Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 29:24
Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and betrayeth [it] not.
24. cursing ] Rather, the adjuration, sc. of the judge (Lev 5:1), or of the owner of the lost property (Jdg 17:2), who puts him on his oath to divulge if he has knowledge of the theft.
bewrayeth ] Rather, uttereth, as the same Heb. word is rendered both in A.V. and R.V. in Lev 5:1.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
On the first discovery of the theft, the person wronged Jdg 17:2, or the judge of the city (marginal reference), pronounced a solemn curse on the thief and on all who, knowing the offender, were unwilling to give evidence against him. The accomplice of the thief hears that curse, and yet is silent, and so falls under it, and destroys his own soul.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 24. Hateth his own soul] naphsho, his life, as the outraged law may at any time seize on and put him to death.
He heareth cursing] alah, the execration or adjuration, (for all culprits were charged, as before God, to tell the truth,) velo yaggid, but HE will not tell IT. He has no fear of God, nor reverence for an oath, because his heart is hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Whoso is partner with a thief, by receiving a share of the stolen goods upon condition of his concealment of the theft,
hateth his own soul; he carrieth himself towards it as if he hated it; he woundeth and destroyeth it.
He heareth cursing; he heareth the voice of swearing, as is said, Lev 5:1; the oath given to him by a judge adjuring him and other suspected persons to give information concerning it; and
betrayeth it not; which he is bound to do, both by virtue of his oath, and for the public good, which ought to be preferred before all private contracts or friendships.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
24. hateth . . . soul(ComparePr 8:36).
heareth cursing (Le5:1), risks the punishment, rather than reveal truth.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Whoso is partner with a thief,…. That robs and steals, and raises away another man’s property; which to do is sinful and contrary to the law of God, and punishable by it; and so it is to join with him in the theft, or to devise, or consent unto it; or to receive the stolen goods, or to hide and conceal them; or to hide the thief, or the theft, and not declare them; see Ps 50:18. Such an one
hateth his own soul; that is, he is not careful of it, he is not concerned for its welfare as he should be; for otherwise no man, properly speaking, hates his own flesh or body, and much less his soul; but he is negligent of the good of it, and, for the sake of the mammon of unrighteousness, runs the risk of the ruin of it; by which he shows that he loves the world more than his own soul; when the profit of the whole world is nothing to the soul of man, Mt 16:26; see Pr 8:36;
he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth [it] not; or “does not declare it” b; he heareth the cursing of those that have lost their goods, and yet he does not declare where they are, and who is the author of the theft, though he knows; or, being suspected of being concerned in it, or, at least, of knowing who did it, be is had before a civil magistrate, and an oath is given him, which he takes, and yet he conceals the matter: which is an aggravation of his sin, and brings ruin to his soul. So the Targum,
“an oath is determined (or brought to him) and he confesseth not.”
Some understand this of a distinct evil, of hearing cursing and swearing, and taking the name of God in vain, and blasphemy against him; yet, through fear of incurring the displeasure of men, and being reckoned a busy body, or through indifference and want of zeal for the glory of God, do not discover it, or inform of it, to a proper person, for the punishment of such; see Le 5:1; and render the words c, as “he that is partner with a thief hateth his own soul; [so] he that heareth cursing, and betrayeth it not.”
b “et non indicat”, Junius & Tremellius, Mercerus, Cocceius, Schultens, Michaelis. c So Gejerus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
24 He that taketh part with a thief hateth himself;
He heareth the oath and confesseth not.
Hitzig renders the first member as the pred. of the second: “he who does not bring to light such sins as require an atonement (Lev 5:1.), but shares the secret of them with the sinner, is not better than one who is a partner with a thief, who hateth himself.” The construction of the verse, he remarks, is not understood by any interpreter. It is not, however, so cross, – for, understood as Hitzig thinks it ought to be, the author should have expressed the subject by , – but is simple as the order of the words and the verbal form require it. The oath is, after Lev 5:1, that of the judge who adjures the partner of the thief by God to tell the truth; but he conceals it, and burdens his soul with a crime worthy of death, for from a concealer he becomes in addition a perjured man.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
24 Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not.
