Motto: The Fear of the Lord (1:7)
7 Here we have the theological foundation of the book—the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (cf. Ps 111:10). This statement is different from the purpose statements given so far. It tells us what is basic to the understanding of the book: Reverential “fear” (yirʾâ, GK 3711) of the Lord is the prerequisite of knowledge. This term can describe dread (Dt 1:29), being terrified (Jnh 1:10), standing in awe (1 Ki 3:28), or having reverence (Lev 19:3). With the Lord as the object, yirʾâ captures both aspects of shrinking back in fear and drawing close in awe. (The expression “the fear of the Lord” occurs fourteen times in the book.)
Such fear is not a trembling dread that paralyzes action, but neither is it a polite reverence (Plaut, 32). “The fear of the Lord” ultimately expresses reverential submission to the Lord’s will and thus characterizes a true worshiper. In this context it is the first and controlling principle of knowledge (“beginning” can refer to the first thing, the chief thing, or the principal thing). Elsewhere in Proverbs the fear of the Lord is the foundation for wisdom (9:10) or the discipline leading to wisdom (15:33); it is expressed in hatred of evil (8:13), and it results in a prolonged life (10:27).
By contrast, fools disdain wisdom and discipline. They are not able to grasp this prerequisite, for in their pride they have chosen to reject the teachings of wisdom. Verse 7b is the antithesis of verse 7a. The term ʾewîlîm (“fools”; GK 211) describes those who are thick-brained, conceited, and stubborn (Greenstone, 6). They lack understanding (10:21), do not store up knowledge (10:14), fail to attain wisdom (24:7), talk loosely (14:3), are filled with pride (26:5), and are contentious (20:3). They are morally unskilled and refuse any correction (15:15; 27:22).
Fools are people who “despise” wisdom and discipline; they treat these virtues as worthless and contemptible. This attitude is illustrated in Genesis 25:34, where Esau despised the birthright, and in Nehemiah 4:4, where Sanballat and Tobiah belittled the Jews.[1]
The Book’s Foundation (1:7)
Both in form and in content Prov. 1:7 distinguishes itself from the purpose constructions of the preamble’s aim (vv. 2–6) and from the address, “my son,” that begins the prologue. The preambles and prologues of the analogous ancient Near Eastern literature display no parallels to it. It stands in front of the rest of the collection as the quintessential expression of the basic spiritual grammar for understanding the book.20 Nevertheless, it is bound to the summary statement of the preamble (v. 2) by presenting in precisely the same sequence, dāʿat ḥokmâ mûsār (“knowledge, wisdom and instruction”; see v. 2). Moreover, “instruction” is a catchword linking v. 7b to v. 8a. The fear of the Lord (yirʾat YHWH) is the book’s theological and epistemological foundation, it was discussed in the Introduction (see pp. 100-101). Beginning of (rēʾšît) might mean, temporally, “first thing,” qualitatively, “chief thing” (i.e., the choice part), or, philosophically, “principal thing.” The second meaning ranks the fear of the Lord as just another wisdom teaching and allows that wisdom can be had apart from it. That notion hardly fits this context, which is not concerned as yet to state the specific content of wisdom but to prepare the way for it. The ambiguity of v. 7 is resolved by the unambiguous word for “beginning of” (tehillat) in the parallel passage of 9:10, pointing to the first meaning. However, the temporally first step in this case is not on a horizontal axis that can be left behind but on a vertical axis on which all else rests. It denotes both the initium and the principium. What the alphabet is to reading, notes to reading music, and numerals to mathematics, the fear of the Lord is to attaining the revealed knowledge of this book. The punctuation of the MT in this verse creates an enjambment. The parallel in 1:2a suggests that knowledge (dāʿat) in v. 7a spills over into wisdom (ḥokmâ) and instruction (mûsār) in verset B. Mutatis mutandis, “wisdom and instruction” in verset B spill over into “knowledge” in verset A. Fools (ʾewîlîm; see 112–113), however, are incapable of this prerequisite for understanding the sage’s teaching and knowing wisdom, for they willfully make the corrupt moral choice to refuse the sage’s moral teachings. These conceited fools, in contrast to the teachable wise, are fixed in the correctness of their own opinions—unlike the gullible—and so not educable. In fact, they despise (bāzû, i.e., regard as worthless and vile; cf. 6:30; 11:12; 18:3) God’s revelation. Gorg says, “Every offense against the will of Yahweh implies a … ‘contempt, despising,’ of Yahweh (cf. 2 Sam. 12:9, 10).” Their contempt is rooted in their pride (Pss. 31:18 [19]; 123:4).[2]
1:7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
This verse expresses the substance of the entire book of Proverbs: ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.’ The fear of the Lord is a repeated theme being found fourteen times throughout the book. The fear of the Lord is an inclusion wrapping itself around the first nine chapters (Prov. 1:7; 9:10), as well as the entire collection (Prov. 1:7; 31:30).
