Jewish High-priest's garments (Exodus 28:39), as well as of the coverings of the Taberna... [ Continue Reading ]
_is known_ both by the fitting attire and by the freedom from anxiety and distraction, which her care and industry secure to him. Dean Plumptre in _Speaker's Comm_. quotes the words of Nausicaa to her father in Hom. _Odyss_. vi. 60: "Tis meet for thee to sit among the princes, And hold thy council... [ Continue Reading ]
_fine linen_ Rather, LINEN GARMENTS. The word, which is not the same as that rendered _fine linen_in Proverbs 31:22, denotes not the material but a made-up garment, σινδόνας LXX.; sindonem, Vulg. It is rendered _sheets_, A.V., but _linen garments_, R.V., in Judges 14:12-13, where it is described in... [ Continue Reading ]
_she shall rejoice in_ Rather: SHE LAUGHETH AT, i.e. so far from regarding it with apprehension, she can look forward to it with joyful confidence. Comp. "He laugheth at the rushing of the javelin," in the description of Leviathan, Job 41:29.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the law_ "Or, _teaching_," R.V. marg. The wise instruction and counsel she gives is so combined with kindness, as to win rather than compel obedience. Comp. "the gracious words which proceeded out of His lips." Luke 4:22.... [ Continue Reading ]
_looketh well to_ a happy rendering. Lit. KEEPETH WATCH UPON, as in Proverbs 15:3. As Almighty God, from His lofty watch-tower in heaven, observes all the minutest details of the manifold work that is going on in the busy hive of earth, so does she from her exalted position in which He has placed he... [ Continue Reading ]
_done virtuously_ This rendering, which recalls the same word in Proverbs 31:10 ("a woman of _virtue_," "have done _virtue_"), is much to be preferred to the rendering of LXX. and Vulg. and A.V. marg., _gotten riches_. _excellest them all_ Regarded as the commendation of her husband and children, t... [ Continue Reading ]
This concluding paragraph may be regarded either as the comment of the author himself upon the picture he has just drawn, or as being the actual words of the "praise" bestowed by her husband and her children upon the "virtuous woman." The latter view is taken by R.V., which introduces the paragraph... [ Continue Reading ]
_that feareth the Lord_ Thus does Wisdom, true ever to herself, return in her last utterance to her first (Proverbs 1:7), and place once again the crown on the head of the godly.... [ Continue Reading ]