Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 23:22

Hearken unto thy father that begot thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.

Verse 22. Despise not thy mother when she is old.] A very necessary caution, as very old women are generally helpless, useless, and burdensome: yet these circumstances do not at all lessen the child’s duty. And this duty is strengthened by the Divine command here given.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

That begat thee; and therefore desires and seeks thy good in all his counsels.

When she is old; when the infirmity of age is added to that of her sex, which is apt to breed contempt.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

22. Hearkenthat is, obey(Pro 1:8; Eph 6:1).

despise . . . oldAdultsrevere the parents whom, as children, they once obeyed.

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

Hearken unto thy father that begat thee,…. And who has a true and hearty affection for thee, and whatever he says is for thy good and welfare, which he studies and has at heart; and who therefore also has an authority over thee, and what he enjoins ought to be strictly regarded; and, having lived longer in the world, must be thought to have a larger experience and knowledge of things, and therefore should be hearkened unto;

and despise not thy mother when she is old; despise not her counsels, instructions, and advice, though she is old; and because she is so, do not reject them as old wives’ fables, or as the silly talk of an old woman, as young men are too apt to do.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

The parainesis begins anew, and the division is open to question. Pro 23:22-24 can of themselves be independent distichs; but this is not the case with Pro 23:25, which, in the resumption of the address and in expression, leans back on Pro 23:22. The author of this appendix may have met with Pro 23:23 and Pro 23:24 (although here also his style, as conformed to that of Pro 1:9, is noticeable, cf. 23b with Pro 1:2), but Pro 23:22 and Pro 23:25 are the form which he has given to them.

Thus Pro 23:22-25 are a whole: –

22 Hearken to thy father, to him who hath begotten thee,

And despise not thy mother when she has grown old.

23 Buy the truth, and sell it not,

Wisdom and discipline and understanding.

24 The father of a righteous man rejoiceth greatly;

(And) he that is the father of a wise man – he will rejoice.

25 Let thy father and thy mother be glad;

And her that bare thee exult.

The octastich begins with a call to childlike obedience, for , to listen to any one, is equivalent to, to obey him, e.g., Psa 81:9, Psa 81:14 (cf. “hearken to his voice,” Psa 95:7). is a relative clause (cf. Deu 32:18, without or ), according to which it is rightly accentuated (cf. on the contrary, Psa 78:54). 22b, strictly taken, is not to be translated neve contemne cum senuerit matrem tuam (Fleischer), but cum senuerit mater tua , for the logical object to is attracted as subj. of (Hitzig). There now follows the exhortation comprehending all, and formed after Pro 4:7, to buy wisdom, i.e., to shun no expense, no effort, no privation, in order to attain to the possession of wisdom; and not to sell it, i.e., not to place it over against any earthly possession, worldly gain, sensual enjoyment; not to let it be taken away by any intimidation, argued away by false reasoning, or prevailed against by enticements into the way of vice, and not to become unfaithful to it by swimming with the great stream (Exo 23:2); for truth, , is that which endures and proves itself in all spheres, the moral as well as the intellectual. In 23b, in like manner as Pro 1:3; Pro 22:4, a threefold object is given to instead of : there are three properties which are peculiar to truth, the three powers which handle it: is knowledge solid, pressing into the essence of things; is moral culture; and the central faculty of proving and distinguishing ( vid., Pro 1:3-5). Now Pro 23:24 says what consequences are for the parents when the son, according to the exhortation of Pro 23:23, makes truth his aim, to which all is subordinated. Because in the ideas of practical and theoretical truth are inter-connected. and are also here parallel to one another. The Chethb of 24a is , which Schultens finds tenable in view of (Arab.) jal , fut jajulu (to turn round; Heb. to turn oneself for joy) but the Heb. usus loq. knows elsewhere only , as the Ker corrects. The lxx, misled by the Chethb , translates (incorrect ), i.e., . In 24b, is of the nature of a pred. of the conclusion (cf. Gen 22:24; Psa 115:7), as if the sentence were: has one begotten a wise man, then (cf. Pro 17:21) he has joy of him; but the Ker effaces this Vav apodosis, and assigns it to as Vav copul. – an unnecessary mingling of the syntactically possible, more emphatic expression. This proverbial whole now rounds itself off in Pro 23:25 by a reference to Pro 23:22 – the Optative here corresponding to the Impr. and Prohib. there: let thy father and thy mother rejoice (lxx ), and let her that bare thee exult (here where it is possible the Optat. form ).

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

Children That Honor Parents

Verses 22-23 amplify conduct which honors parents as admonished in the fifth commandment (Exo 20:12): The child is to heed instruction of parents when a child, and he is to honor them and respect the truth they taught as long as they live, Pro 1:8; Pro 30:17; Exo 20:12; Eph 6:1-3. Proper parental instruction will stress priceless value of truth and its components of wisdom, understanding and instruction, Pro 3:1-3; Pro 4:1-5; Psa 117:2; Dan 4:37; Zec 8:16; Joh 8:32.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

22. Despise not thy mother A negative for a positive precept pay to thine aged mother all due deference and respect.

When old Some read, because she is old. Let not the infirmities of age lessen thy esteem for her.

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

Fifteenth Saying (Octastitch) Pro 23:22-25 serves as the only example of an eight-line proverb, which is called an octastitch. These four verses form a single thought. It is similar to Pro 23:15-16 in that it says our parents, our superiors as well as our Heavenly Father will rejoice when we walk in wisdom and speak words of righteousness. In contrast, we grieve them when we do not walk upright.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

v. 22. Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, in ready obedience to all his commands, and despise not thy mother when she is old, it being the tendency of young people to be ashamed of their aged parents and no longer to heed their counsel.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Pro 23:22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.

Ver. 22. Hearken to thy father, &c. ] See Trapp on “ Pro 1:8 “

And despise not thy mother when she is old, ] Dr Taylor, martyr, said to his son, among other things, when he was to suffer: When thy mother is waxed old, forsake her not, but provide for her to thy power, and see that she lack nothing; for so will God bless thee, and give thee long life upon earth, and prosperity. a

a Acts and Mon.

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