Proverbs 1.1 attributes the book to King Solomon. At the
beginning of his reign, God offered him any gift he might
want. Solomon asked for wisdom to rule the people well (1
Kings 3.5-14). God was so pleased that He said that He gave
Solomon greater wisdom than anyone before or after. Of course
there is semitic exaggeration here in regard to all future
times.
Attributing the whole book to Solomon is simply part of
the common practice of those times, of using as a pen name,
the name of a famous man. This was specially natural and even
suitable since Solomon was,as we said,famed for his wisdom.
Yet it is likely enough that some portions may date back to
Solomon himself. There are within the book two special,large,
Solomonic collections: 10.1 to 22.16 and 25.1 to 29.27. It is
interesting to notice that the latter section has exactly 375
proverbs,which is the numerical value of the word Solomon. In
25.1 we read that men of King Hezekiah (716-687 BC)
transmitted that second group.
Some think that the opening and closing poetic sections
(1.1. to 9.18 and 31.10-31) are late additions to the book.
In going through the various chapters or sections, we
cannot summarize all the thought for there is little sequence
or development. Instead we will merely highlight some
specially valuable ideas in each chapter or group of chapters.
Chapter 1: We notice that the verses are given in parallelism,
an artistic Hebrew device in which something is said twice,in
two lines,or in two half lines,but in different words each
time. The Hebrews probably learned this from the literature of
Ugarit - Ugarit was a ancient city, dug up early in the 20th
century. It is next to modern Ras Shamra on the Lebanon coast.
Many clay tablets were found there, containing not just
official records, but literature. This literature used
parallelism extensively. It also provided many beautiful
images of God riding on the clouds etc. Cf.Michael D.Coogan,
Stories from Ancient Canaan, (Westminster,Phila,1917,esp
pp.14-18.Also Peter C.Craigie, Uragit and the Old Testament,
Eerdmans, Grand Rapids,1983, esp.pp.53-55 on Ugaritic
literature.
The Father exhorts his son to learn wisdom. The fear of
the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fear of course does not
mean slavish fear, but the kind of fear one has for His
Father, a reverential fear,which includes love and sense of
the Father's greatness. There are really two poles in our
relation to God:one is love,closeness,warmth,the other is a
sense of infinite majesty and greatness.He is infinite in all
respects,so one cannot be excessive. But if one cultivates one
pole without the other, the picture is sick,and devotion
suffers.That is happening to so many today. If one compares
the current English of Eucharistic prayer I to that of the
official Latin, he will see that systematically every
expression that brings out the majesty of God is eliminated.
This is tragic,has done untold harm.
The fear that is the beginning of wisdom is the same
kind of fear of which St.Paul later spoke in Phil 2.12-13:
"Work out your salvation with fear and trembling,for it is God
who works [produces] in you both the will and the doing." This
passage is often misunderstood, as if one should live in fear
of hell. But that is not the case if read in context. First,
"fear and trembling" is a stereotyped expression,which from
much use,lost much of its force (In 2 Cor 7.15 St.Paul says
the Corinthians received Titus "with fear and trembling".But
relations between them and Paul were very poor.It really means
only "with respect." Cf.also Psalm 2.11). More importantly the
reason for this respect is that both in doing good and even in
doing evil,the doer is using God's infinite power.(For
explanation, cf.Wm.Most The Thought of St.Paul, pp.59-62.
In verse 8 the text speaks of the Mother's teaching, as
part of the parallelism. But it is not just parallelism:
respect for the mother was also inculcated.
Already in verse 11 warnings begin against running with
sinners. Such men lie in wait for others. But they also harm
themselves,for wisdom really tells us what is beneficial for
our happiness both here and hereafter.So to go against wisdom,
is to go against self-interest.
The simple man (peti), that is the unintelligent,the
credulous, who avoids wisdom and hates knowledge (da'ath -
which also can mean obedience). They will eat the fruit of
their way: that is, as we noted in the introduction,
violations of wisdom bring automatic penalty, built into the
nature of things. Then the foolish will call on God,but He
will not answer: for the penalty is automatic. He will not
break up that which follows from the very nature of things.
Chapter 2: So one should seek wisdom like a treasure. On the
opposite side, this will keep him from the loose woman. Her
house sinks down to death. those who go down do not come
back.This loose woman has double meaning: it can mean
literally a loose harlot or an adulteress. it can also mean
personified folly. For just as wisdom comes to be personified,
so also Folly.
Those who follow the loose woman of folly at the end of
their lives will groan and wish they had not despised wisdom.
Chapter 3: The reward of following wisdom is length of life.
This often comes true literally. In the fourth commandment God
had promised that those who honor Father and Mother would live
long on the land. But even if that does not happen in the
literal way, there is better reward in the next life.
When did the Jews come to know of future retribution?
