Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 24:5
A wise man [is] strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
5. strong ] Lit. in strength, A.V. and R.V. marg. Comp.
The voice of Jehovah is in might;
The voice of Jehovah is in majesty. Psa 29:4.
“The expression is more forcible than if adjectives denoting these qualities (‘mighty,’ ‘majestic’) had been used. Comp. , Luk 4:32; (rec.), Rev 18:2.” Bp Perowne.
increaseth strength ] Lit., as in margin A.V. and R.V., strengtheneth might.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Is strong – literally, as in the margin; i. e., rooted and established in strength.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Pro 24:5
A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength
Wisdom the strength of the mind
The changes of life often have unhappy effects on the temper of our minds.
A defence against these evils would be very desirable. Who would not possess a constant equanimity, an uniform peace and steady resolution of soul? Solomon says this is to be gained through wisdom, or religious virtue.
I. The diseased and feeble state of mind against which wisdom is the proper remedy. It seemeth to consist in an indisposition for the due exercise of its powers. The body is then distempered and weak, and so the mind is rendered incapable of the offices which become such a being. The weakness principally appeareth in the prevalence of passions which are excited by them, and are summed up in aversion; that is, in the prevalence of fear and sorrow and anger. Reason and moral conscience is the man; in its vigour and authority over the inferior springs of action our strength lieth.
1. Fear is an infirmity natural to man, which very often hath pernicious effects, and in itself, abstracting from its effects, is very uncomfortable. Every living creature, according to its measure of perfection, hath a self-enjoyment, and findeth ease and satisfaction in its sound and healthy state. But it was wisely provided that such of them as are liable to dangers and annoyances from abroad should have a painful apprehension of them, in order to their being put upon the speediest methods for avoiding them. This is the end of fear in their constitution. Man is made with a larger comprehension, and with the privilege of foresight, by which he discovereth a variety of dangers, and seeth them at a great distance; and this certainly was not originally intended to be his torment, but, if it be so in event, it must be by way of penal infliction for his faults, or a distemper of his mind against which there is a proper remedy provided.
2. Grief. This is not equal in all men. Some spirits can sustain their infirmity better than others. But all find it requires a force above that of mere unimproved and uncultivated nature to support it. It requireth religious wisdom.
3. Anger. Felt when the disagreeable event is considered an injury, and as befalling us by the injustice or ill-will of a voluntary agent. Now consider the symptoms of this natural weakness. During the prevalence of these passions the understanding is obscured; at least, we have not the due use of it. It seems to be the natural tendency of pain to arrest the thoughts. The counsels of the mind are at such times full of perplexity, which often produce irresolution, instability, and fatal precipitation.
II. Wherein the strength of the wise man lieth. How wisdom, or religious virtue, is the cure of our weakness and its symptoms.
1. It is a defence against fear, because it represents uncomfortable events as too inconsiderable to affect our main interests. The good man is satisfied from himself; his integrity is his chief treasure. Virtue is a greater good than riches, worldly honours, and carnal pleasure.
2. The testimony of our conscience is an effectual preservative against immoderate dejecting fears, as it gives us confidence towards God and assurance of His favour.
3. The wise man is strong against fear, because his confidence is in the Divine all-sufficiency, love, and faithfulness. Chance and necessity, as the cause of events, are the refuge of ignorant minds. Faith controls the fears of a religious mind, for it represents an intelligent, powerful, and gracious Providence as superintending all affairs and directing all events irresistibly.
4. The wise man is strengthened by the Christian hope of immortality. The same principles and sentiments restrain immoderate anger. So religious wisdom delivers us from the symptoms of weakness arising from the passions; ignorance and confusion; the darkened understanding. True wisdom openeth the eyes. There is an admirable simplicity in religion. A man of knowledge increaseth strength against irresolution, unsteadiness, and precipitancy; his behaviour is consistent and uniform, because it is conducted by one invariable principle. The wise and virtuous perform their good works with vigour and alacrity. And this spiritual strength is ever increasing, and a constant source of pleasure to the man himself. Then let us examine ourselves, and try what equanimity we maintain in the changes of life. (J. Abernethy, M.A.)
