Proverbs 30:19

There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: THERE BE THREE (THINGS) ... YEA, FOUR WHICH I KNOW NOT: THE WAY OF AN EAGLE IN THE AIR, THE WAY OF A SERPENT UPON A ROCK, THE WAY OF A SHIP IN THE MIDST OF THE SEA, AND THE WAY OF A MAN WITH A MAID - as all these afford no clue to their mode of action. "The way of a man ( geber: a mighty or wanton man) with a maid," whom he is trying to seduce, is so subtle that it baffles penetration. Inexperienced females must not rely on their own wisdom and strength of resolution, as securing them from evil, when they place themselves in positions of danger. The depths of nature symbolize the depths of Satan and his agents. The eagle flies upward, without turnings. like other birds, and soars so high that the eye cannot trace his "way." The serpent, though without feet or wings, trails along the rock wheresoever it w...

Verse Proverbs 30:19. _THE WAY OF AN EAGLE_] I borrow, with thanks, the very sensible note of the Rev. Mr. Holden on this passage. "The particle כן _ken_ plainly shows that Proverbs 30:19 are to be taken in connection; consequently, it is a comparison between the _way of an adulterous woman_, and the _way of the things_ here described. "The _adulterous woman_ goes about in search of her deluded victim, like as the _eagle_ takes its flight into the air to spy out its prey. She uses every species of blandishment and insinuation to allure and beguile, as the _serpent_ employs its windings and sinuous motions to pass along the _rocks_; she pursues a course surrounded with danger, as _a ship in the midst of the sea_ is con

Another enigma. The four things of Proverbs 30:16 agreed in the common point of insatiableness; the four now mentioned agree in this, that they leave no trace behind them. Proverbs 30:19 THE WAY OF A MAN WITH A MAID - The act of sin leaves no outward mark upon the sinners....

EXPOSITION PROVERBS 30:1 PART VII. FIRST APPENDIX TO THE SECOND COLLECTION, containing "the words of Agur." A short introduction, teaching that the Word of God is the source of wisdom (Proverbs 30:1), is followed by apothegms on different subjects (Proverbs 30:7). Cornelius a Lapide offers the following opinion concerning this appendix, which no one can hesitate to say is well founded, if he attempts to give it a spiritual interpretation, and to discern mysteries under the literal meaning: "Quarta haec pars elegantissima est et pulcherrima, aeque ac diffic

THE WAY OF AN EAGLE IN THE AIR,.... And so of any other bird; but this is mentioned, because it flies swiftest, and soars highest: but the way in which it goes is not known, nor can it be seen with the eye; it cuts the air, and passes through it, but leaves no track behind it which may be pointed to, and it may be said, that is the way the eagle took and flew towards heaven out of sight; THE WAY OF A SERPENT UPON A ROCK; a smooth hard rock; and wonderful it is that it should creep up it without legs; and where it leaves no impression, no footsteps by which it can be traced, as it may in soft and sandy places; THE WAY OF A SHIP IN THE MIDST OF THE SEA; it is marvellous that such a vessel should be supported upon the sea; that it should weather the storms and tempests of it; that it should be steered through the trackless ocean to distant countries; and, particularly, though it makes fur...

VI. THE WORDS OF AGUR THE SON OF JAKEH CHAPTER 30 Some hold that Agur is another name for Solomon. This opinion is also upheld by the Talmud, which speaks of six names which belonged to the King: Solomon, Jedidiah, Koheleth, Son of Jakeh, Agur and Lemuel. But this opinion cannot be verified, nor do we know who Agur the son of Jakeh was. The Septuagint and the Vulgate have translated the Hebrew words and formed a sentence out of them. “Agur” means “assembler” and Jakeh has the meaning of “pious,” so that some think that Agur means an unknown godly man who gathered these sayings and they were embodied in this book. We leave the name as it is, and believe that Agur, the son of Jakeh, is the name of the author of this chapter. “Whoever Agur was, he had a certain marked individuality; he combines meditation on lofty questions of theology with a sound theory of practical life. He was able to...

PROVERBS 30. THE SAYINGS OF AGUR. It is uncertain whether the title embraces the whole chapter or Proverbs 30:1, or Proverbs 30:1 only. Proverbs 30:1. The title is extremely obscure, and has been much discussed. The VSS show a wide divergence in their interpretation. It is perhaps simplest to accept the title as referring to some sage of repute among the Wisdom circles in the Greek period. Proverbs 30:1 b has been interpreted in many ways, the proper names being taken as significant words. The most interesting is that which represents the sage as saying (_cf. mg.),_ I have wearied myself, O God, I ha

MAID. Hebrew. _'almah._ See note on Genesis 24:43. Refers here probably to seduction....

Four things that are INSCRUTABLE....

AND THE WAY OF A MAN WITH A MAID— See Isaiah 7:14. I would just observe upon this passage, that some have understood it as a reference to the incarnation of the Word in the Virgin Mary. The word עלמה _almah,_ rendered _maid,_ signifies a _virgin_ strictly speaking; and גבר _geber,_ rendered _a man,_ may signify _the man,_ or _great one,_ by way of eminence; but for more on this text the reader is referred to Schultens' very accurate discussion of it. Houbigant thinks that the sacred writer here refers to the human conception, which is, indeed, truly miraculous and incomprehensible....