1LISTEN, MY SONS, to a father’s instruction;
pay attention and gain understanding.
2I give you sound learning,
so do not forsake my teaching.
3When I was a boy in my father’s house,
still tender, and an only child of my mother,
4he taught me and said,
“Lay hold of my words with all your heart;
keep my commands and you will live.
5Get wisdom, get understanding;
do not forget my words or swerve from them.
6Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love her, and she will watch over you.
7Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.
Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
8Esteem her, and she will exalt you;
embrace her, and she will honor you.
9She will set a garland of grace on your head
and present you with a crown of splendor.”
10Listen, my son, accept what I say,
and the years of your life will be many.
11I guide you in the way of wisdom
and lead you along straight paths.
12When you walk, your steps will not be hampered;
when you run, you will not stumble.
13Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
guard it well, for it is your life.
14Do not set foot on the path of the wicked
or walk in the way of evil men.
15Avoid it, do not travel on it;
turn from it and go on your way.
16For they cannot sleep till they do evil;
they are robbed of slumber till they make someone fall.
17They eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.
18The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
19But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know what makes them stumble.
20My son, pay attention to what I say;
listen closely to my words.
21Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
22for they are life to those who find them
and health to a man’s whole body.
23Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life.
24Put away perversity from your mouth;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25Let your eyes look straight ahead,
fix your gaze directly before you.
26Make level paths for your feet
and take only ways that are firm.
27Do not swerve to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.
Original Meaning
AT FIRST READING, it appears that there is little new in this chapter; references to wisdom and the metaphors of path, heart, and treasure have all appeared before. The goal of the interpreter, then, is to discern how these metaphors are used in this literary context and how they relate to the sections that come before and after. It is noteworthy that in contrast with chapter 3, there are no references to the presence or teaching of Yahweh, but this does not indicate that an earlier, nonreligious form of wisdom instruction has been preserved here.1 If anything, the verbal link between the father’s “instruction” (4:1, musar) and the Yahweh’s “discipline” (3:11, also musar) indicates a tradition of teaching that begins with God2 and is passed from generation to generation.
A series of additional verbal links suggests that the first half of this chapter is to be read in relation to the last half of the preceding chapter. Here is a chart that compares the discipline of Yahweh (3:12) with the instruction of the two fathers (4:1, 4, 10).
Proverbs 4 | |||
12: | Yahweh’s musar like a father’s | 1–3: | The father’s musar |
13: | Wisdom and understanding | 5–7: | Wisdom and understanding |
22: | Life and grace | 9–10: | Grace and life |
23: | Safe way, not stumble | 11–12: | Straight way, not stumble |
24: | Sweet sleep | 16: | No sleep for the wicked |
25: | Ruin of wicked | 19: | Path of wicked darkness |
26: | Yahweh your confidence | 18: | Path of righteous bright |
31: | Do not envy violent man | 17: | They drink wine of violence |
31: | Do not choose his ways | 14–15: | Do not walk in way of evil men |
The significance of the comparison becomes clear when we observe that there is no mention of Yahweh in chapter 4 whereas he takes center stage in chapter 3. In chapter 3 we have the view from above; Yahweh is the one who teaches and disciplines, looks out and protects, and blesses the righteous. Chapter 4 gives us the view from below, in which fathers teach sons to observe the ways of both the righteous and wicked. It is a signal that this teaching comes from God. By placing chapters 3 and 4 next to one another, the sages who gave us these instructions meant to show that it would be a mistake to separate the wisdom instruction of the home from the wisdom teaching of the Lord.
The picture of Yahweh teaching and correcting as a loving father (3:12) makes a theological statement that is key to all of the instructions in Proverbs 1–9, revealing the larger picture of what the parents are doing as they teach their son(s). They pass on what they have received from Yahweh, the source, the beginning of wisdom teaching. Therefore, the stress in this chapter is on the transmission of wisdom.
Chapter 4 consists of three lessons, each beginning with an address to the next generation. Key words and images define the theme of each section.
Grandfather’s Teaching: “Get wisdom” (4:1–9)
Key words: Get/acquire
Key image: Wisdom is like a good wife
Paths of Righteousness and Wickedness (4:10–19)
Key words: Path/way
Key image: Wisdom is like a clear and well-lit path
Anatomy of Righteousness (4:20–27)
Key word: Heart
Key image: Wisdom is like a sound and healthy body
In this chapter, the young learners are urged to acquire wisdom, walk in its pathways, and put all their members in its service. The key word “life” and its cognates appears in all three sections (4:10, 13, 22, 23).
