Proverbs 30:25

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...

See the marginal reference note. Note the word “people” applied here to ants, as to locusts in Joel 1:6. The marvel lies in their collective, and, as it were, organized action....

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 ANTS [ARE] A PEOPLE NOT STRONG,.... Far from it; what is weaker than an ant? a multitude of them may be destroyed at once, with the crush of a foot. Pliny calls it "minimum animal", the least animal; and the Arabians use it as a proverb, to call a weak man one weaker than an ant: and there is one sort of ants called "dsar", so small that one hundred of them will not weigh more than a barley corn g: they are called a people, because they associate together in great numbers; though small in bulk, and weak as to power and strength; and which is a figure elsewhere used in the sacred Scriptures; see Joel 1:6; and by profane writers, as Homer and Virgil, who speak of bees as a people and nation h; and of nations of flies, and of flying birds, geese, cranes, and swans i; YET THEIR PREPARE THEIR MEAT IN THE SUMMER; build granaries with great art and wisdom, carry in grains of corn with

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

A PEOPLE. So are those "made wise" (2 Timothy 3:15) who are God's People (Psalms 100:3). NOT STRONG. very weak. Figure of speech _Tapeinosis._ So Romans 5:6 (compare Isaiah 40:29; Isaiah 45:24.Job 12:13; Job 12:13). PREPARE. will prepare. Hebrews 10:5....

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

THE WORDS OF AGUR The simplest way of treating the title is to read as follows: 'The words of Agur, son of Yakeh, of Massa.' Then we may proceed, with RM, 'The man saith, I have wearied myself, O God; I have wearied myself, O God, and am consumed; for I am too stupid to be a man.' Nothing is known of Agur or Yakeh, and we can only say of these proverbs that they are unlike any that have preceded, and are evidently of later date. The grouping of objects in twos, threes, and fours reminds us of Job 5:19; Psalms 62:11; Amos 1:2, and of later Jewish books, such as 'The Ethics of the Fathers' and the Talmudic treatise 'Horajoth.' 1-4. He lays no claim to the wisdom of which some boast: he does not profess to understand t