"LIFE" IN THE BOOK OF PROVERBS (PROVERBS 4:4; 7:2)

Among the opening discourses of Proverbs are several occurrences of the concept of living or life. You wouldn't think that the idea of life could be much of a controversial subject since we would probably define it today as still breathing and having a heartbeat. Or we might extend the definition a bit and include the presence of brain activity. It is self obvious that the Teacher of Proverbs was not addressing his words to disembodied spirits or dead bodies when he gave his advice as to how they could “live”even if the Anchor Bible translates Proverbs 4:4b as “if you would find life,” and NEB words 7:2b as “if you would live.” There is something deeper at issue in these places.

As we shall see below, the ancient Israelites (1) did not tend to think in such scientific terms, and (2) there are three other possibilities for the use of the concept in the Old Testament. Thus, “living” or “having life” could also refer specifically to (a) the quality and well-being of existence, (b) living to a long age, and/or (c) possessing eternal life. In Proverbs, there are two identical and especially germane statements given by the father: “Keep my commandments, and live.” (Proverbs 4:4b; 7:2).

One other possibility must be firmly eliminated from discussion at this point: reincarnation. From the discussions in the Gospels regarding the identity of Jesus and of John the Baptist, it seems as if this Eastern concept may have been taken up as a possibility by some of the populace in Israel during this later date. But Jesus rejects any such talk.

The first thing to note regarding these two passages is that they seem to occur in significant locations within Proverbs. My own previous analysis of the structure of this book indicates that they appear in parallel sub-sections A and A' in the three-part arrangement shown below:

        A. Seek Lady Wisdom (4:1-6:15)

                B. Numerical Proverb (6:16-19)

        A'. Avoid the Loose Woman (6:20-7:27)

But others look at the opening discourses of the book in a different manner. For example, Walls defines the overall section as consisting of 1:8-9:18 instead and divides it into thirteen lessons. According to this scheme the two passages are found in lessons 6 and 12. But more popular is the form-critical analysis of 1:8-7:27 into ten sub-sections. According to this scheme, the two key passages above would then mark the endings of the fifth and tenth discourses, effectively dividing the whole section into two halves.

With that out of the way, we can now examine what various scholars have to say regarding which of the three definitions of “live” and “living” apply best to Proverbs 4:4 and 7:2. And keep in mind that it is highly doubtful that the mere presence of biological life is what the author is driving at. His audience is obviously already living at the time they read his words, and so promising them that they will have or get life when they already have it makes little sense.

“Life” means the quality and well-being of existence.

Bullock: From the statement of purpose the author provides in 1:2-6, Bullock deduces that “the book then purports to be a primer of right conduct and essential attitudes toward life, aimed at producing lives in conformity to the divine will...it is inappropriate to treat the proverbs of this book as promises. They are theological and pragmatic principles.” Note that from this definition, our well-being is not to be derived from what we think will be good for us, but from what God knows will best produce that result (in general, but not necessarily guaranteed for all individuals, at least in this life).

“Proverbs is about life and living it the sensible way.” (C.G. Martin)

“The confusion of order, which has been introduced because of human sin, has not been allowed to assume catastrophic proportions. Chaos does not reign, and a (natural) law of retribution exists. Thus, in normal daily experience the predictable relationship between deeds and their outcomes remains the principle way in which to learn about life, and to determine how to pursue the good life.” Goldsworthy calls this one of the “theological presuppositions of the book of Proverbs.”

Brensinger states, “While it is true that Prov[erbs] regularly suggests that the exercising of sound judgment and the heeding of discipline greatly enhance the living of one's life, it also maintains a strong connection between obedience and life (10:16; 11:19; 12:28; 21:21). Life in Prov is more than good, old-fashioned common sense. Indeed, fearing the Lord leads to life (19:23; 22:4).”

McKane: “It may be that such a reference to 'life' in Proverbs always has some distant connection with the mythological concepts of the 'tree of life' (3:18) or 'the fountain of life' (10:11), just as 'death' is related, however remotely, to the Canaanite god Mot with his gaping throat...At any rate, it is evident that life is more than breath and that death is not just when the heart stops and the pulse ceases to beat. There is a living death, and so 'life' in the fuller sense has qualitative aspects, and it is this more abounding vitality which is said to be consequential on keeping the commandments.”

“At issue is whether 'life' (hayyim) refers to eternal life or temporal life terminating in clinical death. To put it another way, Is the threatened death of the wicked in Proverbs an eternal death of the wicked an eternal death or a premature death?...Most often...hayyim is unqualified and refers to 'life' that is added to clinical life, apparently an abundant life of health, prosperity, and social esteem (3:21-22; 4:13; 8:35; 16:15; 21:21; 22:4).” (Waltke)

“Life” refers to the length of one's years on earth

This view, when adopted by scholars, is generally done in conjunction with a good quality of existence as well. Witness the following comments:

Aitken: “As Wisdom's fruit, life means both length of days and richness and fullness of life.”

“The Israelites in the OT viewed life as something thoroughly natural, vital and pertaining to this world...The Israelites thought of life not as a natural or scientific phenomenon, but primarily of duration, the days of a man's life which are granted him by Yahweh, the Lord of life...To the Israelites, as to orientals in general, the sheer vitality, completeness and diversity of life were a source of utmost delight (1 Ki. 3:11ff.; Prov. 2:19; Ps. 56:13; Eccles. 9:9).” (Link)

Long life seems to be specifically promised as a blessing in Proverbs 3:2; 4:10; and 9:11. And The Living Bible paraphrase renders 4:4 and 7:2 with the words: “You will have a long and happy life.”

“Life” denotes eternal life.

This is the most controversial of the three possibilities by far and one in which scholars such as Pope and Dahood have taken great interest. But their ideas have not been adopted by many subsequent Bible commentators. Actually, many such scholars deny that there are any unambiguous Old Testament references to immortality for human beings.

There is no space to go into all the the arguments pro and con concerning this theological issue, but here are a few comments by scholars who are open to this aspect of Proverb's view of “life.”

