Proverbs 29:22

Study note

Setting — The text functions as direct wisdom instruction addressed to a general audience. It sits between warnings about spoiled servants and the consequences of pride, framing emotional discipline as a structural component of upright living.

The words — The Hebrew אַף ('af) literally denotes "nose" or "anger," marking the physical trigger of the temper. The verb יְגָרֶה (ye.ga.Reh) means "he stirs up," describing the active agitation of מָדוֹן (ma.Don), which translates to "strife" or "dissension."

The thread — The link between fiery temper and conflict runs through Proverbs 15:18, which contrasts the hot-tempered man with one who calms disputes. The same pattern of loving strife and transgression appears in Proverbs 17:19 and Proverbs 26:21, where quarrelsome individuals are compared to fuel for fire.

Why it lands — The text states that anger actively provokes division and hot temper produces repeated moral violations. It requires the reader to stop treating emotional outbursts as private matters and instead recognize them as direct causes of communal breakdown and personal failure.

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.