Chapter 14
Israel’s Wisdom Literature and Love Poetry: Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs
In This Chapter
Living a better life with Proverbs
Suffering and keeping the faith with Job
Discovering the meaning of life with Ecclesiastes
Falling in love with the Song of Songs
“W isdom literature” is a category that scholars use for Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes, but giving this genre a definition is extremely difficult. In fact, biblical wisdom literature is more unified by what it lacks. Unlike most biblical writings, wisdom literature does not refer to key historical events, such as the patriarchs, the exodus, or the monarchy. Wisdom literature is timeless. It constitutes a search for order or truth amidst life’s mysteries. Basically, these writings seek to answer why we’re here, how to make the most of our lives, and why things don’t always go according to plan.
In this chapter, you take a look at Israel's wisdom literature, as it seeks to make sense of life. After this heady material, and to lighten the mood a little, we end this chapter by looking at a different form of wisdom in the book known as the Song of Songs, a steamy love poem about, well, steamy love.
Words to Live By: The Book of Proverbs
The word proverb comes from the Hebrew word mashal, meaning “to rule” or “to govern.” Thus, proverbs are not just wise sayings, they are rules covering a broad range of topics that govern life — they’re rules to live by.
Traditionally, all the proverbs are attributed to Solomon, but how many he actually wrote is widely debated. Some of the proverbs are specifically recorded with the heading “belonging to Solomon” (Proverbs 1:1, 10:1, 25:1), and Solomon, as testimony to his wisdom, is said to have composed 3,000 proverbs (1 Kings 4:32). Yet, even according to the Bible, Solomon didn’t write all of the proverbs. For example, Proverbs 30 is attributed to the otherwise unknown “Agur son of Jakeh of Massa,” and Proverbs 31 is ascribed to “Lemuel, king of Massa, which his mother taught him” — both of whom are also unknown. In addition, many proverbs are simply called “the sayings of the wise.” In short, the Book of Proverbs is full of wise things said by many wise people, not just Solomon.
Cause, effect, and some sound advice
Most often, the Book of Proverbs places a direct relationship between effort and reward, cause and effect. For example, Proverbs 10:4 says, “A lazy hand creates poverty, but the hand of the diligent creates wealth.” And Proverbs 6:6–11 tells the sluggard to quit sleeping so much and look to the diligent ant for a model of how to store up provisions for the future.
Beyond the importance of hard work, Proverbs praises honesty and justice, and condemns exploiting the poor (Proverbs 14:21, 28:8). It extols being kind to all, even animals (Proverbs 12:10), and warns those who would rejoice at the calamity of others, even one’s enemies (Proverbs 24:17–18). Proverbs denounces the proud and arrogant (Proverbs 11:2, 21:4, 24), and commends humility and reverence for God. In fact, the famous lines “Pride comes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” come from Proverbs 16:8.
Examining the true source of wisdom
The central thesis of the Book of Proverbs is that true wisdom comes from fearing God. As Proverbs 9:10 puts it, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One brings understanding.”
Wise guys: Wisdom literature in the ancient world
Scholars have long noticed many similarities between the Book of Proverbs and other ancient Near Eastern Wisdom writings, most notably from Egypt and Mesopotamia. For example, Proverbs 22:20 asks: “Have I not written to you these 30 sayings of counsel and knowledge?” Scholars agree that this biblical passage refers to the 30 chapters of the Instruction of Amenemope, an ancient Egyptian wisdom text. Additionally, several passages in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes parallel an Aramaic Wisdom tale known as The Words of Ahiqar, an official in the Assyrian court of Sennacherib. For example, one of the most often quoted passages in Proverbs is, “He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him seeks him with correction” (Proverbs 13:24). Similarly, Ahiqar advises, “withhold not the rod from your son, or else you will not be able to save him” (Ahiqar vi.81).
Introducing Lady Wisdom
Wisdom is personified in Proverbs 1:20 and 8–9 as a woman. She is named Lady Wisdom, or Hochma, which is Hebrew for “wisdom,” and was later called Sophia, from the Greek word for wisdom. Lady Wisdom calls out to all those who would partake of the banquet she has prepared of wisdom’s delights (truth, knowledge, justice, and so on).
