"They rely exclusively on rational scrutiny and on a
practised delicacy of appraisal and have no room in their
system for the religious authority which is exemplified in
the prophetic dabar."2 Fichtner explains the name of
deity in the older proverbial materials as being without
reflection and devoid of substantial, Israelite religious
content.3 Irwin portrays the intellectuals in Israel as
viewing man's destiny as a "mundane affair. His personal
good was to be found in this life, and his achievement,
whatever it might be, related only to this world."4 Scott
____________________
1Eichrodt, Theology of the Old Testament, 2:81-83.
2William McKane, Prophets and Wise Men, SBT 44, ed.
C. F. D. Moule et al. (Naperville, IL: Alec R. Allenson,
Inc., 1965), pp. 65-66. Also vid. the approach McKane
takes on the sentence literature in Prov 10ff. (Proverbs,
pp. 11-13). R. B. Y. Scott also manifests this attitude by
portraying Prov 10-22 and 25-29 as "more secular and less
didactic in tone" (Proverbs- Ecclesiastes, AB, ed. W. F.
Albright and D. N. Freedman [Garden City: Doubleday &
Company, Inc., 1965], p. 83). The best discussion on the
relation of the prophetic dabar and the sages' authority is
found in Crenshaw's Prophetic Conflict, (Berlin: Walter de
Gruyter, 1971), pp. 116-23.
3Johannes Fichtner, Die altorientalische Weisheit
in ihr israelitische-judische Auspragung: eine Studie zur
Nationalisierung der Weisheit in Israel, BZAW 62 (Giessen:
A. Topelmann, 1933), p. 98.
4William A. Irwin, "Man," in The Intellectual
Adventure of Ancient Man, ed. H. A. Frankfort, J. A.
similarly contrasts wisdom as anthropocentric with the
prophets as theocentric. Zimmerli speaks of autonomous
man and rejects proverbial elements which elucidate man's
creatureliness as secondary (Prov 15:11; 16:1; 20:12;
22:2).1
It has been fortunate that the above secular
analyses of wisdom have been largely rejected;2 yet,
Brueggemann has properly criticized the church for
ignoring the proverbial material due to the church's lack
of concern for the "mundane" issues discussed therein. He
states, "From time to time, the church has not really
cared if 'a city is exalted' or if 'it is overthrown'"
(Prov 11:11).3 Indeed this view of the secular character
of Proverbs may be a result of a simplistic reading of the
text.4
The second approach which has tended to secularize
____________________
Wilson, T. Jacobsen, and W. A. Irwin (Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press, 1977), p. 264.
1Scott, The Way of Wisdom, p. 116; Walther
Zimmerli, "Concerning the Structure of Old Testament
Wisdom," pp. 176-77. Cf. also Schmid, Wesen und
Geschichte der Weisheit, p. 155.
2Rylaarsdam (Revelation in Jewish Wisdom
Literature, p. 21) and Leonidas Kalugila, in The Wise
King, prove conclusively the close relationship of the
gods and wisdom in the ancient Near East. Thus to talk of
secular wisdom is anachronistically ill-conceived.
3Brueggemann, In Man We Trust, p. 17.
4Derek Kidner, "The Relationship between God and
Man in Proverbs," TB 7-8 (July 1961):4.
wisdom rejects a quid pro quo deletion of God by secular
humanism. This humanistic position does not eliminate God
as the first position does, but, rather, emphasizes the
anthropocentric character of wisdom. For lack of a better
title, this will be designated as a theistic humanistic
approach to wisdom. Rankin begins his treatment of wisdom
by naming the wisdom literature "The Documents of Hebrew
Humanism"--"not in the sense of a rejection of the
supernatural, or even as intending a concern chiefly with
man's welfare, but because its general characteristic is
the recognition of man's moral responsibility, his
religious individuality and of God's interest in the
individual life."1 This type of "humanism" is consistent
with the text. Man is not viewed as "cowering, and
self-denying," but, rather, in Brueggemann's formulation,
as the king of creation--as one trusted and responsible.2
Brueggemann's stress on affirming man's responsibility and
trustedness is helpful when placed into a theological
framework.
