Comentários de Citação sobre Provérbios 21:22

as it says, "slowness to anger is better than a mighty person and the ruler of his spirit than the conqueror of a city." (Proverbs 16:32): Slowness to anger [describes] the one who holds his anger and his will is not to take revenge immediately, but to wait for the time and place of his vengeance. As the angry one that takes revenge immediately, confounds his actions and acts without intelligence. And about this, Shlomo, peace be upon him, stated, "slowness to anger is better than a mighty person." The one who holds his anger - even though he does not forgive during his anger - since he leaves the matter of revenge until later, [shows] more might of the heart than the mighty one in war; as also without intelligence can he be mighty in fighting. But "the ruler of his spirit" - which is more than one who is slow of anger, since he forgives during his anger, as he fears the word of God - is mightier "than the conqueror of a city." [This is] even though [the latter] has two things - might of the heart and wisdom, as it is stated (Proverbs 21:22), "A wise man climbed to a city of warriors, and brought down its mighty stronghold." As it is with might of the heart, wisdom and correct counsel that they conquer cities. And about this it is stated (II Kings 18:20), "counsel and might for war." And the ruler of his spirit is greater and more significant than all of this and he comes out overcoming his impulse from all bad things.

It is written in Proverbs 12:8, “A man is praised according to his intelligence; but he that is of a distorted understanding shall be despised.” According to the commentaries,⁶⁰See Rashi ad. loc. “shall be despised,” is connected to the phrase, “he that possesses a distorted understanding.” [However], according to this interpretation], the end of the verse is not parallel to the beginning of the verse, [since the beginning of the verse deals with a proportional nature, that a man is praised according to the level of his intelligence, and then it states that if he is of “distorted understanding he shall be despised,” which is not proportional].⁶¹The Netziv is arguing that the manner in which this verse is being translated does not conform to the style of Proverbs, which employs parallelism. See Introduction to Proverbs by the Soncino Press, which summarizes the different forms of parallelism used in Proverbs: 1. Synonymous – the second clause repeating the thought of the first clause in different words. For example: “The evil bow before the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous” (14:19); 2. Antithetic – the second clause presents a contrast to the first. For example: “A merry heart is a good medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones” (17:22); 3. Synthetic – the second clause continues the thought of the first. For example: “It is the discretion of a man to be slow to anger, and it is his glory to pass over a transgression” (19:11); 4. Comparative – the point of the lesson is made clear by the use of comparison. For example: “As vinegar to the teeth and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them who send him” (10:26). Rather, the verse’s proper interpretation is that “shall be despised” is connected to “according to his intelligence,” and this is how the verse should be translated: [“A man is praised according to his intelligence; but when combined with distorted understanding, he shall be despised.”]⁶²It is an aphorism written in the synthetic style. In other words, he who possesses a distorted understanding and distorts the law due to personal motives will be despised proportional to his intelligence. The greater one is [in intellect,] the more he can mislead others, for he brings down the strongholds [of the Torah] by trusting in his [superior] intellect.⁶³This last statement is a play on the words used in Prov. 21:22, “A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the stronghold wherein it trusts.”