The Makers and Teachers of Judaism / From the Fall of Jerusalem to the Death of Herod the Great

by Charles Foster Kent

Section CV. THE WISE AND THEIR TEACHINGS

[Sidenote: Pr. 1:2-6]
That men may learn wisdom and instruction,
May understand intelligent discourses,
May receive instruction in wise conduct,
In justice, judgment and equity;
That discretion may be given to the inexperienced,
To the youth knowledge and a purpose;
That the wise man may hear and increase in learning,
And the intelligent man may receive counsel,
That he may understand proverb and parable,
The words of the wise and their riddles.

[Sidenote: Pr. 8:1-6]
Does not Wisdom call?
And Understanding raise her voice?
On the top of high places by the way,
In the midst of the street she stands,
Beside the gateways in front of the city,
At the entrance of the gates she cries aloud:
To you, O men, I call,
And my appeal is to the sons of men.
O inexperienced, acquire discretion,
And ye stupid, gain understanding.
Hear, for I speak true things,
And the utterance of my lips is right.

[Sidenote: Pr. 8:13]
Pride and arrogance and evil conduct
And false speech do I hate.

[Sidenote: Pr. 8:14-16]
With me is counsel and practical knowledge;
With me understanding and might.
By me kings do reign,
And rulers decree justice.
By me princes rule,
And nobles judge the land.

[Sidenote: Pr. 8:17]
I love those who love me,
Those who seek me diligently shall find me.

[Sidenote: Pr. 8:18-21]
Riches and honor are with me,
Lordly wealth and prosperity.
My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold,
And my increase than choice silver.
I walk in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
That I may endow those who love me with wealth,
And that I may fill their treasuries.

[Sidenote: Pr. 8:22-26]
Jehovah formed me as the beginning of his creation,
The first of his works of old,
In the primeval past was I formed,
In the beginning, before the earth was,
When there were no depths, I was brought forth,
When there were no fountains full of water.
Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills were brought forth,
When he had not as yet made the earth,
Nor the first of the dust of the world.

[Sidenote: Pr. 8:27, 29, 30]
When he established the heavens, I was there,
When he marked off the vault on the face of the deep,
Made fast the fountains of the deep,
When he set to the sea its bound,
When he marked out the foundations of the earth,
Then I was at his side as a foster-child;
And I was daily full of delight,
Sporting in his presence continually,
Sporting in his habitable earth.

[Sidenote: Pr. 8:31-35]
And my delight is with the sons of men;
Now therefore, my sons, hearken to me,
Hear instruction that you may be wise,
And reject it not.
Happy is the man who hearkens to me,
Happy are they who walk in my ways,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at the posts of my doors.
For he who finds me finds life,
And obtains favor from Jehovah.

[Sidenote: Pr. 13:14-20, 24:5]
The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life
That man may avoid the ways of death.
Walk with the wise and you will become wise,
But he who associates with fools shall smart for it.
A wise man is better than a strong man,
And a man who has knowledge than he who has strength.

[Sidenote: Pr. 12:10]
A wise man has regard for the well-being of his beast,
But the heart of the wicked is cruel.

[Sidenote: Pr. 20:13]
Love not sleep lest you come to poverty;
Open your eyes and you shall have plenty.

[Sidenote: Pr. 25:16]
If you find honey, eat what is sufficient for you,
Lest you be surfeited with it and vomit it up.

[Sidenote: Pr. 23:9-35]
Who cries, Woe? who, Alas?
Who has contentions? Who, complaining?
Who has dullness of eyes?
They who linger long over wine,
They who go about tasting mixed wine.
Look not upon the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup.
At last it bites like a serpent,
And stings like an adder.
Your eyes shall see strange things,
And your mind shall suggest queer things.
You shall be like one sleeping at sea,
Like one asleep in a great storm.
"They have struck me, but I feel no pain;
They have beaten me, but I feel it not;
I will seek it yet again. When shall I awake from my wine?"

[Sidenote: Pr. 29:20, 15:23]
Do you see a man hasty in his words?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
A man has joy from the utterance of his mouth,
And a word in due season, how good it is!

