Source: https://929chapters.com/2009/05/02/proverbs-19-%E2%80%9Cassorted-sayings%E2%80%9D/
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 02:49:29+00:00

Document:
Proverbs 19 is a collection of twenty-nine assorted wisdom sayings. While the chapter has no overarching theme, topics such as wisdom, wives, false witnesses, and poverty come up more than once.
v. 4: Wealth makes many friends, But a poor man loses his last friend.
v. 6: Many court the favor of a great man, And all are the friends of a dispenser of gifts.
v. 11: A man shows intelligence by his forebearance; It is his glory when he overlooks an offense.
v. 13: A stupid son is a calamity to his father; The nagging of a wife is like the endless dripping of water.
v. 14: Property and riches are bequeathed by fathers, But an efficient wife comes from the LORD.
v. 15: Laziness induces sleep, And a negligent person will go hungry.
v. 17: He who is generous to the poor makes a loan to the LORD; He will repay him his due.
v. 18: Discipline your son while there is still hope, And do not set your heart on his destruction.
v. 21: Many designs are in a man’s mind, But it is the LORD’s plan that is accomplished.
Like the chapters that precede it, Proverbs 19 does not seem to have any overarching theme. While some verses use antithetical parallelism (e.g vv. 4, 12, 14, 21), the majority of sayings employ synthetic or synonymous parallelism. In terms of structure, some of the verses are linked by catchwords (e.g. letz and shefat in vv. 28-29).
V. 4 makes a realistic observation about wealth and poverty: “Wealth makes many friends, But a poor man loses his last friend.” It is interesting that vv. 6-7 echoes this saying, “Many court the favor of a great man, And all are the friends of a dispenser of gifts. All the brothers of a poor man despise him; How much more is he shunned by his friends…” The topic is discussed in Ben Sira too; see 13:21, “A rich man beginning to fall is held up of his friends: but a poor man being down is thrust also away by his friends,” and 13:23, “When a rich man speaketh, every man holdeth his tongue, and, look, what poor man speak, they say, What fellow is this? And if he stumble, they will help to overthrow him.” Thus, according to both Proverbs and Ben Sira, the rich seem to be on an upward spiral while the poor are trapped in a downward spiral.
V. 13 speaks about disappointing family members: “A stupid son is a calamity to his father; The nagging of a wife (midyenei ishah) is like the endless dripping of water.” Other proverbs also deal with the disappointing son. For example, 10:1 says, “A wise son brings joy to his father; A dull son is his mother’s sorrow,” and 17:25 says, “A stupid son is vexation for his father And a heartache for the woman who bore him.” Some verses speak about a bickering wife as well. For example, 21:29 emphatically states, “It is better to live in the desert Than with a contentious, vexatious wife (‘eshet medanim).” Yet, our v. 14 also speaks about the decent wife, “Property and riches are bequeathed by fathers, But an efficient wife comes from the LORD.” While finding a good wife might seem as if it were left to chance, this verse says it is in the hands of God.
V. 17 speaks about how one who gives charity will be paid back by God: “He who is generous to the poor makes a loan to the LORD; He will repay him his due.” Why is this so? One’s treatment of the poor seems to be related to one’s treatment of God. For example, 14:31 says, “He who withholds what is due to the poor affronts his Maker; He who shows pity for the needy honors Him.” Indeed, it seems as if God plans for the rich to meet the poor: “Rich man and poor man meet; The LORD made them both” (22:2).

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