■ J~t Tl ■5"'' The international Critical Commentary CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL COMMENTARY THE BOOK OF PROVERBS CRAWFORD H. TOY PROFESSOR OF HEBREW IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 1899 COPYRIGHT, 1899, BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS Worfaooli ^ress J. S. Gushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass. U.S.A. INTRODUCTION. § I. Names. 1. The Masoretic title is Proverbs of Sohtjton (ntiStT "'jti^tt, Mishle Shelomo, by the later Jews usually abridged to Mishle). That this is old appears to be shown by the Grk. {&^) title Trapot/xtai (the subscription is simply tt. in Cod. B, tt. 2aAo/AcovTos in K, TT. 2oX. in A and C). The name might naturally have been suggested by i K. 4^^ (5'')> ^^^ would originally have been given to the collection 10^-22''^, whence it would have been extended to the whole book as additions were made to it from time to time. That this was the common Talraudic title is shown by Bertheau.* On the meaning of mashal and its synonyms see notes on i^"^ within. 2. By early Christian writers the book was commonly called Wisdom or AU-virtuoits Wisdom,^ y] Travaperos (jo^ia., names which were also given to Ben-Sira {Ecclesiasfictis) and IVisdom of Sol- omon. \ Other designations were -17 croe^^ /3if3\o<; (Dionys. of Alex.) and 7] TratSaywytK}) croc^ta (Greg. Naz. Oraf. ii). Whether this (To4>La represents an ancient Heb. title ntt3n is uncertain. Fritzsche {Die IVeisheit Jesus- Sirach's, Eiiil. p. xx) holds that the name ao Isa. 11-). In Proverbs and the other Wisdom books they relate to a definite class of sages whose function is the pursuit of universal moral and religious wisdom — men who, unlike the prophets, lay no claim to supernatural inspiration, but make their appeal simply to human reason. In at least one passage of the later preexiHan time (Jer. ^23(22)^ there is the suggestion that the ethical prophets looked with suspicion on the contemporary " wise men," whose wisdom appears to be contrasted with the true ethical knowledge of Yah- weh ; but in Proverbs the sages present themselves as legitimate and competent teachers of this knowledge. There occurred, ob- viously, a noteworthy change in the character and position of the wise men, and the change could have taken place only after the exile. Confirmation of this view may be obtained from the considera- tion of the unity of the group of Wisdom books {Job, Proverbs, Ben-Sira, Ecclesiastes, Wisdom of Solomoii). All these books, though there are differences among them, are substantially iden- tical each with the others in their philosophical points of view and in their ethical codes. They have the same conception of wisdom, and, if we omit Job, they portray the same general condition of society. The similarity between Proverbs and Ben-Sira is espe- cially striking.* It is not impossible that the similarity is due in part to borrowing (though it may be equally well accounted for by supposing that the two books drew material from the same sources, and BS. has not the tone of an imitator) ; but in that case the fact that Ben-Sira imitated Proverbs rather than the * The most notable difference between the two books is the nationalistic con- ception of wisdom in one passage of the latter (ch. 24) ; but this does not impair the general similarity between them. BS. 24-3 (which in its present form appears to identify wisdom with the Tora) is possibly a gloss. XXIV INTRODUCTION Prophetical books suggests that his affinities, intellectual, moral, and religious, were with the sages, and that he belonged to their period. When we consider the uniqueness of the Wisdom group and the substantial mutual identity of the books composing it, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that they all sprang from one intellectual and religious tendency, and that they belong to the same cultural period. Three of them {BS., EccL, IVS.) are cer- tainly of the second and first centuries B.C., and the other two cannot be very far removed in time. 4. It may be possible to obtain a more definite date for Prov- erbs by comparing the Wisdom books one with another. A two- fold division of these books may be made, according to the point of comparison. In regard to speculative thought they fall into two sub-groups : Job, EccL, IVS., discuss the question of the justice of the divine government of the world ; Prov. and BS. ignore this question. In regard to literary form and general religious tone there are the sub-groups : /ob, Prov., BS., which agree in rhyth- mical form, in the conception of the righteous and the wicked, and in the view of the future life ; and EccL, IVS., which depart from the old literary form, and attack and defend the new doctrine of immortality. Though arguments from diction have to be used with great caution, the following statement of the occurrences of 24 ethical terms in /ob, Prov., and EccL. may be of value, it being borne in mind that in extent the three books are to one another about as 35 : 32 : 13.* Of the terras involving the idea of 7visdom the stem DSPi is most frequent in EccL., somewhat less so in Prov., much less m Job ; the adj. p3 is found 9 times in Prov., once in EccL., not at all va. Job ; of substantives n^ia {= wisdom) is peculiar to Prov. (chs. 1-9) ; nJD is frequent in Prov. (mostly in I.), much less frequent in Job, wanting in EccL.; nUT is com- mon in Prov., much less common in EccL., still less in Job ; ,l33n is not infrequent in Prov., rare in Job, not found in EccL.; n^iU and ,TC'n (more general terms) are equally common in Job and * It would be desirable to include Ben-Sira in the comparison ; but this will not be possible till we have more of its Hebrew text. Cf. the list of Heb. words given in Cowley and Neubauer's Ecclesiastlcus (BS. 39'5-49'ii) ; the list, however, needs revision. Ben-Sira appears to contain more late words than Proverbs. ORIGIN AND DATE XXV Prov., and are lacking in Eccl. Of words expressing folly Sc3 is frequent in Prov. and EccL, and wanting in Job ; bix is common in Prov., very rare in Job, lacking in EccL; "ns is peculiar to Prov. The verb K'JPi sin occurs 8 times in the poem oi Job, once in Ecci., not at all in Prov., the participle is not infrequent in Ecc/., less frequent in Prov., lacking in Job, the substantive is about equally common in Job and Prov., and is wanting in Eccl. Of terms for instruction the noun nnsn is found only in Prov., the verb of this stem is about equally common in Job and Prov., and is lacking in EccL; the stem "iC is rare in Job, frequent in Prov., not found in EccL Of words signifying way in the sense of conduct bJUfa occurs only in Prov., "["in is common in Job and Prov. and rare in EccL, while rnK and ran3, about equally com- mon in Job and Prov., are lacking in Eccl. The terms "icn and fn, kindness and favor, are not uncommon in Prov., but the first is rare in y. in the diction which the latter shares with the Psalter. We may thence probably infer that the philo- sophical conception of wisdom is less developed in Job than in Proverbs, and that the former book is earlier than the latter. The same conclusion seems to be suggested by a comparison of the representation of wisdom in Job 28 (in which wisdom is said to be undiscoverable by man, but is identified, as is also often done in Prov., with obedience to God) with that in Pr. 8 (in which wisdom is almost identified with God himself).* * For the opposite view see Budde's Hiob, Einleitung. Some critics regard v.28 of Job 28 as an editorial addition ; the excision of this verse will not materially xxvi INTRODUCTION The general inference from these considerations is that most of Proverbs stands in time between Job and Ben-Sira. The date of the latter book is about B.C. 190. For Job the similarity be- tween its historical milieu and that of Isa. 53 Mai. 3"-^' suggests a time not earlier than c. b.c. 400, and the non-national and specu- lative tone of the book points to a date fifty or a hundred years still later.* We thus have c. B.C. 300 as the upper limit for Prov- erbs ; for the lower limit see the following paragraph. In this statement of the relation between Job and Proverbs there is one point that may seem to make a difficulty. It is held by some critics that the sceptical tone of the former must belong to a later period than the calm unspeculative attitude of the latter, which accords with the position of Job's Friends. But this point, very interesting in its suggestions, seems not to be decisive for the chronological relation of the two books. It is obvious, on the one hand, from Malachi that the sceptical movement began as early as B.C. 400,t and, on the other hand, from Ben-Sira it is no less obvious that the unsceptical attitude was retained as late as B.C. 200. What we have to conclude, therefore, is that the two points of view continued to be held side by side for a consider- able period, and it is perhaps an accident that we have only hints of scepticism (as, for example, in Agur) between Job and Eccle- siastes. And that there was a continuous development of scepti- cal thought is made probable by a comparison of the tones oi Job and Ecclesiastes~\ht one passionate and profoundly religious, the other indifferent and feebly religious ; these different phases appear to indicate widely different periods of culture. The differ- ence between Job and Proverbs is one not merely of time, but of point of view as well. We must assume that the Jewish sages of the four centuries preceding the beginning of our era were of two general classes, the one content to consider the questions of practical everyday life, the other not satisfied with anything less than a solution of the great ethical and religious question affect the view above expressed. Job 28 is, however, now out of place and inter- ruptive, and may well belong in the same period with Pr. 1-9. * On the date of Job cf. the commentaries of Davidson and Budde, and the articles in Hastings' Dictionary cf the Bible, Cheyne's Cyclopaedia Biblica, and Herzog3. t And cf. Jer. 12I 20'. ORIGIN AND DATE xxvii of the world — the question of the justice of the divine govern- ment of men. The first line is continued in Proverbs, certain psalms, and Ben-Sira, the second in Job, certain psalms, Eccles., and Wisd. of Solomofi. In these parallel lines the chronological relations of the various writings may be measurably determined by such considerations as are presented above. 5, It remains to ask whether the internal indications enable us to fix the chronological order of the various parts of the Book. There is an obvious division into three parts, I., II.-IV,, and V., and of these the central part appears to form the kernel of the Book. a. Taking first this central part, we may begin by separating III. (22^^-24), which clearly differs from its context. It consists of quatrains, with synonymous parallelism, which, form short horta- tory discourses. It assumes a system of instruction by sages, and is marked by ethical inwardness and depth. It indicates, therefore, an advanced stage of reflection and teaching. In its rhythmical and strophic form it resembles Ben-Sira. Its two parts, 22'^- 24-^ and 24^^^^, though separate collections, are so nearly akin in form and thought that they must be considered to be products of the same period and the same circle of sages. b. The remainder of the central part is composed of two sorts of aphorisms, i. In chs. 10-15 ^"^^ half of chs. 28. 29 we find an- titheses, restrained and lapidary in style, expressing general moral sentiments, with frequent mention of the divine name and of the terms " righteous " and " wicked." 2. In chs. 16-22^'' 25-27 and half of chs. 28. 29 there is a predominant employment of compari- sons and other single sentences, the style is more flowing than in the first group (10-15, etc.), the material is more varied, and there is much less frequent use of the terms above-mentioned. The question of chronological priority between these two sorts of aphorism is not easy to decide. The compressed and vigorous antithesis may seem to different persons to be earlier or later than the more flowing form. It is probable that the two do not stand far apart in time, but the more human and pointed tone of the second group accords more closely with the style of Ben-Sira* * It is this fresh picturesqueness that has given us a number of household words from chs. 25-29 (Davidson), but this characteristic does not in itself indicate great antiquity. XXVni INTRODUCTION This analysis indicates that there once existed various small bodies of aphorisms (in oral or written form), and that these were variously combined into small books. They were all the products of cultivated ethical reflection, though part of their material was doubtless old. Thus the sub-section chs. 10-15 appears to have been a separate book of antitheses, and a similar work was used by the compiler of chs. 28. 29, and, more sparingly, by other editors. We have another aphoristic book in 16-22'", and still another in chs. 25-27 and parts of chs. 28. 29. From portions of these works an editor compiled our section io'-2 2^'', and from other portions the section chs. 25-29 was independently put together. All this material was regarded by the tradition as Solomonic, and, when the sections were combined, the editor, aware of a difference, referred the formation of the second to the scholars of Hezekiah's time (see note on 25^). This statement of the editor proves not the chronological priority of 10^-22'®, but only that this latter collection was made before the other. Smaller collections, such as the Book of Fools (in 26'"'-) are referred to in the notes, and are further indicated in the lists of repetitions given in § 3. Throughout the central part (chs. 10- 29) the marks of editorial hands are visible. c. The first main division of the Book (chs. 1-9, except 6^"^ 9^"^^) appears to be later than the central part. Such later date is suggested by its precise pedagogic form, its philosophic concep- tions (ch. 8), and the prominence it gives to certain sins (robbery and unchastity). The question might be raised whether the sec- tion is a unit — whether it does not divide itself naturally into two parts, one (ch. 8 and parts of chs. 3. 4) philosophical and specula- tive, the other hortatory and practical. There is, no doubt, such a difference in the contents, but it is hardly of a sort to indicate duality of authorship : the general conception of wisdom is the same throughout, and the practical hortatory tone is not confined to the distinctively pedagogic paragraphs. The relation between the section and the Book of Job has already been referred to. The two have the same rhythmic form (synonymous parallelism, and frequency of quatrain arrangement) ; but a similar agreement exists between Proverbs, many psalms, and Wisdom of Solomon, and is of no use for the determination of relative priority in time ORIGIN AND DATE Xxix between these books. The fact that the pessimism of Job is not found in Proverbs is referred to above (in paragraph 4 of § 6).- It is held by some critics that in Job 15' there is a direct allusion to Prov. S""^', that Eliphaz asks Job whether he is the personified Wisdom there described.* But this view rests on an improbable interpretation of the couplet. In the first line Eliphaz asks whether Job was the first man created, assuming, apparently, that the first man stood very near the counsels of God and was en- dowed with special wisdom (cf. v.*) The parallelism (synonymous throughout the chapter) suggests that the second line is identical in meaning with the first, and that the expression " before the hills" is a rhetorical synonym of "in hoar antiquity." Or, if the two lines be not mutually equivalent, the second must be regarded as a heightening of the first, with more cutting sarcasm : " were you created first of men? or, forsooth, before the world?" There is no obvious allusion to a primeval Wisdom, or to any cosmogonic history (and v.