Proverbial poetry: its settings and syntax
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employed by the wise men, attention should now be turned to those forms which are characteristic of the book of Proverbs in particular. This will provide a backdrop for a more exacting syntactical analysis of the sentence literature. One should not view the sentence literature as the sole means of wisdom expression; rather, it should be seen as one literary technique among many which the wise men could activate to articulate their message. It is also important to note the size of the literary units employed by the wise men. As the sentence literature is examined, it will be important to remember that the sages had appreciation for and skill with larger literary units. They did not think just in terms of fragmentary, isolated ____________________
"Wisdom," p. 256. 2Crenshaw, "Wisdom," p. 258. sentences which incarcerated a truth without regard to its integration with other perceptions of reality or to the literary context in which the sentence was found. In the discussion of proverbial form, there is a rather undefined mixing of categories. Nel has wrestled with this problem and has concluded that the line separating a genre (Gattung) and a literary device is a very fine one.1 The separation of semantic and structural features has not been fixed within studies on wisdom literature. Thus, wisdom studies have discussed structural features such as rhetorical questions, quotations (and wellerisms), acrostics, and "there is . . . but . . . ." Other studies have classified proverbs on a more semantic level (paradoxical proverbs), often according to the presence of certain cue words (like, Yhwh, abomination,
categories has been helpful in appreciating the various forms/devices which are repeatedly employed by the wise men, yet the lack of a stable methodology has encouraged an open-ended multiplication of categories, which could become counter-productive and ripe for Occam's razor. This proliferation of categories is particularly true of the semantic level which is so multifarious. Even the syntactic level, which is more limited in the number of variations it may employ, is often used with such great ____________________
(as will be demonstrated). The "better-proverbs," for example, may vary the order of the elements and the syntactic forms used to fill the slots (nouns, infinitives, whole clauses). Deletions also may alter the alleged "fixed" structure itself. Thus, in the following listing of devices and proverbial types, one should not overlook the transformations and variations of these structures. A meticulous examination of each form is outside of the focus of this paper. This study will merely survey the forms and cite recent work done on each. It is an attempt to express an appreciation for structures/devices which are found repeatedly in Proverbs and to gain an aesthetic sensitivity for the literary nuts and bolts of the wise men's craft. This sensitivity should help the interpreter not only to think the writer's thoughts after him but as he thought them. The book of Proverbs may be divided according to the literary structures it manifests. These are: 1:7-9:12 Wisdom Teachings 10:1-22:16 Two-line antithetical proverbs 22:17-24:24 Many forms (e.g., four-line proverbs) 25:1-29:27 Two-line antithetical proverbs and comparative proverbs 30:1-31:9 Two/four-line proverbs and numerical proverbs 31:10-31 Acrostic poem.1 ____________________
Many have seen basically two types of sentence literature in Proverbs (although to classify the whole of Proverbs as "sentence literature" is overly simplistic). The two types are: (1) Exhortations/admonitions (Mahnwort, often found in Prov 1-9; 22:17-24:22; 31:1-9); and (2) sentences or sayings (Aussage, found largely in Prov 10:1-22:16; 24:23-34; 25-29).1 The basic difference between the two is that admonition (Mahnwort) utilizes an imperative/jussive and a motive clause while the sentence (Aussage) uses the indicative.
bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man (Prov 3:3-4). The admonition is found both in Mesopotamia and in Egypt. In Egypt, Ptahhotep's writing provides an illustration of the imperatival sense of the admonition:
Don't be mean toward your friends, They are one's watered field, And greater than one's riches, For what belongs to one belongs to another.2 The commands may come in various forms, such as: (1) one positive; (2) one negative; (3) a positive and a negative; ____________________ 1McKane, Proverbs, pp. 1-10. Cf. Crenshaw, "Wisdom," pp. 230-32. 2Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, 1:72. and (4) a cluster of imperatives.1 An introductory conditional clause is found in many of the Egytian admonitions. This clause specifies the circumstances in which the imperatives apply.2 Kayatz divides the Egyptian admonitions into those which are "casuistically begun" and those which are "imperativally begun." So Ptahhotep advises:
And through gentleness of speech. Don't command except as is fitting, He who provokes gets into trouble.3 Kayatz develops four types of motivational clauses in Egyptian Instructions: (1) generalizing statements (substantiate the imperative by providing the principle that underlies it); (2) purpose clauses (show the imperative as effective in accomplishing desired purposes); (3) descriptions of character; and (4) reflections (induce obedience by elliciting reflection).4 An example of a generalizing admonition may be seen in Ptahhotep: ____________________
Williamson "The Form of Proverbs 1-9," p. 10 cites three models of the admonition from Kayatz, McKane and Smith. He gives a convenient listing of examples of each of these in the Egyptian texts and follows Kayatz, Studien zu
Examples of each of these types are given in Williamson, "The Form of Proverbs 1-9," pp. 16-23.