Waltke states, “In Prov. 12:28 the righteous are rewarded with 'immortality' ('al mewet). Prov. 14:32 says, 'Even in death the righteous seek a refuge in God,' and 23:17 asserts that their future hope will not be disappointed...Nevertheless, it must be admitted that Proverbs and the Egyptian instructions focus on health, prosperity, and social honor in this life, in contrast to the Christian's focus on resurrection. Perhaps this is due to the opaqueness of the hope before the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave.”

In summary, Brensinger says, “Among the Wisdom writings, hyh appears in Prov in a range of contexts. The majority of references pertain to a quality of life that is contrasted to trouble, punishment, and death; and compared to honor, prosperity, and arguably immortality.”

"IN CHRIST" IN EPHESIANS

One of the main themes in Paul's writings, and especially in his Epistle to the Ephesians is the concept of being “in Christ,” also expressed by equivalent terminology. But before investigating it in any further detail, it is perhaps best if I start with a broad overview of how that letter is organized, at least according to the reasoning I presented in an earlier posting (see “Ephesians: Introduction to the Literary Structure”).

                                                 Figure 1: Literary Structure of Ephesians

I. Introduction (1:1-2)

II. Position with God through Christ (1:3-14)

III. Power in Christ (1:15-23)

IV. Gentiles’ Past and Present Position Contrasted (2:1-22)

V. The Mystery of Christ: Position and Power (3:1-21)

IV'. Gentiles’ Past and Present Behavior Contrasted (4:1-5:20)

II'. Position with Others through Christ (5:21-6:9)

III'. Power in Christ (6:10-20)

I'. Conclusion (6:21-24)

Statistics involving the occurrence of these key phrases are somewhat helpful at this point. However, a caveat is in order first: (1) The numbers below will vary according to which English translation you look at (Those below are based on the fairly literal NRSV translation), and (2) There is always some ambiguity as to the best Greek text, especially when considering such a large chunk of writing as this whole epistle. Fortunately, there are textual and translation notes given to the text in any good study Bible to indicate when there may be some question as to how to translate a passage. As examples of these two possibilities, consider the following notes found in the NRSV:

        1:4 – The Greek reads “in him.”

        2:5 – Other manuscripts read “in Christ” instead of “in him.”

        2:16 – “through it” may be alternately translated as “in him.”

        2:22 – “spiritually” in the literal Greek is “in the Spirit.”

        3:12 – “faith in him” may also be translated as “faith of him.”

        6:1 – Other manuscripts lack ”in the Lord.”

Thus, in the statistics below, I have gone with the Greek text and put ranges in those cases where a reading may be in doubt.

                                Figure 2: Objects of the “in X.” Constructions in Ephesians

Section  Christ Jesus Christ  him  Lord  Christ Jesus our Lord  Lord Jesus (Christ)   Jesus/Son

I                  1          0             0         0                  0                                  0                          0

II                0          4-5          3-5      0                  0                                  0                           0

III              0           1             0         0                  0                                  1                           0

IV             4           0              2        1                  0                                   0                           1

V              0-1       0              0-1   0-1                 1                                   0                           0

IV'             0          2              1        1                  0                                   1                           1

II'              0          0               0     1-2                 0                                   0                           0

III'            0          0               0        1                  0                                   0                           0

I'               0          0               0       1                   0                                   0                           0

About the only significant fact I can glean from these numbers is that by far the fullest expression of Christ in the letter, “Christ Jesus our Lord,” appears in only one place (Ephesians 3:11), which happens to be the center of the center section of the epistle according to the structure proposed in Figure 1.

The other two Persons of the Trinity also appear in structurally prominent spots in Ephesians as the objects of this sort of prepositional phrase. Thus, “in God” is seen in 3:9 (the center of the letter), and “in the Spirit” in 6:18 (at its end).

Perhaps even more important to consider is the larger context in which all these related phrases occur. In other words – What results from being in Christ or what is required to be in Christ?

                                            Figure 3: Contexts of the “in X” Sayings

Section                            Contexts

I                                      are faithful

II                                     has blessed us, chose us, we have redemption, gather, obtained inheritance, set                                         our hope upon, believed in, sealed

III                                   your faith, power for us

IV                                  seated with him, grace toward us, created for good works, brought near, access                                       to, built into a temple

V                                  sharers in the promise, see the mystery of God's plan, his eternal purpose, faith                                         in him, strengthened with power, to him be the glory

IV'                                a prisoner, we must grow up, truth is in, give thanks

II'                                 obey your parents

III'                                be strong, pray

I'                                   faithful minister

There are, generally speaking, three types of contexts associated with these “in X” statements. The majority relate to what blessings God in His grace has bestowed on believers. But also included are both the prior (in italics) and subsequent expected (in bold) actions on our part. Three points stand out by consideration of Figure 3.

In the first place, you can clearly see the typical progression found in almost all of Paul's correspondence. It starts out by showing the mysterious working together of our faith with God's grace, but then in the second half of the letter Paul moves on to discussing our proper response to God's grace in our actions.

Secondly, the importance of our faith in, and faithfulness to, God in Christ is stressed in that this fact appears in the opening and closing sections of the letter as well as in the central section.

Thirdly, also symmetrically located are words of power given to the believer. These can be seen in sections III, III' and the central section V.

These last two observations help to confirm the validity of Figure 1 as a useful model for studying this letter.

PROVERBS 7:1-9 -- PART 2

With all of the general considerations in Part 1 of this subject in mind, we can now proceed to a comparison of some English translations and paraphrases to show those cases where there is a difference of opinion as to how the original Hebrew text should be rendered.

Proverbs 7:1

The Message purposely departs from the Hebrew by stating that these words are addressed to “dear friend” rather than “my son.” The intent there seems to be an attempt to further universalize these words, a move which is probably not needed for most readers.

Proverbs 7:2

I have already discussed this verse at some length in Part 1 of this post. But there is one additional item to point out. The reason given for following the teacher's instructions is so that you can “live.” This does not apply to physical life but, as The Message clarifies, to living “well.”