First,we must examine whether they knew of survival after
death at all.In spite of many denials,it is entirely certain
that the people of the Old Testament did know of survival
after death. Our Lord Himself in replying to the imaginary
case proposed by the Sadducees, of a woman who had seven
husbands, not only said there would be no marriage in the next
life, but added that God "is the God of Abraham,of Isaac,and
of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead but of the living."
The erroneous belief of some about early Jewish beliefs on
survival comes from the conviction that the ancient Hebrews
had a merely unitary concept of a human being: we consist of a
body with the breath of life:no mention of a soul. It is
likely that the ancient Hebrews did have some such a concept.
And that could readily lead to saying: the body decays, the
breath goes into the air - nothing is left.
But yet we know that the Hebrews held tenaciously to a
belief in necromancy, divination by the dead. This was
prohibited several times in the Old Testament (Lv 19:31; 20:6;
Dt.18:10-11) yet they held on to it.
In holding on to a survival in spite of a unitary
concept,they were following correct theological method. In
divine matters,we are apt at times to meet two conclusions,
which seem to clash head on. We recheck our work, but they are
still at hand. Then we must refrain from forcing either
conclusion. We must hold to both, hoping that someone one
sometime will find out how to reconcile the seeming opposites.
So they seem to have had a concept of a unitary nature of man,
but they also held for necromancy, which implies the dead
survive.
They did not know how to put these two things together
until the time of Antiochus IV, Epiphanes (l75-64), yet they
held on. Then, God led them by means of two things to see the
truth.On the one hand, the terrible deaths of some of the
martyrs under Antiochus forced them to see that at least in
such cases they could not say that God would make all right
before the end of the life of a person. (They had bravely
tried to hold on to such things, e.g., in Psalm 73, which
said in effect: I was distressed at the prosperity of the
wicked until I came into the sanctuary and saw what an end
they came to). At about the same time they came into contact
with Greek thought which helped them to see there are two
parts in a human, body and soul. (The Greek notions were not
entirely correct - Plato held that the body is not a part of a
man, just a prison; Aristotle held that the body is only the
first matter, the soul the substantial form: He seemed at
least unclear about whether or how the form could survive by
itself after the dissolution of the body). Even though the
Greek ideas were not fully correct, yet they would start the
Jews thinking in the right direction. As a result, starting at
about this time many of the Jews came to clearly understand
survival. Others denied it, yet most of the Jews did accept
it. Already before the time of Christ, the Pharisees and their
followers clearly held afterlife: St.Paul proclaimed Himself
such, cf.Acts. 23:6.
(Antiochus named himself Epiphanes, "a god who appears"
to men. The Jews among themselves called him instead
Epimanes:insane).
Later, the Book of Wisdom 3:1-8 clearly speaks of
survival. Daniel 12:2-3 taught a resurrection, probably for
all.
And of course, the fullest and clearest revelation on
immortality comes from Christ Himself. And it is also from Him
that comes the clearest revelation of unending hell.
But when did they come to know also of retribution in
the future life? Most exegetes think it was not until the time
of that persecution of Antiochus IV that they came to know it.
The terrible deaths of the martyrs forced a reappraisal,as we
said, and the contact with Greek thought of two parts to a
human being helped provide the opening.
We need to work with care and precision here. The
commentators commonly forget that before the death of Christ,
heaven was closed (cf.DS 780,1000) even to those who were just
and fully prepared. So what was existence like in Sheol? There
was no praise of God. Psalm 6:6 asks: "Who in Sheol can give
you praise?" Sirach 17:27-28 has the same thought. Again,
Isaiah 38:18-19 says: "Death cannot praise you. Those who go
down into the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness." M.Dahood
(Anchor Bible, Psalms 16,p.38) comments that the writer of
Psalm 6 does not suffer from an inability to remember God in
Sheol, but from not being able to share in the grand
liturgical praise of God as in the public worship, which the
people of Israel sincerely loved. (They loved the externals so
much that God complained in Is 29:13: "This people honors me
with their lips, but their hearts are far from me"). We could
add that the very Hebrew words used in Isaiah 38:18-19 for
praise or thanks of God also appear in 1 Chron 16:4 and 2
Chron 5:13 and 31:2 for the liturgical praise of God.
Is 38 says they cannot hope for God's faithfulness: it
is because the covenant does not extend to Sheol - the word
used is regular for God's faithfulness to the covenant. But
this does not mean that God does not watch over Sheol: Job
26:6 says: "Sheol is naked before God." Cf.Prov.15:11.
Qoheleth 9:10 says: "There is no work or reason, or
knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol." Of course the dead in Sheol do
not work. Nor have they any natural means of knowing what goes
on on earth - they get this only if God chooses to reveal
something to them. Cf.Job 14:21.