See here what sin and ruin those involve themselves in who are drawn away by the enticement of sinners. 1. They incur a great deal of guilt: He does so that goes partner with such as rob and defraud, and casts in his lot among them, ch. i. 11, c. The receiver is as bad as the thief and, being drawn in to join with him in the commission of the sin, he cannot escape joining with him in the concealment of it, though it be with the most horrid perjuries and execrations. They hear cursing when they are sworn to tell the whole truth, but they will not confess. 2. They hasten to utter ruin: They even hate their own souls, for they wilfully do that which will be the inevitable destruction of them. See the absurdities sinners are guilty of; they love death, than which nothing is more dreadful, and hate their own souls, than which nothing is more dear.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Partner With A Thief
Verse 24, in accordance with Lev 5:1, declares that one who has knowledge of a thief and refuses under oath to give evidence’ against him is a partner to the thief and shall bear the same guilt as he, Lev 5:1; Lev 6:2-5.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Pro. 29:24. He heareth cursing. Rather the curse, i.e., according to Zckler, the curse which according to the law (Lev. 5:1. sq.) marks a theft as an offence demanding a heavy penalty. Delitzsch translates he heareth the oath, and explains it as that of the judge who adjures the partner of the thief by God to tell the truth. (See also Lev. 5:1).
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro. 29:24
CRIMINAL PARTNERSHIP
I. Partnerships are self-revealing. That proverb is an old and true oneTell me what company you keep, and I will tell you what you are. A man seeks the society and shares the pursuits of those who are likeminded with himself; if he chooses the fellowship of the good it shows that there is something in his character that has an affinity to theirs, and if he willingly associates himself with bad men, he proclaims himself to be a bad man. Good men do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, or sit in the seat of the scornfulmen who are found in such places must be counted among the ungodly and scornful, although they may be negative rather than positive sinners.
II. Criminal partnerships are self-destroying. As we have seen, partners with criminals are criminals themselves in spirit if not in actual deed, and must therefore meet with the doom of the transgressor. Probably the proverb is directed against those who shelter themselves under the idea that those who do not commit the crime themselves, but only consent to it beforehand, or conceal it afterwards, are not so very guilty; but this is nowhere the teaching of Scripture, nor is it the verdict of the human conscience.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
A partnership life is becoming more and more common and necessary in our commercial England. Great undertakings can only be carried out by companies. Modern legislation has greatly encouraged these combinations, by limiting the monetary liability of its members. Hence, joint-stock companies are multitudinous and multiplying. Such companies are often, perhaps generally, projected and managed by selfish, needy, and unprincipled speculators; and honest men are often tempted by the glowing promises of their lying programmes to become their adherents, and they soon find themselves in the unfortunate position referred to in the text.Dr. David Thomas.
The receiver and resetter is at least as guilty as the thief. I say at least; for in one obvious respect he is worse. His is a general trade, which gives encouragement to many thieves, by holding out to them the means of disposing of their stolen property and evading the law. He is thus, in fact, a partaker in the guilt of all. One thief cannot set up and maintain a resetter; but one resetter may keep at their nefarious trade many thieves.Wardlaw.
This is a warning under the eighth commandment. Do we realise the same solemnity of obligation as under the first? Many professors attach a degree of secularity to a detailed application of the duties of the second table. But both stand on the same authority. The transgressions of both are registered in the same book. The place in the decalogue cannot be of moment, if it be but there with the imprimaturI am the Lord thy God.Bridges.
It is the cursed policy of Satan, that he strives to join men in wickedness. In drunkenness there must be a good fellow; in wantonness there must be a corrival; in bloody duels there must be a second; in theft there must be a partner, yoking men together to draw upon themselves the heavy burden of Gods displeasure. Wherefore, although it may be a love unto the things stolen, or else a love unto the stealer, which maketh others to join with him, certainly he showeth little love to Gods law, certainly he proveth great hatred, which he has to his own soul. For while he joineth with another in stealing some worldly goods, he joineth with Satan in stealing his own soul from himself. And whatsoever fear he may have of some curse which the other hath laid upon him, if that he doth reveal it, he hath much more cause to feel the curse of Gods wrath, if he doth conceal it. He hath but heard the one, he shall feel the other.Jermin.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(24) Hateth his own soul.See above on Pro. 1:19.
