Source: https://929chapters.com/2009/04/24/proverbs-10-righteousnesswisdom-contrasted-with-wickednessfolly/
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 14:23:17+00:00

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Proverbs 10 is a collection of 32 brief sayings. Many of the sayings contrast the righteous with the wicked or the diligent with the lazy.
v. 3: The LORD will not let the righteous go hungry, But He denies the wicked what they crave.
v. 4: Negligent hands cause poverty, But diligent hands enrich.
v. 9: He who lives blamelessly lives safely, But he who walks a crooked path will be found out.
v. 12: Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers up all faults.
v. 15: The wealth of a rich man is his fortress; The poverty of the poor is his ruin.
v. 20: The tongue of a righteous man is choice silver, But the mind of the wicked is of little worth.
v. 25: When the storm passes the wicked man is gone, But the righteous is an everlasting foundation.
Proverbs 10 begins with a title, “The proverbs of Solomon,” indicating that it is a new section of the book. While chapters 1-9 contain a group of lectures, chapters 10-22 are made up of short individual sayings. The two sections seem to be “joined” by v. 1: “A wise son (ben chakham) brings joy to his father; A dull son (ben kesil) is his mother’s sorrow.” This is because the word ben “son,” which played a prominent role in chs. 1-9 (cf. 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 5:1, 6:1, 7:1, 8:32, etc.), appears twice in the verse.
Is there an order to the individual sayings in ch. 10-22? Murphy writes (p. 67), “First of all, it is clear that the arrangement of sayings at many points shows signs of deliberate placing. Themes, catch words, and various forms of plays on words (alliteration, assonance, etc.) indicate units of varying lengths, whether proverbial pairs or larger groupings. In this sense we can speak of a “context” for proverbial sayings. However… “context” is to be understood broadly, not in an interpretive sense. That is to say, a given saying does not lose its independence, its own meaning. A new dimension of meaning has not been added in virtue of its place within the collection. It can be balanced, as it were, by being placed in opposition to another saying. But both sayings retain their own meanings; it is simply the nature of a proverb to come up short of total reality, and to be in conflict with other sayings.” Thus, according to Murphy, while there are many reasons that two sayings might appear next to each other, their individual meanings do not change.
Before commenting on any specific verse in this chapter, a brief introduction to Biblical parallelism is in order. The vast majority of verses in ch. 10-22 are in distich form, meaning that they contain a pair of statements joined by what we would call a comma or a semicolon (the MT has no punctuation). The two halves of each sentence are generally matched up either synonymously, antithetically, or synthetically. Examples of each kind will now be given (see Anchor Bible Dictionary, “Parallelism,” Vol. V pp. 155-162).
In Antithetical parallelism the two halves oppose each other. A great example is the opening verse to our chapter: “A wise son brings joy to his father; A dull son is his mother’s sorrow.” The two sons are contrasted: one gladdens his parents and the other brings them sorrow.
In Synthetic Parallelism the two halves correspond to each other, but are not direct parallels. For example, Prov. 15:3 says: “The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, Observing the bad and the good.” The second half explains the first, but cannot be said to be synonymous with it.
For the most part, Proverbs chapters 10-15 use antithetical parallelism. For an example, v. 12 contrasts hate with love: “Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers up all faults.” Similarly, v. 20 compares the “values” of the righteous and the wicked: “The tongue of a righteous man is choice silver, But the mind of the wicked is of little worth.” Indeed, if there were a unifying theme to ch. 10 (this is a big “if”), it might be the following: “There is a difference between proper and improper behavior.” In other words, the majority of the chapter’s verses consist of antithetical parallelism.
A few of the verses in ch. 10 will now be focused on. V. 3 says, “The LORD will not let the righteous go hungry, But He denies the wicked what they crave.” This represents the typical view of retribution in proverbs, i.e. the righteous will succeed and the wicked will fail. Another example is v. 13:25: “The righteous man eats to his heart’s content, But the belly of the wicked is empty.” Yet, as Murphy points out, “No proverb says it all.” Thus, other sections have to deal with the problems presented by a world in which the righteous suffer. Prov. 3:11-12 says, “Do not reject the discipline of the LORD, my son; Do not abhor His rebuke. For whom the LORD loves, He rebukes, As a father the son whom he favors.” See the comment to ch. 3 where it is clear that “rebuke” means physical disciplining.
V. 26 speaks of an inadquate messenger: “Like vinegar to the teeth, Like smoke to the eyes, Is a lazy man to those who send him on a mission.” The messenger is a popular topic in Proverbs, e.g. 13:7: “Harm befalls a wicked messenger; A faithful courier brings healing.” Also see 25:13 and 26:6.
Word Biblical Commentary Proverbs (Murphy). See “commentaries” page.

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