We do not see in Sirach any positive indication of
retribution in Sheol. But that does not mean the dead were
non-existent (these are two separate questions: survival, and
retribution in the future life). Jesus Himself answered the
Sadducees on this point (Mt.22:29-33) by citing from the
Pentateuch - perhaps the only part of the OT they accepted -
from Ex 3:6, the words of God to Moses: "I am the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob" and Jesus added:
"He is not the God of the dead but of the living." The
Sadducees were silenced, they could not answer His reasoning.
Further, it was necessary to give repeated commands in the OT
against necromancy, consulting the dead, which indicates it
was being done, and done persistently: e.g., Lv 19:31;
20:6,27; Dt.18:11 and many more texts. Saul himself had a
medium bring up the spirit of Samuel in 1 Sam 28:8-19. Even if
we say the mediums were fakes, it remains true that there was
persistent belief that the dead did exist. (We will consider
some added problem texts in Job and Qoheleth in treating each
book).
There are some Psalm lines that seem to reflect a belief
on the part of the writer that he will be with God even after
death, for his union with Him has been so close in this
life,that it cannot be interrupted.
Psalm 49:16: "But God will rescue my soul from the hand
of Sheol; surely He will take me." Right after this the fate
of the wicked rich is pictured: he cannot take his riches with
him.
Psalm 73:23: "But I am always with You, You hold my
right hand by Your hand; you guide me with counsel and
afterwards you will take me to glory." The word "take" in
Hebrew is laqah, which is the same word used when God took
Enoch (Gen 5.24) without dying, and when He took Elijah (2
Kings 2.3 and 5). In the first part of the psalm, the author
said he was tempted to think God was not just. But he
understood the fate of the wicked when he went into the
sanctuary. After that, he gained the confidence he expressed
in verse 23. He continued: "Whom do I have in the heavens but
you? Being with you, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and
my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, and my
portion forever (le olam)."
Psalm 17.15: "In righteousness I will be see your
face,when I awake, I will be satisfied with your likeness."
Mitchell Dahood, in the introductions to his three
volume commentary on the Psalms in Anchor Bible, proposes
revised translations of about 30 Psalm lines, in the light of
Ugaritic language discoveries. If one accepts them, there are
more lines like those we have just cited. We will see more
evidence on belief in after life and on future retribution in
our consideration of individual wisdom books later.
There follows advice on not despising the Lord's
discipline. The Lord loves the one whom He disciplines,for
that is for the good of the man.
Chapter 4: Get wisdom at all costs,and wisdom will exalt
you,and you will have a long life.The wicked will find
difficulty in sleeping if they have not done some evil.
Chapter 5: There is great attention given to the dangers of
being seduced by a loose woman. Her steps lead to death.,
At the end of your life you will groan if you follow her.
Instead one should rejoice in the graceful wife of his youth.
Chapter 6: It opens with a warning about getting into trouble
by becoming surety for a neighbor or giving a pledge for a
stranger. The pledge might bring a risk of being reduced to
abject poverty or even to slavery especially if there is a
bargain with a foreigner. So one should not lightly risk
irreparable harm. If one has done that,he should waste no time
in getting a release from the arrangement.
Verses 16-19 use the numerical form. In the first half
ot the saying we see six things the Lord hates.To say the same
thing in the next line, with different words, requires the use
of the next higher number,seven.
Then the warning against an evil woman is repeated here.
She has a smooth tongue and alluring eyelashes. There is a
risk of one's life in this.For jealousy will make her husband
furious if he finds out,and he will not spare in taking
revenge,he will not take money or goods as compensation for
that sin. He wants to kill the offender.
Chapter 7: More warnings against an evil woman.She is loud and
wayward,she lies in wait at every street corner,grabs a man
and kisses him,saying; Let us take our fill of love until
morning,for my husband is away. It is sad to see the word love
abused as it is here.To love is to will good to another for
the other's sake.In adultery neither is doing that,each one
just looks for sensory pleasure for self,and they are putting
each other into a state which could lead to death and even
eternal misery.
Then he follows her like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a bird going into a snare. The house of the adulteress is
the way to Sheol, to death if the husband happens to catch
them.
Chapter 8: In contrast,wisdom raises her voice on the heights.
She speaks noble things, nothing twisted or crooked. Wisdom is
better than jewels,the fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
Kings rule well by wisdom.
Verses 22-31 are a beautiful personification of wisdom;
"The Lord created me at the beginning, as the first of his
acts of ancient times...." This passage is an optional reading
in the common of Masses for the Blessed Virgin,the Seat of
Wisdom.Originally this passage did not speak of her,nor even
of Jesus,but yet Jesus is the wisdom of the Father (1 Cor
1.24) and she is inseparable from Him. In Munificentissimus
Deus in defining the Assumption Pius XII said she is "always
sharing His lot." Vatican II in chapter 8 of Lumen gentium
expended and filled in this thought,showing her eternal union
with Him in the divine decree for the Incarnation,then going
through the chief ancient prophecies that concern her,then
taking up every one of the mysteries of His life and death,and
showing her cooperation in each one of them "always sharing
His lot".After that with the Assumption she is crowned eternal
Queen with Him,the King of all,for eternity,after the end of
time.
