Bible Dictionary
ITHIEL AND UCAL
Ithiel and Ucal are presented as the men to whom Agur spoke the words of Proverbs 30. Because the passage is obscure, some interpreters understand the names as part of an alternative reading rather than personal names.
Definition
Ithiel and Ucal are presented as the two men to whom Agur spoke his words in Proverbs 30. The passage is obscure, and a marginal reading treats the words not as personal names but as part of a statement expressing weariness before God.
Biblical Usage
The names occur in the heading or opening of Agur’s sayings. Because the following verses have a tone of weariness, some interpreters prefer the alternative reading that removes the proper names.
Historical Background
The uncertainty arises from a different pointing of the Hebrew text. The supplied material does not establish whether Ithiel and Ucal were actual persons or whether the words belong to the alternate sentence.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>('ithi'el we'ukhal): Names of the two men to whom Agur the son of Jakeh spoke his words (Pr 30:1). The purport of introducing these persons is strange and obscure; the margin proposes therefore, by the use of a different pointing, to read the verse, "The man said, I have wearied myself, O God, I have wearied myself, O God, and am consumed," thus doing away with the proper names; a reading which corresponds not inaptly with the tone of the succeeding verses.</p><p>See AGUR; PROVERBS, THE BOOK OF, II, 6.</p><p>John Franklin Genung</p>