[Sidenote: Pr. 19:11, 16:32]
A man's wisdom makes him slow to anger,
And it is his glory to pass over transgression.
He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

[Sidenote: Pr. 23:26-28]
My son, give me your attention,
And let your eyes give careful heed to my ways.
For a harlot is a deep well,
And an adultress is a narrow pit.
Yea, she lies in wait as a robber,
And increases the faithless among men.

[Sidenote: Pr. 4:25-27]
Let your eyes look right straight forward,
And let your gaze be straight before you.
Let the path of your feet be level,
And let all your ways be stable.
Turn not to the right hand nor to the left,
Keep your foot away from evil.

[Sidenote: Pr. 14:15]
The simpleton believes everything,
But the prudent man looks well to where he walks.

[Sidenote: Pr. 26:12, 27:2]
Do you see a man wise in his own conceit?
There is more hope of a fool than him.
Let another man praise you and not your own mouth;
Some other, and not your own lips.

[Sidenote: Pr. 4:23, 11:6]
Keep your heart above all that you guard,
For out of it are the issues of life.
The righteousness of the upright shall save them,
But the treacherous are caught by their own desire.

[Sidenote: Pr. 21:3]
To do what is just and right
Is more acceptable to Jehovah than sacrifice.

[Sidenote: Pr. 15:1]
A soft answer turns away wrath;
But a harsh word stirs up anger.

[Sidenote: Pr. 3:27]
Withhold not good from your neighbor,
When it is in your power to do it.
Say not to your neighbor, "Go, and come again,
And to-morrow I will give," when you have it by you.

[Sidenote: Pr. 14:21, 19:17]
He who despises his neighbor, sins,
But he who has pity on the poor, happy is he.
He who has pity on the poor, lends to Jehovah,
And his good deed will yet pay him.

[Sidenote: Pr. 25:21-22]
If your enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat,
And if he be thirsty, give him water to drink;
For you will heap coals of fire upon his head,
And Jehovah will reward you.

[Sidenote: Pr. 3:11-12]
My son, reject not the instruction of Jehovah,
And do not grow weary of his reproof,
For whom Jehovah loveth he reproveth,
Even as a father the son in whom he delights.

[Sidenote: Pr. 3:5-6]
Trust in Jehovah with all your heart,
And depend not upon your own understanding.
In all your ways know him well,
And he will make plain your path.

I. Structure and Authorship of the Book of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs is in reality a collection of originally independent groups of proverbs. In its present form it consists of nine general divisions: (1) The preface defining the aims of the book, 1:1-6. (2) A general introduction describing the characteristics and value of the wisdom teaching, 1:7-9:18. (3) A large collection designated as the Proverbs of Solomon, 10:1-22:16. The fact that ten proverbs are repeated in practically the same words indicates that it, like the book of Proverbs as a whole, is made up of smaller collections. In chapters 10-15 the prevailing type of the poetic parallelism is antithetic or contrasting, while in the remainder of the book the synonymous or repeating parallelism prevails. (4) A supplemental collection, 22:17-24:22. This is introduced by the suggestive superscription, "Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise." (5) A shorter appendix, 24:23-34, with the superscription, "These also are from the wise." (6) The second large collection of proverbs, 25-29. This bears the superscription, "These also are the proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, transcribed." It contains several proverbs found in the first large collection, and evidently represents later gleanings from the same field. (7) The words of Agur, 30. Of Agur nothing is known beyond his name, which may be simply typical. The latter part of the chapter contains a collection of numerical enigmas which may or may not have been associated at first with the opening section. (8) The words of King Lemuel, 31:1-9. (9) A description of the ideal Hebrew housewife, 31:10-31. The contents of these collections as well as their superscriptions clearly indicate that these proverbs represent the work of many different wise men, living at different periods and writing from different points of view. Few, if any, can be confidently attributed to Solomon. Even the proverbs in the large collection, 10:1-22:16, which are definitely designated as the Proverbs of Solomon, emphasize monogamy and denounce rulers who oppress their subjects. Many of the proverbs in these larger Solomonic collections give practical advice regarding the bearing of a subject in the presence of the king, and few of them fit in the mouth of the splendor-loving monarch, who by his foreign marriages and grinding taxation exerted a baleful influence upon the political and religious life of Israel. The great majority of the proverbs reflect the noble ethical teachings of the prophets. Clearly the term Proverbs of Solomon is simply a late designation of early proverbs the authorship of which, like that of most popular maxims, had long since been forgotten.

