Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 21:22
A wise [man] scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.
22. While asserting the superiority of skill to force in actual warfare (comp. Jos 8:3-29; Ecc 9:13-15), the proverb admits of higher applications. Comp. 2Co 10:4, where as Dean Plumptre ( Speaker’s Comm.) suggests, , may be a reminiscence of the LXX. rendering here, .
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Even in war, counsel does more than brute strength. So of the warfare which is carried on in the inner battlefield of the soul. There also wisdom is mighty to the pulling down of strongholds (2Co 10:4, where Paul uses the very words of the Septuagint Version of this passage), and the wise man scales and keeps the city which the strong man armed has seized and made his own.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 22. A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty] Wisdom is in many respects preferable to strength, even in the case of defence. See what skill does in the fortification and reduction of strong places.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
A wise man sealeth the city of the mighty; wisdom and policy is ofttimes more considerable and powerful than strength.
The strength of the confidence thereof; the strongest forts, to which the citizens trust most for their defence.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
22. “Wisdom is better thanstrength” (Ecc 7:19;Ecc 9:15).
strength . . . thereofthatin which they confide.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
A wise [man] scaleth the city of the mighty,…. Which makes good what is elsewhere said, that “wisdom is better than strength”, Ec 9:16; and sometimes more is done by prudence and wisdom, by art and cunning, by schemes and stratagems, than by power and force; especially in military affairs, and particularly in besieging and taking fortified cities; when one wise man, by his wisdom, may so order and manage things, as to be able, with a few under his command, to mount the walls of a city and take it, though defended by a mighty garrison in it. This may be applied to, our Lord Jesus Christ entering into the city of a man’s heart, possessed by the strong man armed; overcoming him, taking from him his armour, and dividing his spoil,
Lu 11:21; compare with this Ec 9:14;
and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof; the strong walls, bulwarks, and such fortifications, in which the mighty in the city placed their confidence: and the like does Christ, when he enters into the heart of a sinner by his word and spirit; he destroys all its former strong confidences, and brings it into subjection to himself,
2Co 10:4.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
22 A wise man scaleth a city of the mighty;
And casteth down the fortress in which they trusted.
Ecc 9:14. is a side-piece to this, according to which a single wise man, although poor, may become the deliverer of a city besieged by a great army, and destitute of the means of defence. , seq. acc., means to climb up, Joe 2:7; here, of the scaling of a fortified town, viz., its fortress. is that which makes it , Isa 26:1: its armour of protection, which is designated by the genit. , as the object and ground of their confidence. The vocalization , for mibtachcha (cf. Jer 48:13 with Job 18:14), follows the rule Gesen. 27, Anm. 2b. The suff., as in , Isa 23:17, is lightened, because if its mappik, Michlol 30b; vid., regarding the various grounds of these formae raphatae pro mappicatis, Bttcher, 418. If a city is defended by ever so many valiant men, the wise man knows the point where it may be overcome, and knows how to organize the assault so as to destroy the proud fortress. With , he brings to ruin, cf. , Deu 20:20.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
22 A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.
Note, 1. Those that have power are apt to promise themselves great things from their power. The city of the mighty thinks itself impregnable, and therefore its strength is the confidence thereof, what it boasts of and trust in, bidding defiance to danger. 2. Those that have wisdom, though they are so modest as not to promise much, often perform great things, even against those that are so confident of their strength, by their wisdom. Good conduct will go far even against great force; and a stratagem, well managed, may effectually scale the city of the mighty and cast down the strength it had such a confidence in. A wise man will gain upon the affections of people and conquer them by strength of reason, which is a more noble conquest than that obtained by strength of arms. Those that understand their interest will willingly submit themselves to a wise and good man, and the strongest walls shall not hold out against him.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Wisdom Triumphs
Verse 22 emphasizes that the wise man, using Divine wisdom, will accomplish more than the brute strength of many, Pro 24:5-6. David, Gideon and others are examples of this truth, 1Sa 17:32-37; 1Sa 17:45-50; Jdg 7:12; Jdg 7:22.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro. 21:22
A WISE MAN AND A MIGHTY CITY
I. The city of the mighty will not easily yield to conquerors. When a fortress encloses within its walls many strong arms and stout hearts, it will not be captured by childs play. The confidence that the defenders have, not only in the strength of their position but in their own individual power and prowess, will certainly prevent them from giving up without a struggle. Such a city must be scaled or captured either by stratagem or by a mightier force than that which defends it. There are various ways in which this may be done. When the height and thickness of the walls prevent their overthrow from without they may be assailed from beneath, and when brave men cannot be subdued by the sword they may be by hunger.
