Proverbs 2:7

He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(7) Sound wisdom.—Literally, furtherance, advancement (Comp. “Whosoever hath, unto him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance,” Matthew 13:12.)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

2:1-9 Those who earnestly seek heavenly wisdom, will never complain that they have lost their labour; and the freeness of the gift does not do away the necessity of our diligence, Joh 6:27. Let them seek, and they shall find it; let them ask, and it shall be given them. Observe who are thus favoured. They are the righteous, on whom the image of God is renewed, which consists in righteousness. If we depend upon God, and seek to him for wisdom, he will enable us to keep the paths of judgment.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Sound wisdom - "Soundness," an idea which passes on into that of health and safety. Compare "sound doctrine" in 1 Timothy 1:10; 2 Timothy 4:3.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

7. sound wisdom—literally, "substance," opposed to what is fictitious. According to the context, this may be assistance, as here corresponding with

buckler—or safety, or wisdom, which procures it (compare Pr 3:21; 8:14; 18:1; Job 6:13; 12:13).

layeth up—provides, ever ready.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Sound wisdom, Heb. essence or substance; either,

1. Solid and true felicity, opposed to the vain enjoyments of this world, which are said to have no substance or being, Proverbs 23:5. Or,

2. True and substantial wisdom, which is satisfactory and everlasting, opposed to worldly wisdom, which is but an empty shadow of wisdom, and perisheth with us.

A buckler to them, to protect and save them from that mischief and ruin which shall befall all wicked men.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous,.... In order to give it to them that seek for it; which is another encouragement to search after it. By "sound wisdom" may be meant, not the law, as Kimchi and Ben Melech; so called, because it endures for ever, when all beings are defective and come to nothing; but the Gospel, which is sound doctrine, pure and not corrupt; true and real wisdom, in opposition to that which has only the show of wisdom, and is science falsely so called; and this was hid in God, in Christ, and laid up as a treasure in the sacred Scriptures: or else the true grace of God, in distinction from that which is counterfeit; and is that goodness of his, which he has laid up in his heart, and in the covenant of his grace; and the fulness of grace which he has laid up in Christ for them Psalm 31:19; or eternal glory and happiness. The word here used signifies "essence", "substance" (o); that which really is, and is solid and substantial; and such are the glories of the other world the crown of righteousness, the hope laid up in heaven, and the inheritance reserved there, Colossians 1:5. These are real things, though invisible, and are rich and valuable; and have substance and solidity in them, in opposition to earthly riches, which are a vain show, and are things that are not, and at best temporal and perishing; but these are an enduring substance, Proverbs 8:21. The Septuagint render it by "salvation", and the Targum by a word which signifies "glory" and "honour"; all which may well be understood of eternal life which is laid up and reserved "for the righteous": not for such who are only so in show and imagination, but for those who are really and truly so; not for those who are legally, but evangelically righteous; or not for such that seek righteousness by the law, but by faith in Christ; for such who are made righteous by the righteousness of Christ imputed to them, and by faith receive it, and lay hold on it as their righteousness; and in consequence of this live soberly and righteously: for these only eternal life is prepared; they only have a right unto it, and a meetness for it, and shall enjoy it;

he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly; who are sincere in their deportment before God and men; who walk according to the rule of the divine word; who walk by faith on Christ, and walk on in him as they have received him; and go on living by faith on his righteousness, which is walking in his uprightness, till they come to be with him for ever in heaven. To these the Lord is a "buckler" or shield; he covers them with the "shield of faith", his own Son, his blood righteousness, and sacrifice; which faith lays hold on and uses as a shield against Satan's fiery darts; and gives them "the shield of salvation" which secures them from sin and wrath and every enemy; and encompasses them about with his "favour", as a "shield", which is immutable and invariable; and keeps them by his power through faith unto salvation, Ephesians 6:16; with this compare Genesis 15:1, Psalm 3:3. Some (p) read these words by way of apposition, and understand them of sound wisdom; that that is a buckler or shield to the persons here described; see Ecclesiastes 7:12.

(o) "essentiam", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Mercerus, Gejerus; "quicquid revera est", Junius & Tremellius; "solidam firmamque substantiam", Baynus; "solidum, vel solidam rem", Schultens. (p) So Mercerus, Piscator, Schultens. Gussetius chooses to take the word for a verb, and renders it, "he delivers it"; that is, sound wisdom to them that walk uprightly; Ebr. Comment. p. 454.

Geneva Study Bible

He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

7. layeth up] Lit. hideth, as a treasure too precious to be left exposed, therefore it must be searched for (Proverbs 2:4). But he layeth it up for, not from, the upright; therefore the search shall be successful (Proverbs 2:5).

He is a buckler] So R.V. except, instead of buckler, more accurately, shield, the smaller weapon.

