Proverbs 1:8
Verse
Context
Sermons







Summary
Commentary
- Keil-Delitzsch
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary
After the author has indicated the object which his Book of Proverbs is designed to subserve, and the fundamental principle on which it is based, he shows for whom he has intended it; he has particularly the rising generation in his eye: 8 Hear, my son, thy father's instruction, And refuse not the teaching of thy mother; 9 For these are a fair crown to thy head, And Jewels to thy neck. "My son," says the teacher of wisdom to the scholar whom he has, or imagines that he has, before him, addressing him as a fatherly friend. The N.T. representation of birth into a new spiritual life, Co1 4:15; Plm 1:10; Gal 4:19, lies outside the circle of the O.T. representation; the teacher feels himself as a father by virtue of his benevolent, guardian, tender love. Father and mother are the beloved parents of those who are addressed. When the Talmud understands אביך of God, אמּך of the people (אמּה), that is not the grammatico-historic meaning, but the practical interpretation and exposition, after the manner of the Midrash. The same admonition (with נצר, keep, instead of שׁמע, hear, and מצות, command, instead of מוּסר, instruction) is repeated in Pro 6:20, and what is said of the parents in one passage is in Pro 10:1 divided into two synonymous parallel passages. The stricter musar, which expresses the idea of sensible means of instruction (discipline), (Pro 13:24; Pro 22:15; Pro 23:13.), is suitably attributed to the father, and the torah to the mother, only administered by the word; Wisdom also always says תּורתי (my torah), and only once, Pro 8:10, מוּסרי (my musar). Pro 1:9 הם, which is also used in the neut. illa, e.g., Job 22:24, refers here to the paternal discipline and the maternal teaching. These, obediently received and followed, are the fairest ornament of the child. לויה, from לוה, to wind, to roll, Arab. lawy (from לו, whence also לוּל = לולו, as דּוּד, to boil up, = דּודּו), means winding, twisted ornament, and especially wreath; a crown of gracefulness is equivalent to a graceful crown, a corolla gratiosa, as Schultens translates it; cf. Pro 4:9, according to which, Wisdom bestows such a crown. (Note: In לוית חן the חן has the conjunctive accent shalsheleth, on account of which the Pesiq accent is omitted. This small shalsheleth occurs only eight times. See Torath Emeth, p. 36.) ענקים (or ענקות, Jdg 8:26) are necklaces, jewels for the neck; denom. of the Arab. 'unek, and Aram. עוּנק, the neck (perhaps from ענק = עוּק, to oppress, of heavy burdens; cf. αὐχήν, the neck). גּרגּות, is, like fauces, the throat by which one swallows (Arab. ǵarǵara, taǵarǵara), a plur. extensive (Bttcher, 695), and is better fitted than גּרון to indicate the external throat; Ezekiel, however, uses (Eze 16:11) garon, as our poet (Pro 3:3, Pro 3:22; Pro 6:21) uses garg'roth, to represent the front neck. (Note: The writing varies greatly. Here and at Pro 6:21 we have לגרגּרתך; at Pro 3:3, על־גּרגּותך, Pro 3:22, לגרגּרתיך. Thus according to the Masora and correct texts.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
My son--This paternal form denotes a tender regard for the reader. Filial sentiments rank next to piety towards God, and ensure most distinguished rewards (compare Pro 6:20; Eph 6:2-3).
