Proverbs 25:11-12
Like apples of gold
in settings of silver
is the right word at the right time.
To those who are receptive,
wise words are like a gift of finest gold.
IMAGE DETAILS
Apples Of Gold
Little Flock Farm
Conroe, Texas
Winter 2022
SEVENAPPLES COMMENTARY
Early in the life of my ministry in pictures,
I often explained the purpose of Sevenapples
with the help of Proverbs 25:11.
Capturing the right piece of Scripture,
and attempting to highlight it with my pictures,
was my attempt at delivering
“apples of gold in settings of silver.”
However, this verse took on
even more meaning for me
when I discovered nearly a decade later
that many translations of this Proverb
use the word “pictures” in place of “settings.”
Hence: “Apples of gold in pictures of silver.”
How perfect is that!?
Bishop Lowth observes that this proverb
may have its origin in some kingly gift
received by Solomon. While others
gazed on the cunning work and admired it,
the wise king saw in the priceless rarity
a parable of something higher.
“A word well set upon the wheels of speech”
excelled it. Therefore, ornamentation
of this kind in the precious metals
was known, even as late as the Middle Ages,
as Oeuvre de Salomon.
In this sentence Solomon gives us not only
an apt description of the proverb, but also
an example of the thing described.
He means, in these words, that weighty
and hidden meanings are as much
commended by a concise and well-turned
speech, as apples, exquisite for their color,
appear more lovely and pleasing when
they shine through the network of
an ornamental silver basket.
Adopting another figure of speech,
this Proverb lends itself to the situation
wherein a well-executed picture
is appropriately set into an elegant frame.