The words of Agur—In this section, the men of Hezekiah copied the words of a wise man named Agur son of Jakeh, who was appointed over song; therefore his discourse is called “the burden.” Agur answered matters posed to him by sages. On one occasion he answered a sage named Ithiel, and on another he answered Ithiel and Ucal, when the two sages Ithiel and Ucal questioned him and he responded.

(2–3) For I am more brutish than any man—Agur’s response concerned questions these sages asked him about the world’s creation and formation and the secrets of Creation. His answer indicates that they investigated these subjects philosophically, seeking to expound what is above and below, what came before and what comes after, and advancing intellectual theories, as philosophers in every generation have done, only to come away empty-handed. Agur replied: How can they seek from him “knowledge of holy things”—those sublime truths that cannot be known through human investigation but only through Divine illumination granted to holy people? Knowledge received from God’s secret counsel to those who fear Him concerning these profound matters is called “knowledge of holy things.” How could he know such things when “I am brutish rather than a man,” etc.? We have explained that the order and levels of cognition are wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. First comes wisdom, which is not known through demonstrative proof but from God alone, who revealed the laws of wisdom in His Torah and taught them to humanity. Next comes understanding: after receiving the laws of wisdom from God, one who understands one matter from another can contemplate them, understand their reasons, and derive one matter from another. After understanding comes knowledge, meaning clear certainty like one’s knowledge of sensory facts and first principles. When a person reaches this level, the spirit of God illuminates him with knowledge of holy things—the truths concerning Divine mysteries, Creation and the Chariot, the secret of creation and governance, the connections among the worlds, and the like. Therefore, since I am brutish rather than a man—“brutish” being the opposite of knowing, as in “A brutish man does not know”—and beyond this I do not possess human understanding, which precedes knowledge, as the Sages said, “If there is no understanding, there is no knowledge,” and beyond this I have not learned wisdom, which is the beginning of them all, how could I know knowledge of holy things, the final and highest level? With each phrase he further humbled himself. There is a form of knowledge lower than all these: the simple knowledge possessed by every person of things perceived by the senses or the first principles implanted in every human intellect. One who does not know even these is called brutish, like an animal, having left the category of humanity; therefore he says, “I am brutish rather than a man.” Understanding also has a level lower than wisdom: the ordinary understanding found among many people who use their reason; therefore he adds, “I do not possess even human understanding.” He has also not learned wisdom—he has not even begun to study it. How, then, could he know knowledge of holy things, truths reserved for holy people upon whose intellect the Divine light has shone?

Who has ascended?—That is: How could I possess knowledge of holy things so as to know who ascended to heaven and descended? His question about Creation investigated how the two first forms of prime matter from which heaven and earth were created came into being, and who set their places above and below—the places of heaven and earth. Who ascended to heaven to set the boundary of the highest height, and who descended to set the boundary of the deepest depth? He also asked, Who gathered the wind in His fists? The element of air naturally spreads wherever empty space exists; who gathered and confined it so that it remains around the globe of the earth up to the sphere of respiration, where air surrounds the earth, while above it our breathable air is no longer found, having become thinner and more refined? Who gathered it in this fashion within His fists? He further asked, Who bound the waters in a garment? Water naturally would surround and cover the entire globe; who bound it so that all the waters gather into the ocean and placed sand as the sea’s boundary so that it cannot spread, as though tied in a garment from which it cannot escape? He further asked, Who established all the ends of the earth? Who fixed the earth’s nature so that it stands upon its center, suspended upon nothing, with all its surrounding extremities drawn toward the gravity and attractive force found at its center? Clearly he arranged questions about all four elements: heaven was regarded by the ancients as the place of the element of fire, followed by air, water, and earth, the element of dust. What is His name, and what is His son’s name? The questioner philosophized according to the philosophers’ view that from the First Cause emanated a first effect, the emanated intellect, which they called the “son” of the supreme emanator.

If you know—That is, you wish to know and comprehend all this; or, you boast that you know it through your own intellect and investigation. But it is impossible to comprehend through human investigation, and can be known only as follows.

Every word of God is refined—In all these investigations one must rely upon the Torah’s testimony that everything was created from nothing through the Lord’s utterance. God’s word—the Torah’s account of Creation—is refined of every impurity, while everything the ancient philosophers said about it is dross-covered silver over earthenware. The Lord is a shield to all who take refuge in Him, and they do not go astray after empty vanities and delusions.

