Proverbs 30:2-6

PROVERBS—NOTE ON Proverbs 30:2 I am too stupid to be a man. Wisdom texts often begin with a teacher proclaiming that he is wise and so his words ought to be obeyed. Here, Agur does just the opposite: he confesses that he is not learned in wisdom (vv. Proverbs 30:2). Agur then asks a series of rhetorical questions to show the limitations on human understanding and achievement (v. Proverbs 30:4). Like the questions of God in Job 38:1, these questions point to things that only God can do. Silent reverence is the only proper human response (Proverbs 30:6). The whole of vv. Proverbs 30:2 teaches that human wisdom is limited, that the wisest people recognize their ignorance, that truth resides in the word of God, and that no one should think he is able to improve upon the wisdom that God has given.