John Gill Bible Commentary
My son, hear the instruction of thy father,.... This is not to be understood of God the Father of mankind, and of that law which he has given them, as Jarchi and Gersom interpret it, but of Solomon and his son in a literal sense; and of anyone that came to him for instruction, any pupil, hearer, or reader of his; and it is a direction to all children to hearken to the instruction of their parents, and obey their commands; so, next to the fear and worship of God, he exhorts to obedience to parents, and proceeds just in the same order and method in which the decalogue or ten commands were written; the first table respects God and his worship, and the second follows, which begins with "honour thy father and thy mother", &c. Exo 20:12, which, the apostle says, is "the first commandment with promise", Eph 6:1; and forsake not the law of thy mother; meaning not the congregation of Israel, the old synagogue, or Jewish church, as Jarchi; and so in the Talmud (p) it is interpreted of the congregation of Israel, as is "thy father" in the former clause of the divine Being; nor the operative faculty of the human understanding, as Gersom; but the mother of Solomon's son; and any and every mother of a child, who having an equal or greater tenderness for her offspring, and a true and hearty regard for their welfare, will instruct them in the best manner she can, give the best rules, and prescribe the best laws she can for their good; and which ought to be as carefully attended to and obeyed as those of a father; and she is particularly mentioned, because the law of God equally enjoins reverence and obedience to both parents, which human laws among the Gentiles did not; and because children are too apt to slight the directions and instructions of a mother; whereas they carry equal authority, and have in them the nature of a law, as those of a father. (p) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 102. 1.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
1:8–9:18 My child (Literally My son): Like other wisdom literature of the ancient Near East, much of chs 1–9 is a father’s (and occasionally, a mother’s) instruction to a son. Because the son is being trained to follow in his father’s profession, much of the teaching concerns the son’s occupation. The NLT usually translates the term as child, since the lessons are applicable to both sons and daughters. 1:8-19 There are two paths (1:15) in the book of Proverbs: a wise, just way and a foolish, evil way. The parents represent the wise way and encourage their child to follow it.
Proverbs 1:8
The Enticement of Sin
7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. 8Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother. 9For they are a garland of grace on your head and a pendant around your neck.
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
Children
By Charles Stanley6.4K06:00ChildrenDEU 6:6PSA 127:3PRO 1:8PRO 22:6EPH 6:4COL 3:21JAS 1:19In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes that while parents have a responsibility to teach and guide their children in their faith, ultimately each child must develop their own belief system and relationship with God. The speaker highlights the importance of providing a loving and supportive environment for children to grow in their faith, tailoring their expressions of love to meet each child's unique needs. The speaker also addresses the guilt that parents may feel when their children do not turn out as expected, reminding them that children are individuals with their own struggles and challenges. The sermon concludes with the reminder that training a child in the way they should go requires individualized attention and patient listening.
Ravenhill Humor - Who's the Author
By Leonard Ravenhill1.8K00:56Ravenhill HumorGEN 2:18DEU 6:7PSA 127:3PRO 1:8PRO 22:6MAT 19:6EPH 6:4In the sermon, the speaker mentions the famous story of Rip Van Winkle, which is well-known around the world, including in Russia. However, the speaker asks the audience if they know who wrote the story, and reveals that it was written by Washington Irving. The speaker then expresses surprise at someone named Mike not knowing the author, suggesting that he needs to go to school instead of going to Australia. The speaker also mentions homeschooling and new students, implying that there is a connection between education and knowledge of literature.
Old Testament Survey - Part 21
By Dick Woodward52727:34DEU 6:4DEU 11:19PSA 78:4PSA 127:3PRO 1:8PRO 22:6ISA 38:19EPH 6:4COL 3:21The sermon focuses on the Book of Deuteronomy, highlighting the transition of the second generation of God's people entering the promised land of Canaan after the first generation perished due to unbelief. Moses preaches important sermons to prepare the new generation, emphasizing the need to love and obey God's Word with all their being and pass these values on to their children. The core message is about nurturing a generation that loves and obeys God, with a key emphasis on the foundational aspects of revelation, responsibility, relationship, and reality in the educational process.