Do not add to His words by asserting ideas derived from your own intellect, lest He rebuke you by showing that you do not even know yourself—how you were created, the details of your limbs and their connections, or how the soul is joined to the body. How much less may you dare ascend the heights to speak about the structure and creation of the universe? Then you will be found false, and it will be revealed that you made falsehood your shelter and invented lies and fabrications without substance.

Two things—Accordingly, Agur said to the Lord: I have asked two things of You; do not withhold them from me before I die the death of the soul by straying from the path of faith and following philosophers who weave spiderwebs and envision false and misleading visions.

Remove vanity and falsehood from me—Let me not be poor in understanding, unable to comprehend anything, so that I come to believe a vain faith—things with no substance at all, like the idolaters who believed every form of foolishness and simplicity. Nor let me be so rich in intellect that I break forth into excessive investigation and produce false assertions, as investigators multiplied falsehoods to deny that the world was created from nothing. They claimed that the world is eternal like God and necessarily proceeds from Him like a shadow from the sun or the object of thought from the thinker; similarly, they denied and invented falsehoods concerning all foundations of faith. For this he gives the illustration: Give me neither poverty nor wealth. The first is intellectually poor, the second excessively rich, and both depart from faith. Rather, feed me the bread allotted to me. Allegorically, let him become wise through the wisdom of the Torah, which is the soul’s bread appointed for its perfection and life.

Lest I become satisfied and deny because of excessive good. Allegorically, one who delves too deeply with his intellect into metaphysics may come to deny God’s existence and claim that the world is eternal and God did not create all things. And lest I become poor and steal, and seize the name of my God by swearing falsely. Allegorically, one who is intellectually poor will steal natural powers or the powers of the stars, apply the name of divinity to them, and worship idols. Therefore the middle path is best: the intellect should not breach the fixed faith of the Torah, but should believe everything taught by the Torah given from God.

Do not slander—This too is Agur’s answer to the sages Ithiel and Ucal. Because these matters are extraordinary, I will explain them both literally and conceptually.

The literal interpretation

(10–15) The discussion of these sages concerned political affairs and a certain king of their time and his evil government. The answer indicates that in Agur’s day there was an insolent king who denied God and led his generation in the same way. He had two wives, daughters of one mother named Alukah. These wives corrupted the people, and upon their counsel he killed and destroyed many. There was also drought and a withholding of rain, and fire consumed all the cities of the country, so that the people suffered many grave troubles. When this king took power, he removed his father from the throne, rebelled against his father and mother, and ruled in his place upon his wives’ advice. He had a maidservant named Shemamit, a woman of cunning and schemes, with whom he committed adultery. She spread her net over him until her husband—a servant of the king named Alkum—rebelled against the king, removed him from his throne, killed him, and gave his flesh to the birds of heaven. The maidservant then inherited her mistress’s place. Ithiel and Ucal learned of the rebellion and considered warning the king, so they consulted Agur son of Jakeh. He answered, “Do not slander a servant to his master”—do not inform against him—“lest he curse you and you be found guilty.” Since the servant was trusted within the royal household, the curse might rebound upon the informer: the servant could vindicate himself at trial, they might be unable to prove the charge, and they would be found guilty of falsely informing against him. Beyond this, Agur told them that the king and his generation deserved destruction, for it was (11, 13–14) a generation that curses its father. Just as the king despised his parents and removed them from their thrones, the people followed him in despising their parents. It was also a generation pure in its own eyes although unwashed from its filth and committing every abomination; a generation whose eyes were raised in pride, arrogance, and an evil path; and a generation whose teeth were swords for devouring the poor of the earth. Thus they were evil and sinful toward both God and other people, in deeds and in character. Therefore the Lord punished them: Alukah has two daughters, the king’s two wives, daughters of Alukah, who say, “Give, give!” robbing, extorting, and destroying the people. Alternatively, perhaps the women were named Hav and Hav. These two daughters—three things are never satisfied—were not satisfied with the blood of the slain while destroying the first three evil groups listed: the generation that curses its father, the generation pure in its own eyes, and the generation whose eyes are raised. The fourth group, the generation whose teeth are swords, never said, “Enough,” for the women consumed them completely—measure for measure, just as they had consumed the poor from the earth.

