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An Analysis of Proverbs 18:14 Essay

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Proverbs 18:14
A man's spirit will endure sickness; but a broken spirit who can bear? (RSV)

King Solomon was inspired by the Holy Spirit and wrote Proverbs as if it was to His children. Proverbs was written around 900 B.C. during his reign as king in Israel. Proverbs is divided into nine sections and this chapter is part of the third section as the main collection of Solomon’s Proverbs according to Biblestudytool.com.
The wisdom genre for this specific verse is self improvement or self focus. The main concept of this verse is the spirit of a man and the strength of the spirit. The word spirit in Hebrew is ruwach and it is used twice in this verse. According to Barnes’ Notes the Spirit in the Hebrew test is masculine in the first clause, …show more content…

The spirit is more of an impact than the heart in these two verses. The heart seems to relate to emotions and can impact the spirit. But then emotions are not enough to cure a crushed spirit.
According to the Ellicott’s commentary, the spirit of the man is the person that draws his strength from God and God will help him bear up against trouble. A broken spirit is when a person nurses their grief. In Benson Commentary, the spirit is supported by God’s love which allows peace and a bright prospect of future happiness. A wounded spirit is from depression and self dejected of guilt, depravity, and misery. In the worst case divine support and comfort is withheld from the person.
In the Gill’s Exposition, the spirit of a mighty man has a spirit of Christian fortitude which allows him to have a sound mind that the Spirit of God is with him. Having the Spirit of God in him gives him a rational soul to bear many trials and experience of life. The unbroken spirit has the peace of conscience and the presence of God within him that all of his afflictions are from love and working for his good. This spirit can go through all afflictions with ease and his soul is saved in Christ.
The wounded spirit is smitten by the Lord. Smiting are very grievous situation that are used to bring repentance, allow healing, and used out of love. Just as in Proverbs 17:22, broken spirit is broken with a sense of sin with excessive depression. A broken

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