* relates not to the past, but to the speaker's pres- ent). Finally, even if the second line be supposed to refer to the same fact that is mentioned in Prov. 8-', it does not appear why Job, rather than Proverbs, should be considered the borrower ; the conception in the latter book is certainly the more highly developed. And, in general, the conception of wisdom seems to be more developed in Prov. 1-9 than in Job ; in the latter book (omitting ch. 28, which, on exegetical grounds, is probably to be regarded as an interpolation) wisdom is the reflection of sages, handed down orally, on one great question — a question which has its roots in the Prophetic writings ; in Prov. 1-9 wisdom is the guide of life, with organized instruction, and in one passage (ch. 8) there is a philosophical personification which approaches nearer to WS. 7 than to Job 28.t Cf. notes on 30^ The paragraphs 6^"^ 6*^" 9''"^ belong partly in the same category with III., partly with V. * So Ewald, Davidson, Budde, al. The couplet in Job reads Wert thou the first man born? Wert brought forth before the hills? tCf. Seyring, Die Abhangigkeit d. Spr. Sal. Cap. I.-IX., etc., 1880; Strack, in Stud. u. Krit., 1896 ; Wildeboer, Litt. d. A T. XXX INTRODUCTION d. Chs. 30. 31, a collection of unconnected fragments, have the appearance of an appendix. The cool agnosticism of Agar re- minds us of Koheleth rather than oi Job. The artificial tetradic form is probably late ; see note on 30" ff. The terms wise and wisdom either relate to common-sense sagacity (30-* 31^^), or when they denote philosophical depth, are treated with contempt (30''). On the strange titles in 30^ 31^ see notes on these verses. The history of the formation of the Book appears to be some- what as follows : Out of certain current collections of aphorisms were first put together our subsections chs. 10-15, 16-22^'', 25-27, and 28. 29, and from these by different editors the sections 10-22'" and 25-29 were made, the editor of the latter being aware of the existence of the former.* The two may have received substan- tially their present form between B.C. 350 and B.C. 300, the second a little later than the first. During the next half-century the sec- tion III. (22^'-24) was produced, and a book of aphorisms was formed by combining II. and IV. and inserting III. between them ; it is not apparent how this position came to be assigned III., but, as 25' ("these also are proverbs of Solomon") seems to presup- pose 10^ ("proverbs of Solomon"), and III. is referred not to Solomon but to the " sages," it is likely that it was added after II. and IV. had been combined ; it is possible, however, that it was first attached to II., the collection IV., with its title unchanged, being then added. The opening section (omitting 6^"'^ 9'"^^) may have been composed about the middle of the third century B.C., and was combined by its author (or by some contemporary editor) with II.-IV. ; the introduction (i^"') is couched in the technical terms of the schools, and is probably the work of the author of the section; he seems also to have prefixed the general title (i'). The additions to the section (6'""" 9''''"), which resemble III., V., and II., may be due to the final redactor, or to a very late scribe. Finally the work was completed by the addition of the fragments contained in chs. 30, 31, the completion felling in the second century b.c. Succeeding copyists introduced into the text a num- ber of errors, not only in words and phrases but also in arrange- ment of lines and couplets. * It is possible, however, that the title in 25I was inserted by the final redactor. TEXT AND VERSIONS XXxi 6. The linguistic phenomena of the Book are in accord with these dates : while the style, especially in the earlier parts, does not differ substantially from that of the " classic " period (which may be taken to include centuries 8-5 B.C.), there are passages, chiefly in the later parts, which show a nearer approach to the later usage. It is to be borne in mind, of course, that the vocabu- lary and syntax are probably to some extent affected by the nature of the material : in such a work there would naturally be a large number of philosophical terms, and the more popular aphorisms would use words which, though not new, might not be found else- where.* Such expressions may characterize the individual style of the Book, but do not determine its date. It is to be noted also that a certain number of peculiarities are to be set down as scribal errors. These deductions being made, there still remains a small number of expressions which appear to belong to the later usage. Some of these (as "12 in 31^) are Aramaisms, others are late- Hebrew ; reference is made to these in the critical notes. Ben- Sira, so far as we can judge from the part of its Hebrew text which we have (chs. 39'^-49"), contains a greater number of late expressions than Proverbs — a fact which we might expect from its later date and its fuller and freer treatment of matters of every- day life. It is doubtful whether any Arabisms occur in Proverbs ; the words which have been so explained may all be otherwise .satisfactorily accounted for. There are no Persian or Greek words. § 7. Text and Versions. I. The text is not in good condition ; errors are more frequent in II.-V. than in I., the simple style of the latter having saved it to some extent from scribal misunderstandings and misrepresenta- tions. The mistakes are to be set down partly to the ignorance of copyists, partly to the freedom which they allowed themselves in dealing with this book as with other OT. books ; we find much the same state of things in Samuel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Psalms. It does not appear that changes were made in Proverbs in the interests of theological opinion or from a sense of propriety or de- * This is the case with most of the words mentioned as rare in Driver's Introd. to Lit. of O T. XXXll INTRODUCTION cency {causa Jionoris, c. reverentiae, etc.).* Such changes were made in other OT. books ; the immunity of Proverbs is due in part to its untheological character, in part to the fact that it was looked on as less sacred and authoritative than the Pentateuch and the Prophetic writings. 2. The extant Ancient Versions of Proverbs are the Septuagint (from which were made the Coptic and the Hexaplar Syriac), the Peshitta Syriac, the Targum, fragments of the later Greek transla- tions (Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, etc.), and the Latin of Jerome. Of these the oldest and, for the criticism of the text, the most valuable is the Septuagint. It represents in general an older text than that of the received Hebrew tradition ; f but its value as a presentation of the old Jewish aphoristic thought and as a critical instrument is impaired by the corruptions it has suffered and by certain peculiarities in the mode of translation. In a number of cases it offers good suggestions for the restoration of the original Hebrew. In not a few instances the translator does not under- stand the Hebrew. \ He sometimes departs from the literal rendering in order to give the translation a smoother and more idiomatic Greek form, § sometimes also in order to obtain a better antithesis or a more appropriate thought. Possibly he is some- times influenced by the desire to reproduce the later Pharisaic orthodoxy, II but this is not clear; there is no trace of distinctively Christian ideas. The Greek book is somewhat longer than the Hebrew : some Hebrew couplets and lines it omits, but it includes much that the Hebrew text has not. The omissions usually indi- cate a Hebrew scribal plus. The additions are sometimes in the * Geiger, Urschrift, pp. 378, 400, 403, finds an example of such change in 7I8, and Hitzig in 3081, on which see critical notes. t The translation may have been made as early as 100 B.C. X Such ignorance is found abundantly elsewhere in the Septuagint, but is here especially obvious — a fact which may be due in part (as Frankenberg suggests) to the absence of a good exegetical tradition ; Proverbs was not so much read and commented on as some other books. It is not certain that one man translated the whole of Proverbs. § Cf. Jager, Observations in Prov. Sal. vers, alex., 1788. This, however, hardly warrants us in supposing (Frankenberg) that the translation was made for a non- Jewish public. II This hypothesis is carried to excess by Heidenheim. TEXT AND VERSIONS XXxiii form of doublets, but oftener contain entirely new matter, which the Greek translator has either himself composed, or, as is more probable, has inserted from current collections of proverbs. They appear sometimes to be based on a Hebrew original, sometimes to have been written originally in Greek. There is rarely ground for supposing of any one of them that it formed part of the original Book of Proverbs ; but they show that our Hebrew Book is only a selection out of a great mass of material then current, and they thus corroborate the view of date given above. An unsettled con- dition of the early Hebrew MSS. of Proverbs is possibly indicated by the Septuagint order of sub-sections in HI., IV., V., which (if we designate the chapters as in the Hebrew) are arranged thus : 221^-24--; 30^-1*; 24="-^^; 30^^-^; 31^-^ 25-29; 3110-31.* From the point of view of similarity of material this arrangement is manifestly inferior to that of our Hebrew text — it breaks up IH. and ch. 31 by the interposition of alien matter, and places IV. far from its natural connection. But it does not follow that the mal- arrangement is due to the caprice of a Greek translator.f The subsections composing III.-V. must once have circulated as sepa- rate treatises, and may have been combined in different ways by Jewish scribes or editors. What we know of the procedure of Greek translators elsewhere in OT. (for example, in JeremiaJi) does not favor the supposition that they acted capriciously in this regard. The Coptic Version is useful for the control of the Greek. It sometimes offers material not found in our Greek MSS. ; all such cases must be judged by the critical rules applied to the Greek Version. \ The present Peshitta Syriac text of Proverbs has a perplexing mixture of readings, agreeing sometimes with |^ against (@, some- times with (§ against ^ ; the more important readings are given in the Critical Notes. As it follows |^ in general in material and * Cf. the Greek arrangement of Jeremiah, and numbering of the Psalms, and the modern attempts at rearranging Ecclesiastes. t So Strack and Frankenberg. The latter observes that the Greek arrangement divides the latter part of the Book into two Solomonic collections, with only two titles (loi 25I). This may have been the principle of arrangement, but the trans- lator may have found it in his Hebrew manuscript. X Cf. Bickell, who makes much use of the Coptic. XXXIV INTRODUCTION arrangement, it is probable that it is based on the Hebrew ; at the same time we know too little of the history of Syriac transla- tions to be able to say whether or how far the present text has been corrected from the Hebrew. On the other hand, the nature of the agreements between ,S and (3 favors the view that the former has in certain passages followed the latter ; whether, in that case, this rendering from the Greek was the work of the original Syriac translator or of a later reviser is a difficult question, though the former supposition seems the more probable. If we add to all this that the Syriac translation is often free, it is obvious that it must be used with caution in the criticism of the Hebrew or the Greek.* The Targum, as is now generally held, is based on the Syriac, though in a number of cases it follows the Hebrew. Jerome for the most part follows the Masoretic text closely, and gives little material for getting back of it. Where he follows the rendering of (§ or inserts from it couplets which are not in ^, he probably retains the older Latin text, which was made from the Greek. He represents the Jewish exegesis of his time, but is rarely helpful in those cases in which the Hebrew is peculiarly difficult or obscure. § 8. Canonicity. According to Rabbinical authorities f the reception of the Book into the Canon was for a time opposed on the ground of its con- tradictory statements (26'*-^) and its too highly colored descrip- tions (7^""*^). The latter class of objections seems to have arisen early, if any chronological conclusion can be drawn from the state- ment of the tradition that they were set aside by the " men of the Great Synagogue." The solution of the question appears to have been found in the allegorical interpretation of the passage in ch. 7. The Talmud says nothing of any difficulty in connection with Agur. The doubts concerning Proverbs soon passed away, and its value was universally recognized. It is quoted or used in NT. frequently (over twenty times) and in the Talmud (especially in * On details of S and 3C see J. A. Dathe, 1764, in Rosenmiiller's Opuscula, 1814, Th. Noldeke, in Arckiv f. wiss. erforschung d. A T., ii., and Pinkuss' articles in ZATW., 1894. t Shab. 30 b, Aboth Nathan, Cap. L BIBLIOGRAPHY XXXV Pirke AbotJi), is cited abundantly by the early Christian writers, has always been highly esteemed for its practical wisdom, and a number of its aphorisms have become household words. § 9. Bibliography. On Text and Versions. Procopius, 'EpiJ-euela. G. J. L. VoGEL, 1768 (in Schultens). J. G. Jager, Observv. in Prov. Sal. vers, alexandrinam, 1788. J. F. ScHLEUSNER, Opuscula, i8i2, and Lexicon'^, 1S29. P. DE Lagarde, Anmerkungen z. griech. ueberscizung d. Proverbieii, 1863. M. Heidenheim, Zur textkritik d. Proverbieii (in his Vierteljahr- schrift), 1865, 1866. Dyserinck, Kritische Scholien (in Theol. Tijdschrifi), 1883. H. Oort, Spreuken I.-IX. (in Th. Tijdschr.), 1885. A. J. Baumgartnek, &tnde critique sur I'e/at d. tcxte d. livre d. Proverbes, 1890. G. BiCKELL, Krit. bearbeilung d. Proverbieii (in IViener Zeitschr. f. d. Kunde d. Morgenlnndes), 1891. M. PiNKUSS, Die syrische tieberset- ziing d. Proverbien (in ZAT^V.), 1894. H. Gi^TZ, Exegei. stndien (in his Afoiiatsschrijt), 1884, and Emenda- tioiies, 1 892- 1 894. E. Nestle, art. Bibelilbersetzungen, in Herzog's Real-Encykl.^ (and pub- hshed separately). Remarks on text in commentaries of Hitzig, Ewald, DeHtzsch, Zockler, Nowack, Wildeboer, Frankenberg. Translations and Commentaries. Midrash Mishle, ed. S. Buber, 1893. Saauia's version, ed. J. Derenbourg, 1894 (cf. B. Heller, in REJ., 1S9S). Rashi, Lat. transl. by Breithaupt, 1714. Aben Ezra,* ed. C. M. Horowitz, 1884. The commentaries of Rashi, Aben Ezra, and Levi ben Gersom are given also in A. Giggeius' In Prov. Sal. Comment, iriuin Rabbinorum, 1620, and are cited in L. Cahen's La Bible, 1847. In this last work Leopold Dukes, in his Introduction to Prov- erbs, gives a list of 38 Jewish com- mentators on the book, beginning with Saadia (d. 942) and ending with J. Lciwenstein (1837). H. Deutsch, Die Spriiche Sal.'s nach d. anffassung iin Talmud it. Mid- rasch dargestellt it. kritisch ttnter- sucht, 1885. J. Mercerus, Comm. in Sal. Prov., etc., 1573, 1651. M. Geier, Prov. regzim sapientissimi Sal., etc., 1653, 1699, 1725. C. B. Michaelis (in J. H. Michaelis, Uberiores annotationes in Hagiogr., etc.), 1720. A. Schultens, Prov. Sal., etc., 1748, and abridged ed. by G. J. L. Vogel, 1769. B. Hodgson, T/ie Prov. of Sol. transl., etc., 1788. * It is not certain that this work is by Aben Ezra; it may be by Moses Qamhi (Kimchi). XXXVl INTRODUCTION H. EWALD, in his Poet. Biicher \_Dich- ter\ d. Alt. Bmides, 1837, 1867. G. R. NOYES, New Translation of the Prov., etc., 1846. M. Stuart, Comm. on the Book of Prov., etc., 1852. F. HiTZiG, Die Spriiche Sal.'s iibcr- setzt, etc., 1858. O. ZoCKLER, Comm. zu d. Spr. Sal. (in Lange's Bibelwerk), 1866 (Eng. transl., 1870). H. F. MiJHLAU, De prov. quae di- cuntur Aguri et Lemuelis origine atque indole, 1869. Franz Delitzsch, Das Sal. Spruch- buch, 1873 (Eng. transl. 