Proverbs 10:13-14
Introduction
Theme(s):
v.13
wise men, knowing the power of words, are cautious in speech, and by sometimes keeping back what they know, avert misfortune, while fools, talking thoughtlessly, are constantly in danger of bringing destruction on people’s heads, as by talebearing, revealing secrets, and the like. Reticence is often praised in Prov.; see v. 19; 11:13; 12:23 al
the fool, like a beast, must be driven or guided by force (cf. ψ 32:9).
(189 ×): שָֽׁבֶט, sf. שִׁבְטוֹ; pl. שְׁבָטִים, cs. שִׁבְטֵי, sf. שְׁבָטֶיךָ, שִׁבְטֵיכֶם:—1. stick, staff, rod: of shepherd Lv 27:32, teacher 2 S 7:14; scepter Zc 10:11; as weapon 2 S 23:21, tool Is 28:27; šēbeṭ ʾappî (of God) Is 10:5; šēbeṭ pîw (of Messiah) Is 11:4;—2. tribe (143 ×), esp. of Isr. Gn 49:16.
The rod was also used as an instrument for either remedial or penal punishment. As a corrective instrument it was used for a slave (Ex 21:20), a fool (Prov 10:13; 26:3), and a son (Prov 13:24; 22:15; 23:13–14; 29:15). In Prov it is the symbol of discipline, and failure to use the preventive discipline of verbal rebuke and the corrective discipline of physical punishment will end in the child’s death. Metaphorically, the Lord used Assyria as his instrument to correct Israel (Isa 10:15) and the nations to correct his wayward king (II Sam 7:14). It is also used metaphorically of penal affliction of Israel’s ruler by the enemy (Mic 5:1 [H 4:14]) but the Lord’s righteous King will smite the wicked with the “rod” of his word of judgment (Isa 11:4).
In II Sam 18:14 it refers to the shaft of a spear or dart.
13. Ternary. The two clauses, taken separately, give each a good sense, but there is no close connection between them. The first has congeners in 10:21, 31; 14:3; 15:7, where there is well marked antithesis. The second is found almost word for word in 26:3, in which the meaning is clear—the fool, like a beast, must be driven or guided by force (cf. ψ 32:9). Such must be its sense here, and we should then expect in the first cl. the statement that the wise man is otherwise directed; possibly this is what is meant by saying that wisdom is in his speech (lit. lips)—he is guided by reason. But this sense is not obvious, and in v. 31 the expression has another meaning, namely, that the lips of the good man utter wisdom, in contrast with which we should here expect to read that the fool utters folly (cf. v. 11). This sense may be got by a couple of changes in the Heb. text: but folly is in the mouth of the fool (lit. of him who is devoid of understanding, lacking in sense). It is doubtful, however, whether we should not rather retain the text, and regard the second cl. as here out of place. As the verse stands, the meaning must be taken to be: An intelligent man’s speech is wise, his thought is good, and he knows how to direct his life—a fool has no guiding principle in himself, and must be driven like a beast, or coerced like a child. From Grk. we get no help: he who brings out wisdom from his lips smites the fool with a rod.—14. Antithetic, ternary. The antithesis is obvious: wise men, knowing the power of words, are cautious in speech, and by sometimes keeping back what they know, avert misfortune, while fools, talking thoughtlessly, are constantly in danger of bringing destruction on people’s heads, as by talebearing, revealing secrets, and the like. Reticence is often praised in Prov.; see v. 19; 11:13; 12:23 al. If the rendering wise men lay up knowledge (De., RV.) be adopted, the antithesis will be destroyed, and the two clauses cannot be regarded as belonging together. Cf. BS. 9:18; 20:5–7.
v.14
(ʾĕwîl). Fool, foolish, foolish man, although the word is rendered “fool” in twenty of twenty-six usages (ASV same, RSV similar).
Some derive ʾĕwîl from yāʾal “be foolish,” while another possibility is from an Arabic word meaning “be thick,” and therefore “thick-brained” or “stupid.”
The NIV renders “fool” in Prov 1:7 with a footnote: “The Hebrew words rendered fool in Proverbs, and often elsewhere in the OT denote one who is morally deficient.” Such a person is lacking in sense and is generally corrupt. If one can posit a gradation in the words for fool, ʾĕwîl would be one step below kĕsîl and only one step above nābāl (q.v.). An even stronger word in Prov is lēṣ, often translated “scoffer.” The ʾĕwîl is not only a kĕsîl because of his choices, but he is also insolent.
The ʾĕwîl identifies himself as soon as he opens his mouth. He would be wise to conceal his folly by keeping quiet (Prov 17:28). When he starts talking without thinking, ruin is at hand (Prov 10:14). While a wise man avoids strife, the fool quarrels at any time (Prov 20:3). He cannot restrain himself and will “display his annoyance at once,” whereas a wise man overlooks an insult (Prov 12:16 NIV). A fool has no balance in his relations with others. The wisdom instructor indicates that while stones and sand are most burdensome, a fool’s anger is even more intolerable.
As indicated, ʾĕwîl primarily refers to moral perversion or insolence, to what is sinful rather than to mental stupidity. This kind of a fool despises wisdom and is impatient with discipline. He who does not fear God is a fool and will be unable to grasp wisdom or benefit from godly discipline (Prov 1:7). While the wise accept godly instruction, the boastful or babbling fool who rejects it will fall down by the predicaments he makes for himself (Prov 10:8). Because a fool feels that his own way is without error, he does not seek or listen to counsel as the wise one does. The fool is overbearing in his attitude since he has all the answers (Prov 12:15). A fool despises his father’s instructions, in contrast to the one who shows good sense in regarding reproof (Prov 15:5). This kind of fool is also licentious, taking sinful enjoyment with a wayward woman (Prov 7:22).
This moral perversion is seen in the statement, “Fools mock at guilt” (Prov 14:9). The word for guilt can also mean the trespass offering (Lev 5). Thus the fool scorns and despises restitution for the injuries and sins he commits (NIV, “mock at making amends for sin”). He flouts his responsibility to the community as a responsible person. On a contrary note the upright (or wise) have a good reputation and are well liked.
Even if a fool were pounded with a pestle in a mortar along with the grain, no desirable results would follow (Prov 27:22).
A deplorable situation was seen in the northern kingdom, when Hosea was called an ʾĕwîl by the general populace (Hos 9:7). The people had forgotten the law of God (Hos 4:6) and they considered the precepts of the law a strange thing (8:12). In their perversity they regarded the teaching of the prophet as being contrary to their world view. Actually, through their twisted judgment, they gave themselves away as fools. The adjectival use of foolish follows the same idea of the noun’s moral insolence. The tragedy is that this condition will never lead the foolish to know the Lord (Jer 4:22).