Authorship of Proverbs Chapter 30 and 31

Creation date: 11-May-2025
"God to be Consumed?" and

Last updated: 25-May-2025
"Do you Know the Sons's Name?"  Encrypted is the Answer  
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Sections

1   Authorship of the Book of Proverb Challenged
2   Is Solomon Identified as the Writer of the Book of Proverbs?
3   Who was King Hezekiah that Gathered Solomon's Writings?
4   Proverbs 30:1-4
  4.1 Solomon Must be the Author
  4.2 Guiding points for Proverbs Chapter 30:1-4
  4.3 God is to be Consumed?
  4.4 Know the Son of God's Name?
  4.5 Encryption Identification of the Son of God
5   Proverbs 31:1-2
  5.1 Bathsheba's Warning to Solomon
6   Proverbs 30:27 does NOT change the Correct Meaning of Amos 7:1

King Solomon is the writer of the Book of Proverbs, but the true Author is God.  All scripture is given by the Holy Spirit as read in 2 Timothy 3:16

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

Behind the first few verses of Proverbs Thirty is some incredible facets:

  1. A prophecy of God is to be consumed, which is an Old Testament confirmation of the New Testament understanding.
  2. The question who is the Son of God and do you know His Name?
  3. An encryption of the question "Do you know the Son of God's Name?" and the answer in the encryption is Jesus.

Authorship of the Book of Proverb Challenged

There are many excellent commentaries on the Book of Proverbs where some have incorrectly stated that King Solomon was not the writer of the entire Book.  Specifically, Chapters Thirty and Thirty-One are often described as being written by an unknown author.  This is believed incorrectly because of the names used of "Agur son of Jaketh" and "King Lemuel" in the two Chapters Thirty and Thirty-One.  This topic will details reasons why Solomon is the writer and collector who wrote the proverbs.
 
1 Thessalonians 5:21-23 21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil. 23 And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Is Solomon Identified as the Writer of the Book of Proverbs?

Note that Chapters were not created for the Old Testament Books until 1448 AD and placement of Chapters Thirty and Thirty-One at the end of the Book of Proverbs does not mean or prove a different author.

The wisdom in Proverbs is sometimes in the form of a riddle, called "dark sayings" as noted in Proverbs 1:6, that directs us to understand:

  1. The sinful action with consequence,
  2. The righteous action and reward, and
  3. The question and the answer in life with our relationship with God and each other. 

The word "dark" is meant to convey a contrast that requires a person reading to contemplate for understanding, where the contemplation is the light on the collection of wisdom. 

Proverbs 1:6 To understand a proverb, and a figure, The words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

The scriptural passages of Proverbs that directly identify Solomon as the author and collector are:

Proverbs 1:1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
Proverbs 10:1 The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father; But a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.
Proverbs 22:17-24 17 Incline thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, And apply thy heart unto my knowledge. 18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee, If they be established together upon thy lips. 19 That thy trust may be in Jehovah, I have made them known to thee this day, even to thee. 20 Have not I written unto thee excellent things Of counsels and knowledge, 21 To make thee know the certainty of the words of truth, That thou mayest carry back words of truth to them that send thee? 22 Rob not the poor, because he is poor; Neither oppress the afflicted in the gate: 23 For Jehovah will plead their cause, And despoil of life those that despoil them. 24 Make no friendship with a man that is given to anger;
Proverbs 25:1 These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.
Proverbs 30:1 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh; the oracle. The man saith unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:
Proverbs 31:1-3 1 The words of king Lemuel; the oracle which his mother taught him. 2 What, my son? and what, O son of my womb? And what, O son of my vows? 3 Give not thy strength unto women, Nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.

If there was an additional author, then the Holy Spirit authorship on the Book of Proverbs would have identified the writer, which means it should not be necessary.  If it were necessary, the Holy Spirit would have other scriptures reference the writer identification as it is done with Moses for critics of the scriptures who state Moses did not write all the books of the Torah. 

