Proverbs 9:10

Studied by claude-opus-5-5 October 6, 2026

תְּחִלַּ֣ת חָ֭כְמָה יִרְאַ֣ת יְהוָ֑ה וְדַ֖עַת קְדֹשִׁ֣ים בִּינָֽה׃

teḥillat ḥokhmah yirʾat YHWH, wedaʿat qedoshim binah.

Beginning-of wisdom: fear-of Yahweh; and-knowledge-of holy-ones: understanding.

What it meant

Where wisdom starts is in awe of Yahweh, and knowing the Holy One is what understanding is.

The two lines mirror each other. The first puts its key idea last: the starting point of wisdom is the fear of Yahweh. The second puts its key idea first: knowing the Holy One is understanding. That gives the pattern wisdom / fear of God, then knowledge of God / understanding, so the verse folds in on God at its centre. There is no verb at all. These are timeless statements of how things are.

"Beginning" is the place you start, the first step through the door. The book also calls the fear of the LORD the goal you finally come to understand (2:5), so you never move past it.
"Wisdom" is not abstract cleverness. It is the craftsman's kind of skill applied to the whole of life: knowing how to live well and rightly. In this chapter Wisdom is also a woman who has built her house and spread her feast (9:1–6).
"The fear of Yahweh" is a real awe before Israel's God. It is more than polite respect but not cringing panic, and it shows itself in hating evil and turning from it (8:13; 16:6). The God named here is not a generic deity. He is Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel.
"Knowledge" means knowing someone personally: knowing God, acknowledging him and living loyally toward him, not storing facts about him.
"The Holy One" is literally a plural, "holy ones". This is most likely a majestic plural for God, the All-Holy, who is utterly other and set apart. Some have read it as angels or holy people.
"Understanding" is the power to see clearly and tell right from wrong, wise from foolish.

Put together: If you want the skill of living, start by standing in awe before Yahweh, and know that real discernment is nothing other than knowing the Holy God himself. In the next verse Wisdom adds the result: through her your days are multiplied (9:11). Folly's guests, by contrast, end among the dead (9:18).

Where the English drifted

fear yirʾah

What we hear

Anxiety, terror or dread, an emotion to overcome. In reaction, it is often said to mean only "respect".

What they heard

Awe and reverence before the holy God that still carry real weight, shown in obedience and turning from evil (8:13; 16:6). It brings security and life, not paralysis (14:26–27).

Where the later meaning came from: Modern psychology narrowed "fear" to a negative emotion. Popular teaching has then often diluted the word to "respect" to avoid that.
wisdom ḥokhmah

What we hear

Intellectual or philosophical depth, cleverness, or calm insight that comes with age.

What they heard

Practical skill, the same word used for a craftsman's expertise, applied to living rightly and well before God.

Where the later meaning came from: Greek philosophy's ideal of contemplative wisdom, and modern academic ideas of knowledge.
knowledge daʿat

What we hear

Information or correct facts held in the mind.

What they heard

Knowing a person by relationship and experience, including acknowledging and being loyal to him (compare Hos 4:1; 6:6).

Where the later meaning came from: The Enlightenment's narrowing of knowledge to accurate information.
Holy qedoshim

What we hear

Pious, morally pure, religious-sounding.

What they heard

Set apart, utterly other, belonging to the divine realm. Moral purity follows from this but is not the core. As a plural it probably means God in his supreme holiness.

Where the later meaning came from: Everyday English use of "holy" for piety or saintliness.
the LORD YHWH

What we hear

A general title for God, or for any supreme being.

What they heard

The personal name of Israel's covenant God. The verse ties wisdom to this specific God, not to divinity in general.

Where the later meaning came from: The Jewish practice of not pronouncing the name and saying ʾAdonai ("Lord"), followed by the Greek kyrios and English "LORD".

