The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
What does Proverbs 1:7 mean?
Fools are persons who have no true wisdom, who follow their own devices, without regard to reason, or reverence for God. Children are reasonable creatures, and when we tell them what they must do, we must tell them why.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside Proverbs 1:7-9 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Proverbs 1:7
The beginning of wisdom is found in the temper of reverence and awe. The fear of the finite in the presence of the Infinite, of the sinful in the presence of the Holy (compare Job 42:5-6 ), this for the Israelite was the starting-point of all true wisdom. In the Book of Job 28:28 it appears as an oracle accompanied by the noblest poetry. In Psalm 111:10 it comes as the choral close of a temple hymn. Here it is the watchword of a true ethical education. This fear has no torment, and is compatible with child-like love. But this and not love is the "beginning of wisdom.
Key words
- the fear of the Lord
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the fear of the Lord.
- the ungodly
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the ungodly.
- the fear of the Lord
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the fear of the Lord.
- the ungodly
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the ungodly.
Context in Proverbs 1
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Proverbs 1 belongs to the opening movement of the book, especially the section often described as fatherly discourses on wisdom. Proverbs offers compact instruction on speech, work, wealth, friendship, sex, discipline, justice, and wisdom as a way of life before God. Read this chapter with the wider themes of wisdom, fear of the Lord, and speech in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
Related topics
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