Proverbial poetry: its settings and syntax
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the Old Testament," pp. 103, 258, 304. 2Gordon, Sumerian Proverbs, p. 18. He is followed by Khanjian, "Wisdom in Ugarit," pp. 9-11, 68, 94, 209. Khanjian gives useful definitions for each of the above (pp. 9-11). Vid. ch. II for examples of each of these. (10) precepts; and (11) "righteous sufferer" poems.1 Second, in biblical studies, two scholars have greatly contributed to the discussion of wisdom forms. Nel develops over fourteen types and Crenshaw, with his usual meticulousness, discusses the following types: (1) proverb; (2) riddle; (3) fable and allegory; (4) hymn and prayer; (5) dialogue; (6) confession (autobiographical narrative); (7) lists (onomastica), and (8) didactic narrative (e.g., the Joseph story).2 The purpose of this study is not to scrutinize the details of each of the forms, but to survey them in order to provide a Sitz im
"sayings" (Aussagen) in Proverbs 10-15. While there were numerous form types in the repertoire of the wise man, Proverbs employs basically two genres: (1) the wisdom admonition or instruction (Mahnwort); and (2) the sentence or saying (Aussage).3 Nel and Crenshaw see many more sub-types. However, the difference is one of definition of genre or sub-genre and ____________________
and Akkad," BO 17.3-4 (May-July 1960):124. Cf. Perdue, Wisdom and Cult, p. 93. 2Crenshaw, "Wisdom," pp. 229-62. He also gives extensive bibliography at the beginning of his discussion of each form.
"Literary Genres and Structures in Proverbs" (An unpublished paper submitted to Dr. Donald Glenn, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1980), p. 1. of classification, rather than one of lack of perception. So Crenshaw develops, along with the admonition and saying, three other types of Proverbs: (1) numerical; (2) comparison; and (3) antithetic proverb.1 The point here is not to analyze the methods of classification or to discern, if possible, the distinction between stylistic devices, thematic/semantic types, and bona fide literary genres, but is simply to surface the tremendous variety of structures employed by the sages. Some writers opt for a topical approach to the proverbs, which are collected, "systematized," and classified by their message or imagery.2 McKane uses a rather forced division into: Class A--old wisdom for living a harmonious life; Class B--focusing on the concerns of the community; and Class C--proverbs containing "God-language." This division is so artificial and fragmentational to the unity of the canonical order as to need little criticism other than an exposure to the text itself.3 More semantically related forms may be seen
____________________ 1Crenshaw, "Wisdom," p. 230; Nel, "The Genres of Biblical Wisdom Literature," pp. 129-30. 2Kenneth J. Jensen, Wisdom: The Principal Thing (Seattle: Pacific Meridian Pub. Comp., 1971). Derek Kidner, Proverbs: an Introduction and Commentary, in Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1964), pp. 31-56 is also quite a helpful digest of a topical sort (God and man; wisdom, the fool, the sluggard, the friend, words, the family, and life/death). 3McKane, Proverbs, p. 11. Kovacs, in the comparative or better proverbs, "like" proverbs, paradoxes, YHWH and king proverbs, 'asre sayings, and even numerical sayings. The problem of distinguishing between genre and proverb type may be traced back to the debate over the term masal itself.1 Crenshaw notes that the term not only refers to similitudes (Ez 16:44; Gen 10:9; I Sam 10:11), but also to popular sayings (Jer 23:28; 31:29; I Sam 24:13; Is 32:6; I Kings 20:11), literary aphorisms (Prov 10:1-22:16; 25-29); Qoh 9:17-10:20), taunt songs (Is 14:4; Mic 2:4; Hab 2:6-8; Ez 12:22-23; 18:2-3), bywords (Deut 28:37; I Kings 9:7; Jer 24:9; Ez 14:8), allegories (Ez 17:1-10; 20:45-49; 24:3-14), and discourses (Num 23:7, 18; 24:3-24; Job 27:1; 29:1; Ps 49:4; 78:2).2
broad genre types found under the general rubric of "wisdom."
