Proverbial poetry: its settings and syntax
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'The burdens of former days are forgotten' [he said].1 While the ethos of the Sumerian proverbs is farther from the biblical Proverbs than that of the Egyptian instructions is, it is important to realize the length of the tradition of the proverbial form in man's history. Buccellati concludes after noting the presence of proverbs at Ebla and Abu Salabikh (third millenium B.C.): The sentential type literature represented especially by the proverbs continues practically unchanged over the centuries to the end of the cuneiform tradition: it represents the most direct embodiment of a perduring popular reflection about simple truths.2
Sumerian proverbs for a millennium between the Early Babylonian and Neo-Babylonian periods. He has identified ____________________ Sumerian Proverb Collection, Mesopotamia: Copenhagen Studies in Assyriology, vol. 2 (Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag, 1974), p. 7.
Sumerian Literature," JCS 27 (October 1975):212. Also see his Studies in Sumerian Proverbs, Mesopotamia: Copenhagen Studies in Assyriology, vol. 3 (Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag, 1975).
Mesopotamia," JAOS 101 (1981):42. numerous Neo-Babylonian and Assyrian proverbs which were previously known in unilingual texts at Sumer.1 Alster notes, in reference to the problem of borrowing the Sumerian proverbs: 213 During a festival--do not choose a wife 220 At the time of harvest, do not [buy] an ass2 and their proverbial counterparts at Ugarit: Do not buy an ox [in the spring], do not choose a girl during a festival.3
appropriate for the conundrum of borrowing. "Although there cannot have been an immediate link between these two compositions, they certainly testify to a vague relationship conditioned by widespread stable structural patterns."4 This observation encapsulates the point of this discussion of ancient Near Eastern sources. Finally, and very briefly, it should be noted from ____________________
Akkad," pp. 135-37. 2Alster, Proverbs, pp. 82-84; Alster, Suruppak, p. 46.
3RS 22.439 from J. Nougayrol, et al. Ugaritica V (Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Guenther, 1968), p. 279. Cf. Khanjian who observes that until Ugaritica V "the relationship between the wisdom of Ugarit and the wisdom of the Old Testament was either denied or deduced indirectly." (Khanjian, "Wisdom," Ras Shamra Parallels, vol. 2, AnOr, ed. Loran E. Fisher (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1975), p. 373. Cf. John Khanjian, "Wisdom in Ugarit and in the Ancient Near East with Particular Emphasis on Old Testament Wisdom Literature" (Ph.D. dissertation, Claremont Graduate School, 1974), p. 168. 4Alster, Proverbs, p. 84. the middle of the third millennium B.C. that G. Pettinato, in 1976, announced the finding of a proverb collection at Ebla, the texts of which are still inaccessible.1 Dahood, in attempting to link Ebla to Ugaritic and Hebrew translates a proverb from Ebla which he claims "appears to be pure Canaanite, containing not a word of Sumerian."2 Biggs tells of a proverb collection found at Abu Salabikh where the earliest version of Suruppak was found.3 Babylonian and Assyrian "Wisdom" Turning north to Babylon and Assyria, one should be reminded of the influence of Sumerian script and literature as far north as Mari.4 Furthermore, McKane, in his section on "Babylonian and Assyrian Proverbs," states that most of the proverbs discussed in this period are ____________________ 1Giovanni Pettinato, "The Royal Archives of Tell Mardikh-Ebla," BA 39 (May 1976):45. Also vid. Pettinato's Catalogo Dei Testi Cuneiform Di Tell Mardikh-Ebla (Napoli: Instituto Universitario Di Napoli, 1979), p. xxx. 2Mitchell Dahood,"Ebla, Ugarit and the Old Testament," VTSup 29 (1978):93. 3Robert Biggs, "Ebla and Abu Salabikh: The Linguistic and Literary Aspects," in La Lingua Di Ebla ed. Luigi Cagni (Napoli: Institue Universitato Orientale, 1981), pp. 121-133. Cf. Idem, Inscriptions from Tell Abu Salabikh (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1974), pp. 31-33. 4W. G. Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1960), p. 9 (hereafter cited as BWL). For the Sumerian and Akkadian texts also vid. J. J. A. van Dijk, La Sagesse Sumero-Accadienne. really Sumerian in Babylonian dress.1 W. G. Lambert summarizes the evidence as follows: There is every indication that proverbs circulated in the Akkadian language, but it is a curious phenomenon that they do not seem to have become a part of stock literature. The only surviving tablets written with collections of Babylonian proverbs are an Old Babylonian fragment, and two pieces found in the old Hittite capital at Boghazkoy, one of which was part of a Hittite rendering. The late libraries, from which our knowledge of traditional Babylonian literature usually comes, have so far yielded not a single piece of Babylonian proverbs. . . . Babylonian proverbs are not a genre in the traditional literature of the Babylonians and Assyrians. The reason can be suggested. The codifiers of traditional literature during the Cassite period were very academic scholars, who may well have frowned on proverbs which were passed around among the uneducated. . . . The existence of a body of oral proverbs in Babylonian is shown by their occurrence in letters, works of literature, and elsewhere. Some are expressly given as proverbs (teltu) while others can be safely identified from a knowledge of them in other contexts.2 It is significant that Babylonian proverbs have been found in Boghazkoy, which fact stresses both their existence and the international character of the proverbial form. Scott observes:
made by Babylonian scholars after 1700 B.C. In the area of what in particular can be called 'Wisdom literature,' though the Babylonians made modifications and introduced new ideas, the literary forms typical of Mesopotamia were mostly originated by the ____________________
of Sumerian originals in "A New Look at the Wisdom of Sumer and Akkad," pp. 132-37. McKane does a nice job of analyzing select proverbs from Lambert. 2Lambert, BWL, pp. 275-76. Sumerians.1 The broader field of wisdom literature, a name with which Lambert demurs,2 is represented in upper Mesopotamia in texts such as: Ludlul Bel Nemeqi (translated as "I will praise the Lord of Wisdom,") and "The Babylonian Theodicy", "The Dialogue of Pessimism," and, most important for proverbial studies, the "Counsels of Wisdom."3 The following proverbs are rather typical of the character and form of the statements in "Counsels of Wisdom":
Requite with kindness your evil-doer, Maintain justice to your enemy, ____________________ 1Scott, The Way of Wisdom in the Old Testament (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1971), p. 36. 2Ibid., pp. 1-2. Gordon provides an excellent definition of "wisdom literature" in Mesopotamia in "A New Look at the Wisdom of Sumer and Akkad," p. 123. Wisdom literature is that type of literature "whose content is concerned in one way or another with life and nature and man's evaluation of them based either upon his direct observation or insight." Buccellati will identify it with themes of a closed system (fate) and a knowledge which is humble and introspective treating principles rather than events. He then concludes that wisdom themes are too diffused to identify it with a particular genre of Mesopotamian literature. His two charts comparing wisdom themes and texts philosophically is one of the most lucid presentations of wisdom motifs this writer has seen. These charts should be mastered by all beginning the study of wisdom texts ("Wisdom and Not: The Case of Mesopotamia," pp. 35-36, 44.
Pritchard, ANET. Discussions of the material and how it relates to the biblical text may be found in Crenshaw, Old
Smile on your adversary (Lines 41-44). It is pleasing to Samas, who will repay him with favour.
Do charitable deeds, render service all your days (Lines 64-65).1 The religious tenor of these proverbs is apparent, as is their ethical character. Also of interest is the fact that a "son" is the recipient of these "Counsels." The dearth of Babylonian proverbial materials has been offset somewhat by Angel Marzal's brilliant work on some Mari tablets (ca. 1800 B.C.).2 An interesting proverb from the Mari collection is:
and its companions pay attention (ARM X 150:9-11).3 The final text from Mesopotamia which should be mentioned is one found in 1906-1908, at Elephantine, Egypt, dating from the fifth century B.C.4 This text, however, had been known from several other sources and, in ____________________
p. 595.
2Angel Marzal, Gleanings from the Wisdom of Mari (Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1976), pp. 1-44. The works of Alster, Gordon and Marzal are critical not only for the tablets that are translated, but, at least as important, for their methods of proverbial analysis. Marzal does a particularly nice job on this account, applying Milner's and Barley's semantical analyses of proverbs, which, to date, provide the most mature system of proverbial analysis.