John 5:46
Referring to the Law		 45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, in whom you have put your hope. 46 If you had believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?
Acts 3:22 21 Heaven must take Him in until the time comes for the restoration of all things, which God announced long ago through His holy prophets. 22 For Moses said, The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to Him in everything He tells you. 23 Everyone who does not listen to Him will be completely cut off from among his people
Romans 10:5 5 For Moses writeth that the man that doeth the righteousness which is of the law shall live thereby. 6 But the righteousness which is of faith saith thus, Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down:) 7 or, Who shall descend into the abyss? (That is, to bring Christ up from the dead.)

Who was King Hezekiah that Gathered some of Solomon's Writings?

King Hezekiah was a good king with many reforms and corrections to Israel.  The scriptural passage of Proverbs 25.1 indicates his men gathered Chapters 25 through 31.
 
Proverbs 25:1 These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.

Hezekiah did have problems with his pride that nearly cost him his life as a consequence from God.

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

In one part of Hezekiah's life as king, the Assyrian army was approaching and would have conquered the Southern Kingdom of Judah, but God delivered Judah which should have humbled Hezekiah.  Know that God delivered Israel many times in the scriptures, and God delivers us when we righteously seek Him.

2 Kings 20:1-6 1 In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, Thus says the Lord, Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.' 2 Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 Remember now, O Lord, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 5 Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David, I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David s sake.
2 Chronicles 32:1-20
(excerpts)		 1 After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself.

7 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him.

16 Sennacherib s officers spoke further against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah.

20 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to heaven about this. 21 And the Lord sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons, his own flesh and blood, cut him (King of Assyria) down with the sword.
2 Chronicles 32:26 Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord s wrath did not come on them during the days of Hezekiah.

King Solomon wrote over Three Thousand Proverbs, where they are all not listed in the Book of Proverbs as the list we have is the intended list by the Holy Spirit.  It would be interesting to read others that are not known but as evidenced by 2 Kings 4:32, the list of Proverbs in the Book of Proverbs is the full list intended by God for us to know.

2 Kings 4:29-34 29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 33 He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 34 From all nations people came to listen to Solomon s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.

Proverbs 30:1-4

The Problem Verses

It is the theory by a few Biblical Scholars, which this author of Biblical Thoughts agree, that Chapters 30 and 31 were part of those gathered in the time of the thirteen King of Judah named Hezekiah, who reigned from approximately 715 BC to 686 BC totaling 29 years.  As mentioned earlier in this topic, the men of Hezekiah gathered the Proverbs into one group and the source is Proverbs from Solomon's writings.

The problem scriptural passages of Proverbs 30:1-4 have caused confusion on who is the author, which will be explained by analyzing the words used.

Proverbs 30 verses One through Four:

Verse The Verse and Notes
1 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh; the oracle. The man saith unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:
  Translated words explained below:  "Agur" is the collector,  "Jakeh" is obedient one, "Ithiel" is God with us like Emmanuel, "Ucal" is to be consumed.
2 Surely I am more brutish than any man, And have not the understanding of a man;
3 And I have not learned wisdom, Neither have I the knowledge of the Holy One.
  The meaning of verses two and three state the writer, that is a collector, does not have the knowledge of God.  Confirming that the Collector is gathering wisdom and still recognizes the does not have the knowledge of God. 

There is a contradiction on "brutish" and "not the understanding of a man", which possibly means that the "collector" thinks of himself as more of a man than other men with greater understanding than other men where the collector has not obtained the wisdom of God's capabilities.
4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in his garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son s name, if thou knowest?
  It is a rhetorical question about God, and God is the answer where the "collector" is stating for the reader to understand that God is far superior in all things and most importantly the "collector" understand that God has a Son.

Guiding points for the problem words in Proverbs Chapter 30:1-4

  1. Who is "Agur" in Proverbs 30:1?  "The words of Agur the son of Jakeh; the oracle."

    (a) The word "Agur" in Hebrew means to "collect" or "collector".  As learned from the Proverbs 22:17-24, Solomon was a collector of dark sayings.
     
    Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac, known as Rashi and born in 1040 Champagne France suggest the passage of "Agar" is referring to Solomon.
    Jerome,  who translated the Bible into the Latin Vulgate, suggest the passage of "Agar" is referring to Solomon.

    (b) Solomon had several names.  For example, Solomon's birth name was Jedidiah, meaning beloved by Yehovah, as named by the Prophet Nathan.  King David gave Jedidiah the name Solomon.  Jedidiah is also rendered Yadeh Baffe.

