SUMMARY
Proverbs 30 offers four lists of three, indeed even four things to compare.
ANALYSIS
These numerical lists become riddles about how the items listed are alike:
16 SheolIn the Hebrew Bible Sheol was the place where people, both good and bad, went when they died. While it was a place that might cause sorrow and anguish, it was not necessarily a cause for despair, for, as the psalmist said, God was even..., the barren womb, the earth ever thirsty for water,
and the fire that never says, “Enough.”
19 the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a woman.
22-23 a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when glutted with food;
an unloved woman when she gets a husband, and a maid when she succeeds her mistress.
30-31 the lion, which is mightiest among wild animals…, the strutting rooster, the he-goat,
and a king striding before his people.
These lists are filled with humor as well as insight.
