Read Proverbs 10 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraph:
10:1b-19:9 {p} …
Pro 10:1-32 Chiastic Structure
Hebrew has five different words to describe the foolish person, from the most innocent progressing to the most depraved. We saw that the most innocent is the simpleton.
The simple inherit folly [eviyl], but the prudent are crowned with knowledge. Pro 14:18
What the simple will inherit, if they have not turned from foolishness to wisdom, is folly, Strong’s H200, an abstract concept, from proud fool, Strong’s H191, eviyl. The proud fool is next in the progression of foolishness following the simpleton. Gesenius lists the root as אול aleph + vav + lamed.
aleph א = ox head (strength, power, leader)
vav ו = tent peg (add, secure, hook)
lamed ל = shepherd’s staff (teach, yoke, to, bind)
The Hebrew Root Word parable is of pride (aleph, in the sense of power) linked to (vav) control (lamed). Pride is the root controlling their foolish words and actions.
In the mouth of the foolish [eviyl] is a rod of pride; but the lips of the wise shall preserve them. Pro 14:3.
Strong’s says the root means, “to be perverse,” that is, according to Webster’s, “to be turned away from what is right or good; to be obstinate in opposing what is right or reasonable; to be marked by perversion.”
The foolishness [eviyl] of man perverts his way: and his heart frets against YHVH. Pro 19:3
His folly is found in his mouth first. He is unable to keep it shut, but broadcasts his foolish talk to everyone. A prating fool is one who talks long and idly, to no purpose, according to Webster’s.
The wise in heart will receive commandments, but a prating fool [eviyl] shall fall. Pro 10:8
The tongue of the wise uses knowledge aright, but the mouth of fools pours out foolishness [eviyl]. Pro 15:2
Even a fool [eviyl], when he holds his peace, is accounted wise, and he who shuts his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. Pro 17:28
Wise men lay up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish [eviyl] is near destruction. Pro 10:14
His way is right in his own eyes, therefore he despises wisdom and does not receive correction well.
The way of a fool [eviyl] is right in his own eyes, but he who pays heed to counsel is wise. Pro 12:15
The fear of YHVH is the beginning of knowledge, but fools [eviyl] despise wisdom and instruction. Pro 1:7
Fools [eviyl] make a mock at sin, but among the righteous there is favor. Pro 14:9
He meddles in everyone else’s affairs.
It is an honor for a man to cease from strife, but every fool [eviyl] will be meddling. Pro 20:3
If you offend him, you will know it at once.
A fool’s [eviyl] wrath is immediately known, but a prudent man covers shame. Pro 12:16
A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s [eviyl] wrath is heavier than them both. Pro 27:3
To correct proud foolishness, if he is still a child:
Foolishness [eviyl] is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. Pro 22:15
Spare the rod for simple childishness; correct mistakes made from innocent naivety with loving instruction. Corporal discipline is reserved for folly stemming from pride or rebellion which repeated loving instruction has failed to correct. But for a teen, not even corporal discipline will work.
Though you should grind a fool [eviyl] in a mortar with a pestle among wheat, yet his foolishness will not depart from him. Pro 27:22
How is he corrected then, so that he turns from foolishness, to live? The key is found in the root of his foolishness, which is pride.
He goes after her immediately, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a fool [eviyl] to the correction of the stocks. Pro 7:22
Stocks were a tool of public humiliation. When the proud fool’s pride humiliated, then he begins to receive correction. Parents must let their teens suffer the consequences of their foolishness. Suffering consequences will bring its own humiliation without any additional effort from parents.
If there are questions, these are good resources:
Proverbs 8, The Simple Fool – Christine Miller
Proverbs 22, The rod of correction contrasted with the rod of anger – Christine Miller
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