knowledge; be not confident because thou art a wise man. Take counsel with the ignorant as well as the wise. The (full) limits of skill cannot be attained, and there is no skilled man equipped to his full advantage.1
sources is demonstrated in "The Instruction of 'Onchsheshonqy" where there are 258 admonitions and 217 sayings.2 The admonition form is also extant in the Sumerian and Akkadian sources (examples will be taken from Suruppak, the "Counsels of Wisdom," and Ahiqar). For example, the imperatival form appears in Suruppak, from which Alster cites single and double imperatival forms. The following Sumerian admonitions have an apodictic character: "Do not buy an ass at the time of the harvest" and "Do not steal, do not kill yourself."3 Conditional statements are also coupled with the admonitions, like they were in Egyptian literature. An example may be taken from the "Counsels of Wisdom":
his.
If you attach his closely guarded seal to your person
Open his treasure house, enter within, ____________________ 1ANET, p. 412. 2Gemser, "The Instructions of 'Onchshehonqy and Biblical Wisdom Literature," in SAIW, p. 145. 3Alster, Studies in Sumerian Proverbs, pp. 40-42. For apart from you there is no one else (who may do this)
Unlimited wealth you will find inside, But do no covet any of this, Nor set your mind on double-dealing. For afterwards the matter will be investigated.1 The motivational clause following an imperative may be illustrated from Ahiqar vii.95-110: [My s]on, ch[at]ter not overmuch so that thou speak out [every w]ord [that] comes to thy mind; for men's (eyes) and ears are everywhere (trained) u[pon] thy mouth.2 The life setting of the admonition has been the subject of much debate. Gerstenberger, connecting the admonitions and the apodictic laws, suggests a family setting for both, based on the negative form which is so often used (Prohibitive form: lo' + Impf.; Vetitive form:
examining the prohibitive and vetitive forms, prefers a upper class background in the schools.4 Whybray, recognizing the presence of the admonition in Egyptian instructions and the lack of the explicit use of hkm words, ____________________ 1Lambert, BWL, p. 103. 2ANET, p. 428. 3Gerstenberger, Wesen und Herkunft des 'apodiktischen, pp. 60-65, 110-13. Cf. Nel, The Structure and Ethos, p. 77. 4Richter, Recht und Ethos, p. 117. Khanjian, "Wisdom in Ugarit," p. 19 also rejects Gerstenberger's suggestion.1 Nel properly repudiates both restrictive settings as being based on the form, rather than the content of the admonitions. He then proceeds to trace the ethos of the family, school, court, priests, and prophets in the text of Proverbs. He opts for a "city" setting which allows for a multiplex origin.2 Any isomorphic mapping of the form onto a setting which does not take into account the complex character and content of the wisdom sayings is misguided. Though Nel is undoubtedly correct that the admonition form does not indicate its setting and that the frequency of admonitions has its highest concentrations in collections A and C, which are clearly didactic, yet one wonders how closely one can link ethos with setting, as it is obvious that a teacher may discuss matters which have their loci outside of the classroom. Solomon is surely not to be portrayed as a provincial farmer because he discussed trees and animals.3 ____________________
tracing of these themes in the text is a helpful synthesis. Murphy also rejects the dual setting for the saying and admonition, based on form alone, and maintains a didactic setting for both (Wisdom Literature, pp. 6-7). Cf. also Murphy, "Form Criticism and Wisdom Literature," pp. 480-81. 3Nel, The Structure and Ethos, p. 68. Glendon E. Bryce, "Omen-Wisdom in Ancient Israel," JBL 94.1 (1975):36, rejects Gerstenberger's conclusions. Zimmerli also notes the great frequency of admonitions in chapters 1-9. While chapters 10-22 contain 375 proverbs, only 10 are admonitions and chapters 25-29 have 127 sayings, but only The admonition has been grammatically defined, in Nel's thorough study, as consisting "of an admonitory element, in the grammatical form of an Imperative, Jussive, Vetitive or Prohibitive and a motive element, which might vary in grammatical form, length and explication."1 Other peripheral features which appear in the instruction sentences are conditional clauses, a call to attention, and a summary instruction. These three are found in Egyptian texts as well.2 Thus the admonition may be described as:
(motivation) + (summary instruction). The two primitive elements are the imperative and the motivation. It is recognized that the motivational element is sometimes left implicit. The imperative element may express itself with four basic verbal patterns: (1) imperative; (2) jussive; (3) vetitive (negative of a jussive/imperative);3 and (4) prohibitive (negative of the imperfect). Thus the admonitions will break into positive and negative oriented statements. Six basic types emerge from this positive/negative orientation. First, there is the single ____________________
35-39.