Thus, it should be noted that two types of
____________________
1Rankin, Israel's Wisdom Literature, p. 1. John
Priest gives an interesting discussion of this issue,
including a definition of "humanism" which is crucial to
this whole discussion ("Humanism, Skepticism, and
Pessimism in Israel," JAAR 36 [1968]:311-26). Gladson,
"Retributive Paradoxes in Proverbs 10-29," p. 279.
2Walther Brueggemann, "Scripture and an Ecumenical
Life-Style: A Study in Wisdom Theology," Int 24.1
(January 1970):16.
"humanists" are found in these studies. The first,
secular humanists, emphasize humanism to the point of the
negation of God's involvement, which is usually written
off as a late accretion to wisdom. A second group,
theistic humanists, while acknowledging God's work, affirm
man's work and control of his world and reject any
inherent dichotomy between the two. This second
perspective presents a needed balance to those who reduce
wisdom to "the fear of the Lord," ignoring or theologizing
its anthropological quiddity. Yet, to say that self,
rather than God, is the starting place of wisdom would
abrogate the clear statements of the text (Prov 1:1-8).1
Hence, Murphy correctly suggests a "theological
anthropology."2 Numerous writers have rejected the
"secular humanist" position. Harvey successfully
incriminates this position, when he notes that the whole
of Proverbs 10-15 (the oldest wisdom) centers on the
"righteous man" and the "wicked," both of which have
____________________
1James L. Crenshaw, "Popular Questioning of the
Justice of God in Ancient Israel," p. 382. His later
statement--"Moreover, a strong humanism pervades the
tradition, although that optimism regarding human
potential springs from a conviction that God has created
the universe orderly"--seems more accurate (Old Testament
Wisdom, p. 55).
2Murphy, "Interpretation of Wisdom," p. 292. Cf.
also Fox, "Aspects of the Religion of the Book of
Proverbs," p. 63.
strong theological overtones.1
It may also be argued that the distinction between
sacred and profane and the caricature of the ancient wise
man as an agnostic scholar are foreign to ancient Near
Eastern culture, as Kalugila has recently suggested.2
Some scholars delight in looking down the well of history
only to see their own faces reflected in the waters below.
The secular humanist approach polarizes wisdom by
twentieth century glasses.3 Nel disapproves of the idea
of an autonomous man ethos in Proverbs and correctly
perceives the will and actions of man as subordinate to
the demesne of Yahweh (Prov 14:2; 16:1-3; 17:3; 20:9;
21:2; 21:31).4 Kidner, in a positive manner, states:
Similarly in the realm of conduct, which is Proverbs'
field, the one Lord makes known His will, and thereby
a single standard of what is wise and right, and a
satisfying motive for seeking it. So a sense of
purpose and calling lifts the teaching of Proverbs
above the pursuit of success or tranquility, clear of
the confines of a class-ethic or a dry moralism, into
the realm of knowing the living God 'in all (one's)
ways.'5
____________________
1Harvey, "Wisdom Literature and Biblical Theology,"
p. 317; and Scott, Proverbs-Ecclesiastes, p. 26.
2Kalugila, The Wise King, pp. 12-17; 90-100.
3Roland E. Murphy, review of Wisdom in Israel, by
Gerhard von Rad, in CBQ 33 (1971):287.
4Nel, The Structure and Ethos, pp. 108-13.
5Derek Kidner, The Proverbs: An Introduction and
Commentary, The Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries
(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1964), p. 21.
Empirical, Rational, and
Eudaemonistic Wisdom
Having briefly surveyed the secular humanist and
theistic humanist approaches to wisdom, we will next give
an overview of empirical, rational and eudaemonistic
approaches. Each of these will have, in part, valid
insights; yet an overemphasis will prove to be the faux
pas of each system. A discerning eclectic approach will
have a kalogenetic effect on the understanding of the
text.
