PROVERBS 15

 

                                    Proverbs 15 (collage, 1994)

Bruce Waltke spends almost 30 pages of detailed analysis on this chapter. Based mainly on his analysis, I would like to attempt a summary of his comments relating mainly to the literary structure of this chapter even though it may seem to be rather foolhardy to look for any sort of organization to what appears to be a random series of individual sayings.

As a starting point, the reader can note that only seven of the 33 verses in this chapter fail to take the general form of antithetical pairs (e.g. those with the form 'A but B'; 'A, not so B'; or 'better is A than B'.) And Hildebrandt notes that chapter 15 belongs to the larger section consisting of chapters 10-15, in which fully 90% of the proverbs are antithetic.

The next point to discuss is whether the whole chapter should be considered as a literary unit. Waltke actually considers the first four verses as a continuation of the unit beginning at 14:33. His reasoning goes as follows: 15:1 “functions as a helpful sequel to 14:35”; verse 2 “continues the topic of a good 'answer' versus a bad 'word'”; v. 3 is linked to v. 2 by the root tb (in the Hebrew words for 'adorn' and 'good people'); and v. 4 connects with v. 2 by the catchword 'tongue.'

As far as the closing point of the section goes, Waltke chooses v. 29 while Hildebrandt ends it with v. 32, stating that “15:33-16:9 is a concentrated collection of Yahweh sayings followed by a series of king sayings.” With those approximate truncations of the chapter, let us next see if any individual units can be identified in the verses remaining. By doing that, the best place to terminate the central literary unit may become more clear and we can judge whether Hilderandt or Waltke is correct.

Usually one starts by dividing an extended passage into its individual units or paragraphs, but most commentators and translations fail to do that in the case of the Proverbs. However, The Message sees two major sections: verses 1-11 concerning God's omniscience and 12-33 concerning the glorified life. In stark contrast, Walls divides the chapter into 1-18 and 19-33. Neither of these two bipartite schemes is endorsed by Waltke; he sees multiple breaks in the chapter, none happening after verses 11 or18.

The first discrete unit identified by Waltke consists of verses 5-12, labeled “The consequences of accepting or rejecting instruction.” It can be visually outlined as follows:

                                     Waltke's Organization of Proverbs 15:5-12

        A. The wise son (5)

                B. riches of the righteous vs. ruin of the wicked (6-7)

                B'. theological rationale: God's sensibilities (8-9)

                B''. theological rationale: God's omniscience (10-11)

        A'. The fool (12)

A and A' form a contrast between opposites and are tied together by the word “correction.”

Concerning B': Parallel terms in both verses are “abomination/wicked” and “righteousness/upright.” Davies includes these two proverbs among those which “indicate God's displeasure at certain behavior with no explicit reference to its consequence.”

In addition, Waltke finds different ways in which to tie together v. 10 with verses 5, 8-9, 9, 11-12, and 12.

However, if one considers both parallel wording and parallel thoughts, the following symmetrical structure results for this first major unit:

                                                Figure I: Unit I revised (15:5-12)

        A. Those who despise instruction (5)

                B. Consequences (6)

                        C. The hearts of fools (7)

                                D. Sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD (8)

                                D'. Way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD (9)

                B'. Consequences (10)

                        C'. The hearts of human beings (11)

        A'. Those who despise instruction (12)

As additional confirmation of this scheme, one can note that verse 7 is similar to 11 in that neither is composed as a strictly antithetical pair. That fact is more obvious in v. 11, but even Waltke notes the incomplete contrast within the former verse.