In contrast to Lady Wisdom is Fraulein Folly, who also seeks to entice young men to partake of her banquet, though it is a shoddy substitute for true wisdom (including deceit, ignorance, injustice, and so on), and often nothing more than illicit sex. According to Proverbs 9:18, you don’t want to go to Fraulein Folly’s house, because its steps “lead down to Sheol (the underworld).” Lady Wisdom’s house, however, is a seven-pillared structure (seven being the number of perfection), hewn out of solid rock, and filled with everything that is good and right. Quite the opposite of meeting their death, those who dwell with Lady Wisdom will have “years added to [their] life” (Proverbs 9:11).
Later Christian interpreters connected the description of Lady Wisdom with Jesus, because “she” is said to have accompanied God at Creation (Proverbs 8:22–31), which is said of Jesus in the New Testament (John 1:1 and Colossians 1:16–17). More recently, some have seen in Lady Wisdom a goddess figure, even connecting her with the mysterious “we” of the Creation account in Genesis 1 (“Let us make humankind in our image”). However, most have seen in Lady Wisdom not so much a divine being as a personification of a divine attribute — namely, God’s wisdom.
Translating Job is no easy job
The poetic sections of the Book of Job contain the most difficult Hebrew in the Bible. Usually when scholars want to know the meaning of a biblical word, they look to see how that word is used in other places in the Bible. Yet, sometimes words only occur once in the Bible (known by the Greek term hapax legomenon), making figuring out a word’s meaning very difficult. The Book of Job has more “one-time words” than any other biblical book, making Job extremely difficult to translate. Because of its unique vocabulary, modern translations of Job differ widely, and even early translators had a hard time. For example, in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Bible), Job is 400 lines shorter than the Hebrew text, which has led some to hypothesize that the translators became so frustrated when trying to translate Job’s unique vocabulary that they just omitted lines they couldn’t understand.
Describing the ideal spouse
Related to Lady Wisdom near the beginning of the book, Proverbs concludes with an epilogue describing and honoring the noble wife. In this poem, where each line begins with a successive letter of the alphabet (known as alphabetic acrostic; see Chapter 15), the noble wife is described in ways that epitomize many of the qualities identified with wisdom throughout the book, including diligence, ingenuity, upright behavior, and faith in God. And like Lady Wisdom, she is described as priceless.
Who can find a good wife? Her value is far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, so that he has no lack of gain.
—Proverbs 31:10–11
Loving God for Naught? The Book of Job
The Book of Job is one of the most popular books in the Bible for the same reason that tourists flock to Vegas: gambling, suffering, and a chance at a happy ending. But beyond a happy ending, Job (the main character in the Book of Job, go figure) seeks to comprehend why suffering exists, especially for the righteous. This raises the question of theodicy (literally, “divine justice”), or why bad things happen to good people. Ultimately, the Book of Job extols the merit of maintaining your faith even through terrible times.
The author of this influential text remains unknown, though many scholars believe that the Book of Job was composed in two stages:
The older material is the poetry in the middle sections (chapters 3–37).
The more recent material consists of the prologue (chapters 1 and 2), the divine discourses, and the epilogue (chapters 38–42).
One reason why scholars believe that Job was written in two stages is because the poetry has a vocabulary that is remarkably different from the vocabulary of the prologue, divine discourses, and epilogue. For example, God’s most personal name, LORD (or Yahweh in Hebrew), occurs only once in the middle sections (Job 12:9), but 31 times in the beginning and end. Yet, it is the story “as it is” that has had such an important impact on people’s understanding of why evil exists and what the righteous should do during trying circumstances.
Job seems to be set in the early times of the Bible. Like the patriarchs of the Book of Genesis, Job lives more than 100 years, measures his worth in cattle, and acts as a priest for his family. The story makes no mention of either Israel or Judah. Instead, it takes place in the land of Uz, which, beyond being somewhere over the rainbow, is traditionally located to the southeast of Israel in Edom. Thus, the story creates irony by the fact that this most righteous of men is not an Israelite.
When bad things happen to good people
Job is described as “blameless and upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1). Furthermore, he has all a biblical guy could want: 7 sons, 3 daughters, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 pairs of oxen, 500 donkeys, and many servants. Job is so righteous he even offers sacrifices to atone for the sins of his children. Then, through no fault of his own, things change for the worse.
