Proverbs 24

Proverbs 24 is the 24th chapter of the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible of the Christian Bible.Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012. The book is a compilation of several wisdom literature collections, with the heading in 1:1 may be intended to regard Solomon as the traditional author of the whole book, but the dates of the individual collections are difficult to determine, and the book probably obtained its final shape in the post-exilic period. This chapter specifically records "the sayings of wise".

Text

Hebrew

The following table shows the Hebrew text of Proverbs 24 with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes the Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; $\mathfrak$^B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK: $\mathfrak$^S; 4th century), and Codex Alexandrinus (A; $\mathfrak$^A; 5th century).

Analysis

Verses 1–22 is a part of the third collection in the book of Proverbs (comprising Proverbs 22:17–24:22), which consists of seven instructions of various lengths:
* 1st instruction (22:17–23:11)
* 2nd instruction (23:12–18)
* 3rd instruction (23:19–21)
* 4th instruction (23:22–25)
* 5th instruction (23:26–24:12)
* 6th instruction (24:13–20) and
* 7th instruction (24:21–22)

The sayings are predominantly in the form of synonymous parallelism, preceded by a general superscription of the entire collection in 22:17a: "The words of the wise" (or "Sayings of the Wise"). This collection consists of an introduction that the youths should be instructed and exhorted to listen to and obey their "teachers" (parents), followed by a series of admonitions and prohibitions coupled with a variety of clauses, primarily presented in short parental instructions (cf. 23:15, 22; 24:13, 21).

The remaining verses of this chapter (24:23–34) form the fourth collection in the book, introduced by a superscription "These also are sayings of the wise" (24:23a).

Sayings of the Wise (24:1–22)

This section concludes a collection titled "Sayings of the Wise" (22:17), with 3 sets of instruction, one as a continuation from Proverbs 23:16.until 24:12, followed by 24:13–20 and 24:21–22. The instructions are likely given by a teacher in the context of a royal school during the monarchical period. The Greek Septuagint version contains five additional verses after verse 22, mainly on 'the wrath of
the king'.

Verse 3

:''Through wisdom is a house built''
::''and by understanding it is established;''
The 'building of the house' in verses 3-4 parallels to the building of the house by woman Wisdom in Proverbs 9:1, here stating that wisdom is 'the key to the prosperity of the family', as well as 'the key to healthy and harmonious family relationships'.

Verse 16

:''For a righteous man may fall seven times''
:''And rise again,''
:''But the wicked shall fall by calamity.''
*"For": is translated from the Hebrew clause , ''ki'', which position at the beginning of the sentence could be interpreted as 'temporal, conditional, or emphatic'; that is 'the righteous keep getting up and going again'

Further sayings of the Wise (24:23–34)

The whole section is the fourth collection in the book of Proverbs, consisting of:
*a superscription (24:23a; "These also are sayings of the wise")
* a discourse on judgment (24:23b-26, 28–29), and
* an autobiographical discourse on household labor (24:27, 30–34).

The first part of the collection (verses 23–29) contains warnings against partiality when judging (verses 23–25) or false testimony when being a witness (verse 28; cf. 18:5; 28:21). The second part (verses 30–34) provides an example story of being lazy and its consequences (cf. 7:6–23) reinforcing the lesson of the diligent ant in 6:10-11. The instruction is given as such so it can be perceived 'through the eye as well as the ear' ('saw... considered... received instruction', verse 32).

Verse 28

:''Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.''
*"Without cause": this expression could mean 'without necessity' (mischievously) or 'without grounds' (falsely), either of them amounts to perjury (verse 28b).

Uses

The fry boats' bottom of In-N-Out Burger has the text "PROVERBS 24:16", which refers to the 16th verse of this chapter.

See also

*Related Bible parts: Psalm 7, Proverbs 9, Proverbs 18, Proverbs 22, Proverbs 23, Proverbs 28

References

Sources

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External links

* Jewish translations:
*
Mishlei - Proverbs - Chapter 24 (Judaica Press)
translation ith Rashi's commentary">Rashi.html" ;"title="ith Rashi">ith Rashi's commentaryat Chabad.org
* Christian translations:
*
''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)

Book of Proverbs Chapter 24 King James Version
* Various versions

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