Page:04.BCOT.KD.PoeticalBooks.vol.4.Writings.djvu/1888

 who prepare it for others by means of slanderous, crafty, uncharitable talk.

Verses 3-4
The warning against fellowship with the godless is followed by the praise of wisdom, which is rooted in the fear of God. 3 By wisdom is the house builded,   And by understanding is it established. 4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled   With all manner of precious and pleasant goods. What is meant by the “building of the house” is explained at Pro 14:1. It is wisdom, viz., that which originates from God, which is rooted in fellowship with Him, by which every household, be it great or small, prospers and attains to a successful and flourishing state; כּונן, as parallel word to בּנה (Pro 3:19; Pro 2:12), is related to it as statuere to extruere; the Hithpal (as at Num 21:17) means to keep oneself in a state of continuance, to gain perpetuity, to become established. That ימּלאוּ by Athnach has not passed over into the pausal ימּלאוּ, arises from this, that the Athnach, by the poetical system of accents, has only the force of the prose accent Sakef; the clause completes itself only by 4b; the pausal form on that account also is not found, and it is discontinued, because the Athnach does not produce any pausal effect (vid., at Psa 45:6). The form of expression in Pro 24:4 is like Pro 1:13; Pro 3:10. But the חדרים, of storerooms (lxx as Isa 26:20, ταμιεῖα), and נעים, like Pro 22:18; Pro 23:8, is peculiar to this collection.

Verses 5-6
The praise of wisdom is continued: it brings blessings in the time of peace, and gives the victory in war. 5 A wise man is full of strength;   And a man of understanding showeth great power. 6 For with wise counsel shalt thou carry on successful war;   And safety is where counsellors are not wanting. The ב of בּעוז (thus with Pathach in old impressions, Cod. 1294, Cod. Jaman., and elsewhere with the Masoretic note לית ומלא) introduces, as that of בכּח, Psa 24:4, the property in which a person or thing appears; the article (cf. העזבים, Pro 2:13, Gesen, §35, 2A) is that of gender. The parallel מאמץ כח, a Greek translates by ὑπὲρ κραταιὸν ἰσχύΐ = מאמּיץ כּח (Job 9:4; Isa 40:26). But after 5a it lies nearer that the poet means