Grandfather’s Teaching (4:1–9)
HERE WE FIND the most detailed depiction of wisdom instruction in the book of Proverbs. The father, representing both father and mother, describes his own training. He quotes the words his father spoke to him, and in so doing, he also passes on the same teaching to his son. While it is difficult to determine a precise setting in life from this literary picture of home-schooling in wisdom, we can infer that without some semblance to life in ancient Israel, the teaching of this text would carry little authority.3 In other words, while evidence for schools in ancient Israel is sketchy at best,4 it is likely that a tradition of wisdom education in the home was passed on from generation to generation.
The instruction begins with the plural “my sons” instead of the typical singular (cf. 5:7; 7:24; 8:32). It is striking that the plural is used to introduce the remembered example of one-to-one instruction. Shifts between singular and plural are common in Proverbs, so we cannot say for sure if the shift is a symbolic nod to the larger reading public. If so, it may signal to the reading public that they are privileged to listen in on an early example of home-schooling, or they may signify that this teaching will pass through successive generations. Does this remembrance come from Solomon, recalling the teaching of David his father? Although the attribution of 1:1 allows for the association,5 it does not require it (see date and authorship in the introduction). Therefore, one can imagine the instruction taking place in any Israelite home, especially since the issues it touches are universal.
The connection between “a father’s instruction” (4:1) and the teaching of past generations comes through the father’s quotation of words he first heard long ago. The words are not his own, they have come from his father and presumably from his father before him. We have noted the previous chapter’s reminder that Yahweh disciplines those he loves the way fathers do (3:11–12; also Deut. 8:5), a reminder that this activity of passing on teaching and discipline begins in God. There are other links as well. Just as the musar of Yahweh was followed by the happiness of those who find wisdom (Prov. 3:13–18), so here the father’s musar points the learner toward her benefits (4:6–9). The repetition of “life” and “heart” (3:1, 22; 4:4) also links the teaching of both generations. Tradition is not handed down for its own sake but for the sake of “life.”
It is not certain why the father describes himself as “still tender,” using the word for the “gentle tongue” of 25:15, though the word also carries the idea of weakness. In this case, the boy is too young or not strong enough to take care of himself. The word for “only child” is the same as used of Isaac in Genesis 22:2; it may be a sign of fatherly devotion as in Genesis or an indication that the son is very young and has no siblings yet. Either way, the description points to the parents’ diligence in teaching the next generation.
The remembered teachings of the father’s father are short and direct: “Get wisdom! Get understanding!” Twice these short expressions are followed by pictures of love given and returned (4:5–6, 7–9). Wisdom not only repays love with protection, she returns honor for honor, symbolized by a garland or crown. The language used for acquiring wisdom carries overtones of courtship.6 The terms “love,” “embrace,” and “not forsaking” (4:6, 8) suggest a marriage, as does the word “get” (qnh), which can be used for marriage (Ruth 4:8, 10) but also for purchase (Gen. 25:10, where Abraham acquires a cave). In any case, terms typically used of marriage suggest that wisdom is to be found just as a young man finds a good wife (Prov. 18:22; 8:35; 31:10). Just as the young man is not to forsake his father’s teaching (4:2), so he is not to forsake wisdom (4:6).
The translation of 4:7 is a subject of scholarly debate; the LXX omits the verse entirely, but that is not a solution if we wish to follow the Hebrew text. The NIV translation (“Wisdom is supreme”) comes closest to capturing the intention of the expression reʾšit ḥokmah, that wisdom is of supreme value; nothing is worth more (cf. 3:13–18; 16:16; 17:16). But given the appearance of reʾšit in 1:7 and 8:22, it is possible to read, “The beginning of wisdom: Get wisdom!”7 It may be that a primary reading with secondary overtones is intended.8
In other words, a double meaning may stress that wisdom is of supreme worth; therefore, she comes first in value and first in time (see comments on 1:7). The point is that many generations have proved the worth of wisdom, and this also puts the father to the test. The sons can ask if experience has proven his claims, and what is more, sons can observe their fathers to see whether what they say is true. One wonders whether the son might ask if his father has received the garland of grace and crown of splendor (4:9).
The second line of 4:7 is difficult to translate as well. The Hebrew word for “acquire” or “get” (qnh) is used twice in a phrase that literally reads, “And in all you acquire, acquire understanding.” Thus, the NIV footnote suggests, “Whatever else you get. . . .” If “all you acquire” is understood as “possess,” the line would read, “With all you possess, get understanding,”9 similar to the NIV’s “Though it cost all you have. . . .” I favor the footnote because it is consistent with the many comparisons of wisdom and wealth. But whatever the reading, the point is that wisdom is the most valuable of possessions, just as Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God as a great treasure and costly pearl (Matt. 13:44–46).