Satan’s bet and Job’s very bad day (Job 1)
One day God is holding court in heaven, and is joined by the “sons of God” — a phrase meaning “angels.” The last to present himself before God is one called Ha-Satan, meaning “the adversary” (see the nearby sidebar “Satan in the Bible”). God asks Ha-Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Ha-Satan responds, “Does Job fear God for naught?” Ha-Satan suggests that Job worships God because of all the good stuff God gives him. He then bets God that if he is allowed to take away all of Job’s possessions, Job will curse God. God agrees to the bet.
On what would turn out to be a very, very bad day, Job receives increasingly bad news from four successive messengers:
He finds out that bandits took his oxen and donkeys and killed the servants watching them.
He discovers that his sheep and some other servants were burned in a fire.
He receives word that, during an army raid, his camels were stolen and those servants were murdered.
He is horrified to learn that all ten of his children are dead after a house collapses on them.
Job is understandably distraught. He tears his robe, shaves his head, and falls to the ground — all as a sign of extreme remorse. Yet, for all his pain and misfortune, Job never curses God. Rather, he acknowledges God in the face of his sorrow: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21). Consequently, Ha-Satan loses the bet.
Job’s second test: Boils (Job 2:1–10)
Ha-Satan does not give up easily after losing his first bet with God. He soon challenges God again, only this time he asks for permission to harm Job personally. Then, he reasons, Job “will curse You.” God accepts the challenge, and Job suffers physically, breaking out with sores from head to foot. Things are so bad for Job that he scrapes his skin with broken pottery to open the boils (ouch!) and sits in a pile of ashes.
Job’s wife, who can’t understand Job’s patience while undergoing such misery, encourages Job to curse God and die. Always steadfast, Job responds to her, “Shall we accept good from God’s hand, and not evil?” (Job 2:10).
Questioning Job’s innocence (Job 2:11–42)
Then Job’s friends, Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad show up. At first they do what good friends should do during trying times — not seek to give answers, just companionship. But after a week of commiserating, they start trying to solve the problem. Although they are sorry to see their buddy suffering so, they maintain a very strict cause-and-effect theology — Job must have sinned horribly to warrant such horrendous divine punishment. However, Job maintains his innocence throughout. And although he curses the day he was born, and even life itself, he never curses God. After going back and forth for a number of rounds, Job and his friends finally admit they have reached an impasse. They say Job has sinned big-time, and Job says he hasn’t.
Finally, Job challenges God to a fair trial, suggesting that God must have made a mistake, because he did nothing wrong. At this, God appears “in a whirlwind” and gives Job his long-awaited answer — only He does so by asking Job a series of questions, beginning with, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding” (Job 38:4), and ending His first series of questions with, “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? Let the one who accuses God answer” (Job 40:2).
After another series of questions, Job realizes that his human brain is no match for God’s infinite wisdom, and responds, “Truly I spoke about things I don’t understand, things too marvelous for me to comprehend” (Job 42:3). In light of Job’s repentance, God restores all that Job had lost, and then some. As the final chapter reports, “The LORD blessed the latter days of Job’s life more than the first” (Job 42:12).
Satan in the Bible
Surprisingly, most of what people believe about Satan does not come from the Bible. For instance, the common image of Satan as a forked-tailed horned demon with a goat’s body from the waist down derives more from the Greek god Pan than anything biblical. What, then, does the Bible say about Satan?
The Hebrew name Satan (pronounced sa-tan) actually means “adversary,” and most often in the Hebrew Bible it is prefaced by the direct object, meaning “the adversary” rather than a distinct personal name. Satan’s role grows more developed both in scope and magnitude through time, and, thus, in the earlier writings of the Hebrew Bible, Satan is presented not so much as an individual character but as an adversarial position occupied by both humans and angels. For example, the word satan is used for a human potential adversary in the Philistine army (1 Samuel 29:4), and two kings God raises to be Solomon’s adversaries (1 Kings 11:14, 23). An angel of the LORD is called satan when he blocks the path of Balaam (Numbers 22:22, 32). Satan becomes more developed as a character in later writings of the Hebrew Bible, though he only appears a few times. He at times tempts humans to do bad things, as he incites King David to conduct a census (1 Chronicles 21:1). Satan also acts as a heavenly prosecuting attorney, bringing charges against sinners before God’s heavenly court. For example, in Psalm 109:6 the author asks Satan to bring an enemy to trial. Also in Zechariah 3:1–2, Satan stands at the right hand of an angel to bring charges against the High Priest. Satan has a similar role in the opening chapter of Job, where he appears in the heavenly court with the “sons of God” (or angels) to bring charges against Job.
