Fundamentals For Preaching The Book Of Proverbs, Part 3

By Bruce K. Waltke

[Bruce K. Waltke is Professor of Old Testament, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, Florida.

This is the third article in a four-part series, delivered as the W. H. Griffith Thomas Lectureship at Dallas Theological Seminary, February 6-9, 2007.]

In the second lecture in this series we learned that the preamble to Proverbs gives the expositor essential information for the book’s interpretation and exposition. Its six fundamentals are like the code of a combination lock, which, when dialed, opens the lock and allows the expositor of Proverbs to lead his audience into this paradise of delights, including eating the honeyed leaves of the tree of life and drinking from a bubbling spring of waters of eternal life.

As noted in the previous article,[1] the first number to be dialed is knowledge of the book’s literary genre. In the genre of wisdom literature, Proverbs is an inspired revelation from the Creator, and as a collection of maxims the book coins this revelation in short, pithy, memorable statements. These memorable sayings demand that their readers or hearers exercise their imagination in an effort to forge some sort of equivalence or connection between the proverbs and the readers’ or hearers’ situation.

The second number that opens the lock and gives access to the book’s paradise is knowledge of the human author. To understand him, the hearer must share his spirit: his love for Israel’s covenants and his wit to see and to speak.

The present article discusses two more code numbers needed to unlock the book.

Number Three: Understanding The Concept Of Wisdom

The third code number to unlock the book is understanding the concept of wisdom. The book’s purpose is “to gain wisdom”; the Hebrew root translated “wise” (an adjective), “wisdom” (a noun), or “to be wise” (a verb) is the book’s key word. It occurs 102 times in Proverbs—almost a third of its uses in the entire Old Testament. The lectures by the parents and the sermons by Woman Wisdom in the prologue admonish the son or simpleton to be wise. So to know what is being talked about in this book an expositor must master the concept of wisdom.

Mastery of this profound term can be gained by noting three things: the uses of the root for “wisdom” in the Old Testament, the word’s sevenfold equivalent terms in 1:2–6, and its coreferential terms “righteousness” and “knowledge.”

Uses Of The Root “To Be Wise”

In biblical texts outside Proverbs the noun “wisdom” is used of technical and artistic skills (Exod. 28:3; 31:6), of the art of magic (7:11; Isa. 3:3), of government (Eccles. 4:13; Jer. 50:35), of diplomacy (1 Kings 5:7 [Heb., v. 21]), and of war (Isa. 10:13). There is enough commonality in these five specific uses of the word to deduce the abstract meaning of “masterful understanding,” “skill,” or “expertise.”

In the Book of Proverbs the uses of the root suggest the more specific sense of “social skill” or “masterful understanding of proper social relationships.” Skillful relationships involve the skill of relating to God and to all kinds of people in order to enjoy an abundant life and to avoid death. The wise have the social skill to deal successfully with rich and poor, wise and fools, young and old, parent and child, and others.

Synonyms Of Wisdom

In 1:1-7 several synonyms of the word “wisdom” are used. Von Rad referred to the Bible’s proclivity for heaping up terms for wisdom as a “stereometric” way of thinking to achieve “the desired extension of the conceptual range.”[2] The preamble mentions seven terms: “knowledge,” “insight,” “prudence,” “cunning,” “discretion,” “learning,” and “guidance.” These virtues come as wisdom’s attendants. For as Woman Wisdom says, “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have insight, I have power” (8:12–14).[3]

Wisdom’s Coreferential Term “Righteousness”

Wisdom and its synonyms are neutral with regard to morality. For example Pharaoh labeled his magicians who had mastered black magic as “wise men” (Exod. 7:11), and though a murderer may be עָרַמָה (“cunning,” 21:14, author’s translation), wisdom dwells with עָרַמָה (“prudence,” Prov. 8:12). In the Book of Proverbs, however, “wisdom” and its equivalents are never used as pejorative terms or even as morally neutral terms, but always as favorable terms. Wisdom and her attendants are protected against misunderstanding by coreferential terms such as “righteousness,” “justice,” and “equity.”

Coreferential terms belong to different semantic domains but speak of the same referent. For example a person may be referred to as the vice president of the United States by his relationship to the president or as chair of the senate of the United States by his relationship to the senate. Though these are different concepts, he cannot be one without being the other. “Vice president” and “chair of the senate” designate different notions, but they refer to the same person. The same is true of the terms “the righteous” and “the wise.” They pertain to the different semantic fields of ethics and intelligence, but they refer to the same person. The wise are righteous and the righteous are wise; they go together like a horse and a carriage. The preamble binds together the coreferential sapiential and ethical terms in verse 3: “for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair.”

Moreover, throughout the book “wise” and “righteous” versus “fool” and “wickedness” are used interchangeably.

