Bible Strands
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — A father (or wise teacher) addresses his son, delivering the thesis statement that caps the prologue (1:1–6) and immediately pivots to the parental command in 1:8.
The words — יִרְאַת (yir'at) carries the verse's weight: not terror but reverential dread, the posture that precedes all genuine knowing. Note that the object is דָּעַת (da'at), "knowledge," not חָכְמָה (chokhmah), "wisdom" — a deliberate distinction the parallel verses do not make.
The thread — Psalms 111:10 and Proverbs 9:10 both read "beginning of wisdom" (chokhmah); Job 28:28 goes further, equating the fear of the Lord with wisdom itself. Proverbs 1:7's choice of da'at marks it as the foundational claim from which the others derive.
Why it lands — The verse does not say the fear of the Lord is one ingredient among many; it is the starting point without which knowledge has no origin. The second half names the failure mode precisely: the fool does not merely lack wisdom but actively despises the discipline that would produce it.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Cross-references
- Job 28:28 And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
- Psalms 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!
- Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
- Ecclesiastes 12:13 When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.
- Proverbs 15:33 The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
- Proverbs 18:2 A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in airing his opinions.
- Proverbs 1:22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge?
- Proverbs 1:29 For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD.
- Romans 1:28 Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
- Proverbs 15:5 A fool rejects his father’s discipline, but whoever heeds correction is prudent.