Proverbs 1:5 Commentary and Bible Study

Someone who is already shrewd and deep and has wisdom, the ability to handle intelligence and knowledge and is capable of very wise dealing and thinks in terms of principles, somebody who is already extended in these ways as the result of continuing to study this book will go on increasing in learning. The original words are very rich and the opening chapter of this book is an example of how the rich picture-language of Hebrew is very hard to translate into our much more mundane English, because all these words have pictures attached to them. Here, ‘a wise man will hear, and will increase learning’ literally means he will increase his store, his stock, his fund; that is our objective as believers: to go on increasing in wise dealing and judgment so that, if it please God, we can be promoted into more responsible areas of work. ‘And a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels’. The words translated, ‘wise counsels’ there have something to do with steering. A man of understanding shall attain unto steering, that is the Hebrew. Either that means, in connection with verse 6, 'guidance'. A man of understanding shall attain unto guidance; that is, he shall be steered in the matter of understanding the proverbs and the interpretation. Or, as the modern translations prefer to take it, it could mean this: that a man of understanding obviously is the person whom the Lord will appoint to steer, that is to say to occupy some position of leadership, to steer and direct others. So the reward, if that is the meaning, the reward of taking this matter of wisdom seriously, not just knowledge but wisdom, is that we shall be preparing ourselves to be more useful to the Lord in guidance, in leadership and so on.