Proverbs 30:29

Study note

Setting — Agur speaks as part of a collected oracle, addressing a listener or ruler at the close of a series of observational proverbs. He introduces a numbered list immediately before naming specific creatures.

The words — מֵיטִ֣יבֵי (mei.Ti.vei) translates literally as “[are] doing well,” and צָ֑עַד (Tza.’ad) means “step” or “stride.” Together they frame the verse’s focus on the manner of movement.

The thread — The verse establishes a patterned enumeration that continues into the surrounding text. Proverbs 30:28 and 30:30 extend this method by cataloging distinct animals and their behaviors in a parallel structure.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition of a deliberate numerical pattern before revealing its subjects. It requires the reader to observe how specific creatures carry themselves, preparing for the concrete examples that follow.

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.