Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

"The basic presupposition as well as the prerequisite for acquiring wisdom. It is a disposition cultivated in relationship with God. It entails the humility to accept God’s teaching out of the conviction that God upholds it, rewarding the faithful with life and punishing the unfaithful with death. It also is an attitude that shapes one’s worldview and serves as the seedbed in which wisdom might be cultivated. This fear of the Lord, provides the reader with a theological perspective on life as well as a means to discover truth about God in the world. the LORD is the name of Israel’s covenant-keeping God, indicating that Proverbs addresses his chosen people. Beginning: That is, the first step or fundamental requirement to achieve the goal of the book. A fool is a simpleton who is morally deficient and characterized by irrational behavior. Fools and their way of life represent one of the two major alternatives offered in Proverbs. The way of wisdom and life on the one hand and the way of folly and death on the other. Wisdom and instruction is the book’s purpose and fundamental assumption to attain that end (v. 2)."

-Biblical Theology Study Bible