1875). E. Reuss, in his annotated transl. of the Bible, French ed. (ZLa Bible"), 1878, Germ. ed. (^Das Alt. Test.), 1894. W. NowACK (in Kurzgef. exeget. Hatidbuch z. AT.), 1883 (revision of E. Bertheau, 1847). H. L. Strack (in Strack u. Zockler's Knrzgef Comm. 2. AT.), 1888. R. F. Horton (in Expositor^ Bible), 1891. G. Wildeboer (in Marti's Kurzer Ha7id-Comm. 2. AT.), 1897. W. Frankenberg (in Nowack's Hand- komni. z. A 2'.), 1898, Genera/ Works. L. Dukes, Introduction to Proverbs in Cahen, La Bible, 1847. J. F. Bruch, IVeisheitslehre d. He- brder, 185 1. H. Bois, La poesie gnomique chez I. Llebreux et chez I. Grecs — Solomon et Theognis, 1886. T. K. Cheyne, in Job and Solomon, 1887. C. G. Montefiore, Notes upon the date and religious value of the Book of Prov. (in few. Quart. Rev.), 1 889- 1 890. R. Smend, Aldestamentliche religions- geschichte, 1893. R. Pfeiffer, Die relig.-sittliche Welt- anschauung d. Buches d. Spriiche. 1897. Proverbs of Other Ancient Peoples. Chinese: F. H. Jenings, Proverbial Philosophy of Confucius, 1895; ^• Scarborough, Chinese Proverbs,!?)"]^. Egyptian : T. L. Griffith, art. Egyptian Literature, in Library of the World'' s Best Literature. Assyrian : M. Jager, Assyr. Rathsel u. Sprichivorter, in Beitrage 2. Assyri- ologie, 1892. Lndian : Bohtlingk, Lnd. Spriiche; Muir, Sanskrit Texts ; M. Williams, Indian Wisdom ; P. More, Indian Epigrams, 1898 ; C. R. Lanman, Indie Epigrams, 1899 ; see also the Hitopade^a, the Panchatantra, and the Jatakas. Greek: For the aphorisms which go under the name of Menander see the collections of Meineke and Koch. Syrian : The so-called Syriac Menan- der is given in Land, Anecdota Syr., I.; cf. ZATW., 1895. As a Semitic parallel we may add Arabic: Freytag, Meidani; Fleischer, AWs Spriiche. See also L. Dukes, Blumenlese, and his Introduction to Proverbs in Cahen, La Bible. A COMMENTARY ON THE BOOK OF PROVERBS. A COMMENTARY ON THE BOOK OF PROVERBS. I. CHAPTERS I.-IX. A series of discourses on the excellence of wisdom, with illus- trations of its principles taken from everyday life. These are preceded by a general introduction, before which stands a general title. On the date and origin see the Introduction. I. contains the title (v.'), an introduction (v.--^), and two discourses (v.*-^^-^""^^). 1. Title. — The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel. The title king of Israel belongs to Solomon. On the ascription to Solomon, and on the term, proverbs (Heb. niishle) as name of the book, see the Introduction. The title was probably pre- fixed by the collector of I., or by the editor of I.-IV., or, possibly, by the last compiler. The Heb. word mashal {proverb) probably signifies similarity, parallelism (nearly = comparisori), and seems to have been used at an early time of all poetry, hardly with reference to the form (parallelism of clauses, clause-rhythm, being the distinctive formal characteristic of old-Semitic poetry), but, probably, with reference to the thought (short distiches made by the juxtaposition of related ideas, originally comparisons with familiar objects) ; * the men called mashalists (Nu. 2\") appear, like the Greek rhapsodists and the Arabian rawis, to have been reciters (doubtless also sometimes composers) of narrative and descriptive poems. There is no one English equivalent for nia- * There is no OT. word iox poetry, though there are terms for various species of poetical composition, song, etc. On the late Hebrew terms for liturgical poetry and poets, /?y«Z', paitaH (ttoiiit^s), see Delitzsch, Zur Gesch. d. jildisch. Pocsic, pp. 49 ff. 3 4 PROVERBS shal — it seems to cover the whole ground of Hebrew poetry. It may signify a simple folksaying or aphorism (i Sam. lo^" 24^*'^^^ Ez. \2^ 18-), an allegory (Ez. 17^), an enigmatical saying (Ez. 21°), a byword (Jer. 24^ Dt. 28^''), a taunting speech (Isa. 14* Hab. 2^), a lament (Mic. 2^), a visional or apocalyptic discourse (Nu. 23" 24^^), a didactic discourse (i/'49. 78), an argument or plea (Job 29^).* In the Book of Proverbs it is either an aphorism (10-22) or a discourse (1-9, 23^®^ 27^^). 2-7. Preface or introduction, stating the object of the book, namely, that men may be induced to accept the teaching of wisdom. — The structure is distichal, with synonymous parallelism (except V.'). The thought is similar to that of 22^'"-', and the preface, like the title, was probably prefixed by a late, perhaps the latest, editor ; the paragraph is syntactically a continuation of v}. 2. That men may acquire wisdom and training, May understand rational discourse, 3. May receive training in wise conduct — In justice and probity and rectitude, 4. That discretion may be given to the inexperienced, To the youth knowledge and insight. 5. Let the wise man hear and add to his learning, And the man of intelligence gain education, 6. That he may understand proverb and parable, The words of sages and their aphorisms. 7. The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge — Wisdom and discipline fools despise. As the Hebrew text stands the introduction appears to consist of two parts, the statement of object (^"^), and the definition of knowledge (") ; and the former divides itself into a general refer- ence to men ("■^), with special regard to the immature (^), and a particular reference to the wise (^- ^) — that is, the work is said to be addressed to all classes of intelligence. The definition (') stands by itself, being of the nature of a general reflection, an appendix to the statement of object. V.^ appears to be a pa- renthesis or an editorial insertion — the syntactical construction * Cf. Delitzsch, op. cit., pp. 196 ff. I. 2 5 here changes (to be resumed in v.^), and there is a certain incon- gruity in bidding a sage learn to understand the words of sages. If these two couplets be omitted, we have a symmetrical para- graph of two quatrains : -■^, " that men may acquire wisdom," and *-^, "that the immature may be educated into understanding the discourses of the sages." 2-4. The general object of the book. — The syntactical con- nection with v.^ is close : f/ie proverbs of Solomon . . . [whose object is] f/iaf men may acquire, etc. — 2. Synonymous, ternary. Lit. : to acquire (or, know), etc., the subject of the Infinitive being " men " or " the pupil." The parallel expressions are prac- tically equivalent in meaning. Wisdom is the general expression for knowledge of all good things ; it is practical sagacity (Ju. 5^ 2 Sam. 13^ 14^ 20^"), the skill of the artisan (Ex. 31^), wide acquaintance with facts (i K. 4-^^ [5^^^])> learning (Jer. 8^), skill in expounding secret things (Ez. 28^), statesmanship (Jer. 18^*), and finally, knowledge of right living in the highest sense. This last is its sense here — moral and religious intelligence. It ex- cludes not only the morally bad, but also (in contrast with Greek wisdom) the philosophically speculative, though, in parts of Prov- erbs, Ecclesiastes, and Wisdom of Solomon, it is tinged with Greek philosophical thought. In it the religious element is practically identical with the moral : no stress is laid in Proverbs on the ritualistic side of life (sacrifices, vows), the devotional (prayer, praise, reading sacred books), or the dogmatic (monotheism, sin, salvation) ; the writers of chs. 1-9 and of the whole Book are concerned with practical affairs ; the law of God is for them simply the moral law. — The second term, training, discipline, (or, instruction), signifies properly the fact of teaching, educa- tion (sometimes chastisement), but must here be taken to mean the result of right teaching, that is, wisdom ; the teacher may be God, or a man who imparts the law of God. Rational discourse is lit. words of understanding; this last term = " discernment, comprehension," is in like manner identical with wisdom. — Man's relation to wisdom is expressed by the word acquire (lit. know or learn). So far as stress is thus laid on intellectual recognition of right as the basis of a good life the thought of our 6 PROVERBS section (and of the whole Book) is allied to the Socratic-Stoic conception of morality. The OT. term, however, like the Greek, expresses more than bare intellectual recognition — it involves intellectual assimilation and practical acceptance of truth as the rule of life; see Am. 3''' Hos. 6^ 13' Isa. i^ Jer. 14-" Job 20"" \p 51''^^'^ Still, knowledge is here set forth as the foundation of conduct, that is, it is assumed that men will do right when its nature and consequences are clearly understood by them. The conception of a change of heart is not found in Proverbs. In the second clause the verb understand = discern, distinguish, appre- hend, is a synonym of knoia. — 3. Ternary ; line 2 is the defini- tion of the last word of line i. The element of assimilation is expressed in the term receive — " apprehend, accept, and apply as a rule of life." — The term training (or, instruction^ is usually defined by its source (v.®, father, 3" Yahweh), but here by its object or aim, as in Isa. 53^ the chastisement of \_— which should procure'^ our peace. The aim is here expressed by four terms (so RV.), wise co7iduct, justice, probity, rectitude, the three last of which are better taken as setting forth the content of the first. From the signification of these words they cannot be understood as objects of the verb receive (Nowack, Frankenberg), or as ex- pressing the content of the term instruction (Delitzsch). Kamp- hausen * renders : that men may accept instruction that makes wise {klug), righteousness and \_sense of] the right and rectitude, taking instruction as = " the fact of teaching," and leaving it uncertain whether the terms in the second clause are the object of receive or are in apposition with instruction. Delitzsch and Frankenberg, not so well : to attain intelligent instruction. — Wise conduct is action which springs from insight and sagacity, in ordi- nary affairs (i Sam. i8"° Gen. 48'^ 3*' Prov. 10' I4'''-' «/.), and espe- cially in the moral and religious life (Jer. 3'' \\j 119^^). Such action, in its best sense, is controlled by moral principle, and is accordingly here defined by several synonymous terms. Justice (RV. righteous- ness) is a forensic term, expressing the quality of the character and action of that one of the two parties to a lawsuit who has the right on his side, and thus comes to signify right conduct in gen- * In Kaiitzsch's Heilige Schrift. I. 2-5 7 eral. Probity is the procedure of a judge, especially legal deci- sion (Ju. 4* 2 Sam. 15-) or custom (i Sam. 2" lo-^), law (Dt. 4*), God's acts of moral government in the world (Isa, 26® i/'i05"), then general conduct in accordance with legal decision (assumed to be morally right) whether made by man or by God. Rectitude is levelness, straightness, straightforwardness of conduct, as op- posed to the crooked ways of those who abandon the guidance of moral truth. These three words are variant expressions of i-ecti- tude, and thus define the content of the general term wise cojidiict. V.^ declares that knowledge of right principle is the basis of true life ; v.^ assumes that this knowledge necessarily leads to action controlled by moral principle. — 4. Synonymous, ternary. From the point of view of the teacher ; lit. : to give discretion, etc. The i7iexperienced {KV . si»iple) are the uninstructed, the immature; the word is here used in a negative, indifferent sense, to indicate need of instruction (used in v." with bad connotation). The Heb. term appears to signify those whose minds are open to influence, who can be easily led. The parallel ji'i9////z likewise emphasizes the idea of immaturity (so that there is no need to substitute a term = stupid) ; the word may mean babe (Ex. 2^), child (2 K. 4^), young man ( Ju. i f) , or, without respect to age, servant ( 2 Sam. 9^) . The Book of Proverbs addresses itself to men only, not to women ; the silence respecting the latter is doubtless due to their domestic isolation and comparative security from grosser temptations ; more attention is paid them in Ben-Sira (y-^-^s ^i 22*-^ 23^-"^^ 25^*^-^ 26 36^'"-^ 42*"^^). — Discretion is cleverness in general (Gen. 3^), either for good (so throughout Pr.) or for evil (Ex. 21^'*). The synonym insight, or discretion, is the power of forming plans or perceiving the best line of procedure for gaining an end, then the plan itself, good or bad ; in Pr. sometimes employed in a bad sense (12^ 14^^^ 24"), oftener, as here, in a good sense. 5. Synonymous, quaternary-ternary (possibly ternary). The telle sense that the wise man may hear (RV. Orelli) is not a correct rendering of the Heb. ; the hortative sense let . . . hear (De., Frank.) though not in accordance with the construction of the rest of the paragraph, is that which best suits the expression of object which characterizes the introduction. The declarative 8 PROVERBS rendering is adopted by the Vrss., Schult., Kamph. ; the sentence then breaks the connection, and must be taken to be parentheti- cal. It seems, indeed, not to belong here, but in some such connection as that in which the similar aphorism 9^ now stands. It is perhaps an old gloss (found in all the Vrss.) the design of which is to point out that the teaching of wisdom is appropriate not only for the immature (v.'*), but also for the wise. Learning is that which is received, the content or material of instruction. The parallel expression in the second clause appears to be a nauti- cal term (so the Grk. and Lat. Vrss.) derived from the word for rope, and meaning steering, guidance ; used in Job 37^^ of God's guidance of the clouds; in Pr. 11" 12^ 20'^ 2^^ = counsel, and here potver of guidance, of soimd direction of life, = education. — 6. Synonymous, ternary. The scholarly aim. The verse con- nects itself immediately with v.-"^ ; these refer to the subject- matter of teaching, v.^ to its form. The allusion here seems to be to organized schools, and to the habit of Oriental teachers of couching their instruction in figures, parables, and allegories (see especially ch. 30). The reference is not to esoteric teaching intended to conceal the highest wisdom from the mass of men — there is no evidence that such esoterism existed anywhere in the ancient world * — though the teacher would naturally speak more freely to the inner circle of his pupils (cf. Mt. 13^^). — The three terms here employed to describe the form of the sage's instruction have no exact representatives in English. On proverb see note on \}. The meaning of the stem of the second term (nrbia) appears to be turn, bend ; Gen. 42-^ an interpreter is one who translates discourse from one language into another, and so the Babylonian a/nbassadors or interpreters of 2 C. 32^^ ; Isa. 43-'' the mediators or interpreters are the representative men, prophets, and priests (the Grk. not so well, rulers), who made God's words intel- ligible to the people, and the fnediating angel oi ]oh 33^ interprets man's case to God. Our word thus appears to mean a turned or figurative saying, one that looks toward another sense, a parable ; in the only other place in which it occurs, Hab. 2^, it has the * This statement can, I believe, be substantiated. The Greek Mysteries, and such passages as Dan. la^, do not form exceptions. I. 5-6 9 connotation of taunt, sarcasm ; cf. the similar use of proverb. Here it signifies a didactic utterance (rhythmical in form), in which the figurative need not be the predominant feature. — The third expression (nTPi) comes in like manner from a stem meaning turn aside, and signifies some sort of deflected discourse. Its earliest use seems to be that of riddle, as in Ju. 14, i K. 10' (= 2 C. 9^) ; in Ez. 17- it = parable, and in Nu. 12'^ the parabolic or visional form of the ordinary divine communication with priest or prophet, in contrast with the direct speech which Yahweh employed with Moses ; in Dan. 8^ Antiochus Epiphanes is de- scribed as understanding hidoth, which must mean tortuous (mor- ally tricky) words or procedures ; a shading of scorn and ridicule appears in Hab. 2^, while in \\i 49^'^^ 78-, as in Pr., the sense is simply didactic. Here it obviously = aphorisms. — The three terms are here synonyms. Their etymology indicates that the earliest teaching was figurative in form (riddle, proverb, parable, allegory) ; but, as prophecy naturally advanced from ecstatic utterance to straightforward discourse, so the Israelitish sages gradually abandoned the figurative form in the interests of clear- ness, though it continued to be employed by popular teachers. V.