Summary

I will incline my ear to a proverb. It starts with an open ear with the author himself. He first must become wise before he can pass it on. Subsequently, he can reveal a secret to the music of a lyre. We hear lyrical language here. First listen, and then, while the music plays, reveal something special. An example of this can be found in 2 Kings 3:15, where Elisha passes on God’s message about Moab—a message he receives while music is being made.

This theme more often occurs in the Psalms, as in Psalm 16:7, “I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.” Psalm 51:6 reads, Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

A riddle makes us think of the parables which Jesus later told to God’s people and his disciples. For example, see Matthew 13:34–35: “All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”