Read Proverbs 25 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
25:1-13 {p} The glory of kings: right judgment, wise rebuke
25:14-20 {p} Contrast between a good and faithful/ false and unfaithful neighbor
25:21-26:21 {p} …
This is one of the most unusual Chiastic structures I have done. No central axis, and instead of mirrored elements, they are sequential. What caught my eye this morning was the 2C substructure from Pro 25:13-20.
The central axis:
And a gentle tongue breaks a bone. Pro 25:15b
Gentle is in Hebrew, Strong’s H7390, רך rak, an adjective, from Strong’s H7401, רכך rakak, a primitive verb meaning, “to be tender, soft, weak.”
resh ר = head of man, thus head, first, top, beginning, man
kaph כ,ך = open palm, thus bend, open, allow, tame
kaph כ,ך = open palm, thus bend, open, allow, tame
The parable being told by the Hebrew Root Word is of the man (resh) covered (kaph) by the open palm (kaph), a metaphor for the loins, which are always covered, due to their tenderness.
In English, to be gentle is to be free from harshness, sternness, or violence (Webster’s).
How can a gentle tongue break a bone? I don’t believe Solomon is speaking of a literal bone, but just as by patience, a hard or intractable ruler may be persuaded (the first part of the verse), so by a gentle tongue, a hard heart, or countenance, or opinion, may be broken down.
Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap according to steadfast love; break up for yourselves fallow ground, for it is time to seek YHVH, until He comes and rains righteousness upon you. Hos 10:12
The context implies the gentle autumn rain in Israel, which prepares the ground for planting—that is, it softens the hard fallow ground, to prepare it for the implanted Word (er, seed). Isn’t the Father wonderful? ♥
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