“Righteousness” is a social term signifying that people do right by each other as defined by God’s covenants with Israel. In a nutshell “righteousness” means “to disadvantage oneself as necessary in order to advantage others,” and “wickedness” means “to disadvantage others in order to advantage oneself.” A student who takes a reserved book out of the library to get an A, leaving the rest of the class to get a lower grade, is wicked (i.e., a fool). By contrast a student who resists the temptation to check out a rare book from the library so that his or her classmates have the opportunity to read and write an “A” paper, even if it means he gets a lower grade, is righteous (i.e., wise). Righteousness, the disadvantaging of oneself to advantage others, is counterintuitive. Jesus Christ is the supreme example of wisdom according to this definition.

Wisdom’s Coreferential Term “Knowledge”

Another coreferential term for wisdom is “knowledge.” The inseparable connection of “wisdom” and “knowledge” can be inferred from their parallelism in 1:7, the so-called key to the book: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” The inclusio to this key verse is 9:10. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Thus “wisdom” and “knowledge,” though different notions, seem to be interchangeable.

To state their inseparable relationship more precisely, “knowledge” is essential to “wisdom” (i.e., to skill). The Wright brothers “miraculously” flew the first airplane because they had doped out the laws of aerodynamics. In Proverbs “wisdom” denotes mastery over social relationships by knowing the deed-destiny nexus—that is, righteous behavior (serving others) tears down strongholds and promotes the life of an individual and a community. The proverbs of Solomon and the sayings of the wise provide the knowledge that, when actualized, affects social skills, wisdom.

Number Four: Identifying The Audience

The fourth number to be dialed in opening the combination lock to wise living is identifying the book’s audience. The expositor must understand to whom his text was addressed. The answer in Proverbs is threefold: originally budding officials in Jerusalem’s royal court, then all of Israel’s youth, and third, all the people of God.

Budding Officials

Before being gathered into the collections that compose the Book of Proverbs, its aphorisms were coined by kings and royal officials. The named authors in Proverbs are King Solomon, King Hezekiah’s men, King Lemuel, and the court official Agur. The analogous ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature names both the vizier who coined and collected the sayings, and the budding official, his son or nephew, whom he mentored.

The original court setting of the apothegms explains their dominant royal content. “When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive” (23:1–3).

Obviously this admonishment is addressed to a court official, not to a normal, run-of-the-mill person. Malchow labeled chapters 28–29 a manual for kings.[4]

All Israel’s Youth, Both Wise And Simpletons

When these collections of aphorisms were gathered to make the Book of Proverbs, they were democratized for all of Israel’s youth, not for just the royal court. In striking contrast to the Egyptian parallel instruction literature, the Book of Proverbs names no individual addressee. Rather it addresses all of Israel’s youth.

The preamble divides Israel’s youth into the two categories of simpletons and wise: “for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance” (1:4–5).

The simpletons are qualified simply by “young” in the parallel line in verse 4, and the “wise” are specified as “my son” in the parental lectures that follow.

The wise. The parents’ ten lectures are addressed to their son. Essentially they call on the son “to hear” and “to be wise.” The first “lecture” points to their content: “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching” (v. 8).

This admonition that begins Collection I, composed of lectures and sermons, comports well with the first proverb of Collection II, which though not in the form of an admonition, implies it: “A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother” (10:1, NIV).

Advancing from “Listen, my son,” which introduces the first lecture, the third lecture is introduced by the exhortation “do not forget.” “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart” (3:1). “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart” (v. 3).

A similar progression is evident in the fourth sermon. “Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding. . . . She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed. . . . My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion” (3:13, 18, 21).

The son is assumed to be accepting the parents’ lectures to be wise. If so, he is wise.

The simpleton. Whereas the son orients himself to the parents’ lectures in the home, the simpleton has moved beyond puberty into society without having made a decision to own the catechism.

The word “simpleton” renders the Hebrew פְּתִי, which basically means “to be open.” A simpleton is complacent. He has heard Israel’s worldview and life view of reality in its covenants and proverbs, but he refuses to commit himself to Israel’s covenants and its inherited wisdom based on those covenants. The sage lumps the uncommitted, gullible simpletons, who are open to both wisdom and folly, together with condemned fools and mockers. But there is still hope for him as seen in this appeal by wisdom. “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? . . . Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings. But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you” (1:22–26).

At the end of the prologue both wisdom and folly contend for the soul of the simpleton as represented by their rival invitations to their fictitious meals. Woman Wisdom has built a perfect house with seven pillars, large enough to host all who want to enter and dine with her. Hers is a royal banquet of mixed wine (i.e, the catechistic collections that follow). “Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars. She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her servants, and she calls from the highest point of the city, ‘Let all who are simple come to my house!’ To those who have no sense she says, ‘Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of insight’ ” (9:1–6).

Woman Folly also appeals to the simpletons to come into her house. She pretentiously sits as queen, inviting the simple to drink stolen water (i.e., to enjoy sex outside of marriage), which stands in sharp contrast to Woman Wisdom’s strong wine of wise sayings. “Folly is an unruly woman; she is simple and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way, ‘Let all who are simple come to my house!’ To those who have no sense, she says, ‘Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!’ But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the realm of the dead” (vv. 13–18).