Proverbs 7:3

The two commands given here come originally from Deuteronomy 6:4-8. They were meant to be taken figuratively to denote that the reader should keep reminders of God's instructions close to him at all times, but orthodox Jews took this literally and would wear phlacteries (small leather boxes with portions of Scripture inside) tied to their forehead and around their arm during morning prayers. This is the sort of background that some study Bibles choose to include in footnotes to the text.

Proverbs 7:4

“Sister” in this verse does not refer to some sort of kinship, but instead is a general form of endearment such as one sees in Song of Songs 4:9-12; 5:1. (Washington) NRSV translates it as “intimate friend.” The Living Bible goes further by saying “Love wisdom like a sweetheart.” Finally, “Gemser and Ringgren urge that 'sister' is a form of address equivalent to 'bride' or 'wife', and that Wisdom is to be seen in this verse as the rival of the strange woman...” ((McKane)

In addition, some translators chose to capitalize the words “wisdom” and “insight” since these two abstract concepts are being treated as personal beings using the common literary technique called anthropomorphism.

Proverbs 7:5

Washington also explains that the Hebrew words describing the woman literally as “strange” and “alien” really mean, respectively, “loose” and “adulteress.” Thus, you can find all of these possible translations in various versions.

As to her words, RSV calls them “smooth;” while NEB labels them “seductive;” and JB says “wheedling.”

Proverbs 7:6

It turns out that there is even some uncertainty as to who is looking out the window here. McKane explains that the standard Hebrew text makes it clear that it is either the wisdom teacher or Wisdom herself who is looking out the window. However, Bostrom goes with some of the Greek Septuagint manuscripts which omit the last part of v. 6 in order to propose that it is the loose woman herself who is looking out her window. McKane explains the various problems associated with adopting that sort of interpretation.

Proverbs 7:7

The young man in question is described as being “simple” or “without sense” or “void of understanding.” Variations on this wording may be found in different translations. But the important point that needs expressing in a translation is explained by Walls: “This is illustrative of the fact that one who is simple in the negative sense without formed ideas of good and evil is in peril of becoming a fool and a reprobate if he remains uninstructed.” Without that sort of explanation, it is all too easy to think that the author is speaking of one who has a low IQ rather than a person who is naive and inexperienced in the ways of the world.

Proverbs 7:8-9

As I briefly alluded to earlier, there are various ways the time(s) of day can be rendered in translations depending on how many different time indications are felt to be conveyed. Is it four, two, or only one? For example, Scott notes that the last phrase in this verse reads literally in Hebrew “at the sleep of night and darkness.” But a literal rendering of that into English would make little sense.

Wakely feels that the four terms, with only a small change in the Hebrew, denote the same time period, so that the reading should be as in NEB: “in the twilight, as the day faded, at dusk as the night grew dark.” Waltke agrees with this assessment and states authoritatively, “These temporal designations are synonyms, not temporally progressive to each other, for the short period of evening dusk during which the rest of the narrative transpires.”

Others see a considerable amount of time transpiring here, and thus the young man is said to have “spent the time from twilight to midnight walking the streets around her dwelling” (Walls) or just walking randomly to and fro, a rather unlikely occurrence.

Waltke attaches another warning to the translator in that it should not be suggested that the youth is purposely heading toward her house. “He is not a downright immoral fellow on the way to her house...intentionally because she has to find him and seduce him, but a dimwit who needs some powerful persuasion to get him in to bed with the unchaste wife.” However, there are other scholars who take the position that he knows exactly where to go and is only stalling for time until the streets get dark enough that no one can observe his actions. See Job 24:15 for a possible parallel to this idea.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that no one translation or paraphrase is able to capture fully all the richness sometimes buried in the Hebrew text. But it is that fact which encourages me to keep investigating what different Bible experts have to say. It also serves to keep me humble and from the danger of thinking that I have mastered all that God has placed in His Word. I actually take comfort in the fact that I will never be able to exhaust all the hidden riches in the Bible.

By contrast, I actually knew a very sincere and intelligent Christian lawyer through both work and church associations who explained to me that he would carefully study one short Bible passage at a time until he felt that he had totally captured its meaning. Then he could file that knowledge away in his mind and go on to the next passage. By that method he really felt that during his lifetime, he would be able to completely understand the whole Bible and have nothing more to learn from it. I attribute this man's approach in no small part to being a by-product of his legal training and the general mindset of the particular church we were attending.

WHO WAS PUL IN THE BIBLE?

 

Who was Pul?

It has often been said that you can't tell the players without a program, whether the context is sports or attending a play. I have found that the same is true when trying to read a mystery novel. Sometimes the cast of suspects is so large that I can't keep track of them all, and so I appreciate it when an author lists all of the characters on the first page along with their descriptions.

This sort of problem even (or should I say, especially) occurs when reading the Bible. New readers of the New Testament may be a little taken aback at first before realizing that Saul and Paul are the same person or that the apostle Peter is also Simon, but that is nothing compared to the difficulty of trying to keep track of the much larger host of Old Testament characters. And it doesn't help at all that some of them are known under different names, most of which additionally have underlying meanings in their original languages.

A prime example of this difficulty is seen with the powerful Assyrian ruler and founder of the Neo-Assyrian Empire named Tiglat(h)-Pil'eser III whose reign spanned the years from 745 to 727 BC. During these years he interacted with the Israelites in a number of different guises, which included being their attacker, uneasy ally, and their overlord. And, unfortunately for the reader, he also appears under different names in the Scripture.

The first thing to note is that the Roman numeral after his name is never given in the Bible, and so it is easy to confuse him with the two earlier Assyrian kings who also went under the same name. But that is only the start of the difficulties associated with this personage.

In an older commentary by Edward Young, he stated that this king was the “successor to Pul [a name meaning 'strong'] who invaded Naphtali in the days of King Pekah. Or more likely, he may have been Pul who conquered part of the north and Damascus and carried off people to Kir in 742 BC.” Subsequent scholars now know that Pul and Tiglath-Pil'eser were definitely one and the same person. As Millard explains, “Only with the recovery of cuneiform inscriptions did it become clear that the two names applied to one king, leading to a change in the translation of 1 Chron 5:26.” Thus, the KJV of that verse reads, “And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away...” Compare this to modern translations which delete the first “and” in order to make it clear that there are two parallel phrases denoting the same person.

