Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

PROVERB

Heb. māšāl (commonly translated “proverb” or “saying”) is difficult to define precisely. Its etymology can be associated with the Hebrew verb “to rule” and with the concept of “comparison.” The former suggests that a māšāl is an authoritative word that enables one to master living; the latter implies that it offers trustworthy counsel based upon a perceived order in the world. In the OT, māšāl refers broadly to many literary types and is used in diverse contexts (cf. 1 Sam. 10:12; Deut. 28:37; 1 Kgs. 9:7; Isa. 14:4-11; Ezek. 17:2). As a genre in instructional texts, the term is used generally for any sapiential form (e.g., poems, parables, dialogues). The most common is the “proverb,” a pithy saying characteristically comprised of two parallel lines written in the indicative mood. Such a form is widely attested in didactic texts throughout the ancient Near East, including the Egyptian Instruction of Ani, the Instruction of Amenemope, the Instruction of Onchscheshonqy, the Sumerian Instruction of Shuruppak, and the Aramaic Words of Ahikar. It is best represented biblically in the book of Proverbs.

The two lines of a proverb may be related to one another synonymously, antithetically, or synthetically. In a synonymous construction, the second line restates the point of the first, occasionally adding a nuance or twist: “An evildoer listens to wicked lips; and a liar gives heed to a mischievous tongue” (Prov. 17:4; cf. 16:11; 19:5; 21:12). Antithetical parallelism occurs when the two lines contrast with one another: “The wise are cautious and turn away from evil, but the fool throws off restraint and is careless” (Prov. 14:16; cf. 11:12-15; 14:5-6, 8-9). In synthetic proverbs, the second line continues and develops the thought of the first: “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good” (Prov. 15:3; cf. 16:31; 17:2; 21:6-7). Proverbs may also be comparative, identifying shared aspects of different objects in order to offer insight into one or the other; two particular types are the “like” sayings (“Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country”; Prov. 25:25; cf. 10:26; 26:6-11) and those employing the formula “if x, then how much more or less y” (“Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord, how much more human hearts”; Prov. 15:11; cf. 11:31; 19:10). “Better than” proverbs compare two things with the judgment that one is preferable to the other (“Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife”; Prov. 17:1; cf. 15:16-17; 16:8) while “happy” (or “blessed”) proverbs declare that those who choose to live wisely will experience joy (“Those who despise their neighbors are sinners, but happy are those who are kind to the poor”; Prov. 14:21; cf. 8:32, 34; 16:20; 29:18). Finally, numerical proverbs contain a title line followed by a list of two, three, four, or seven items that share the feature(s) of the title line: “Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a maiden” (Prov. 30:18-19; cf. vv. 15-31).

Concise and creative, the proverb is an artistic literary form in which content and aesthetics are intertwined. As is evident in Hebrew, proverbs frequently contain alliteration, assonance, rhyme, and wordplay. There is also extended use of metaphor, simile, paradox, and other imagery. Such crafting results in poetic and terse sayings which, in their gathering of observations and conclusions drawn from human reason and experience, are striking and easily memorized. Proverbs thereby function effectively as didactic tools for the education of youth, as ethical and/or legal instructions, and as entertainment. They may offer observations about reality or, more forcefully, instruct or influence the reader to uphold certain values or behaviors. In all, proverbial wisdom demonstrates a self-conscious attempt to provoke human thinking and imagination in a manner that is aware of the ambiguities of life and of wisdom’s own limitations; it is instruction that reflects the human effort to find order and “steer” through the complexities of reality.

Bibliography. L. G. Perdue, Wisdom and Creation (Nashville, 1994); G. von Rad, Wisdom in Israel (Nashville, 1972).

Christine Roy Yoder

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

PROVERB

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)