CHAPTER 1

The Sources of Wisdom

R. E. Clements

The issue that we are confronted with is primarily that of determiningthose features of human experience that provide aresource for understanding the nature of life. What features ofthe world and what aspects of the human condition provide the bestsource from which the larger whole can be understood? It is partly aquestion of perception and partly one of evaluation. The immediatetask in this chapter is to consider those biblical writings that have beenclassed as the products of the ancient Israelite search for wisdom, understoodas a particular method of study and instruction (see Crenshaw,1998a and b; Whybray, 1974; and Clements, 1991).

We can begin by noting the writings that have been classed as belongingto the biblical wisdom tradition. Three books from the Hebrewcanon are customarily classed as belonging here: namely Proverbs, Job,and Ecclesiastes (Koheleth). In the Old Testament Apocrypha two furtherbooks belong to this category, Ecclesiasticus (Ben Sira) and theWisdom of Solomon (see Collins, 1997). Both of these writings showextensive features of Hellenistic influence, the latter especially so, althoughmuch of the Hebrew original of Ben Sira has been recovered. Both Joband Ecclesiastes have highly distinctive features, the former because it isan extensive poem dealing with the problems of theodicy—justifyingthe ways of God to human beings in face of the fact of undeservedhuman suffering. Ecclesiastes is highly distinctive because it is the workof a single author, who gives his personal perspective, even though thisis heavily steeped in the language and traditions of wisdom. It turnsvery brilliantly the searchlight of wisdom's methods and aims upon theaccrued teachings of wisdom itself, questioning some of them, and repudiatingothers. The author has accordingly been categorized as rebel,cynic, and nihilistic pessimist, although in truth he can certainly bedefended from all three labels. It appears that the writer of Ecclesiasteswas essentially following the wisdom method of citing received teachingand subjecting this to critical review in the face of carefully observedexperience.

Clearly the Book of Proverbs holds the key to understanding themost basic forms of ancient Israelite wisdom. Yet even here a littleshrewd detective work is of considerable help, since the book is composedof material couched in different forms and styles. Prov. 10:1–24:34consists for the most part of short epigrammatic sayings—usually two-linecouplets set in poetic rhythm—that describe in declarative fashionthe moral and social "facts of life." This is achieved by pointing out theconsequences of particular acts and attitudes, regarding them as leadinginevitably to good or bad results in a kind of causal process:

The wage of the righteous leads to life,the gain of the wicked to sin.

—Prov. 10:16

Sometimes the teaching is affirmed by characterizing types of behaviorwith the help of comparisons and metaphors that show their dangeror foolishness, and often exaggerate their consequences:

Laziness brings on deep sleep;an idle person will suffer hunger.

—Prov. 19:15

The aim is evidently to encourage and advocate what are regarded asgood attitudes and actions, which preserve family life, uphold the economicstrength of the household by hard work and prudence in financialaffairs, and to discourage violent and irresponsible social behavior:

An ally offended is stronger than a city;but quarrelling is like the bars of a castle.

—Prov. 18:19

Not a little humor and artistic skill is employed in making the exhortationsmemorable and interesting, overcoming the hearer's presumedresistance to what is demanded, and generally giving assurance that thelonger-term consequences of obeying such teaching are beneficial,healthy, and conducive to prosperity. How to achieve the "good life" isthe goal, but of necessity the path to teaching this requires clarificationas to what the good life consists of, and what it offers by way of happiness,social honor, and respect. Essentially the popular assumption istaken as a basis for the assertions that wise conduct leads to happiness:

The hope of the righteous ends in gladnessbut the expectation of the wicked comes to nothing.

—Prov. 10:28

Yet, beyond this it is ultimately divine approval or rejection that constitutesthe final reward:

One who justifies the wicked andone who condemns the righteousare both alike an abomination to the Lord.

—Prov. 17:15

So there is a tight correlation assumed between the nature of humanbeings in their social setting and the consequences and events that shapehuman destiny. Observing this correlation provides laws of life, whichcan be observed and which show that wise behavior is healthy, promoteslife, and leads to happiness. The end result of such a lifestyle is thereceiving of divine approval, already in this life, but with some hintsthat it will be affirmed hereafter. The goal of wisdom is to set out whatsuch rules of living are, to test them in the light of observed experience,and to note limitations, seeming contradictions, and other problems,which may appear to throw doubt on their validity. So a measure ofdefensiveness and of justifying the ways of God in this world becomesevident.