® assumes that it is a part of good education to understand the aphorisms of the sages, and these, as Pr. and Ben-Sira show, were simple and direct expositions and enforcements of duty. — That a definite class of teachers with some sort of school-organi- zation existed as early as the third century B.C. appears probable from the way in which the sages are spoken of in Pr. (especially 2 2^'^'^^), and Eccl. 12", and from the account given in Pirke Aboth of the heads of schools and their sayings from the middle of the second century on. The aphorisms, and particularly the discourses, in Pr, and Ben-Sira are for the most part not popular in form, but bear the impress of cultivated thought. Later the title sages was given to the teachers of the law.* If v.^ be omitted, v.""*'' form a symmetrical strophe or paragraph : To know wisdom and instruction, to discern words of understanding, To receive instruction in wise conduct, in justice and probity and rectitude. To give discretion to the inexperienced, to the youth knowledge and insight, To understand proverb and parable, the words of sages and their aphorisms. * See Schiirer, Jewish People, Eng. tr., II. i. 324. 10 PROVERBS 7. The motto. — Antithetic, quaternary. This general definition of wisdom may be regarded as the motto of the whole book, and is probably to be ascribed to the final editor ; see ijj ii i'". The begm- ning of knowledge, its choicest feature, its foremost and essential element, is said to be the fear of Yahweh. The term fear goes back historically to the dread which was felt in the presence of the powerful and stern tribal or national deity ; Semitic deities were in the historical period generally conceived of as lords or kings, exer- cising constant control over their peoples, and inflicting punishment on them for disobedience. This is the prevailing attitude of the pious man toward God throughout the OF.; only the sentiment gradually advances from the form of mere dread of the divine anger to that of reverence for the divine law. It never entirely loses, however, the coloring implied in the word fear. The OT. ethical conception of life is not love of a moral ideal as the supreme good, but regard for it as an ordination of the supreme authority ; the world is looked on not as a household in which God and man are co-workers, but as a realm in which God is king and man is subject. This conception, the result of the moral strenuousness of the Jewish people and of their Oriental govern- mental scheme of life, helped to develop moral strictness. It is a fundamental principle of moral life, though not the only principle. The idea of the Hebrew sage is that he who lives with reverent acknowledgment of God as lawgiver will have within his soul a permanent and efficient moral guide ; other conditions of ethical experience, such as native character, knowledge, temptation, sur- roundings, are left unmentioned, not deliberately excluded, but omitted because they are not prominent in the writer's thought ; his purpose is to emphasize the one principle of reverence as paramount, and he identifies the man's own moral ideal with the divine moral law. — The use of the name Yahweh instead of the more general Elohim is not significant as to date or as to ethical feehng. Yahweh, though in name nothing but the national deity of the Jews, is here regarded as the supreme and only God. The personal name was gradually replaced by the Lord (as in the ancient Versions, except the Targum), or the Holy One (as in the Talmud), or God (as in Ezra, Neh., Eccles., and some Psalms), but, as appears from some late Psalms, continued to I. 7 II be freely used, in certain circles, down to the second century B.C. It is possible, however, that both in Egypt and in Palestine it was, in this later time, though written, not pronounced, but replaced in reading by Adonny {the Lord). — The second clause states, not formally but in substance, the antithesis to the first, the sense being : " absence of the fear of Yahweh (in fools) is negation (con- tempt) of wisdom." The fool is primarily a person lacking in good sense in general, uninstructed (Isa. 35®), unskilled (Pr. ii"^), or offensively ignorant (10^ 20^ 29^), then, as here, one who is lacking in the highest wisdom, and therefore devoid of piety toward God (so the Grk. here). Such an one despises wisdom, is ignorant of and does not value its high function, nor accept it as guide. — Instead of the couplet of the Heb. the Grk. has a quatrain : The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God, And a good understanding have all they that practise it; Piety toward God is the beginning of knowledge, But wisdom and instruction the impious will set at naught. The second line of this quatrain now stands in ip iii^", and the third line appears to be a doublet of the first (except that the terms wisdom and knowledge exchange places), but may be an original parallelism. Whether the longer form of the Greek is an expansion of Heb. or Grk. scribes, or belongs to the original reading, it is difficult to say. As this verse is an isolated apho- rism, its length does not affect the rhythmical structure of the succeeding discourse. Cf. BS. i^^'-''. I. 1. The primitive sense of the stem ^'va is doubtful. In all Semitic languages it means to be like or equal, in Canaanitish (Heb., Phoen.) also to rule, and in Arab, to stand erect, be etninent, superior. The original force is perhaps to be alongside of, above (cf. hy — on, superposition, and at, juxtaposition), whence the notions of similarity and superiority. See Schul- tens, Prov., Fleischer (in De.), Ges. Thes., BDB. — ?^ '-x-\:;'i l^D; (5 6s i^aalXevirev iv 'l(rparj\, possibly a variant reading (cf. Eccl. I^), but hardly an indication (Jager) that the Grk. translator considered the paragraph v.^"^ to be non-Solomonic. — 2. The primary sense of the stem nDn seems (from the Arab.) to be firm, fixed, whence the verb control, restrain, and the no'fXR. fixedness of opinion, knowledge. — 3. '^dJ'h is taken z.%^ intelligence, wisdom, by Oort, Theol. Tijdsch., xix. 380 (IL doctrinae), as in Dan. i"; the Inf. occurs elsewhere in Pr. twice, in 21^^ = make wise, teach, in 21^^ = wise co7iduct ; the latter sense is preferable here. ona'^D is collective 12 PROVERBS plu., a mass of equitable actions = equity ; syn. -n!:"'C, Mai. 2* Isa. ii* i// 45^("). A different sense occurs in Dan. ii^. — (5 divides the v. into three stiches: di^affdal T€ aTpo(f>a% \67wc, voTJaaL re diKaioffvvrjv d,\ri6rj, Kal Kpifji.a Karevdiiveiv. On (TTjO. \oy. see Schleusner, Lex. What Heb. it represents is doubtful; Lag. maoiD turnings (cf. Ez. 41^- 2^), which, however, is not used of speech; Hei- denheim (in Fierte/Ja/irssc/ir. /. theol. Forsch., ii. 401) iDia inpS, the teachings of discipline, which hardly explains (§; vorjcrai = ^y^^'n"?, dXrjdrj is scribal insertion (Lag., on the contrary, rejects diK. as usual rendering), /car. = some form of -w\ perh. ^:^"D taken as Inf., less probably Hif. -\z'^n. 3L = |^. & to receive instruction and fear, where xnSm seems to be scribal error. ST = |§, except that it prefixes 1 to pns. — Graetz inserts nnDin before idid (as in 6^3), and writes Voa'n'? and nn'i'iD DflB'm, making a tristich (so (@). — 4. DiNns, written V.22. 32 Qipflj the N is vowel-letter, and should be omitted. St. nna = open, wide (Gen. 9^^), then to be persuaded, enticed, seduced; ins opett-minded, per- suadable, simple-minded, inexperienced ; Ar. fata = broad-minded, generous, and you7ig man, fativd = legal decision (opening, expounding of a legal ques- tion), mufti = judge. — PJ nn'?; (5 Iva. 5aj, free rendering. |^ nyj*^; @ 7rat52 hh viip, in which v^ct) is perh. dittogram (Jag.), but may be orig. (Lag.) ; accord- ing to Heid. it is miswriting of ^-^s, the two words tt. and p. being designed to form a parallel to plu. 's. For nyj Graetz unnecessarily writes -\';2 stupid. Rashi ■i;;j — '\'JMV cast out from or destitute of learning. — 5. A telic force for yDtt'-' is hardly supported by such a construction as that of iiDtfi Isa. 13^ in which the two clauses are closely combined. — niSann is denominative noun of action; (§ KvjSipvrjo-iv, 1L gubernacula, A26 gubernationes ; on 5'^ see notes of Lag. and Field; Fleischer (in De.) compares Ar. tadbir, Syr. duboro. — V.^ is regarded as interpolation by Ziegler, and as parenthetical by Wilde- boer. — 6. pj n^ji'-'c; (5 (TKOTeivov \6yov; AO ipixeveiav, and so 3L Rashi, AV., against the parallelism, t/ie interpretation, marg. an eloquent speech ; VN. figure. — 7. On the etymology of '?iin as = thick, dull, stupid, see P'leisch., De., SS., BDB.; Malbim, Heid. (in De.) sceptic, from •''?in perhaps. — Bickell ( Wiener ZKM. V. 86) adopts the reading of (5 on the ground that beginning of ivisdom as well as beginning of knowledge is here absolutely necessary; he holds that the Psalmist took the passage from Pr. and that the translator of the ^f/ followed the translation of Pr., the clause falling out of |§ by homoeoteleuton. It is, how- ever, equally possible that Pr. followed the \p. Further, it is not clear what Heb. would be represented by (5 eixri^eta els 6ebv, which Bickell renders by nin> hn'T'; but ev(T. nowhere else represents '1% and the expression looks like original Greek rather than like a translation. It is found in CI. Al., .Strom., 161. The Heb. author may have written nyn in first clause because he had noon in second. 8-19. Discourse against organized robbery : exhortation to listen to instruction (v.-- ^) ; the temptation to robbery and murder (v.^'^'*) ; warning against it, fate of the robber (v.^^"). — The arrangement is in couplets, with varying number of beats. I. 8-9 13 Bickell further arranges it in quatrains : v.*- ^' '"■ "• ^-' ^^' "' ^^- ^^' ^*- '^. The text is not quite clear ; some good emendations are suggested by the Greek. 8. Hear, my son, thy father's instruction, And forsake not the admonition of thy mother; 9. For a chaplet of beauty they will be to thy head, And chains about thy neck. 10. My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not,* — 11. If they say : " Come with us. Let us lay wait for the < perfect,' Let us lurk for the innocent [], 12. Let us, like Sheol, swallow them alive, Sound as they who go down to the Pit; 13. All precious wealth we shall find. We shall fill our houses with spoil; 14. Cast thou thy lot among us, One purse we all will have," — 15. [] Walk not in company with them, Keep thy feet from their paths; f 17. For in vain the net is spread In the sight of any bird, — 18. And they for their own blood lay wait. They lurk for their own lives. 19. Such is the < fate > of all who by violence seek gain : It destroys the lives of its possessors. 8, 9. Exhortation. V.* is synonymous, ternary ; v.' synony- mous, ternary-binary. On instruction see note on v.^. Admoni- tion (Heb. tora, sometimes = law^ is here synonym of instruction. Forsake, more exactly reject, repel. Chains = necklace. The address my son = my pupil, is characteristic of chs. 1-9, and also, though less markedly, of 22^^-24-^; it occurs once (27") in the section chs. 25-29, and once (19^) in the central division * Perhaps better : 10. My son, if sinners entice thee, 11. If they say: Let us lay wait for the 'perfect,' 12. Let us, like Sheol, swallow them alive, Sound as they who go down to the Pit ; t 16, For their feet run to evil, And haste to shed blood. 14 PROVERBS of the Book, 10^-22^^ It indicates an organized system of instruc- tion, probably in schools ; see note on v." above. The instruction here mentioned, however, is that not of sages but of parents. It is assumed that the teaching of father and mother will be wise, and this moral training of home would naturally form the basis of the fuller instruction of the schools. The reference is to the moral law in general, not specifically to the Tora (Law of Moses), though this would naturally be the foundation of Jewish home teaching. The Talmud (Ber. 35 a, Pes. 50^, Sanh. 102 a) explains father here as = " God," and inother as = " Israel " (Ez. 19-) ; according to Rashi the instruction of the father is what God gave to Moses in writing and orally, while the law of the mother means the words of the Scribes or Rabbis whereby they made a hedge to the Law.* Ornaments of head and neck were anciently worn by men as well as by women. t 10-19. Alliance with bands of robbers and murderers can be attended only with disaster. The organized robbery here referred to suggests city life of the later time, the periods when, under Persian and Greek rule, Jerusalem and Alexandria sheltered a miscellaneous population, and a distinct criminal class became more prominent. The references in the preexilian prophets are to a less organized sort of crime ; they speak rather of legalized oppression of the poor by the rich ; see Am. S^*^ Hos. 4^ 6^-^ 7^ Isa. i2^ 5^ lo' Mic. 2^ f 61- f^ Zeph. 3^ Jer. 5-^ f^' Ez. iS'^-^^ 2 2^^ J the passages in Hos. are the only ones that seem to relate to bands of robbers, and they represent a state of anarchy under the last kings of Samaria. The description here might be under- stood (so Frank.) as referring not to literal robbery and murder, but to spoliation under legal forms ; but the language of the para- graph (v."- '^) and the manner of I. (portrayal of open vice, chs. 5. 6. 7) favor the former view. Frank, compares BS. 3i'^'^'. 10. The rhythm is irregular : the first clause is ternary, the second has only one beat ; the latter might be attached to v.^', or * On the education of Jewish children see J. Wiesen, Gesch. u. Meth. d. Sc/iul- wesen i??t talmud. Alterthume ; for the Greek customs, Becker, Charicles, Eng. tr., pp. 217 ff. ; for the Roman, Gallus, pp. 182 ff. t See Ju. 82t>; Masp6ro, Anc. Egypt and Assyria ; Becker, Char., 198, n. 6, Gal., 429 ff. I. 8-12 15 omitted as gloss, and ^°- "* will then form the couplet. — Sinners is the general term for wrongdoers, persons of bad moral charac- ter, etymologically " those who miss the mark " ; they are men who fail in the performance of duty, and thus miss the aim of life. The noun occurs most frequently in Ps. and Pr. (13^' 23'^), the verb is common in all parts of OT. Instead of the conditional construction the Grk. has the hortative : let not impious men lead thee astray, but the conditional protasis is a natural if not neces- sary preliminary to the hortative apodosis of v.'^ — 11. A triplet in the Heb., ternary-binary-binary ; the verse division is doubtful (see note on v.'"). The Heb. text instead o{ perfect has blood, and at the end of the verse adds without cause ; the first emenda- tion (requiring the change of one Heb. letter) is called for by the parallelism, and the addition without cause is superfluous, since the victims are described as innocent. If the reading dlood be retained, it must be understood elliptically, as = to shed blood; it cannot be taken (Fleisch. in De.) to mean a youth, a young Hood. The adv. without cause must qualify the verb lurk ; the translation innocent in vain (that is, their innocence does not save them), while grammatically possible, does not accord with the connec- tion.