Sayings of Agur (Proverbs 30)

Agur son of Jakeh (30:1). We do not know anything further about this man since neither he nor his father, Jakeh, are mentioned anywhere else. Nor do we know anything about Ithiel and Ucal, the recipients of Agur’s wisdom. Indeed, as can be learned from the NIV footnotes, we are not even certain about the proper translation of these verses. It may be that instead of verse 1 naming an “oracle,” the Hebrew word actually identifies the tribe from which Agur comes, “Massa.” This may then be connected to the name of a tribe in Arabia related to the Ishmaelites (see Gen. 25:14; 1 Chron. 1:30). If so, then we have here the words of an Arabian wise man (see the comments on the international nature of wisdom in the introduction).

Keep falsehood and lies far from me (30:8). See comment on 10:18.

Grave, the barren womb (30:16). For the grave, see comment on 1:12. If a woman could not have a child, the consequences were dire. Today many couples are saddened by an inability to have children, but in antiquity the stakes were even higher. After all, who would take care of an aging couple if there were no children? A widow without sons was particularly vulnerable in a patriarchal society without social structures like health plans and nursing homes. One need only think of the anxieties surrounding childbirth in the Genesis patriarchal narratives to get a sense of the issue (see, e.g., Gen. 30:1).

Servant who becomes king (30:22). This numerical proverb describes a topsy-turvy world. Similar negative thoughts about a topsy-turvy world may be found in the Admonitions of Ipu-Wer, apocalyptic texts like Isaiah 24:2, the Akkadian Marduk Prophecy, and the Sulgi Prophecy.141

Admonition of Ipuwer

Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY, courtesy of the Louvre