                                    “The Overcomer's Superiority to Circumstances”

        A. Superiority of the Heart (13-17)

                Proverb Pair #1 (13-14)

                        Janus Verse (15)

                Proverb Pair #2 (16-17)

        B. Examples of Overcomers (18-19)

                First Example (18)

                Second Example (19)

The first pair of proverbs in this second division of Proverbs 15 takes the familiar form of “A but B,” while the second one reads “better is A than B.“ In Waltke's parlance, a “Janus verse” is one that looks both forward and backward. In this particular case, v. 15 with its “cheerful heart” connects with “heart” in verses 13-14 while also linking with v. 16 through the Hebrew word tob (“cheerful”). I could also add that references to food and eating tie together 14, 15, 16, and 17. In addition, Whybray labels 15-17 as “a group of sayings which teach that poverty is not an absolute evil but has compensations.” And it has been noted that there are similarities in vv. 16-17 to ideas found in the ancient teachings of Amen-em-opet.

A final way in which the unity of section A above is pointed out by C.G. Martin. He notes that 13 and 15 are “two sayings about the influence of mood” while 16 and 17 are “homely applications of vv. 13,15.”

I am much more skeptical regarding the status of vv. 18-19 in this particular unit since they are only loosely tied with the immediately preceding verses and disrupt the symmetrical organization of 13-17. However, if we accept Walls division which includes v. 18 (but not v. 19) with what precedes, that seems to make more sense since the “strife” and “contention” in that verse fit in well topically with the “trouble” and “hatred” of v. 17.

Thus, we arrive at the organization below:

                                                Figure II: Unit II revised (15:13-18)

        A. Proverb Pair #1: Superiority of a Right Heart and Mind (13-14)

                B. Transition Verse (15)

        A'. Proverb Pair #2: Superiority of Love (16-18)

Proceeding further with Waltke's analysis, he parses verses 20-29 as follows:

        Joy in the education process (20-23)

                Janus verse (24)

        Destinies of the righteous and wicked (25-29)

He links v. 24 verbally to both 20-23 and 27, but in a rather confused manner he labels verses 24-27 as “the second sub-unit.” In addition, there does not seem to be much in common between 20-23 and 25-29, as Waltke describes those sub-units. A much superior breakdown of these verses (including v. 19 as the beginning) seems to be that pictured below:

                                        Figure III: Unit III revised (15:19-29)

        A. the way and its consequences (19-22)

                B. apt words to others (23)

        A'. the way and its consequences (24)

-----------------------------

        A. The LORD's actions (25)

                B. pleasant words (26)

                        C. the greedy vs. the bribe-hater (27)

                B'. evil words (28)

        A'. The LORD's actions (29)

The only question in the above is whether this should be considered as one or two units. Both halves stress the effect of words on others, but the second half gives more of an emphasis on God.

At this point, it becomes rather obvious that a symmetrical structure for the whole of Proverbs 15:5-29 is not within reach. However, that situation changes drastically if one simply retains v. 33 as the closing boundary for the chapter. Then we get something like the following overall organization:

                                                Figure 4: Structure of Proverbs 15:5-33

        I. Accepting or rejecting instruction (5-12)

                II. Superiority of love and cheerfulness (13-18)

                        III. Following the path of life (19-24)

                II'. Superiority of righteousness (25-29)

        I'. Accepting or rejecting instruction (30-33)

In this manner, one can see that the closing verses 30-33 are almost a direct match for the teachings in 5-12. One could perhaps question whether v. 30 really fits in with 31-33. After all, Whybray does not include it in his “three sayings about the importance of paying attention to wise teachers” of 31-33.

However, the metaphorical allusions to body parts (“eyes” and “ear”) in 30-31 bind those verses together. In addition, even Waltke admits that the “light” and “good news” mentioned in v. 30 refer to the enlightenment that comes from God to the righteous, presumably through instruction.

And concerning the ties between vv. 31-33, one could first note the inclusio formed by “wise” in 31 and “wisdom” in 33. Additionally, verses 28-29 are firmly related through the pattern:

                righteous (28a) – wicked (28b) – wicked (29a) – righteous (29b)

And of final note is another pattern uniting 31-33:

                admonition (31a) – instruction (32a) – admonition (32b) – instruction (33a)

Thus it can be seen that even in what appears to be a miscellaneous collection of sayings there is an underlying symmetrical pattern present.