Being contrasted with the fear of man (Prov. 29:25), the fear of the Lord renders countless benefits for its possessor. It is not only the beginning of knowledge (Prov. 1:7, 29; 2:5) and wisdom (9:10; 15:33), but it instills confidence (14:26) and makes rich (22:4). The fear of the Lord prolongs life (Prov. 10:27), is a fountain of life (14:27), leads to life (19:23), and is rewarded with life (22:4). The fear of the Lord is to hate the evil God hates (Prov. 8:13; 16:6, 23:17). Though you may lose all else, gain the fear of the Lord (Prov. 15:16)!
Isaiah echoes these remarkable promises: ‘He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; The fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure’ (33:6, niv, italics mine). Oswald Chambers was correct: ‘The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.’17
This reverent awe is the ‘beginning’ of knowledge and wisdom in that it is the ‘first and controlling principle, rather than a stage which one leaves behind.’ The wise never graduate from the school of instruction and wisdom.
While the fear of the Lord is ‘the key to this treasure,’ the path of the fool is to ‘despise wisdom and instruction.’ For the first time, we are introduced to ‘the fool,’ a personage that will be mentioned repeatedly throughout the book. ‘Wisdom’ we have already met in verse 1 (and vv. 5, 6, ‘the wise’). ‘Instruction’ has been introduced in verses 2, 3. ‘Despise’ means to treat with contempt.[3]
The credo for the book of Proverbs (v. 7)
Proverbs is not merely a ‘how to’ book. Your quest for wisdom begins with the ‘fear of the Lord’ who is in covenant relationship with his redeemed people (v. 7a). The use of the covenant name of God, Lord (YHWH in the Hebrew), ties Proverbs to the rest of the Bible. Because we are spiritual children of Abraham by faith (Gal. 3:29), we are in covenant relationship with the Lord, which means that Proverbs, along with the rest of the Old Testament, is written for us.
The Lord is the source of all true knowledge and wisdom. Wisdom is an attribute of God: ‘With Him are wisdom and might; to Him belong counsel and understanding’ (Job 12:13). His wisdom is displayed in his works: ‘It is He who made the earth by His power, who established the world by His wisdom; and by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens’ (Jer. 10:12; see also Prov. 8:22–31). Wisdom is imparted to men through God’s Word: ‘The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple’ (Ps. 19:7).
God imparts wisdom to those who seek him: ‘If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him’ (James 1:5). The early chapters of Proverbs plead with the naive reader to earnestly pursue wisdom. The New Testament reveals that the ultimate expression of wisdom is found in Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:30–31).
You cannot discern the true nature of life and the world apart from the Lord who is the root of all knowledge. The one who tries to be wise apart from God is a branch cut off from the root. For this reason, only the godly are truly wise. The humble workman or the faithful homemaker may be wiser than the Professor of Philosophy at Oxford or Harvard.
What does it mean to fear the Lord?
To fear God is to regard God with reverent awe. He alone is holy, awesome, and glorious (Isa. 6:3). He is worthy of our respect. Because God is righteous, we should be concerned about the consequences of displeasing him. Our fear is not one which leaves us cowering and terrified but rather is like the respect a son should have towards his father. The fear of God leads to wise and pure living: ‘By the fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil’ (Prov. 16:6b).
