After a collection of proverbs compiled by King Hezekiah, we now have a collection of proverbs from various unknown individuals. In this chapter, the proverbs are due to someone named Agur.
Proverbs 30: 1, Sayings of Agur
The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh--an oracle: This man declared to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ucal:
The individual Agur is unknown, as are Jakeh, Ithiel, Ucal. One can apparently change the vowel sounds and word divisions of the Hebrew text to replace "to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ucal" with Hebrew words that would be translated "I am weary, God, I am weary and have wasted away." Although this is creative and might have been the original text, there is no evidence of this (says Alter) in the ancient manuscripts. Hebrew names often involved a statement about God ("el" would stand for "elohim", thus the names Elijah and Elisha) and so it is relatively easy to turn Hebrew names into phrases.
The Hebrew word translated "oracle" or "inspired saying" in verse 1 is a version of massa, which means "burden" or "tribute. However massa could also be a place name. (It is possible that there was an Arabian kingdom of that name; Genesis 25:13-14 gives Massa as a descendant of Israel.) The same translation issue appears in the first verse of Proverbs 31.
Proverbs 30:2-4, Most ignorant of men
"I am the most ignorant of men;
I do not have a man's understanding.
I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.
Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands?
Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and the name of his son?
Tell me if you know!
Agur makes no claim to be a teacher but is merely going to point out some observations. He begins by stating that he has very little wisdom and that God is too far beyond us for one to truly comprehend. Can one go "up to heaven" to meet God and then "come down" to earth and explain Him? Certainly not! Following that declaration, like the book of Job (see Job 38), we read statements about God's awesome power in nature. (See also Psalm 145, especially verse 5, for a declaration of praise and promise to meditate on God's works.)
Proverbs 30:5-6, Every word flawless
"Every word of God is flawless;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Do not add to his words,
or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.
See Deuteronomy 4:2 where one is warned about adding to or subtracting from God's words.
Proverbs 30:7-9, Two things -- leading to just daily bread
"Two things I ask of you, O LORD;
do not refuse me before I die:
Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, `Who is the LORD?'
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.
Agur makes two requests of God -- that he might avoid falsehood and that he not experience either wealth or poverty, both of which lead one away from God. All he wants is his "daily bread", that is, the basic needs of everyday living. In the New Testament, Jesus includes this request in his prayer in Luke 11:2-4.
See Deuteronomy 32:15. where Israel is warned about getting rich and fat.
The last line expresses a concern about dishonoring the name of God. The Hebrew word vetafasti is translated "profane" by Alter. Here, as in much of the Old Testament, one dishonors (or "profanes") the name of God by actions. (This is contrary to American church culture where "profanity" is often viewed as a few "bad words".)
Proverbs 30:10, Slandering a servant
"Do not slander a servant to his master,
or he will curse you, and you will pay for it.
This instruction seems to be independent of the rest of the text -- it points out that criticizing an underling to a superior can create considerable anger, as they less powerful individual has little recourse.
The change in tone in this chapter, after verse 9, means that some commentators (such as Alter) believe the rest of the chapter is proverbs from a source other than Agur. Regardless of the source, it is clear that the rest of the chapter has a style quite different from the rest of Proverbs. It is primarily observational, and is absent instructions on wise behavior.
Proverbs 30:11-14, Generations
"There are those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers;
those who are pure in their own eyes
and yet are not cleansed of their filth;
those whose eyes are ever so haughty,
whose glances are so disdainful;
those whose teeth are swords
and whose jaws are set with knives
to devour the poor from the earth,
the needy from among mankind.
Verse 11 begins with the Hebrew word dor, which means "generations". The NIV translates that word as "there are those." That word shows up four times in this passage, generally translated as "those" by the NIV. The complaint seems to focus on a generation that have ignored the teachings of their parents and have their own rebellious ideas of success and power.
Proverbs 30:15-16, Give, give!
"The leech has two daughters.
`Give! Give!' they cry.
"There are three things that are never satisfied,
four that never say, `Enough!':
the grave,
the barren womb,
land, which is never satisfied with water,
and fire, which never says, `Enough!'
Throughout the rest of this chaper there is a numerical form of synthetic parallelism, in which, for emphasis, n items are replaced by n+1 items. That poetical technique also appears in Amos 1:3.
Here the leech claims tow daughters, both screaming. "Give!", while the rest of the passage describes natural things that, like the leech, cry "Give!" Alter says that "a parallelism between Sheol and womb appears elsewhere in Biblical poetry." Certainly both the grave and a barren womb are the opposites of fertility, of the introduction of life, an important blessing of ANE culture.
Proverbs 30:17, Mocking eye
"The eye that mocks a father,
that scorns obedience to a mother,
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,
will be eaten by the vultures.
This short observation warns one that an "eye" that mocks its parents may be plucked out at a later date after an early death!
Proverbs 30:18-19, Awesome
"There are three things that are too amazing for me,
four that I do not understand:
the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a maiden.
This pretty stanza on awesome, beautiful things ends deliberately with the emphasis on the interaction between a man and a woman. This beautiful interaction will be explored further in the Song of Songs.
Proverbs 30:20, But the adulteress
"This is the way of an adulteress:
She eats and wipes her mouth
and says, `I've done nothing wrong.'
After expressing awe at romantic love in verse 19, Agur digresses to describe the opposite of romantic love, an adulteress and her brazenness.
Proverbs 30:21-23, Unnatural
"Under three things the earth trembles,
under four it cannot bear up:
a servant who becomes king,
a fool who is full of food,
an unloved woman who is married,
and a maidservant who displaces her mistress.
In the ANE culture, these four things are described as unnatural: a servant overthrowing all class to become a king, a fool becoming wealthy and full of food, a woman who is married but unloved and, last the first one, a servant (female this time) who replaces her mistress.
Proverbs 30:24-28, Small but effective
"Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:
Ants are creatures of little strength,
yet they store up their food in the summer;
coneys are creatures of little power,
yet they make their home in the crags;
locusts have no king,
yet they advance together in ranks;
a lizard can be caught with the hand,
yet it is found in kings' palaces.
Here are described unimaginably small things that still seem to win out. Ants, coneys (marmots), locusts and small lizards.
The Hebrew semamith, translated here "lizards" is translated "spiders" elsewhere. Regardless of its identity, this is obviously a small creature that can be found everywhere. "Spider" certain works well here; in more tropical climates, "lizard" does also. (I've had both in my house in Texas and did not attempt to remove them.) Small red ants can overrun a kitchen, by the hundreds; marmots are sneaky little rodents that hide among the rocks in the mountains. (I once had a marmot raid my backpack at higher elevations in Colorado.)
Proverbs 30:29-31, Stately and majestic
"There are three things that are stately in their stride,
four that move with stately bearing:
a lion, mighty among beasts, who retreats before nothing;
a strutting rooster,
a he-goat,
and a king with his army around him.
In this stanza the emphasis is on majestic things, things with "stately bearing." Sure lions are stately. Less so, but acting with confidence, is the rooster. Finally a king with an army must be impressive.
Proverbs 30:32-33, Twisting, tweeking
"If you have played the fool and exalted yourself,
or if you have planned evil,
clap your hand over your mouth!
For as churning the milk produces butter,
and as twisting the nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger produces strife."
Churning (or "squeezing") milk produces butter; twisting (or "squeezing") the nose makes it bleeds. People who exalt themselves or plan evil likewise violent stir up strife.
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