So this passage may in that way be considered as
including both Him and her.
Chapter 9: Wisdom has built her house of seven pillars, has
slaughtered her beasts and prepared a feast for those who will
love her. Her house is the habitable world of which she is the
uniting force,for as we saw above in our introduction,speaking
of the relation of wisdom and number in the thought of
St.Augustine.
Chapter 10: Here begins the collection marked Proverbs of
Solomon, which includes 10.1 to 22.16. In the first 9 chapters
there was a certain amount,not large, of sequence in the
thought. In this series there is virtually none,just
miscellaneous aphorisms. Accordingly all we can do is to pick
out a few special interesting or important sayings.
In v.3 we hear that the Lord does not let the righteous
go hungry.--this line is in the background of trying to find
that God rewards the just only in this life-- we do not know
precisely when the Jews came to know future rewards.Before
that,they strove mightily to say He always rewards in this
life. V. 24 is similar in thought. Please recall comments on
this topic given above. Again in this connection,verse 15 says
wealth is a protection to a rich man - this is true - and the
poverty of the poor is their ruin - meaning it leaves him
without means of defense or help at times. Again, all this is
true.But there is no awareness shown of the spiritual value of
poverty,which depends in part,not totally,on future
retribution.
In v.19: Many words bring transgressions.Amen.Cf.
Epistle of James on the tongue. He says (3.2) if one does not
sin by his tongue,he is perfect.
Chapter 11: V.2 bring out that pride goes before a fall,.
v.15 on surety reminds us of 6.1 above.
V.22 is quite a slam at a woman who has only skin-deep
beauty.Beneath it: a swine's snout.
V.,24 says those who give freely will not want. Cf.Mt
6.33: Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,and
all these things will be added to you (cf.also Wisdom 7.11).
Chapter 12: The first verse says he who hates correction is
stupid. Yet it is so common to find people who not only do not
accept correction,but become very angry if someone tries to
correct them. Verse 15 on the contrary says a wise man listens
to advice.
V.4 praises a good wife. cf.also the beautiful praise of
a good wife in 31.10-31.
V.12 is puzzling in the RSV,for it says that the mercy
of the wicked is cruel.The Hebrew helps here. It means the
man's inner feelings and inclinations are cruel even to his
beasts.
V.16 says that the prudent man will ignore an insult.It
takes much wisdom to do that,but it is wisdom to do so.
V.21 says no ill happens to the righteous-- cf.comments
on 10.3 above.
V.25 says anxiety weighs a man down.It surely tends to
do that. However now that we have the example of Jesus things
are different. Since the Church teaches (cf.Wm.Most, The
Consciousness of Christ) many times over that Jesus from the
first instant of conception saw in His human soul or mind the
vision of God,in which all knowledge is present,it follows
that He saw from the start all He was to suffer,and it
troubled Him as we see from Luke 12.50 and John 12.27.
Confidence in God in general can help against worry,but does
not eliminate it.And acceptance of it as a means of likeness
to Christ is spiritually very valuable - but that idea of
course is beyond the horizon of Proverbs.
Chapter 13: V.8:The ransom of his life is his wealth for a
rich man.But the poor man has no means-- according to the
RSV.The Hebrew of the second part says the poor man does not
hear rebuke. Other commentators think there is no threat to
the poor man since he has no money.
V.20:He who walks,that is, associates with,the wise will
become wise.But those who go with fools are apt to become
fools-- the influence of peer pressure.
V.24:Spare the rod and spoil the child. corporal punishment
was in vogue then. Cf.also 3.11-12.
Chapter 14: v.21 says that one who refuses help to a neighbor
in need commits sin. Some here would read "a hungry man"
instead of "neighbor". There are principles about almsgiving
that are helpful to know.We summarize them here:
Almsgiving and Superfluous Goods
Vatican iI (Church in the Modern World �69) added a
footnote,quoting a message of John XXIII (AAS 54.82):"The
obligation of every man,the urgent obligation of the Christian
man is to reckon what is superfluous by the measure of the
needs of others...."
The Constitution itself in �69,to which the note is
attached,had said that God destined the goods of the world for
the benefit of all: "Wherefore man,in using those goods,should
consider those exterior goods that he possesses not only as
proper to himself also as common in the sense that they can be
beneficial not only to him,but also to others. For the
rest,the right of possessing that part of the goods that is
sufficient for himself and his family belongs to all.So the
Fathers and Doctors of the Church felt,in teaching that men
are obliged to aid the poor,and indeed,not only out of merely
superfluous goods."
