Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 15:33
The fear of the LORD [is] the instruction of wisdom; and before honor [is] humility.
33. of wisdom ] See Pro 15:31, note.
before honour &c.] Comp. Mat 23:12; Luk 14:11; Luk 18:14.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The instruction of wisdom – i. e., The discipline that leads to wisdom.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 33. The fear of the Lord] See Clarke on Pr 1:7. Much is spoken concerning this fear;
1. It is the beginning of wisdom.
2. It is also the beginning of knowledge. And,
3. It is the instruction of wisdom. Wisdom derives its most important lessons from the fear of God. He who fears God much, is well taught.
And before honour is humility.] That is, few persons ever arrive at honour who are not humble; and those who from low life have risen to places of trust and confidence, have been remarkable for humility. We may rest assured that the providence of God will never elevate a proud man; such God beholds afar off. He may get into places of trust and profit, but God will oust him, and the people will curse him, and curse his memory. So will it ever be with bad ministers and advisers of the crown.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Is the instruction of wisdom; doth instruct men in or lead them to true wisdom; whence it is said to be the beginning of wisdom, Pro 1:7; 9:10.
Before honour is humility, i. e. it is the ready way to honour, both from God and from men. Humility; whereby men submit to God, and yield to men, which gains them love and respect; whereas pride procures them hatred and contempt from God and men.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
33. The fear . . . wisdomWisdominstructs in true piety.
before . . .humility(compare Luk 24:26;1Pe 1:11); opposite (compare Pr16:18).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The fear of the Lord [is] the instruction of wisdom,…. It is “the beginning of wisdom”, Pr 9:10; it leads unto it, instructs a man in it; by means of it he attains to true spiritual and evangelical wisdom; it teaches him to abstain from sin, and to serve the Lord; and to seek the salvation of his soul in the way God has appointed, which is by his Son Jesus Christ, which to do is the highest wisdom;
and before honour [is] humility; the fear of God and humility go together, where the one is the other is; and as the one is the way to wisdom, the other is the way to glory; Christ’s humiliation was before his exaltation; men are first humbled and laid low in their own eyes, and then they are raised out of their low estate, and are set among princes; and shall inherit the throne of glory, being made kings and priests unto God; it is a frequent saying of Christ’s, “he that humbleth himself shall be exalted”, Lu 14:11; such an one is raised to a high estate of grace, and at last to eternal glory.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
33 The fear of Jahve is a discipline to wisdom,
And before honour is humility.
We may regard ‘ (the fear of Jahve) also as pred. here. The fear of Jahve is an educational maxim, and the end of education of the Chokma; but the phrase may also be the subject, and by such a rendering Luther’s parallelism lies nearer: “The fear of the Lord is discipline to wisdom;” the fear of God, viz., continually exercised and tried, is the right school of wisdom, and humility is the right way to honour. Similar is the connection , discipline binds understanding to itself as its consequence, Pro 1:3. Line second repeats itself, Pro 18:12, “Pride comes before the fall.” Luther’s “And ere one comes to honour, he must previously suffer,” renders rather than . But the Syr. reverses the idea: the honour of the humble goeth before him, as also one of the anonymous Greek versions: . But the comes, as the above proverb expresses it, afterwards. The way to the height lies through the depth, the depth of humility under the hand of God, and, as expresses, of self-humiliation.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
33 The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.
See here how much it is our interest, as well as duty, 1. To submit to our God, and keep up a reverence for him: The fear of the Lord, as it is the beginning of wisdom, so it is the instruction and correction of wisdom; the principles of religion, closely adhered to, will improve our knowledge, rectify our mistakes, and be the best and surest guide of our way. An awe of God upon our spirits will put us upon the wisest counsels and chastise us when we say or do unwisely. 2. To stoop to our brethren, and keep up a respect for them. Where there is humility there is a happy presage of honour and preparative for it. Those that humble themselves shall be exalted here and hereafter.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
(33) The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom.Or, a discipline which leads to wisdom. (Comp. Pro. 1:7.)
Before honour is humility.Humility leads to it. (Comp. Luk. 1:52.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
33. The instruction (or discipline) of wisdom The pre-requisite to wisdom reverence for Jehovah, his character and his law, and the disposition implied in this are necessary to the attainment of true wisdom. This reverence implies submission and humility; and as the fear of the Lord comes before wisdom, and is the stepping stone to it, so humility must precede honour, as the qualification for it. “He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Mat 23:12. On first clause comp. Pro 1:7; Pro 9:10; on last clause, Pro 18:12; Act 14:22.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
v. 33. The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
REFLECTIONS.