At this point I will interrupt the biblical situation to point out that actually today's readers should probably not be so upset about this use of different names in the Bible for the same person since even in my own immediate family I have had two members reverse the order of their first and middle names, and one other couple hyphenated their two last names. That is besides the more traditional practice of the woman changing her last name when she gets married. And one granddaughter chose an entirely different first name for herself, while another one adopted her mother's new last name and step-father's middle name when her mother remarried.

But returning to the biblical example, a short anonymous article in Biblical Archaeology Today magazine states the following: “The name [Tiglath-Pileser] is a nominal sentence, meaning that its predicate is not a verb but a noun, with the verb 'to be' implied but not expressly written.” Thus, it is explained that the king's name can be broken down into the following component Assyrian words:

    tukulti = “my trust”

    apil = “heir (or son) of”

    Esarra = “Esharra temple”

This still does not make much sense to us, but Millard further points out that “Esharra” means that the king's trust was in the god Ashur, whose temple in Assyria was Esharra. “Its Hebrew form in Kings reflects accurately the Assyrian pronounciation of his time.” Thus, the underlying meaning is “My trust is in the god of the Esharra temple” (i.e. the chief deity of the Assyrians, the warrior god Ashur, for whom the nation was named).

Now as to the alternative name Pul for the king, here is how some scholars explain that one:

    Ellison: “Pul [was] his personal name which he retained as king of Babylon and Tiglath-Pileser his throne-name as king of Assyria.”

    BAR: “In 2 Kings 15:19, Tiglath-Pileser III is called Pul, which reflects his Babylonian name, “Pulu” as read in the Babylonian chronicle.

    Millard calls Pul the king's “native name.”

    And to us, Pul appears to be a simple nickname derived from Pileser.

But that is not quite all of the story since Millard continues on to state: “The late Hebrew term found in LXX [Greek Septuagint] and Chronicles is Tilgat-piln'eser. The Greek form which here is actually Algathphellasar “may reflect a later Aramaic form.”

To summarize the situation, this same king appears in the English Bible under the following three names:

    Tiglath-pileser:     II Kings 15:29; 16:7,10

    Tilgath-pilneser:  I Chronicles 5:6,26b

    Pul:                      II Kings 15:19; I Chronicles 26a; II Chronicles 28:20

PROVERBS 7:1-9: PART 2

With all of the general considerations in Part 1 of this subject in mind, we can now proceed to a comparison of some English translations and paraphrases to show those cases where there is a difference of opinion as to how the original Hebrew text should be rendered.

Proverbs 7:1

The Message purposely departs from the Hebrew by stating that these words are addressed to “dear friend” rather than “my son.” The intent there seems to be an attempt to further universalize these words, a move which is probably not needed for most readers.

Proverbs 7:2

I have already discussed this verse at some length above. But there is one additional item to point out. The reason given for following the teacher's instructions is so that you can “live.” This does not apply to physical life, but as The Message clarifies, to living “well.”

Proverbs 7:3

The two commands given here come originally from Deuteronomy 6:4-8. They were meant to be taken figuratively to denote that the reader should keep reminders of God's instructions close to one at all times, but orthodox Jews took this literally and would wear phlacteries (small leather boxes with portions of Scripture inside) tied to their forehead and around their arm during morning prayers. This is the sort of background that some study Bibles choose to include in footnotes to the text.

Proverbs 7:4

“Sister” in this verse does not refer to some sort of kinship, but instead is a general form of endearment such as one sees in Song of Songs 4:9-12; 5:1. (Washington) NRSV translates it as “intimate friend.” The Living Bible goes further by saying “Love wisdom like a sweetheart.” Finally, “Gemser and Ringgren urge that 'sister' is a form of address equivalent to 'bride' or 'wife', and that Wisdom is to be seen in this verse as the rival of the strange woman...” ((McKane)

In addition, some translators chose to capitalize the words “wisdom” and “insight” since these two abstract concepts are being treated as personal beings using the common literary technique called anthropomorphism.

Proverbs 7:5

Washington also explains that the Hebrew words describing the woman literally as “strange” and “alien” really mean, respectively, “loose” and “adulteress.” Thus, you can find all of these possible translations in various versions.

As to her words, RSV calls it “smooth;” while NEB labels it “seductive;” and JB says “wheedling.”

Proverbs 7:6

It turns out that there is even some uncertainty as to who is looking out the window. McKane explains that the standard Hebrew text makes it clear that it is either the wisdom teacher or Wisdom herself who is looking out the window. However, Bostrom goes with some of the Greek Septuagint manuscripts which omit the last part of v. 6 in order to propose that it is the loose woman herself who is looking out her window. McKane explains the various problems associated with adopting that sort of interpretation.

Proverbs 7:7

The young man in question is described as being “simple” or “without sense” or “void of understanding.” Variations on this wording may be found in different translations. But the important point that needs expressing in a translation is explained by Walls: “This is illustrative of the fact that one who is simple in the negative sense without formed ideas of good and evil is in peril of becoming a fool and a reprobate if he remains uninstructed.” Without that sort of explanation, it is all too easy to think that the author is speaking of one who has a low IQ rather than a person who is naive and inexperienced in the ways of the world.

Proverbs 7:8-9

As I briefly alluded to earlier, there are various ways the time(s) of day can be rendered in translations depending on how many different time indications are felt to be conveyed. Is it four, two, or only one? For example, Scott notes that the last phrase in this verse reads literally in Hebrew “at the sleep of night and darkness.” But a literal rendering of that into English would make little sense.

Wakely feels that the four terms, with only a small change in the Hebrew, denote the same time period, so that the reading should be as in NEB: “in the twilight, as the day faded, at dusk as the night grew dark.” Waltke agrees with this assessment and states authoritatively, “These temporal designations are synonyms, not temporally progressive to each other, for the short period of evening dusk during which the rest of the narrative transpires.”

