Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 2:2

So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, [and] apply thine heart to understanding;

2. thine heart ] For the wide meaning of this word in Holy Scripture see Delitzsch, Biblical Psychology, Section xii: “According to thorough investigation and evidence of Scripture in all its parts, the heart is the internal centre of the natural condition of man, in which the threefold life of man blends together.” “It is the centre of the bodily life,” “of the spiritual psychical life” (including “will and desire,” “thought and conception”), and of “the moral life.”

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Give thyself to the study of it with affection and diligence.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

2. Listen attentively andreflect seriously (Pro 1:24;Psa 130:2).

understandingrightperception of truth.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

So that thou incline thine ear unto Wisdom,…. Hearken to Wisdom, that is, Christ; or rather to the instruction of Wisdom, which is the Gospel; so called, because it is the produce of divine wisdom, what the wisdom of man could never have devised, and which it opposes; and in which there is a most glorious display of the wisdom of God, in the justification and salvation of his people by Christ, 1Co 2:6; and is worth listening unto with the greatest attention, which is what is designed by this expression;

[and] apply thine heart to understanding; to a spiritual and experimental understanding of the Gospel, and the truths of it: for an inclination of the ear, without an application of the heart, which signifies the intenseness of the mind, an earnest and hearty desire after knowledge, will signify nothing; a hypocrite may seemingly hear with great attention, and show much affection, and yet his heart be after the world and the things of it, Eze 33:31; see Ps 119:112.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

2. Incline thine ear Literally, point or sharpen the ear to wisdom; a figure drawn from such animals as turn the point of the external ear in the direction of the sound.

And apply thine heart Stretch, extend thy heart; it is not enough that the ear attend, the heart must be interested, must love it, must prize it. Heart, in this book, however, ordinarily means the mind, the intellect, as well as the sensibilities: apply thy mind. The description implies intense earnestness.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Pro 2:2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, [and] apply thine heart to understanding;

Ver. 2. So that thou incline thine ear. ] Lie low at God’s feet, and say, “Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.” His saints “sit down at his feet, every one to receive his word.” Deu 33:3 They are compared to “a garden of cucumbers,” Isa 1:8 which, when ripe, lie on the ground. Surely, as waters meet and rest in low valleys, so do God’s graces in lowly hearts.

And apply thine heart. ] Attention of body, intention of mind, and retention of memory, are indispensably desired of all wisdom’s scholars; such as King Edward VI, who constantly stood up at the hearing of the word, took notes, which he afterwards diligently perused, and wrought the sermon upon his affections by meditation. a

a Acts and Mon.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)