Those advocating an empirical approach to the
proverbs are not a homogeneous group. Some, such as
Gordis,1 develop two types of wisdom, an
Erfahrungsweisheit (wisdom of experience) and a
theologische Weisheit (theological wisdom). One wonders
whether such a bifurcation reflects Proverbs which seems
to mix without effort these two perspectives that are so
distinct to modern, post-Kantian minds. Proverbs, for
Zimmerli, lacks any basis of authority outside of the
validating experience of man.2 While the experiential
character of wisdom should be acknowledged (Prov 7:6),3
____________________
1Robert Gordis, "The Social Background of Wisdom
Literature," HUCA 18 (1943, 1944):79-80.
2Zimmerli, "Structure of Old Testament Wisdom,"
pp. 183, 185. For Zimmerli, the starting point is man and
the question is "How do I as man secure my existence?" (p.
190).
3James L. Crenshaw, "Wisdom," in Old Testament Form
this must not be done at the expense of the revelatory and
divine ethos of biblical wisdom. Oftentimes, the proverbs
are observational without necessarily being moralistic.
They frequently are merely descriptive of empirical
realities (Prov 13:7; 18:16; 20:14, 29).1
There is an empirical emphasis in Proverbs which
should not be ignored by a negatively-biased theological
parti pris which demeans or reinterprets the clear
statements of the text (Prov 26:12). The whetting of the
senses as a means of learning is frequent in Proverbs
(especially the eyes 7:6, 7; 17:24; 27:12; ear 2:2; 18:15;
and the use of one's mind 7:3; 18:15; 22:17). The
Sumerian words for wisdom are reflective of this outlook
as well: gis-tuku or gestu, meaning "ear" or "hearing."2
The frequent calls to attention (3:1; 4:1; 5:1) also
stress the need to harness one's faculties in the learning
process. Thus, wisdom comes to man by his sense
perceptions, in tandem with listening to divine torah,
____________________
Criticism, ed. John H. Hayes (San Antonio: Trinity
University Press, 1974), p. 231; Murphy, Introduction to
Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament, p. 30; and von
Rad, Wisdom in Israel, p.4.
1Roland E. Murphy, Wisdom Literature: Job,
Proverbs, Ruth, Canticles, Ecclesiastes, and Esther, Forms
of the Old Testament Literature, ed. R. Knierim and G. M.
Tucker (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,
1981), p. 4; Crenshaw, "Wisdom", p. 77; and Fox, "Aspects
of the Religion of the Book of Proverbs," pp. 62-63.
2Kalugila, The Wise King, pp. 38f.
which should not be excluded (Ps. 1:2).1 This empirical
approach is explicitly manifested elsewhere in wisdom as
well (Eccl l:13; Sir 17:6, 8).2
While an empirical element must not be ignored or
de-emphasized, it must not be seen as the starting point
of wisdom. The starting point and goal of wisdom is
clearly stated to be the fear of the Lord (Prov 1:7; Eccl
13:7). Mere empirical observations, while accounting for
many of the proverbs, leave a significant number
untouched. The intentions of a man, for example, are not
open to empirical verification, yet they are the point of
discussion of numerous proverbs (Prov 26:23-24; 27:6, 14).
These same proverbs prescribe caution, in that mere
outward appearances and empirical data may be deceiving.
Similarly, references to Yahweh and the cult (Prov 10:3;
11:1; 15:8; 21:27) are not open to empirical
verification.3
Nel correctly observes that the fear of Yahweh "does not
allow us to interpret wisdom as natural theology."4
____________________
1Rylaarsdam, Revelation in Jewish Wisdom
Literature, p. 66; and Worrell, "The Theological Ideas of
the Old Testament Wisdom Literature," p. 88.
2von Rad, Wisdom in Israel, p. 287; Luis Alonso-
Schokel, "The Vision of Man in Sirach 16:24-17:14," in
Israelite Wisdom: Theological and Literary Essays in
Honor of Samuel Terrien, ed. J. G. Gammie et al. (New
York: Union Theological Seminary, 1978), p. 238.
