properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
without
בַּח֣וּץba.Chutz
H2351
properly · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
uttereth
תִּתֵּ֥ןti.Ten
H5414
to give · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
voice
קוֹלָֽהּko.Lah
H6963
a voice or sound · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
streets
בָּ֝רְחֹב֗וֹתba.re.cho.Vot
H7339
a width · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine plural absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Proverbs 9:3 She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city,
Colossians 2:3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Proverbs 8:1-5 Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?
Luke 11:49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
1 Corinthians 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
Matthew 13:54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this…
1 Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
John 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 1:20–end
Solomon, having shown how dangerous it is to hearken to the temptations of Satan, here shows how dangerous it is not to hearken to the calls of God, which we shall for ever rue the neglect of. Observe,
I. By whom God calls to us - by wisdom. It is wisdom that crieth without. The word is plural - wisdoms, for, as there is infinite wisdom in God, so there is the manifold wisdom of God, Eph 3:10. God speaks to the children of men by all the kinds of wisdom, and, as in every will, so in every word, of God there is a counsel. 1. Human understanding is wisdom, the light and law of nature, the powers and faculties of reason, and the office of conscience, Job 38:36. By these God speaks to the childr…
Some interpreters regard this address as the language of the Son of God under the name of Wisdom (compare Luk 11:49). Others think that wisdom, as the divine attribute specially employed in acts of counsel and admonition, is here personified, and represents God. In either case the address is a most solemn and divine admonition, whose matter and spirit are eminently evangelical and impressive (see on Pro 8:1).
Wisdom--literally, "Wisdoms," the plural used either because of the unusual sense, or as indicative of the great excellency of wisdom (compare Pro 9:1).
streets--or most public places, not secretly.
John Gill on Proverbs 1:20
Wisdom crieth without,.... Here the person instructing throughout this whole book is represented under the name of "Wisdom"; by which we are to understand not the attribute of divine wisdom displayed in the works of creation; nor the light of nature in man; nor the law of Moses given to the Israelites; nor the revelation of the divine will in general, as it is delivered out in the sacred Scriptures; nor the Gospel, and the ministry of it, in particular; but our Lord Jesus Christ; for the things spoken of Wisdom, and ascribed to it in this book, especially in the eighth and ninth chapters, show that a divine Person is intended, and most properly belong to Christ; who may be called "Wisdoms" (…
What about this saying: "He who shall have persevered to the end, shall be saved," or that oracle of the divine word in the sacred proverbs: "Wisdom is proclaimed at the moment of departure"? These sayings show that, though wisdom is helpful in every age, all people should be particularly wise when they are leaving this world, because the wisdom of past years will not fully deserve praise if it does not terminate in a good end. Wisdom is proclaimed at the moment of departure.
It is written: "Wisdom is made known in death," that is to say, the life of the wise man is praised at the end of his life. Wherefore we read also in another place: "Do not praise a man during his lifetime"and again, "Praise not any man before death." Now suppose someone says: praise a man after death, for in the praise of the living there is a possible occasion of vain exultation for the object of the laudation and a note of flattery is attached to the one bestowing it. In many ways, however, it is useful to praise the dead: in the first place, because, while the one is absent who might be gratified by our praise, it is necessary that the whole glory be referred to the bestower of grace; second, because only admiration for his virtue remains when the suspicion of flattery is removed. Therefore, praise of the dead which is proclaimed in the holy congregation of the faithful is full of edification and utterly free from ostentation.
Wisdom preaches in the streets, etc. The Wisdom of God, indeed, is Christ, who, having lived in the world, revealed the mysteries of His divinity to a few and instructed them not to preach that He was Jesus Christ before His passion and resurrection, lest they tell anyone the glory they saw on the mount; and then, He showed His Majesty's power more by works than by words, fulfilling the prophecy that said: Nor shall anyone hear His voice in the streets (Isaiah 42). But after His resurrection, wisdom preached outside (Matt. 12); for, having sent down the Holy Spirit, He revealed Himself to the world through the apostles. In the streets, He raised His voice, because He publicly repeated to the crowds what He had taught to few, fulfilling the word which He said to His heralds: What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops (Matt. 10). He cried out at the head of the multitudes, because He openly brought to the memory of the princes, who thought they had prevailed against Him by crucifying Him, the guilt of the murder they committed and called them to the remedy of repentance.
Dictionary and topics
Wise, wisdom — A moral rather than an intellectual quality. To be “foolish” is to be godless (Ps. 14:1; comp. Judg. 19:23; 2 Sam. 13:13). True wisdom is a gift from God to those who ask it (Job 28:12-28; Prov.…
Call Of God, The · Rejection by God — Rejection by God
Salvation · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Young Men · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 1:20
Looking to its form and vocalization, חכמות may be an Aramaizing abstract formation (Gesen.; Ew. 165, c; Olsh. 219, b); for although the forms אחות and גּלות are of a different origin, yet in רבּות and הוללות such abstract formations lie before us. The termination ûth is here, by the passing over of the u into the less obscure but more intensive o (cf. יהו in the beginning and middle of the word, and יהוּ יהו at the end of the word), raised to ôth, and thereby is brought near to the fem. plur. (cf. חכמות, Pro 14:1, sapientia, as our plur. of the neut. sapiens, חכמה), approaching to the abstract. On the other hand, that חכמות is sing. of abstract signification, is not decisively denoted by…
The author personifies wisdom as a woman (the Hebrew noun translated wisdom, khokmah, is grammatically feminine) and encourages his son to embrace her (see 3:18; 8:1–9:6).
Rashi on Proverbs 1:20
Wisdoms shout in the street Behold, the wisdoms of the Torah cry out in her streets to admonish [the people] to turn to them [the streets]. Now what are her streets? The study halls.
in the squares Heb. ברחבות, in the place where it is broadened [in the place where Torah is studied intensively and elaborated upon]. In this manner, Rabbi Tanhuma expounded [upon this verse].
