The Severity of Knowing (3)
Buy truth, and do not sell it, get wisdom, instruction, and understanding. Proverbs 23:23 NASB
Do not sell – The verb is mākar. Kaiser comments: “One passage uses the verb figuratively, ‘buying the truth and selling it not’ (Prov 23:23). Perhaps the Israelite king, Ahab, illustrates that passage, since ‘he sold himself to work wickedness’ under the instigation of his pagan wife,” [1] Did you notice that Kaiser’s translation treats the verb as a participle (a continuing action). The grammar, however, uses the imperative form (a command). Buy! No conditions. No excuses. Just do it! And if you choose to ignore this command, well, then, your fantasy world of false beliefs will collapse and take you with it.
The same imperative form is found in the second verb, mākar, here prefixed with the conditional negative ʾal. Scott comments: “This particle expresses the negative as either a wish (Gen 13:8; Jud 19:23) or a preference (Prov 17:12), thus indicating its more reserved intent than the very adamant lōʾ. Consistent with this concept, whenever it is used with a verb, the verb is in the jussive (which often is indistinguishable from the imperfect). Cf. GKC 109, c-e.”[2] You might wonder why the author uses ʾal instead of lōʾ. Shouldn’t this be as strong a command as any of the commands in Exodus 20? Under what conditions would it ever be appropriate to “sell” the Truth, as might be implied from ʾal instead of lōʾ? Remember Heschel’s insight: “The test of Truth can take place only through the soul’s confrontation with God, in moments of disregard for self-regard, confronting oneself as one is confronted by God.”[3] Perhaps the only time we should ever imagine selling the Truth is when we are overwhelmed by divine confrontation, and in that exact moment, tempted to let go of conflict between our yetzer ha’ra and the certainty of God’s call, we entertain the possibility—and reject it! We realize that we, in ourselves, are the crossroad, the place where personal free choice must decide destiny—without regret of the price paid.
It’s important to realize that derivatives of mākar include the idea of merchandise, ownership, responsibility, and service. God owns. We lease. To sell the Truth is to sell something we do not own. To merchandise divine relationship, as modern day “prophets” are so apt to do, is to violate the lease agreement and profane the owner. Failure to service the lease agreement is the same as denying the responsibility for being alive. In the command to Abraham, lĕk-lekā’ (lekh lekha), we are asked to leave behind the thought of personal propriety and embrace service to the rightful owner. Selling the Truth is the first step toward slavery.
Topical Index: truth, sell, mākar, ʾal, lōʾ, not, Proverbs 23:23
[1] Kaiser, W. C. (1999). 1194 מָכַר. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament(electronic ed., p. 504). Moody Press.
GKC W. Gesenius, E. Kautsch, A. Cowley, Hebrew Grammar, 2nd English ed., 1910
[2] Scott, J. B. (1999). 90 אַל. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 40). Moody Press.
[3] Abraham Heschel, A Passion for Truth, p. 165.
