Proverbs 30:24

There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise: THERE BE FOUR (THINGS) ... LITTLE UPON THE EARTH (i:e., among the smallest things upon earth), BUT ... EXCEEDING WISE - Hebrew, 'wise, made wise;' endowed with natural instinct for their preservation. Verse 25. THE ANTS - ( , ETC., NOTES.) ... A PEOPLE - ( ) NOT STRONG - as compared with man-whence the Arabs have a proverb, 'Feebler than an ant;' but most strong in proportion to their own size, as the large burdens which they carry show: whence the other Arab proverb arises, 'Stronger than an ant.' The Egyptians made the ant the hieroglyphic for knowledge; and the Arabs put one in the hand of a boy at his birth with the...

Verse Proverbs 30:24. _THERE BE FOUR_ THINGS] Of which it is said, they are _very little_ but _very wise_. 1. The _ants_. 2. The _rabbits_. 3. The _locusts_. 4. The _spider_. 1. The _ants_ show their wisdom by _preparing their meat in the_ _summer_; seeking for it and storing it when it may be had; not for _winter consumption_, for they _sleep_ all that time; but for _autumn_ and _spring_. Proverbs 6:6. The _ants_ are a _people_; they have their _houses, towns, cities, public_ _roads_, c. I have seen several of these, both of the _brown_ and large _black ant_. 2. The _rabbits_ act curiously enough in the construction of their _burrows_ but the word שפן...

EXCEEDING WISE - Some prefer the reading of the Septuagint and Vulgate: “wiser than the wise.” The thought, in either case, turns upon the marvels of instinct, which, in their own province, transcend the more elaborate results of human wisdom....

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

THERE BE FOUR [THINGS WHICH ARE] LITTLE UPON THE EARTH,.... Small in bulk, that have little bodies, are the lesser sort of animals; BUT THEY [ARE] EXCEEDING WISE; show a great deal of art and wisdom in what they do; or "but they are wise, made wise" e by the instinct of nature, by the direction of Providence, by which they do things that are surprising. Some versions, that have no regard to the points, read the words, "but their are wiser than the wise" f; than even wise men; wise men may learn much from the least of creatures; see Job 12:7. e חכמים מחכמים "sapientia, sapientia imbuta"; Heb. "sapientificata", Piscator, Gejerus. f "Sapientiora sapientibus", so Sept. V. L. Arabic and Syriac versions; "sapientia superant, vel prudentissimos", Tigurine version....

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

LITTLE UPON THE EARTH. earth's little ones. EXCEEDING WISE. Hebrew "wise, made wise". Figure of speech _Polyptoton._ App-6. The Septuagint and Vulg, render "wiser than the wise"....

Four things which though little are WISE....

TEXT Proverbs 30:21-33 21. For three things the earth doth tremble, And for four, which it cannot bear: 22. For a servant when he is king; And a fool when he is filled with food; 23. For an odious woman when she is married; And a handmaid that is heir to her mistress. 24. There are four things which are little upon the earth, But they are exceeding wise: 25. The ants are a people not strong, Yet they provide their food in the summer; 26. The conies are but a feeble folk, Yet make they their houses in the rocks; 27. The locusts have no king, Yet go they forth all of them by bands; 28. The lizard taketh hold with her hands, Yet is she in kings-' palaces. 29. There are three things which are stately in their march, Yea, fo