PROVERBS
by Fr. William Most
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