--- title: "Proverbs 31 - Study King James Bible with keil and delitzsch old testament commentary" description: "Read Proverbs 31 with keil and delitzsch old testament commentary commentary. 1 The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. 2 What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows? 3 Give no" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/proverbs/31" --- [ Read](/kjv/proverbs/31)[ Commentary](/study/proverbs/31)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/proverbs/31) Audio 1 The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. 2 What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows? 3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. 4 *It is* not for kings, O Lemuel, *it is* not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: 5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.** 6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.* 7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. 8 Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.* 9 Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy. 10 ¶ Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price *is* far above rubies. 11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. 13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. 14 She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar. 15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. 16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.* 17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. 18 She perceiveth that her merchandise *is* good: her candle goeth not out by night.* 19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. 20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.* 21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household *are* clothed with scarlet.* 22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing *is* silk and purple. 23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. 24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth *it;* and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. 25 Strength and honour *are* her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. 26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue *is* the law of kindness. 27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband *also*, and he praiseth her. 29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.* 30 Favour *is* deceitful, and beauty *is* vain: *but* a woman *that* feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates. [Proverbs 30](/study/proverbs/30) [Ecclesiastes 1](/study/ecclesiastes/1) ## Commentary To verse 1 Superscription: 1 Words of Lemuel the king, The utterance wherewith his mother warned him. Such would be the superscription if the interpunction of the text as it lies before us were correct. But it is not possibly right. For, notwithstanding the assurance of Ewald, §277b, למואל מלך , nevertheless, as it would be here used, remains an impossibility. Certainly under circumstances an indeterminate apposition can follow a proper name. That on coins we read מתתיה כהן גדול or נרון קיסר is nothing strange; in this case we also use the words “Nero, emperor,” and that we altogether omit the article shows that the case is singular: the apposition wavers between the force of a generic and of a proper name. A similar case is the naming of the proper name with the general specification of the class to which this or that one bearing the name belongs in lists of persons, as *e.g.*, [1 Kings 4:2-6](/kjv/1-kings/4/2-6), or in such expressions as, *e.g.*, “Damascus, a town,” or “*Tel Hum*, a castle,” and the like; here we have the indefinite article, because the apposition is a simple declaration of the class. (Note: Thus it is also with the examples of indeterminate gentilicia, which Riehm makes valid for למואל מלך (for he translates למואל symbolically, which, however, syntactically makes no difference): “As analogous to 'Lemuel, a king,' one may adduce 'Jeroboam, son of Nebat, an Ephrathite,' [1 Kings 11:26](/kjv/1-kings/11/26), instead of the usual form 'the Ephrathite;'” and בן־ימיני , [Psalms 7:1](/kjv/psalms/7/1), for בן הימיני ; on the contrary, כהן , [1 Kings 4:5](/kjv/1-kings/4/5), does not belong to the subject, but is the pred.) But would the expression, “The poem of Oscar, a king,” be proper as the title of a book? Proportionally more so than “Oscar, king;” but also that form of indeterminate apposition is contrary to the *usus loq*., especially with a king with whom the apposition is not a generic name, but a name of honour. We assume that “Lemuel” is a symbolical name, like “Jareb” in “King Jareb,” [Hosea 5:13](/kjv/hosea/5/13); [Hosea 10:6](/kjv/hosea/10/6); so we would expect the phrase to be מלך למואל ( ה ) rather than למואל מלך . The phrase “Lemuel, king,” here