Pritchard, ANET, pp. 427-30. fact, has versions in Syriac, Arabic, Armenian, Greek, and even appears in the Church Fathers.1 Tobit 14:10 makes direct reference to this story as well. Ahikar apparently was a court sage under Sennacherib (704-681 B.C.) and Esarhaddon (680-669 B.C.).2 Though Story points out several differences between Proverbs and Ahikar, the similarities are striking.3
able to deliver him. . . . If I smite thee, my son, thou shalt not die, but if I leave (thee) to thine own heart . . . (Ahikar 44:2-4). Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell (Prov 23:13,14). Again the triad of suggestions forwards itself, with some allowing for Proverbs as the borrower,4 others ____________________
1958), pp. 270-75 (also has a translation of the text); and Roland E. Murphy, Introduction to the Wisdom Literature of
(Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1965), p. 23. 2For a brief overview, vid. Ronald E. Parkhurst, "The Wisdom of Proverbs in the Context of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures," p. 23; or Waltke, "The Book of Proverbs and Ancient Wisdom Literature," p. 223. 3Cullen I. K. Story, "The Book of Proverbs and Northwest Semitic Literature," JBL 64 (1945):329-36. He lists both similarities and differences. Other comparative lists may be found in: Scott, The Way of Wisdom, p. 40, and Oesterley, "The 'Teaching of Amen-em-ope' and the Old Testament," pp. 20-21. 4Scott, The Way of Wisdom, p. 40; and Thomas, Documents from Old Testament Times, pp. 270-71. holding to Ahikar as the imitator,1 and others opting for a common source.2 Thus, it may be concluded that Babylonia and Assyria, as well as Sumer and Egypt, employed the proverbial mode of expression. The form and content of these texts make it clear that Proverbs was not composed in a vacuum, but, rather, it too participated Yahwistically in utilizing that mode of literature for the glory of God. Syro-Palestinian Wisdom The last area to be surveyed is the Syro- Palestinian sources from Ugarit, Amarna and elsewhere. It should be noted that almost nothing of proverbial character has been found in Palestine, although its presence in Palestine may be inferred from scribal/school connections and Amarna inferences. Albright cites the following from Amarna: "If ants are smitten, they do not accept [the smiting] quietly, but they bite the hand of the man who smites them" (cf. Prov 6:6; 30:25).3 In spite ____________________ 1Harrison, Introduction, p. 1018. 2Oesterley, "The 'Teaching of Amen-em-ope' and the Old Testament," pp. 20-21, and Story, "Proverbs and Northwest Semitic," p. 337. 3W. F. Albright, "An Archaic Hebrew Proverb in an Amarna Letter from Central Palestine," BASOR 89 (February 1943):29; and "Some Canaanite-Phoenician Sources of Hebrew Wisdom," Wisdom in Israel and in the Ancient Near East, VTSup 3, (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1969), pp. 7-13. of J. Gray's initial statement that wisdom's voice was never heard in Ugarit, there has been considerable work done on Ugaritic wisdom material both structurally and comparatively with Israelite wisdom.1 Khanjian explains that it was not until the twenty-second campaign that wisdom texts were found at Ugarit.2 It is interesting to note that wisdom is associated with the Ugaritic god, El, and that, at points, it explicitly addresses the "son" as the recipient.3 No identical proverbs have been found;4 nonetheless, Ugaritic texts have helped in understanding Proverbs and Proverbs has helped in enlightening the Ugaritic materials.5 While differences do exist, there are also many similarities in imagery, fixed word pairs, ____________________
E. J. Brill, 1965), p. 258. Cf. also Albright, "Canaanite-Phoenician Sources," p. 7 and Bruce V. Malchow, "The Roots of Israel's Wisdom in Sacral Kingship" (Ph.D. dissertation, Marquette University, 1972), p. 123.
