Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
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- Adam Clarke Commentary
- John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
- John Trapp Complete Commentary
- Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
- Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible
- George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
- E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Bible Study Resources
Adam Clarke Commentary
The way of an eagle - I borrow, with thanks, the very sensible note of the Rev. Mr. Holden on this passage.
"The particle כן ken plainly shows that Proverbs 30:19; and Proverbs 30:20; are to be taken in connection; consequently, it is a comparison between the way of an adulterous woman, and the way of the things here described.
"The adulterous woman goes about in search of her deluded victim, like as the eagle takes its flight into the air to spy out its prey. She uses every species of blandishment and insinuation to allure and beguile, as the serpent employs its windings and sinuous motions to pass along the rocks; she pursues a course surrounded with danger, as a ship in the midst of the sea is continually exposed to the fury of the tempest, and the hazard of shipwreck; and she tries every means, and exercises all her sagacity, to prevent the discovery of her illicit enjoyments, as a man attempts to conceal his clandestine intercourse with a maid. Such is the conduct of a lewd woman, marked by specious dissimulation and traitorous blandishment; she eateth and wipeth her mouth-she indulges her adulterous lust, yet artfully endeavors to conceal it, and with unblushing countenance asserts her innocence, exclaiming, I have done no wickedness."
Chaucer's January and May is an excellent comment on such wiles and protestations.
The way of a man with a maid - בעלמה bealmah with or in a maid; but one of De Rossi's MSS. has בעלמיו bealmaiv, in his youth; and with this the Septuagint, ev neothti, the Vulgate, in adolescentia, the Syriac and the Arabic agree; and so also my own MS. Bible: - The weie of a man in his waxing youthe. Dr. Kennicott, in a sermon preached at Onsford, 1765, p. 46, has defended the reading of the versions, corroborating it by two MSS., one in the Harleian, and the other in the Bodleian library, besides that mentioned by De Rossi. See De Rossi's Var. Lect. Certainly the way of a man in his youth contains too many intricacies for human wisdom to explore. He only who searches the heart knows fully its various corrupt principles, and their productions. The common reading may refer to the formation of a child in the womb. But some have understood it of the immaculate conception. See my note on Matthew 1:23; (note), where the subject is largely considered.
If we take the four things which Agur says were too wonderful for him, in their obvious sense, there is little difficulty in them.
- The passage which a bird makes through the air;
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Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on Proverbs 30:19". "The Adam Clarke Commentary". https:/
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
The way of an eagle in the air,.... And so of any other bird; but this is mentioned, because it flies swiftest, and soars highest: but the way in which it goes is not known, nor can it be seen with the eye; it cuts the air, and passes through it, but leaves no track behind it which may be pointed to, and it may be said, that is the way the eagle took and flew towards heaven out of sight;
the way of a serpent upon a rock; a smooth hard rock; and wonderful it is that it should creep up it without legs; and where it leaves no impression, no footsteps by which it can be traced, as it may in soft and sandy places;
the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; it is marvellous that such a vessel should be supported upon the sea; that it should weather the storms and tempests of it; that it should be steered through the trackless ocean to distant countries; and, particularly, though it makes furrows in the waters, and divides the waves; yet these quickly close again, and there is no path to be seen in which it goes; there is no beaten road made by it, nor by the vast numbers which go the same way, which a man can see with his eyes or follow;
and the way of a man with a maid; or "to a maid"
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernised and adapted for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rights Reserved, Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
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Gill, John. "Commentary on Proverbs 30:19". "The New John Gill Exposition of the Entire Bible". https:/
John Trapp Complete Commentary
Proverbs 30:19 The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.
Ver. 19. And the way of a man with a maid.] That is, Either with a close and chaste virgin, that is kept close from the access of strangers, and goes covered with a veil; or else with a maid that, though deflowered, yet would pass for a pure virgin, and is so taken to be till her lewdness is discovered. It is expressly noted of Rebecca, to her commendation, that though fair to look upon, yet she was a virgin, neither had any man known her. [Genesis 24:16] There are those who pass for virgins, and yet it cannot be said of them that man never knew them.
“ Thesaurum cure virgo tuum vas fictile servet,
Ut fugias quae sunt noxia, tuta time. ”
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Trapp, John. "Commentary on Proverbs 30:19". John Trapp Complete Commentary. https:/
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
Proverbs 30:19. And the way of a man with a maid— See Isaiah 7:14. I would just observe upon this passage, that some have understood it as a reference to the incarnation of the Word in the Virgin Mary. The word עלמה almah, rendered maid, signifies a virgin strictly speaking; and גבר geber, rendered a man, may signify the man, or great one, by way of eminence; but for more on this text the reader is referred to Schultens' very accurate discussion of it. Houbigant thinks that the sacred writer here refers to the human conception, which is, indeed, truly miraculous and incomprehensible.
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Coke, Thomas. "Commentary on Proverbs 30:19". Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible. https:/
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible
The way of an eagle in the air; either,
1. The manner of her flight, which is exceeding high, and swift, and strong. Or rather,
2. The way or part of the air through which she passeth, without leaving any print or sign in it, which though it be true of all birds, yet is here attributed to the eagle, of whom this is more true, because she flies out of sight, where neither her body nor any sign of it can be discerned.
The way of a serpent upon a rock; where she leaves no impression, nor slime, nor token where she was, as she doth in softer bodies, and as birds leave their feathers there.
The way of a ship in the midst of the sea; which though at present it make a furrow, yet is speedily closed again. The way of a man with a maid; either,
1. The various methods and artifices which young men use to entice or persuade young virgins, either to honest love and marriage, or to unlawful lust and uncleanness. Or rather,
2. The impure conversation of a man with one who goeth under the name of a maid, but is not so in truth, which is managed with so much secrecy and cunning that it can very hardly be discovered; which exposition agrees best with the foregoing. similitudes referred to it, and with the following verse.
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Poole, Matthew, "Commentary on Proverbs 30:19". Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible. https:/
George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
Youth. Hebrew, "a virgin." The "conception of a mighty man (the Messias; Haydock) in a virgin," is fitly compared to the flight of an eagle in the air, which leaves no trace behind, and is the most difficult to comprehend. See Jeremias xxxi. 22.; Univ. Hist. iii. p. 144, note. Isaiah vii. 14.; Parkhurst in alm. (Haydock) --- Some of the Jews have admitted this explanation. (Cornelius a Lapide) --- Others understand that the marks of virginity are equivocal; (Bossuet, &c.) or, if we stick to the Vulgate and Septuagint, the difference betwixt a child and a young man is extremely great, and almost incomprehensible. (Calmet) --- Young people who follow their carnal appetite, can no more give an account of their actions than of the course of an eagle, &c. (Worthington) --- His wanderings are manifold. The Hebrew seems to contain a prophecy of Christ's conception.
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Haydock, George Leo. "Commentary on Proverbs 30:19". "George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary". https:/
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
maid. Hebrew. "almah. See note on Genesis 24:43. Refers here probably to seduction.
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Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "Commentary on Proverbs 30:19". "E.W. Bullinger's Companion bible Notes". https:/
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.- way of an
- Job 39:27; Isaiah 40:31
- midst
- Heb. heart. and the.
- Exodus 22:16
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Torrey, R. A. "Commentary on Proverbs 30:19". "The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge". https:/
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