The most basic form of wisdom instruction therefore takes the formof explicit declarations contrasting the ways of wisdom with those thatconstitute folly. It is declarative before it becomes prescriptive. It showswhat happens, and derives from this rules of conduct. So wisdom's declarationsare presented as statements of fact; only secondarily do theybecome admonitions, although it is evident that the hearer is expectedto take note of these facts of life and shape his or her actions accordingly.Attitudes and actions that are negative are portrayed as leading todeath; they occasion outrage to God as well as to one's fellow humanbeings. Those who adopt them end up bringing ultimate ruinationupon themselves and their households (cp. Prov. 11:17, 30).

The longer introductory addresses in Proverbs 1–9, which are in theform of carefully constructed poems forming didactic homilies, appearas later elaborations of this type of shorter declaratory instruction. Thecombination of practicality and artistic inventiveness characterizes theaims of wisdom as "Be relevant" and "Be interesting!" Surprisingly thesemore elaborate poems do not add much by way of the fuller developmentof wisdom's basic rules. The most prominent theme addressesyoung men concerning the avoidance of sexual promiscuity. There is,however, a strong insistence on adopting a right attitude from life's earliestyears. The reader is urged to heed the instruction given by parents.Throughout it is assumed that such attentive obedience will be conduciveto preserving the economic strength and honor of the familyhousehold (cp. Prov. 2:1–22 etc.). Perhaps of importance from a psychologicalperspective is the observation in Prov. 9:7–12 that some personsappear perversely incapable of responding positively to whatwisdom has to offer:

Whoever corrects a scoffer wins abuse;whoever rebukes the wicked gets hurt.

—Prov. 9:7

There are limits to what wisdom can achieve and so this sectionreflects on the hopelessness of trying to educate a fool by rebuking hisobstinacy. Such persistence gets nowhere. It is this observation which,in part at least, fosters the general dictum that "The fear of the Lord isthe beginning of wisdom" (Prov. 9:10). Without a sense of reverencefor God and the value of life as a God-given gift the benefits of wisdom'steaching will fall on deaf ears.

The concluding chapters of Prov. 25:1–31:31 elaborate the same basicthemes, but with rather more color in the method of presentation. Thefinal poem in 31:10–31 on the virtues of a good woman as wife andmother focuses on issues relating to the economy of the individualhousehold. Nothing much is said about her value as a person in and forherself. Overall these later chapters appear as a series of epilogues tothe main part of the book, and must once have formed separate collectionsof related interest. They add little by way of new themes and topics,but give more variation in presentation and verbal imagery toreinforce the message already made.

Since the basic form of wisdom instruction consists of short affirmationsand admonitions regarding essential points of behavior it isimportant to look beneath their surface to probe the assumptions abouthuman society and human nature that underlie them. In the forefrontwe can note that deep respect is demanded toward those institutions thatgovern everyday life—namely, parents, the household, the world of workand economic reality, and, more distantly, the authorized government ofkingship. Neighbors comprise a category of fellow human beings fromoutside the immediate kin-group who provide a focus of considerableconcern. Wisdom's concern with them is of greater significance thanmay at first be supposed (see Clements, 1993). They exist primarilyamong fellow villagers and work colleagues. It is unclear whether theconcept of neighbor regarded fellow Jews, and fellow Jews alone, orextended to include gentiles as well. No exclusion is set out, but it is evidentthat religious differences formed a major barrier to social integration,and it does not appear that wisdom was at first inclined to developthe point. The New Testament parable of the Good Samaritan draws itsimpact from what must have been the conventional interpretation of theterm (cp. Luke 10:29, 36).

The importance of ethical regard for a neighbor is rather weakenedby the convention that, in the major English versions, the same Hebrewword is often translated as "friend" and only sometimes as "neighbor."Wisdom's interest in the role of the neighbor is significant in the wayin which it presumes that the ties of family and kinship are stronglyfelt, but sees the practicality of good neighborliness as an opportunityfor moral advance. The neighbor is to be accorded the respect and supportthat otherwise could be taken for granted within the narrowerkin-group. Clearly, with the changing patterns of social organization asJudaism emerged as a religion in Diaspora the concept of the neighborassumed a more prominent place. Geography lent urgency to moralobligation. This highlights the force of the instruction of Prov. 18:24(cp. also Prov. 17:17; 27:10):

Some neighbors play at friendshipbut a true neighbor sticks closerthan one's nearest kin.