II. In whatever way the city is taken wisdom is the mightiest force employed. Military strengthindeed physical force of any kindis of little or no avail without wisdom to direct it. Under the guidance of a wise commander an undisciplined and almost powerless mob becomes a powerful army, and a very small amount of mere strength can be made very effective if it is wisely directed. Belshazzar had strong walls around his city, and a mighty army within it, but Cyrus possessed the wisdom which the Babylonians lacked, and therefore the wise man overthrew the confidence of the mighty.
III. Wisdom is a power that is needed to take other strongholds besides those built of brick or stone. Any obstruction or difficulty which a man encounters in life may be a city of the mighty to overthrow which wisdom will be an indispensable ally. Poverty is such a city, and it cannot be scaled by activity and industry alonethe industrious effort must be guided by wisdom. Ignorance may be compared to such a stronghold, and wisdom is needed to guide the pursuit after knowledge. Sinful habits are walls around a man, and they are so defended and strengthened by invisible powers of evil that they cannot be cast down by strength of will alonewisdom must be sought from above to turn the struggle into a victory. But we have not only to contend with personal evils but with relative ones, with the misery and sin around us if not within us, and here again nothing can be done without wisdom. Muscular force can do a little to put down their outward manifestations, but wisdom only can do anything towards lessening their real and terrible hold upon men. The human soul, also, is a city which can be scaled only by the wise man. In Eden the city of Man-soul was taken by the subtlety and craft of the devil, and a wisdom more than human is needed to regain it. The undertaking is especially difficult, because there are inhabitants within the city who are averse to a change of mastersthere are evil tendencies within which make men unwilling to leave the yoke of Satan for the service of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ has, however, scaled this city of the mighty; all the wisdom of God has been brought to bear upon the work of reconciling men to Himself, and the Cross has accomplished what the physical force of Omnipotence itself could not have achieved.
What is strength without a double share
Of wisdom? Vast, unwieldy, burdensome;
Proudly secure, yet liable to fall
By weakest subtleties; strengths not made to rule,
But to subserve where wisdom bears command.Milton.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
The Israelites never crushed the Philistines. The Jebusites long dwelt in Jerusalems stronghold (Jos. 15:63). The sinner (at conversion) in his feeblest state enters Canaan, and scales the city of the mighty. But when his foot has touched that eternal tramping-ground, alas for him! there is still the citadel! A wise man, not only as being a wise man, but in becoming a wise man, has scaled the city of the mighty, and evermore afterwards, in becoming wiser, he is casting down the strength of its place of confidence. Not to print mistake upon his emblems, Solomon qualifies the last by those that immediately follow. Conversion is not a warfare. It is not the glow of camps or the shout of armed men, but a drowsy and forlorn awakening. Arrayed against it may be the strength of the mighty, but it is a strength absurd and miserable, as against a droning and depressing inanition. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, and when we come to understand the venture, the climb over the gates is not a bound of strength, but a torpid crawl out of mortal infirmity of feeling. Hence the patient prosing of the Preacher, as he next approaches us (in Pro. 21:23). Christian obedience is the way to triumph.Miller.
