IMAGERY IN PROVERBS 26

                             Proverbs 26 (collage, 1994)

 

This chapter contains some sort of striking image in each verse. The proverbs are almost all expressed in the form of a simile or metaphor, many of which are readily understandable with some that are a little more obscure as far as their meaning is concerned. It is also interesting to note that about one-fourth of these proverbs concern situations which are “not fitting,” as signaled by the presence of this phrase in the very first verse. The comments below, unless otherwise noted, come from the anonymous authors of a very valuable resource, The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, edited by Ryken and Longman.

Verse 1: “Harvest is a source of metaphor and simile: 'Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest [a reference to the harvester's desire for cool weather during harvest] are faithful messengers to those who send them (Prov 25:13). 'Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool' (Prov 26:1).”

“The book of Proverbs suggests the connection between behavior and the receiving or conferring of honor.” Other examples include Proverbs 21:21; 22:4; 25:27; and 29:23.

Verse 2: “The prevalence of magicians in the Jewish world points to a parallel ubiquity of magical evils...The author of Proverbs reassures the righteous that 'the curse that is causeless does not alight' (Prov 26:2).”

Verse 3: “Sinners and fools are often like stubborn horses that need to be whipped before they will cooperate (Ps 32:9; Prov 26:3).”

Verse 5: “Folly is the opposite of wisdom in the Bible, and the fool is the opposite of the wise person. While the culture of our own day gives no vivid conception of what constitutes folly, to the ancient mind folly was a living reality, not only having a definite meaning but also conveying palpable images...Fools are 'wise in their own eyes' (Prov 26:5); they even reject the guidance of their parents as beneath them (Prov 15:5).” I hate to say it, but that sounds a lot like the definition of many teenagers.
Verse 6: “On occasion drinking describes an appetite for what is wrong. Individuals are said to drink evil (Job 15:16), or scorn (Job 34:7), or violence (Prov 4:17; 26:6).”

Verses 7-10:

    Proverbs 26:7: “A proverb in the mouth of a fool is likened to the legs of a lame man, which may appear to be strong but just hang limp.”

    Proverbs 26:8: This is another 'honor' proverb like 26:1. “A warrior hurls the stone out of the sling to protect himself, and so should a person fling a fool out of society to protect himself. Whoever gives a fool honor looks as ridiculous as if he tied up a deadly stone in a sling, and instead of advancing his cause by catapulting it, kept whirling the lethal weapon precariously around his own head.” (Waltke)

    Proverbs 26:9: “In the dry fields there are worthless thistles and prickly plants – a curse of Adam (Gen 3:18)...Thorns 'are in the way of the perverse' (Prov 22:5); 'like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools' (Prov 26:9).”

    Proverbs 26:8-10: “The way folly can destroy a person is pictured in terms of an arsenal with wisdom as protection...Hiring a fool is...'like binding the stone in the sling' (Prov 26:8), and hiring a passing fool or drunkard is 'like an archer who wounds everybody' (Prov 26:10).”

Verse 11: This proverb involving a dog may be hard for us to comprehend today, but “The animal symbolizes uncleanness..., not affection and loyalty as in contemporary Western society.” There are several reasons for this negative image.

“The dog's regurgitation reflex, useful for transporting food to their pups in their former wild state, served to cement their label as unclean.”

“Since what they manage to scavenge is inadequate, they may consume what is repulsive.” You may recall that dogs devoured Queen Jezebel's dead body. See the comment on v. 17 below for another reason dogs were viewed unfavorably.

“In the biblical world, wallowing in vomit is a vivid image for folly (Prov 26:11) or spiritual incomprehension (Is 19:14; 28:8; Jer 48:26).” Proverbs 26:11 is one of two quoted in II Peter 2:22 where it is “applied to the case of Christians converted from a pagan background who return to their immoral pagan way of life.”

Verses 13-16: In regard to this series of verses, Cochran points out that although the book of Proverbs “emphasizes the problems brought about by physical idleness or laziness...it is more frequently the case...that discussions of sloth emphasize the dangers of spiritual weariness.”

Proverbs 26:14: “Sometimes the comfortable rest on a bed appears not as desirable, but as slothful or even evil.”

Proverbs 26:14-15: “Regardless of one's profession, the book of Proverbs is preoccupied with the virtue of industriousness and the vice of sloth. The sluggard or lazy person is a major archetype. In the Bible the archetype appears only in the book of Proverbs, where the idle person's behavior unleashes such a torrent of scorn from the wise man that he emerges as an important, though minor, biblical type.”

Verses 17-19: “Some of the satiric barbs in Proverbs make us laugh...On the subject of social pests, 'he who meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears' (Prov 26:17 RSV)..Similarly, 'Like a madman who throws firebrands..is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, I am only joking!”

Proverbs 26:17: In terms of the imagery here, DBI says, “The struggle for survival at the town dump and a semi-wild existence did not produce friendly dogs. Dogs seemed to know nothing of obedience and were dangerous to pet.”

As to the meaning of the parable, Tink writes, “Scripture offers a variety of suggestions to resolve conflict. Proverbs 15:18 advises that 'those who are slow to anger calm contention.' Another proverb warns against meddling 'in the quarrel of another.' (Prov. 26:17). Proverbs 30:33 discourages any escalation of anger.”

Verses 20-21: “The everyday reality of wood fueling flames informs two proverbs on quarrelsomeness: 'Without wood a fire goes out; with out gossip a quarrel dies down' (Prov 26:20). As charcoal embers act as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife' (Prov 26:21).” Unfortunately, with the dawn of social media and news commentaries, neither gossip, lies, nor quarrels ever die out today; they only grown in size.

Proverbs 26:21: DBI states that “the Bible frequently warns against strife (Prov 17:14) and commands the godly to avoid it (Rom 13:13) as well as contentious and quarrelsome people (Rom 16:17). The latter are vividly likened in Proverbs to charcoal and wood for 'kindling strife' (Prov 26:21 NIV).”

Verse 22: “The image signifies that the slanderer's audience greedily swallow his inflammatory speech, and the addition, they descend into one's innermost being, indicates that, having delighted in them, they make a deep impact on their lives, whether they know it or not.” (Waltke)

Verse 23: “What of 'fervent lips with an evil heart'? They are 'like a coating of glaze over earthenware,' Proverbs 26:23 (NIV) claims, with a characteristically homey and unmistakably clear simile. Consistently throughout both the OT and NT, the heart is pictured as the place where good or evil resides and rules a person.”

The key word here translated as “glaze” signifies “silver of dross” in the Hebrew. Waltke explains the meaning of this term: “Silver dross refers to the scum or refuse that is thrown off, or falls, in smelting silver. In the process of melting and purifying the ore, the silver, oxygen, and lead are separated, leaving lead monoxide as the silver dross. Because of its silvery gloss, this slag was used as a glaze for ceramics.” The comparison of smooth lips to 'silver dross' connotes that flattery is as deceptive and as cheap or worthless as what appears to be expensive-looking shining silver.”

Verse 27: “Just as an unwary domestic animal might fall into a pit..., so the morally loose..., the wicked (Prov 26:27; 28:10; Eccles 10:8) or the spiritually blind...cannot avoid a pit they cannot see.”

“At the most basic level, the Bible recognizes that human deeds carry inescapable consequences; there is an inbuilt law of recompense in the universe that 'you reap what you sow'...[cf. Ps. 7:12; Prov. 1:32; 26:27; Eccl. 10:8].” (C. Marshall)