Pensée juive sur Les Proverbes 25:2

Bereshit Rabbah 9 brings a commentary by Rabbi Levy on the verse "And G-d saw all that He had made, and here it was very good." Solomon in chapter 25,2 of Proverbs says, "The glory of the Lord is a hidden thing, whereas the glory of kings is subject to exploration." Up until the end of the story of creation, we are not to investigate its details and its mechanism; starting with the part dealing with the life of man, we are to research and delve into the deeper meaning of things.

The remarks of the Midrash quoted at the outset, do not refer to what is permissible to investigate and what is not. Proof of that is that "hiding" and "examining" are not opposites. Only "hiding" and "revealing" would be opposites. The sages also say that details of what went on in the garden of Eden, such as the nature of the tree of knowledge, will never be revealed. If so, then the element of "hidden" continues to exist beyond the point of the story chosen by the Midrash as the watershed in the story of creation. It is our view then that the meaning of the Midrash is thus. Until we read about the creation of man, the whole story of creation remains a mystery from the point of view of its purpose. Only when we hear about the creation of man, can we begin to unravel the purpose for which G-d had made all the preceding efforts. From this point on, and with the additions provided, the researcher can penetrate into G-d’s motivation right from the onset of the story.

1 It is to God's honor that a thing (thing, word - דבר) is concealed and it is to their honor, that kings research a thing (Proverbs 25, 2). In Midrash Rabbah (9,1) Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Hama Bar Hanina: "From the first word of the Book of Genesis, 'בראשית' until 'ויכלו': "It is for God's honor that a thing is concealed," and from there ('ויכלו') and onwards, it speaks of "the honor of kings is to research a thing..."