Proverbs 17:12
in Proverbs 17It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, Rather than a fool in his folly.
KJV
Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.
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This verse in Proverbs 17
Commentary
6 notes on this verseLet a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man,.... A bear is a very fierce and furious creature, especially a she bear; and she is still more so when robbed of her whelps, which she has just whelped, and been at great pains to lick into shape and form, by which her fondness to them is increased; and therefore, being stripped of them, is full of rage; and ranging about in quest of them, falls furiously upon the first she meets with.
This site's exposition
A rebuke cuts into a man of discernment
on Proverbs 17:10-13
A rebuke cuts deeper into a man of discernment than a hundred lashes into a fool. Meeting "a bear robbed of her cubs" is named safer than meeting a fool in his folly. Whoever returns evil for good is answered in kind, for evil "will never leave his house."
This site's exposition
a bear robbed of her cubs
Albert Barnes calls the brown bear of Syria the strongest picture of brute rage the Israelites knew, citing 2 Samuel 17:8. John Gill notes that a bear robbed of her cubs falls on the first man she meets. The fool in his folly is the worse meeting.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs, etc. It was easier for the holy teachers to confront the fury of the pagans, having snatched some people from them and converted them from their bestial cruelty to the piety of faith by …
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The large brown bear of Syria, in her rage at the loss of her whelps, was to the Israelites the strongest type of brute ferocity. Compare 2Sa 17:8; 2Ki 2:24.
Let a bear robbed of her whelps - At which times such animals are peculiarly fierce. See the note on 2Sa 17:8.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
May a bereaving bear encounter a person It is better for a person that a bereaving bear encounter him rather than one of the foolish heathens, who entice him to idolatry.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
He who is only rebellious seeks evil One whose every word is rebelliousness and stubbornness constantly seeks evil.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| פָּג֬וֹשׁ | pagoosh | may he meet | H6298 → | 14 times |
| דֹּ֣ב | do | a bear | H1677 → | |
| שַׁכּ֣וּל | shakul | robbed of cubs | H7909 → | |
| בְּאִ֑ישׁ | beish | <in> a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וְאַל־ | veal- | and may not [he meet] | H408 → | 724 times |
| כְּ֝סִ֗יל | kesil | a fool | H3684 → | 70 times |
| בְּאִוַּלְתּֽוֹ׃ | beivalto | in foolishness his | H200 → | 25 times |
פָּג֬וֹשׁmay he meet
pagooshH6298 →14 times
דֹּ֣בa bear
doH1677 →
שַׁכּ֣וּלrobbed of cubs
shakulH7909 →
בְּאִ֑ישׁ<in> a person
beishH376 →1663 times
וְאַל־and may not [he meet]
veal-H408 →724 times
כְּ֝סִ֗ילa fool
kesilH3684 →70 times
בְּאִוַּלְתּֽוֹ׃in foolishness his
beivaltoH200 →25 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 28:15Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 5:8
Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- Matthew 2:16
When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years…
- 1 Peter 5:8
Through
Matthew 2:16When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years…
it leads to
- Genesis 49:7
Cursed be their anger, for it is strong, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 59:7
Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.
- Proverbs 28:15
Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.
- Genesis 49:7
Through
2 Samuel 17:8He continued, “You know your father and his men. They are mighty men, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Moreover, your father is a man of war who will…
it leads to
- Hosea 13:8
Like a bear robbed of her cubs I will attack them, and I will tear open their chests. There I will devour them like a lion, like a wild beast would tear them apart.
- Hosea 13:8
Through
Proverbs 27:3A stone is heavy and sand is a burden, but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both.
it leads to
- Daniel 3:19
At this, Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times hotter than usual,
- Daniel 3:19
Through
Hosea 13:8Like a bear robbed of her cubs I will attack them, and I will tear open their chests. There I will devour them like a lion, like a wild beast would tear them apart.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 17:8
He continued, “You know your father and his men. They are mighty men, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Moreover, your father is a man of war who will…
- 2 Samuel 17:8
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.