New American Standard Bible 1995

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Proverbs

20

:

6

Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, But who can find a trustworthy man?

Lexicon

Verse part Definition: Part of speech: Strong's: Hebrew: Transliteration:
Many multitude, abundance, greatness Noun H7230 רָב־ rav-
a man man, mankind Noun H120 אָדָ֗ם a·dam
proclaims to call, proclaim, read Verb H7121 יִ֭קְרָא yik·ra
his own man Noun H376 אִ֣ישׁ ish
loyalty, goodness, kindness Noun H2617 חַסְדֹּ֑ו chas·dov;
But who who? Pronoun H4310 מִ֣י mi
can find to attain to, find Verb H4672 יִמְצָֽא׃ yim·tza.
a trustworthy faithfulness Noun H529 אֱ֝מוּנִ֗ים e·mu·nim
Analysis:

Two: Two divergent opinions

The classic example for the number "two" is found in Matthew chapter 26. There, Yeshua says to His disciples,

"You know that after two days comes the Passover, and the Son of Man will be given over for crucifixion."  Matthew 26:2

The phrase "after two days" is somewhat meaningless because after two days can mean three or more days. The period is unspecified. The reason for such ambiguous language is because the purpose of the number two in this passage is not solely numerical. This means that the text is not intending to provide the reader with some definite information concerning a time period. Rather, the purpose of the number two in this context is one of the numerological meanings of the number two.  Often the number two relates to two divergent opinions. In the aforementioned verse, the author wants to inform the reader that there are two very different understandings for this coming Passover. Yeshua wants to emphasize that He is going up to Jerusalem in order to die as the true Passover sacrifice. Even though Yeshua states this emphatically, the disciples did not receive this. In fact, the disciples did not perceive at all what was going to take place during Passover in regard to Yeshua. In other words, Yeshua and the disciples have two divergent opinions concerning the Passover.

This same principle is also found in the Hebrew Bible (Old Covenant). In the book of Amos one reads,

"Can two walk together without them having agreed" Amos 3:3

The word which was translated into English with the phrase "them having agreed" is נועדו. The root of this word is יעד, which relates to a specific destination. The word which precedes this word is בלתי and in this context the word implies a change to the condition. In other words, had there not been a change in the condition, then the two could not walk together, i.e. they could not have arrived at the common destination.

The concept of divergent or different is also seen in the book of Genesis. In speaking about the sun and moon one reads, "And God made two great lights…" (Genesis 1:16). Obviously the sun and moon are very different, as one is a source of light, while the latter just reflects light. Also in the book of Genesis, one encounters the account of the flood. Here Noah is commanded to bring onto the ark two sorts of each type of animal. In this passage, the two relates to two different (or divergent) kinds of the same sort, i.e. male and female. 

Likewise, two angels came to Sodom, demonstrating that the people of Sodom had a very different way of living from that of the Law of God. Once again, the reader should not assume that every occurrence of the number two in the Bible demands this interpretation. However, one will find in a great majority of Biblical passages, the reader will be assisted in arriving at the proper interpretation, when he considers this divergent quality for the number two. 

Loveisrael.org - Baruch Korman, Ph.D. - All Rights Reserved - Used with Permission 2016

man? man Noun H376 וְאִ֥ישׁ ve·'ish

Parallel Verses

Removed text
Added text
New American Standard Bible 1995 Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, But who can find a trustworthy man?
King James Bible Many a man proclaims Most men will proclaim every one his own loyalty, But goodness: but a faithful man who can find a trustworthy man?find?
Hebrew Greek English Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, But who can find a trustworthy man?