READER! pause with me over the review of this chapter, and let us mark together the improvements which an heart, taught by grace, can readily make out of it. To an enlightened eye, which discerns Christ in the whole field of scripture, there is not a flower in it but will yield both beauty and sweetness to our taste. And, like the bee, we shall gather by faith food from all. But, if the eye be not enlightened to see him, many a lovely step, which would lead to the Plant of renown, we shall never take; but like the wild beast of the wood, tread the whole under our feet. Oh! for grace, so to read the scriptures, as to discover in them the mysteries of the kingdom. All, in every part, treat of Jesus in his Person, offices, relations, characters, ordinances, communion. Let us, my brother, continually pray for this grace, to lead us, and to guide us, that we may walk in the Spirit, and be taught by the Spirit. For, if the Holy Ghost bring us thoroughly to be acquainted with our Lord, no part of the divine word will suffer us, at any time to turn from it, until that we have discovered Jesus in it. And, when, in going over the field of the scriptures, like the merchant-man, Jesus himself speaks of seeking goodly pearls, we have found Him the one of great price, of whom Moses and the Prophets did write; such a Pearl, indeed, in whom all grace, glory, yea, God himself, in all his fulness dwells, being once found; oh! how gladly shall we go and sell all that we have, and part with all that before we valued the possession of, to obtain him, and to acquire every day an increasing knowledge of him, and communion with him, whom truly to know, and as truly to enjoy, is life eternal.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Pro 15:33 The fear of the LORD [is] the instruction of wisdom; and before honour [is] humility.
Ver. 33. The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom. ] See Trapp on “ Pro 1:7 “
And before honour is humility.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
wisdom. Hebrew. chakmah. See note on Pro 1:2.
before honour, &c. Illustrations: Joseph (Gen 41:16, Gen 41:39, Gen 41:40. Gen 22:4); Gideon (Jdg 6:15); Hananiah (Neh 7:2); Daniel (Dan 2:30-48); Centurion (Mat 8:8, Mat 8:10); Ephraim (Hos 13:1); John Baptist (Joh 1:15, Joh 1:30; Joh 3:30).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 15:33
Pro 15:33
“The fear of Jehovah is the instruction of wisdom And before honor goeth humility.”
“Humility is that low sweet root from which all the heavenly virtue shoot. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” (1Pe 5:6). The Magnificat has the precious lines, “He hath put down princes from their thrones, and hath exalted them of low degree” (Luk 1:52). The glorious Head of our holy religion washes the disciples’ feet.
Pro 15:33. Compare with Pro 1:7. To learn true reverence for God is true wisdom. Wisdom would instruct us to this fear through parents, through the Scriptures, and through our religious leaders and religious associates. Honor does precede humility: it was so with Jesus (Php 2:7-11); it was so with the penitent publican (Luk 18:13-14); and we must be converted (humbled) before we become Christians (honor).
Proverbs of Solomon – Pro 15:1-33
Open It
1. When is it better to have a little in life rather than a lot?
2. What is something that makes you happy or brings you a lot of joy?
3. From whom is it difficult for you to take criticism? Why?
Explore It
4. How do gentle answers and harsh words differ? (Pro 15:1)
5. What did Solomon say about the speech of the wise and of the fool? (Pro 15:2; Pro 15:4; Pro 15:7)
6. What did Solomon say about the eyes of the Lord? (Pro 15:3)
7. What do we know about the person who hates and resists correction? (Pro 15:10; Pro 15:12)
8. What did Solomon say about the heart? (Pro 15:13-15)
9. When is it better to have a little than a lot? (Pro 15:16-17)
10. How do the hot-tempered person and the patient person differ? (Pro 15:18)
11. What kind of course does a wise person keep? (Pro 15:21)
12. What does the heart of the righteous do with his or her answers? (Pro 15:28)
13. What does the person who ignores wisdom do to himself or herself? (Pro 15:32)
14. What comes before honor? (Pro 15:33)
Get It
15. Why is it easier to speak harshly rather than gently?
16. How does the reality that the eyes of the Lord are everywhere affect our life?
17. What type of person hates and resists correction?
18. How can a person cultivate a happy and cheerful heart?
19. When have you found that having less where there is love is better than having a lot where there is conflict?
20. What does it mean to weigh ones answers?
21. What kind of person ignores discipline?
22. When have you ignored discipline?
23. Why must humility come before honor?
24. How can a person cultivate humility?
Apply It
25. What one thing can you do today to cultivate humility in your life?
26. How can you focus on enjoying what you have, no matter how little?
27. What can you do this week to become more open to correction in your life?
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
fear
(See Scofield “Psa 19:9”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
fear: Pro 1:7, Pro 8:13, Job 28:28, Psa 34:11, Psa 111:10
and: Pro 18:12, Pro 25:6, Pro 25:7, Pro 29:23, Luk 14:11, Phi 2:5-11, Jam 4:10, 1Pe 5:5
Reciprocal: Rth 2:7 – I pray Rth 2:13 – not like 1Sa 18:18 – Who am I 1Sa 25:41 – thine Psa 25:12 – What Pro 11:2 – but Mat 23:12 – General Mat 25:37 – when Luk 5:15 – so Luk 14:10 – go Luk 18:14 – every Phi 2:8 – he Jam 4:6 – giveth grace
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
15:33 The fear of the LORD [is] the instruction of wisdom; and before honour [is] {k} humility.
(k) Meaning, that God exalts no one but them that are truly humbled.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The fear of Yahweh is not just the foundation of a wise life (Pro 1:7; Pro 9:10). It is also the whole path of wisdom. To fear the Lord amounts to being wise in one sense, though it is the foundation for wisdom in another (Pro 1:7).
Though Pro 15:33 b presents a universal truth, the humility in the context (Pro 15:33 a) is the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the willingness to humble oneself before God and to let His Word guide us.