to those who believe God, a.ml I ceo.se ; " for e. man;" I am a. mero irrational ber,st Tois 1r,rr.,.,tiourr, 0•cp being the translation of (comp. eh. xii. I; Pa. lxxiii. 22). And have the doubled Ithiel, equivo.lent to "Goel with not the understanding of e. man. I am not me," and 1,:iKi (1ratioµr,1) being considered to worthy to be called a man, o.e I possess not be & form11tion from the root ;,1,:i, Ewe.Id the intellectual faculty which e. man ought takes the two words to be the n11me of one to have. This is not ironical, as if he clid man, equivalent to "God with me, so I nm not desire the statement to be taken in its strong; " in his own language, Millrnirgott full sense, and meant to soy, "Of coorse it -sobinich stark; but his idea of & clialogue is my own stupidity that is in fa.nit;" but between the 1·ich mocker (vers. 2-4) ancl it is e. genuine confession of incompetence the humble believer (vers. 5-14) is not to investigate the subject-matter, which is well founded, though & late editor, Strack, too mysterious for his mental powers to agreeing, considers th11t the only possible penetrate. Thus Solomon o.cknowled_ges interpretation of these verses (2-4) is to that he is but a little child, and prays for make the speaker utter them as the out- o.n underste.nding bee.rt (1 Kings iii 7, 9; come of his unbelief and scoffing, to which comp. Wisd. ix. 5 ; Matt. xi. 25). Agur answers in ver. 5. Under all circum- Ver. 8.-I neither learned wisdom. With stances, it has seemed to many scholars best all my eager longing and striving I did not to surrender the notion of proper no.mes, attain to such wisdom, that I should have and, altering the voco.liz&tion, to interpret, the knowledge of the Holy One (Revised "The oracle of the man, 'I have wearied Version me.rgin); k' doshim, plural of "ex- myself, 0 God, I have wearied myself, 0 cellence," like elohim ( eh. ix. I O; Hos. God,"' or, as others eo.y, "a.bout God." The xii. 1 (Hebrew); see note on eh. i. 20 ; utter&nce commences here, and not o.t ver. 2. and comp. Eccles. v. 8; xii. 1). The know-
I The repetition forcibly expresses the labori- ledge of the all-holy God was beyond hie owi and painful investigation of the seeker grasp (Job xi. 7, etc.). Theology is e. higher science than mete.physics, and cannot be a.fter truth. The final word, vocalized 1,~:t!l, reached by that ladder. The LXX. gives is rendered, "And I have withdrawn; '' or, an offirma.tive sense to this verse, "God o.e Bickell, quoted by Cheyne, gives, 'D'lo bath taught me wisdom, and I know the ukal, "I have not prevailed." We arrive knowledge of the holy (a-ylwv)." thus at this interpretation : first comes the Ver. 4.-The questions contained in this superscription, "The words of Agur," etc., verse are such o.e compelled Agur to "the omcle of the ma.n;" then begins the acknowledge hie ignoronce and nothingnes~ utterance, which opens with the meloncholy before the thought of the glory and power avowal that, though he ha.d longed and of the great Cree.tor. We may compare Job striven to know God, his no.ture, his attri- mviii., ato. Who hath ascended up into butes, his working, he ho.d failed in this heaven, or descended 1 Who is he that object, and expended hie lo.hour in vain. ho.th hie eaot in heoven, ond doeth works Both Agur, and Lemuel who is named in on earth? Who is he whose uuivereal oh. xxxi. I, seem to have been persons not providence is felt and experienced? Where of Isro.elitish na.tiono.lity, but dwelling in is this mysterious Being who hides himself the neighbourhood of Palestine, o.nd a.c- from humon ken? Christ hoe so.id some- quo.inted with the religion o.nd sa.cred thing like this, " No mo.n bath ascended up literature of the oboeen people (~ee ver. 5). to heaven, but he thot come down from It is by no means unlikely that they were heaven, even the Son of man which is in of the ra.ce of Ishmael, from which stock hee.ven" (John iii. 13); and St. Paul (Eph. many wise men had risen, a.nd where wis- iv. 9). In biblical la.nguogo God is said to dom was so culLivoted o.e to have become come down from heoven in order to punish, proverbinl (see J er. xlix. 7; Obad. 8). In to aid, to reveal his will, etc. (Gen. xi. 7; what follows Agur shows himself oe e. Ps. xviii. 9, etc.); and he returns to heaven philosopher and a. critic, but e.t the so.me when this intervention is finished (Gen. iime e. lirm believer. xvi i. 22; xxxv. 1'3). Who he.th gathered the wind in his fists 1 Who both the control of Vere. 2 and 8 confirm what is so.id in the viewless wind, so o.s to reetrnin it or re- ver. 1 concerning the fruitlesenesR of the loo.ee it at hie pleasure? (Pe. cxxxv. 7; Amoe in,·estigo.tion there mentioned; the more he iv. 18). Septuagint, "Who both ga.thered sought and studied, the more conscious ho tho winds in hie boHom (1eo,\1r'I')? '' Who boce.me of his own ignore.nee and of God's he.th bound the waters in a garment 1 '.rhe waters are the clouds which cover the inaompreheneibility. vault of heaven, and ore held, as it were, Ver. 2.-Snrely I am more brutish than in a. garment, so thot, in ~pite of tho weight e.ny m&D.. " Surely " (/ci) should be " for" which they contnin, they fall not upon the (eee note on ver. l). Cheyne," I e.01 too stupid eorth. As Job ea.ys (x.xvi. 8), "He bindetl1 5i2 THE PROVERBS. [OH. XXX. 1-33,