Proverbs 10: 1

The Book of Proverbs is broken up into several parts. The first 9 chapters, as we have seen in our studies so far, were written by Solomon and specifically contrasted the value of searching for wisdom and the foolishness of following “folly” or our own sinful nature.

This next section that starts in Chapter 10 and continues through Chapter 22: 16 is a collection of single verse proverbs, in most cases. They are short, proverbs that are like “snapshots” of things that God would like us to see and remember. Throughout this section, we will probably only study one or two of these at a time, so that we can have time to meditate on them between each study. I may be able to start posting more often, as well.

Proverbs 10:1 (NKJV)

1 The proverbs of Solomon:
A wise son makes a glad father,
But a foolish son is the grief of his mother.

The first verse of this new chapter states that Solomon is the author of these Proverbs just like the beginning of the book did. There is a part toward the end that many believe was written by someone other than Solomon. It is interesting to note that in the Hebrew word for Solomon, the numerical value of the consonants add up to 375, the exact number of verses in this section of Proverbs. It is believed that these proverbs were taken from a larger number of sayings, but chosen for this reason.

Verse 1 reminds us that when a son makes wise choices in his life, his parents will be proud and happy, but that they (especially the mother, as mother’s tend to react more with emotions) are filled with grief when he follows a foolish path.