is the beginning
The word "beginning" in Hebrew is "reshit," which implies the first, chief, or principal part. It suggests that the fear of the LORD is not just an initial step but the foundation upon which all wisdom is built. In the ancient Near Eastern context, wisdom was highly valued, and its pursuit was seen as essential for a successful and righteous life. By stating that the fear of the LORD is the beginning, the verse emphasizes that true wisdom cannot be attained without first acknowledging and revering God. This principle is echoed throughout Scripture, underscoring the importance of a God-centered worldview.

of knowledge
"Knowledge" in this context is more than just intellectual understanding; it encompasses moral insight and discernment. The Hebrew word "da'at" refers to a deep, intimate understanding that comes from experience and relationship. In the biblical sense, knowledge is closely tied to living in accordance with God's truth. It involves recognizing His character and commands and applying them to one's life. The pursuit of knowledge, therefore, is not merely academic but is a spiritual journey that leads to a deeper relationship with God and a more profound understanding of His creation.

but fools
The term "fools" is translated from the Hebrew word "ewil," which describes someone who is morally deficient and lacks judgment. In the wisdom literature of the Bible, a fool is not simply someone who is uneducated or ignorant but someone who rejects God's wisdom and chooses to live according to their own desires. This rejection of divine wisdom is seen as folly because it leads to destructive and unfulfilling paths. The contrast between the wise and the foolish is a recurring theme in Proverbs, highlighting the consequences of one's choices in relation to God's revealed truth.

despise wisdom and discipline
To "despise" means to regard with contempt or disdain. The Hebrew word "bazah" conveys a strong sense of rejection and scorn. "Wisdom" (Hebrew "chokmah") and "discipline" (Hebrew "musar") are closely linked in the biblical text. Wisdom involves the skillful application of knowledge in daily life, while discipline refers to correction and instruction that leads to moral and spiritual growth. Together, they represent the comprehensive guidance that God offers to His people. Fools, by despising these gifts, cut themselves off from the life-giving instruction that God provides, choosing instead a path that leads away from His blessings and protection. This verse serves as a stark warning and a call to embrace the wisdom and discipline that come from a reverent relationship with the LORD.

(a) First Discourse:--Against Companionship in Robbery (Proverbs 1:7-19).

(7) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.--The first discourse is prefaced by a distich, which serves as a key-note to all the teaching of the book. This expression, "the fear of the Lord," occurs thirteen times in the Proverbs, and plays a prominent part throughout the Old Testament.

"When God of old came down from heaven,

In power and wrath He came."

That law which was given amid "blackness, and darkness, and tempest" was enforced by the threat, "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them" (Galatians 3:10). Men had to be taught how hateful sin was to God, and the lesson was for the most part instilled into them by the fear of immediate punishment. (Comp. Deuteronomy 28) But when the lesson had been learnt, and when mankind had found by experience that they were unable to keep the law of God by their own strength, then the new covenant of mercy was revealed from Calvary, even free justification "by God's grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). And with this new message a new motive to obedience was preached. The "fear of the Lord" was now superseded by the higher duty of the "love of God," and of man, for His sake. "The love of Christ constraineth us," says St. Paul. "We love Him because He first loved us," writes St. John. Now, it was seen that, although the "fear of the Lord" may be the "beginning of wisdom," yet something better still may be aimed at: that "he that feareth is not made perfect in love;" and so the teaching of St. John, the last New Testament writer, is summed up in the words, "If God so loved us, we ought also to love one another" (1John 4:11). . . .

(1) As initium, the beginning; i.e. the initial step or starting point at which every one who wishes to follow true wisdom must begin (Gejerus, Zockler, Plumptre).

(2) As caput; i.e. the most excellent or principal part, the noblest or best wisdom. This sense is adopted in the marginal reading (comp. also Proverbs 4:7) (Holden, Trapp).

(3) As the principium (Vulgate); i.e. the origin, or basis, as in Micah 1:12, "She is the origin, or basis (reshith) of the sin of the daughter of Zion." Delitzsch regards the original, reshith, as embracing the two ideas of commencement and origin, in the same way as the Greek ἀρχὴ. Wisdom has its origin in God, and whoever fears him receives it if he prays in faith (cf. James 1:5, sqq.) (Vatablus, Mercerus, Delitzsch). That the first sense, viz. that of beginning, is to be understood here appears from the parallel passage in Proverbs 10:10, where the corresponding word is תְּחִלָּת. (t'killath), "beginning," from the root חָלַל (khalal), "to begin;" cf. also the LXX. ἀρχὴ, in this sense, and the initium of the Syriac and Arabic Versions. All previous knowledge to "the fear of the Lord" is comparative folly. He who would advance in knowledge must first be imbued with a reverence or holy fear of God. But fools despise wisdom and instruction; or, according to the inverted order of the words in the original, wisdom and instruction fools despise, the association of ideas in the three words, "knowledge," "wisdom," and "instruction," thus being more continuously sustained. This arrangement links on the two latter words with "the fear of the Lord," and so helps towards the elucidation of the sense in which "fools" is to be understood Fools; ךאוִילִים (evilim), plural of ךאוִיּל (evil), from the root אָוַל (aval), "to be perverse," here properly designates the incorrigible, as in Proverbs 27:22, and those who are unwilling to know God (Jeremiah 4:22), and hence refuse and despise wisdom and salutary discipline, those "who set at nought all his counsel, and will none of his reproof." The word is opposed to the "prudent" (Proverbs 12:16) and to the "wise" (Proverbs 10:14). Delitzsch understands it as "thick, hard, stupid," from the root aval, coalescere, incrassari. Schultens uses παχεῖς, equivalent to erassi pro stupidis, to represent the original. Dunn takes it in the same sense as "gross or dull of understanding." Fuerst, adopted by Wordsworth, regards it in the sense of having no moral stamina, from the root meaning "to be slack, weak, lax, or lazy." But none of these explanations seems, in my opinion, to coincide sufficiently with the evil and depraved activity expressed in the verb "despise," which follows, and which describes the conduct of this class. The LXX. renders the word or action by ἀσεβεῖς, equivalent to impii, "godless," "profane," and the Vulgate by stulti. Despise; בָּזוּ (bazu) is perfect, but is properly translated by the present, because the perfect here represents a condition long continued and still existing (Gesenius, § 126); cf. the Latin odi, memini, etc. The LXX. uses the future ἐξουθενήσουσιν, i.e. they will set at nought; the Vulgate, the present (despiciunt). The radical meaning is most probably contemptuous trampling under the feet (Geseuius). Wisdom and instruction (see ver. 2). The latter clause of this verse is antithetical to the former, but the antithesis is obscurely expressed. In the Authorized Version it is marked by the adversative conjunction "but," which, however, is not in the original. The LXX. has a striking interpolation in this verse between the first and second clauses, which is partly taken from Psalm 111:10 (Σύνεσις δέ ἀγαθὴ πᾶσι τοῖς ποιοῦσιν αὐτήν εὐσέβεια δὲ εἰς Θεὸν ἀρχὴ αἰσθήσεως, "And a good understanding have all they that do it: and reverence towards God is the beginning of knowledge"). Compare the Arabic Version, which has the same interpolation: Et intellectus bonus onmibus facientibus eam. Sana religio in Deum est initium prudentiae.

Parallel Commentaries ...