Proverbs 2:5

2:5 then you will understand how to fear the Lord,

and you will discover knowledge about God.

Proverbs 2:9

2:9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice

and equity – every good way.


tn The verb בִּין (bin, “to perceive; to understand; to discern”) refers to ability to grasp, discern or be sensitive to what it means to fear the Lord.

tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” The noun is an objective genitive; the Lord is to be the object of fear and reverence.

tn Heb “find” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

tn The term דַּעַת (daat, “knowledge”) goes beyond cognition; it is often used metonymically (cause) for obedience (effect); see, e.g., Prov 3:6, “in all your ways acknowledge him,” and BDB 395 s.v. This means that the disciple will follow God’s moral code; for to know God is to react ethically and spiritually to his will (e.g., J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 18).

tn Heb “knowledge of God.” The noun is an objective genitive.

tn Heb “discern.” See preceding note on בִּין (bin) in 2:5.

tn The phrase “every good way” functions appositionally to the preceding triad of righteous attributes, further explaining and defining them.

tn Heb “every way of good.” The term טוֹב (tov, “good”) functions as an attributive genitive: “good way.”

tn Heb “track”; KJV, NIV, NRSV “path.” The noun מַעְגַּל (magal) is used (1) literally of “wagon-wheel track; firm path” and (2) figuratively (as a metaphor) to describe the course of life (Pss 17:5; 23:3; 140:6; Prov 2:9, 15, 18; 4:11, 26; 5:6, 21; Isa 26:7; 59:8; see BDB 722-23 s.v. 2; KBL 2:609). It is related to the feminine noun עֲגָלָה (’agalah, “cart”) and the verb עָגַל (’agal) “to be round” (Qal) and “to roll” (Niphal). As a wagon-wheel cuts a deep track in a much traversed dirt road, so a person falls into routines and habits that reveal his moral character. In Proverbs the “paths” of the righteous are characterized by uprightness and integrity.