Continuing the personification of Wisdom as a woman of great worth (cf. 31:10; cf. Ruth 3:11), the remembered words of the grandfather again urge the son to love wisdom because she is worthy. The returns of protection (Prov. 4:6) and honor (4:8) are, therefore, secondary motivations. “Garland” and “crown” in 4:9 are symbols for honor as in 12:4, “A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.”10
In summary, while the benefits of life, protection, and honor have already been set out in chapter 3, the first instruction of chapter 4 sets those benefits within the scene of a father instructing his son. In this vivid retelling, readers learn that each generation has been instructed to find a good life partner who will bring the one who finds her “good, not harm, all the days of her life” (31:12). While such teaching finds its origin in Yahweh, it also comes down from father to son, generation after generation. Each generation’s teachers associate the supreme good of wisdom with the desire to find a mate, adding that the young man would do well to seek out a good mate; a good woman will do him good in turn. This teaching will continue with warnings against adultery in chapter 5.
Paths of Righteousness and Wickedness (4:10–19)
THE SECOND INSTRUCTION begins like the first, with a call to attention, “Listen my son” (this time in the singular). Having recalled his father’s teaching about wisdom’s benefits, the father now turns his attention to his own teaching: “I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths” (4:11; cf. 3:6, where Yahweh does this). The repeated words “path” and “way” contrast the clear and well-lit path of the righteous with the dark and treacherous way of the wicked. A play on the key word kšl (NIV “stumble” in 4:12, 19; “fall” in 4:16) shows how each path leads to a different end. If the son will follow the way of wisdom, he will not stumble, but evil men try to make others stumble, only to find that they stumble in darkness themselves.
The verse that does not use the metaphor of the path is 4:13, where the imagery shifts to guarding a treasure, perhaps a glance back at wisdom’s supreme worth (4:1–9). “Hold on to instruction” uses the same word for those who “embrace” the tree of life (3:18); here the son is urged to “guard” this treasure because it is his life (cf. 4:4, 10). Set in the context of the journey on the path, the image portrays a traveler who watches his coin purse, keeping it closely hidden.
In 4:14–15 we have six different ways of saying, “Don’t go there” (four in v. 15 alone!). The word for “turn” occurs in Proverbs only here and in 7:25, where it advises the son to turn from the “ways” of the adulteress. Here also, the son is told to avoid the path of the wicked and “go on your own way,” that is, the way of wisdom (cf. 4:11).
Two sets of reasons are put forward in 4:16–17, each introduced by ki (“for”): The mischief of the wicked keeps them from sleep and becomes their substitute for food and drink. The travelers on this path will not stop to rest until they have reached their goal of doing someone harm; the metaphor may also extend to the wayside meal of violence they will have before they sleep, since eating and sleeping are often mentioned as the rewards for completing a day’s journey. It is not clear whether the young man avoids becoming the victim whom they make stumble (4:11) or one of the violent men who stumbles in the dark (4:19), though context points to the latter.
The climactic contrast of light and dark in 4:18–19 reminds readers of the wicked men’s preference for evil over sleep (4:16) as well as the safe path and sweet sleep of the wise (3:23–24). The path of the righteous offers only faint light at first, but as its light increases, it offers safe passage (4:17; cf. 2:20). Yet while the righteous travel paths of ever-increasing light, the wicked walk in enveloping darkness that eventually prevents sight, and this causes them to stumble (cf. 2:13, “dark ways”; also Ex. 10:22; Jer. 23:12).11
In a payback reminiscent of the scene in chapter 1, those who want to make others stumble now stumble themselves, because of the darkness they have both sought and created. Just as the men of chapter 1 were caught like birds unaware, these men “do not know” what they stumble over.12 Not knowing or understanding the consequences of one’s actions is an essential component of sin and folly.13 Once again the reader learns to avoid the way of wickedness, not only for the harm it does to others but for the harm that comes back on those who walk it. In summary, this section of instruction contrasts the benefits that come to the righteous and the woes of the wicked (for other examples, see 1:32–33; 2:20–22; 3:33–35). The contrast foreshadows the collection of righteous/wicked proverbs of contrast in chapters 10–15, but it is also basic to the theological outlook of the entire book.