What the first hearers heard

For the young people being trained, and for the Israelite households and scribal circles that handed this teaching on, the verse did several things:

It set the terms of entry. Wisdom's banquet is open to "the simple" (9:4), but you come in through reverence for Yahweh, not through talent, rank or study alone. A mocker who will not be corrected (9:7–8, 12) is shut out by his own attitude.
It made religion and everyday life one thing. Honest scales, careful speech, sexual faithfulness and hard work were not separate from worship. They were what fearing Yahweh looked like in practice (8:13; 16:6).
It marked out Israel's wisdom. Neighbouring cultures had their own wisdom teachers. Israel's teachers said that wisdom starts with Yahweh, the Holy One who had bound himself to Israel in covenant. To know him was what understanding meant.
It put life and death on the table. The next line promises long life (9:11). Folly's house leads to the grave (9:18). Hearers were being asked to choose a household, a way of living and a God, not just to agree with an idea.
It summed up the whole of chapters 1–9. Coming back to the opening line of 1:7, the verse told the student that everything they had heard was an unpacking of this one principle.

Every word

תְּחִלַּ֣ת
teḥillat · H8462

beginning, first (of)

The starting point or first stage of something, from the verb ḥalal (hiphil, "to begin"). It stands first for emphasis: "The beginning of wisdom is...". It names where wisdom starts, not a step you leave behind.
חָ֭כְמָה
ḥokhmah · H2451

wisdom, skill

Skill at living: the practical, moral know-how to handle life well. In Proverbs 9 it is also the woman Wisdom, who has just invited the simple to her feast (9:1–6). So "beginning of wisdom" is also the way into her house.
יִרְאַ֣ת
yirʾat · H3374

fear (of)

Fear, awe and reverence before God, shown in obedience and in turning from evil (8:13). It is linked to the next word: the fear that belongs to Yahweh, that is, fear directed at him.
יְהוָ֑ה
YHWH (Yahweh) · H3068

Yahweh, the LORD

The personal, covenant name of Israel's God, which English Bibles print as "LORD" in small capitals. Wisdom is tied to this particular God, not to deity in general. The accent here marks the half-way break of the verse.
וְדַ֖עַת
wedaʿat · H1847

and knowledge (of)

"And" joined to knowledge gained by experience and relationship, with the sense of acknowledging someone. Here it means knowing God personally, not collecting facts about him. It mirrors "fear of Yahweh" in the first line.
קְדֹשִׁ֣ים
qedoshim · H6918

holy (ones)

A plural adjective used as a noun: "holy ones". Because it stands parallel to "Yahweh", most read it as a plural of majesty for God himself, "the Holy One", like the plural word ʾelohim for God. Some read it as angels or holy people (see debates).
בִּינָֽה׃
binah · H998

understanding, discernment

The ability to see into things and tell them apart, from the verb bin, "to discern". It is the last word of the verse and mirrors "beginning of wisdom": knowing the Holy One is what understanding actually is.

Key words, in depth

יִרְאַת יְהוָה yirʾat YHWH (yirah) H3374

Range of meaning: The noun yirah, from the verb yaraʾ ("to fear"), covers the whole range from fright and dread (Jonah 1:10, 16; Deut 2:25) to reverent awe and worshipful devotion. The phrase "the fear of Yahweh" became a fixed expression in Israel's wisdom writing. It names a whole stance toward God: awe at who he is, joined to obedience and a moral turning from evil. Proverbs defines it in practice: "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil" (8:13); "by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil" (16:6; compare 3:7). The book also calls it "a fountain of life" (14:27), a "strong confidence" with "a refuge" for one's children (14:26), and the source of long life (10:27; compare 9:11).
Against the English: English "fear" today usually means anxiety or terror, which is the opposite of the security Proverbs connects with this fear (14:26). In reaction, many say "it just means respect". That is too weak: yirah keeps the sense of standing before Someone overwhelming and holy. Exodus 20:20 holds both sides together: "Do not be afraid... God has come... that the fear of him may be before you, so that you do not sin." Panic is removed, and a lasting, sin-restraining awe is put in its place.
How it drifted: Modern English has narrowed "fear" to a negative emotion to be overcome. Popular teaching has then pushed the word the other way, toward polite "respect" or "reverence" with no awe left in it. Neither matches the Hebrew.
Used elsewhere in the period: The same saying appears in Psalm 111:10 ("the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom", with reshit) and in Proverbs 1:7, 15:33 and Job 28:28. The Greek translation renders it phobos kyriou. Ben Sira (about 180 BC) builds a whole poem on it: "To fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Sirach 1:14; see 1:11–20). Other ancient Near Eastern wisdom also links reverence for the gods with blessing. The Akkadian verb palāḫu, "to fear, revere", is used this way in the Babylonian Counsels of Wisdom (Lambert). What is distinctive in Israel is that the fear is directed at Yahweh by name.
What it does in this verse: Wisdom does not start with intelligence, technique or study. It starts with a right relationship to Yahweh, a reverent awe that changes how a person lives. This is set against Folly in 9:13–18, whose guests "do not know" (9:18). The verse makes the fear of God the door into Wisdom's house and the way to life (9:11).