To fear God is to submit to him, turning from self-assertion and evil: ‘Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil’ (3:7). We are not autonomous beings, free to assert our own will and decide what is right for us. We must acknowledge the Lord’s sovereign moral governance of the universe. We should be open to his training and correction and trust that his way is always best. To fear God is to know God. To know God is to have life (19:23a). When you fear God, you no longer fear men (29:25).
The fear of the Lord is not a beginning like the first stage of a rocket which is cast aside after it has served its purpose. Rather, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom in the same way in which a foundation is the beginning of a house: everything that comes after the foundation is built upon it.
Don’t be a fool! Fools despise wisdom and instruction (v. 7b)
Proverbs contrasts two types of individuals—the wise and the foolish. Foolishness is not merely a mental defect. Rather, folly is a moral deficiency which leads to all kinds of disasters and sins in life. Fools lack sense, and they lack the sense to know that they lack sense. Fools are unteachable because they are proud. ‘Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil’ (3:7). They reject God’s wisdom and they hate discipline. A fool ends up wasting his or her life, ultimately coming to ruin (1:30–32).[4]
1:7 / The theme or motto of the book is expressed in a classic statement that is echoed often: 9:10; 15:33; Job 28:28; Psalm 111:10. Wisdom is practical, aimed at conduct, but one must know the teachings of the sage and be guided by the fear of the Lord. The contrast between the wise and fools is primarily in conduct; fools refuse to listen, that is, obey. The obtuseness of fools spills over into their wicked behavior (1:10–19). Hence, the frequent opposition between the righteous (or the wise) and the wicked (or the fool) throughout the book.[5]
1:7. The motto
This is also the motto of the Wisdom writings in general, and reappears, in substance, in 9:10; 15:33; Psalm 111:10; Job 28:28.
The beginning (i.e. the first and controlling principle, rather than a stage which one leaves behind; cf. Eccl. 12:13) is not merely a right method of thought but a right relation: a worshipping submission (fear) to the God of the covenant, who has revealed himself by name (the Lord, i.e. Yahweh: Exod. 3:13–15). Knowledge, then, in its full sense, is a relationship, dependent on revelation and inseparable from character (‘wisdom and training’, 7b). When we fence off (as we must) limited fields of knowledge for special study, the missing context must be remembered, or our knowing is precocious and distorted, as at the fall, and we end by knowing less (cf. 3:7; Rom. 1:21, 22), not more.[6]
1:7 This is not an exhortation or a command, an example or a riddle, but simply a statement of fact. Fear, of course, here means ‘reverent obedience’. It is in reverent obedience to the Lord that all true knowledge finds its controlling principle. This is the beginning of wisdom, or rather its ‘foremost and essential element’ (Toy). It is not a ‘beginning’ in the sense that it is something we start with and then leave behind. Toy and Kidner both describe this verse as a motto for the wisdom writings in general. The point is that all true knowledge of God, his world and his ways, derives from and is controlled by reverent obedience to God himself as he makes himself known. As David Hubbard helpfully puts it:
Although [fear] includes worship, it does not end there. It radiates out from our adoration and devotion to our everyday conduct that sees each moment as the Lord’s time, each relationship as the Lord’s opportunity, each duty as the Lord’s command, and each blessing as the Lord’s gift. It is a new way of looking at life and seeing what it is meant to be when viewed from God’s perspective.
Teach me, my God and King,
In all things thee to see,
And what I do in anything,
To do it as for thee!
A man that looks on glass,
On it may stay his eye;
Or if he pleaseth, through it pass,
And then the heaven espy.
All may of thee partake;
Nothing can be so mean,
Which with his tincture, ‘for thy sake’,
Will not grow bright and clean.
A servant with this clause
Makes drudgery divine:
Who sweeps a room, as for thy laws,
Makes that and the action fine.
This is the famous stone
That turneth all to gold;
For that which God doth touch and own
Cannot for less be told.
George Herbert (1593–1633)[7]
Ver. 7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.—The first rudiments of knowledge:—
The fear of the Lord is an abiding and reverent sense of the presence of God and of accountableness to Him. For this to exist God must be that real, personal Being which we have every reason to believe God has revealed Himself to be: such in character, as to love, holiness, and justice, as He has declared Himself in His Word. Why is this fear the beginning of knowledge?
