NOTES for Pro 18:1-24
The reflection on the willfulness of one who rebels against everything sensible is joined to the observation that for a fool the desire to display his own intelligence is dearer than knowledge. Once again we are brought to the thought that pride not only opposes God and distorts the soul of the person it possesses; it also makes that person foolish, compelling him to boast of his own intelligence and blocking his ability to learn from others whom he is accustomed to looking down upon. But self-exaltation precedes a fall.
An embittered brother is compared with an impregnable fortress; a quarrel with him can become more dangerous than a quarrel with a known enemy. But a friend may prove closer than a brother. Kinship by blood is not always more dependable than spiritual bonds, but newly born spiritual kinship can bring degenerating relationships among relatives back to life.