The Cultural Life Setting of the Proverbs

John J. Pilch

• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9781506406794
• eBook ISBN:
  9781506406800
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

Often, readers and commentators read the Proverbs as timeless observations and recommendations regarding human nature, valid for all cultures and places. This blunts their cultural relevance, argues John J. Pilch.

For example, proverbs regarding the good wife and the quarrelsome wife take on different meaning in a context where a married couple were rarely in close daily contact, and the predominantly masculine language used in the Proverbs points to the different cultural spheres of men and women and the different child-rearing practices employed with boys and girls.

Similar in approach and format to the Social-Science Commentary on the New Testament volumes that Pilch authored with Richard L. Rohrbaugh and Bruce J. Malina, this volume explores and describes the cultural matrix of the Mediterranean world from which the Proverbs come and that they describe. The biblical text is paired with commentary addressing those proverbs and proverb collections with particular bearing on patterns of social roles and expectations.

A list of social-science scenarios provides ready reference to particular aspects of the large cultural area of the ancient Mediterranean region and North Africa.

1

Outline of the Book of Proverbs

I. Proverbs 1‒9

Introduction

Proverbs 1:1-7

1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 For learning about wisdom and instruction,
for understanding words of insight,
3 for gaining instruction in wise dealing,
righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to teach shrewdness to the simple,
knowledge and prudence to the young‒‒
5 Let the wise also hear and gain in learning,
and the discerning acquire skill,
6 to understand a proverb and a figure,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.

These opening verses of Proverbs constitute a unit signaled by an inclusio, that is, the repetition of words and ideas as in vv. 2 and 7: “wisdom and instruction.” The section is chiastically arranged:

a – 1:2a wisdom and discipline
b – 1:2b understand
c – 1:3a instruction/discipline
d – 1:3b righteousness, justice, equity
c’ – 1:4-5 knowledge/learning
b’ – 1:6 understand
a’ – 1:7b wisdom and discipline

Thus the aim of this anthology is to guide a person (mainly youth, but also mature adults as the reference to “the wise” in v. 5 indicates) to proper behavior toward others as expected by God (righteousness and justice) and to making honest and fair decisions, always speaking truth (equity).

Textual Notes: 1:1-7

1:1 Tradition rooted in 1 Kings 5:9-14 ascribed wisdom (especially “proverbs”) to Solomon. The biblical book of Proverbs, however, is an anthology, a varied collection of sayings, aphorisms, instructions, and the like, probably compiled by scribes or other functionaries in the royal court. Many reflect folk wisdom gained in the experience of the daily life of ordinary people. The key teachers of this wisdom are the king, the literary tradition recorded by the scribes, and the father (and mother in 1:8 and 6:20).

1:2nrsv “instruction” literally means “discipline” in Hebrew (also v. 7). ►Discipline. It entails both a process (obedience to the teacher and willing acceptance of correction, even physical when necessary; see Pilch 1993) and certain content (the actual instruction, the tradition).

1:7 Readers of English translations recognize that the word “Lord” presented in such a typeface translates God’s name in Hebrew: Yhwh. In ordinary typeface, Lord is simply a title of respect (or in translations of the Greek scriptures, the proper rendition of kyrios). The phrase “fear of the Lord” occurs fourteen times in the book of Proverbs but has nothing to do with emotion. Rather, it is a recognition of and reverence for God demonstrated by obeying God’s laws and performing the required rituals (Barré 1981: 41–43).

Proverbs 1:8–9:18: Instructions of Father and Mother
and Lady Wisdom:

Proverbs 1:8-33

8 Hear, my child, your father’s instruction,
and do not reject your mother’s teaching;
9 for they are a fair garland for your head,
and pendants for your neck.
10 My child, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
let us wantonly ambush the innocent;
12 like Sheol let us swallow them alive and whole,
like those who go down to the Pit.
13 We shall find all kinds of costly things;
we shall fill our houses with booty.
14 Throw in your lot among us;
we will all have one purse” —
15 my child, do not walk in their way,
keep your foot from their paths;
16 for their feet run to evil,
and they hurry to shed blood.
17 For in vain is the net baited
while the bird is looking on;
18 yet they lie in wait to kill themselves!
and set an ambush for their own lives!
19 Such is the end of all who are greedy for gain;
it takes away the life of its possessors.
20 Wisdom cries out in the street;
in the squares she raises her voice.
21 At the busiest corner she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
[How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?]
23 Give heed to my reproof;
I will pour out my thoughts to you;
I will make my words known to you.
24 Because I have called and you refused,
have stretched out my hand and no one heeded,
25 and because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
26 I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when panic strikes you,
27 when panic strikes you like a storm,
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will call upon me,
but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently,
but will not find me.
29 Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 would have none of my counsel,
and despised all my reproof,
31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way
and be sated with their own devices.
32 For waywardness kills the simple,
and the complacency of fools destroys them;
33 but those who listen to me will be secure
and will live at ease, without dread of disaster.”