In the New Testament, Satan plays a much larger role. Here Satan, also frequently called the Devil (from Greek diabolos, also meaning “adversary”) is a proper name for the one who opposes God. Satan is also identified in the New Testament with the deceitful serpent in Eden, and is given many other names including Belial, the evil one, the ruler of the demons, the enemy, the ruler of this world, and Beelzebul (Beelzebub, meaning “LORD of the flies,” is a pun on the name Beelzebul, meaning “Prince Baal”). Many scholars attribute Satan’s development from an adversary to the archenemy of God to the influence of the Persian religion Zoroastrianism. This religion is a lot like Star Wars, in which two opposing forces, one good and the other evil, struggle for control of the universe. Yet, the New Testament preserves the Hebrew Bible’s notion of Satan as far inferior to God and needing to get God’s permission before “raising hell” on earth (see, for example, Luke 22:31). Following the biblical period, Medieval theologians reinterpreted passages such as Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, in which Babylonian and Phoenician kings are condemned for pride, as descriptions about Satan. In fact, the name Lucifer comes from a Latin translation of Isaiah 14:12, in which the Babylonian king is linked to a fallen Morning Star, called in Latin lucern ferre (“bearer of light”).
Behemoth and Leviathan (Job 40–41)
While God lists His accomplishments to Job, He discusses the creation of two remarkable animals: Behemoth and Leviathan. In modern vernacular, Behemoth refers to anything huge, and Leviathan to monsters that live in water. Many scholars think that God is referring to two animals fairly common in the biblical world: a hippopotamus and a crocodile. Like the hippo, Behemoth is described as a huge grass-eating animal living amongst the reeds in marshes, and not cowering under turbulent waters. Leviathan, like a crocodile, is a fierce animal with armor-like skin, sharp teeth, and strong jaws. Yet, given the descriptions of their enormous size, some have suggested these animals refer to mythical beasts (Leviathan is elsewhere connected with the deified ocean) or even dinosaurs!
What to make of it all
Job is one of the most difficult books in the Bible to understand because it provides no clear-cut moral or answer to Job’s problems. In fact, the book truly has more questions than answers. Yet, this is part of the message of Job. Life is complicated, and there will always be unanswered questions, inexplicable suffering, and unthinkable tragedy. The real question, therefore, is not why do the righteous suffer, but how will the righteous respond in their suffering? If people do right merely to be rewarded by God, then their righteousness is worthless (even Satan realizes this). And, if people abandon their faith because of hardship, then again, their righteousness is worth little. According to the Book of Job, genuine faith weathers even the most difficult of storms. As Job says, “Even if He should kill me, I still will trust in Him” (Job 13:15).
Life Stinks and Then You Die: The Book of Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes, although hardly a cheerful book, is one of the most incredible and profound works in the Bible. It is about an erudite author’s reflections concerning a remarkable quest for discovering meaning in life. In the end, he finds it, though not where you may expect.
Ecclesiastes has many notions similar to the philosophy of existentialism, which, simply put, is the belief that all there is to life is our present existence. Thus, for the author of Ecclesiastes, purpose remains largely hidden within the universe or, as he describes it, “under the sun.” The same fate of death comes to the righteous and the wicked. This even extends to the relationship between animals and humans:
For the humans and the animals have the same fate; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals; for all is vanity.
—Ecclesiastes 3:19
The author unsuccessfully tries to find meaning in life from the traditional venues, including wisdom, gluttony, riches, building, and love. He finds that the pursuit of each of these is hevel. Adding to his discontent are all the injustices he sees in the world. For example, people are oppressed without hope of relief (Ecclesiastes 4:1), the wicked flourish while the righteous perish (Ecclesiastes 7:15), and noble acts are too soon forgotten (Ecclesiastes 9:15).