Fixed religious principles
A wise man is strong. That is, a true man; one who fears God. We shall seek to show the infinite importance of fixed principles
I. In relation to the duties of life.
II. In regard to the relationships of life.
III. In relation to the trials of life.
IV. As a safeguard against the Temptations of life. (F. Wagstaff.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 5. A wise man is strong.] His wisdom enables him to construct a great variety of machines, by which, under his own influence, he can do the labour of a hundred or even a thousand men. But in all cases wisdom gives power and influence; and he who is wise to salvation can overcome even Satan himself. The Septuagint has: “The wise is better than the strong; and the man who has prudence, than a stout husbandman.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Is strong; is courageous and resolute, and able by wisdom to do greater things than others can accomplish by their own strength.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5, 6. The general statement(Ecc 9:16; Ecc 9:18)is specially illustrated (compare Pro 21:22;Psa 144:1).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
A wise man [is] strong,…. He can do that sometimes by his wisdom, and which requires strength and courage too, which another cannot do by his strength; see Pr 21:22. This may be understood of one that is spiritually wise, wise unto salvation, wise for another world, is made to know true wisdom in the hidden part. The Stoic philosophers say much of their wise man; that he is happy, and rich, and mighty, and even a king; all which may be said more truly of a good man; he is strong, not absolutely, but comparatively, in comparison of what he himself was; and wicked men are without strength, and do not seek for any elsewhere; nor do they, nor can they do, that which is spiritually good, and are ignorant of their weakness: but so is not a wise man; he has some spiritual strength; he seeks to Christ for more, and, through Christ strengthening him, does all things; and is sensible of his own weakness, and finds that when he is weak he is strong: one eminently wise is strong, in comparison of less knowing and more feeble saints; some are children in knowledge, weak in faith and in conduct, more easily drawn into sin and temptation than others; and, in comparison of these, some are strong, who are to bear with and support the weak, and restore them. A wise man is strong, not in and of himself; he cannot think a good thought, nor do a good action, nor preserve himself from sin and Satan; but he is strong in Christ, and in the power of his might, and in his grace; and, through spiritual strength communicated to him, his heart is strengthened, and the work of grace in his heart; he is strengthened to exercise grace more strongly, to perform the duties of religion, to bear the cross of Christ, to withstand temptations, and to oppose his own corruptions. It may be rendered, “a wise man [is] in strength” c; he is in Christ the strong hold, whither, as a prisoner of hope, he has fled and turned into; he is in the strong tower, into which he has run and is safe; he is surrounded with the might and power of God on all sides, by which he is kept;
yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength; a spiritual man, a man endued with spiritual knowledge, with the knowledge of Christ, and salvation by him; as he has a degree of spiritual strength, he increases therein; he grows stronger and stronger, he goes from strength to strength; the more he knows of Christ, the more strongly he trusts in him and loves him, and the more able he is to resist Satan’s temptations; and is a better match for false teachers who deceive the hearts of the simple: spiritual strength is increased by means of the word of God, by the promises of the Gospel, and by the ordinances of it.
c “in fortitudine”, Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Gejerus; “in robore”, Michaelis.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The praise of wisdom is continued: it brings blessings in the time of peace, and gives the victory in war.
5 A wise man is full of strength;
And a man of understanding showeth great power.
6 For with wise counsel shalt thou carry on successful war;
And safety is where counsellors are not wanting.
The of (thus with Pathach in old impressions, Cod. 1294, Cod. Jaman., and elsewhere with the Masoretic note ) introduces, as that of , Psa 24:4, the property in which a person or thing appears; the article (cf. , Pro 2:13, Gesen, 35, 2A) is that of gender. The parallel , a Greek translates by = (Job 9:4; Isa 40:26). But after 5a it lies nearer that the poet means to express the power which lies in wisdom itself (Ecc 7:19), and its superiority to physical force (Pro 21:22); the lxx, Syr., and Targ. also, it is true, translate 5a as if ( prae potente ) were the words used. means to strengthen the strength, and that is (Nah 2:2) equivalent to, to collect the strength (to take courage), here and at Amo 2:14, to show strong (superior) strength. The reason is gathered from Pro 20:18 and Pro 11:14. The here added, Hitzig is determined to read : for with prudent counsel the war shall be carried out by thee. The construction of the passive with of the subject is correct in Heb. ( vid., at Pro 14:20) as well as in Aram.,
(Note: Vid., Nldeke’s Neusyrische Gram. p. 219, Anm., and p. 416.)