Anatomy of Righteousness (4:20–27)
A NEW INSTRUCTION begins with a singular “my son” (4:20) and a charge to pay attention in which the son is told literally to “turn your ear” to the words (cf. 2:2). An anatomy of righteousness follows, urging the son to keep the father’s words before his eyes and in his heart so they can direct the action of his mouth, lips, and feet. The heart, earlier commanded to lay hold of the grandfather’s words (4:4), is mentioned again, this time as a spring of life that is to be guarded so that the teachings that guide a person’s life are kept intact (4:23).14 While the instruction seems to mix metaphors by moving from a stored treasure to a flowing spring, both insist that the heart that holds onto teaching is a source of life.
Thus, the word “life” (ḥayyim) comes at the beginning of 4:22 and the end of 4:23, closely connected to the heart. Just as wisdom holds life in her hands and is a tree of life to those who hold onto her (3:16–18), so here life flows from the heart that holds onto the teaching it receives. In the view of the teachers, this source of life was maintained not by keeping bad things out of it but by putting good teachings in and keeping them there (4:20–21). The heart, the seat of intentions, thoughts, and emotions, served as the control center for the rest of human anatomy, especially the organs of speech. A guarded heart and straight speech go together (4:23–24).
If we compare these verses with the Egyptian instructions, we see that control of what comes out of the heart goes with (and perhaps begins with) control of what comes out of the mouth. The first instruction of Amenemope says that the teachings stored in the heart will guide the tongue:
Give your ears, hear the sayings,
Give your heart to understand them;
It profits to put them in your heart,
Woe to him who neglects them!
Let them rest in the casket of your belly.
May they be bolted in your heart;
When there rises a whirlwind of words,
They’ll be a mooring post for your tongue.
If you make your life with these in your heart,
You will find it a success;
You will find my words a storehouse for life,
Your being will prosper on earth.15
Other instructions teach that one guards the heart by not saying everything that is in it. So Ptahotep says: “Conceal your heart, control your mouth, then you will be known among the officials”; and Papyrus Insinger: “He who guards his heart and tongue will sleep without an enemy.”16 A proverb from Sumer puts the stress on watching one’s words: “A heart never created hatred, speech created hatred.”17 The close association of the mouth and heart in these texts implies that one conceals both heart and speech to avoid trouble, though the stress in Proverbs is on the total rejection of perverse and corrupt talk. In fact, the next set of body images shows the outflow of a heart that is guarded; perversity and corrupt talk are placed far from the mouth and lips, eyes look straight ahead, and the feet do not turn right or left from level and sure paths (4:24–26). The Hebrew terms contrast what is straight and crooked in all three.
The whole body is dedicated to the straight and narrow way, even as a villain dedicates his body parts to evil (cf. 6:16–19). Using overstatement to illustrate this point, Jesus taught his followers to rid themselves of sin by removing erring members (Matt. 5:27–30). In seeking to hear the message directed at original hearers, we should remember the strong association of a guarded heart, straight paths, and straight talk. So also crooked paths and perverse words go together, just as violence and corrupt talk (i.e., the violence of dishonesty) are closely associated (Prov. 4:17, 24; cf. 2:12–15). The association of the heart and speech in 4:22–23 also anticipates the deceptive speech of the adulterous woman in 5:1–6 (where crooked paths reveal her intentions).
The father ends this instruction by repeating his father’s charge to not swerve either to right or left (4:27; “swerve” repeats the same Heb. term used in 4:5).18 In the view of the teachers, one “turns” to do evil. Keeping straight also means making “level paths” for the feet, a metaphor for keeping one’s way safe through wise and moral living. The NIV footnote shows that the verb may also be read “consider the paths,” the way it is translated in 5:5 for the woman who does not consider her way of life, and in 5:21 for Yahweh, who considers all a person’s ways. Some commentators prefer to be consistent, translating all three as “pay attention” or “take heed.”19 However, since the verb is used of leveling a road in some other contexts, a metaphoric use of this concrete action may be part of a wordplay that alludes to the other meaning. There is more connection between considering one’s ways and acting accordingly than first appears (to appreciate the full force of the wordplay, see comments in ch. 5).
In summary, the last lesson (4:20–27) begins with the father’s instructions and ends by going back to the student’s own journey. Not only is the learner to keep the father’s instructions in the heart (4:23), he is to guard that heart as a wellspring. The movement from receiving parental instruction to walking in one’s own way is true to the life process of maturation, but it also observes the difference between remembering a parent’s teaching and developing one’s own way of living. The ethical life is not only an inheritance, it is a life work. For this reason, the father appeals to the son to take his teaching with him on the journey, here symbolized as choosing a good mate, a good path, and a good heart.