He heareth cursing.Rather, the oath or adjuration of the judge that anyone cognisant of the theft shall give information with regard to it. He hears and remains silent, and thus becoming the accomplice of the thief, he shares his punishment.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
24. Partner with a thief Divides with a thief, each taking part.
He heareth cursing The curse against theft, (Lev 5:1,) or he hears the adjuration or oath administered to him.
Bewrayeth it not Will not reveal the secret will not inform because he would implicate both himself and others. Comp. also Jdg 17:2. “The explanation of the proverb is found in the Jewish method of dealing with theft. On the first discovery of the fact the person wronged, (as in Jdg 17:2,) or the judge of the city, (as in Lev 5:1,) pronounced a solemn curse, alike on the thief himself and on all who, knowing the offence, were unwilling to give evidence against the wrong doer. The accomplice of the thief hears that curse and yet is silent, and so falls under it, and destroys his own soul.” Speaker’s Commentary.
Pro 29:24. He heareth cursing, &c. The LXX and Vulgate read, He heareth him who adjureth him, but will not declare or impeach. The words may be rendered, He is adjured, and yet makes not discovery. See Lev 5:1. The sense is, that “He who will not discover a thief, when adjured or summoned upon oath to discover him, is as bad as the thief himself.” See Grotius and Schultens.
Pro 29:24 Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth [it] not.
Ver. 24. Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul. ] Since to hold the bag is as bad as to fill it; to consent to sin or to conceal it, as bad as to commit it. By the one as well as by the other, a man may easily become, as Korah did, “a sinner against his own soul,” and cruelly cut the throat of it. Let our public thieves look to this. See Isa 1:23 .
He heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not. a Luth. Epist. ad Staupic
Pro 29:24
Pro 29:24
“Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul; He heareth the adjuration and uttereth nothing.”
“The background of this appears to be the situation described in Lev 5:1. A curse is pronounced upon an unknown thief, which is heard by one of the thief’s associates. However, the associate does not reveal what he knows; and so he bears the full brunt of the curse, as well as the thief. Such a man, `hates his own soul.’ The crime is bad enough, but the failure to confess is suicidal. The mention of the word `adjuration,’ here, “Is probably a reference to an oath in court, thus adding perjury to dishonesty.
Pro 29:24. This is a court scene. The thief is brought in, and the one wronged. The judge has pronounced a curse upon the thief and upon anyone who knows the crime but refuses to divulge the information. He hateth his own soul in that he is bringing a curse upon himself by his action.
partner: Pro 1:11-19, Psa 50:18-22, Isa 1:23, Mar 11:17
hateth: Pro 6:32, Pro 8:36, Pro 15:32, Pro 20:2
he: Lev 5:1, Jdg 17:2
Reciprocal: Pro 30:9 – and take the name Zec 5:3 – every one Mat 26:63 – I adjure
Pro 29:24. Whoso is partner with a thief By receiving a share of stolen goods, upon condition of his concealing the theft; hateth his own soul Acts as if he hated it; for he wounds and destroys it; he heareth cursing He heareth the voice of swearing, as is said Lev 5:1; namely, the oath given to him by a judge, adjuring him, and other suspected persons, to give information concerning it; and bewrayeth it not Which he was bound to do for the public good. The Vulgate reads, adjurantem audit, et non indicat: he hears him who adjures him, but will not declare. Dr. Waterland renders the clause, he is adjured and yet makes no discovery.
The bad thing about being a thief’s partner, is that when the thief gets caught, and the authorities haul his partner into court, the accomplice finds himself in a "no win" situation. If he defends his partner, he shares his guilt, but if he says nothing (or pleads the fifth amendment), his accusers assume he shares his guilt. Many a businessman has discovered this to his sorrow.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)