The perspective that is expressed here points to an important rangeof situations, which provides a source for wisdom to consider. Societywas so structured that new factors could emerge that challenged theadoption of conventional attitudes as a sufficient guideline to the pathof wisdom. Much has been studied concerning the way in which marriagebetween parties of distinct kin-groups constantly posed a sourceof difficulty. The interests of the kin-group did not always coincide withthe personal needs and attitudes of the individual parties concerned.Such a situation is highlighted in the Book of Ruth where the disadvantagesof widowhood, together with Ruth's gender and vulnerabilityto antipathy to her racial origin (Moabite) all combined to depriveher, and by implication her mother-in-law Naomi, of the support theywere entitled to as kin-group members through Ruth's marriage. Ruthdisplayed true family loyalty whereas her dead husband's kin-groupignored the duties that properly fell to them. They had to be cajoled intohonoring their obligations.

Wisdom teaching was also quick to recognize the limitations ofIsrael's legal system. By and large wisdom teaching does not appear toshow a great deal of respect for the ancient Israelite legal system. Thewise person is advised to avoid taking his case to court, if it can beavoided (cp. Prov. 25:8–10). This is surprising in view of the elaboratecare that is shown in a book like Deuteronomy for the setting up andadministration of a legal system. The laws of evidence were primitiveand the warnings against lies and giving false evidence in Proverbs showshow easily they could be abused (cp. Prov. 14:5; 21:28). Similarly honestyin trading was often lacking and the repeated injunctions againstfalse weights show how difficult it was to implement a proper system ofchecks (Prov. 11:1; 16:11). Judges could easily be corrupted, as the warningsagainst such bad conduct show. Gifts of respect could quicklybecome bribes (cp. Prov. 17:8).

So much that wisdom has to say by way of admonition and commenton public justice points to the need for personal integrity and warinessconcerning the attitudes and motives of others (cp. Prov. 14:25). Reflectionon the situations in which conventional attitudes of kinship loyaltyand respect for other human beings needed to be viewed in the light ofother factors comes to the surface in the many instructions regardingwealth and poverty. To become poor was a fate to be shunned since itcould quickly undermine the values of good-neighborliness, whichwould otherwise prevail:

The poor are disliked even by their neighbors,but the rich have many friends.

—Prov. 14:20

Even lending to the poor was a policy that could incur immenserisks and danger. It was generally warned against (Prov. 11:15). The manyinstructional sentences regarding the social influence exerted by wealthshow how these distinctions cut across the fundamental demands forkinship loyalty and good neighborliness (cp. Prov. 13:8, 14:20, 22:7, etc.;see also Whybray, 1990). Wealth gave opportunity for oppressiveness,both through the widespread economic practice of usury and the acquisitionof means to undermine public justice through corruption. Whatis surprising is that, in spite of the many declarations in which the plightof the poor is drawn to the reader's attention, not very much is saidregarding the ways in which this could be alleviated.

Overall the general assumption prevails that hard manual work andextreme caution in financial matters would enable the wise person toescape the net of poverty. In addition there is a general conviction thatGod would not allow the conscientious and hard-working individual tocome to destitution (cp. Prov. 10:3).

Ancient Near Eastern legal systems were designed to replace and renderunnecessary the age-old cruelties and wrongs of systems of blood-revengeoperated by extended clan-based kinship groups. This providesus with some useful clues for understanding the social background tothe sentence instruction of Proverbs 10–30. By and large the exercise ofany kind of vengeance is spurned (cp. Prov. 24:17–20). Possibly the backgroundthat is presupposed in Prov. 24:15, which refers to violent actionagainst the righteous, may have its origins in vengeance-taking by outragedindividuals of families that had suffered from criminal acts. Sothroughout the Book of Proverbs there is an assumption that the law isto be respected, even though the authors of the sayings were well awareof its limitations in practice.