תְּחִלָּה teḥillah H8462

Range of meaning: "Beginning" or "first time", usually meaning when or where something starts. Examples: "to the place where his tent had been at the beginning" (Gen 13:3); "when the LORD first spoke through Hosea" (Hos 1:2); "the beginning of the words of his mouth is folly" (Eccl 10:13); "who shall go up first?" (Judg 1:1).
Against the English: English "beginning" is accurate. The important difference is from Proverbs 1:7, where the parallel line uses a different word, reshit. Reshit can mean "first" in time but also "chief, best, first-fruits". Teḥillah is more clearly about time: the starting point.
Used elsewhere in the period: About 22 uses in the Hebrew Bible, almost all about time (Gen 41:21; 43:18, 20; 2 Sam 21:9–10; Isa 1:26; Dan 8:1; 9:21). Psalm 111:10 and Proverbs 1:7 use reshit for the same idea.
What it does in this verse: Placed beside 1:7, this verse helps settle what "beginning" means. The fear of Yahweh is where wisdom starts: the first step and the ground underneath. Chapters 1–9 open and close with this saying (1:7 and 9:10), like a pair of bookends around Wisdom's teaching. Proverbs 2:5 also presents the fear of the LORD as the goal of seeking wisdom ("then you will understand the fear of the LORD"). So it is not a stage to outgrow. It is both the way in and the destination.

חׇכְמָה ḥokhmah H2451

Range of meaning: Skill or expertise of any kind: craftsmanship (the artisans of the tabernacle, Exod 28:3; 31:3–6), seamanship (Ps 107:27, literally "all their skill was swallowed up"), statecraft and justice (1 Kgs 3:28), even cunning (2 Sam 13:3, the adjective). In Proverbs it is skill in living: knowing how to speak, work, handle money, family and power, and how to do right in a way that leads to life.
Against the English: English "wisdom" often suggests philosophical depth, abstract insight or old-age serenity. Hebrew ḥokhmah is more practical and more moral. It is skill, but skill aimed at what is right.
How it drifted: Greek philosophy's "love of wisdom" and modern intellectualism moved the English word toward theory and contemplation. Ḥokhmah stays close to the workshop, the court and the household.
Used elsewhere in the period: Solomon's ḥokhmah covers judging cases, proverbs, songs and knowledge of plants and animals (1 Kgs 4:29–34). The Greek translation uses sophia. A related root (ḥkm) is used for the wisdom of the god El in Ugaritic texts. Wisdom is personified as a woman in Proverbs 1, 8 and 9, later in Sirach 24 and Wisdom of Solomon 7.
What it does in this verse: In chapter 9 ḥokhmah is Lady Wisdom, who has built her house and set her table (9:1–6). Calling the fear of Yahweh the "beginning of wisdom" means that awe toward God is how a person enters her house and learns the skill of living that she gives.

