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Selection on Proverbs for Mishlei Part 15
2:10 FOR WHEN WISDOM COMES INTO YOUR HEART AND KNOWLEDGE GIVES PLEASURE TO YOUR SOUL
This verse is dependent on the next for the fulfillment of its promise: you will enjoy what wisdom provides, and even more than that.
2:11 PRUDENCE WILL WATCH OVER YOU AND COMPREHENSION WILL GUARD YOU
"M'zimah" is a neutral term. It can mean either a plan that is good or a plan that is evil. It might also be translated as "scheme." What seems meant here is that planning for the future provides its own protection. Whether we would call such a plan a "scheme" or a "project" is determined primarily by its intended outcome. Since we are trumpeting the importance of prior planning, "prudence" appears to be the best translation for this passage.
2:12 TO DELIVER YOU FROM AN EVIL PATH, FROM PEOPLE WHO SPEAK OF PERVERSE NOTIONS
"Perversity" (tah'puchot), from the Hebrew root h-f-ch (turn over), is taken by classical commentators Rashi and Abraham ibn Ezra to refer to those ideas that might turn individuals away from their traditional beliefs and routine behaviors. Although the Book of Proverbs generally challenges traditional beliefs and behaviors because of its prudential outlook, the writer feels compelled to warn those who might carry the notion of mere prudence too far. Since wisdom literature was specifically directed to those who were expected to become part of the ruling elite, it was important to teach them that the measure of their self-control would be seen as an indicator of their ability to control others. Flagrant misbehavior by those who rule is not much of an incentive for good behavior by those who are ruled.
Questions
- Do you agree that planning for the future is a guarantee for success? Explain.
- “People plan and God laughs” could be described as a modern proverb. How does it relate to Proverbs 2:11?
Excerpted from Mishlei: A Modern Commentary on Proverbs , Leonard S. Kravitz and Kerry M. Olitzky, UAHC Press, NY, 2002, p. 19-20. | 