attempt to use language to order his world in an ____________________ "Sociological-Structural Constraints," p. 293 and Bullock, An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books, p. 181-82 both object to McKane, although Bullock unfortunately returns to a simplistic topical arrangement, which is also problematic. 1Eissfeldt (Der Maschal im Alten Testament) sees it etymologically as being "to compare" and "to rule." McKane views it more as a "paradigm" or "model" (Proverbs, pp. 22-33). 2Crenshaw, "Wisdom," p. 230. encyclopedic manner by compiling numerous connected phenomena into long lists. These would then be copied and learned by the scribal students. The onomastica may reflect the believed connection between name of the item listed and its essence.1 The onomastica in Egypt date from the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2000 B.C.) to the Ptolemaic period. The purpose of this type of text is voiced in the "Onomasticon of Amenope": Here begins the teaching, in order to expand the mind, to teach the ignorant, to know everything that is: what Ptah created, what Thoth brought into being, the sky and its objects, the earth and what is in it, what the mountains spew forth, what Nun covers, all things on which Re shines, everything that grows on the back of the earth, conceived by Amenope, scribe of the holy books in the House of Life.2 Amenope's list contains 610 items which are grouped into categories such as: the sky, water and earth, persons and occupations, towns, buildings and their parts, beverages, parts of an ox, and kinds of meat.3 Much earlier the Sumerians had apparently devised similar types of ____________________ 1Harvey, "Wisdom Literature and Biblical Theology (Part One)," p. 315; and Kovacs, "Sociological-Structural Constraints," p. 235.
219; cf. A. H. Gardiner, Ancient Egyptian Onomastica, 3 vols. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1947); Scott, The
in Pritchard, ANET, pp. 432-34. 3Heaton, Solomon's New Men, p. 114; Murphy, Wisdom Literature, p. 11; also his "The Interpretation of Old Testament Wisdom Literature," p. 291. collections and passed them down to the Babylonians, who utilized them in keeping the Sumerian language alive.1 Although the connection between the onomastica and various Israelite texts (Ps 104; Job 28; 36:27-37:13; Sir 38:24-39:11; and possibly even Gen 1 and 10) is not without its difficulties, von Rad makes an interesting comparison, tabulating the Onomasticon of Amenope, Job 38, Psalm 148, Sirach 43, and the Song of the Three Children, each of which demonstrates list features.2 The Wisdom of Solomon 7:17-20 may also allude to this type of learning among the wise of its time when it says,
exists, to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements; the beginning and end and middle times, the alternations of the solstices and the changes of the seasons, the cycles of the year and the constellations of the stars, the natures of animals and the tempers of wild beasts, the powers of spirits and the reasonings of men, the varieties of plants and the virtues of roots . . . .3 Numerous scholars have made the connection between the onomastica and statements made about Solomon's encyclopedic knowledge of trees, birds, reptiles, and fish, such as ____________________
"Sociological-Structural Constraints," p. 234; Schmid, Wesen und Geschichte, pp. 97-98; Albrecht Alt, "Solomonic Wisdom," in SAIW, p. 107. 2von Rad, "Job XXXVIII and Ancient Egyptian Wisdom," in SAIW, pp. 267-91. This article may also be found in von Rad's book, The Problem of the Hexateuch and
1 Kgs 4:33 [MT 5:13]. It is interesting that the next verse points out the international appreciation of Solomon's wisdom.1 Crenshaw notes the disparity between the topics discussed in 1 Kings 4:32-33 [MT 5:12-13] and that which is actually recorded of Solomon's wisdom. He suggests that these verses do not necessarily need to be understood in light of the onomastica; rather they may be understood in relation to the fables and animal proverbs which are found in the canonical wisdom corpus.2 Finally, while Roth denies the connection between the numerical proverbs (Prov 30:29-31; 24-28) and the onomastica, Crenshaw suggests that onomastic thinking may be behind the formulation of numerical proverbs.3 Riddle Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Answer:
Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine (Prov 23:29-30)
examined in detail on a structural level in folklore ____________________
Genres of Biblical Wisdom Literature," p. 135. 2Crenshaw, Old Testament Wisdom, pp. 50-51. 3W. M. W. Roth, Numerical Sayings in the Old Testament: A Form Critical Study, in VTSup 13 (1965), p. 25; and Crenshaw, Old Testament Wisdom, p. 39. studies. A riddle has been defined as "a traditional verbal expression which contains one or more descriptive elements, a pair of which may be in opposition; the referent of the elements is to be guessed at."1 Crenshaw specifies the two key elements of a riddle are: (1) a clue element, and (2) a snare or block element, which conceals the answer to the question.2 The riddle is often founded on a metaphor which maps one category onto another. It differs from the proverb in that a riddle has both given and hidden terms, while the proverb lacks the hidden term. That is not to say that a proverb may not double as a riddle or that its two elements may not be transformed into a given and hidden sequence.3 It is suggested that the riddle may have functioned in several capacities in ancient Israel. Muller notes the following types of riddles: (1) popular riddle (Judg ____________________
Robert A. Georges and Alan Dundes, "Toward a Structural Definition of the Riddle," Journal of American Folklore 76 (April-June 1976):111-18; and D. G. Blauner, "The Early Literary Riddle," Folklore 78 (Spring 1967):49-58.