A Boy's Story
By D.L. Moody0The Power of a Mother's PrayerRepentance and ForgivenessPRO 1:8EPH 6:2D.L. Moody shares a poignant story of a young man reflecting on the profound influence of his godly mother, who prayed fervently for his salvation. After her passing, he realizes the weight of his rebellion and the loss of her prayers, leading him to a moment of deep repentance at her grave. The young man expresses regret for not heeding her pleas to accept Christ while she was alive, ultimately finding forgiveness and a relationship with God. Moody emphasizes the importance of valuing and honoring the prayers of a loving mother, urging young men to respond to their mothers' spiritual guidance.
Obeying the Instruction of the Older
By William MacDonald0WisdomMentorshipPSA 119:105PRO 1:8PRO 4:1PRO 13:20PRO 15:22PRO 19:20ECC 4:91TI 4:122TI 2:2TIT 2:3William MacDonald emphasizes the importance of heeding the wisdom of older generations, as illustrated in Proverbs 4:1. He encourages young people to seek guidance from spiritual mentors who can provide valuable insights and practical knowledge gained from their experiences. By learning from the successes and failures of mature believers, young Christians can navigate life's challenges more effectively. MacDonald highlights that older saints are often willing to share their wisdom when asked, and that young individuals should honor and respect their contributions. Ultimately, seeking counsel from those who have walked the path before can prevent unnecessary mistakes and lead to a more fruitful spiritual life.
Family and Education
By Valsan Thampu0PRO 1:8PRO 3:11PRO 4:1PRO 22:6PRO 29:17EPH 6:4COL 3:201TI 4:122TI 3:16Valsan Thampu emphasizes the crucial role of parents in actively participating in the education of their children, highlighting the need for a partnership with teachers and the impact of the family environment on intellectual formation. He stresses the importance of creating a domestic culture conducive to intellectual growth, viewing education as a sacred process that empowers individuals to reach their full potential. Thampu addresses the need for integrating education with daily life, fostering a sense of mission, promoting personal discipline, and cultivating a contemplative spirit to bridge the gap between action and reflection. He also underscores the significance of listening skills, minimizing distractions, avoiding indulgence, and instilling the value of postponing immediate gratification for long-term fulfillment.
About Your Mother.
By J.R. Miller0Honoring ParentsThe Role of MothersEXO 20:12PRO 1:8EPH 6:2J.R. Miller emphasizes the profound bond between a child and their mother, highlighting her unwavering love and sacrifices from the moment of birth. He urges listeners to appreciate their mothers not just in times of illness but throughout their lives, encouraging a deep, ongoing relationship filled with confidence and care. Miller reflects on the beauty of a mother's aging, suggesting that her wrinkles are marks of love and sacrifice, and challenges children to actively contribute to their mother's well-being. He calls for a return of love and support, especially from daughters, to relieve mothers of burdens and foster mutual respect. Ultimately, he stresses that true fulfillment in life comes from honoring and being faithful to one's mother.
Parents and Children
By Valsan Thampu0DEU 6:6PSA 127:3PRO 1:8PRO 22:6PRO 23:22PRO 29:15EPH 6:4COL 3:211TI 5:8Valsan Thampu delivers a powerful sermon on the impact of the spirit of alienation on parent-child relationships, emphasizing the diminishing parental authority and the increasing influence of cultural pressures on children. He highlights the tragic consequences of parental deficits, such as addiction and strained relationships, and the importance of sound parenting in promoting personal wholeness and societal health. Thampu stresses the need for parents to develop discernment, maintain spiritual vigilance, and create a healthy family culture amidst the challenges of an individualistic and materialistic society. He urges parents to stand on a spiritual foundation to counter the shifting cultural norms and ensure the stability and godliness of their family life.
On Obedience to Parents
By John Wesley0ObedienceParental AuthorityEXO 20:12DEU 5:16PRO 1:8PRO 22:6PRO 30:17MAT 15:4EPH 6:1COL 3:201TI 5:4HEB 12:9John Wesley emphasizes the biblical command for children to obey their parents, highlighting that this principle is universally recognized and rooted in both natural law and divine revelation. He explains that obedience is not only a duty but also brings blessings, as it is pleasing to God and is the first commandment with a promise. Wesley urges parents to instill this obedience from a young age, warning against the dangers of indulgence and the consequences of allowing children to act on their own will. He calls for a serious commitment from both parents and children to uphold this commandment, framing it as essential for spiritual well-being and familial harmony.
