Proverbs: Deep Dive

THE WISE AND WISDOM | KATIE HALDANE

The idea of ‘mulling over’ something for wisdom is not really seen in our generation today. All we need to do is ask Google. But in the ancient Near East, taking time to gain wisdom and knowledge was honoured and, in fact, those who did this as their profession were honoured as highly as the priests and prophets. This tradition of the ‘wise’ continued throughout the Old Testament into the New. The ‘wise men from the East’ in Matthew 2 visited Herod and Jesus and presented Him with gold, frankincense and myrrh. Fun fact: the Bible never says how many wise men came from the east only that they presented Jesus with three gifts, and that is where we get ‘the three wise men’ from our Christmas stories. These men were wealthy and honoured enough to have counsel with Herod. So as you read the book of Proverbs, you are sitting and gaining ‘wisdom’ in a tradition that has been going on for centuries.

Trashing Tip: Highlight and consider the key verse, the summary of the whole book, found in Chapter 1:7, ‘The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction’. Notice how this is the key to gaining wisdom: if you want wisdom, the first step is to honour and revere the LORD.

Wisdom is not unique to proverbs

I know the wisdom found in Proverbs seems unique because it is the only book in our Bibles of this kind. Particularly after Chapter 9, with the short sayings, the antithetical nature of two ways to live; life or death, wisdom and folly. The imagery of Lady Wisdom and Folly battling over the young sons’ choices, the over-simplistic nature in which actions bring consequences without any deviation.

The wisdom found in Proverbs is based in a Jewish understanding of wisdom. Texts like this were common in the ancient Near East and include texts such as ‘Wisdom of Solomon’ and the ‘Wisdom Ben Sirach’. Wisdom literature as a genre gives the reader instructions on how to live life successfully as well as contemplations on the perplexities of life including human existence. You will find very little Bible characters in the book of Proverbs because this writing is not a historical narrative. If a person is included, like Solomon, it is because they are ranked in the order of ‘wise men’. The incredible characters you will find are essential to the lesson of wisdom: Lady Wisdom, Folly, the narrator Father and the Young Son, all characters to lead you into your quest for wisdom. The purpose is not historical or narrative but the transfer of practical information. As we went through in the Dive, this wisdom is not to make you ‘wise’ but is supposed to be outworked in your life. They are actions, not just sayings!

There are two types of wisdom literature: Proverbial wisdom like Proverbs, which are short sayings that give you practical rules for your personal life, and Speculative wisdom, like Job and Ecclesiastes, which give the reader insight into problems in life, including the meaning of existence, suffering or grief. The Bible celebrates the quest for knowledge, the quest to wrestle with our thoughts and emotions until they produce something good, rather than running from them. And that was the job of the ‘wise’ and the ‘sages’.

THE WISE IN OUR BIBLE

I know, as we read our text, we naturally sway to prophets and priests being the respected head of Israel. But there was one more group, the scribes or ‘wise’ (Hebrew ‘Hakam’) men and women who were common in the ancient Near East. They were as respected as the priest and prophet and were tasked to write out their wisdom for others to glean from. Jeremiah 18:18 shows the three in unison:

J 18:18 They said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. So come, let’s attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says.”

We meet many ‘wise’ people in the Bible including Solomon, who was known for his wisdom (1 Kings 4:29-34) and Hezekiah (who wrote Proverbs 25:1), but there are some that we might simply overlook in the narrative. Jonathan, King David’s uncle, was a wise man (1 Chronicles 27:32) and there are two wise women found in 2 Samuel, one from Tekoa (2 Samuel 14) and one from Abel (2 Samuel 20:16). Proverbs 24:23 and 22:17 tell us that these are the ‘Sayings of the Wise’. King Rehoboah sought the counsel of wise men in 1 Kings 12:6-14, and Ahithophel is described as a wise man who gave counsel to King David (2 Samuel 16:23). Qoheleth, the author of Ecclesiastes, was a sage and in Ecclesiastes 12:9, he gives us an explanation almost like a job description:

E 12:9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.

WISDOM OUTSIDE OF ISRAEL

Now we know that wisdom literature and wise men and women were common throughout the ancient Near East, let’s focus in on the wisdom outside Israel. Wisdom was a sought-after commodity, and that is why so many people, including the Queen of Sheba, visited Solomon and sought his wisdom. Daniel was taken into exile in Babylon and became one of the ‘wise men of Babylon’ (Daniel 2:24). Moses was educated in the wisdom of Egypt (Acts 7:22) and Isaiah 19:11 speaks of the ‘wise counsellors of Pharaoh’ giving senseless advice.

Egypt, in fact, has a text called the ‘Teaching of Ptahhotep’ written in 2450BC, which is very similar to the writings found in Proverbs. Also, the ‘Words of Ahikar’ (a seventh century Assyrian sage) is a world-famous collection of sayings also similar to Proverbs.

So what makes Proverbs different?

Wisdom in the Bible begins with the fear of the Lord and in the New Testament, James 1:5 says if you lack wisdom, just ask. The wisdom found in Proverbs guides us through the ‘wisdom found in God.’ The Old Testament wise man was unaware of any reality where Yahweh was not completely in control. Creation obeys Him and all rely on Him. The book of Proverbs calls us to a deeper level of intimacy and faith in God, it shows us that wisdom and God are inseparable in our daily lives. His wisdom guides our steps, our decisions, our thoughts. The book of Proverbs calls us into the world of the God-fearing wise man that seeks knowledge from the One who knows all things, created all things, and holds everything together.