דַּ֫עַת daʿat H1847

Range of meaning: Knowledge, from yadaʿ, "to know". It includes knowing facts, but more typically knowing by experience and relationship, including acknowledgment and loyalty. The verb is used for intimate knowing (Gen 4:1). "Knowledge of God" in the prophets means faithful, loyal acknowledgment of God shown in conduct (Hos 4:1, 6; 6:6, where it stands parallel to ḥesed, steadfast loyalty).
Against the English: English "knowledge" now usually means information or data held in the mind. Daʿat of a person means knowing them, and with God that includes acknowledging him and living in line with him.
How it drifted: Since the Enlightenment, "knowledge" has narrowed to accurate information. The relational and covenantal side of the Hebrew is lost.
Used elsewhere in the period: Proverbs 2:5 pairs the same two ideas: "you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God (daʿat ʾelohim)". Proverbs 30:3 uses exactly this phrase, daʿat qedoshim. Isaiah 11:2 joins "knowledge and the fear of the LORD" as gifts of the Spirit.
What it does in this verse: Its parallel position with "fear of Yahweh" shows it means the same relationship from another angle. Awe toward God and intimate acknowledgment of God are not opposites. Together they make up what Proverbs means by wisdom and understanding.

קְדֹשִׁים qedoshim H6918

Range of meaning: Plural of qadosh, "holy", meaning set apart, belonging to the divine realm and different from the ordinary. As a plural noun it can mean (1) heavenly beings, "the holy ones" of God's council (Ps 89:5, 7; Job 5:1; 15:15; Zech 14:5); (2) holy people (Ps 16:3; 34:9); or (3) God himself, using a plural of majesty. The plural of majesty is a plural form for one person that signals greatness, as in ʾelohim, "God" (Josh 24:19, ʾelohim qedoshim hu, "he is a holy God", with a plural adjective; Hos 12:1 [Eng 11:12], parallel to El).
Against the English: Most modern versions print "the Holy One". KJV's "the holy" leaves it open. YLT's "the Holy Ones" keeps the plural form, which a modern reader could easily take as several beings.
How it drifted: English "holy" has drifted toward "pious" or "morally clean". In Hebrew the core is otherness and belonging to God, from which moral purity follows.
Used elsewhere in the period: The same phrase, daʿat qedoshim, appears in Proverbs 30:3, again parallel to wisdom. At Qumran and in Daniel (Aramaic qaddishin, Dan 4:17) "holy ones" often means angels. The Greek translation has "counsel of holy ones" and the Vulgate "scientia sanctorum" ("knowledge of the saints/holy ones").
What it does in this verse: Because the word mirrors "Yahweh" in the first line, the most natural reading is God: knowing the Holy One is understanding. The plural adds weight (the All-Holy) and fits the plural ʾelohim. The choice of the word "holy" stresses that the God to be known is utterly other, which is why knowing him begins in awe.

בִּינָה binah H998

Range of meaning: Understanding, discernment, insight. It comes from the verb bin, "to perceive, consider, discern", which is often linked to the preposition bein, "between", suggesting the ability to tell things apart. Examples: the men of Issachar "who had understanding of the times" (1 Chr 12:32); it is often paired with ḥokhmah (Prov 4:5, 7; Isa 11:2).
Against the English: "Understanding" (most versions) is good. The ESV's "insight" and the NLT's "good judgment" bring out the discerning, practical side.
Used elsewhere in the period: A key word in Proverbs 1–9 (1:2; 2:3; 3:5; 4:5, 7; 7:4; 8:14). Just before this verse, Wisdom urges: "walk in the way of understanding" (9:6).
What it does in this verse: The verse ends on binah and so mirrors its opening phrase, "beginning of wisdom". Wisdom starts in fear of Yahweh, and understanding is knowing the Holy One. Real discernment is not separate from knowing God.

The world behind it

Two houses, two banquets. Proverbs 9 is the end of the long opening section of the book (chapters 1–9). It sets two women side by side, each calling from the high places of the town to "the simple", the untrained young person (9:4, 16). Lady Wisdom has built a house with seven pillars, slaughtered meat, mixed wine and sent out her servant girls (9:1–6). Folly sits loudly at her door and offers "stolen water" and "bread eaten in secret" (9:13–17), but "her guests are in the depths of Sheol" (9:18). Verses 7–12 come between the two invitations, and this verse is at their centre. It tells the hearer what accepting Wisdom's invitation really involves.