    2 Samuel 12:24-25 24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him; 25 and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.

  2. Who is "Jakeh" in in Proverbs 30:1?
    (a) The word "Jakeh" means "carefully religious" and "obedient". 
    (b) The "son of Jakeh" would mean "The son of the obedient" one.
     
  3. Who is "Ithiel" in in Proverbs 30:1?
    (a) The word "Ithiel" means "God comes or arrives, is with me.".  The word "Ithiel" is a very close synonym for the word "Emmanuel".
    (b) Emmanuel means "God with us".  This is of course a model of Jesus Christ who arrives and is with us.
     
  4. Who is "Ucal" in in Proverbs 30:1?
    (a) The word "Ucal" means to be consumed.

God is to be Consumed?

A few Biblical Scholars, which this author of Biblical Thoughts agree, have constructed the correct rendering of the mistranslated Proverbs 30:1 to read:

"The words gathered of the wise son of the pious father, the prophecy of the mighty oracle, that El God arrives to be consumed."

  1. The wise son is Solomon and the father is King David who despite his sins of murder of Uriah and adultery with Bathsheba returned to a pious life devoted to God that restored his legacy and righteousness which his son Solomon would have known in David's later life.
  2. Note that "El" is one of the Names of God and the "consumed" has a great deal of meaning to be understood for us all.  The verse 30:1 should get us very excited about the double modeling and double meaning that the scriptures contain throughout the entirety of the scriptures.  The interpretation of "God arrives to be consumed" is the same as Jesus Christ also stated the same in John 6:53-58. 
  3. The Passover Lamb is the model for Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. slain on Passover on Wednesday 3pm on 14th of Nissan, year 32 AD.  The nation of Israel was given the model of the Passover Lamb that was to be eaten after being killed for a sin covering during the last part of the day and then eaten at the start of new day which was dinner time.
John 6:53-58 53 Jesus said to them, Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.
Exodus 12:5-6 (This is before the start of the next day.  It is on the 14th of Nissan but before dusk.)
 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
Exodus 12:8 (This is the 15th of Nissan.)
 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.  The eating is the next day because it is at nighttime after the end of the day which was when the sun was visible. 

This is a graphic excerpt from the Day Jesus Christ was Crucified topic:

Know the Son of God's Name?

In Proverbs 30:4, it is absolutely amazing for the "collector" wrote five questions that point to God only!  The fifth question contains "what is His son's name".  At the time of the writings of the entire Old Testament, the future fulfillment of a Messiah is predicted as Jesus Christ in almost countless ways.  Another amazing observation of the Old Testament scriptures, like Proverbs 30:4, is the evidence that the writer did not know details and answers with why was the verse even placed in the verses that the writer could not have known why.  The Book of Daniel is another example of instructions for Daniel to write even though Daniel did not understand as read in Daniel 12:8.

Proverb 30:4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended?
Who hath gathered the wind in his fists?
Who hath bound the waters in his garment?
Who hath established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is his son s name, if thou knowest?
Daniel 12:8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my lord, what shall be the issue of these things?

Encryption Identification of the Son of God?

The answer to Proverbs' 30:4 fifth question is encrypted to reveal the name of God's son!

The following is an excerpt from the Encryptions topic:

A great favorite encryption of this author is found in Proverbs 30:4.  The Encryption is found by starting with the first yod, counting every 22nd letter spells Yeshua shai, which means "Yeshua, the Gift." Yeshua is Jesus in Hebrew.   Hidden in the very plain text is the identity of the question asked and the answer is Jesus. 

Proverbs 30:4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Whose hands have gathered up the wind? Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His son? Surely you know!

Proverbs 31:1-3

1 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:
  For easier understanding, "The words of the beloved king as taught by his mother learned from God."
  Lemuel is the privately used name given to Solomon by his mother Bathsheba. 
2 What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb? What are you doing, son of my vows?
  Reinforcing of Bathsheba that Solomon should listen to her because she is his mother.
3 Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings.
  Bathsheba recognizes Solomon's propensity act as his father has done with the collecting of women for lust and it will destroy him as King David was destroyed.