3Kovacs, "Sociological-Structural Constraints,"
pp. 182-86.
4Nel, The Structure and Ethos, p. 182.
It is clear that the proverbs are not merely bald
empirical observations, but, rather, they take the sensory
data of many particulars and, through a rationalistic
process, create a single, compressed statement, which will
explain the vast number of particular situations from
which it was taken and to which it may be applied.1 All
this is done within a Yahwistic framework, which directs
the individual to the fear of Yahweh as a result of his
observations.
While certainly one would reject Scott's dichotomy
between reason/experience and revelation,2 there is
definitely a stronger rational element in wisdom than is
found elsewhere in Scripture. The careful weighing of
various possibilities (Prov 15:16, 17) was part of the
task of the wise man, as was the movement from the
particulars to the general--both of which are rational
operations demonstrating the wise man's perceptiveness
(Prov 7:6-27).3 Since wisdom is viewed as a divine gift,
____________________
1James G. Williams, Those Who Ponder Proverbs:
Aphoristic Thinking and Biblical Literature, Bible and
Literature Series, ed. D. M. Gunn (Sheffield: The Almond
Press, 1981), pp. 35-36, 89; Carole R. Fontaine,
Traditional Sayings in the Old Testament, Bible and
Literature Series, ed. D. M. Gunn (Sheffield: The Almond
Press, 1982), pp. 8, 49; also vid. Heda Jason's excellent
model of proverb form and function: "Proverbs in Society:
the Problem of Meaning and Function," Proverbium 17
(1971):620.
2Scott, The Way of Wisdom, p. 113.
3Zimmerli, Old Testament Theology in Outline, p.
however, the wise men themselves were careful not to
attribute these sagacious perceptions exclusively to their
own acumen, but acknowledged divine origin (Prov 3:4-5;
1 Kgs 3:5-15; Exod 31:1-5; 2 Sam 16:23). The distinction
between faith and reason was foreign to ancient Israel.
An outgrowth of the empirical/rational emphases of
wisdom has been to view them as pragmatic in character.
Though Paterson's division between utilitarianism and
absolute moral law is an incorrect view of Israel's
pragmatism (vid. Prov l7:8), Kelly does better by seating
the non-theoretical, work-clothes tenor of Proverbs firmly
in a theistic Gestalt.1 Murphy properly warns against
simply writing off wisdom as mere pragmatism and
neglecting to comprehend its religious foundations.2
The eudaemonistic character of wisdom was
____________________
153; also Gladson, "Retributive Paradoxes in Proverbs
10-29," p. 279; and Kovacs, "Sociological-Structural
Constraints," pp. 47, 395.
1John Paterson, The Wisdom of Israel (London:
Lutterworth and Abingdon, 1961), p. 86; B. H. Kelly, "The
Book of Proverbs," Int 2 (1948):345; cf. also Crenshaw,
Old Testament Wisdom, p. 19 and von Rad, Wisdom in Israel,
pp. 74, 77.
2Murphy, Introduction to Wisdom Literature of the
Old Testament, pp. 16, 46. Ernst Wurthwein, working with
Egyptian materials, notes that "a thoroughly religious
understanding of life and world stands behind the often
utilitarian-sounding counsels" ("Egyptian Wisdom and the
Old Testament," p. 117); so also J. W. Gaspar, Social
Ideas in the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament, The
Catholic University of America Studies in Sacred Theology,
No. 8 (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America
Press, 1947), p. 116.
emphasized by early wisdom studies, which viewed Proverbs
from an anthropocentric base. The goal of wisdom was the
happiness of the individual and the secure and successful
establishment of his life.1 Its eudaemonistic character
was believed to be reflected in the retribution principle:
he who does good ethically will receive good materially,
that is, riches, security, life, and happiness. The
recent development of the connection of wisdom to the
ma'at principle has eliminated the viewing of wisdom as
simply eudaemonistic.2 The basis is now seen as the
upholding of ma'at, or the world order, in which the
individual, if he participates compatibly, can secure for
himself a measure of happiness and security. This model
fits well both in Egypt and, to some extent, in Israel.