- Because knowledge being the apprehension of facts, and application of them to life, it cannot properly begin, or be based on a right foundation, without first apprehending and applying a fact which includes and which modifies all other facts whatever.
- Because knowledge is the food of the soul. And what is the soul? What ought its stores and its accumulated powers to be, and to be useful for? The knowledge which is to feed and train the soul must begin, continue, and end, in the apprehension of Him.
- Because knowledge, as the mere accumulation of facts, is inoperative upon life. If you would be worth anything to society, worth anything to your own families, worth anything to yourselves, the fear of God must come first in your thoughts and lives. The fear of God is the first thing; the consciousness of Him about you, the laying down His revealed facts respecting Himself and you as your greatest facts; the setting up of His will as the inner law of your being. (Dean Alford.)
How is the “fear of the Lord” the beginning of knowledge?—
- It quickens the intellect, and sustains its activity.
- It restrains from those follies and corruptions which weaken the powers, and divert from high themes.
- This fear starts thought from the right centre and in right directions.
- This fear is the root of that right living and wise conduct, that forethought, purity, temperance, uprightness, and obedience to God, which we may call vital knowledge; knowledge in the heart and life, as well as in the head. (Monday Club Sermons.)
The root of knowledge:—
The “fear of the Lord” implies a right state of heart towards God, as opposed to the alienation of an unconverted man. Though the word is “fear,” it does not exclude a filial confidence and a conscious peace. What God is inspires awe; what God has done for His people commands affection. See here the centrifugal and centripetal forces of the moral world. “Knowledge” and “wisdom” are in effect synonymous—the best knowledge wisely used for the highest ends. The “fear of the Lord” is the foundation, “knowledge” is the imposed superstructure. He who does not reverentially trust in God knows nothing yet as he ought to know. His knowledge is partial and distorted. The knowledge of God—His character and plans, His hatred of sin, His law of holiness, His way of mercy—is more excellent than all that an unbelieving philosopher has attained. It is a knowledge more deeply laid, more difficult of attainment, more fruitful, and more comprehensive, than all that philosophers know. Men speak of the stupendous effects which knowledge, in the department of mechanical philosophy, has produced on the face of the world, and in the economy of human life; but the permanence of these acquisitions depends on the authority of moral laws in the consciences of men. The moral encircles and controls the economic in the affairs of men. The knowledge of God is the root of knowledge. (William Arnot, D.D.)
A plea for reverence:—
Reverence is the alphabet of religion. As you cannot acquire knowledge without the knowledge of the alphabet, so you cannot acquire anything of the religious life without the spirit of reverence. Self-conceit is precisely the negative of reverence. It is the absence of the spirit that looks up to anything above us. It is the spirit that leads one to say, “I am the greatest and the best.” There are many conditions in our life which tend to produce the spirit of self-conceit and tend to counteract the spirit of reverence. The absence of any traditions in America tend against the spirit of reverence. Across the ocean, in the Old World, we stand in cathedrals a thousand years or more old, in the presence of customs hoary-headed with antiquity; we walk by the city walls which have seen many a battle between liberty and despotism; and these old cathedrals, these old cities, these old customs, awaken in us some spirit of reverence. But we have no such cathedrals. The absence of any class distinctions in America tends against the spirit of reverence. We are all on the same level. There is no class to which we can look up with reverence. The reaction against Puritanism has tended against reverence. It is no longer customary in our homes to teach reverence of children to their parents, or in schools to teach reverence of pupils to teachers. In the olden time every boy bowed reverently to the minister; now the minister gets along very well if the boy does not cry out, “Go up, thou baldhead!” The spirit of criticism, the scientific spirit, has tended against reverence. Many things which of olden time men superstitiously feared they fear no longer. We have analysed until all great things have been picked to pieces in our laboratory. We will not allow any mysteries. You cannot revere what you are criticising. The two processes never can go on simultaneously in the same mind. The sectarian spirit has been against the spirit of reverence. The Congregationalist has sneered at the ritual of the Episcopalian, and the Episcopalian has shrugged his shoulders over the non-ritual of the Congregationalist. The spirit of antagonism between the different denominations has despoiled those symbols which were before the