Proverbs 30:1

The words of Agur the son of Jakeh,.... Here begins, according to Aben Ezra, the fourth part of this book; though, according to others, it is the fifth; [See comments on Proverbs 22:17]; Who this

The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal, Agur - a figurative name, perhaps; the collector, from Hebrew, 'aagar (H103), to collect.

CHAPTER 30 Agur’ s prophecy, ; wherein he acknowledgeth his own ignorance, ,3. The purity of God’ s word, with the happiness of them that trust in him, . He dehorts from adding to the Scriptures, by the danger of it, . The two points of his prayer, with their reason, . Four wicked generations, . Four things insatiable, ,16. Parents not to be despised, . Four things hard to be known, ,19. The way of an adulterous woman, . Four things intolerable, . Four things little, but wise, . Four things stately, . Agur the son of Jakeh; a person so called, as appears from the designation of his own and his father’ s name, who lived either in Solomon’ s time, or rather afterwards, and was famous in his generation for wisdom, and piety, and prophecy; and therefore his proverbs were thought fit to be added to those of Solomon, either by those men of Hezekiah, mentioned , or by some other. But that this should be meant of Solomon may easily be supposed, but cannot be proved; nor is it probable, as being contrary both to the style of the whole chapter, and to the matter of some part of it, as , which agrees not to Solomon; and to the laws of good interpretation, one of which is, that all words should be taken in their most natural and proper sense, when there is no evidence nor necessity of understanding them improperly and figuratively, which is the present case. The prophecy; the prophetical instruction; for as the prophets were public preachers as well as foretellers of things to come, so their sermons, no less than their predictions, are commonly called their prophecies. Unto Ithiel and Ucal; two friends, or disciples, and contemporaries of Agur, called by those names, who having a great and just opinion of his wisdom, desired his instructions. Others, concerning Ithiel and Ucal; which they understand of Christ, called Ithiel, which signifies God with me, and answers to Immanuel, which is God with us; and Ucal, which signifies power or prevalency. But if he had meant this of Christ, why should he design him such obscure and ambiguous names, as if he would not be understood? Why did he not call him by the name of Shiloh or Messiah, or some other Scripture title belonging and ascribed to him? Besides, this interpretation agrees not with the contents of this chapter, wherein there is only a short and occasional mention of Christ, but the chapter consists in a manner wholly of counsels and sentences of a quite other kind.

Proverbs 30:1 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, [even] the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,Ver. 1. The words of Agur the son of Jakeh.] The Vulgate renders, Verba Congregantis filii Vomentis, taking these proper names for appellatives, as if the penman of this chapter meant to tell us that he would here give us his sacred collectanies or miscellanies, such as he had taken up from the mouths of wisest men, who had vomited or cast them up, in a like sense as that painter in Aelian drew Homer vomiting, and all the other poets licking it up. This Agur, whether he lived in Solomon’ s days or Hezekiah’ s, was an excellent man, as the word Gheber here used imports; Vir bonus et prudens, minus tamen clarus (as one saith of Jesse, David’ s father), a godly, wise man, though nothing be elsewhere spoken of him in Scripture. Some think that, being requested by Ithiel and Ucal, two of his disciples, to give them a lesson, Socrates-like he answered, Hoc unum scio, quod nihil scio: This one thing I know, that I know nothing: "Surely I am more brutish than any man," sc., of myself, further than taught of God; for every man is a brute by his own understanding, as Jeremiah hath it. But I rather incline to those that take Ithiel and Ucal for Christ, whose goodness and power - those two pillars of a Christian’ s faith, as Jachin and Boaz were of Solomon’ s temple - are by these two names deciphered, and whom he propounds as the matter of his prophecy. Now, because sense of misery must precede sense of mercy, neither can any be welcome to Christ, but "the weary and heavy laden"; therefore he first bewails his own brutishness - fetching it up as low as Adam fallen, and aggravating it in that he had not yet acquired better abilities. Next he flees to Ithiel and Ucal, by the force of a particular faith - Ithiel, God with me, and Ucal, God Almighty, through whom I can do all things. This, this was the right ready way of coming to Christ; and him that thus cometh he will in no wise cast out. There is a good interpreter, that, paralleling this text with Jeremiah 9:23-24, reads it thus: A gathering together of the words of Agur, the son of Jakeh. Let the excellent man say, ‘ Let God be with me, let God be with me, and I shall prevail.’ Aelian, Hist. var. Muffet.

