The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 70

literally, and find. A peculiar use of the of God and man (b'eyney elohim v'adam); imperotive, tho impern,tive knl (m'tsa) with literally, in the eyes of Eloliim and man; i.e. vau consecutive (1) being equive.lent to the according to the judgment of God and IT'a'l. future, " thou she.It find," ns in the Autho- (Zockler); Vulgate, coram Deo et /wminilrns. rized Version. 'fhis construution, where two A simpler form of this phrase is found in impere.tives a.re joined, the former conte.ininit 1 Som. ii. 26, where Samuel is said to have an exborte.tion or e.dmonition, the second found favour with the Lord, and also with a promise me.de on the condition implied in men. So in Luke ii. 52 Jesus found favour the first, and the secpnd imperative being "with God and man (1rapa a • .; ,ca.l a.v8po,- used as e. future, occurs a.gain in eh. iv. 4; 'l'Ols) " ( comp. Gen. x. 9 ; Acts ii. 47 ; vii. 2," Keep my commandments, and live;" Rom. xiv. 18). The two conditions of favonr ix. 6, "Forsake the foolish, and live;" JUC. and sagacit.y, or prudence, are not to be 13, " Open . thine eyes, and thou ehalt be assigned respectively to God and mau (as satisfied with bread" ( cf. Gen. xlii. l 8; Pa. Ewald and Hitzig), or that finding favour uxvii. 27; Job xxii. 21; Isa. xxxvi. 16; has reference more to God, and being deemed Hoe. x. 12; Amos v. 4-6; Gesenius, § 130. prudent refers more to man. 'f he state- 2). Delitzsch calls this "e.n admonitory ment is uni versa!. Both these conditions . imperative;" Bottcher," the desponsive im- will be adjudged to the man who has mercy perative." Compare the Greek construction and truth by God in heaven and man on in Menander, Oi3' 8T, .,,.0£.,uov, for 1ro,-fiu•u, earth at the same time (see Delitszch). The "Knowtbatthia you will do." Find(matza); LXX., "after favoul'," instead of the text, here simply "to attain," "obtain," not neces- reads, " ond provide good things in the sarily implying previous search, as in eh. sight of the Lmd o.nd men," quoted by St. xvii. 20. Favour (khen). The same word Paul (2 Cor. viii. 21). is frequently translated " grace," and means Ver. 5.-Trust in 'the Lord (b'takh el- the same thing; Vnlgate, gratia; LXX., y'hovah); literally, trust in Jehovah. Entire xapls. For the expression," to find favour" reliance upon Jehovah, implied in the words, (matea khen), see Gen. vi. 8; Exod. xxxiii. "with all thine heart," is here appropriately 12; Jer. xxxi. 2; comp. Luke i. 30, E~pu placed at the heud of a series of admonitiond 'Y"P :xdp,v 'ff'ap&k T{j. 0E<jl," For tho.u hast found which especially have God and man'd re- fnvour [or,• grace'] with God," spoken by lations with him in view, inasmuch as such Gabriel to the Virgin. Good understanding confidence or trust, with its corresponding (sekel tov); i.e. good sagacity, or prudence. idea of the renunciation of relinnce on self, So Delitzsch, Bertheau, Kamph. A true is, as Zockler truly remarks, a "funrla- sngncity, prudence, or penetrating judgment meutal principle of ull religion." It is tho will be adjudicated by God and mnn to first lesson to be learnt by nil, nud no less him who possesses the internal excellence necessary for the Jew than for the Christian. of love and truth. The Hebrew sekel is Without this reliance on or confidence in derived from sal,al, "to net wisely or pru- God, it is impossible to curry out any of the dently," and has this intellectual meaning precepts of religion. Batakl, is, proprrl y, in oh. xiii. 15: Ps. cxi. 10 (see nlso 1 "to cling to," and so pusses to the meaning Sam. xxv. 3 and 2 Chron. xxx. 22). 'fhe of "to confide in," "to set one's hope nnd Targum Jonathan reads, intellectus et be- confidence upuu." Tue preposition el with nignilas, thus throwing the adjective into Jehovah indicates the direction which the a substantival form; the Syriac, intelleclus confidence is to take (cf. l's. :i:xxvii. 3, 5). simply. Ewald, Hitzig, Zockler, and others, Lean (tish.ahaen); Vu lg-ate, innitaris; fol- on the other h1md, understand sel,el as re- lowed by el, like b'takh, with which it is ferring to the judgment formed of any one, very similar in meuning. Shaan, not used the fov·oui-able opinion or view which is in kal, in hiph. signifies" to leun upon, rest entertained of him by others, and hence upon," just as man rests upon o. speur for t11.ke it as reputation, or estimation. 'fhe support. Its metuphoricnl use, to repose muu who has love nnd truth will be held in confidence in, is derived from tlrn pructice high esteem by God and mau. Our objec- of kings who were accustomed to uppeur in tion to this rendering is thut it does not public leaning on their friends und ministers; seem to advance the meaning of the passage of. 2 Kings v. 18; vii. 2, 17 (Gcscnius). beyond tho.tof"fnvour." Another,mentioned 'fho admouition Joes not menu that wo are by Delitzsoh, is that sekel is never used in not to me our own underst11uuing (binah), any other eonee than that of intellectus in i.e. form plans with dis~l'etion, and employ the Mish le. The warginal reudiug, "good legitimate menns in th., pursuit of our euds; sucoess," i.e. prosperity, seems inudrnissible but that, when we uso it, we 11ro to depend here,asthe hiph.has'kil, "tocuusetoprosper," upon God nnd his 1lirecting and overruling ns in eh. xvii. 8; Josh. i. 7; Deut. xxix. 9, providence (Wardlow); cf. Jcr. ix. 23, 2-1, docs not npply in this insto.nce any more "Let not the wise ma.n glory in his wistlom," tho.n in Ps. cxi. 10, mnrgin. In the sight etc. 'fho teacher points out not only wliore  56 THE PROVERBS. ton. rn. 1-36.