Bathsheba's Warning to Solomon:

  1. Who is "King Lemuel" in in Proverbs 31:1
    (a) There is no King Lemuel in the lineage of kings of Israel so who is this king?
    (b) It appears the Solomon had a special love name, often labeled a "pet name" that mothers give their children, for Solomon that was Lemuel which was given to him by Bathsheba his mother.  We all often have "pet names" for special people as a term of endearment.. 
    (c) Lemuel means "for God" or "Belonging to God".
  2. The "destroy kings" is the reinforcement of Bathsheba's witnessing the destruction of her husband King David's life for murder of Uriah her husband and adultery which she was a willing participant.

Proverbs 30:27 does NOT change the Correct Meaning of Amos 7:1

In Proverbs 30:27 there is a reference to a grasshopper or locust depending upon the scriptural translation.

Proverbs 30:24-27 24 Four things on earth are small, yet they are exceedingly wise: 25 The ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; 26 the rock badgers are creatures of little power, yet they make their homes in the rocks; 27 the locusts have no king, yet they all advance in formation; 28 and the lizard can be caught in one’s hands, yet it is found in the palaces of kings.

The reference to the grasshopper or locust is dealing with the observations of God's created small creatures and is not dealing with the Fallen Angel Gog's roles in future cataclysmic events. Gog is given the keys to the prison in a compartment of Lower Sheol that contains Satanic locusts that sting with such pain that it paralyzes the victim that they want death but are not able to commit suicide.  The Proverbs 30:27 states the locusts have no king, but the locusts of the Tribulation Period do have a King Gog.

The following is an excerpt from the Gog and Magog topic concerning Gog is the Fallen Angel King:

With only a few exceptions in the scriptures, there is always confirming additional scriptures that will interpret and confirm other scriptures, where the "locusts" and "Sheol" are the two key links between the three scriptural passages of Amos 7:1, Revelation 9:1-11 and Proverbs 15:11:

  1. Gog is the King of the grasshoppers, also closely related to locusts (more on that shortly where locusts and grasshoppers are related to the idiom of destruction).
  2. Gog is the King over the locusts of the bottomless pit's distinct area of lower Sheol's prison compartment.  Gog, Abaddon and Apollyon appear to be the same Fallen Angel according to a few Biblical Commentary theories and also author's opinion.
  3. The three scriptural references are giving us interpretation based on scripture.
 
  Scriptures Verse Notes
1 Amos 7:1 Septuagint (LXX) Version of the Scriptures, gives the name of Gog (See Note*)
2 Revelation 9:1-11 King of the Locust, named Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek
3 Proverbs 15:11 Abaddon and Sheol lie-open to God knowing their thoughts

Amos 7:1 in LXX Then {Look!} the Lord showed me a breed of locusts that arrived early in the morning, being led by Gog the grasshopper king.
Amos 7.1 in KJV
(bad translation)		 This is what the Lord God showed me: Look! He was forming locust swarms as the latter plantings were just beginning to sprout. Indeed, the king had just taken his first fruit tax.
Revelation 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
Proverbs 15:11
(Sheol is the linkage.)		 Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord; how much more the hearts of the children of man!

Note regarding Septuagint (LXX):

As read in the wiki link and other historic research documents, an estimated 70 to 72 Hebrew scholars spent an estimated 35 years translating the Hebrew scriptural books of the Old Testament into Greek roughly between the years of 285-247 BCE. In most of the newer translations of the Bible, which use the Masoretic Text as the translation base the omission of Gog in Amos 7:1.  Many Biblical Scholars often state the most reliable source text version, of the Scriptures when dealing with Amos 7:1, and other areas of the scriptures, is in the Septuagint Version of the Scriptures because of the historical age and copy fragments still in existence.


A grasshopper is a type of locust, as read from the World Atlas:. 

"Grasshoppers and locusts are closely related insects belonging to the Acrididae family. Locusts are actually grasshoppers that develop gregarious behaviors under optimum environmental conditions which involve the presence of large populations of grasshoppers. Locusts are not a species. The two insects are primarily herbivores feeding on any green matter they come across and are sometimes regarded as agricultural pests when they feed on agriculture produce."

 

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