Others see a considerable amount of time transpiring here, and thus the young man is said to have “spent the time from twilight to midnight walking the streets around her dwelling (Walls) or just walking randomly to and fro, a rather unlikely occurrence.

Waltke attaches another warning to the translator in that it should not be suggested that the youth is purposely heading toward her house. “He is not a downright immoral fellow on the way to her house...intentionally because she has to find him and seduce him, but a dimwit who needs some powerful persuasion to get him in to bed with the unchaste wife.” However, there are other scholars who take the position that he knows exactly where to go and is only stalling for time until the streets get dark enough that no one can observe his actions. See Job 24:15 for a possible parallel to this idea.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that no one translation or paraphrase is able to capture fully all the richness sometimes buried in the Hebrew text. But it is that fact which encourages me to keep investigating what different Bible experts have to say. It also serves to keep me humble and from the danger of thinking that I have mastered all that God has placed in His Word. I actually take comfort in the fact that I will never be able to exhaust all the hidden riches in the Bible.

By contrast, I actually knew a very sincere and intelligent Christian lawyer through both work and church associations who explained to me that he would carefully study one short Bible passage at a time until he felt that he had totally captured its meaning. Then he could file that knowledge away in his mind and go on to the next passage. By that method he really felt that during his lifetime, he would be able to completely understand the whole Bible and have nothing more to learn from it. I attribute this man's approach in no small part to being a by-product of his legal training and the general mindset of the particular church he was attending

PROVERBS 7:1-9 -- PART 1

Translating any document from one language to another is fraught with problems. And the difficulties multiply when the original text has been written millennia of years earlier in another culture. Then the difficulties increase when, such as in this case, the original is in a form of poetry foreign to any present type of poetic structures. This random example taken from the Book of Proverbs serves as a test case to demonstrate what approaches different translators and commentators have taken to render the text so that it becomes more understandable to the readers.

Let me start with a wooden, word-for-word translation of this passage into English from The Interlinear Bible:

“My son, keep my words, and my commands treasure with you. Keep with my commands and live, and my teaching as the pupil of your eyes. Tie on them your fingers write them on your heart's tablet. Say to wisdom my sister you and a kinsman to understanding call. To keep you from the woman strange from the foreigner her words smooth. For at the window of my house through my lattice looked down and I saw among simple ones I observed. Among the sons of youth lacking heart. Passing through the street beside her corner and to the way her house he walked, in the twilight, at the evening of day in the black of night and darkness.”

Textual Issues

Besides the obvious differences in word order than we would use in English, there are other issues to deal with. Fortunately, in this case, one of those problems is not establishing the Hebrew text itself since almost all ancient manuscripts are in agreement as to the original wording. However, one need go no further to the very next verse to see such an example. The NRSV translators' footnote to the last phrase in verse 10 reads, “Meaning of Heb[rew] uncertain.” In such a situation, it is then prudent for the reader to compare several English translations to see how they interpret the verse. The result is shown below:

    “prostitute, full of wiles” (NEB)

    “harlot, wily of heart (RSV)

    “decked out like a prostitute, wily of heart” (NRSV)

    “dressed to seduce him” (The Message)

    “dressed like a prostitute, and making plans” (TEV)

    “dressed like a prostitute with crafty intent” (NIV)

    “saucy and pert, and dressed seductively (Living Bible)

    “dressed like a harlot, wrapped in a veil” (with an appended note stating that “veil” is conjectured) (JB)

Scott in the Anchor Bible goes further in explaining the nature of the conjecture. Thus, the standard Hebrew text contains the words unesurat leb (“with secret plans in mind”). But “veil” comes from proposing instead that the Hebrew originally read unesorat lot, meaning “heavily veiled.”

Flow of Thought and Paragraph Divisions

Getting back to our specific verses under consideration, the first thing one needs to understand is that in the Book of Proverbs we are not reading a document written in prose, but in poetry instead. Hebrew poetry is not characterized by its rhythm and rhyme like the poetry to which we are accustomed. Instead, its hallmark is the use of repeated ideas. You can see this best by looking at Figure 1, in which the repeated words and phrases are lined up underneath one another.

                                        Figure 1: Poetic Parallelism in Proverbs 7:1-9

1. My son, keep      my words and

                  treasure my commandments with you

2.               keep      my commandments                 and live

                 keep       my teachings as the apple of your eye

3.              bind them on your fingers

                write them on the tablet of your heart.

4.             Say to wisdom, 'You are my sister,' and

               call      insight      your intimate friend

5.                                                 to preserve you from the loose woman

                                                                             from  the adventuress with her smooth words.

6. For at the window of my house

                                                       I have looked out through my lattice and

7.                                                    I have seen         among the simple

                                                       I have perceived among the youths

8.                                                                                a young man without sense

                                                                                               passing along the street near her corner

                                                                                               taking              the road to her house

9.                                                                                                                          in the twilight,

                                                                                                                             in the evening

                                                                                                                             at the time of night and                                                                                                                                                       darkness

Determining Paragraph Breaks

Such a visual way of picturing what the author is trying to convey in this passage causes one fact to leap to mind immediately. We can see that behind all the backtracking and duplication, there is definite sort of progression of motion as one goes from verses 1 to 5 and then again from 6 to 9. Thus the passage naturally falls into two halves. In addition, verses 1-5 hang together in that there are eight verbs instructing the “son” what he should do in order to live a wise life. By contrast, verses 6-9 give the reason why the person giving the advice is concerned based on what he or she has observed personally. In this latter half, we see a roughly chronological progression of events, which will be continued in verses 10-23 of the chapter before reverting back to advice such as found in the first verses. The overall organization of the whole chapter can be seen as the ABA arrangement shown below:

                                         Figure 2: Tripartite Arrangement of Proverbs 7

                A. Wise Advice (Proverbs 7:1-5)

                        B. Personal Observations (Proverbs 7:6-23)

                A'. Wise Advice (Proverbs 7:24-27)

Thus, if I had been wiser, it appears that I really should instead have only discussed the first five verses by themselves before moving on to verses which belong to a different paragraph. It is that sort of consideration which often guides translators in deciding where to make breaks in the text. Keep in mind that the Hebrew text does not have paragraph breaks in it to use as a guide.

