Agur's confession
Whether Agur's words confess ignorance of God or an agnostic wisdom, and who Agur and Ithiel are.
Proverbs 30:1-4
1The words of Agur the son of Jakeh; the revelation: the man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:
2“Surely I am the most ignorant man, and don’t have a man’s understanding.
3I have not learned wisdom, neither do I have the knowledge of the Holy One.
4Who has ascended up into heaven, and descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has bound the waters in his garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if you know?
What each tradition says
Rabbinic / Midrashic
According to the Haggadah, Agur and the enigmatical names and words that follow in Proverbs 30:1 are epithets of Solomon. In this reading, “Agur” denotes “the compiler; the one who first gathered maxims together.”
J. Frederic McCurdy, Louis Ginzberg, Agur Ben Jakeh (The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1901-1906) — In Rabbinical Literature (the Haggadah on Prov. xxx. 1)
Patristic
No sourced position found. Checked John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of John, Hom. XXVII (on John iii. 12-13, the New Testament use nearest Prov. xxx. 4; newadvent.org/fathers/240127.htm): neither the verse nor Agur occurs; Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book III (newadvent.org/fathers/02093.htm): no treatment of Prov. xxx. A search of the ANF/NPNF material on newadvent.org surfaced no patristic exposition of Proverbs 30.
Catholic
Haydock observes that the Latin interpreter gave the meanings of the Hebrew names rather than the names themselves, which are Agur, son of Jakeh. He says it is uncertain whether this Agur is the same person as Solomon, as many think, or a different person whose doctrine Solomon adopted and inserted among his proverbs.
George Haydock (with Challoner), George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary — Comment on Proverbs 30:1
Orthodox
No sourced position found. Checked John of Damascus, An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (with Hilary, NPNF ser. 2 vol. 9, ccel.org cache): the word 'Agur' does not occur; Philaret's Longer Catechism (pravoslavieto.com): no treatment of Prov. xxx; searched for a public-domain English commentary on Proverbs by an Eastern writer (Theophylact and Euthymius comment the New Testament only) - none found.
Reformed / Protestant
Matthew Henry says Ithiel and Ucal are mentioned either as the names of his pupils, whom he instructed or who consulted him as an oracle and likely wrote down what he dictated, preserving and attesting it as two witnesses. Or they are the subject of his discourse, with Ithiel meaning God with me, the application of Immanuel, God with us.
Matthew Henry, An Exposition of the Old and New Testament, Vol. III (Proverbs) — Comment on Prov. xxx. 1 (Ithiel and Ucal)
Evangelical
Wesley takes Jakeh to have lived either in Solomon’s time or later, famous for wisdom and piety. He calls Agur’s words “the prophecy,” meaning prophetical instruction, since prophets’ sermons and predictions were both called prophecies. Agur’s “Surely” comes from a modest, humble sense of his own ignorance; Ucal was one of two friends and contemporaries who sought Agur’s instructions.
John Wesley, Wesley's Notes on the Bible, Proverbs (Wesley Center Online) — Chapter XXX, notes on vv. 1-2 (Agur, Ithiel, Ucal)