We recall John XXIII said one should "reckon what is
superfluous by the measure of the needs of others." This seems
to allude to the scale in common use among moral
theologians,as follows:
1.Goods necessary for life- -those without which one cannot
live. Goods left over after this are superfluous to life.
2.Goods necessary for one's state in life --without which that
state cannot be maintained. Goods superfluous to the state are
all else.
3.Goods needed for the fitting maintenance of state in life --
needed to maintain fittingly.-- All else: goods superfluous in
the fullest sense.
Obligations: 1)If another is in extreme necessity,lacks the
necessities for life itself,we must help with goods of classes
2 & 3. Need not give what we need for life itself. 2)If
another is in grave necessity - not lacking essentials of life
- we must help with goods of class 3. 3)If another is in
ordinary need-- we must help some at some times-- cannot
determine precisely in individual cases,for there are many who
can help,and need is only ordinary.
It seems Vatican II had this scale in mind,since in the
next note on the above passage it says: "The ancient principle
applies in this case: 'In extreme necessity all goods are
common,all goods are to be shared.' On the other hand,for the
order,extension,and manner by which the principle is applied
in the proposed text,besides the modern approved
authors,cf.St.Thomas Summa Theol. II-II,q.66,a.7."
Chapter 15: The first verse is very wise: A soft answer turns
anger away. -- There is no point in trying to argue with
someone who is angry, his emotion blurs his reason.And if two
angry people try to reason,the hope is below zero. If one
remembers the old animated cartons of Donald Duck it helps -
Donald would flap his wings wildly and scream - and get
nothing done at all.
V.8 says a sacrifice by the wicked does not please God.
The sense is that there are two things in sacrifice,as we
gather from Isaiah 29.13: the outward sign (lips,in 29.13) and
the interior disposition( heart). It is so easy,and often
happened in those times,that one was good at the outward
ritual of sacrifices,but did not have in his heart the
obedience to God which the sacrifice is supposed to
express,and which gives it all its value. The lack of this
interior is the reason the great prophets so often protested,
in the name of God,against the sacrifices of that time.
Similarly in vv.16-17 a small meal with love is much
better than a feast with hatred or coldness.
V.11 Tells us that even Sheol,the under
world,and Abaddon, ruin,are open,visible, to the Lord. So all
the more are the thoughts of men.
Chapter 16: V.2 says that the Lord weighs the spirit or the
heart.The thought is like that of Egyptian belief that after
death one's heart is weighed in the scales to see if he
observed ma'at (order,truth,justice).
In verse 4.The Lord has made all things for His
purposes,even the wicked for the day of trouble. This is like
the line of Amos 3.6: "If evil comes to a city,has not the
Lord caused it?" We notice 1)Hebrew expressions commonly
said God directly does things He only permits: cf. 1 Samuel
4.3 which says in the literal Hebrew: "Why did the Lord strike
us today before the face of the Philistines?" 2)From
Philippians 2.13 we gather that even when we do evil,it is
God's power (ontological) that we use.This does not mean that
He gives the evil orientation to the use of that power.No,we
give it,yet it is His power.We compare an electric outlet:it
provides power,which the user turns to whatever purpose he
wills.0-We will see a related thought,of great importance
below in 21.1.
Verse 18 says pride goes before a fall. God refuses His
help to the one who is proud.In the Gospels,Jesus was
wonderfully merciful to all kinds of sinners,except the
Pharisees.The trouble was their pride. Pride implies that a
man is God, since it implies that the good he does is own
production by his own power.Actually,all the good one has and
is and does is God's gift: 1 Cor 4.7. The words of 1 Peter 5.5
saying that God resists the proud,b ut gives grace to the
humble.
In verse 33: when a lot is cast, the decision comes from
the Lord. It is reported that Einstein once said: God does not
play at dice. Very true. There is nothing in the universe that
happens that is exempt from His causality. He does give us
free will in matters pertaining to salvation; but in many
other things He does guide the outcome to varied
extents.Please see comments later on 21.1
Chapter 17: Verse 3 says that gold and silver are tested in
the fire.But the Lord tests hearts.It does not mean that He
does not know before testing what a man's heart is like.It
means that He provides occasions for a man to come to know
Himself,and to advance in virtue.Since there is only one free
thing in us,our fee will, if we could make it entirely in line
with the will of God, that would be perfection.It is
especially when under difficulty that we must either adhere to
Him strongly,or fail.Cf. the comments on "holding on in the
dark" in Wm.Most Our Father's Plan, p.129-31.
In verse 10 we hear that a rebuke is more effective in a
wise man than a hundred blows on a fool. To accept rebukes
well is great wisdom,and contributes greatly to growth in
holiness,precisely because it hits our pride.