XXX. 8. THE OF SOLOMON END HERE. THE REST OF THE BOOK IS OF THREE : (a) THE WORDS OF AGUR; (b) THE WORDS OF KING LEMUEL; AND (C) THE PRAISE OF A GOOD WIFE (Proverbs 30, 31). (a). (1) The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy.—Jewish interpreters have seen in these titles (but apparently without a shadow of reason) a designation of Solomon himself, the “convener” and instructor of assemblies (Ecclesiastes 1:1; Ecclesiastes 12:11), son of the “obedient” man after God’s own heart. But they in all probability belong to some otherwise unknown sage, whose utterances were thought not unworthy of being joined with those of the wise King of Israel himself. In support of this view 1 Kings 4:30 may be adduced as a proof of the estimation in which the wisdom of foreign nations was at this time held. The book of Job also, which possibly now was added to the canon of Scripture, is certainly of foreign, probably of Arabian, origin. Some light may be thrown upon the nationality of Agur by the words translated in the Authorised version “the prophecy” (massâ). This is the term constantly employed to express the “utterance,” or, more probably, the message which a prophet “bore” to his hearers, often one of gloomy import (Isaiah 13:1, etc.). But the term is not very appropriate to the contents of this chapter, nor to the “words of King Lemuel,” in Proverbs 31, and the expression, “the prophecy,” standing quite alone, with no other words to qualify it, is very singular. For these reasons it has been proposed to translate the beginning of the verse thus: “The words of Agur the son of Jakeh the Massan,” i.e., a descendant of the Massa mentioned in Genesis 25:14 as a son of Ishmael. This would place his home probably in North Arabia, and Lemuel would be king of the same tribe. The man spake.—The word translated “spake” is most frequently used of the revelation of God to prophets, rarely (Numbers 24:3 and 2 Samuel 23:1) of the utterances of inspired prophets; never of the words of ordinary men. Unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal.—These most probably were disciples of his. As their names may mean “God with me,” and “I am strong,” a fanciful delineation of their characters, in the style of the “Pilgrim’s Progress,” has been attempted by some writers. And a mystical interpretation of them, “You must have God with you, if you are to be strong,” may be found in Bishop Wordsworth’s Commentary. It has been proposed also, as is possible with a slight change in the pointing, to translate these words thus: “I am weary, O God, I am weary, and am weak,” or, “have made an end,” and to make them an introduction to Proverbs 30:2, which supplies the reason for this weariness, “For I am more brutish,” etc.

CHAPTER XXX Agur's confession of faith, 1-6. His prayer, 7-9. Of wicked generations, 10-14. Things that are never satisfied, 15, 16. Of him who despises his parents, 17. Three wonderful things, 18-20. Three things that disquiet the land, 21-23. Four little but very intelligent animals, 24-28. Four things that go well, 29-31. A man should cease from doing foolishly, and from strife, 32, 33. NOTES ON CHAP. XXX Verse 1. The words of Agur the son of Jakeh] The words Agur, Jakeh, Ithiel, and Ucal, have been considered by some as proper names: by others, as descriptive characters. With some, Agur is Solomon; and Jakeh, David; and Ithiel and Ucal are epithets of Christ. The Vulgate translates, Verba congregantis filii vomentis: visio, quam locutus est sir, cum quo est Deus, et qui Deo secum morante confortatus, ait. "The words of the collector, the son of the vomiter: the vision of the man who has God with him, and who is fortified by God dwelling with him, saith." COVERDALE makes the following words a title to the chapter: "The wordes of Agur the sonne of Jake. "The prophecie of a true faithfull man, whom God hath helped; whom God hath comforted and nourished." The whole might be thus translated, keeping near to the letter: - "The words of the epistle of the obedient son." Or, "The words of the collector, the son of Jakeh. The parable which הגבר haggeber, the strong man, the hero, spake unto him who is God with me; to him who is God with me, even the strong God." The visioun that a man spake with whiche is God, and that God with him, wonyng confortid.-Old MS. Bible. From this introduction, from the names here used, and from the style of the book, it appears evident that Solomon was not the author of this chapter; and that it was designed to be distinguished from his work by this very preface, which specifically distinguishes it from the preceding work. Nor can the words in Proverbs 30:2-3; Proverbs 30:8-9, be at all applied to Solomon: they suit no part of Solomon's life, nor of his circumstances. We must, therefore, consider it an appendix or supplement to the preceding collection; something in the manner of that part which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, had collected. As to mysteries here, many have been found by them who sought for nothing else; but they are all, in my view of the subject, hazarded and precarious. I believe Agur, Jakeh, Ithiel, and Ucal, to be the names of persons who did exist, but of whom we know nothing but what is here mentioned. Agur seems to have been a public teacher, and Ithiel and Ucal to have been his scholars; and what he delivers to them was done by prophesy. It was what the prophets generally term massa, an ORACLE, something immediately delivered by the Holy Spirit for the benefit of man.

1. the prophecy] Lit. the burden, as the word is frequently rendered (e.g. Zechariah 9:1; Malachi 1:1, where see notes in this Series). It may mean either burden from its weighty character, as a Divine announcement, or oracle, or prophecy, as being “taken up” (comp. Numbers 23:18) by the speaker. The reading of R.V. marg. Jakeh of Massa, making Massa a proper name, is however preferred by some scholars. See Proverbs 31:1, note. the man] a title of excellence (vir), used of himself as a prophet or teacher by Balaam, Numbers 24:3, and by David, 2 Samuel 23:1. spake] or saith. The word is commonly used of Divine or oracular utterance, as in the frequent phrase, “saith, the Lord.” lthiel and Ucal] He addresses himself to his favourite disciple, associating with him another scarcely less favoured, and through them to every one that has an ear to hear.

See the introduction to Proverbs. According to the different reading, there noted, the inscription ends with: “the man spake,” and the words that follow, are the beginning of the confession, “I have

1. The prophecy — δξωׂ ?ΰ, (hammassa,) the utterance, the oracle — oracular saying or discourse. It may also mean parable or proverb.