For the first time in any commentary, we shall discover together the unknown identity of this secret editor of Proverbs. We will also unveil the mysterious identities of Agur, King Lemuel, Lemeul s mother, the men of Hezekiah, Lady Wisdom, the seven pillars of wisdom s house and the Wife of Noble Character. We will solve the riddle of how to answer a fool in Proverbs 26.4-5 and answer the mysteries of who wrote Job, Song of Songs and Ecclesiates. 19.23 NRSV Fear of the LORD is the foundation for wisdom in the book of Proverbs. Fear does not mean fright or terror.
Fear means awe, respect and reverence.
Other proverbs on fear of the LORD include verses 1.7, 1.29, 2.5, 3.7, 8.13, 9.10, 15.33, 28.14, 29.25, and 31.30. Until recent years Old Testament poetry was a mystery because it did not rhyme in meter or sound as modern languages do. Bishop Robert Lowth found the key when he discovered that Hebrew poetry rhymed in thought. He recognized that ideas were expressed in parallel patterns. Some of these patterns expressed the same thoughts, while others expressed opposing thoughts, or developed a given thought.