II. Date of the Different Collections. The preface and general introduction to the book of Proverbs reflect the immorality and evils that characterized both the Persian and Greek periods. Their background is the corrupt life of the city. The tendency to personify wisdom is also one of the marks of later Jewish thought. It is probable, therefore, that this part of the book of Proverbs was added by a late editor who lived during the Greek period. The oldest collection in the book is clearly to be found in 10:1-22:10. The evils which it describes, the oppression of the poor and dependent by the rich and powerful, existed throughout most of Israel's history, but were especially prominent in the days of the divided kingdom immediately before the destruction of Jerusalem. The references to the king imply that the proverb writers had in mind Hebrew rulers. In general their rule is just and they enjoy the respect of their subjects. The prevailing occupation of the people is agriculture. Commerce is just beginning to develop. The exile has not yet cast its shadow over Hebrew life and thought. The majority of these proverbs clearly represent the fruitage of the teachings of the pre-exilic prophets, and many of them come from the days immediately before the final destruction of Jerusalem. From the occasional references to the scoffers, the absence of allusions to idolatry, and the fact that monogamy is here assumed, we may infer that some of them at least come from the Persian or even the Greek periods. It is probable that this large collection was not made until the latter part of the Persian or the early part of the Greek period.

The appendices in 22:17-24:34 contain many repetitions of proverbs found in the larger collection. The prevalence of intemperance, the existence of a merchant class, and the allusions to exiled Jews (e.g., 24:11) point rather clearly to the dissolute Greek period as the age when these small collections were made. The word meaning "transcribe," that is found in the superscription to the second large collection (25-29), is peculiar to the late Hebrew, and implies that this superscription, like those of the Psalms, was added by a late Jewish scribe. The literary form of these proverbs is more complex than those of the other large collection. The kings are feared by their subjects, but figure now as oppressors rather than champions of the people. While this collection may contain a few proverbs coming from the period before the final destruction of Jerusalem, it is probable that, like the smaller appendices to the first large collection, they were not gathered until the early part of the Greek period. The long appendices in chapters 30-31 are clearly late. The note of doubt in the opening section of 30 is closely akin to that which recurs in the book of Ecclesiastes. It is also based on Isaiah 44:5 and 45:4. Aramaisms and the acrostic form in 31:10-31 imply that the background was the late Persian or early Greek period.

The history of the book of Proverbs is therefore reasonably clear. Its original nucleus was probably a small group of popular proverbs that had been transmitted orally from the days before the final destruction of Jerusalem. These, together with proverbs which first became current during the Persian period, were collected some time in the days following the work of Nehemiah. To these was added in the Greek period the smaller appendices in 22:17-24:34. Possibly the same editor joined to them the large collection found in 25-29. He or some wise man in the Greek period prefixed the elaborate introduction in chapters 1-9. To the whole was added the appendices in chapters 30 and 31. It is probable that by the middle of the Greek period, or at least before 200 B.C., the book of Proverbs was complete in its present form.

III. The Wise in Israel's Early History. Long before 2000 B.C. the scribes of ancient Egypt were busy collecting "the words of counsel of the men of olden time." Many of these ancient maxims still survive. The best-known is that which bears the title "The Wisdom of Ptah-hotep." The desire to preserve and transmit the results of practical experience is the common motive that underlies the work of the wise. It is that which inspires the teachers of all ages. The ancients were keenly alive to the importance of instruction and training. All that is significant in the civilizations of the past is, in a sense, the result of this teaching motif.