Taking a cue from Prov. 9:1 (“Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven pillars”), Patrick Skehan‒‒on the basis of meticulous analysis of the entire book‒‒has proposed that the 6th‒5th-century bce author-compiler-designer of Proverbs arranged the text so as to form a structure, a “house,” with three distinct parts (Skehan 1971: 27–45). While his proposal has not been widely accepted, the various literary and hermeneutical tools he used in his analysis alert the reader not to neglect such considerations. Though this book seeks to describe a plausible MENA cultural setting for each individual proverb, a similar setting can be recommended for larger collections such as those found in Proverbs 1‒9.

Some scholars have identified ten distinct speeches, instructions, or lectures in Prov. 1:1-9 (Whybray 1994: 23–24; Clifford 1999: v–vi), though others are doubtful (Murphy 1998: 8–9). The verses of Proverbs 1 comprise two discrete units: vv. 8-19 are an instruction by father and mother (or teacher) to the son (or pupil, student); vv. 20-33 are a condemnatory speech in prophetic style directed against the people. Some identify vv. 8-19 as Lecture 1 and vv.10-33 as Wisdom poem I (there are three in Proverbs 1‒9).

Textual Notes: 1:8-23

1:8-19 The father instructs his (not so) young son to heed his instruction (Hebrew: mûsār), which involves (physical) discipline as well as content. The mother is credited with providing “teaching” (Hebrew: tōrah), which is an authoritative interpretation of tradition. In MENA cultures, sons give a woman status in the family (1 Sam. 1:1-8). Sons are raised by the women in the women’s quarters until the age of puberty, when, without ritual, they are dispatched into the harsh world of the men. The women pamper and spoil their sons, which is why men have to physically discipline them when they join the men’s world (Pilch 1993: 101–13). ►Discipline.

Some scholars erroneously claim that these instructions are given to a son as he leaves home on the way to adulthood (Clifford 1999: 38). In MENA cultures sons never leave home (except for wayward or prodigal sons, Luke 15:11-32). They will remain in the patriarch’s compound even after they marry. They will, however, be subject to peer pressure from cousins, neighbors, and friends who form a network or group inviting membership. The basic advice is to resist the alluring promises of ill-gotten wealth and success made by these peers. The young man is offered a choice between two ways: a path of righteousness and a path toward wickedness. The theme continues throughout the book. Obeying parental instruction will lead to honorable status (v. 9). ►Honor and Shame.

1:20-33 This is the first of three Wisdom poems in Proverbs 1‒9. While this one rings with threat, the other two (Prov. 8; 9:1-6, 11) proclaim promise. Especially noteworthy in this poem is Wisdom’s speaking about herself in the way that the Bible speaks of God. For instance, the sentiment “Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but will not find me” (v. 28) is encountered often in the Psalms and the Prophets.

A constant theme of scholarly discussion concerns the attribution to Lady Wisdom of an unexpected level of authority, power, and influence‒‒unexpected, that is, in a presumably misogynistic, patriarchal culture. This is due to a failure to recognize the status of women in this culture. While men behave spontaneously without thought of consequences, women‒‒as in Prov. 31:10-31‒‒demonstrate keen abilities to manage affairs, control events, and be in charge. Men’s second and third order (planning and forethought) are first order for women. According to the Values Orientation Model developed by Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck, all cultures must solve 5 or 6 basic life challenges. Options are limited to three choices in rank order different for men and women. Women’s first option is one of the second or third options chosen by men (Pilch amd Malina 2009: xxiv-xl). In these verses Lady Wisdom finds the people guilty of choosing ignorance and foolishness instead of prudent and wise behavior. She will laugh at them mockingly when terror (nrsv “panic”‒‒the Hebrew word is a variant of šoʾah, a word used in the contemporary world to refer to the Holocaust of World War II) strikes. They are receiving their just deserts for choosing not to heed Wisdom and failing to revere Yhwh.

Proverbs 2:1-22

1 My child, if you accept my words
and treasure up my commandments within you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 if you indeed cry out for insight,
and raise your voice for understanding;
4 if you seek it like silver,
and search for it as for hidden treasures—
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk blamelessly,
8 guarding the paths of justice
and preserving the way of his faithful ones.
9 Then you wi...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Table Of Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• Outline of the Book of Proverbs
• Reading Scenarios for the Book of Proverbs
• List of Reading Scenarios
• Bibliography