The art of war has already shewn the pre-eminence of wisdom above strength. Prudent tactics, or a wise application of courage, triumphs over mere personal prowess. Joshuas stratagem in taking Ai was a proof of military wisdom. Solomon seems to have known of a wise man singly delivering his city from the power of a mighty king; a proof of wisdom quite tantamount to the strength of an aggressor scaling the walls, and thus casting down its confidence. (Ecc. 9:13-18). Much more therefore will spiritual wisdom, the immediate gift of God, overcome difficulties as formidable as the scaling of the city of the mighty. A wise calculation of the cost is eminently serviceable in achieving most important triumphs. (Luk. 14:31-32). For does not conscious weakness lead to a single dependence upon God? And what difficulties are too great for an Almighty arm? By theesaid a valiant soldier in the army of faithI have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. Weapons of a spiritual, not of a carnal, temper, are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2Co. 10:4), impregnable to the power of man. All the promises are to him that overcometh. Let the soldier go to the conflict strong in the Lord, and putting on his whole armour. (Eph. 6:10). The triumph is sure. The heavenly city will be scaled. The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. (Mat. 11:12.)Bridges.
For Homiletics of Pro. 21:23 see on chap. Pro. 13:3, page 294.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
22. The city of the mighty , ( ‘ hir,) ( gibborim.) It may mean a very strong city, or a city defended by mighty men, or both.
The strength of the confidence thereof Or, the bulwark of its confidence “its trusted strength.” He casts down the strong defences in which the defenders confided. The proverb means that wisdom is better than physical strength; skilful strategy more powerful than brute force: accomplishes more than force of arms. History is full of illustrations. Compare Ecc 9:14-16; Pro 24:5. In 2Co 10:4, the apostle uses the very words of the Septuagint here in respect to the “pulling down” of the spiritual strongholds. The heavenly wise men, who were “mighty” through God, overturned the strong towers of heathenism.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
v. 22. A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Pro 21:22 A wise [man] scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.
Ver. 22. A wise man scaleth the city of the miyhty. ] Wisdom is that , which is profitable for all things; of singular and sovereign use, as in domestic and politic, so in military affairs and businesses. Here prudence is made out to be better than puissance, and one wise man to be too hard for many mighty, though got into the strongest garrisons. In war wisdom is better than strength, saith Solomon more than once. Ecc 9:16 ; Ecc 7:19 How did Archimedes hold out Syracuse against the Roman general by his singular skill and industry! And how many strong cities have been scaled and surprised by warlike wiles and stratagems! as Babylon by Cyrus first, and afterwards by Zopyrus, Jerusalem by Pompey, taking the opportunity of the seventh day, Sabbath, wherein he knew the superstitious Jews would not stir to defend themselves, and many others that might out of histories be instanced. a
a Dio.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
casteth down. Illustrations: Joshua (Jos 6:3-21; Jos 8:4-8); wise woman (2Sa 20:16-22. Compare Ecc 9:13-15).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 21:22
Pro 21:22
“A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, And bringeth down the strength of the confidence thereof.”
“This proverb extols the superiority of sagacity, or practical wisdom, over physical strength. Many a mighty stronghold has been overthrown by a wise and discerning assault. Such was the overthrow of Quebec in which the continent of North America was taken from the French and given to the English (Sept. 13,1759).
Pro 21:22. This verse shows that wisdom is really might. Ecc 9:13-16 tells of a single wise man who without great forces or great equipment was able to discomfit a mighty army. That wisdom is greater than might, consider the superior brute force of some of the ferocious animal world that man, who is inferior in physical strength, is able to subdue and handle through his superior wisdom.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
2Sa 20:16-22, Ecc 7:19, Ecc 9:13-18
Reciprocal: Pro 24:5 – A wise Ecc 9:16 – Wisdom Dan 2:23 – who hast
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 21:22. A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty Wisdom and policy are ofttimes more considerable and powerful than strength; and casteth down the strength, &c. The strongest forts, to which the citizens trust most for their defence.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
21:22 A {k} wise [man] scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of its confidence.
(k) Wisdom overcomes strength and confidence in worldly things.