Proverbs 30:1

The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
words	דִּבְרֵ֤י div.Rei	H1697	a word · noun, common masculine plural construct
Agur	אָג֥וּר 'a.Gur	H94	Agur · proper noun, a man's name
son	בִּן bin-	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Jakeh	יָקֶ֗ה ya.Keh	H3348	Jakeh · proper noun, a man's name
prophecy	הַמַּ֫שָּׂ֥א ha.Ma.Sa'	H4853	a burden · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
man	הַ֭גֶּבֶר Ha.ge.ver	H1397	properly · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
spake	נְאֻ֣ם ne.'Um	H5002	an oracle · noun, common masculine singular construct
Ithiel	לְאִֽיתִיאֵ֑ל le.'i.ti.'El	H384	Ithiel · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
Ithiel	לְאִ֖יתִיאֵ֣ל le.'I.ti.'El	H384	Ithiel · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
Ucal	וְאֻכָֽל ve.'u.Khal	H401	Ucal · conjunction + 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

Proverbs 31:1 The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.
2 Peter 1:19-21 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the d…

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 30:1-6

Some make Agur to be not the name of this author, but his character; he was a collector (so it signifies), a gatherer, one that did not compose things himself, but collected the wise sayings and observations of others, made abstracts of the writings of others, which some think is the reason why he says (Pro 30:3), "I have not learned wisdom myself, but have been a scribe, or amanuensis, to other wise and learned men." Note, We must not bury our talent, though it be but one, but, as we have received the gift, so minister the same, if it be but to collect what others have written. But we rather suppose it to be his name, which, no doubt, was well known then, though not mentioned elsewhere in s…

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John Gill on Proverbs 30:1

The words of Agur the son of Jakeh,.... Here begins, according to Aben Ezra, the fourth part of this book; though, according to others, it is the fifth; See Gill on Proverbs 22:17; Who this Agur was is a matter of doubt; some of the Jewish writers, as Jarchi and Gersom, and likewise some Christian writers (f), take him to be Solomon himself, who calls himself Agur, which is said to signify "a gatherer"; and so the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "the words of the gatherer, the son of the vomiter"; just as he calls himself Koheleth, or "the caller", or "preacher", Ecclesiastes 1:1. The reason given of this name is, because he gathered wisdom and the law (g); or, as Jarchi, he gathered wisdo…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 30:1

The title of this first appendix, according to the text lying before us, is: "The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the utterance." This title of the following collection of proverbs is limited by Olewejored; and המּשּׂא, separated from the author's name by Rebia, is interpreted as a second inscription, standing on one line with דּברי, as particularizing that first. The old synagogue tradition which, on the ground of the general title Pro 1:1, regarded the whole Book of Proverbs as the work of Solomon, interpreted the words, "Agur the son of Jakeh," as an allegorical designation of Solomon, who appropriated the words of the Tôra to the king, Deu 17:17, and again rejected them, for he said: Go…

The Church Fathers

The vision which the man spoke, with whom is God, etc. The vision, he said, which he spoke, because what he saw by contemplating the more secret things with God, he revealed to men by speaking outwardly. For whoever is strengthened by the Spirit of God, these things which follow, he speaks with a humble heart.
— Bede, Commentary on Proverbs

The words of the Gatherer, the son of Vomenti. Hitherto are the Proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied. From henceforth, again, the words of Solomon, by himself, which is called in Greek Ecclesiastes, now translated into Latin under that name, is called the Gatherer. For the church is called a congregation.
— 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

Agur — Gatherer; the collector, mentioned as author of the sayings in Prov. 30. Nothing is known of him beyond what is there recorded.
Ithiel — (God is with me).
Jakeh — Pious, the father of Agur (Prov. 30:1). Nothing is known of him.
Lemuel — Dedicated to God, a king whom his mother instructed (Prov. 31:1-9). Nothing is certainly known concerning him. The rabbis identified him with Solomon.
Serpent — (Heb. nahash; Gr. ophis), frequently noticed in Scripture. More than forty species are found in Syria and Arabia. The poisonous character of the serpent is alluded to in Jacob’s blessing on Dan (Gen.…
Ucal — The name of a person to whom Agur’s words are addressed (Prov. 30:1).
Agur · General references — General references
Ithiel · 2. An uni — 2. An uni
Jakeh · Father of Agur — Father of Agur
Ucal · A man mentioned only in — A man mentioned only in

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 30:1

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 30:1-6

John Gill on Proverbs 30:1

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 30:1

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Proverbs 30:1

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 30:1-6

John Gill on Proverbs 30:1

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 30:1

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Proverbs 30:1-3

Rashi on Proverbs 30:1