So, where do you find meaning in life? The author of Ecclesiastes realizes (as did the band The Byrds) that part of life’s meaning derives from life’s cycles. As the author puts it: “There is a season for everything, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Moreover, although life can seem meaningless, “God makes everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
So, how are you to live your life? Although the author of Ecclesiastes gives a number of answers, including working hard (Ecclesiastes 9:10), doing good to others (Ecclesiastes 3:12), and fearing God (Ecclesiastes 8:12), the one answer he repeatedly gives is “Enjoy life!”
That is, the chief aim of life — given the inevitability of death — is to enjoy life before we grow old and no longer find pleasure in life (Ecclesiastes 12:1–7). But this is not “party hard and then you die” stuff, but rather “live life to the fullest while still living right.” As the author says,
Follow the desires of your heart and your eyes, but know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.
—Ecclesiastes 11:9
Then, for all its uncertainty, Ecclesiastes concludes with this certainty:
Here’s the end of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this applies to everyone. For God will bring every deed to judgment, including all that is hidden, whether good or whether evil.
—Ecclesiastes 12:13–14
Wise words from Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes contains many of the Hebrew Bible’s most famous quotations, including:
There is nothing new under the sun (1:9).
He who increases knowledge increases suffering (1:18).
There is nothing better for humans than they should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in their work (2:24).
Whoever loves money never has enough (5:10).
Naked a person comes from the womb, and naked he departs (5:15).
And our favorite . . .
Of the making of many books there is no end, and too much study wearies the body (12:12).
Follow the Bible’s advice: Drink beer!
In Ecclesiastes 11:1–2, the author beseeches the reader to “Throw your bread upon the face of the water, because in many days you will acquire it. Give a serving to seven and also to eight, because you do not know what evil will be upon the land.” This has traditionally been interpreted as a call for charity or international trade or even to diversify one’s portfolio. However, given that in the ancient Near East people most often threw bread into water to make beer, it is more likely that the author is recommending beer production and drinking with friends. This advice is similar to other passages in Ecclesiastes, where the author tells his audience to eat, drink, and enjoy life (3:12–13, 5:18–19, 9:7–10).
Biblical Pickup Lines: The Song of Songs
The Bible, although an excellent source for morality, also contains some of the world’s greatest pickup lines. These lines are contained in an ancient, erotic love poem known as the Song of Songs, a title that means that of all the songs ever written, this one is the song.
The Song of Songs opens with the line “The song of songs, which is to Solomon,” and as a result, the poem has traditionally been ascribed to King Solomon. This is also because Solomon is mentioned six additional times in the poem (Song of Songs 1:5. 3:7, 3:9, 3:11, 8:11–12). In addition, 1 Kings 4:32 says that Solomon composed 1,005 songs (Barry Manilow, eat your heart out). Thus, the book is alternatively known as The Song of Solomon, and even Canticles, after its Latin title meaning “song.” Yet, it is more likely that the title means this is about Solomon, because most scholars date the final form of the Song of Songs to the fourth through third centuries B.C.E., at least 500 years after Solomon’s reign. Whoever wrote it, the Song of Songs is well worth the read. In this poem, a man praises the beauty of his lover, named Shulammite (either a feminine form of Solomon or indicative of the town she comes from), and she, in turn, praises her lover. And so, on to the pickup lines.
After the title, the Song of Songs wastes no time getting to the heart of the matter: love. Solomon’s lover begins,
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth,
for your love is better than wine . . .
Take me with you, let us hurry,
Let the king take me into his bedchambers.
—Song of Songs 1:2, 1:4
And after they’re in the bedchambers, their banter only gets more vivid. For example, he says to her: “Your figure is like a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters. I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its branches!” (Song of Songs 7:7-8). (Okay, you get the idea. It’s no wonder that this book doesn’t make it into children’s Bibles.) While one might get away with the “figure like a palm tree” line, other lines probably wouldn’t go over so well. For example, today it would not be a good idea to tell that special someone, “Your belly is like a pile of wheat” (Song of Songs 7:2) or “Your nose is like a tower of Lebanon, overlooking Damascus” (Song of Songs 7:4). Some lines comically indicate that dental health has dramatically improved, as the woman is described as being so beautiful, that her missing teeth are rarer than usual, as each tooth has a twin (Song of Songs 4:2, 6:6).
But, with that said, the Song of Songs contains some pretty beautiful passages that still are inspiring. For example, he says to his lover: “You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride. You have stolen my heart with one glance from your eyes” (Song of Songs 4:9). Sigh.