Proverbs 14:4

Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
oxen	אֲ֭לָפִים 'A.la.fim	H504	a family · noun, common masculine plural absolute
crib	אֵב֣וּס 'e.Vus	H18	a manger or stall · noun, common masculine singular absolute
clean	בָּ֑ר Bar	H1249	beloved · noun, common masculine singular absolute
much	וְרָב ve.rov-	H7230	abundance (in any respect) · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
increase	תְּ֝בוּא֗וֹת te.vu.'ot	H8393	income · noun, common feminine plural absolute
strength	בְּכֹ֣חַ be.Kho.ach	H3581	vigor · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
ox	שֽׁוֹר Shor	H7794	a bullock (as a traveller) · noun, common masculine singular 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

1 Corinthians 9:9-11 For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?
Proverbs 13:23 Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.
Amos 4:6 And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, sai…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 14:4

Note, 1. The neglect of husbandry is the way to poverty: Where no oxen are, to till the ground and tread out the corn, the crib is empty, is clean; there is no straw for the cattle, and consequently no bread for the service of man. Scarcity is represented by cleanness of teeth, Amo 4:6. Where no oxen are there is nothing to be done at the ground, and then nothing to be had out of it; the crib indeed is clean from dung, which pleases the neat and nice, that cannot endure husbandry because there is so much dirty work in it, and therefore will sell their oxen to keep the crib clean; but then not only the labour, but even the dung of the ox is wanted. This shows the folly of those who addict the…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 14:4

crib is clean--empty; so "cleanness of teeth" denotes want of food (compare Amo 4:6). Men get the proper fruit of their doings (Gal 6:7).

John Gill on Proverbs 14:4

Where no oxen are the crib is clean,.... Or "empty" (z), so Jarchi and Aben Ezra. Oxen were used in Judea in several parts of husbandry; in ploughing the land, bringing home the corn, and in threshing or treading it out, Deuteronomy 22:10. Now where these are not, or not used, where husbandry is neglected, there is no straw in the crib for beasts, and much less food for men; or rather, no corn or "wheat" (a) on the "threshingfloor" (b), or in the barn, granary, or storehouse; for so the same word is rendered, Jeremiah 50:26; and in this manner it is interpreted by Gersom here, as also by Kimchi (c): the word translated "clean" is used for "wheat", Amos 8:5. By supplying the negative particle…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 14:4

The switch and the preserving, Pro 14:3, may have given occasion to the collector, amid the store of proverbs before him, now to present the agricultural figure: Without oxen the crib is empty; But rich increase is by the strength of the plough-ox. This is a commendation of the breeding of cattle, but standing here certainly not merely as useful knowledge, but as an admonition to the treatment in a careful, gentle manner, and with thankful recompense of the ox (Pro 12:10), which God has subjected to man to help him in his labour, and more generally, in so far as one seeks to gain an object, to the considerate adoption of the right means for gaining it. אלפים (from אלף, to cling to) are the c…

The Church Fathers

Where there are no oxen, the crib is empty, etc. These are connected with the preceding. For the oxen signify catholic teachers; the crib, the listeners of the assemblies; the crops, the fruits of good works. Therefore, it is in vain that the proud swell and uneducated eloquence strikes the ears and hearts of their subjects, because where there are no learned preachers, the crowd of common people gathers in vain to hear. But where many acts of virtue appear, it is most evident that it is not a heretic who babbled in vain, but he labored for the fruit of the word, who both ruminates the word with a chaste mouth and knows to walk the path of truth with the straight foot of discretion. Nor is it to be wondered at why we said that listeners are signified in the crib, since the ox is fed from the crib, and the teacher usually nourishes the hearers with the word. But it is to be noted that the crib is filled from the labor of the ox, and the ox itself is refreshed from its own fruit from the crib, because the faithful preacher both refreshes the hearers with the word and is himself refreshed with the same nourishment by the Lord; as is figured in the work of Elijah, who is both fed by and feeds the widow of Zarephath whom he sustains.
— Bede, Commentary on Proverbs

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Bullock · .For plowing — .For plowing
Crib · Used for grain — Used for grain
Industry · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Ox, The · Described as: Strong — Described as: Strong

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).

Proverbs 14:4

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 14:4

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 14:4

John Gill on Proverbs 14:4

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 14:4

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Proverbs 14:4

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 14:4

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 14:4

John Gill on Proverbs 14:4

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 14:4

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Proverbs 14:4

Rashi on Proverbs 14:4