Proverbs-Words That Matter
Important Words Tied to the Proverbs
Are you ready for another lesson in the Proverbs? I hope so! Let’s take another look at some nuggets that could be tasty and nutritious! Remember these writings are meant to keep us levelheaded in a crazy, mixed up world!
Have you ever noticed there are a few words and phrases that keep popping up in the book of Proverbs? Here are a few in case you haven’t noticed yet, words like: wisdom, justice, judgement, equity, prudence, fear of the Lord, and fools. There are more, but these are a great place start!
Let’s look at the meaning of these with a short definition for each one:
1) Wisdom: Contrary to popular opinion in the Proverbs they are not a reference to the accumulation of mere information. It is the ability to act or behave wisely in every situation.
2) Justice: The meaning of the Hebrew understanding is the idea of always doing what is right, just, and fair in all our dealings with others.
3) Judgement: This word refers to the ability to discern, see, perceive, and know what the right course of action is in each situation, then to act on it.
4) Equity: It’s simply the ability to know and deal fairly with everyone and every situation.
5) Prudence: This word carries the idea of giving sufficient forethought to our decisions. It’s the idea of thinking things through beforehand.
6) Fear of the Lord: This is a phrase used to describe the one who respects and reverences the Lord with his ways, words, and actions.
7) Fools: This word deals with those who are devoid of spiritual insight or understanding.
To the casual observer, these words all seem to be similar and even exchangeable. Not particularly true! The reason we feel that way is we’ve not understood the depth and often meaning of them. That’s why I gave the original definitions above.
Some might argue that these words are often translated differently in various translations. However, the original Hebrew word that the definitions were taken from have not changed.
Conclusion
In closing, it might be a good idea to take these seven words to heart. Try to thoroughly understand them, maybe even underline them in your bible. They carry much weight in the mind of Solomon and in the ancient Israelites.
We are going to continue our quest in the book of Proverbs next time. Won’t you plan on joining us? In the meantime, dive into the book, go back and review some of the previous articles. Catch you next time!
Thank you giving the definition to those words, that is helpful! I've always wondered about that one "prudence."