Bridging Contexts
LEGACY AND TRADITIONS. By recalling the teaching of his own father, the teacher in this chapter invites his son to enter into a legacy and a tradition of wisdom. A legacy is a gift received from an ancestor, while a tradition is that which is handed onto descendants. The father calls on the son to receive this gift; in fact, he is urged to “get” it. But this father looks forward to the day when he will see his son teach his own son. Religious and ethnic communities pass on their customs, traditions, and celebrations to keep them alive and bring comforting memories, but more important, to shape the outlook and character of those who carry them. Older members of those communities often mourn the loss of the old ways because they believe that they are good ways to live. Teaching is another way that tradition is passed on, as Charles Kraft argues:
The father teaches, communicates with the son, because he wants the son to value what he values, and maintain the character that he maintains. He wants the son to share in his inner likeness, just as he sees that the son bears his genetic image. So Jesus modeled what our relationship with the father is supposed to be like. He is the second Adam who came to reflect God’s glory in his life. Therefore, this teaching about fathers and sons points to the desire of God to have children (sons and daughters) who seek to please him and reflect his glory.20
Certainly this desire was the reason that Yahweh instructed Israel not only to keep his commands on their hearts but also to teach them to their children at home, on the road, at all times (Deut. 6:6–7). God thought of Israel as his son and longed to have that son resemble him through godly character formed through teaching (8:5). So this chapter links God’s desire to teach and shape character (Prov. 3:11–12) to the tradition of parents teaching their children.
Importance of literary context. As we begin the process of translating the message of this chapter for the contemporary church, we first remember that the rhetoric of Proverbs directs us to pay close attention to literary context. This rhetoric typically reuses vocabulary and images from the previous instruction in a hook-and-eye structure that can be easily noticed by attentive readers. Such repetition with variation works from the same mindset as poetic parallelism, encouraging the reader to examine words and images that stand side by side as new insights emerge. We noted above that links with chapter 3 use the images of paths and protection to bring a long-standing tradition of fathers teaching their sons into the larger picture of God’s disciplining as a father disciplines a son. By juxtaposing chapters 3 and 4, the sages who brought these instructions together identify the chain of teaching as beginning and ending with God.
This rhetorical association implies that God himself is teaching when parents teach their children. We misread the chapter if we fail to acknowledge the presence of Yahweh even in those chapters that do not name him. Wisdom writings often help us see God at work in ways that seem hidden. Noting the absence of God’s name, voice, or direct action in the books of Ruth and Esther, the rabbis of old asked, “Where is God’s hand?” The answer: “Nowhere and everywhere. God’s hand is never absent, but it is sometimes gloved.” The genius of the book of Proverbs is its ability to speak the language of ancient Near Eastern wisdom and the human quest for knowledge at the same time that it pulls back the curtain to show God working behind the scenes in the order of creation and the teaching of the wise. It is not always easy to see God’s hand at work in the teaching of a Sunday school or confirmation class, but it is there.
It is also important to set each instruction or each chapter within the larger context of Proverbs 1–9, for each chapter adds new information to the extended metaphor of choosing a path for life developed in chapter 2: Learn from your parents, don’t listen to evil men, and choose the company of wisdom over that of the adulteress. Like ripples moving out in concentric circles from a stone dropped in the lake, these themes will play out again and again as the basic relationships of one’s life (neighbors/friends and marriage partner) are either honored or abandoned. Again and again the choice is shown to be a choice between life and death.
Along with repeated words and images, the chapter also repeats themes from earlier chapters as it states themes that will be touched again in later chapters. Like the warp and woof of a tapestry, these themes hold the book together in a coherent whole. So, for example, in the first instruction of this chapter (4:1–9), the charge to search for wisdom in 2:1–11 is brought together with the praise of wisdom’s great worth in 3:13–18 as wisdom is called supreme or “first.” The previous teachings are repeated and enriched. The emphasis of the latter instruction is on getting wisdom and keeping her by loving and honoring her, the way one would a spouse—a theme that appears again in chapters 8 and 31.
Recalling the preview of the instructions in chapter 2, readers will remember that when anyone heeds the advice to “get wisdom” (4:5, 7; cf. 2:1–4), they also find the knowledge of God (2:5). Therefore, the efforts to “get wisdom” are also efforts to know and love God. Chapter 4 develops two themes from the preview of chapter 2, the theme of loving wisdom (compare 4:1–9 with 2:1–11) as well as the theme of avoiding wicked men (4:14–19 with 2:12–15). We will see that the theme of avoiding adultery (2:16–20) is picked up in chapter 5, which has a number of significant links with the last instruction in chapter 4 (4:20–27; see comments in ch. 5). The point of this review of the literary context is that as preachers and teachers work with chapters that are comprised of individual instructions, they may want to draw them together, or they may choose to keep the larger context in view as they work with each instruction separately.
