Chapter Two

The persistent, serious pursuit of wisdom as the path to the fear of God and virtue. More specifically: 1–9. After a brief exhortation to attention (1–2), the fruits of wisdom, both inner and outer, are depicted. 10–19. From the latter stands out the protection from dangers afforded by wisdom, especially from evil people, and particularly from the adulterous woman. 20–22. Only the lot of virtue is lasting happiness.

Proverbs 2:1. My son, if you will receive my words and treasure up my commandments within you, Proverbs 2:2. so that you make your ear attentive to wisdom and incline your heart to understanding; Proverbs 2:3. if you will call out for knowledge and lift up your voice for understanding; Proverbs 2:4. if you seek it as silver and search for it as hidden treasure, Proverbs 2:5. then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:6. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; Proverbs 2:7. He keeps salvation for the righteous; He is a shield for those who walk blamelessly; Proverbs 2:8. He protects the paths of justice and guards the way of His holy ones. Proverbs 2:9. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and straight dealing—every good path. Verses 1–4 present the rise (protasis) of a conditional period having its place in verse 1–9; verses 5 onward present the decline (apodosis) of it. The Wise Man expresses the high significance of wisdom, as the supreme good that is the object of human quest, by comparing it, in verse 4 (cf. Prov 8:11), to silver (Vulgate: precious things, wealth in general) and indeed to treasure in general (Hebrew: mammon; according to Gesenius, the Greek μαμμωνᾶς, mammon, wealth, derives from this word), and the persistent quest for wisdom to the relentless labor of miners—this figure with respect to Wisdom and human seeking appears also in the Book of Job (Job 28). Even if seekers of earthly treasures spare no effort or sacrifice to enrich themselves, though possession of these treasures is not lasting, then much greater effort and sacrifice would be worthy of acquiring wisdom, all the more because wisdom is closely joined with the even higher good of the fear of God and knowledge of God (verse 5), in part as the source of wisdom (Prov 1:7) and in part as its crown and completion. One pervaded by the fear of God and having faith in God and knowledge of Him, though at first only in beginning form—the zealot of wisdom, as he advances in it, advances also in the fear of God, or piety, and in knowledge of God. The source of such essentially religious wisdom is rooted in revelation. The Lord Himself gives wisdom to all who seek it, verse 6 (cf. 1 Sam 3:9; Job 32:8; Dan 2:21; Wis 7:15); wisdom, knowledge and understanding come forth from the mouth of God (cf. Job 22:22; Wis 7:25), that is, are contained in God’s revealed Word; in exceptional cases wisdom is imparted to a person through a mysterious touch upon his mind and heart by the enlightening grace of the Holy Spirit (the LXX, Slavonic in the second half of verse 6 instead of “from His mouth” have: “from His face” (ἀπὸ προσώπου—owing to confusion of the Hebrew milepiv, “from mouth,” with the similar word, milepanav, “from face”; both words in Hebrew writing differ only by the letter nun in the second word. Biblical parallels: Job 22:22; Wis 7:25 provide grounds to prefer the reading of the Hebrew Masoretic text of verse 6). Divine origin of wisdom and that closeness to God which possession of wisdom affords to humanity must all the more make it the object of constant human striving, for inseparably joined with it are blessing in earthly life, protection amid dangers: the Lord is shield and guardian for the pious seekers of wisdom. He guards them for their integrity on all paths of life (verses 7–8; cf. Ps 83:12). The fruit of following the paths of Divine wisdom will be progress for humanity in all forms of righteousness and virtue (cf. Prov 1:3).

Proverbs 2:10. When wisdom enters your heart and knowledge becomes pleasant to your soul, Proverbs 2:11. discretion will guard you, understanding will keep you, Proverbs 2:12. to deliver you from the way of evil, from those who speak lies, Proverbs 2:13. from those who abandon the straight path to walk in ways of darkness; Proverbs 2:14. from those who rejoice in doing evil, who delight in perverse evil— Proverbs 2:15. whose paths are twisted and whose ways are devious. Proverbs 2:16. to deliver you from the strange woman, from the outsider with her smooth words, Proverbs 2:17. who abandons the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God. Proverbs 2:18. For her house leads down to death, and her paths go down to the dead; Proverbs 2:19. none who go to her come back, and find again the paths of life. Wisdom and knowledge become, for the one who seeks and loves them, as it were friends and counselors who, by establishing humanity in good thought and life, protect him at the same time from the evil ways of the corrupt person (10–12), for whom doing evil is habit and pleasure (14; cf. Prov 6:14). The paths of such people are paths of darkness (verse 13; cf. Eph 5:11), for darkness is the native element of vice (John 3:19); these paths are also crooked paths (verse 15), full of intrigues and schemes at the expense of the inexperienced. The seductive but ruinous influence of loose women presents particular danger to young men (16–19; cf. Prov 5:3 and further). The adulterous woman, abandoning the guide (Vulgate: ducem) or friend (Hebrew: alluph) of her youth, thereby violates the covenant of her God (verse 17): this view is very characteristic of the biblical understanding, first of all, of marriage, and then also of covenant with God (berith elohim). Regarding marriage, the Old Testament maintains the ideal view that marriage is the closest union, a union of friendship and love, made between husband and wife (Joel 1:8; Mal 2:14)—a union made moreover before God, that is, with observance of certain religious rites (as Ewald rightly asserts regarding verse 17). But then this union, in view of its moral height, in view of the sanctifying power of God that rests upon it, serves in the biblical understanding as an image of the union or covenant of God with Israel (cf. Jer 3:1; Hos 1:1—Hos 3:1). Lawful marriage is thus a union made not only before God, but—in a mystical sense—with God. The adulterous woman despises all this (17), and therefore her fate and that of all seduced by her is premature destruction (by exhaustion of strength through immoral fleshly indulgence and such like).

Proverbs 2:20. Therefore, walk in the way of good people and keep to the paths of the righteous, Proverbs 2:21. for the righteous will dwell in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; Proverbs 2:22. but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted from it. All the more insistently and persuasively does the Wise Man appeal to the good sense (cf. Prov 2:11) and conscience of the hearer—to walk in life on the path of righteousness and goodness (verse 20). From following this path, for the righteous there flows true and highest good, designated by the Wise Man (verse 21), as in the Psalms (Ps 36:9)—in accordance with the general love of Old Testament biblical Hebrews for the Promised Land or Canaan—Palestine—to remain or dwell in the land (this form of expression from the Old Testament appears also in the Gospel—Matt 5:5). By contrast, the destruction awaiting the impious is presented in the concrete image of destruction from the land (cf. Ps 36:9; Job 18:17).