In this case, it is of interest that the RSV does start new paragraphs at verses 6 and 24, in line with the above reasoning, even though the translators additionally see a natural break after verse 20 which I personally feel is not needed. By contrast, NEB sticks with the three-part arrangement of Figure 2.

However, NRSV sees natural breaks which give rise to a slightly different understanding of the text based on the flow of the action, as seen in the diagram below:

                                            Figure 3: Four-Part Arrangement of Proverbs 7

        A. Wise Advice (Proverbs 7:1-5)

                B. Actions of the Youth (Proverbs 7:6-9)

                B'. Actions of the Woman (Proverbs 7:10-23)

        A'. Wise Advice (Proverbs 7:24-27)

The difference between figures 3 and 4 would seem to be so minor as to not even be worth mentioning, but there is a actually a considerable difference in meaning to the passage depending on which option you choose. Let me explain. In biblical thinking, a symmetrical structure with an odd number of elements such as ABA' reflected in Figure 2 means that the natural stress of the whole falls on the center unit, the example upon which the speaker's advice is based. However, an even-number structure such as ABB'A' in Figure 3 has no center point, and so the natural emphasis then falls on the first and last units – the advice itself.

Notice that this seemingly minor consideration as to how a translator chooses to divide his chapters up can have a profound effect on how we understand the words themselves. So the text itself is the next challenge the translator has to tackle.

Poetry into Prose

Attempting to render such (in our minds) needless repetition as we see in Figure 1 into English can be a daunting challenge, especially if the translator attempts to transform it into simple prose at the same time. In The Living Bible, which is more accurately a paraphrase rather than a translation, we can see what Kenneth Taylor had to do in order to simplify the text for modern readers who are not used to the repetitions of the sort found in Figure 1, which are typical of much Hebrew writing, both poetry and prose.

        a. The two lines of verse 3 are taken as referring to separate actions, rather than just one.

        b. He eliminated the duplicate descriptions of the loose woman in v. 5.

        c. He only mentions one lad in v. 7 instead of one among others.

        d. All the wording in verses 8-9 is collapsed into one simple sentence, with only “twilight” remaining from the four designations of time in the original Hebrew.

Such well-meaning efforts do result in a text which is much easier for the modern mind to follow. However, often such simplifications are accompanied by a loss of appreciation for how the author has ordered his text and how he chooses to present his ideas. And such tampering with the text may completely eliminate the literary device explained above which helps to identify the comment(s) the author wishes to stress the most.

Identity of the Speaker

There is an ambiguous point in these verses which most translations skirt around. That is the purported identity of the speaker who addresses these words to “my son.” If you start at the beginning of Proverbs in the NRSV and read forward to Chapter 7, you will see in 1:8 a reference to both a father's and mother's instruction. Next in 1:20 we are obviously being treated to the words of advice from the personified Lady Wisdom. Then Chapter 4 begins with a call for children to listen to their father's advice with an editor's note that these words are spoken by the author of Proverbs. After many paragraphs addressed to “my child,” 6:20 again urges the child to listen to both his mother's and father's advice. Finally, in Chapter 8 the direct words of Wisdom are obviously being given for the second time in the book. But all of this begs the question of whom is speaking in Chapter 7. Most scholars assume, probably correctly, that it is the author speaking as a father figure.

Dealing with Idioms

We started out considering my perhaps ill-advised choice of Proverbs 7:1-9 as a discrete passage to study. But contrary to the indications given above that I should instead have widened my scope of investigation a bit, there is one hidden fact not made obvious in any English translations of which I am aware. And it yields the reverse indication that perhaps I was correct after all and verses 1-9 are to be taken as a separate sub-section of chapter 7. But to explain that will take the combined comments of a couple of Bible scholars:

Hulst offers this translation note to verse 9: “The word 'ilson (diminutive of 'is 'man') occurs in v. 2, where, combined with 'ayin, it means 'apple of the eye' or 'pupil'. Thus, in 7:9, the phrase 'in the pupil of the night' means 'in the dead of night'.” The origin of this strange Hebrew idiom “little man of your eye” is explained by Whybray: “This refers to the pupil of the eye: The phrase is derived from the fact that when we look into someone else's eye we see a 'little man', the reflection of ourselves. The point of the simile is that the teacher's words are as precious as one's eyesight.”

Since that comment may have been a little hard to follow, here is somewhat alternative explanation from Robert Alter. He begins by exposing the often faulty methodology employed by those liberal scholars who detect all sorts of “errors” in the Hebrew text and then go about “correcting” them. As an example, he posits such a scholar reading Proverbs 7:9 and coming across what he or she discerns as an error in copying perpetrated by an ancient scribe. Thus, his hypothetical scholar asks, “How can it be both twilight and pitch-black night at the same time?” So the solution is to look at the 'ishon (“dark, or apple, of the eye”) and propose that a scribe accidentally copied this word from v. 2 into v. 9 instead. This mistake was then followed by another scribe adding “in darkness” in order to make sense of the resulting text.

But the far more likely explanation, according to Alter, is as follows: In the first place, the so-called leap from twilight to night should be treated as a “temporal jump between verses [which] may even be grounded in a mimesis of nature, for sunsets in the eastern Mediterranean seem to happen very quickly.” In addition, he notes that the use of the same or similar verbiage at the start and conclusion of a passage of Scripture is a well-known literary device (called by scholars an inclusio) to draw a boundary around a discrete section within the Bible (verses 1-9 in this case). If that is its function here, most English translations do not at all do justice to the original, because almost no reader could pick up on the subtle fact that “apple of the eye” and “pitch-black” are related linguistically without an extensive footnote being appended.

The above example also demonstrates what happens when a figurative phrase in Hebrew cannot be translated directly without totally losing the reader (i.e. literally translating the phrase in v. 2 as “little man of the eye.”) We tend to think that the common idiomatic phrases we use in English must be common to all cultures, which is not at all the case.