3Ronald J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax: An Outline, p. 35, section 186. positive command, which may be manifested either by an imperative (Prov 4:23; 16:3; 22:6; 25:16, 17; 31:8-9) or, much more rarely, by a jussive (Prov 1:23; 19:25a). Second, the command may be expressed by a single negative in vetitive form (Prov 3:11-12; 23:10-11; 22:22; 24:28; 25:8; 31:3) or--as it appears once--with the prohibitive (Prov 20:19). Somewhat less frequently, command dyads occur, manifesting a third form of two positive commands. Three options occur at this point: (1) the imperative/ imperative (Prov 8:5-9; 9:5-6); (2) the jussive/imperative (Prov 4:4) and imperative/jussive (Prov 23:26-28); and (3) the jussive/jussive (Prov 4:25). A fourth category is the dyading of a negative and a positive command (either as a vetitive and an imperative [Prov 3:1-2, 21-24; 23:4-5] or an imperative/vetitive sequence [Prov 1:8-9; 4:1-2, 5-6a; 8:33-36; 23:12-14; 24:11-12, 21-22]. Fifth, although rare, there may be a double negative (vetitive/prohibitive, Prov 22:24-25). Lastly, there may be a cluster of three or four command forms (Prov 3:5-6; 4:13, 14-19; 20-22; 6:20-23; 23:19-21, 22-25; 30:8-9).1 Nel notes the connection between the negative command and the negative aspect of the motivation which accompanies it (Prov 22:26-27; 22:22-23; ____________________ 1This material was synthesized from a chart by Nel, The Structure and Ethos, pp. 65-67. Cf. also Chisholm, "Literary Genres and Structures in Proverbs," pp. 3-4 and his listing on pages 14-23. 23:9, 20-21) and positive prescriptions bearing positive type motivations (Prov 23:17-18; 3:11f; 8:33-34). He cites only three exceptions (Prov 22:22-23; 23:10-11; and 24:11-12), all of which mention YHWH.1 The motive clause has been the object of much study recently2 and is linked almost inseparably to the command of the admonition in Proverbs. The motive clause provides the rationale explaining why a certain injunction should be carried out. It is of interest that the wise man did not simply legislate that his students obey his advice; nor did he always invoke Yahweh as the basis upon which one was to respond, although that motif is included at points (Prov 22:23; 23:11; 24:12, 18; 25:22). Most often, the wise man appealed to "a sense of self-interest and relied upon a capacity to reason things out."3 Quite frequently the motivation is in reference to rewards and punishments. This is not in terms of an eschatological, divine judgment, but is, rather, in terms of the cause and ____________________ 1 Nel, The Structure and Ethos, p. 87. 2Major works on the motive clause are: Nel, The Structure and Ethos, pp. 18-65; H. J. Postel, "The Form and Function of the Motive Clause in Proverbs 10-29" (Ph. D. dissertation, University of Iowa, 1976), pp. 1-194; B. Gemser, "The Importance of the Motive Clause in Old Testament Law," VTSup 1 (1953):50-66; and R. N. Gordon, "Motivation in Proverbs," Biblical Theology 25.3 (1975):49-56 (which has a helpful summary chart on page 56).