Tasks," Semeia 17-19 (1980):20. Also see Crenshaw's helpful bibliography on riddles in "Wisdom," pp. 239-40. An example of the clue/block sequence may be seen in the following rather "corny" riddles: "Something has an ear and cannot hear (corn)"; "What has eyes but can't see? (potatoes)"; "What has a mouth but doesn't eat? (a river)"; and "What has leaves but doesn't grow? (a table)." 3Barley, "A Structural Approach to the Proverb and Maxim," p. 739; Dundes, Analytic Essays in Folklore, p. 108. 14:10-18) which would be used at festive occasions; (2) symbolic dreams or enigmatic oracles which often occur in a prophetic contexts (Ezek 17:1-10; Isa 5:1-8; Dan 5; Gen 37:40-41); (3) royal contests where the riddle challenged one's brilliance (1 Kgs 10); and possibly (4) court-school wisdom riddles (Prov 1:6).1 Thus, riddles may have operated in diverse sociological contexts and literary settings in the Old Testament. The lack of explicit use of riddles in the wisdom literature has led some to surmise a connection between the numerical proverb and the riddle.2 Roth, proffers the suggestion that "both are born out of the recognition that one does not know but wishes to know." Both also suppose a question and call for an answer. The numerical saying, however, is more comprehensive and serious, pulling together perceptions about numerous integrative items, while the riddle focuses on one specific, and often curious, connection.3 ____________________ 1H.-P. Muller, "Der Begriff 'Ratsel' im Alten Testament," VT 20 (1970):465-89, especially p. 475; Crenshaw, "Wisdom," pp. 243-44; and Khanjian, "Wisdom in Ugarit," p. 11. 2Murphy, Introduction to the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament, p. 8. He suggests that Sir 25:1-2, 7-10 is a riddle. H. Torczyner ("The Riddle in the Bible," HUCA 1 [1924]:135) sees riddles underlying the numerical proverbs of Proverbs 30. 3Roth, Numerical Sayings in the Old Testament, p. 96.
Thompson notes the bond between riddles and didactic intentions in China and Africa. Proverbial pairs are used in a riddling fashion by the teacher who cites one line or one proverb and the student is to respond with a matching one.1 Numerous proverbs have been shown to have riddle origins. Proverbs 16:24 is easily transformed into a riddle when it requests, "What are pleasant like a honeycomb, giving sweetness to the soul and health to the body?" The answer is "pleasant words."2 von Rad rejects the riddle as a Gattung because of the diversity of its settings, but accepts Proverbs 23:29f. as being in a riddle form.3 Thus the following reasons are given in support of a connection between wisdom and riddles: (1) Solomonic use of riddles (1 Kgs 10:1); (2) statements in the text (Prov 1:6); (3) suggested possible riddles in Proverbs; (4) the didactic function of the riddle which has been observed in numerous cultures; and (5) its presence elsewhere in the biblical corpus (Judg 14:13, 14). The infrequent explicit use of the riddle in the canonical wisdom materials, however, remains a puzzle itself. ____________________ 1Thompson, The Form and Function, pp. 32, 92.