And there is added confirmation that Figure 3 best reflects the original divisions of the author. If the scholars above are correct in detecting that the first half of the chapter (verses 1-9) has built-in boundaries by the repeated word in vv. 2 and 9, then what about the second half? In fact, the identical Hebrew word meaning “her house” appears in both verses 11 and 27, forming a similar boundary for this last sections. But if one reads a translation such as NRSV, it renders the first occurrence as “at home” while verses 27 reads “her house” instead. Thus, that particular translation leaves little clue for the reader to appreciate what the author was trying to accomplish.

Proposed Emendations

It seems as if some Bible scholars just can't leave the Hebrew text alone, but must always be speculating in the total absence of any evidence on which parts of a passage they feel were original and which ones were added at a later date. For example Whybray states, “The original Instruction consisted of verses 1-3, 5, 25-7, which resemble the original Instructions in chapters 2, 5 and 6 very closely in style, vocabulary and length. Into this has been inserted a long self-contained poem consisting of verses 6-23. There are also two other intrusive verses: verse 4 has been introduced for the same reason as 2:2-4, 10-15; 4:6-9,13 to identify the words of the teacher with wisdom.” Of course this scenario is highly speculative and actually runs counter to the cohesive flow of the text as reflected in Figures 1-3 above.

Part 2 of this post will next consider each verse in the passage separately

PSALM 107: PART 2

Detailed exegesis. In this case there is reasonable agreement among scholars as to where those natural breaks occur. For example, Allen divides the body of the psalm into two parts, vv. 4-32 and 33-43. In a similar manner, Anderson calls verses 33-43 “the concluding Hymn” in the Psalm. M'Caw and Motyer go a little further by labeling verses 1-3 as an introduction, vv. 4-32 as pictures of redemption, and 33-43 as a summary. RSV differs slightly in choosing to consider v. 32 as part of that final section

Possible sub-sections of these divisions are also seen. Thus, Derek Kidner says that verses 33-38 “are, as we may suppose, not merely about deserts and farmlands, but pointed to other kinds of poverty and riches, not least those of the mind and spirit.” In agreement with this division, Anderson says, “Verses 33-38 describe Yahweh's unlimited control of nature, while verses 39-43 show that this special care extends to the poor and needy.” And deClaisse-Walford breaks out the final verse as a separate section.

The divisions in NEB appear at first to be much more detailed than those above. However, that is only because they treat the four examples within verses 4-32 as four separate sections.

The next step in discerning the overall plan of the chapter is to look for the sort of symmetry one generally finds in biblical passages. Figure 3 below is the result of my personal attempt in that direction.

                                            Figure 3: The Literary Structure of Psalm 107

        A. Introduction (1-3)

                B. Reversals of Perspective (4-32)

                        1. Those in the Desert (4-9)

                                2. Those in Darkness and Gloom (10-16)

                                        3. Those who were sick (17-22)

                                                4. Those at sea (23-32)

                B'. Reversals of Destiny (33-42)

                        1. Judgment (33-34)

                                2. Provision (35-38)

                        1'. Judgment (39-40)

                                2'. Provision (41-42)

        A'. Conclusion (43)

Note the perfect symmetry exhibited by Figure 3, symmetry of a type called a chiasm. In this case, it is a four-part chiasm ABBA with no center section. In those cases the main point of emphasis generally falls naturally on the first and last sections.

Sections A and A': Confirming that these are a matched pair is the telltale fact that the key words in each appear in reverse order. Thus, we read “LORD...mercy” in verse 1, while it becomes “mercies of the LORD” in v. 43. Thus, Alter perceptively notes that “the key concept that began the poem, the faithfulness (or 'loving-kindness,' hesed) of the Lord, rings forth at the end, with the order and syntactic relation of the two component nouns changed, and 'faithfulness' used in the plural (in the Hebrew), perhaps as a concluding indication of all the different mercies of the Lord that the poem has evoked.”

Colin Brown ties these two bookends to the psalm together with the following words: “Psalm 107 celebrates the mighty acts of God experienced by his people, calling on them to praise his redemptive deliverance (vv. 1-2) and concluding with the call, 'Whoever is wise, let him give heed to these things; let men consider the steadfast love of the Lord' (v. 43).”

Brown is probably correct in treating only the first two verses in the psalm as the general introduction. However, v. 3 more specifically acts as an introduction to verses 4-32. We can see this in its mention of “the east, west, north, and sea.” That fourth rather unexpected term matches up perfectly with the fourth part of Section B (vv. 23-32).

Oswalt notes: “Two...qualities are regularly mentioned in the context of [God's] hesed. They are goodness (tob) and faithfulness ('emona). The classic statement of the first is found in Psalm 136:1 (see also Ps 106:1; 107:1; 118:1,29).”

Then there is Kraus who, in Anderson's words, “suggests that verses 2-3 may be a later addition which adapts the Psalm for the use of the restored deportees.” I am not aware of many scholars who would agree with that assessment.

The mention of “sea” in place of the expected “south” in verse 3 has caused undue problems for textual critics. However, the Hebrew manuscripts clearly read “sea.” In addition, (1) it would be much more likely for a scribe to alter the text from “sea” to the more usual “south” than vice versa, (2) the mention of “sea” as the fourth member of the series matches perfectly the subject of the sea in the fourth section B4 in Figure 3 above, and (3) as Anderson points out, there is a partial parallel to such usage in Isaiah 49:12 which reads “from the north and from the sea.”

As De Claisse-Walford puts it, “No Hebrew manuscript...attests the emendation, and LXX, Peshitta, and Vulgate [three early translations] all translate sea here...Further, the four vignettes that follow in vv. 4-32 can be shown to reflect the directions referred to in v. 3.”

There is also some controversy regarding the final verse in the chapter. Kselman labels v. 43 as a possible later addition, “a wisdom addition concluding the psalm.” Arguing against that critical view are the considerations that (1) most scholars see nothing wrong with this verse fitting in with the tone of the rest of the chapter, (2) others have noted wisdom terminology and themes elsewhere in Psalm 107, and (3) the perfect inclusion including reversed elements with the opening verses (see above) demonstrates that they are matched pairs.