The conceptual interpretation

These men, Ithiel and Ucal, who philosophized before Agur, believed in the eternity of the world or in eternal matter. They said the world sustains itself through continual generation and decay and through the four elements, which continually exchange forms, transform into one another, and mingle together. Consequently, they adopted the Epicurean view that the world follows its course without a supervisor or ruler, and mocked the service of God, saying: What profit is there in serving Him when no one supervises or accepts human service? To this Agur replied:

(10–11) Do not slander a servant to his master—Do not speak slanderously about a servant who serves God, lest his Master, who exercises Providence and hears your words, curse you on this account, and you be found guilty; for the guilt of the heresy produced by your system will be rolled upon you. A generation then arises that curses its father, denying its Father in heaven and claiming that the world came into being by itself without a father who generated it—that is, without a Creator. It does not bless its mother either: even the matter from which, in its view, the world developed, it does not bless, for it calls matter a source of corruption that devours its children, destroys its offspring, and replaces them with others, in which evil overcomes good, as is known concerning the view of these heretics. According to their corrupt view they also denied the obligation to honor father and mother, saying it would have been better for a person not to have been born and that existence in this world harms him; therefore they curse the father who caused their existence.

The conceptual interpretation

A generation—They are also a generation pure in its own eyes although unwashed from its filth. They claim there is no need for deeds commanded by the Torah, nor to sanctify oneself and wash away desires and every evil trait, because in their view no Divine Torah or religion exists. They practice every abomination conceived by their desires, saying that people should conduct themselves according to the disposition of matter, its traits and properties, whatever enters their minds, and the wishes of their animal souls.

The conceptual interpretation

A generation—They are also a generation whose eyes are exceedingly raised, for they raise the eyes of their speculation to investigate matters too great and wondrous for them, expounding Divinity and metaphysics as though their intellect could comprehend everything. Even their eyelids, which close the eyes, are lifted up: they do not close their eyes or hide their faces from gazing toward God, but send their eyes into the place where darkness is His concealment and thick cloud His covering.

The conceptual interpretation

A generation—They are also a generation whose teeth are swords. Because they do not believe in a Divine Torah, Providence, reward, or punishment, they possess no civil law either. They become like the fish of the sea, where the great swallow the small, and with their teeth they consume the poor and needy.

The conceptual interpretation

(15–16) Alukah—He now explains how they deny their Father in heaven: they say the world came into being by itself through eternal matter. This prime matter, they said, has two daughters. “Alukah” may be the name of a philosopher whose system is meant, or Agur may call prime matter “Alukah,” meaning a bloodsucking creature, because matter continually sucks blood and commits slaughter by wearing away everything generated from it. It has two daughters that say, “Give, give,” three that are never satisfied, and four that never say, “Enough.” He explains: Sheol and the barren womb are the two daughters that say, “Give, give”—decay and generation implanted in matter. Sheol represents decay, while the womb’s dominion is generation, giving birth to everything. Through these two daughters everything that comes into existence is produced, because generation occurs only through decay. The three that are never satisfied are “the earth not satisfied with water”—the three elements earth, water, and air, which continually mingle and transform into one another. Air and water are known to be intermingled, for water is composed of two airy elements and contains seventy-nine parts oxygen and eleven parts nitrogen; air too is composed of them, but in a different proportion, containing less oxygen, as is known in chemistry, and they continually transform. He teaches that even dust, the third element—“earth not satisfied with water”—absorbs water together with the air contained in it, and they too transform into one another. The fourth is fire, which never says, “Enough,” the element that melts them all and is the great agent in the world’s generation and decay. According to Alukah’s system, these are the foundations of creation, together with the two daughters that say, “Give, give,” generating and destroying everything.

The literal interpretation

Sheol and the barren womb—They were therefore punished through “Sheol” arising from the womb’s dominion—that is, the government of the king’s wives, whose appetite expanded like Sheol to swallow and destroy. Other providential punishments also came upon them: earth not satisfied with water refers to the withholding of rain, and fire that never says, “Enough” to the fire that consumed all their cities.