V.17 says that a friend always loves.It means of course
a true friend,not one loosely so called. Cf.18.24.
In v.20 a fool who keeps silent is considered wise --
like the owl who says only Whooo -- was considered a symbol of
wisdom in ancient Athens.
Chapter 18: Verse 2 says a fool does not really want to
understand, just to express his own opinion. Sometimes when a
person seems to be listening, he is really not paying
attention, is rather thinking ahead what reply he can make to
go against what is being said.
Verse 22 extols the value of a good wife-- in contrast
to the strong words in the other direction in earlier parts of
this book.The ideal wife is pictured in chapter 31.10-31.
19.14 repeats the idea: One can inherit material things from
parents,but to find a prudent wife - that is a gift of the
Lord.
In verse 24: a real friend sticks closer thana brother-
but most people who seem to be friends and not that kind.In a
normal lifetime,one does well to make one or two real
friends.The others are not likely to stick it out in thick and
thin.
Chapter 19: Verse 11 returns to the theme we saw in 15.1; If
one has good sense,he will be slow to anger.Rather,it is a
great achievement to be able to overlook an offense. Similarly
20.3 says it is an honor to keep away from strife.
In verse 17 we read that if one is good to the poor he
lends to the Lord. The Lord will not only repay,but more than
double it. Jesus in His picture of the Last judgment
represents the Judge asking only about duties to neighbor even
though there are other things. He identifies Himself with the
poor and afflicted.
The way one takes reproofs shows what kind of man he is:
a wise man will profit from correction,and be grateful.But
many people resent any correction whatsoever.
Chapter 20: In verse 9:Who can claim he has kept himself from
all sin? 1 John 1.10 says that if we claim to be without
sin,we make God a liar.
Verse 19 speaks of gossipers: they cannot keep a secret
they want to show they are in the know. With some people,it is
a good way to get something published to tell it as a
secret.There are three kinds of wrongful speech: 1)Slander
charges another with something untrue - normally mortal sin,
and demands retractation. 2)Detraction reveals a fault of
another without sufficient reason, a fault that otherwise
would not be likely to become known. To do this is a common
fault, and many underestimate the damage done.If damage is
grave, the sin is grave. Also a habit of gossip can stop
completely all spiritual growth,for it easily happens that the
habitual gossiper does not really have a firm purpose of
amendment on that score.Then it is as if he puts a clamp on
his heart: he will let it expand only so far,no farther.
3)Merely uncharitable speech comes when two or more are
rehashing faults of another which all present already know.
Then we ask:Is there an adequate reason for doing so? Very
often not.
The fourth commandment promises great reward even in
this life for honor to Father and Mother. Verse 20 says one
who curses Father or Mother will see his light put out
completely.
A remarkable truth comes in verse 24: "A man's steps are
ordered by the Lord." A large explanation is needed, which
will be given at 21.1.
Chapter 21: Isaiah 10.5ff speaks of Assyria as the rod that
God used to punish His people. In what way does God use even
nations for His own ends? In Proverbs 21.1 we read: "The
king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever
he will." How does God do this?: We must say it is by His
transcendence,i.e., He is above and beyond all our categories.
We explained something about it earlier,by a study of how He
knows future free actions,though no one can fully understand
it.
Similarly, in His transcendence, He can cause humans to
do things, without completely taking away their freedom. We
said, "not completely," since there is indeed a reduction in
freedom.
In the ordinary pattern God sends me an actual grace,to
lead me and to enable me to do a particular good thing here
and now. if I simply make no decision at all, no decision
against it,it will "work in me both the will and the doing" as
Phil 2:13 says. But what it works in me is decided by that
omission of resistance at the precise point at which a man
could reject grace. That he can reject grace is evident from
experience, and from St.Paul, 2 Cor 6:1: "We urge you not to
receive the grace of God in vain." Similarly, all Scripture is
full of exhortations to repent,to return to God to be
converted. All these are meaningless, even mockery of the
human, if we do not have the real power to reject grace.
So in the ordinary process, the first decision on the
outcome is made by the human.
But there is an extraordinary process, in which the
first decision is made by God, e.g., when He sends an
extraordinary grace, that can either cut through resistance
already present, or prevent it from developing. Then God makes
the first decision, while the human seconds the motion. We
call this extraordinary since it is a reduction in the freedom
that God in general has pledged Himself to give us.
When does God do this, when does He use this
extraordinary mode? We distinguish two orders, the external
and the internal order. The internal order is that which
includes all the things and steps that lead to eternal
salvation, or the lack of it. In that internal category, God
has bound Himself by accepting the infinite price of
redemption, to offer grace without any limit, except what the
resistance of humans imposes. Since He has pledged to give us
freedom, then to routinely overrule that even in part would be
self-contradiction.
The external order has to do with all else, including
whether or not a king will wage war, how it will turn out,etc.