Section B: vv. 4-32

Allen defines the four groups giving their testimony as the lost, liberated prisoners who had been wrongdoers, the sick, and seamen.”

And most translators and commentators cite in each of the four cases exact repetition of the following elements: (1) “some..,”, (2) “Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,” (3) “and he delivered them from their distress,” (4) “Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind,” and (5) “For...” As Longman says, “This psalm demonstrates the unusual use of two refrains: the one seems to answer the other.”

One minority opinion on this major sub-section is given by Derek Kidner: “In most modern versions each of the nest four stanzas has the same kind of opening [namely, 'some...'] as though we were following the fortunes of different groups. This is inaccurate and obscures the possibility that the four scenes are four ways of looking at the same reality, namely the disastrous situation from which Israel has now been rescued...As that situation is analogous to the plight of all sinners, the psalm can be approached directly, not only through the eyes of Israel.” He makes some good points regarding the lack of exact repetition in the original, but few other scholars would agree with all that he says.

The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery calls these four examples, “a minitheology of such vignettes [as 'the archetypical death and rebirth of the human spirit'].”

Both Wenham and Wurthwein note that the Hebrew text contains special editorial marks on words in verses 21-26 (as well as at v. 40). The problem is that we do not know the exact significance of these indications, but both of these scholars suggest that it may mean that there was some doubt concerning the order of the words in those places.

Section B1: vv. 4-9

It is appropriate that this first of four examples occurs in the east, the first of the four location markers given in v. 3. The other three may similarly line up with the following three examples. “East of the Palestine lies a vast desert that separates it from the eastern side of the Fertile Crescent, Mesopotamia. Few travelers in the ancient Near East dared any attempt to traverse this terrain.” (deClaisse-Walton)

Section B2: vv. 10-16

An anonymous contributor to DBI says of this example that “release from prison is one of the most evocative images of freedom in the Bible – one that focuses on the moment of transition from bondage to freedom.” M'Caw and Motyer describe v. 10 as “bondage of the mind and body” and v. 12 as “bondage of the heart.”

On a note regarding translation, Holladay explains that the word(s) salmawet (or sal mawet), found in verses 10 and 14, may be translated as either “shadow of death,” “dense darkness,” or “deathly shadow.”

Section B3: vv. 17-22

There is a textual point of contention here in that some translations read 'sick” in place of the Hebrew text's 'fools.' Folly is only an incidental topic in Psalms (Ps. 107:17, etc.). The psalm seems to acknowledge the ever-present folly or threat of a slide into folly on his own part or of the people...” (Oswalt)

Regarding v. 18, Mabie states: “Like the realm of Mot, the realm of death in the OT is described with city features, such as gates and bars...implying a specific spatial realm of the dead.”

Section B4: vv. 23-32

“The connection between God's ability to calm a storm in times of distress and the paradigmatic exodus event is made in Ps. 107:23-32, where 'individual salvation and corporate salvation are held together as the wonderful work of the LORD's hesed [loving-kindness].'” (Pao and Schnabel quoting Maye)

“'Wisdom' (hokmah) in this context [i.e. v. 27] probably refers to the navigational skill of the sailors.” (Anderson)

Holladay points out that verses 28-29 appear in a slightly different form in the Thanksgiving Hymns of the Dead Sea community.

Section B': vv. 33-42

“A final section...enlarges on the great reversals of fortune which God delights to bring about in the affairs of men.” (D. Kidner)

Dentan calls this “part of a hymn praising God for his bounty; it was probably not originally composed to go with the preceding verses...”

Anderson notes this section “has no refrain, and its main theme is the providence of God who is the lord of both nature and of men. Some scholars...argue that the hymn is a later addition. This suggestion is possible but not absolutely necessary; the evidence is inconclusive either way.” I would say that the fact this section matches Section B' so perfectly (see Figure 3) is a strong argument for considering it to be an integral part of the original text.

The four sub-sections here are tied together verbally and thematically by the following devices: subsections 1 and 1' both contain the Hebrew root for “waste,” while 2 and 2' share the common theme of fruitfulness.

Section B'1: vv. 33-34 and Section B'2: vv. 35-38

Allen labels these verses “The God of ecology” and says that in this section “all can find common ground in praising God, e.g. for His providential control of nature.”

In reading the descriptions found in verses 33 and 35, I am reminded of the motto of the church I am now attending: “Transforming lifeless spaces into life-giving places through Jesus Christ.”
Section B'1': vv. 39-40

“Kissane, Kraus, et al transpose verses 39-40, but it is possible that verse 39 should be taken as a kind of protasis [i.e., a clause expressing the condition in a conditional sentence] to verse 40. These two verses probably suggest that whenever the righteous are oppressed (verse 39), God will punish the offenders (verse 40). Thus Yahweh shows himself to be in control both of the realm of nature and of human society.” (Anderson)

NIV translates v. 39 so as to show a reversal of Israel's fortune after the blessings of v. 38, thus referring to the devastation by the Assyrians and Babylonians.

Section B'2': vv. 41-42

“An abundance of flocks not only designated prosperity but was indicative of God's goodness, so often expressed in natural and agricultural terms in the OT (Ps 107:41; 144:13).” (Davies)

Allen treats sections B'1'-2' together and titles them “The God of the weak and needy.” He says, “He can lift up the underprivileged to high blessings as well as demote nobles. He compensates for life's inequalities, to the delight of the believer and the chagrin of God's enemies.”

Verse 43

This brings us back to the closing verse which was discussed earlier. Derek Kidner's comment on it is as good place as any to end this post: “The book of Hosea closes on just such a note as this: a sober reminder not to be carried away by the eloquence, in shallow response to what God has done in depth, or in purely imaginative participation in a chapter of history. It is himself that the reader is to recognize in the fourfold picture of plight and salvation, and it is the steadfastness of God that he is now to praise with new insight.”