Short Comments

Proverbs 30:21

Jeff Short — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 18:12:32 +0000

For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:
– Proverbs 30:21

Verses 21-23 give another numerical saying where all the items are parallel to illustrate the wisdom point, which in this case is given at the beginning in verse 21. The list gives four unbearable circumstances. Where these occur, the earth is disquieted. The word literally means to tremble, quake, or shake. When used of people it can refer to fear, panic, or anger. When used with the earth, as here, it can refer to the literal quaking of the earth. Here the term is used in a common idiomatic way of referring to the upsetting of the usual order of the world. We experience the upsetting of the social order like the chaotic upheaval caused in a city by an earthquake. This saying fits well with the book of Ecclesiastes.

Proverbs 30:20

Jeff Short — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 12:24:57 +0000

Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.
– Proverbs 30:20

Verse 20 is the conclusion the sage was driving at with the list of incomprehensible things. There’s no need to puzzle long over the list and seek mysterious meanings. Each operates in a natural, ordered, and designed way—the eagle in the air, the serpent on a rock, the ship in the sea, and the man and woman in marriage. The wonder is the hardness of the “adulterous woman.” Descriptions and warnings about her have abounded in the wisdom sayings (Proverbs 2:16-19; 5:1-14, 20-23; 7:1-27; 9:17; 22:14; 23:27-28). The point of the wisdom sayings is not that women are the main ones guilty of sexual sins, or are worse than men. We must remember that wisdom sayings are given in the form of fatherly or motherly instructions to a young man and a part of wisdom is understanding the application of wisdom to various people and situations.

Just as the eagle and the serpent move naturally in their habitat, the adulteress is at home in her adulteries. Sexual sin is just as normal and natural as eating and drinking. She sees no spiritual or moral value at stake, “I have done no wickedness.” God designed and ordered one man, one woman marriage and all sexual activity outside that order is sin of various descriptions in Scripture.

Proverbs 30:19

Jeff Short — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 11:07:37 +0000

The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.
– Proverbs 30:19

This verse gives the three and four list. Commentators are widely varied on the significance of this list and each item. Taken on its own, its puzzling. Verse 18 describes the list as things that are mysteriously incomprehensible and verse 20 draws a comparative conclusion. So, the list itself is not communicating something to us in some sort of code. Each item is connected by the word for way, which means habit or manner of conduct. The list presents four things in the natural way, or even instinctive way. The point then becomes clear from the rest of the saying in verse 20.