Story, "Proverbs and Northwest Semitic," p. 335. Vid. UT 51, IV, 65-66 in Cyrus Gordon, Ugaritic Textbook, vol. 38, AnOr (Rome: Pontificum Institutum Biblicum, 1965), p. 171; or Anat V, 38-39 in Gordon, Ugaritic Textbook, p. 255. Crenshaw, Old Testament Wisdom, p. 235. 4Khanjian, "Wisdom in Ugarit," p. 211. 5Mitchell Dahood, "Poetic Devices in the Book of Proverbs," in Studies in the Bible and the Ancient Near East Presented to Samuel E. Loewenstamm on His Seventieth Birthday, ed. Y. Avishur and J. Blau (Jerusalem: E. Rubenstein's Publishing House, 1978), p. 17. the use of parallelism, and other stylistic features.1 When considering types of Ugaritic wisdom genres, Khanjian demonstrates, by examples, the following forms: precept, maxim, truism, adage, by-word, taunt, riddle, fable, parable, instruction, and list.2 D. Smith, commenting on the wisdom text RS 22.439 as being comparable to the "Counsels of Wisdom," observes the following concerning the tenacity and ubiquity of wisdom forms throughout the ancient Near East: Structure, on the other hand, is controlled most directly by the internal elements of the unit itself and is nearly unaffected by surrounding context and larger social, religious and political considerations. . . . The parallels adduced below reflect a common tradition of teaching insofar as structure is concerned. The sages of Ugarit and Israel worked within a common tradition, they used common structures and structural devices in their teaching . . . . the structure of wisdom literature was fully evolved and available in its Babylonian dress in the Levant before the advent of Israel.3
____________________ 1Pierre Proulx, "Ugaritic Verse Structure and the Poetic Syntax of Proverbs" (Ph.D. dissertation, The Johns Hopkins University, 1956), pp. 93-95. Proulx does a comparison, using the VSO word order approach, between Proverbs and some Ugaritic texts. Likewise Khanjian, "Wisdom in Ugarit," pp. 224-35, shows the various types of parallelisms and similar structures in Ugaritic. The actual content of the two sets of proverbs is quite different however.
(Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1975), p. 218. Hear the counsel of Shube'awelum, whose understanding is like Enlilbanda, the experienced counsel of Shube'awelum, whose understanding Enlilbanda gave him. From his mouth comes everlasting order.
"Exhortation (Admonition)" and is followed by a "Motivation" where the teacher ostentatiously lists his qualifications. A similar structure, although more subdued, may be seen in Proverbs 22:17-18 (and also in Proverbs 4:10). Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, . . . for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you. In RS 22.439 I:10-13, Smith notes the form of an "Exhortation (Admonition)" followed by a rhetorical question "Motivation." Proverbs 25:7b-8 evinces the same form.1 Furthermore, as Murphy notes, sequential numerical sayings are not found in the wisdom of Mesopotamia (with the lone exception of Ahikar), nor in Egypt; yet they are found at Ras Shamra.2 The prevalence of this form in the biblical Proverbs of Agur is well known (Prov 30:18-19, 21, 24-26, 29-31). The Ugaritic materials have been helpful to ____________________
226.
2Roland E. Murphy, Wisdom Literature: Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Canticles, Ecclesiastes, and Esther, The Forms of the Old Testament Literature, ed. R. Knierim and G. M. Tucker (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1981), pp. 11-12; Pritchard, ANET, pp. 132 (iii, 17-20), 428 (vi 79-94). proverbial studies, not only because of structural features, but also for their value in solving lexical difficulties, which has been noted and developed by numerous scholars.1 Based on his Ugaritic studies, Albright's suggestions for Proverbs 6:11 and 24:34 have been adopted by the NIV, as has his well-known case for Proverbs 26:23 spsg (Ug.), "As glaze coated over earthenware."2 Story superbly illuminates parallels in words and phrases.3 Khanjian develops some Ugaritic proverbs which are thematically coincidental with the biblical proverbs, in his article in Ras Shamra Parallels. For example:
(RS 22.439 I:17)4 Do not join those who drink too much wine. (Prov 23:20). The subject of Canaanite or Phoenician wisdom should not be curious to biblical students, for the Bible mentions Edomite wisdom (Obad 8) and the wisdom of the ____________________ 1The most detailed work may be found in Mitchell Dahood's, Proverbs and Northwest Semitic Philology (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1963).
Wisdom," pp. 10, 13. 3Story, "Proverbs and Northwest Semitic Literature," pp. 326-27. This is an excellent source which cites the parallel texts side by side.
vol. 2, AnOr, ed. Loran E. Fisher (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1975), p. 376. king of Tyre (Ezek 28:2). This Phoenician vinculum has been developed in Dahood's work on Punic, which favors Albright's suggestion that Phoenician forms may be seen in the Bible, especially the lyric and gnomic literature.1 J. P. Brown has observed the connection of Phoenician wisdom and Greek proverbs quoted by Theognis, especially noting the flow to Greece of the semitic word for gold and the alphabet--thus, again, demonstrating the international character of the wisdom movement.2 Yüklə 6,58 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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