Keil and Delitzsch Commentary - Proverbs 24:5 - 24:5

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Keil and Delitzsch Commentary - Proverbs 24:5 - 24:5


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The praise of wisdom is continued: it brings blessings in the time of peace, and gives the victory in war.

5 A wise man is full of strength;

And a man of understanding showeth great power.

6 For with wise counsel shalt thou carry on successful war;

And safety is where counsellors are not wanting.

The ב of בַּעוֹז (thus with Pathach in old impressions, Cod. 1294, Cod. Jaman., and elsewhere with the Masoretic note לית ומלא) introduces, as that of בַכֹּחַ, Psa 24:4, the property in which a person or thing appears; the article (cf. הַעזבים, Pro 2:13, Gesen, §35, 2A) is that of gender. The parallel מאמץ כח, a Greek translates by ὑπὲρ κραταιὸν ἰσχύΐ = מֵאַמִּיץ כֹּחַ (Job 9:4; Isa 40:26). But after 5a it lies nearer that the poet means to express the power which lies in wisdom itself (Ecc 7:19), and its superiority to physical force (Pro 21:22); the lxx, Syr., and Targ. also, it is true, translate 5a as if מֵעָז (prae potente) were the words used. אִמֵּץ כֹּחַ means to strengthen the strength, and that is (Nah 2:2) equivalent to, to collect the strength (to take courage), here and at Amo 2:14, to show strong (superior) strength. The reason is gathered from Pro 20:18 and Pro 11:14. The לְךָ here added, Hitzig is determined to read תֵּעָשֶׂה: for with prudent counsel the war shall be carried out by thee. The construction of the passive with ל of the subject is correct in Heb. (vid., at Pro 14:20) as well as in Aram.,

(Note: Vid., Nöldeke's Neusyrische Gram. p. 219, Anm., and p. 416.)

and עשׂה frequently means, in a pregnant sense: to complete, to carry out, to bring to an end; but the phrase עשׂה מלחמה means always to carry on war, and nothing further. לְךָ is the dat. commod., as in נִלְחַם לְ, to wage war (to contend) for any one, e.g., Exo 14:14. Instead of ברב, the lxx reads בלב; regarding γεωργίου μεγάλου for מאמץ כח, without doubt a corrupt reading, vid., Lagarde.