— Bloodshed is assumed to be a natural accompaniment of robbery, and it is accomplished by lying in wait in the dark places of the city. Ancient cities were badly lighted at night, and not usually well policed. Cf. \\i \o^. — 12. Synonymous, ternary. The word rendered sound is generally used of moral com])leteness = perfect (Gen. 6^ Pr. 2-'), and is here so taken by some (as Kamph.) ; but the parallelism favors the physical sense /// ///// bodily health and strength, equivalent to the parallel ali7>e (as in Ez. 15', cf. the ritual yse, Ex. 12^ al.). The sense of the pnssnge is: we will swallow them (Grk. him) alive and sound so that they shall be as completely destroyed from the earth as those that go down by course of nature into the pit of Sheol (that is, those who die). Sheol (and so its equivalent the Pit) is the Under- world, the abode of the dead, good an 1 ba 1, a cheerless place whose denizens have no occupation (Eccl. 9'°) and no relations with Yahweh* (Isa. 38'^) ; descent to it is a misfortune, sin^e it * It is probable that in the oldest form of the Heb. religion (as in tlie B^i by- Ionian) Sheol was under the control of a separate deity, independent of Yahweh; I 6 PROVERBS deprives man of activity and happiness, but not a punishment ex- cept when it is premature ('/' 55^^^^^')- — The second clause reads in the Grk. : and let us take away the remembrance of him from the earth (cf. 1/^34^*^'^^^ 109^^), which represents a different Heb. text from ours, the general sense being unchanged ; in the Heb. the parallelism to the first clause is presented in the adj. sound, in the Grk. in the verb take away. The course of thought favors the Heb. ; the Grk. is probably an imitation of the psalm-passage. — 13. Synonymous, ternary. The object of the assault is treasure ; the house is to be broken into (Mt. 6'^). The robbers have their own houses, are residents of the city. The Vrss. give slightly different readings ; % : let us seize his costly possessions ; S : all his wealth and glory;' ST: all wealth and glory (or property). ^ gives a good sense = " all sorts of wealth." — 14. Synony- mous, ternary. The word lot is primarily the thing (a die or something of the sort) used to procure the answer of the deity (as by Urim and Thummim) to a question (Lev. 16®), then the thing assigned to the questioner by the divine decision (Jud. i^), then in general one's part in life (Jer. 13^ ip 16^ Dan. 12^^) ; cast thy lot among us = share our fortunes, identify thyself with us. The disposition of the booty indicates a regular organization in the robber-band. There is to be one purse, a common fund of spoil to be equitably distributed among the members of the gang. This is held out as an inducement to the neophyte, who would thus get more than he could hope to gain by his own separate efforts. Murder is lightly passed over by the robbers as a natural and easy feature of their occupation ; the young man is supposed to be accessible to the temptation of easily acquired wealth. The picture of manners here given is historically valuable. For another interpretation see note above (on v.^""^''). — 15-19. The reason for avoiding such companions : their path, though it may be tem- porarily successful, leads finally to destruction. — 15. Synonymous, ternary. The received Hebrew text begins the verse with my son, as in v.^°, and a justification for this expression may be found but in OT. there is no trace of any divine government in the Underworld (which is an isolated and anomalous place) till late postexilic times when the one God became universal (Job 1413 268) and the idea of resurrection arose (Dan. 12'-, cf. the doubtful Isa. 2619J. I. 12-17 17 in the length of the preliminary description, v."'"''*, which might make the resumptive my soti natural (Baumg.) ; but, on the other hand, as it is not found in (!§, is unnecessary at the beginning of the apodosis, and is rhythmically undesirable, it is better to omit it. — 16. Synonymous, ternary. On both internal and exter- nal grounds this verse is probably to be regarded as a scribal insertion. It breaks the connection between v.^^ and v.^^, the latter of which gives the ground (namely, the peril of the robbers' course) for the exhortation of the former ; and the section v.^^'^ is devoted to a description not of the character of the robbers (which is given in v.^**"") but of their fate. Verse'*', further, is identical with Isa. 59"", and is not found in the best Grk. MSS. It appears to be the gloss of a scribe who thought a reference to the bloodthirstiness of the robber-band here appropriate, or wrote, as a remark, on the margin this parallel expression, which was then inserted in the text by a subsequent scribe. — In the second clause we may i^kefeet as subject of make haste, or we may insert the subject they (the robbers). — 17. Single sentence, ternary. This statement is introductory to that of v.'^, and its meaning is fixed by the relation between the two : v.'* declares that the robber murderer's course is destructive to him, and v.'*" must therefore set forth the destruction and the blindness not of the victim but of the murderer himself ; the comparison refers not to the futility of laying snares in the sight of birds (who thus see the trap and avoid it), but to the blindness and folly of birds who, though the snare is laid in their sight, nevertheless fall into it. In like manner the criminal, bhnded by desire for gain, fails to see the snare which God (working through society and law) spreads for him, and falls irredeemably into it. The connection is not : go not with them, the net which they spread for thee is clearly visible, thou wilt surely not be blinder than a bird (Ziegl., De.), but : go not with them, for, like silly birds, they fall into the net, and thou wilt be entrapped with them (Ew., Novvack, Strack., ai., and cf. Schultens) . Frank, renders : for without success is the net spread, etc., that is, the efforts of the snarers [the sinners] are without result- for themselves — they catch no birds ; a possible sense and good in itself, but the couplet appears to state a fact always true of bird-snaring. Moreover, the sage probably intends I 8 PROVERBS not to deny that sinners get booty, but to afifirm that, though they get it, it does not profit thern in the end. — A different text is offered by i3, which reads: for not in vain are nets spread for birds (inserting not, and neglecting /;/ the sight of), that is, not in vain are there pitfcills for criminals in the shape of human laws and dispensations of God — they (v.^^) are laying up punishment for themselves. This gives a natural connection of thought, but looks lili^, only here and 4^, lit. tzvisted, any adornment for the head, pjy apparently a denom. from p:; neck, a word which occurs in Jew. Aram, and Arab., but not in Heb. Graetz, with little probabiHty, emends to rh-hz perfect. ^ omits. — pj iDir:; (g^ ■KaiZda.v, (g -=^0 vbixovi (and so S) ; the latter is prob. I. 17-19 19 scribal variation (cf. 6^''), hardly (Lag.) rendering of 'Dioj for -iDic; Heid. ■ holds that it comes from a Pharisaic hand. — ^ :t; (§•* 8^^r], (§-^ H^rj, perh. free rendering (Heid.: allusion to phylacteries), perh. representing a variant reading, though the original in tliat case is not apparent. — 10, 11. (5 divides y 10. 11 as follows : A/y son, lei not impious men seduce thee. Nor consent thou if they urge thee, saying, Come with us, go shares in blood. And let us hide the just man tiiijustly in the earth. Bickell, omitting ^""^ for rhythmical reasons, writes : Consent not if they say, come with us, Let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk for the innocent. The Heb. rhythm is not satisfactory, but it is hardly improved by these variations. Bickell's omission of i''" is unwarranted, and the resulting form is not good, either rhythmically or rhetorically. (5 is rhythmically better, but its rendering of |§ is partly incorrect, partly free. |§ may be retained if we suppose ^^^ to be purposely short, and take 11 as couplet : If they say, come with us. Let us lay wait for the perfect, let us lurk for the innocent, or, if we throw out !<"'• ^'^'^, and part of ^^*, and take the rest as couplet. It is hardly possible to recover the original form. — 10. |^ 3N; (5 ,0177 = ^s. — 1§ !s\3n (from n^s), in which the N and 3 have changed places (full form n^xr), or the n is the writing of an Aram, scribe for n, the initial N of the stem being omitted because it was unpronounced. The regular form n^vxn is found in a number of MSS. (see De' Rossi), and either it should here be written, or we should, with Bi., write ::Nb; in several MSS. the verb is understood as N12 (xo"', X3"), which is improbable. — 11. After nsx'' (5S have r]"", perh. repetition from following hd'^. (@ irapaKaX^ffwcn may = '.s\ — |^ nnisj; (5 Koivtiivqaov, from 3t; or i3n (Lag.). — 1§ 31':'; Dyserinck, 7'heol. Tijd. 17, 578, reads 3^>', which suits the next clause; Oort, ib., 19, 381, holds that the reading of v.i^ (which ver. is clearly parallel to v.^^) sustains 3-1 here. — J§ njasj seems to be intrans. (as apparently in ^ \& 56' ) ; elsewhere the Qal is trans., and so it is here taken by Frank, who renders: we will set {a trap). — ^ 'pi'^; (5 dvdpa diKaiov, either not having the ^, or (Lag.) taking it, according to the Aram, const., as sign of Ace. — |ij 3jn, found in the Vrss. (^ s-i-;3 maliciously), but superflu- ous, and probably a gloss (Bi.). The whole clause may be omitted without detriment to the sense, and with advantage to the rhythm. — 12. |JJ a>''^3:; Graetz Pi., as in 19-^ 21'^'. — As 2d clause (5 has Kal Epufiev aiTov ttjv /xvrjfnjv iK 717s, representing the Heb. of ^J/ 34" logi^, perh. editorial variation; Lag. suggests that, the Heb. text of (5 being effaced, it took the appropriate passage from the Ps.; for |^ 3iD''Dni may have stood ao^oi; Heid. supposes that (@ may have had nonxD onipni DDni, improb. late Heb. — 13. "^ ^n; (5 TTju KTrjuiv airov; Bi. Di^n, not so good a reading as that of |§. — 14. |§ '?^2;;; ®ILS3C have Impv., which is better, though not absolutely necessary, since the assertory form of statement is possible; Bi. omits 'H as marring the parallelism, but ///)' lot is with us is hard. — ©''has a doublet, a free and a literal rendering; the former is probably the original (Jag., Lag., Baumgartner), the latter a correcting gloss — 15. |f) 'J3; (5'"=-a we, H-P 23 (= V), 252, 254, 295, 297, \)U fwv, lacking in (gxABc^ and should probably be 20 PROVERBS omitted. — 1§ na^ij sing.; plu. in (SILS^T and several Heb. MSS., the diff. not appearing in script, defect. — 1[§ T'P. lacking in IL De'R 249. — 16. Wanting in the uncials of (5 (exc. nc. a A) and in Copt. (Sahidic and Memphitic); Cod. 23 (of H-P) adds to it from Rom. 316- 1'', and the cursives which contain it place it some before and some after v.^^. It appears not to belong to the original text. — After dt 3s has not (= •'pj, as in Isa. 59"). — 17. (§ prefixes ov; & has 1 instead of i;, and for '^ rn'ro plu. act. Part, ptrna. — |^ nn'rc in sense of spread is difficult, the word elsewhere meaning scatter, winnow; Schult. here ventilatiun ; Rashi, in vain is (grain) scattered {on) the net. We should perhaps read n".:'^ nbnaD (<5 diKTva) or 'i viina ajn, which is phonetically not too hard. In Hos. 5I (5 renders 'a by eKreiveiv, which is its expression here. — |^ '^•;2; plu. in (SlL^r. and 4 Heb. MSS. — 18. |§ mx^; (S MfT^X'^'^fs; see v.i^. f^ am; @Bai. ^^i^oi; (H-P 23 odfidToiv) = D>D"t, not so well. (5, rendering uas'' by Orjcravpi^ovaiv, adds /cajcd as necessary comple- ment. & appears to make v.^^ a continuation of v.^^ (Pink.) — 19. |^ mms; O nnns, probably to be adopted; see 5* Nu. 23^"^ xp ^y^-^s 73I"; 'ix is not elsewhere used as = /ate, the sense here required by the connection. — |§ r'?;a; © ry dffe^elg. = nSi;-3 (Jag.). 20-33. The appeal of Wisdom. — Wisdom, standing in a public place, exhorts the ignorant and the scornful to listen to her words, threatening them with destruction if they refuse. The section is independent, having no immediate connection with the preceding or the succeeding context. It resembles the first half of ch. 8, but is minatory while that is persuasive in tone. As the text stands, it is arranged in couplets (except v.^--^-^, which are trip- lets), which may be naturally combined into quatrains. After the introduction (v.^°-^') comes the address, which consists of a denun- ciation (v.^^-^), the charge of disregard of her teaching (v.^^-^), a description of the fate of the despisers (v.^^^), and a contrast between the doom of fools and the happiness of the obedient (v.^^-^). Wisdom is personified, as in chs. 8. 9. 20. Wisdom cries aloud in the streets. In the broad places utters her voice, 21. Calls out at the head of the < high places,' In the gates of the gateways [] * she says : 22. How long, ye dullards, will ye love ignorance [] f. And fools hate knowledge? * The Heb. adds : in the city. t The Heb. adds : and scoffers delight in scoffing. I. 20-2I 21 23. [] * I will utter my mind to you, Will tell you my decision : 24. Because I have called, and ye refused, I have stretched out my hand, and none regarded, 25. Ye have ignored all my counsel. My admonition ye have rejected, — 26. I, in my turn, will laugh in [the day of] your calamity, I will mock when your disaster comes, 27. When your disaster comes like a storm. And your calamity like a whirlwind. [] f 28. Then will they call on me, but I will not answer, They will seek me, but will not find me, 29. For that they hated knowledge, And chose not the fear of Yahweh. 30. They would none of my counsel. All my admonition they despised; 31. Therefore they shall eat of the fruit of their own conduct, And be sated with their own counsels. 32. For the indifference of the insensate will slay them, The careless ease of fools will destroy them. 33. But whoso hearkens to me will dwell secure. Will be free from fear of harm. The interpretation of the paragraph depends in part on the view taken of the relation between v?^- ^^ and the following verses. If the former are held to contain an exhortation to repentance ^y asa^^ they can hardly be closely connected with the latter, since these presume that the call of Wisdom has been rejected, and the discourse should state, after v.-^, the repellant answer of the per- sons addressed ; as the text stands, v.-^^ constitute a separate discourse which states the result of disobedience. Unity of thought may be gained by omitting v.-^^, and taking the whole piece as minatory, the connection being : you have turned a deaf ear to me long enough (v.^^), I have lost patience and will tell you my decision (v.-'^) : because you have refused, etc. (v.-^^'). 20, 21. Introduction: the publicity of Wisdom's appeal. — Synonymous, ternary. After gateways the Heb. has t)i the city her * V.23a in the Heb. : turn ye to my admonition. t Heb. v.S"" : 7uhen distress and anguish befall you. 22 PROVERBS words she says ; the expressions in the city and her words, which mar the rhythm in the original, appear to be glosses, the former intended as an explanation oi gateways (stating definitely that the reference is to city gates), the latter noting that the following verses give the words then uttered by Wisdom. The Grk. has a somewhat different reading : Wisdom sings in the streets (lit. exits), in the broad places boldly speaks, prochiinis on the summits of the zvalls, sits at the gates of princes, at the gates of the city boldly says ; this seems to be partly misreading, partly expansion, of our Heb. text. — Broad places are the wide open spaces in front of city gates ; instead of high places the Heb. has a word which is com- monly rendered noisy places, understood to mean crowded thor- oughfares (including bazaars and market-places) ; but this sense is doubtful, and a better term is given in 8^ {high places), or by Sept. {walls) ; ztuills may be included in the high places ; these, together with streets and gateways, were gathering-places for the people. The gateway was a long structure entered at the extremi- ties through gates. The verb cries aloud expresses an excited emotional utterance, usually of joy (Lev. 9^* Isa. 12" Job 38^), sometimes of sorrow (Lam. 21^^), or general excitement {\p 78^^), here of intensity of feehng. — Wisdom does not content herself with being wise at home, but seeks men out in their everyday life — she is a preacher. The custom of speaking in places of concourse was an old one, familiar to the prophets ; see Jer. 7^, and cf. Mic. i^ Isa. 20- Jer. 5' ; so also Socrates (Xen., Mem. 1. 