____________________
1Zimmerli, "Concerning Structure of Old Testament
Wisdom," pp. 176-92, especially p. 190. Zimmerli deals
extensively with his fundamental question, "How do I as
man secure my existence?" (Prov 10:9). W. Baumgartner,
Israelitische und altorientalische Weisheit, Sammlung
Gemeinverstandlicher Vortrage und Schriften aus dem Gebiet
der Theologie und Religionsgeschichte, vol. 166, ed. P.
Siebeck (Tubingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1933), pp. 27-29.
2Harmut Gese, Lehre und Wirklichkeit in der alten
Weisheit, pp. 7-11. Also J. A. Emerton, "Wisdom," in
Tradition and Interpretation, ed. G. W. Anderson (Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1979), pp. 216-17; Philip Nel, "A
Proposed Method for Determining the Context of the Wisdom
Admonitions," Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages 6
(1978):33; Roland E. Murphy, "The Wisdom Literature of the
Old Testament," in The Human Reality of Sacred Scripture,
vol. 10 (New York: Paulist Press, 1965), p. 131; and
Harvey, "Wisdom Literature and Biblical Theology," p. 309.
Evolutionary Model: From
Secular to Religious
While most of the above perspectives on wisdom
have been modified to positions which reflect the
canonical text, the proposed evolutionary models still
refuse to accept the text by either reinterpreting the
data, or, much more commonly, via the use of a scissors
and paste methodology, reconstructing the text to fit
their model. Perhaps the most prevalent evolutionary
model held today is the movement from secular, early,
proverbial statements to later religious and Yahwistic
renditions. Baumgartner, for example, notes "how the
rules of mere worldly wisdom diminish, eudaemonistic
motives are replaced by moral and religious ones. . . ."1
More recent has been McKane's atomistic approach, by which
he divides the sentence literature (Prov 10-29) on the
basis of three preconstructed classes: Class A (old
wisdom educational principles on how to live a successful
life); Class B (shows a concern for the community,
exposing anti-social behaviour); and Class C (identified
by the presence of Yahwistic elements). Thus, his
____________________
1Baumgartner, "The Wisdom Literature," p. 214. He
also cites Gunkel and Fichtner as supporting this
position. Also of this school are: M. D. Conway, Solomon
and Solomonic Literature (New York: Haskell House
Publishers Ltd., 1973), p. 77; Charles C. Forman, "The
Context of Biblical Wisdom," The Hibbert Journal 60
(1962):129; Gaspar, Social Ideas in the Wisdom Literature
of the Old Testament, p. 119.
commentary, which has been hailed as the replacement for
Toy's classic on Proverbs, tears the text of Proverbs into
these three categories, then shuffles and comments on them
after they are reordered under these new headings. McKane
thereby violates the canonical shape and texture of the
text, which will be shown to be significant even in the
sentence literature. He also takes issue with von Rad's
idea of the religious element being original to the
proverbial materials.1 Even more recently, Bryce has
constructed an evolutionary model, based on an Egyptian
Vorlage, which moves through adapted and assimilated
stages, to a stable, fully-integrated, Yahwistic piece of
literature.2 Bryce uses a comparison between Amenemope
9:7-8 and Proverbs 15:16 to show that the Yahwistic
element was added.3
The evidence for such views is varied. Fichtner,
based on an analysis of the motive clauses, suggests that,
____________________
1McKane, Proverbs, pp. 11-12 and also in his
Prophets and Wise Men, p. 48.
2Bryce, A Legacy of Wisdom, pp. 58, 220. Bryce
proffers three stages: adapted (minor changes),
assimilated (major modifications), and integrated (little
of the original meaning).
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