Winning the Young
By J. Wilbur Chapman0PSA 71:17PSA 127:3PRO 1:8PRO 22:6ECC 12:1MAT 19:141CO 13:111TI 4:122TI 2:22J. Wilbur Chapman preaches about the importance of reaching out to the youth to turn them to Christ, emphasizing that youth is the easiest time to accept Jesus before the grip of sin becomes stronger. He shares stories of individuals who found Christ in their youth and urges parents and teachers to influence young hearts. Chapman highlights the impact of personal work for the young, noting that many influential figures in the Church came to Christ at a young age. He stresses the urgency of guiding youth towards Christ before the allure of sin becomes overwhelming.
About Your Father.
By J.R. Miller0FatherhoodHonor and Respect for ParentsEXO 20:12DEU 6:6PSA 103:13PRO 1:8PRO 4:1PRO 22:6MAL 4:6EPH 6:4COL 3:211TH 2:11J.R. Miller emphasizes the often-overlooked role of fathers in the upbringing of children, arguing that while mothers are celebrated for their nurturing qualities, fathers also play a crucial part in providing strength, stability, and material support. He calls for recognition of the father's influence, highlighting their sacrifices and the moral and practical lessons they impart. Miller encourages children to reflect on their fathers' contributions and to honor them with love and respect, as both parents share the responsibility of raising their children. He reminds us that the commandment to honor our parents applies equally to fathers, who deserve acknowledgment for their hard work and dedication. Ultimately, Miller urges a balanced appreciation of both maternal and paternal roles in family life.
Unfulfilled Prophecy
By Robert Anderson0PRO 1:8PRO 3:11PRO 13:18JER 17:23ZEP 3:22TI 3:16HEB 12:5HEB 12:11Greek Word Studies for Discipline emphasizes the importance of providing instruction and guidance to children for responsible living and maturity. It involves a combination of firmness and gentleness in child-training, including correction and punishment when necessary. The term 'paideia' encompasses the whole training and education of children, aiming at cultivating virtues and correcting mistakes. Various Bible verses highlight the significance of discipline in shaping character, obedience, wisdom, and righteousness, emphasizing the role of parents in guiding and correcting their children.
- Keil-Delitzsch
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary
After the author has indicated the object which his Book of Proverbs is designed to subserve, and the fundamental principle on which it is based, he shows for whom he has intended it; he has particularly the rising generation in his eye: 8 Hear, my son, thy father's instruction, And refuse not the teaching of thy mother; 9 For these are a fair crown to thy head, And Jewels to thy neck. "My son," says the teacher of wisdom to the scholar whom he has, or imagines that he has, before him, addressing him as a fatherly friend. The N.T. representation of birth into a new spiritual life, Co1 4:15; Plm 1:10; Gal 4:19, lies outside the circle of the O.T. representation; the teacher feels himself as a father by virtue of his benevolent, guardian, tender love. Father and mother are the beloved parents of those who are addressed. When the Talmud understands אביך of God, אמּך of the people (אמּה), that is not the grammatico-historic meaning, but the practical interpretation and exposition, after the manner of the Midrash. The same admonition (with נצר, keep, instead of שׁמע, hear, and מצות, command, instead of מוּסר, instruction) is repeated in Pro 6:20, and what is said of the parents in one passage is in Pro 10:1 divided into two synonymous parallel passages. The stricter musar, which expresses the idea of sensible means of instruction (discipline), (Pro 13:24; Pro 22:15; Pro 23:13.), is suitably attributed to the father, and the torah to the mother, only administered by the word; Wisdom also always says תּורתי (my torah), and only once, Pro 8:10, מוּסרי (my musar). Pro 1:9 הם, which is also used in the neut. illa, e.g., Job 22:24, refers here to the paternal discipline and the maternal