common objects of a mutual reverence. Finally, our democratic theology has tended against the old spirit of reverence. Just because we no longer reverence a king in the nation we do not reverence the King in the heavens. Now, if it be true that reverence is a fountain of life, and reverence is a beginning of wisdom, how in this age, under these circumstances, are we to develop reverence in ourselves, in our churches, and in our children? In the first place, then, the old notion of holy places is gone. We cannot recover it. In truth there is very little foundation for it. For it we are to substitute this larger, grander, more awe-inspiring conception—that every place is holy place, every ground is holy ground, and God is in all Nature. God is as truly here as He ever was in Palestine, as truly in the White Mountains or the Rocky Mountains as He ever was in the Sinaitic Mountains; He is everywhere, always speaking, in all phenomena. This must come into our hearts to take the place of the older and narrower conception of holy places. We cannot re-establish a united ritual, nor all agree to climb to God’s throne by the steps “worn by the knees of many centuries.” But we must learn the broader, the larger, more catholic, aye, and profounder reverence which sees God in every form of worship; for wherever the human heart is seeking God, there God is. We are to recognise Christ in all truth. The old reverence for the Bible as a book without any error whatever, and as a conclusive and final guide on questions of science, literature, history, philosophy, and religion, is passing away. Our reverence is not for the tables of stone that are broken and lost, nor for the words that were inscribed upon them—we do not know exactly what form of words were inscribed upon them—but for the great fundamental principles of the moral life which those Ten Commandments embody. There is many a man who has reverence for the book and none for the truth that is in the book. Woe to us if, throwing away the old mechanical reverence for the outer thing, we fail to get the deeper reverence for the inward truth! What reverence has God shown for truth! Think of it one moment. He has launched into human history this volume of literature. The ablest scholars are not agreed on such questions as who wrote these various books, at what dates, for what purpose, and with what immediate intent. The great majority of the books are anonymous; the great majority of them are without definite and positive date. What does this mean? It means this: God has launched truth without a sponsor into the world, and left the truth to bear witness to itself. Truth answers to the human mind as cog to cog; and the reverence for the shell is to be lost only that reverence for the kernel may take the place. We find it difficult, many of us, to have any reverence for the events that are taking place in America, and the leaders who are participating in them. We cannot cure that irreverence towards leaders and politicians by pretending respect for a man whom we do not respect, who has won his way to office by dishonourable and disreputable methods. We must go further, we must look deeper, we must see that, as God is in all worship and in all truth, so God is in all history. We are to see God in every man, and in all of life. There are times when there seems nothing more awe-inspiring than a simple, single human soul. Said Phillips Brooks once to me, “There is no man so poor, so ignorant, so outcast, that I do not stand in awe before him.” As the old reverence for the priest and the robe and the pulpit fade away, reverence for man as the battle-ground between good and evil must come in to take its place, or reverence will disappear. “The fear of God is the fountain of life.” I think it is Goethe who has drawn the distinction between fear and reverence. Fear, he says, repels; reverence attracts. It is not the fear of God that repels, it is the reverence for God which attracts, which is the fountain of life. And when this reverence has found its place in our hearts, it is to be the fountain of all our life; of our reason, and we are not to be afraid of being too rational; of our commercial industries, and we are not to be afraid of being too industrious; of our humour, and we are not to be afraid of a good hearty laugh; reverence in all our life. You cannot have reverence on Sunday and irreverence in the week; reverence in the church and irreverence in the daily life. And, leaving in the past that reverence which was fragmentary, broken, and largely idolatrous, we are to press forward to a grander, broader, nobler, diviner reverence in the future. (L. Abbott, D.D.)
The fear of the Lord:—
- The fear of God will urge us to a profitable study of the Holy Scriptures.
- The fear of God will especially influence us in our devotions.
- The fear of God will bring us to the business of the day in the right frame of mind to carry it on.
- The fear of God will enable us to bear the trials and disappointments of life.
- In the last trial of all, in the hour of death, we shall assuredly reap the fruit of having lived in the fear of the Lord, for then we shall have nothing else to fear. (J. Edmunds.)
