Proverbs 30: The Words of Agur

"The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy (massa): the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal" (30:1). The opening is one of the hardest lines in the Bible to translate.

"Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?" (30:4).

"Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: lest I be full, and deny thee… or lest I be poor, and steal" (30:7–9).

"There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise: the ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; the conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks; the locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands; the spider (lizard) taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces" (30:24–28).

The small and wise creatures

Ants (nemalim) store food (compare 6:6–8). Conies (shefannim) are rock hyraxes, small mammals that live in rocky cliffs from Sinai to Galilee (Psalm 104:18); the image above is of an ibex, their neighbour on the cliffs. Locusts (arbeh) move in swarms without a ruler (compare Joel 2:7–8). The semamit (KJV "spider") is most likely a gecko or lizard, which clings to walls with its "hands" and gets into palaces. Each creature lacks strength or status but has wisdom: foresight, refuge, cooperation, persistence.

Numerical sayings

"Three things… yea, four" (vv. 15, 18, 21, 29) is the X / X+1 pattern of 6:16–19, known from Ugaritic poetry and Amos 1–2. Here the lists invite wonder and humour: the leech with two daughters crying "Give, give"; four insatiable things (Sheol, the barren womb, dry earth, fire); four mysterious ways that leave no trace.

Who was Agur?

Agur son of Jakeh is otherwise unknown. Massa may mean "oracle, burden" (as in Isaiah 13:1) or be the name of a north Arabian tribe descended from Ishmael (Genesis 25:14); if so, Agur and Lemuel (31:1) were non-Israelite sages, which would fit the international character of wisdom (1 Kings 4:30–31 compares Solomon with the wise men of the east). Jewish tradition identified Agur with Solomon (Agur = "gatherer," Jakeh = "obedient"); that is a later interpretation. See the passage page on 30:1.

30:4 and later reception

"Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended?… what is his name, and what is his son's name?" In context the questions show human ignorance before God's works, like God's questions to Job. Christian interpreters from the early church on read "his son's name" as a pointer to Christ; John 3:13 ("no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven") echoes the language. Jewish readers have taken "his son" as Israel (Exodus 4:22). These are later readings; the site records them as such.

The Greek order

In the Old Greek, 30:1–14 follows 24:22, and 30:15–33 follows 24:34; Agur's name is not given (the Greek reads "My son, fear my words…"). The library's digital Greek stores chapter 30 in its Hebrew place but with empty slots (30:15–22) and duplicated lines from 24:23–25 (D check; C check against Rahlfs).