teaching. These, obediently received and followed, are the fairest ornament of the child. לויה, from לוה, to wind, to roll, Arab. lawy (from לו, whence also לוּל = לולו, as דּוּד, to boil up, = דּודּו), means winding, twisted ornament, and especially wreath; a crown of gracefulness is equivalent to a graceful crown, a corolla gratiosa, as Schultens translates it; cf. Pro 4:9, according to which, Wisdom bestows such a crown. (Note: In לוית חן the חן has the conjunctive accent shalsheleth, on account of which the Pesiq accent is omitted. This small shalsheleth occurs only eight times. See Torath Emeth, p. 36.) ענקים (or ענקות, Jdg 8:26) are necklaces, jewels for the neck; denom. of the Arab. 'unek, and Aram. עוּנק, the neck (perhaps from ענק = עוּק, to oppress, of heavy burdens; cf. αὐχήν, the neck). גּרגּות, is, like fauces, the throat by which one swallows (Arab. ǵarǵara, taǵarǵara), a plur. extensive (Bttcher, 695), and is better fitted than גּרון to indicate the external throat; Ezekiel, however, uses (Eze 16:11) garon, as our poet (Pro 3:3, Pro 3:22; Pro 6:21) uses garg'roth, to represent the front neck. (Note: The writing varies greatly. Here and at Pro 6:21 we have לגרגּרתך; at Pro 3:3, על־גּרגּותך, Pro 3:22, לגרגּרתיך. Thus according to the Masora and correct texts.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
My son--This paternal form denotes a tender regard for the reader. Filial sentiments rank next to piety towards God, and ensure most distinguished rewards (compare Pro 6:20; Eph 6:2-3).
John Gill Bible Commentary
My son, hear the instruction of thy father,.... This is not to be understood of God the Father of mankind, and of that law which he has given them, as Jarchi and Gersom interpret it, but of Solomon and his son in a literal sense; and of anyone that came to him for instruction, any pupil, hearer, or reader of his; and it is a direction to all children to hearken to the instruction of their parents, and obey their commands; so, next to the fear and worship of God, he exhorts to obedience to parents, and proceeds just in the same order and method in which the decalogue or ten commands were written; the first table respects God and his worship, and the second follows, which begins with "honour thy father and thy mother", &c. Exo 20:12, which, the apostle says, is "the first commandment with promise", Eph 6:1; and forsake not the law of thy mother; meaning not the congregation of Israel, the old synagogue, or Jewish church, as Jarchi; and so in the Talmud (p) it is interpreted of the congregation of Israel, as is "thy father" in the former clause of the divine Being; nor the operative faculty of the human understanding, as Gersom; but the mother of Solomon's son; and any and every mother of a child, who having an equal or greater tenderness for her offspring, and a true and hearty regard for their welfare, will instruct them in the best manner she can, give the best rules, and prescribe the best laws she can for their good; and which ought to be as carefully attended to and obeyed as those of a father; and she is particularly mentioned, because the law of God equally enjoins reverence and obedience to both parents, which human laws among the Gentiles did not; and because children are too apt to slight the directions and instructions of a mother; whereas they carry equal authority, and have in them the nature of a law, as those of a father. (p) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 102. 1.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
1:8–9:18 My child (Literally My son): Like other wisdom literature of the ancient Near East, much of chs 1–9 is a father’s (and occasionally, a mother’s) instruction to a son. Because the son is being trained to follow in his father’s profession, much of the teaching concerns the son’s occupation. The NLT usually translates the term as child, since the lessons are applicable to both sons and daughters. 1:8-19 There are two paths (1:15) in the book of Proverbs: a wise, just way and a foolish, evil way. The parents represent the wise way and encourage their child to follow it.