1, 10). The later Jewish custom resembles both that of the proph- ets and that of the Greek philosopher, the former in its hortatory tone, the latter in its reflective, ethical subject-matter. The choice of the term wisdom to denote the religious teacher points to a phase of life which came after the great prophetic period (in the prophets wisdom is not religious), and probably indicates the influence of the Greek atmosphere in which the Jews lived from the close of the fourth century B.C. on* (see Litroduction, § 6). * Cf. the similar use of ■wisdom in Ben-Sira, Eccl., Wisd. of Sol. The title Koheleth, given in Eccl. to Wisdom (speaking in the person of Solomon), if, as is possible, it means a caller (or member^ of a public assembly, supposes acquaint- ance with Grk. forms of life; see the commentaries of Tyler, Plumptre, Reuss, Siegfried, Wildeboer, and Cheyne's fob and Solomon. I. 20-23 23 The exhortation in Prov. is not : put away all other gods and serve Yahweh alone, or : bring offerings to the temple according to the Law, but : listen to reason and conscience, which are the voice of God in the soul. 22-33. The discourse of wisdom in the received Heb. text falls naturally into two parts, an invitation, v.^--^, and a denuncia- tion, v.-*"''^ The connection between the divisions is not clear (see note above on v.^"^). The denunciation is introduced abruptly, as if the invitation had been refused, though nothing is said of a refusal. On this point the Versions offer nothing different from the Heb., and there is not good ground for exten- sive alterations of the text (see below). A closer connection between the parts might be secured by giving v.^'*-^' the condi- tional form, the apodosis following in v.^®, but against this is the form of the verbs in v.-^' ~^. Failing this we shall have to consider the divisions as separate discourses, or suppose that an explana- tory transitional statement has fiillen out after v.^^, or, what seems most satisfactory, omit v.^^* ; v."-^'' will then contain not an invita- tion, but a denunciation. Cf the connectedness and smoothness of the similar discourse 8'"". 22, 23. The Heb. has two triplets : v." is quaternary-quaternary- ternary, v.^^ binary-ternary-ternary ; on the text see below. The three classes of persons are practically the same, though the words have different shades of meaning. Dullards (or simple- tons, RV. simple) are the inexperienced (v.**), here those who positively love ignorance, and deliberately refuse to listen to instruction in right living. — The terms scoffing (or scorn') and scoffer (or scorner) belong almost exclusively to the later relig- ious vocabulary of Pss., Pr. ; they occur elsewhere only Hos. 7^ Isa. 28"-° 29-" Job i6-'\ in which passages they express contempt in general ; in Pr. scoffer = bad man, one who turns his back on what is good (so ^ i'), the special element of contempt not being significant; the simple sense occurs in 2o\ In 1// iiq'^' the reference is to apostate Jews or foreign enemies ; in Pr. there is no reference to the nation Israel. — Fool (Heb. kes'il) is also a term of the reflective moral literature, occurring, in the intel- lectual or ethical sense, only in Pss., Pr., Eccl. (the verb is 24 PROVERBS found once, Jer. lo^) ; it seems to mean a stolid, dirtl person, in Pr. one who is insensible to moral truth and acts without regard to it. By these three terms the sages express the con- trast to that wisdom which consists in acceptance of and obedience to the divine law of conduct written in man's heart. — As only two of these classes {dullards and fools) are mentioned in v.^- (which is a r^sum^ of the preceding statement), there is ground for supposing v."'' to be a scribal addition ; Wisdom is here dealing with the unwise. — In v.'^'' of the Heb. these persons are urged to listen to instruction, to turn (that is, give heed) to (not at) the admonition of Wisdom ; she promises to impart her knowledge to them. Advwnition (or, ?rproof) (used chiefly in Pss., Pr.) is exhortation tinged with imputation of blameworthiness. For the reason given above this line should probably be omitted ; the remaining couplet (v.-^) will then be Wisdom's declaration that she now utters her final word. The word rendered utter (RV. pour out) is a poetical synonym of speak; so ie^'^'^\p 19^^^' 78^ 94'' 191^'' 145' ; and }}ii?id {spirit) — thought, here — purpose or deter- mination. The Heb. word commonly rendered spirit means first wind and so breath, and then the inward life or being ; in Pr. it generally has this last sense, as 11^^ 16--''- 25-* 29" (so Isa. 40^'^ the mind, Judgmefit of Yahweh). Here the meaning is given by the parallelism : / zvill tell (or make known) my words = / will utter my thought* The words (here = decision) and the mind are stated in the following address (v.^**-^). My spirit may also = myself . — The Heb. introduces the second line of v.^^ with behold. — % construes the two verses differently : So long as the guileless hold fast to righteousness they shall not be ashamed, but the foolish, being lovers of insolence, have become impious, have hated knowledge, and have become liable to reproof ; behold I will pour forth to you the utterance of my breath, and teach you my word. The declarative form (instead of the interrogation of the Heb.) is improbable, and the contrast in v.^^ is against the connection. — Bickell reads : Hoiv lotig will ye love igno7-ance, and scorners delight them in scorning, and fools hate knowledge and incur my reproof? He thus gains a rhythmically symmetrical * So Salomon ben Melek, cited by Heid. I. 22-27 25 quatrain, and (by obliterating the invitation of v.^^) gets rid of the break between v."-^^ and the rest of the discourse. But the substitution of incur for turn is arbitrary, v.^''- " (which he omits) is a natural introduction to the denunciatory discourse, and the omission of the subject {dullards) in v."" is, from the parallelism, improbable. S makes v.^ conditional : if ye turn . . . I will, etc. ; but this construction only introduces confusion, since v.^**^- assume that they have not turned. 24-33. The denunciation, consisting of a direct address (v.^^^^), a description, in 3 pers., of the fate of the recusant (v.^^^), and a statement of the contrasted positions of the ignorant and the wise (v."^-^). 24-27. Wisdom will mock at the calamity of those who reject her invitation. — The lines may be read as ternary, but the law or rule governing the beats is not clear. — V.-*- "^ ^^ are couplets, v.^'' is a triplet in the Heb. ; the Grk. converts v.^^ into a quatrain (or two couplets) by adding at the end when destruction comes upon you. Bickell, by omissions, substitutions, and transpositions, makes out of v.^^ ^ a quatrain : / also will laugh in {the day of) your calamity, when distress arid anguish come upon you, I will mock when your fear comes as a storm and your desolatio7i comes as a zvhirlwind. Y.^ in the Heb. is expansion of the predicates of v.-^, a recognized poetical form. It is not necessary to insist on absolutely symmet- rical couplets at all hazards ; but, as the rest of the paragraph is arranged in couplets and quatrains, and as the two predicate-terms of v.-*^, calamity and disaster, are given in v.^'' '', and v.'^'^ appears to be an afterthought (a scribal insertion), it is better to omit this last. — The verbs in v.-* ^ refer to Wisdom's invitations in the past, that is, all the good influences of life ; warning has not been lack- ing, and on the despised warning follows this minatory discourse. The first verb in v.'* is primarily go freely about and let go fr-ee, then neglect, avoid, ignore; the sense of "allowing full play or license " is found in Ex. 5* 32^ Pr. 29^*, that of " neglecting, avoid- ing," in 4'^ 8^ 13^** 15'^-. — Laugh at (instead of laugh in, etc.), v.^^, is possible (Gen. 39"), but does not agree so well with the designation of time in the following clause. Mock is stronger than laugh, expressing bitterness or exulting derision. The / in my 26 PROVERBS turn (RV. I also) brings out the contrast of persons : "You have had your turn, and I shall have mine." Disaster is \\\.. fear (par- allel to calamity) = ground or cause of fear. Instead of storm we may render by desolation (RV. marg.), but the former sense is favored by the parallelism. Distress and anguish are synonyms (cf. Isa. 8^^ 30''), both signifying distressful limitation, straitness, opposed to largeness, freedom of movement (t// 3i^<'" 1 18^). Befall is lit. co>ne upon. V,^" is probably not original ; see note above. — The address is minatory. The offence (v.^^ '^) is disregard of the exhortation of Wisdom — she has implored, they have turned a deaf ear. Their posture of mind is that of deliberate disregard — they have had sufficient warning. Whether their neglect came from lack of previous training, or from superficiality and frivolity of nature, or from conscious choice of evil in preference to good, is not said. The picture is presented objectively : these persons, for whatever reason, are outside the domain of Wisdom. This objective view is characteristic of the old-Israelitish thought, which does not seek nice psychological distinctions ; the prophets judge individuals and nations by their relation to the law of Yahweh or to the nation Israel, without examination of mental experiences ; compare also the distinction, in the Fourth Gospel, between the domains of light and darkness. Solidity of ethical judgment is thereby gained, though at the cost of sympathetic discrimination. — The result (v.-^^'^) is that when the punishment comes the dis- obedient will be without the support of Wisdom. The calamity (as everywhere in Pr.) occurs in this life — it is not said to be inflicted by Wisdom, but comes in the natural course of things ; it is inevitable, a necessary result of the divine government of the world, which includes both natural law and special divine interven- tion. On the one hand, the sage intimates, those who neglect Wisdom will naturally find themselves defenceless in the evil day which Wisdom alone can avert ; on the other hand, God as gov- ernor will punish the evildoer. Wisdom is here first ordinary human sagacity, which saves man from misfortune, and then that higher sagacity which is the comprehension and assimilation of the good as divine, of that highest truth and right which God has embodied in his law. There is an approach here to the concep- tion of communion with truth, or with the divine source of truth. I. 24-31 27 as the strongest support of the ethical life. The personified Wisdom, who speaks as the final arbiter of men's destinies, is the insight that rules the world, and is identical with God's moral law. — The discordant note in the announcement of retribution is Wisdom's mockery of the wretched sufferer. This is not in accord with her character as pure, divine intelligence, friendly to man (as she appears, for example, in 8^')*; the unhappy fate of the evil- doer, it would seem, should call forth sorrow and not exultation. Such, however, is the tone of the old Hebrew thought ; the prophets exult in like manner over the downfall of the enemies of Israel. The Hebrew, whether prophet, psalmist, or sage, was a thoroughgoing partisan, identifying himself with his circle, and identifying his interests with the eternal order. Further, his gov- ernmental conception of the world was purely external : the bad, from whatever point of view they were adjudged bad, were regarded as enemies of the realm, and their destruction was hailed with joy. Such seems to be the point of view of the writer of this passage. He does not feel that, though sin is to be de- nounced and its consequences set forth, the sinner has a claim on the sympathy of his fellowmen ; he does not take into account temptations and struggles of soul. He contents himself with dividing men into two classes — those who heed and those who reject wisdom. 28-33. Resumptive description of the fate of the unwise (who are spoken of in third person), consisting of a detailed explanation of their punishment (v.-*^-^^), and a statement of the general rule of compensation in life (v.^-^). 28-31. Resumptive description of punishment. — Well formed couplets, synonymous, ternary, except that v.^"* is binary, the penult being a very long word. The correspondence with the preceding paragraph is close, with inversion of the order of thought : v.-" answers to v.-®-'', and v.^-^" to v.-*"^; the conclusion is repeated in v.^^ The rendering seek early (AV.) or seek diligently (RV.) rests on the derivation of the verb from a noun meaning mojiiing, as if it signified to rise betimes in order to do one's work dili- * According to the Masoretic Hebrew text ; see note on that verse below. 28 PROVERBS gently;* but this derivation is improbable in the face of 7^^ 11^, Job 7^^ — the verb means simply seek, here parallel to call. The terms hated, chose not, would none, despised (v.-'"*') are synonyms, expressing indifference or hostility to the instructions of Wisdom. In v.^"-^^ the counsel (or counsels) and admonition (or admoni- tions) of Wisdom are contrasted with the man's own zvay (= man- ner or scheme of life, conduct) and counsels (or devices). In v.^ Bickell would read the knowledge of God as the appropriate parallel to the fear of Yalnveh (so in 2^), which is also, perhaps, rhythmically an improvement of the text ; yet, as the former ex- pression occurs only once in Pr. (and elsewhere in OT. only twice, Hos. 4^ 6^ knowledge of the Most High once, Nu. 24^''), it is per- haps better to retain the general term knowledge, which in v/ is identified with the fear of Yalnveh. — The thought is the same with that of the preceding paragraph, only with an added touch of irremediableness in v.-^. The offenders who have deliberately rejected the counsels and appeals of Wisdom will find, when the day of punitive distress comes, that they need her aid, but they will ask it in vain ; she will be deaf to their cries, as they were deaf to her appeals. This is only a more vivid statement of the prin- ciple affirmed in v.^', that every one must eat of the fruit of his own doings — a universally recognized law of life. If it be asked, what room is here left for repentance? the answer of the sage is that the offenders have had ample opportunity to amend their ways, and have refused to change (v.'^*'). As to the term of repentance and the limit of Wisdom's patience, it is assumed that at a given moment God intervenes to punish, when sin has grown too great to bear, when the iniquity is full (Gen. 15^^ iS"'"-^^), but this moment is known to God alone. The point of view is exter- nal : at a certain moment retribution inevitably comes (whether in the course of natural or civil law, or by supernatural inter- vention), and then, in the nature of things, it is too late for the sinner to retrace his steps ; there is no reference here to a state of punitive blindness and moral deadness in which the man desires to repent and cannot, or is conscious that he is morally * It need hardly be added that the word early in this rendering of AV. has nothing to do with the time of life. I. 28-33 29 lost ; * the cry of the sinner in v.-** is for deUverance from physi- cal evil. 32, 33. The general rule. — Both couplets are synonymous, ternary. — 32. Indijferencc (n2lC?a) = averseness, apostasy, recu- sance, refusal, is the " turning away " from instruction and conse- quently from right living. Careless ease (mbc') is primarily quiet, freedom from care and anxiety (as in 17'), here, in bad sense, repose gained by ignoring or neglecting the serious responsibilities of life (nearly = negligence'). The two terms are, in their primary senses, mutually complementary : rejection of knowledge produces false security and deceptive peace, and the latter presupposes the former ; they are here substantially synonymous : refusal is indif- ference, negligence. Inse?isate ( = dullards) and fools as in v.^l — 33. Secure may mean, objectively, free from danger (as in 3-^ Jer. 23''), or subjectively, free from sense of danger (as in 3-^ Ju. 8"). The contrast with the slay of v.'