A bookend. Proverbs 1:7 opened the collection with "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge." Repeating the idea here closes the section with the same truth. Everything in between, warnings about violent gangs, adultery, laziness and careless speech, is meant to be read inside that frame.

Teaching for the young. These chapters are written as instruction from a father (and mother, 1:8) to a son. This form was common across the ancient world: Egyptian works such as the Instruction of Ptahhotep and the Instruction of Amenemope, and Babylonian works such as the Counsels of Wisdom, also train young men, often future officials, in self-control, speech and justice. They too link right living with honouring the gods. Israel's teachers shared much of this international wisdom (Prov 22:17–24:22 closely parallels Amenemope). The difference lies in where they ground it: wisdom begins with Yahweh, Israel's covenant God, named personally. It is not built on the order of the gods in general.

How the translations handle it

BSB The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
KJV The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy [is] understanding.
WEB The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
YLT The commencement of wisdom [is] the fear of Jehovah, And a knowledge of the Holy Ones [is] understanding.

KJV“The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy [is] understanding.”

Gets right: Literal and true to Hebrew word order in the second line. "The holy" does not decide between God, angels and holy things, which keeps the ambiguity.
Loses: "The holy" can sound like abstract holiness or holy things to modern readers, and loses the parallel with "the LORD".

NIV“knowledge of the Holy One is understanding”

Gets right: Clear and natural. "Holy One" brings out the parallel with "the LORD".
Loses: Hides the plural form ("holy ones") without any note in the text itself.

ESV“knowledge of the Holy One is insight”

Gets right: "Insight" brings out binah's sense of discerning, seeing into things.
Loses: "Insight" can sound like a sudden flash or a mystical experience rather than settled discernment. The plural is also flattened.

NASB“knowledge of the Holy One is understanding”

Gets right: Literal and consistent with the Hebrew structure.
Loses: The plural is reduced to the singular, which is an interpretation, though a reasonable one.

NLT“foundation of wisdom ... results in good judgment”

Gets right: Brings out that the fear of the LORD is basic and underlying, and that understanding is practical.
Loses: "Foundation" moves from teḥillah's "starting point" toward a different picture. "Results in" adds a cause-and-effect link that the Hebrew, which has no verb, does not state. The Hebrew says knowing the Holy One *is* understanding.

BSB“knowledge of the Holy One is understanding”

Gets right: Clear, literal and standard. Brings out the parallel with "the LORD".
Loses: Like most modern versions, it turns the plural into "Holy One" without signalling the choice.

WEB“The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Gets right: Accurate and readable.
Loses: Splitting the verse into two sentences slightly weakens the close link between the two halves.

YLT“The commencement of wisdom [is] the fear of Jehovah, And a knowledge of the Holy Ones [is] understanding.”

Gets right: Keeps the Hebrew word order ("commencement of wisdom" first), the divine name and the plural "Holy Ones".
Loses: "Holy Ones" will likely make readers think of several beings when the parallel probably means God. "Jehovah" is a later hybrid form of the name.

Text and manuscripts

Hebrew text. The Masoretic Text (the standard Hebrew text) is stable here, and the supplied word-by-word data agrees with it. The adjective qedoshim is masculine plural and used as a noun, and the main accent falls on YHWH, dividing the verse into its two halves.

Septuagint (Greek, about 2nd century BC). It reads roughly: archē sophias phobos kyriou, kai boulē hagiōn synesis, "the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and the counsel of the holy ones is understanding". "Counsel" (boulē) stands where the Hebrew has "knowledge". This is probably the translator's interpretation rather than a different Hebrew original. The standard printed Septuagint (Rahlfs, as 9:10a) then adds a line with no Hebrew counterpart, which also appears at LXX 13:15: "for to know the law is the mark of a good mind." This ties wisdom to the Torah, a link Ben Sira also makes (Sirach 24:23). The Greek Proverbs adds further material at 9:12 and 9:18 as well.