In this external category God does not involve Himself in
self-contradiction, since in this category He has not pledged
to refrain from interference in freedom. Rather, as we read in
Isaiah 10.5 ff, He has announced He will do so as He
pleases.And in the case of the King of Assyria, God, as Isaiah
says, had turned the kings' heart to carry out God's will. The
way in which the king did it was not good, it was sparked by
pride. God will punish that pride. But that basic fact that
Assyria does conquer when and where God wills is part of the
external order.
Part of the way in which God exercises such control is
by giving a person a desire to do something. He can do that
without taking away freedom, e.g., He gives us a desire to
eat, so we will refuel; He gives a desire for procreation,to
keep our race going. Under these desires,people are free.Yet a
large part of the time they will act in accordance with such
desires.
In v.2 we heard that everyone thinks he is right,but the
Lord knows.
Verse 9 return to the theme of the difficult wife:
Better to live in a corner on the roof than in the house with
a contentious woman.V.19 says the same: better a desert land.
Chapter 22: V 6 says that if one trains a child the right
way,it will affect him for life.This is especially true of the
first three years of life,so that John Paul II in his
encyclical on Labor, Laborem Exercens would hope there might
be subsidies so there would be no pressure on the mother to
work at last in that period. If the purpose of her work is to
raises standard of living- that is not worth nearly as much as
the need of the child for a good start int he first years.
A new section begins at verse 17. The original title
seems to have been "Words of Wise men". It runs to 24.22. And
within it we read: "Have I not written for your thirty
sayings" which is heavily dependent on the Egyptian Wisdom of
Amenemope.The Egyptian can be seen in ANET 421a - 424b.
Chapter 23: At the start we find advice on proper conduct at
table when eating with a powerful man. Commentators vary in
their understanding of verse 2,which in RSV advises putting a
knife to your throat if you have a heavy appetite.-- Some
think that means eating with a knife.
V.9: Reminds us of Mt 7.6: "Do not cast your pearls
before swine." The foolish man will not only not appreciate
wisdom, but will despise it,and probably,despise you too.
vv.17-18 advises against envying sinners.There is a
future,seeming to mean,when the Lord will make things right.
Again,we must say the writer is probably not thinking of
eternal life,but only of retribution in this life.Cf.remarks
above on what the Jews knew of future retribution.
Chapter 24: V.16 says the righteous man falls seven times and
rises again;but the wicked are ruined by calamity. Does not
mean the good man sins seven times a day-- it means rather
that even if a man in the temporal order falls many times,if
he is wise,he will get up again.
With v.23 we have come to the end of the 30 sayings,and
now get a few proverbs before coming to chapter 25,more
proverbs of Solomon which the men,the scribes, of King
Hezekiah copied down. Hezekiah,one of the few good kings,seems
to have organized the assembling of wisdom material from both
the northern and the southern kingdoms.
Chapter 25: Verses 2-3 says it is glory for
God to hide things - yes,until the Last Judgment,when He will
manifest to all how just have been His decisions during
history. But even the mind of kings is unsearchable -hard to
find out what they are thinking.
V.7 advises one to take the lower place,and then be
exalted when told to come up higher.The resemblance to Lk
14.7-11 is evident.
In 16-17 there is advice to moderation: do not eat too
much honey, you will find it becomes unpleasant.And do not
wear out your welcome in the house of a neighbor. The Oracle
of Delphi in ancient Greece had a wise motto,like this: meden
agan - nothing too much. Hence v.27 says one should not
compliment another too lavishly.
St.Paul in Romans 12.20-21 quotes these lines urging
kindness to any enemy: it will help overcome enmity.
Chapter 26: Verses 3-5 give good advice for dealing with
fools: Do not lower yourself in answering him, or you might
become foolish too. Verses 4 and 5 seem to contradict,but can
be understood to mean: Do not lower yourself-- but speak in
words the fool can understand. In v.14 a fool that repeats his
folly is like a dog that returns to its vomit. Cf.2 Peter
2.22.
Chapter 27: in v.1 advises do not boast about tomorrow-- we do
not know what the morrow will bring, or even if we will be
alive then. The thought is like that of the Epistle of James
4.13-15.
In v.20,just as the netherworld,Sheol and Abaddon, are
never satisfied,so a man's desires are never satisfied.
Cf.St.Augustine (Confessions 1.1): "You have made us for
yourself,Lord,and restless are our hearts until they rest in
you." As we look ahead to some satisfaction it seems to be
wonderful,then we can be "happy ever after." But the thrill
soon wears down.
Chapter 28: V.5 says that evil men do not understand moral
rightness.When a person goes farther and farther into sinning,
his ability to understand spiritual truths gets less and less;
but if he lives strenuously according to faith - which says
the things of this world are slight in comparison to spiritual
things -- then his spiritual eyesight grows more and more.