The literal interpretation

The eye—The king’s end will be that the eye that mocks a father—for he rebelled against and despised his father and his royal mother—will be picked out by ravens of the valley, measure for measure, because ravens likewise do not recognize their mothers. The young eagles will eat it; their traits are the opposite of the raven’s, for they recognize their young and their parents, as the Sages explained.

The conceptual interpretation

The eye—He answers him: “An eye mocks a father”—the eye of this philosopher mocks the Father of all creation, the Lord who formed everything, and despises obedience to the mother, meaning matter created from nothing, through which God produces all later existence after the completion of the first creation from nothing, like a father who generates through a mother. They claim everything occurs by chance. Ravens of the valley will pick out that eye, measure for measure, as the Sages explained and as stated in the literal interpretation.

The literal interpretation

(18–20) Three things—After relating this response, Scripture presents the discourse of parables and allegories then spoken about the new king, King Alkum, a servant who rebelled against his master and reigned in his place, and about his wife, the maidservant named Shemamit who reigned in her mistress’s place. Four parables and allegories were spoken about them. The first concerned the new queen, who had originally been a maidservant, committed adultery with the king her master, concealed her adulteries, and betrayed the king who was her companion and lover. The poets said of her that three things are too wondrous, meaning they leave no trace of their path, as though they never passed there: the way of an eagle in the air, a serpent upon the dust, and a ship in the water. In the fourth element, fire, there is likewise a phenomenon that leaves no trace: the love of an adulteress, whose flames are flames of fire. Therefore he says, “The fourth I do not know,” because its trace too is erased: “the way of a man with a maiden.” He explains that this is the way of an adulterous woman: she eats and wipes her mouth as though no fire of love had ever existed.

The conceptual interpretation

(18–20) Three things—He shows them their error. Who implanted the power of reproduction in all living creatures, so that through mating they reproduce in their image and form, preserving all species throughout creation? The intellect cannot comprehend how this results from mating, which seemingly should leave no trace. He explains that just as each element contains actions leaving no trace—the eagle’s flight through air, the serpent’s movement upon the rock of earth, and the ship’s passage through water—so the way of a man with a maiden, operating through the heat of the element of fire, seemingly should produce no lasting trace. Indeed, we see that this is true of an adulterous woman, who eats and wipes her mouth, leaving neither union nor offspring, so that she can deny the act itself and say, “I have done no wrong.” It is therefore evident that reproduction is a work of God, who established it throughout creation. It does not arise naturally from prime matter and the mingling of the elements, but from the will of the Creator of all, who commanded and they were created and established them forever, thereby preserving the species in existence.

The literal interpretation

(21–23) Under—The second parable was spoken jointly about the king and queen: under three things the earth trembles. Under a servant when he becomes king, for he had been a servant and reigned in his master’s place; and he was previously a base man who now became satisfied with bread. When a generous person has abundant bread, he shares his good with the poor, but a base person retains his baseness and increases his evil. Of the king’s wife they said, under a hated woman when she is married: she was hated because of her adultery and evil deeds, yet was possessed by the king and became his lover through an adulterous union. Worst of all is a maidservant who inherits her mistress, for she now inherits the kingdom.

The conceptual interpretation

(21–22) Accordingly, he explained another parable: under three things the earth trembles and the pillars of the soul’s house shudder, while the fourth is worst of all. The first is under a servant when he becomes king, referring to the imagination ruling the chambers of the soul in place of the intellect. Imagination was created to serve the intellect and submit to its discipline. When it prevails in the chambers and secret places of the soul, the earth trembles, for it leads truth astray and invents falsehoods and nonexistent things. It continually casts doubt upon every faithful and established truth, or seduces hearts into believing every foolish thing. This is the level of the fool or the simple person explained in this book. The second is a base man when he becomes satisfied with bread: one who is base and has not gathered the laws of wisdom into his noble soul, but has collected base and foolish ideas and imagines himself satisfied with the bread of wisdom. This is the level of one wise in his own eyes, repeatedly discussed above, who imagines that all his deeds are wise.