and frequently means, in a pregnant sense: to complete, to carry out, to bring to an end; but the phrase means always to carry on war, and nothing further. is the dat. commod., as in , to wage war (to contend) for any one, e.g., Exo 14:14. Instead of , the lxx reads ; regarding for , without doubt a corrupt reading, vid., Lagarde.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Seek Wise Counsel
Verses 5-6 repeat admonitions to seek wise counsel of others in deciding important matters (Pro 11:14; Pro 15:22; Pro 20:18). It should be noted, however, that man’s counsel is wise only to the extent it is in accord with the Word of the LORD, Pro 19:21; Psa 119:9; Psa 119:11; Psa 119:24.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(5) A man of knowledge increaseth strength.For the spiritual sense, comp. 2Pe. 3:18.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. A wise man is strong Powerful “Knowledge is power.” If physical strength is defective, it supplies the defects; and whatever be the strength, skill and dexterity will greatly add thereto. Machines, which are the product of knowledge, have greatly increased the power of man. Wisdom gives influence.
Increaseth strength Makes firm, confirms. Comp. Pro 2:14; Job 19:19; Ecc 9:14; Ecc 9:16.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Twentieth Saying (Tetrastitch) Pro 24:5-6 forms a single proverbial thought using four lines, which is called a tetrastitch. It tells us that wisdom and knowledge gives a man strength.
Pro 24:5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
Pro 24:6 Pro 24:6
Deu 19:15, “One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established .”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
v. 5. A wise man is strong,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Pro 24:5. A wise man is strong The LXX read, A wise man is better than a strong one, and a man of understanding than a strong labourer. This reading seems preferable to ours; which, however, may imply according to the original, A wise man is better than a strong one, and a man of knowledge than he who is mighty in strength. The following verse is connected with this, as a proof how much wisdom is preferable to strength. For by wise counsel, &c. i.e. “This is plainly seen in war itself, wherein success is often owing more to conduct than force.” The LXX support this meaning.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Pro 24:5 A wise man [is] strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
Ver. 5. A wise man is strong. ] See Trapp on “ Pro 21:22 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
A wise man, &c. = A strong man [if wise] is strong indeed. Aramaean, Syriac, and Septuagint read “[Better] a wise man than a mighty”.
man. Hebrew. geber. App-14.
increaseth strength. Aram, and Syriac read “than one who is strong”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 24:5-6
Pro 24:5-6
“A wise man is strong; Yea, a man of knowledge increaseth might. For by wise guidance thou shalt make thy war; And in the multitude of counselors there is safety.”
The second line of Pro 24:6 is identical with that in Pro 11:14. This proverb stresses the superiority of wisdom over physical strength. One example of this is that, “A wise man constructs a machine, or a device, that will do the work of a hundred or even of a thousand men; but in all cases wisdom gives power and influence; and he who is wise unto salvation can overcome Satan himself.
Pro 24:5. The thought of wisdom is continued in this verse, this time stating that its possession makes one a strong man. Grammatically the verse is Hebrew parallelism in which the second statement is a restatement of the first. Other passages on the might of wisdom: Pro 21:22; Ecc 9:16. The section in which the last mentioned verse is found tells, There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it. Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city (Ecc 9:14-15).
Pro 24:6. The strength referred to in Pro 24:5 was evidently military strength as this verse shows. The first statement of this verse is found in Pro 20:18, and its last statement is found in Pro 11:14. Pro 15:22 is similar to the last statement. Kings kept courts of wise men to counsel them in time of war. David (and later Absalom) had Ahithophel (2Sa 16:23), and Ahab had his prophets (1Ki 22:6).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
A wise: Pro 8:14, Pro 10:29, Pro 21:22, Ecc 7:19, Ecc 9:14-18
strong: Heb. in strength
increaseth strength: Heb. strengtheneth might. Psa 84:7, Isa 40:31, Col 1:11
Reciprocal: 1Ch 12:32 – all their Ecc 8:1 – a man’s Ecc 9:16 – Wisdom Isa 36:5 – vain words Dan 2:23 – who hast
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Again we see that the wise person is not completely self-reliant. He recognizes his own imperfection and looks to others to supplement his own personal deficiencies. "Wage war" means to seek to overcome any obstacle one may face in life. Wise strategy is always more important than mere strength.
As Christians, we need to overcome the obstacle of understanding the meaning of Scripture before we can apply it to our own lives and explain it to others. For this, God has given us a multitude of counselors in the writers of commentaries and other Bible study aids. The Christian is a fool who does not listen to these counselors by reading what they have written to supplement and challenge his or her own study and understanding of the text.