Guarding heart and teachings. The father quotes his father as saying the same of his teaching: “Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live” (4:4). In fact, the charge to “get” and “keep” is key to all three instructions in chapter 4. In the second unit, the son is to listen and accept the father’s sayings (4:10), but also to hold onto instruction, to not let it go, and to guard it (4:13). In the third, the son is to pay attention to the words (4:20), but also to keep them in the heart (4:21), and in so doing, to guard that heart (4:23). While the idea of acquiring and storing up teaching has been heard in 2:1 and 3:1–4, new in this chapter is the emphasis on guarding (4:13), especially guarding the heart (4:23). To guard these teachings and the heart that holds them is to guard one’s life; this enriches the image of wisdom as protector. As the young man guards his heart, wisdom watches over his way and guards him (4:6).
We misunderstand this metaphor if we assume that this watching brings protection from all life’s ills, as if Wisdom were some guardian angel. Rather, Wisdom protects her charges from stumbling into ways of life that bring harm to self and others. We also misunderstand the idea of guarding if we limit it to keeping harmful things out of the heart. I have heard many a teaching urging me to be careful about the content of the books I read, the films I see, and the music I hear, asking me to consider what I want to keep in my heart. There is truth here, of course. Certainly the parents hope that wisdom, not folly, will become the guiding principle of their son’s life. However, the idea of guarding here seems to be more like protecting a treasure, a keeping of what is important, neither losing it nor abandoning it. In Proverbs, wise people guard their hearts, not only by keeping harmful influences out but, more important, by putting wise teachings in and keeping them there.
How are they “kept?” (1) The teachings are stored in the learner’s memory. Charges to not forget (4:5) the father’s words nor let them out of sight (4:21) urge the son to commit them to memory, where they can be called on at a later time. We have seen that this view of storing teaching in the heart was widespread in the ancient Near East. Memory as an aid to learning is contested in our age; many teachers want their students to do more than simply memorize information, they want them to be able to interact with it and create new syntheses with acquired knowledge. However, the work of committing teachings to memory need not be merely an exercise in rote learning. One scholar of medieval literature has argued that memorized words and images were meant to help with original thinking, to create new thoughts and shape character.21 While we do not see a theory like this explicitly stated in the parent’s teachings, we can appreciate that their emphasis on memory work had similar goals in mind. Certainly their use of vivid images was meant to make their teaching memorable.
(2) The teachings are kept as they are translated into action. The three instructions work together to urge the son to get wisdom, choose the right path, and put the members of his body in line with that goal. Avoiding evil and choosing good not only shows that the teachings have been internalized, they reinforce them. Finally, the teachings are closely associated with life. As we have seen, each charge to receive and hold onto the teachings is followed by a motivating word about life: “Keep my commands and you will live” (4:4); “accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many” (4:10); “guard it well, for it is your life” (4:13); “for they are life to those who find them” (4:22).
The father does not say “Live by them”; rather, he says “They are your life.” As the son keeps and guards the teachings of his father, he also keeps and guards his very life. No wonder they are so valuable! While we may be inclined to see life as a reward for following wisdom’s way, it is more in line with the view of the sages that life here is a gift that can either flourish or be lost. The repetitive emphasis on protection drives home the fragility of life, which is easily lost, robbed, or (to repeat what was said about šalom in ch. 3) vandalized. Life is not a reward but a gift that must be preserved, nurtured, and cared for. Any carelessness can lead to a wrong turn onto the path of evil and its life-destroying force. Therefore, as violent men seek the harm of others and cause their own in the process (4:14–19), the work of God in giving life is undone.
To summarize, the contribution of this chapter is its emphasis on keeping and guarding the teachings, symbolized as the good partner of wisdom, the good way of the straight path, and the good person with a protected and guarded heart. When reading Proverbs, it is important to remember that in the symbolic world of the teachers, wisdom “keeps,” while folly and its manifestations of evil steal, drain, vandalize, and disturb the balance of life as God has ordered it.
In a sense, the teachers have what we might call an ecological view of the created order. God, who created this world and brought into it the gift of life, has set up an order and a šalom, which are easily (though not finally) disturbed—a balance that can be upset. When the sages made their observations about the way the world works, noting its order and making predictions, they saw the intimate connection between that order and the life it holds.