^- favors the former meaning, but the second line {fear = apprehension) makes the latter probable. The sense of security is thus put over against the careless ease of fools (v.'"). — Wisdom sums up by stating the gen- eral principle that ethical folly is self-destructive (so 5"'^) ; as to the means by which this destruction is effected see note on pre- ceding verse. — In contrast with the false peace of the ignorant is put the true peace which comes from wisdom — a security which is assured by obedience to the laws of man and God. The refer- ence is to freedom from outward misfortune ; the whole tone of the Book makes it improbable that the writer has in mind the inward peace which is independent of external experiences ; else- where harm (RV. ez'il) is visible "misfortune" or "mischief" ^^29.30 ^14.. 18 j^'ii jg4 jy3 ^2^ al.). Inward peace, resting on con- sciousness of right and trust in God, was no doubt recognized and valued, but it is assumed in Pr. to be coincident with freedom from outward calamity, and is not treated as an independent fact. 20. The form moDn, found elsewhere only 9I 24'' (and by emend. 14^) \p 493(^>, is prob. not abstr. sing, for niaon (01s., Ew., De.), but plu. of exten- * This is the doctrine of J. A. Alexander's hymn, beginning: "There is a time, we know not when" {Neiv York Church Praise-Book, 1881), or: "There is a line, by us unseen " (Congregational Hymn-Book, 1858), but it is not found here or else- where in the Bible. 30 PROVERBS sion and intensity (Bott., Now., Siegf., Strack in Contvi., Barth) ; its predicates are sing. exc. in 24'^.* — njnn, 3 sing. fern. Qal energic (or possibly Q. plu. of jn); it is unnecessary to point nnn (as in Job 39-^); Heid.'s emendation r\i-\ nsina, adopted by Oort, is simple, and secures parallelism in the nouns, but loses it in the verbs. (5 vfivelrai (Lag. = nj^n) is perh. Mid., prob. error for vfivel; a Pass, is inappropriate and improbable. — 21. |^ nrcn; (5 reix^uv — niDin; so ST xnTii i/ie tower (or castle or palace"). The Partcp. 'n never occurs alone, but always as predicate (7II 9^^ 20^ Isa. 22'^ Jer. 4^^ Ez. ']^'°), and it is doubtful whether it can here be taken as subst.; the reading □•'D^a (8-^) is graphically not too hard, or, after (§, we may read non. — 1§ on;'::'; © bwaarCbv — anr (here inappropriate) to which Trapedpevei is added, appar- ently to fill out the clause. Jag. thinks iwl . . . irapedpeOei add. from 8^. — Bickell omits an;'S' and iDsn (both of which, however, are called for by the connection), and for n^;73 writes a-iv. We should rather omit -i^ya and nncN as glosses. The Vrss. (exc. clv xp^vov) is always interrog. in OT. — On o^Pij see note on v.* above; the final letter of the stem is omitted because not pronounced — onxn Qal = lansn; (5 '^x'^vrat, perh. free rendering, perh. (Lag.) scribal error for epwvrai. — Instead of Perf. ncn we expect Impf. — (@ aae^els yevS/ievoi, perh. (Lag.) = o^S^Do DPinS (read onvna) instead of |i^ -ji an^. — 23. PJ laiU'n; <3 xai virevdwoi eyivovro pos- sibly = i3ini (Lag., Held., cf. Aboth, i, 11) or (Bi.)= iDa'N''i. But as 3in is prob. a loan-word from the Aram., found only Dan. i^" (Ez. 18^ the noun is corruption, probably of 3iw'), its occurrence here is doubtful. If the line (v. 23a) be retained, the Impf. (which cannot have Impv. force) must be changed to Impv. 13VJ* (the n perh. repeated from preceding n;;^) ; so also Dyserinck. — yaj gush, iS*; elsewhere only Hif. = speak, exc. in Eccl. 10^, where the text is doubtful. — 1^ inn; (5 e^n^s ■wvori^ prjaiv, paraphrastic, perh. (Lag.) to avoid the expression irvoriv irp'oiecrOai = die ; the verb has the sense of utter. — The change of pers. in the verbs in v.^^- ^ is a common rhetorical usage in OT. — 24. 1^ ]>"', omitted by Bi., apparently for the sake of the rhythm, is desirable, if not necessary, as introduction to v.'^'j. — 1§ ijxcni; (§ /cat ovx vir-qKovaare, free rendering of |§, or from some form of jjcr or r^y; (hardly from z^z'pn, as in 2'^) ; SST linjDin nS, from irDsn nV. = as a gloss, the addition of a familiar expression (see note on this line above) ; cf. the similar expression in the triplet of \f/ Ii6'', in contrast with the couplets of i/' iS^-^. — 28. (3 wrongly puts v.-**" as direct address. — The verb inc* occurs, outside of Job, Pss., Fr., only in Hos. 5^^ Isa. 26"; IL here mane consurgent (and similarly elsewhere in Pr., exc. 7!^). Denominatives of the caus. stem (rarely of the simple stem) are frequent in Arab, and Heb. (so aoa'n) to express the doing of a thing at a certain lime of the day, but they do not then contain a substan- tively additional idea like seek ; the primitive sense of the stem is doubtful. On the old ending j of the verb in ijMiniri see Bottcher, Lehrb., II. § 930, 1047 f-' and Toy, in Trans. Amer. Phil. Assoc, Vol. XI. 1880. — After 'D'l (g adds Ka.Koi as subject, unnecessary general interpretative gloss, not (Lag.) addition of a Christian scribe to avoid contradiction of Mt. 7'-^. — 29. |§ .""yi; (5"^ ao- (piav, for which we should expect aiadrjaiv, yet cr. is not necessarily Christian (Lag.) or Alexandrian (Heid.); <3^ Traidiav, % disciplina77i (= ■'DID v."^). — |§ PNTi; (5^ \670v, perh. interpretation of an Alex, scribe. — 30. ® has the two nouns in plu. {script, defect^. — 31. |^ ns;':: ; (§ freely dcre/Seias; 'D is used in OT. in bad sense, exc. Pr. 22^\ — 32. n^irc, always in bad sense in OT. — © a.vB'' uvyap -rjdiKovv vrjiriovs, taking '0 as trans. = turn aside, oppress, hardly = retributio7i (Jag. because of retribution for \_their treatment of'\ children they shall be slain), or from nflVi'D (Schleusn.) assailing, or (Lag.) maoD injustice. — |^ m'^r; (g i^eraa-ixos = r^'-'HZ' or nVtt' (so S^') SST ''>7it3 error, free rendering of J^. — |^ npi nnsD; (5 ^3, d4>6^ujs dirb Travrbs KaKov, where w. is insertion for sake of definiteness. Cf. Clem. Alex., 162, 181. — In 1^ niSu' and pxr there seems to be a verbal play.- — n^2 is adverbial. — n>'-i nno may mean disaster of harm, but '3, = disaster, is not elsewhere defined by a noun of source. II. A discourse setting forth the blessings conferred by Wis- dom, the sage (and not Wisdom herself) being the speaker. It consists of one well-sustained sentence (Ew.), each paragraph being linked to the preceding by a connective word ; the rhyth- mical arrangement appears to be in quatrains. After the protasis, stating, as the necessary condition, earnest application to the teaching of wisdom (v.^"^), comes the long apodosis (v.^"), giving a double result : first, the knowledge of God and its attendant blessing (v.^^, apparently an insertion or a parenthesis) ; second 32 PROVERBS (v.^"-^), the comprehension of probity (v.^-^), and the possession of wisdom as guide (v.^""), which will deliver from evil men (v.^-~^^) and evil women (v.^^'^^), and so lead to the reward of the upright (v.-^), in contrast with the fate of the wicked (v."). 1-4. The condition of enjoying the protection of Wisdom. 1. My son, if thou receive my words And lay up my commandments with thee, 2. So that thou incline thine ear to wisdom, Apply thy mind to discernment, 3. If thou cry to understanding. And invoke discernment, 4. If thou seek her as silver. Search for her as for hid treasures — 1-4. Mind, lit. heart, is (as always in OT.) the whole inward nature, here particularly intellectual capacity, attention (so that thy heart substantially = thyself) . Discernment and understanding are synonyms, equivalent to intellectual perception and wisdom, here with ethical-religious coloring. It is unto (not fo7-) discern- ment and understanding that the pupil is to cry — he calls to her to come to him and instruct and help him. — The Grk. and Lat. Vrss. divide the sentence differently from the Hebrew. Grk. : If thou receive the utterance of my commandment and hide it with thee, thine ear shall heai-ken to ivisdom, and thou shall apply, etc. ; Lat. : If thou receive . . . and hide . . . , that thine ear may hearken, etc. {then) incline thy heart, etc. But it seems clear that the con- dition includes the whole paragraph, v.^~*. — The sage emphasizes the necessity of earnestness in the pursuit of wisdom — the expres- sions increase in intensity from receive, lay up {hide), incline, apply, to cry, lift up the voice, and then seek, search. Study of wisdom is represented as an organized discipline requiring defi- niteness of purpose and concentration of powers. The prophets demand conformity to the law of Yahweh, and exhort that he himself be sought ; here attention is directed to a principle and body of moral and religious knowledge. 1. Synonymous, ternary. The sage speaks on his own authority {my words), appealing neither to a divine revelation to himself, n. 1-4 33 nor to the teaching of a human master (a trait characteristic of the Wisdom literature). He is conscious of having words to utter which it behooves all men to hear. He does not stand apart from the law of God, but he is an independent expounder of the divine moral law, having received it into his mind, and comprehending its nature and effects intellectually and morally. The prophet speaks in the name of Yahweh, and gives a specific divine message ; the sage speaks in his own name, representing philo- sophical reflection, the authority in which is the divinely given human reason and conscience. The term commandments, the same that is used in the prophetical and legal books for the moral and ritual ordinances of Yahweh, here denotes the sage's own in- structions, which in v." are identified with wisdom. — 2. Synony- mous, ternary. Epexegetical equivalent of v}, put in Heb. as purpose {in order that thou mayst incline'), or, as we more nat- urally conceive it, as result i^so that). — Mirid (lit. //iv?r/) is the whole inward perceptive nature. The Heb. word is not properly represented by Eng. heart, which conveys to the modern reader the impression of a particularly emotional element. Physiologi- cally, the OT. locates emotion in the bowels, and intellect in the heart ; the brain (not mentioned in OT.) was not regarded by the ancients as having intellectual significance.* — 3. Synonymous, ternary. The Heb. begins with a particle (usually =for) which may probably be rendered v^a (so RV.) ; it is merely resumptive, and may be omitted in an Eng. translation. The Syr. reads and if; the Targ., by the change of a vowel, has and call understand- ing mother. Invoke, lit. lift up the voice to = call to, synonym of cry to. — 4. Synonymous, ternary-binary. Hid treasures, etymo- logically something hidden, then treasure, from the custom, in the absence of secure places in houses, of hiding valuables in the earth or in holes in rocks : see Jer. 41* Job 3"' Gen. 43-" (some- thing concealed and unknown), Isa. 45'' (where the word = simply treasure, the adj. hidden being added) ; cf Mt. 13''^; the notion of something hidden away for safety seems generally to inhere in the expression ; here there is also the suggestion that efibrt is necessary to find and secure it. * Of the Semitic languages it is only Arabic that has a word (dimdg) for brain ; the origin of this word is uncertain ; ttie adj. daml^- means stupid. D 34 PROVERBS II. 1. IDN (poetic word) always in plu. in Pr., nai being used for sing., 11^3 (ii_ — 2. As to the force of '^ and Inf. here cf. Ew., § 2?>od ; (instead of (ppdv-rjaLs), which Heid. takes to be Alexandrian Jewish, and Lag. Christian. — Some MSS. of (g (B^b '"g- '"f- A sup ras C) and edd. (Comp. Aid. and S6^ obel.) add at end of v.^ ttjv 8i aicrO-rjcriv ^yjT-ficrris fieyd'Kri ry (pcovrj, which Jager considers to be the true (@ text of b, = S-\j Sp2 tt'pan njunSi; in favor of this is its divergence from |§. Against its being the true text of Pr. is perh. the parallelism and the occurrence of ^'pj in the next verse. — Gr. suggests, with little probability, that 3'' may be dittogram of 2^ 5-8. The consequence of the condition expressed in v.i-*. If wisdom be embraced, then the man will understand the fear of Yahweh (v.'), for Yahvveh is the source of wisdom (v."), and the protector of the upright (v.'' -). Apparently an editorial insertion. The proper apodosis to v.^"^ is v."^- : if thou seek wisdom, then (v.^") wisdom will come to thee. V.'^* introduce a new thought, and were probably added by an editor who thought that the central idea of these discourses, the /ear of Yahweh, ought not to be lacking here. See further in notes below. 5. Then shalt thou understand the fear of Yahweh, And find the knowledge of God; 6. For Yahweh gives wisdom. Out of his mouth come knowledge and discernment; 11. 5-6 35 7- K^ '^y^ ^P deliverance for the upright, Is a shield to those who walk in integrity; 8. He guards the paths of probity, And protects the way of the pious. 5. The fear of Yahweh. Synonymous, ternary. The divine name God {^Elohini) occurs elsewhere in Pr. four times, 2" 3'' 25^ 30' ; the expression knowledge of God in OT. only here and Hos. 4' 6'^ (Nu. 24^*^ knowledge of the Most Nigh). In the preexilian literature Elohim is used as proper name only in the Elohistic narrative (Am. 4^' Hos. 12^'^^ seem to be citations from this nar- rative), not in any prophetic writing except in the passages above mentioned (not in Hos. 4^ 6*^ Mic. 3'^). After the exile it grad- ually became a proper name (the local, national sense of Yahweh disappearing), and in Pr. = Yahweh. The change of name here is rhetorical variation. The fear of Yahtveh (the fear or rever- ence directed toward him) is equivalent to the knowledge of God (the knowledge which has to do with him). The first expression represents the God of Israel as the source of all ethical authority and law, and reverent obedience to him as the principle of life ; the second declares that true learning is concerned with the ethical character of God and the duties which he imposes ; knowledge is not only intellectual apprehension, but also communion of soul. Wisdom is thus conceived of as both an attitude of soul and a body of knowledge, all in the sphere of religion. This old- Hebrew point of view stands in the Book of Proverbs in organic union with the human ethical conception of life in this way : the moral content of life is based not on ritual and ecclesiastical law, but on reason and conscience, and these are the gift of God (see next verse) . We have here, on the one hand, the recognition of the mind of man as a source of truth, and, on the other hand, the assertion that the moral potency of the mind is the creation of God. This larger conception came to the Jews through natural growth under the stimulus of foreign (mainly Greek) thought. Instead o( shalt (which implies determination on the part of the speaker, or else is hypothetical) we may write 7ailt (which ex- presses futurity simply). Cf. note on i''. — 6. Synonymous, ter- nary. Yahweh the source of wisdom. This is stated as the ground of the affirmation of v.', and brings this paragraph into 36 PROVERBS logical relation with v.