In early Israel there were many men and women famous for their ability to give wise counsel. In his stormy career Joab, David's valiant commander, frequently profited by the counsel of certain wise women (Sections LIII:8-11 LIX:35). David's friend Hushai, by his wily counsel at the time of Absalom's rebellion, saved the king's life. The narrative in II Samuel declares that the counsel of Ahithophel was esteemed almost as highly as the divine oracle. For his keen insight and acute decisions, as well as for his witty utterances, Solomon gained a reputation which made him in the thought of later generations the father of all wisdom literature. In a significant passage found in Jeremiah 18:18 the three classes of Israel's teachers are brought into sharp contrast. In urging that the prophet be put to death his foes declared: "Teaching will not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet." From references in Isaiah and Jeremiah it is evident that before the final destruction of the Hebrew state the counsel of the wise was chiefly political and secular, and often not in accord with the higher ideals of the great pre-exilic prophets.

IV. Their Prominence in the Greek Period. The transformation of the wise into religious as well as secular teachers apparently came after the destruction of Jerusalem. It was the result of a variety of forces which have already been studied. The destruction of the Hebrew state and the resulting prominence of the individual led the wise to turn their attention from questions of political to those of personal import. The result is that the word "Israel" is found nowhere in the book of Proverbs. The teachings there found are both individual and universal and apply to Gentile as well as Jew, to the present as well as the past. The gradual disappearance of the prophets during the latter part of the Persian period, and the fact that the priests ever devoted themselves more and more to the ritual and less to teaching, left a great need in the life of Judaism which called to the front the wise. At the same time the problems of the individual became more and more complex and insistent. Especially was this true during the Greek period when Hellenic civilization, with its corrupting influences, swept over Palestine and the lands of the dispersion. It was a period when the principles enunciated by the earlier prophets had been in general adopted by the Jewish race. The task, however, of interpreting these principles simply and practically into the every-day life of the people was left to these lovers and teachers of men, the wise. The evidence of the voluminous writings of Ben Sira, as well as of the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, makes it quite clear that it was during the Greek period, and possibly in part under the intellectual stimulus of Greek thought, that the wise attained their greatest prominence and influence.

V. The Aims of the Wise. The aims of the wise are in part defined in the remarkable preface to the book of Proverbs, which was intended primarily to describe the purpose of the collection of proverbs which embodies their teachings. Four distinct classes commanded their attention: (1) The ignorant, those who were unacquainted with the moral, religious, and practical heritage received from preceding generations. (2) The inexperienced, those who had not yet learned in the school of life the art of adjusting themselves successfully to their environment. (3) The scoffers, who openly rejected the counsel of the sages. And (4) the disciples who were eager to learn and profit by the teachings of the wise.

The definite aims of the wise must be inferred from their teachings. They were concerned with the development of the individual, not the nation. Their first aim was to instruct the ignorant in the fundamental moral and religious principles already laid down by earlier priests and prophets. In the words of the preface to the book of Proverbs they taught,

That men may learn wisdom and instruction,
May understand intelligent discourses,
May receive instruction in wise dealing,
In justice, judgment, and equity.

Their second aim was to point out the pitfalls that lay in the path of the inexperienced, and to save them from moral wreck by inspiring within them right ideals and ambitions. This aim is also well stated in the preface to the book of Proverbs:

That discretion may be given to the inexperienced,
To the youth knowledge and a purpose.

The third aim of the wise was to educate the receptive and all who came to them in the attitude of disciples. This aim corresponded very closely to that of the modern educator. Again the preface to the book of Proverbs clearly expresses this educational ideal:

That the wise man may hear and increase in learning,
And the intelligent man may receive counsel.
That he may understand a proverb and parable,
The words of the wise and their riddles.

The wise, therefore, sought not merely to instruct, but to educate; that is, to develop sane, happy, and efficient men and women. They sought to train those who would have not only knowledge and experience, but also the ability to apply these successfully in the varied relations of life. Above all, they endeavored to educate not parts of a man, but the whole man. Hence their interest and the subjects that they treat are as broad as human experience.