Perhaps more than metaphor is at work as their instruction compares the path of the righteous to the first gleam of dawn and the way of wickedness to deep darkness that makes them stumble. Nature’s order is reflected in the moral cosmos as well, and the sages frequently reminded their readers that Yahweh is no distant deist’s God, letting consequences work themselves out, but is intimately involved in people’s lives. Part of that involvement is handing out just rewards to the righteous and wicked (3:33–35), and part is starting a tradition of wisdom teaching that turns its students away from death.
God’s created order, its gift of life, and wisdom teachings recommend a response that all must be protected so that the precious gift of life will not be lost. As we will see, the plots of wicked men, the lure of the seductress, and all other manifestations of folly and wickedness work to disturb order and ultimately to steal life. Because “life” is such an all-embracing term and a central concept to the outlook of Proverbs, it is easy to become jaded to its frequent appearance. Yet it is a necessary foundation for understanding the process of teaching (10:17) and its intended outcome, righteousness (12:28).
Contemporary Significance
THE TRADITION CARRIED ON. Not too long ago I attended a worship service that included the dedication of a new baby, a joyful event for both the family and the congregation. In this service, the child’s grandparents also stood up as witnesses, and as I watched, I wondered if their thoughts went back to the time they brought their own daughter forward in dedication. When they did, they were, in a sense, hoping for the day when their daughter would initiate her own child into the Christian tradition. Their work of parenting had come to fruition as their daughter and her husband did what they had done years before, promising to raise the child in the knowledge of God’s love, teaching the child what had been taught to them. The rite of dedication also gave witness to the call of God that initiated this tradition.
What happens in between the time of these dedications, these markers of a new generation, and what influences each generation of parents to bring their children forward and use word and symbol to give them over to the Lord? We see some of that process in the opening scene of the chapter, as a father remembers what it was like to learn from his own father. Now, fully grown, he sees through his father’s eyes. In between comes teaching and love.
As part of the worship service, the minister went to the parents to take the child, and of course, the parents became a little nervous, hoping the baby would not fuss or cry. There is always some nervousness about letting go of a child and placing it in the hands of another, but that dedication is the first of many acts of letting go. Teaching is another. It is the way the vows parents make before God work themselves out as new lives are encouraged to choose the direction they will take. As those grandparents once taught their child, they were in a sense teaching their grandchildren and all who would come after.
The teaching parents of Proverbs seem to understand that their teaching will in some ways lead their son away from them to a life partner and course of life, but they also want the son to take with him what they have found to be most valuable and life-giving. They know that he will be responsible for making his own decisions once he sets out on the path, but they can ask him to remember them as he walks toward life.
Passing on life learning. We use the word “life” in a number of different senses. Sometimes we mean that which breathes and grows, as when we speak of a plant, an animal, or a person. At other times, we mean a lifetime and its meaning, as in the question, “What is life, and why do I live it?”22 At still others, especially if we attend to the teaching of Proverbs, we use the word “life” in its fullest sense of living in accord with the purpose that first moved God to shape a world and breathe into a pair of nostrils. So this teaching that passes endlessly from parents to children sets its focus on life choices, made early on, that determine the final outcomes that fulfill or frustrate that purpose for life.
The images of wisdom as a life partner, a path for life, and a guard to the wellspring of life are symbols of lifelong commitments that direct everyday choices, just as a sailor sets out for a distant point and makes small-scale adjustments to keep the ship on course. The recurrence of the image of the way in all three instructions also suggests the image of the journey. A person heading out on a long journey on foot, as people did in Bible times, would always choose a good traveling companion, one who watches out for you. You would choose a well-traveled and safe path, and you would take care to watch how you use your body members, keeping eyes on the goal and feet on that path.
At a workshop for pastors, the facilitator began the time of introductions by sharing some of the struggles he was having with his teenage son, particularly with behaviors of missing school and shoplifting. As the introductions moved around the circle, a majority of the pastors said that they could identify with the leader’s struggles, because they had similar struggles with their own sons and daughters. It must have been a relief for these people to hear that they were not alone, but at the same time I thought I heard their consternation that the option of the bad way seems so strong for so many. In a sense, these pastors were giving testimony to their own awareness that they could not exert control over the lives of their children, that they could not determine their choices and keep them from harm.
In the view of many young men and women, teaching and control are the same thing. Unfortunately, many parents make the same mistake. The parental teachers of Proverbs show us how to avoid that mistake by viewing their teaching and our own as a legacy, a gift that can be accepted or rejected, heeded or ignored. This is not to say that parents will abdicate their responsibility to watch out for their child’s well-being and safety, nor that parents will offer their teaching in a laissez-faire manner. The effort at persuasion in this text is too intense to allow us to think that. But it does mean that teaching looks forward to a time when the journey begins and the final stages of leaving take place, and it makes both parents and children aware that it is coming. It does not say to the children, “Stay under my authority and protection forever,” but instead, “Take some of me with you when you go; that will protect you.”