2Ibid., p. 75. He also cites Prov 20:17 and 22:1 as examples. 3von Rad, Wisdom in Israel, p. 37. He also views Sir 22:14 as a riddle. Allegory and Fable Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well (Prov 5:15). But the vine answered, 'Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and men, to waving over the trees?' (Judg 9:13) Two more forms of wisdom which do not appear very much in the biblical wisdom material are the fable and allegory. Fundamentally, they both are extended metaphors--intended to teach or entertain by a reflective, comparative process. The fable is well-known throughout the ancient Near East in wisdom settings. For example, the Turin Love Songs in Egypt portray a sycamore tree and a moringa tree describing their excellencies in promoting love. The sycamore obtained the upper hand as the tree favored by Hathor, the goddess of love.1 The scribes in Sumer used natural phenomena to elucidate matters of life for their students via the fable form.2 Examples of this form which have been preserved ____________________ 1W. C. van Wyk, "The Fable of Jotham in its Ancient Near Eastern Setting," in Studies in Wisdom Literature, ed. W. C. van Wyk, OTWSA 15 and 16 (1972-73), pp. 90-91. The Egyptian text is found in W. K. Simpson, The Literature of Ancient Egypt, pp. 312-15. For more discussion of the fable vid. R. J. Williams, "The Fable in the Ancient Near East," in A Stubborn Faith, ed. E. C. Hobbs (Dallas: Southern Methodist University Press, 1956), pp. 3-26. 2Wyk, "The Fable of Jotham in its Ancient Near Eastern Setting," p. 93; and Gadd, Teachers and Students in the Oldest Schools, p. 39. from Sumerian schools include: "The Dispute between Summer and Winter," "The Dispute between Cattle and Grain," and "The Dispute between the Tree and the Reed."1 Akkadian schools also employed this form in the "Dispute Between the Date Palm and the Tamarisk."2 Often the topics of discussion were political. Crenshaw notes that, while it is possible that the references to Solomon's wisdom concerning natural phenomena (1 Kgs 4:33 [MT 5:10]) may refer to this genre, they are more likely to reflect the onomastica.3 No fables appear in the extant Israelite wisdom literature; yet its presence in historical texts demonstrates its existence in Israelite society. Allegories do appear in Proverbs 5:15-23 and Ecclesiastes 12:1-6. Israel undoubtedly used the animal world to teach. Although obviously not a fable, the sluggard is admonished to go to the ant and be instructed (Prov 6:6). Hymn The hymn is a form which is usually found embedded in another unit. Wisdom hymns often deal with the "cosmic ____________________
vid. Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom, pp. 150-212. 3Crenshaw, "Wisdom," p. 245; cf. von Rad, Wisdom in Israel, p. 44. transcendence of wisdom" (Prov 1:20-33; 8:22ff.; Job 28; Sir 24; Wis 6:12-20; 7:22-8:21). The hymnic element provides a link (in topic and in form) between the wisdom books and the wisdom Psalms (cf. Ps 34, 112, 128). The hypostatization of ma'at and the creation concept in Egyptian hymns are taken by Kayatz as evincing an Israelite dependence on Egyptian forms (vid. the wisdom hymn in Prov 8). While the concept of the hypostatization of wisdom in the text of Proverbs is highly problematic, the parallels with Egyptian hymns of this sort do provide an interesting point of comparison.1 Dialogue and Imagined Speeches You will say, 'How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly' (Prov 5:12-14). The dialogue (Streitgesprach) is a form which characterizes the book of Job. The dialogue form is also observed in the "Babylonian Theodicy." Interestingly enough, it is constructed as a wisdom poem in acrostic ____________________
(Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1969), pp. 70-78. Cf. Crenshaw, "Wisdom," pp. 248, 254; and von Rad, Wisdom
form.1 Crenshaw discusses "imagined speeches," which appear repeatedly in the early chapters of Proverbs (1:11-14, 22-33; 4:3-9; 5:12-14; 7:14-20; 8:4-36; 24:30-34; et al.) and are often coincident with hymnic expressions.2 Parallels may be drawn from the prophetic speeches in which ridicule (Prov 1:26), calling and not being heard (Prov 1:24; Mic 3:4; Isa 65:12), and seeking and not finding (Prov 1:28; Hos 5:6, 15; Amos 8:12) are common to the occasions when wisdom opens her mouth.3 The "I-style," (also called "confession" or "autobiography") narrative is rather unique in the Old Testament.4 The "I-style" brings both the student and teacher to observe life in situs and adds the necessary personal touch and direction to the educational process. It also inculcates the sharpening of observational and reasoning skills. The autobiographical style highlights the modeling role of the instructor. This form is common in Egyptian texts ("The Instruction for King Merikare" and "The Instruction of Amenemhet") as well as in Babyonian ____________________ 1Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature, pp. 21-91; Pritchard, ANET, pp. 596-604. 2Crenshaw, "Wisdom," p. 256. 3Murphy, Wisdom Literature, pp. 51-52. 4von Rad, Wisdom in Israel, p. 37; and Murphy, Wisdom Literature, p. 51. texts (e.g., Ludlul bel Nemeqi).1 Crenshaw notes that the call of the autobiographical narrative is to the "house of instruction" in Sirach (33:16-18; 51:13-22) and suggests that autobiographical confessions were used by teachers to demonstrate their credentials.2 This form provides a fascinating connection between narrative patterns and proverbial poetic forms.
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