Commentary: On Proverbs

As he did with his commentary on Job, Moses Kimḥi organized his commentary on Proverbs around thematic sections, arguing for literary connections that run throughout the book. In the first of these excerpts, from the introduction to this work, he reflects on how parables operate and draws on a full range of biblical passages to help interpret the Hebrew words mashal and melitsah. His comments on Proverbs 30 show how he integrates grammatical analysis with broader theories about the composition of the book. Proverbs 30:1 explicitly identifies the contents of the chapter as the words of Agur ben Jakeh, an ascription that Kimḥi (and many others) understood literally. Some, however, preferred to interpret that name as metaphorically denoting either Moses or King Solomon, the putative author of the book of Proverbs.