Parents can acknowledge that the process moves along too quickly for them; for the children, it often moves too slowly. The chapter’s invitation to watch a tradition of parents teaching their children can also encourage today’s parents to share openly about how the tradition has been good for them, how it has been a source of protection and honor, how it has given them something that has become more valuable to them over time, and how it gives them something to pass on to their children. The emphasis on testimony may also encourage parents to share their own mistakes and mishaps when appropriate; it can be a sign that wisdom does not arrive in one single package.
The image of the tradition also repeats the emphasis on the son as an active learner first seen in chapter 2 and developed in chapter 3. We must acknowledge that as far as we can tell, ancient wisdom education was not a model of the Socratic method; examples of dialogue between teacher and pupil are rare in wisdom literature.23 Still, the parental teachers of Proverbs recognized that learning is not a passive activity; it requires desire and effort on the part of the learner. In more contemporary terms, “there is no true learning if someone is not searching.”24 One educator has written:
Proverbs is the Bible book about education. . . . But ironically, the book talks more about learning than it does about teaching. Notice how Proverbs constantly addresses learners with these pieces of advice:
• Learn (e.g., 7:1–3)
• Learn the right thing (e.g., 16:16–24)
• Learn from the right teachers (e.g., 13:20)
The whole of the book makes no sense without keeping in mind that the learner is responsible for his or her own learning. The learner has choices. The learner has options. The learner decides.25
Both the responsibility to learn and the responsibility to live with the outcomes are signs that teaching is a process of letting go; it answers the young person’s perception that parents only want to control by stressing the responsibility of that young learner to choose.
Tradition of wisdom. Does this chapter and its emphasis on tradition offer anything to those who are not raising children? Going back once again to that service of dedication, I remember a moment when the congregation stood up and vowed to love, guide, and teach the child as part of their responsibility as the family of God. In a sense, belonging to a church means that every member is involved in raising the children in some way, taking opportunities to love them as a Sunday school teacher or a volunteer youth worker. One way to value the Christian tradition is to love the children of the church (or any child who needs love for that matter), perhaps taking extra interest in one young person’s growth. Sometimes parents are bothered that their children find it easier to talk openly with other adults, but this is easy to understand, since none of the issues that cause tension in the home are on the line. Parents can also appreciate the importance that another listening ear offers to a young person’s sense of worth.
Entering into the tradition of wisdom teaching is akin to the apostle Paul’s vision of discipleship in 2 Timothy 2:1–2: “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” If we are to teach, we are also to practice what we teach. Specific instructions are few in this chapter as compared with the concrete directions in chapter 3. Instead, the images of chapter 4 work together to influence the larger life choices that determine the smaller ones.
Just as the image of a tradition of teaching carried from generation to generation speaks of something that must be guarded, protected, and maintained, so the images of life that is guarded challenge our view of discipleship. We are challenged to give up the idea that life in its fullness is a reward, an end that results from following the ways of wisdom, and to think instead of life as the gift of God (even mediated through wisdom teachings) that can be violated or lost. Discipline is not so much a matter of doing the right things to bring good results, found in so much contemporary self-help wisdom writing, as it is maintaining the gift of life for one’s self and others.
While it is certainly true that consequences follow out of the choices one makes, wise living does not bring about the good life. Rather, it keeps one from getting lost. It points out the folly of choosing evil as though it were some path to gain and instead reveals it for what it is, a true loss of life and character. The wisdom of Proverbs would have us follow the ways of the Lord, not because we are empty but because we are full. It seems to me that we often live in the poverty of riches, knowing that we have a lot but believing we are poor because we don’t have as much as someone else. Wisdom wants us to follow the ways of the Lord because we have been richly blessed and are in danger of giving it away through folly, like Esau’s birthright, sold for a pot of stew (Gen. 25:27–34), or like the prodigal son’s lost inheritance (Luke 15:13–14).
The teaching of this chapter challenges us to a life of discipline, both in being open to correction but also in practicing self-discipline that guards what one thinks, says, and does, because guarding these things guards life. At first look, the motivations of this chapter seem to appeal only to the young man’s self-interest. But with a closer look at the topics of violence and perverse speech it becomes clear that the life that is guarded belongs to the young man and his family and his community. We need never think that we seek wisdom solely for the good she brings to us. Rather, Wisdom gives her blessings to our families and churches through us.