Proverbs 22:4

“By humility [and] the fear of the Lord, etc.] Some render it, “the reward of humility, which [is] the fear of the Lord”f596; so the Targum; an humble man is blessed with it. Jarchi’s note is, “because of humility, the fear of the Lord comes;” humility leads on to the fear of the Lord; he that behaves humbly towards man comes at length to fear the Lord, and be truly religious: though these are rather to be considered as the graces of the Spirit of God, which go together where there is one, there is the other; he that is humbled under a sense of sin, and his own unworthiness, fears the Lord; and he that fears the Lord, and his goodness, will walk humbly before him; they both flow from the…”

“humility and the fear of the Lord--are in apposition; one produces the other. On the results, compare Pro 3:16; Pro 8:18.”

“Better, (compare the margin) The reward of humility (is) the fear of the Lord, “riches, and honor, and life. return to 'Top of Page'”

“22:4 Fear of the Lord (see 1:7; 9:10) goes hand in hand with humility. A humble person knows that he is not the center of the universe. Humility is more valuable than wealth (16:19; see also 11:2; 15:33; 18:12).”

“By: etc. Heb. The reward of humility, etc. Pro 3:16, Pro 21:21; Psa 34:9, Psa 34:10, Psa 112:1-3; Isa 33:6, Isa 57:15; Mat 6:33; Ti1 4:8; Jam 4:6, Jam 4:10 Proverbs 22:5”

“4 The reward of humility is the fear of Jahve, Is riches, and honour, and life. As ענוה־צדק, Psa 45:5, is understood of the two virtues, meekness and righteousness, so here the three Gttingen divines (Ewald, Bertheau, and Elster), as also Dunasch, see in 'ענוה יראת ה an asyndeton; the poet would then have omitted vav, because instead of the copulative connection he preferred the appositional (Schultens: praemium mansuetudinis quae est reverentia Jehovae) or the permutative (the reward of humility; more accurately expressed: the fear of God). It is in favour of this interpretation that the verse following ( Pro 22:5) also shows an asyndeton. Luther otherwise: where one abides in the fear of…”