The conceptual interpretation

Under—The third is under a hated woman when she is married: a person whose soul is dominated by evil images and traits opposed to the laws of wisdom, such as anger, desire, pride, and jealousy, and who takes them as his wife in place of the beloved doe—wisdom, the woman of valor whose praises are spoken, meaning the soul’s powers governed according to the laws of wisdom. The powers of the soul corrected by wisdom are all beloved, meaning they agree with one another and with the intellect. Powers opposing wisdom are marked by hatred and mutual conflict, and therefore are called “a hated woman.” This is the level of the dullard described above: though he knows the laws of wisdom, his evil wife rules him. He has married the hated woman—desire and evil traits—and because of them deviates from wisdom. The fourth, which cannot be borne, is a maidservant who inherits her mistress: when a person abandons the Lord’s Torah and wisdom received from God, the true mistress, and chooses false philosophical opinions produced by the human intellect—the maidservant given to the mistress as a perfumer, cook, and baker. He chooses misleading syllogisms and methods with which to dispute the Torah’s laws; the maidservant inherits her mistress and drives her from her house of delights. This is worst of all: the insolent person who deliberately disputes the Torah and brings misleading arguments and syllogisms against it—“The arrogant, presumptuous man, scoffer is his name; he acts in presumptuous wrath.”

The literal interpretation

(24–28) Four things—The third parable concerned Queen Shemamit. Though she was among the smallest of the earth, she prevailed through her schemes and achieved power until she sat in royal palaces. Because her name was Shemamit, they took the allegory from the spider, which seizes with its hands, weaves nets and traps to catch flies, and sits in the royal palaces it has woven for itself. So too, her heart was traps and snares; she wove nets through schemes produced from her own mind, as the spider produces its thread from its body. She sat in royal palaces—first when she caught the former king in the nets of her love, and now when she rules the land.

The poet joined three other small creatures of the earth to the spider, each accomplishing great things through its strategies: ants through diligence; rock badgers through lofty construction, making rocky fortresses their stronghold; locusts through the unity of their force, marching out in companies as the whole host goes forth armed; and the spider through weaving hunting nets.

The poet joined three other small creatures of the earth to the spider, each accomplishing great things through its strategies:

The ants, through diligence;

The rock badgers, through lofty construction, making rocky fortresses their stronghold;

The locusts, through the unity of their force, for they march out in companies and the whole host goes forth armed;

The spider, through weaving hunting nets.

It may also mean that she brought under her rule three nations then renowned for their strength. One nation was diligent like ants in gathering wealth, riches, and every kind of food; one built fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars; and one was a free people without king or ruler whose assembly acted by unanimous agreement, thereby displaying great strength. Shemamit caught them all in her fine nets, though they were only like spiderwebs, and sat in royal palaces ruling over them all.

The conceptual interpretation

Four things—Corresponding to the four matters above, he says there are four living creatures that are small upon the earth, yet exceedingly wise, from which lessons of wisdom may be learned, the opposite of the four evil conditions he listed. God implanted in these four creatures traits that are superfluous to their own survival and nourishment, solely so that human beings would learn wisdom from them. Therefore the Hebrew calls them “made wise,” using the causative form.

The conceptual interpretation

The ants are not a strong people, and an ant’s food for its entire life amounts to only a grain and a half. Yet God implanted in their nature that they prepare their food in summer, gathering and storing grain they do not need at all. This teaches human beings to gather wisdom continually, never resting throughout their lives from collecting and storing the laws of wisdom and never saying, “Enough.” This is the opposite of “a base man when he becomes satisfied with bread”—one wise in his own eyes who imagines that he has already gathered more than enough laws of wisdom into his soul.

The conceptual interpretation

The rock badgers, though not a mighty people and capable of finding protection from enemies in earthen burrows and hollows, were given by God the nature to build their homes in strong rocks and crags. From them we learn to build the soul’s house in rocky fortresses—the intellect and its powers—not upon imagination, which lacks substance and is full of folly and doubt. “Wisdom has built her house” upon strong rocks, and the fortified house of intellect is her stronghold. This is the opposite of “a servant when he becomes king.”

The conceptual interpretation

The locusts have no king, yet God implanted in their nature that they all march out armed and unite as one company without separating from one another. This even harms them, because it makes it easy for anyone to eradicate and destroy them. God placed this nature within them solely so that human beings would learn wisdom: all the soul’s powers should likewise march out together, bound as one, through conducting themselves according to the laws of wisdom. This is the opposite of “under a hated woman when she is married,” for powers opposed to wisdom are scattered and conflict with one another.