in the title of this section of the book, sounds like a double name, after the manner of עבר מלך in the book of Jeremiah. In the Greek version also the phrase Λεμουέλου βασιλέως (*Venet*.) is not used as syntactically correct without having joined to the βασιλέως a dependent genitive such as τῶν Αράβων , while none of the old translators, except Jerome, take the words למואל מלך together in the sense of *Lamuelis regis*. Thus מלך משּׂא are to be taken together, with Hitzig, Bertheau, Zöckler, Mühlau, and Dächsel, against Ewald and Kamphausen; משׂא , whether it be a name of a tribe or a country, or of both at the same time, is the region ruled over by Lemuel, and since this proper name throws back the determination which it has in itself on מלך , the phrase is to be translated: “Words of Lemuel the king of Massa” (*vid*., under [Proverbs 30:1](/kjv/proverbs/30/1)). If Aquila renders this proper name by Λεμμοῦν , Symmachus by Ἰαμουήλ , Theodotion by Ρεβουήλ , the same arbitrariness prevails with reference to the initial and terminal sound of the word, as in the case of the words Ἀμβακούμ, Βεελζεβούλ, Βελίαρ . The name למוּאל sounds like the name of Simeon's first-born, ימוּאל , [Genesis 46:10](/kjv/genesis/46/10), written in [Numbers 26:12](/kjv/numbers/26/12) and [1 Chronicles 4:24](/kjv/1-chronicles/4/24) as נמוּאל ; יואל also appears, [1 Chronicles 4:35](/kjv/1-chronicles/4/35), as a Simeonite name, which Hitzig adduces in favour of his view that משׂא was a North Arab. Simeonite colony. The interchange of the names ימואל and נמואל is intelligible if it is supposed that ימואל (from ימה = ימא ) designates the sworn (sworn to) of God, and נמואל (from נם Mishnic = נאם ) (Note: In the *Midrash Koheleth* to [Proverbs 1:1](/kjv/proverbs/1/1), the name Lemuel (as a name of Solomon) is explained: he who has spoken to God in his heart.) the expressed (addressed) of God; here the reference of ימו and נמו to verbal stems is at least possible, but a verb למּה is found only in the Arab., and with *significations inus*. But there are two other derivations of the name: (1) The verb (Arab.) waâla signifies to hasten (with the infin. of the *onomatop*. verbs waniyal , like raḥyal , walking, because motion, especially that which is tumultuous, proceeds with a noise), whence mawnil , the place to which one flees, retreat. Hence למוּאל or למואל , which is in this case to be assumed as the ground-form, might be formed from אל מואל , God is a refuge, with the rejection of the א . This is the opinion of Fleischer, which Mühlau adopts and has established, p. 38-41; for he shows that the initial א is not only often rejected where it is without the support of a full vocal, *e.g.*, נחנוּ = אנחנוּ , lalah = ilalah (*Deus*), but that this aphaeresis not seldom also occurs where the initial has a full vocal, *e.g.*, לעזר = אלעזר , laḥmaru = âllahmaru (*ruber*), laḥsâ = âl - laḥsâ (the name of a town); cf. also Blau in *Deutsch. Morgenl. Zeitschr*. xxv. 580. But this view is thus acceptable and tenable; a derivation which spares us by a like certainty the supposition of such an abbreviation established only by the late Palestinian לעזר , Λάζαρος , might well desire the preference. (2) Fleischer himself suggests another derivation: “The signification of the name is *Deo consecratus*, למו , poetic for ל , as also in [Proverbs 31:4](/kjv/proverbs/31/4) it is to be vocalized למואל after the Masora.” The form למואל is certainly not less favourable to that first derivation than to this second; the *û* is in both cases an obscuration of the original. But that “Lemuel” may be explained in this second way is shown by “Lael,” [Numbers 3:24](/kjv/numbers/3/24) (Olshausen, §277d). (Note: Simonis has also compared Aethiopic proper names, such as *Zakrestos, Zaiasus. Zamikaël, Zamariam*.) It is a beautiful sign for King Lemuel, and a verification of his name, that it is he himself by whom we receive the admonition with which his mother in her care counselled him when he attained to independent government. אשׁר connects itself with דברי , after we have connected משׂא with מלך ; it is accus. of the manner to יסּרתּוּ = יסּרתהוּ ; cf. הטּתּוּ , [Proverbs 7:21](/kjv/proverbs/7/21), with גּמלתהוּ , [Proverbs 31:12](/kjv/proverbs/31/12): wherewith (with which words) she earnestly and impressively admonished him. The Syr. translates: words of Muel, as if ל were that of the author. “Others as inconsistently: words to Lemuel - they are words which is himself ought to carry in his mouth as received from his mother” (Fleischer). The name “Massa,” is it here means *effatum*, would be proportionally more appropriate for these “Words” of Lemuel than for the “Words” of Agur, for the maternal counsels form an inwardly connected compact whole. 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