In summary the expositor motivates the youth of his congregation to grow in wisdom with the promise of eternal life, and he threatens the uncommitted with the possibility of death.

Sons and daughters. The wise and simple are reckoned as sons. Are the daughters excluded from the book’s audience?

Although בֵּן can mean “child,” the obvious male orientation of the book shows that the son, not the daughter, is in view. Nevertheless Proverbs indicates that daughters were not excluded from being educated in its catechism of aphorisms and that the book has women as well as men in its audience.

The mother is identified along with the father as the authoritative voice in the home. She is mentioned in parallel with the father in 1:8 (“Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching”) and in 10:1 (“A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother,” NIV). The mention of the mother at these junctures implies that when the father is mentioned in the other terse proverbs, the mother, though not mentioned, is an unstated parallel with the father. Both parents are the authoritative voices in the home before their children. The book’s conclusion points to the noble wife and mother as the exemplar of the book’s teachings (31:10–31), and she is commended for having faithful instruction on her tongue (v. 26).

For the mother to instruct her household she herself had to know Israel’s inherited wisdom. The dissemination of the book’s content through the mother means that she herself had to be taught wisdom in the home by her parents and/or by her husband. Deuteronomy 31:9–12 explicitly states that the women were instructed in the Book of the Law, and Proverbs implies that they memorized its catechism.

Instead of mentioning his daughter, the father singled out the son because the male offspring was expected to assume leadership in defining the family’s identity and values.

All Of God’s People

When the Book of Proverbs was recognized as canonical literature, its audience expanded beyond the royal court and Israel’s youth to the entire covenant community, young and old alike. Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, wrote, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16–17).

The book sets no age limit on learning wisdom. “Let the wise listen and add to their learning” (Prov. 1:5). What Augustine said of the Bible—“It is shallow enough for a baby to wade in, but deep enough for an elephant to drown in it”—is especially true of Proverbs. In other words the expositor addresses all the discerning: novitiate and trained, the wise of all ages. There is no time restraint on growing in wisdom.

Excursus: Identification Of Woman Wisdom

Since the parents lectured the son in the home and Woman Wisdom preached to the simpletons at the city gate, the expositor should have an understanding of this woman’s identity.

First, Wisdom is represented as a woman because abstract nouns, such as חָכְמָה (“wisdom”), commonly end with the suffix ָָ ה. This suffix with animate nouns signifies the feminine gender in contrast to the masculine. So when an abstract noun that ends in ָָ ה is personified, as in the case of חָכְמָה, it must be personified as a female. Karl Brugmann demonstrated in 1895 that this grammatical phenomenon is true of mythic personifications in all languages. For example Russians personify the days of the week as male or female on the basis of the day’s grammatical gender.[5]

In the two addresses to simpletons at the entrance to the gate this mythic Woman is unique. She wears a prophet’s mantle, carries a sage’s scroll, and wears a goddess-like diadem. She preaches and pleads with a prophet’s passion, thinks and circulates with “intellectuals,” and wields the authority of God. The prophetic, sapient, and divine components of her characterization so penetrate each other that she emerges as a unique personality whose only peer is Jesus Christ. Her identification as an incarnate heavenly being who in humiliation accepts the rejection by the masses of her offer to them of eternal life functions within the canon as a foreshadowing of Him who is greater than Solomon.

But she is not Jesus Christ. Rather she is a figurative personification of the book’s wisdom that is promoted in its proverbs. According to the preamble the book’s aim is to teach wisdom through these collections of inspired aphorisms. The book’s key word, wisdom, refers to the substance of these sayings. Wisdom in this book never refers to anything else. Exegetically the only possible interpretation of her identity is that she is a figurative personification of the book’s teaching.

In her famous soliloquy in 8:22–31 Woman Wisdom argues that she (i.e., the wisdom of this book) was born from God’s nature, existed before anything else was formed, and saw the whole creation. “The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be. When there were no oceans, I was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water; before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth. I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in humankind.”

In other words because she was begotten from the divine nature, Solomon’s teaching derives from God’s attributes, and because she was constantly at the Creator’s side while He made everything, Solomon’s teachings are based on comprehensive knowledge and thus certain values, not contingent evaluations.

Expositors of Proverbs who give Woman Wisdom a voice from their pulpits, inferentially wear a prophet’s mantle, carry a sage’s scroll, and wear a heavenly crown as they proclaim with a clear voice and full lungs God’s truth from their pulpits. May they preach as boldly, urgently, and passionately as Woman Wisdom.

Notes

1. Bruce K. Waltke, “Fundamentals for Preaching the Book of Proverbs, Part 2,” Bibliotheca Sacra 165 (April–June 2008): 131-44.
2. Gerhard von Rad, Wisdom in Issrael (London: SCM, 1972), 13.
3. Unless noted otherwise, all Scripture quotations are from Today’s New International Version.
4. Bruce V. Malchow, “A Manual for Future Monarchs,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 47 (1985): 238-45.
5. Bruce K. Waltke and Michael P. O’Connor, Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1990), 100.