The wise were keenly alive to the importance of youthful education.
The proverb:

Train up a child in the way in which he should go,
And even when he is old he will not depart from it,

voices the fundamental principle upon which all effective education is based. They recognized that in the plastic days of childhood and youth ideals and character and efficiency could best be developed, and that education was not the work of a moment, but a gradual, progressive development.

Primary education, however, they intrusted to parents, and in many proverbs emphasized the responsibility which every parent owed to his child. They also counselled parents regarding the training of their children. The maxims:

The rod of correction gives wisdom,
But a child left to himself brings disgrace to his mother.
Chastise your son while there is still hope,
And set not your heart on his destruction.
He who spares his rod hates his son,
But he who loves him chastises him,

express their appreciation of the importance of discipline in the early training of the child. It is not clear at what age the wise took up the instruction of the young. Possibly it was at about the age of twelve, when the individual passed from childhood to adolescence, with its increasing dangers and possibilities. Many of their teachings are especially adapted to the problems of this tempestuous period.

VI. The Methods of the Wise. In attaining their aims the wise men of
Israel employed a variety of methods. Proverbs such as,

Every purpose is established by counsel,
And by wise guidance make thou war,

suggest that, as in the days before the exile, they were still active in connection with the civic, social, and national life of the people, and that by influencing public policies they conserved the moral welfare of the individual as well as the state. Many references to "wisdom's voice crying aloud in the public places" suggest that, like the earlier prophets, the wise men at times taught in public, in the market-places, in the open spaces within the city gates, or wherever men were gathered together. They appear also to have taught in private, by wise counsel delivering the individual disciple who resorted to them from the perils that beset his path, or aiding him by prudent advice in solving successfully his individual problems.

In 6:32-37 Ben Sira has given a vivid sketch of the schools of the wise, which are clearly the forerunners of the later rabbinical schools:

My son, if you wish, you will be instructed,
And if you pay attention, you will become prudent.
If you are willing to hear, you will receive,
And if you listen attentively, you will be wise.
Stand in the assembly of the elders,
And whoever is wise, stick close to him.
Be willing to listen to every discourse,
And let no illuminating proverbs escape you.
If you see a man of insight, hasten to him,
And let your foot wear out his threshold.
Let your mind dwell upon the law of the Most High,
And meditate continually on his commands.
Thus he will enlighten your mind,
And teach you the wisdom you desire.

It requires little imagination to picture these ancient prototypes of our modern universities. Like all Oriental teachers, the wise doubtless sat cross-legged, with their disciples in a circle about them. They trusted largely to question and answer, and poured out from their own and their inherited experience wise maxims such as would guide the simple and inexperienced and develop efficient manhood.

VIII. Their Important Teachings. In the opening chapters of Proverbs the wise describe the character and value of that wisdom which represents their teaching as a whole. In chapters 8 and 9 "Wisdom" is personified. Inasmuch as the Hebrew word for "wisdom" is feminine, it is spoken of as a woman. Chapter 9 describes, in a form intended to arrest the attention of the most inattentive, the feast that Wisdom offers to her guests. This is contrasted with Folly's banquet, and the consequences to those who participated in these rival banquets are clearly presented.

In the practical teachings of the wise no question that vitally concerned the individual man was considered beneath their attention. Like the wise modern teacher they made no distinction between the religious and the secular. Everything that influenced man's acts and ideals possessed for them profound religious import. While the proverbial epigrammatic form of their teaching was not conducive to a logical or complete treatment of their theme, yet in a series of concise, dramatic maxims they dealt with almost every phase of man's domestic, economic, legal, and social life. They presented clearly man's duty to animals, to himself, to his fellow-men, and to God. If utilitarian motives were urged in the great majority of cases, it is because they sought to reach their pupils on their own level. Although their ideals sometimes fell below those of the great prophets, and especially those of the Great Teacher of Nazareth, the importance of their work in establishing individual standards of right and wrong, in keeping alive in concrete form the principles of the earlier prophets, and in preparing their race for the crises through which it was soon to pass cannot be overestimated. As effective teachers of the individual they have an intensely practical and significant message for all men in the stream of life to-day as well as in the past.