Proverbs 30:1

Footnotes

1. 85 This chapter has a title (30:1), Agur’s confession and petition (30:2–9), and a series of Agur’s admonitions (30:10–33).
2. 1 The title הַמַּשָּׂא (hammasa’) means “the burden,” a frequently used title in prophetic oracles. It may be that the word is a place name, although it is more likely that it describes what follows as an important revelation.
3. 2 The definite article is used here as a demonstrative, clarifying the reference to Agur.
4. 3 The word translated “says” (נְאֻם, né’um) is a verbal noun; it is also a term that describes an oracle. It is usually followed by the subjective genitive: “the oracle of this man to Ithiel.”
5. 4 There have been numerous attempts to reinterpret the first two verses of the chapter. The Greek version translated the names “Ithiel” and “Ukal,” resulting in “I am weary, O God, I am weary and faint” (C. C. Torrey, “Proverbs Chapter 30,” 73 [1954]: 93–96). The ’s approach is followed by some English versions (e.g., , ). The Midrash tried through a clever etymologizing translation to attribute the works to Solomon (explained by W. G. Plaut, Proverbs, 299). It is most likely that someone other than Solomon wrote these sayings; they have a different, almost non-proverbial, tone to them. See P. Franklyn, “The Sayings of Agur in Proverbs 30: Piety or Skepticism,” 95 (1983): 239–52.