The rendering, And a shield, R.V. marg.; or better, which (sc. wisdom) is a shield, is admissible, and is supported by such passages as Ecclesiastes 7:12; Ephesians 6:16, where wisdom and faith are compared to a shield. But the frequent comparison of God Himself to a shield or buckler in the O.T. (e.g. Genesis 15:1; Deuteronomy 33:29; Psalm 59:11; Psalm 84:11, in all which places the Heb. word for shield is the same as here) is in favour of regarding Jehovah (Proverbs 2:6) as the subject of this, as of the former, clause of the verse.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 7. - Wisdom which is the foundation of security and safety, and hence is sound wisdom, is that which God treasures up for the righteous. The teacher passes to another phase of the Divine character. God is not only the Source of wisdom; he is also the Ensurer of safety, the Source of salvation to those who act uprightly. It will be noted that the use of the word is confined to the Proverbs and Job, with the exception of the two passages in Isaiah and Micah. Buckler. Besides storing up the treasures of sound wisdom, which the righteous may use and so obtain security in their uprightness, God is himself a Buckler, or Shield (מָגֵן, magen), to those who walk in innocence. This aspect of God's directly protecting power is met with in other parts of Scripture. In Genesis 15:1 he encourages Abram with the assurance, "I am thy Shield." In Psalm 33:20; Psalm 84:11; Psalm 89:18; Psalm 144:2, Jehovah is called a Shield to his saints. He renders them security against the assaults of their enemies, and especially against the fiery darts of the wicked one. Again, in Proverbs 30:5, it is said, "God is a Shield (magen) up to them that walk uprightly." It is incorrect to take מָגֵן (magen) either as an accusative after the verb or in apposition with "sound wisdom." To them that walk uprightly; literally, to the walkers in innocence (לְחֹלֵכֵי תֹם, l'khol'key thom). תֹם (thom) is "integrity of mind," "moral faultlessness," "innocence." "To walk uprightly" is to maintain a course of life regulated by right principles, and directed to right ends. He "walks uprightly who lives with the fear of God as his principle, the Word of God as his rule, and the glory of God as his end" (Wardlaw). The completeness of the moral and religious character is involved in the expression which is found also in Proverbs 10:9 and Psalm 84:11. The Vulgate translates the latter clause of the verse, proteget gradientes simpliciter, "he will protect those who walk in simplicity;" cf. 2 Corinthians 1:12 in illustration of the phrase. He layeth up; i.e. he treasures up (LXX., θησαυρίζειν), or preserves and protects (custodire, Vulgate), as a person does "treasure or jewel, that it may not be stolen" (Zockler). The majority of commentators read the Keri (יִצפֹן, "he will treasure up," future of צָפַן) in preference to the Khetib (צָפַן, perfect of same verb, with prefix וְ, "and he treasured up"), and this is the; reading adopted in the Authorized Version. The Keri implies that God does treasure up sound wisdom, while the Khetib, as Delitzsch observes, has the force of the aorist, and so represents the treasuring up as an accomplished fact. The same verb occurs in Proverbs 2:1, where it is translated in the Authorized Version by "hide," and also in Proverbs 7:1 and Proverbs 10:14 by "lay up." The laying up, or treasuring, points to the preciousness of that which is treasured, "sound wisdom." Sound wisdom. A great variety of opinions exists as to the true meaning of the word in the original, תְוּשִׁיָה (tvushiyyah), of which "sound wisdom" is an interpretation. Zockler explains it as "wisdom, reflection;" Delitzsch, as "advancement and promotion;" Dathe, as "solid fortune;" Gesenius, as "aid." The proper meaning of the word seems to he "substance," from the root יָשָׁה, "to be, to exist, to be firm." Professor Lee remarks on the word, "From the places in which it occurs, either wealth, thought, or some such sense it manifestly requires. It occurs in Job 6:13, in parallelism with 'help;' in Proverbs 2:7, with a 'shield;' in Job 1:6, with 'wisdom;' in Job 12:16, with 'strength;' in Proverbs 3:21, with 'discretion;' in Proverbs 8:14, with 'counsel' and 'understanding;' in Isaiah 28:29, with 'counsel;' and so in Job 26:3. In Job 30:22 and Micah 6:9, 'entirely' or the like seems to suit the context; see also Proverbs 18:1, and generally 'excess,' or 'abundance,' taken either in a good or bad sense, and varied by other considerations, seems to prevail in every case in which this word is used" (see Professor Lee, on Job 5:12). The parallelism of the passage before us seems to require that it should be understood in the sense of security; and transferring the idea to wisdom as the means of security. This idea is reproduced in the LXX. σωτήρια, the Vulgate salus, and the Targum incolumitas. Proverbs 2:7

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Instead of כּי אם there is an old אל תקרי

(Note: Regarding this formula, see Strack's Prolegomena, pp. 66-70.)