Vulgate (Latin, Jerome). principium sapientiae timor Domini et scientia sanctorum prudentia, "the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and the knowledge of the holy [ones/saints] is prudence". "Sanctorum" can mean "of the saints", and some later Christian readings took it that way (Douay: "the knowledge of the holy is prudence").

Compare. Proverbs 30:3 uses the identical phrase daʿat qedoshim. Psalm 111:10 and Proverbs 1:7 give the first line's idea with reshit instead of teḥillah.

The Greek Septuagint reads "the counsel of the holy ones" in place of "knowledge of the holy ones", and the standard printed edition adds a line not found in the Hebrew: "for to know the law is the mark of a good mind."
In the second line the plural "holy ones" can be taken as God ("the Holy One"), as angels, or as holy people or things ("saints"). This changes the sense, but it comes from how the word is read, not from any difference in the Hebrew text.

Where scholars differ

Who or what are the qedoshim ("holy ones")?

God himself, a plural of majesty: "the Holy One" (most modern translations and commentators).

The word stands parallel to "Yahweh" in the first line. Plural forms are used for God elsewhere (ʾelohim; Josh 24:19, ʾelohim qedoshim hu; Hos 12:1 [Eng 11:12], qedoshim parallel to El). Proverbs 30:3 uses the same phrase alongside wisdom and God.
Heavenly beings, the holy ones of God's council (angels).

"Holy ones" means angels in Ps 89:5, 7, Job 5:1, 15:15, Zech 14:5, Daniel and the Dead Sea Scrolls. On this view, knowing their counsel means sharing heavenly wisdom. Against it: Proverbs nowhere else speaks of learning from angels.
Holy people or holy things ("the saints", "holy matters").

The Septuagint has "counsel of holy ones" and the Vulgate "scientia sanctorum". Ps 16:3 and 34:9 use the plural for God's people. This reading fits the parallel with "Yahweh" less well.

Does "beginning" mean the first step, or the controlling first principle?

Starting point: the fear of Yahweh is where one first enters wisdom (e.g., Fox).

Teḥillah is almost always about time (Gen 13:3; Hos 1:2; Eccl 10:13). That supports a time-based reading of reshit in the parallel 1:7 as well.
First and controlling principle: both the starting point and the foundation that governs all wisdom (e.g., Waltke).

Reshit in 1:7 and Ps 111:10 can mean "first" and "chief". Proverbs 2:5 presents the fear of the LORD as the goal of the search, and 15:33 calls it "instruction in wisdom", so it is present at every stage and not left behind.

Is "the fear of Yahweh" an emotion or a way of life?

In wisdom writing it became mainly a term for devoted, ethical religion: piety and obedience, with the emotional fear largely faded (Becker, Gottesfurcht im Alten Testament).

Proverbs defines it by conduct: hating evil (8:13) and turning from evil (16:6). It is often paired with humility (15:33; 22:4).
It keeps a real element of awe and fear before the holy God, alongside its ethical expression.

The same root covers dread (Exod 20:18–20). The verse's parallel with "the Holy One" stresses God's otherness. Exod 20:20 keeps both sides together: no panic, but a fear that keeps one from sinning.

Sources

BDB (Brown–Driver–Briggs), s.v. תְּחִלָּה, חׇכְמָה, יִרְאָה, דַּ֫עַת, קָדוֹשׁ, בִּינָה
HALOT (Koehler–Baumgartner), s.v. יִרְאָה; קָדוֹשׁ; תְּחִלָּה
Michael V. Fox, Proverbs 1–9 (Anchor Bible 18A, 2000)
Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 1–15 (NICOT, 2004)
Joachim Becker, Gottesfurcht im Alten Testament (1965)
W. G. Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature (1960), Counsels of Wisdom
IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, on Proverbs 1–9
Septuagint, Rahlfs edition, Proverbs 9:10–10a
Vulgate, Proverbs 9:10
Sirach 1:11–20; 24:23

Original-language data: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (CC BY 4.0).

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