The conceptual interpretation

The spider grasps with its hands and weaves weak and repulsive cobwebs drawn from its own body, though it is in beautiful and splendid royal palaces and although this will cause people to remove and kill it.

God implanted this in its nature so that a person would see that corrupt opinions and cobwebs woven by his intellect through syllogisms produced from his own mind resemble a spider’s webs, though he imagines that he is weaving a lofty fortress with them. Although he is in royal palaces and possesses a strong tower in which to find refuge—the Divine Torah—people nevertheless set their own images and investigations within the King’s palaces, investigating Divinity and His palaces, the worlds He created. This brings them harm, just as the spider’s behavior causes its death; it likewise causes the soul’s death and expulsion from the palace of the King of the universe, while its paths descend to the shades. This is the opposite of “a maidservant who inherits her mistress.”

The literal interpretation

(29–31) Three things—The fourth parable concerned the servant who became king, whose name was King Alkum. He was neither mighty nor a skilled schemer who knew how to ensnare the people through cunning. He merely resembled a he-goat walking at the head of the flock because he is male and his sheep are females. So too, Alkum gained power through his wife and because he was her husband. The poets said: Three things stride well. The lion rules the animals because of its might, being mighty among beasts. The greyhound rules through its swift running and skill in hunting, and rules through its loins. The he-goat is the third, and it too strides well at the head. King Alkum joins it, striding together with the he-goat, for he is like a he-goat that walks at the head of the flock not because of his virtues, but merely because he is a male with women through whom he reached the leading position.

The conceptual interpretation

Three things stride well upon the path of the commandments, while the fourth walks well in the course of speculation and attainment of truth.

The conceptual interpretation

(30) The lion represents the soul’s power of courage, by which it prevails like a lion over its animal nature, matter, and desires. It retreats before nothing, allowing no power of its material nature to restrain it. This is the courage required never to violate any negative commandment.

The conceptual interpretation

(31) The creature girded in its loins is one who runs like a gazelle, swiftly and diligently fulfilling positive commandments and overcoming laziness; therefore the Sages said, “Be mighty as a lion and run like a gazelle.” Alternatively, the he-goat represents form prevailing over matter. Form is designated male in relation to the flock of ewes, the receptive material powers, and the male must walk at their head. This is the trait of boldness referred to in “Be bold as a leopard”: inward strength and the assertion of form over the other powers. King Alkum is with it: together with form goes the king—the intellect and its powers—which rules the soul’s kingdom, so that no bodily power rises against it to dispute or rebel against its rule. This is alluded to in “light as an eagle,” flying upon the lofty wings of intellect. Then a person walks well on the path of speculation and attainment of truth.

The literal interpretation

If you have acted basely—He says to King Alkum, the servant who became king and the base man satisfied with bread: Did you become base through exalting yourself? You were base from the beginning. And if you schemed to rebel against your master and placed your hand upon your mouth while plotting evil in secret—know what follows.

The conceptual interpretation

(32) If you have acted basely—Agur said to Ithiel and Ucal: If you find yourself becoming base and turning from the good path, it comes through self-exaltation, by raising yourself to investigate matters too great and wondrous for you, as you did in your questions and investigations concerning Creation and the world’s existence. And if you have devised—if you have delved into profound thoughts about these subjects—put your hand to your mouth and do not bring your thoughts outward through your lips.

The literal interpretation

For the pressing of milk produces what is extracted from the milk and floats above it—butter, the milk’s best and choicest part. But what is pressed from the nose is mucus, a repulsive substance, and produces blood if pressed further, an even more repulsive substance. The pressing of anger likewise produces strife, rebellion, and contention throughout the land.

The conceptual interpretation

(33) For the pressing of milk produces butter—What is gathered from true wisdom, of which it says, “Honey and milk are under your tongue,” produces butter—a clear and intelligible matter. But the pressing of the nose produces blood: if you extract speculative and investigative ideas from a corrupted source and misleading demonstrations, they produce corrupt syllogisms and conclusions. And the pressing of wrath—if you become angry over the Lord’s governance, as in the question of the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous—produces contention against the Lord, as it says, “Anger kills the fool.”