(read not so, but thus), כי אם (if thou callest understanding mother), which supposes the phrase כי אם (lxx) as traditional. If אם were intended (according to which the Targ. in the Bibl. rabbinica, but not in Norzi's text, translates), then 3b would correspond; vid., Proverbs 7:4, cf. Job 17:14. Thus: Yea, if thou callest for understanding, i.e., callest her to thee (Proverbs 18:6), invitest her to thee (Proverbs 9:15). The ק of בּקּשׁ is, with the exception of the imper. (e.g., בּקּשׁוּ), always without the Dagesh. Proverbs 2:4 belongs to the ideas in the Book of Job found in these introductory discourses, cf. Job 3:21, as at Proverbs 2:14, Job 3:22 (Ewald, Sprche, p. 49). חפשׂ (חפּשׂ), scrutari, proceeds, as חפס shows, from the primary meaning of a ditch, and is thus in its root-idea related to חפר (to dig, search out). In the principal clause of Proverbs 2:5 the 'יראת ה, as Psalm 19:10, is the fear of Jahve as it ought to be, thus the reverence which is due to Him, the worshipping of Him as revealed. 'ה and אלהים are interchanged as קדשׁים and 'ה at Proverbs 9:10. דּעת is knowledge proceeding from practice and experience, and thus not merely cognition (Kenntnis), but knowledge (Erkenntnis). The thoughts revolve in a circle only apparently. He who strives after wisdom earnestly and really, reaches in this way fellowship with God; for just as He gives wisdom, it is nowhere else than with Him, and it never comes from any other source than from Him. It comes (Proverbs 2:6) מפּיו (lxx erroneously מפּניו ylsuoe), i.e., it is communicated through the medium of His word, Job 22:22, or also (for λὀγος and πνεῦμα lie here undistinguished from one another) it is His breath (Book of Wisdom 7:25: ἀτμὶς τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ δυνάμεως καὶ ἀπόῤῥοια τῆς τοῦ παντοκράτορος δόξης εἰλικρινής); the inspiration (נשׁמת) of the Almighty (according to Job 32:8) gives men understanding. In Proverbs 2:7, whether וצפן (Chethı̂b) or יצפּן (Kerı̂) is read, the meaning is the same. The former is the expression of the completed fact, as ἡτοίμασεν, 1 Corinthians 2:9, and is rightly preferred by lxx and Syr., for one reluctantly misses the copula (since the thought is new in comparison with Proverbs 2:6). לישׁרם should be written with the accent Dech. The Chokma-word (besides in Proverbs and Job, found only in Micah 6:9 and Isaiah 28:29) תּוּשׁיּה is a Hiphil formation (with the passing over of into , as in תּוּגה) from הושׁה (whence the pr. names יושׁה and יושׁויה) equals (Arab.) wasy and âsy, to re-establish, to advance, Hiph. of ישׁה equals ושׁה, to stand, and thus means furtherance, i.e., the power or the gift to further, and concretely that which furthers and profits, particularly true wisdom and true fortune.

(Note: I was formerly in error in regarding the word as a Hophal formation, and in assigning to it the primary signification of being in a state of realized existence, of reality, in contradistinction to appearance only. The objection of J. D. Michaelis, Supplem. p. 1167, Non placent in linguis ejusmodi etyma metaphysica, etc., does not apply here, since the word is a new one coined by the Chokma, but all the shades of meaning are naturally derived from the fundamental signification "furtherance" (cf. Seneca, Deus stator stabilitorque est). "תושׁיה, from Arab. âsy and wasy, to further by word and deed, to assist by counsel and act, to render help, whence the meanings auxilium, salus, and prudens consilium, sapientia, easily follow; cf. Ali's Arab. proverb, "He furthers thee, who does not trouble himself about thee.")

The derivation from ישׁ (Proverbs 8:21) is to be rejected, because "the formation would be wholly without analogy, so much the more because the י of this word does not represent the place of the ו, as is seen from the Arab. l-ys and the Syr. lyt" (Fl.);

(Note: The Arab. ‛aysa (almost only in the negative la-ysa equals לא ישׁ), of the same signification as ישׁ, with which the Aram. אית (איתי) is associated, presupposes an ‛âsa ( equals ‛âssa), to be founded, to found, and is rightly regarded by the Arabs as an old segolate noun in which the verbal force was comprehended.)

and the derivation of ושׁה equals שׁוה, to be smooth (Hitzig), passes over without any difficulty into another system of roots.

(Note: The Arab. wsy and swy are confounded in common usage (Wetstein, Deutsch. Morgenl. Zeitschr. xxii. 19), but the roots וש and שו are different; וש and אש, on the contrary, are modifications of one root.)

In the passage under consideration (Proverbs 2:7), תּוּשׁיּה signifies advancement in the sense of true prosperity. The parallel passage 7a clothes itself in the form of an apposition: (He) a shield (מגן, n. instr. of גּנן, to cover) for הלכי תּם, pilgrims of innocence (Fl.), i.e., such as walk in the way (the object-accus., as Proverbs 6:12, for which in Proverbs 10:9 בּ) of innocence. תּם is whole, full submission, moral faultlessness, which chooses God with the whole heart, seeks good without exception: a similar thought is found in Psalm 84:12. לנצר, 8a, is such an inf. of consequence as להקשׁיב (Proverbs 2:2), and here, as there, is continued in the finite. The "paths of justice" are understood with reference to those who enter them and keep in them; parallel, "the way of His saints" (חסיד, he who cherishes חסד, earnest inward love to God), for that is just ארח־צדקה (Proverbs 12:28): they are הלכי צדקות (Isaiah 33:15). Instead of the Mugrash, the conjunctive Tarcha is to be given to ודרך.