3Crenshaw, Old Testament Wisdom, p. 21; and von Rad, Wisdom in Israel, pp. 90-91. effect principles which operate presently in the created order of the world (Prov 3:1, 2; 4:4; 6:25, 26; 14:7). So Proverbs 29:17 advises:
he will bring delight to your soul. When one harmonizes his life with order, the results of life, health, and prosperity follow. The individual who violates order must bear the negative consequences inherent in the deed.1 The temporal rewards and punishment motif is also strongly manifested in Proverbs outside of the confines of the motivational clauses as well (Prov 1:18-19; 10:4, 6; 11:3-6, 8; 12:3, 6, 10-11, 13, 20; et al.).2 The bond between the admonition and motivation is seen to be inseparable by Nel, who maintains that every admonition has a motivation. The weakness of this position is divulged in his discussion of Proverbs 31:8-9 and 27:2, where he states that the motivation is "inherent."3 Zimmerli and Zeller more properly allow for admonitions without motivations (Prov 24:27, 28, 29; ____________________ 1Fox, "Aspects of the Religion of the Book of Proverbs," HUCA 39 (1968):60. 2Gordon, "Motivation in Proverbs," p. 56. Gordon discusses motivation in general and does not deal with the motive clause specifically. Vid. Gladson, "Retributive Paradoxes in Proverbs 10-29," for an interesting development of this concept.
31:8, 9).1 The previous notion that admonitions were agglomerations of wisdom fragments built into larger and larger units in a unilateral, evolutionary manner has been proven to be incorrect by both the Egyptian and Mesopotamian literature.2 Thus Nel, Kayatz, and Waltke correctly reject Richter's and Gerstenberger's hypotheses that the motivation clauses were later tagged onto the admonitions in the postexilic period.3 One should note the examples cited above from Sumerian and Old Kingdom Egyptian literature which exhibit strong motivational elements as an integral part of the admonition complex. The introductory particles and forms of the motivation are quite varied. Nel states:
[Prov 24:1-2, 23:9, 6-8; 3:11-12; 4:13, 23; 7:24-27; 1:8-9], pen [Prov 25:8, 16, 17; 26:4, 5; 31:4-5; 5:7-14], waw [Prov 16:3; 29:17; 1:23; 3:5-6, 9-10, 21-24; 14:7], le...(+Inf. Cstr.) [Prov 5:1-2; 7:1-5],
19:18a], 'aser [Prov 22:28; 6:6-8], or with a secondary ____________________
Old Testament Wisdom," in SAIW, p. 183; and Dieter Zeller, Die weisheitlichen Mahnspruche bei ben
refutes J. Schmidt, Studien zur Stilistik. 3Nel, The Structure and Ethos, pp. 72, 142; Waltke, "The Book of Proverbs and Ancient Wisdom Literature," p. 228; and Kayatz, Studien zu Proverbien
verbal clause in the form of a simile [Prov 5:18b-20; 23:4-5] popular proverb [Prov 20:19, 18; 17:14].1
the motive clauses. First, Nel organizes the motivations on a functional, syntactic level (e.g., result clause [Prov 24:19-20, 21-22; 27:11]; causal clause [Prov 3:11-12; 22:22-23; 23:1-3; 24:1-2]; predication [Prov 4:14-19; 5:1-6; 6:6-8; 14:7; 23:26-28, 31-36]; interrogative [Prov 5:15-18a; 22:26-27; 24:28]; conditional [Prov 24:27]; secondary command [Prov 13:20a; 20:13b, 22]) and notes when it is a final clause (Prov 16:3; 19:20; 22:10, 24-25; 25:8; 26:4, 5) or subordinate clause (Prov 19:25; 31:3, 6-7). He also observes when the motivation precedes the imperative form (Prov 20:19) and when it is left implicit (Prov 24:14).2 Second, others would categorize the motive clauses more semantically (vid. Kayatz's four categories listed above [p. 238]).3 Nel also proposes four semantic bases for the motivation: (1) its reasonableness; (2) its ____________________
Gemser, "The Importance of the Motive Clause in Old Testament Law," p. 53; and Phyllis Trible, "Wisdom Builds a Poem: The Architecture of Proverbs 1:20-33," JBL 94 (1975):512, 516.
18-57.
3Kayatz, Studien zu Proverbien 1-9, p. 74; cf. also Williamson, "The Forms of Proverbs 1-9," pp. 16-22; and Chisholm, "Literary Genres and Structures in Proverbs," pp. 4-5. Gemser, having studied motivation clauses in the Law and Prophets, states: "One can discern four or five kinds of motivation: 1) the motive clauses of a simply dissuasiveness (which forwards the end results of one's Yüklə 6,58 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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