V.8 seems to mean that God will see to it that ill-
gotten gain does not really profit him who takes it,but
instead it will wind up with the poor. As to interest here:
Dt.23.21 says they may lend at interest to an outsider,but not
to their own people.More broadly,interest is excessive when it
is more than the state of the economy (considering also risk)
warrants.In some economies,money is sterile.
One who does not admit his faults (v.13) will not
prosper.But confessing them brings mercy.
The thought of v.17 is unclear.Some take it to mean one
guilty of murder will come quickly to the grave and no one
will help. But it may also refer to the practice of cities of
refuge, provided for in Dt 4.41-43 and 19.1-13. Cf.also Joshua
20.1-9. Only a man who unintentionally killed another could
use this asylum, against the slain man's relatives who might
pursue in blood feud. Dt 19.6 recognizes that a man who has
killed unintentionally does not deserve death,even though the
relatives,in the usual blood feud might actually strike him.
Yet even unintentional violations of God's law - sheggagah --
did call for reparation (not for death or for hell), as we see
in Leviticus chapter 4, for the fault was a violation of the
objective moral order.
The last verse,v.28 says that when the wicked rise,men
hide themselves. Seems to mean: When the wicked gain power....
Chapter 29: Verse 5 says the one who flatters spreads a net --
for flattery leads to no good,and is harmful to the one
flattered.
A great truth comes in v.10: The wicked hate the good.
So 2 Timothy 3.12 says that whoever wants to live rightly in
following Christ will suffer persecution. The explanation is
found in Wisdom 2.12-6: The wicked say that even to see the
just man is a reproach to them! Cf.Proverbs 29.27. And t e
pagan historian Tacitus,in Agricola 42 says it is
characteristic of humans to hate those whom they have harmed.-
- Naturally,for it they thought the man good,they would be
charging themselves with sin for having harmed him. So they
are driven to think him evil.
In v.18 we hear that where there is no prophecy the
people cast off restraint. Prophecy could mean either the
admonitions of the great prophets, or it could refer to the
advice of wise men.
Chapter 30: The book of Proverbs concludes with proverbs taken
from two prophets from outside the Jewish nation. The
translation of verse 1 is much debated. RSV takes some words
as proper names. Most likely they are not such. R.B.Y.
Scott,in Anchor Bible renders:"The words of Agur ben Yakeh of
Massa [an Ishmaelite people of northern Arabia: cf.Gen 25. 13-
14]." Scott thinks the first four verses are a challenge from
a skeptic, the man named here, who says there is no god.Then
verses 5-6 are the reply of an orthodox Jew who prays in 7-9
to be kept from such folly.
VV 7-8 asks to be preserved from lying,and also to
have neither poverty or riches.Riches can lead even to denial
of God.Poverty can lead to stealing,or envy,or excessive
preoccupation with material things. (To see someone have
something good,and to think: I wish I had it TOO is not envy.
Envy would be: I see he has something good;it is bad for me
that he has it; I wish he did not have it).
Numerical sayings appear in verses 18-19. The meaning
is not entirely clear. The last of the series in such sets is
likely to be the most important. He does not "understand the
way of a man with a maiden." It could mean: Why he becomes
enamored of this particular one - while she does not greatly
attract others. Or if we look a the portraits of the many
wives of King Henry VIII we may say: Why would he get so
excited about them?--But it can also express the mysterious
force of the attraction of a maiden for a man.
Another numerical set is vv.21-23: It is hard for all
when a slave becomes king - he does not know how to have
power.It is similar when a poor man becomes suddenly rich,he
may spend like a drunken sailor.The unloved woman may be the
wife in a polygamous marriage who was not much liked by the
husband - but then she suddenly gets power over him. Similarly
for a slave girl who supplants her former mistress.We think
of Hagar in Genesis 16.1-6 who became arrogant when she had a
child,while Sara could not bear one.
Chapter 31:The final set of proverbs is attributed to
Lemeul,King of Massa.It is wisdom from the Queen Mother-- a
Queen Mother often did have great influence: cf.1 Kings 1.11-
13; 2 Kings 9.22 and 11.1.
Verse 3 says a king should not give his strength to
women,who can destroy kings. Dt.17.17 urges that king not
have many wives,so his heart may not be estranged by them.
Solomon did precisely that in 1 Kings 11.1-13. David had
committed a grave sin of adultery by falling for
Bethsabee,wife of Uriah,and then did what amounted to murder
to try to cover it up: 2 Sam. 11.1-27.
Verses 10 to 31 are a splendid, artistically written
praise of the ideal wife.
Some think the words "who fears the Lord" in verse 30 may
have been added by a copyist who noted there had been no
mention of religion among her virtues.
The passage is an acrostic,that is,the first letters of
the 22 couplets follow the order of the Hebrew alphabet.