Piety:—
- Piety is reverence for God. Filial reverence is meant by “fear.” Reverence implies two things, a recognition of Divine greatness, and a recognition of Divine goodness. An impression of goodness lies at the foundation of reverence, and hence, too, gratitude, love, adoration enter into this reverence.
- Piety is initiatory to knowledge. It is the beginning of it. But what knowledge? Not mere intellectual knowledge. Many an impious man knows the circle of the sciences. The devil is intelligent. It is spiritual knowledge—spiritual knowledge of self, the universe, Christ, and God. True reverence for God is essential to this knowledge. Religious reverence is the root of the tree of all spiritual science. He knows nothing rightly who does not know God experimentally. (Homilist.)
Filial love:—
Filial love stands near and leans on godliness. It is next to reverence for God. That first and highest commandment is like the earth’s allegiance to the sun by general law; and filial obedience is like day and night, summer and winter, budding spring and ripening harvest, on the earth’s surface. There could be none of these sweet changes and beneficent operations of nature on our globe if it were broken away from the sun. So when a people burst the first and greatest bond—when a people cast off the fear of God, the family relations, with all their beauty and benefit, disappear. (W. Arnot, D.D.)
Practical piety:—
- Speculative piety, or a due knowledge of God and of our duty towards Him, is the first foundation of true wisdom.
- The proper exercise of true wisdom consists in directing and conducting us to the chiefest happiness which human nature is capable of.
- That religion is the only method by which we are directed and conducted towards the attainment of this chief happiness.
- That a due knowledge of God, and of our duty towards Him, is the basis and groundwork of true religion.
- Practical piety, or the regulating of our actions according to knowledge, is the height and perfection of understanding.
- To be habitually conversant in the exercises of piety is an instance of the truest and most considerate wisdom, because it is the most effectual means to promote our happiness and well-being in this life. There are four things for the attainment of which we are chiefly solicitous. A clear reputation. A comfortable fortune. A healthful body. A quiet mind.
- The constant exercise of religious duties is an instance of the truest and most considerate wisdom, because it is the most effectual means to promote our eternal happiness in the world to come. (N. Brady.)
A reverent fear of God:—
- Religiousness, or a reverent fear of God, is the best wisdom. Because it brings a man to acquaintance with God. It teaches us how to converse with God rightly by true worship and obedience, and how to come to live with God for ever.
- Things of greatest worth should be of greatest account with us. The affections should ever follow the judgment well informed.
III. Irreligious persons are in God’s account the fools of the world. They want God’s fear, as natural fools want wisdom.
- None despise heavenly wisdom but such as know not the value of it. The excellency of it is so great, that it would allure men to look after it, had they spiritual eyes to see it. Knowledge hath no enemy but an ignorant man.
- They that slight the means of knowledge slight knowledge itself. We account so in outward things. We ask sick men refusing physic if they make no account of their lives. Neglect of the means of grace is a real slighting of wisdom. (Francis Taylor.)[8]
[1] Ross, A. P. (2008). Proverbs. In T. Longman III, Garland David E. (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Proverbs–Isaiah (Revised Edition) (Vol. 6, pp. 50–51). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[2] Waltke, B. K. (2004). The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15 (pp. 180–181). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
[3] Kitchen, J. A. (2006). Proverbs: A Mentor Commentary (pp. 41–42). Fearn, Ross-shire, Great Britain: Mentor.
[4] Newheiser, J. (2008). Opening up Proverbs (pp. 26–29). Leominster: Day One Publications.
[5] Murphy, R. E., & Carm, O. (2012). Proverbs. In W. W. Gasque, R. L. Hubbard Jr., & R. K. Johnston (Eds.), Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (p. 18). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
[6] Kidner, D. (1964). Proverbs: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 17, p. 56). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
[7] Atkinson, D. (1996). The Message of Proverbs: Wisdom for Life. (J. A. Motyer, J. Stott, & D. Tidball, Eds.) (pp. 28–29). England: Inter-Varsity Press.
[8] Exell, J. S. (n.d.). Proverbs (pp. 7–9). New York; Chicago; Toronto: Fleming H. Revell Company.
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