^"^. He who seeks wisdom will understand the fear or knowledge of God, because all knowledge comes from him. The reference is probably to the whole moral thought and conduct of man — human instincts, the results of experience, the common-law of morality, as well as the ethical prescriptions con- tained in the Israelitish canonical and oral codes. The stress, however, is laid on man's moral nature, which is represented as a divine gift. — The expression out of his mouth (Grk. fro?n his presence) means from him ; he utters his command and man receives wisdom ; the reference seems not to be to his giving a law (the Tora), which would not agree with the general connec- tion. The mouth of Yahweh, a frequent expression in the proph- ets, is found only here in Pr. (Str.) ; here alone God is teacher, elsewhere Wisdom. The expression occurs in Job 22*^, and in a few late i//s, 105^ 119'-*® 138'*. — 7, 8. Synonymous, ternary. Yahweh protects the upright. The word rendered deliveratice occurs, except Isa. 28-^ and (the textually doubtful) Mic. 6^, only in Job and Pr. It appears to signify the act or power of estab- lishment or arrangement, and so fertility in expedients, wisdom, and, as result, achievement, help, deliverance. The last sense is the one here naturally suggested by the parallel shield. This latter word is to be taken (in the present Heb. text) as in apposition with the subject (Yahweh) of the preceding clause. — The syn- onymous expressions the upright and those who walk in integrity indicate right conduct in general ; the upright are those who con- form their lives to the straight line of moral and religious pro- priety ; integrity is perfectness of life. The reference is to general substantial rectitude, not to absolute freedom from sin or error, or to the inner life of the soul ; cf. Gen. 20''' i K. 9* i/^ loi^ Pr. 19^ — 8 presents the same thought in the form of purpose or result (epexegetical equivalent), so as to guard, = he guards the way, that is, the life and interests, of those who obey him. The ex- pression guard the paths of probity is pecuhar and difficult; the verb means either keep, observe, or guard, have an eye on ; in the former sense it is followed as object by the law observed, as in 3* 5- 28" Dt. 33^ \\i 119^^ al.; in the latter sense by the person or concrete thing to be defended, as in 2" 4" Isa. 26" al. (once, 22^-, by knowledge), or by the thing to be watched, as in Job 7"^ As II. 6-8 37 Yahweh is subject, it is the latter sense that appears to be intended here ; yet everywhere else the path of probity (or its equivalent) is something that is walked in, as in v.-", not guarded, though the way of a man is said to be scrutinized (Job 13^) or controlled {\\i 139'^) by God. As the text stands, paths of probity must be regarded as a poetical variation of paths of the upright (cf. v.-"), equivalent to the parallel way of the pious (Heb. his pious ones, RV. saints). On probity see note on i^. — The pious man (TDn) is he who is characterized \)\ kindness, love (ncn). The stem seems to signify any strong feeling toward a person, whether unfriendly, envy (as in Arabic), or friendly, kindness (as in Heb.), or both (.as in Aramaic, and cf. 14^ 25^" Lev. 20'^). The substantive is used of kindness shown to man by man (Gen. 24^-) or by God (Ex. 34*^, often in Pss.), whether of man's acts toward God (Hos. 6^« x\i 89-'^ 2 Chr. 32"- 35-" Neh. 13") is doubt- ful. The adj. is used twice of God (Jer. 3'^ \\i i8-^<^*" = 2 Sam. 22-"), many times of man. It may be active, —loving, or passive, = beloved. It is the former sense in which it is used of God, and this seems to be its meaning throughout OT., though the other is possible, and, in most cases, appropriate ; the deity might be thought of as the bestower and the worshipper as the recipient of favors, or the lattet might be regarded as bound to his god by a sentiment of love and devotion, which, at first physical and mer- cenary, would grow more and more ethically and spiritually pure ; the active sense is favored by the parallelism in \p i8-"'<-'", ?vith the kind (merciful, good) thou wilt show thyself kind. The adj. occurs first in the second half of the seventh century (Mic. 7^ Dt. 33* Jer. 3'^), and elsewhere only in late poetry (i Sam. 2^ 2 Chr. 6" Pr. 2^ and Pss.). When it began to be employed in the sense of devoted to God, pious (the rendering saint is inappropriate) can hardly be determined. In the second century, in the struggle between Antiochus Epiphanes and the Jews, it appears as a tech- nical term to designate those who strictly maintained the religion of Israel against the inroads of Hellenism (i Mac. 2''^ 'Ao-tSatot, Hasidean or Asidean).* In some Pss. (79- 86~ 116'^ al.) it means pious Israel in contrast with surrounding heathen oppressors or * Cf. Wellhausen, Die Pharisaer u. d. Saducder ; Schiirer, Hist, of the Jew. People, II. ii. 26. 38 PROVERBS apostate Jews. In Pr. it is found only here, in an editorial inser- tion (perhaps of the second century B.C.) ; it is here a general term for pious. 6. (gB X '^ (Tvvr)(Tei% 06/3oi', for which Clem. Al., 121, has vo-riaeis Oeoj^^eiav. In v.'^'' <§^ = 1^; CI. Alex. k. aiad-rjcriv deiav euprj(reis (and so Orig.), free ren- dering, probably original (Lag.). — 6. ||J vsc; ©^ dirb irpoaunrov avroO = rjsr, apparently scribal error. — 7. K ]Di\ Q (and some MSS.), better, joi'i (1L custodief), since the couplets appear to be independent statements; (5 K. erjcravpL^ei, = |§ Kethib (not = las), as in i^^ — pj nv^-in; (g (MSS.) ffdiT-qpiav, 1L saluteni, CI. Al. ^or)deiav, 2b in MS. (cited by Levy, Chald. IVbch.') I'-ng, in Bibl. Rab., 1568, ■'■■naD /i^/)i, m Buxt., Lag. nin^r glory. — 1^ flD, rendered by vb. or partcp. in the Vrss. : (g VTrepaffwieT, IL ei proleget, S2r pom; ^ is curt poetic construction, instead of the ordinary ni.t 'C; we expect a verb ^protect (but the stem does not occur in OT. in this sense) or a noun = protection as object of jqs'' (but no such noun suggests itself); 'd cannot be object of "i — f^ an "'pSn'^; (§ ttjv wopeiav avrwv = anD''Sn'? (Vog., Schleusn.), as in i/- 67 (68)'-^^. — 8. ||J li':'^, equivalent proposition represented as purpose or result; S has i and Perf., and we may here read Impf ; Gr. -isr, but this does not accord with ^. — |^ jou'^ is given in all the Vrss., except that (§ (except Cod. 23) has plu. — K. lOn sing.; Q and many Heb. MSS. and all Vrss. have plu., as the context requires; ST omits the suffix. — Oort, to secure perfect parallelism, reads : nna'i iiDn 71-11 and (t/iat they may') pre- serve the way of piety tozvard him (or, the way of his kindness); but this is not in keeping with the general idea in v.^~*, in which Yahiveh is subject, and iiD."! "i"n is hard; it would be easier to change 'JD.:':; to ai^" or opii' (cf. v^"). 9-22. The proper conclusion to the condition stated in v.i-* : first, the comprehension of righteousness (v.^ '"), then the guid- ance and protection of Wisdom (v.'"'"), with the reward of goodness and the punishment of wickedness (v.-' -). — V.-" should probably be transposed so as to stand next after v.^. In its present position it interrupts the connection between v.^" and v.^\ while by its thought it attaches itself naturally to vA 9, 20. Comprehension of rectitude. 9. Then shalt thou understand righteousness and probity, < Shalt keep > every path of good, 20. That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, Mayest follow the paths of the righteous. 9. The verse is not a poetical couplet in the Heb., which reads in second line : ami rectitude — every path of goof, giving the first II. 9, 2o 39 three nouns in the order in which they occur in i''. There the rhythmical form is proper ; here it is defective, and (though it is possible that the three nouns may have been originally taken from i') it seems better (by an easy emendation) to write the verb which the parallelism calls for : cf the expressions keep (=/o//c>w) the paths in v.-", and keep my ways in 8^'. On the nouns in first line see notes on i^. — Path (2'*-'* 4^'-'' ^^■'^'^ \\i 23") is lit. wagon- road, then any tvay ; the following ^ 94^1 a/.). — The Grk. reads the verse as a conditional sentence, and connects it immediately with v.^^ : /or if they had gone in good paths they would have found the paths of righteousness easy ; the Heb. is preferable. — Bickell omits the verse as marring the strophic structure of the paragraph ; but this difficulty disappears in the arrangement here adopted. 10-19. The moral protection afforded by Wisdom. — Wisdom, entering the soul (v.^-) and keeping watch over it (v."), saves the man from the influence of bad men (v.^-'^^) and bad women 10. For wisdom shall enter thy mind, And knowledge shall be pleasant to thee, 11. Discretion shall watch over thee, Discernment shall guard thee, 12. To save thee from the manner of life of bad men. From men whose speech is wicked, 13. Who leave the paths of uprightness, To walk in ways of darkness, 14. Who rejoice in doing wrong, [And] in iniquities take delight, 15. Whose paths are crooked. And iniquitous their ways — 16. To save thee from the lewd woman, From the harlot with her cajoling words, 17. Who forsakes the friend of her youth. And forgets the covenant of God. 18. For her house leads down(?) to Death, And her paths unto the Shades; 19. None that go to her return. Or attain the paths of life. 10, 11. Wisdom as guardian. — 10. Synonymous, ternary. The entrance of Wisdom into the soul ; cf. Job 14"^. Knowledge = wisdom ; see note on i". — On mind (lit. hearty see note on V." above. — Enter and be pleasant to are synonyms, = " become acceptable to thee, a part of thy intellectual and moral being." — 77/^,? is lit. thy soul ; the term soul means the principle of life, and so life or being, and my soul, thy soul, are common expres- II. lo-ii 41 sions in OT. for me (or, myself), thee (or, thyself). The Heb. word does not emphasize spirituality of thought, but, being a gen- eral term for the principle of life, it may, like its synonym mind, express any intellectual power. — 11. Synonymous, ternary-binary. On discretion (or, insight ) and discermnent (or, intelligence') see notes on i^ and 2'^. — The guardianship (the result of Wisdom's entrance into the soul) is subjective — the man's security is in his own reason and conscience, in the law of life which these give ; the whole is, however, viewed as finally the ordination of God, though not in the form of an external law. — These two verses give the ground of the preceding statement (v.^-*^) ; understand- ing will be gained by the entrance of Wisdom into the mind, not in a forced manner, but so that she shall be acceptable, pleasa7it to the soul. The man is represented as assimilating wisdom, coming into harmony with it, following it not through external pressure, but by inward impulse ; to do right becomes delightful to him. This is largely because he sees the advantages of recti- tude (v.-') ; but there is probably still to be recognized here the germ of the idea of transformation of nature (a development out of such conceptions as those of Jer. 31'^^ Ez. 36-'). — The Grk. takes v.^" as condition, and v." as its result : 10. for if wisdom enter . . . and knowledge seem beautiful ... 11. good counsel shall guard thee, etc. (the same construction may be got from the Heb. by rendering ivhen Wisdom shall enter) . This construction is not decidedly against the context, and gives a good sense ; it seems, however, to be less natural than the causal construction {for), not because the nouns in v." are identical in meaning with those in v.^" (such repetition would not be against the manner of Pr.), but because, as v."-" state the result of the condition of v.^"*, we more naturally expect in v.^" not a new condition, but a ground or reason of the preceding statement. The general sense is the same in the two constructions. There is no need to take v.^"- '^ as parentheses ; v.^" is logically connected with v." (see below) . — Bickell, in order to gain an additional couplet (an omission being indicated, as he thinks, by a discrepancy of gender in the Heb.) expands v.^" as follows : for wisdom shall enter into thy mind and knowledge unto thy soul \_shall come, instruction shall be good to thy mind, and learning to thy soul^ shall be pleasant. This inser- 42 PROVERBS tion is without support from the Anc. Vrss., and seems not to be necessary or probable ; the text, as it stands, gives a satisfactory sense and a good rhythm, and the quatrain, which is here desid- erated, is gained by the transference of v.^*^. On the grammatical point see critical note. 12-15. First, Wisdom saves from bad men. — 12. Synonymous, ternary. Instead of the Infin. to save, expressing purpose or result, we may, by a slight change, read she ivill save (Bickell) ; the change does not affect the general sense. — Manner of life is lit. way, and whose speech is wicked is lit. who speak zvickedness (or wrong or ivicked things). The Heb. has, in second clause, sing, man (appar- ently used in collective sense) ; the plu. form accords better in Eng. with the following verses. Instead of way of bad {meii) we may render way of the dad {man), and so in second clause the man who speaks ; or zvay of evil; or, possibly, evil (or, wicked) way. The concrete form {man or men) in first clause is favored by the parallelism, and the plu. is more natural here in English. The adj. bad or evil (ui) is used in OT. of any sort of badness, of body (Gen. 41'^), of appearance or deportment (Ex. 21*), of expe- rience or fortune (Jer. 4"), of moral or religious conduct {passim) ; it describes whatever does not conform to a norm — it is the oppo- site of the equally general term good (Sits) ; it is here the morally bad. Cf. note on the subst. evil, v^. — A wrong thing (ni32nn) is that which is turned aside from the path of right ; its meaning is not precisely expressed by perverse (which answers to it etymo- logically), or by RV. froward (which = refractory, perverse, ob- stinate) ; it may sometimes be properly rendered hy false, but in Pr. it is a general term, signifying that which is opposed to the right (= wicked, bad) ; it occurs in Dt. 32^ {they are a genera- tion given to falsities, persons in whom no confidence can be placed), and elsewhere only in Pr. — Bad men are here described by their conduct or manner of life {way) and their speech ; the two things are treated as equivalent each to the other, speech being regarded as the indication of thought and life. The sage lays stress on the power of evil association : to avoid bad men is to be saved from evil suggestion from without, from the reinforcement that sym- pathy gives to the evil within the heart. He warns against a II. II-I4 43 malign moral influence, which is not the only one in life, but is the most obvious, and one of the most powerful. Rashi says that the men here referred to are Epicureans (that is, heretics in gen- eral), who seduce Israel to idolatry and pervert the law to evil.* — 13. Antithetic, ternary. Description of the conduct of bad men. Uprightness is a general term for rectitude ; it appears first in the Deuteronomistic vocabulary (Dt. 9^ i K. 9^ i C. 29"), and then only in the Wisdom books; it always has a religious coloring, except in Job (r', and, perhaps, Eccl. 12^". That these men leave {or forsake) rectitude does not imply that they had once followed right paths, but only that they have chosen other paths. Their walk is the way of darkness in contrast with the light which illu- mines the way of wisdom, the darkness (as the parallelism sug- gests) here characterizing the sphere (as in Jno. 3"""^ rather than the result (as in 4^^) ; evil (in contrast with uprightness) seeks the concealment of darkness. Such, from the parallelism, seems to be the sense in this passage, though everywhere else in OT. where light and darkness are used figuratively it is the guidance and safety of the former and the danger of the latter that are indi- cated (Isa. ^' 42« .A 27I Pr. 4^« 6^^ 13" 16^^ Isa. 58'« ^ 18''''^' Eccl. 2" Pr. 20^), and so it may be here with the term darkness. The employment of the two terms to express spheres of life charac- terizes the Mazdean sacred books. — 14. Synonymous, ternary. A stronger touch. The connective and is inserted in accordance with the general norm of the couplets. Iniquities (lit. iniquities of evil) is the same word in the Heb. that is rendered wrong things in v.'- ; there the reference was to words, here it is to deeds — in both cases it is the opposite of right that is meant; it is here (if the text be correct), for the sake of emphasis and vigor, qualified by the term evil (or, ivickedness) . — The rejoice and delight are a heightening of \k\& forsake of the preceding verse ; bad men, it is said, not only deliberately choose wicked ways, but also take pleasure in them. The sage, in stating this familiar fact, is probably to be understood not as implying that men delight in evil as evil, but only as meaning that wrongdoing, interwoven into life, becomes a source of enjoyment, the enjoyment coming from * On the terms Epicureans and Minim (Talmudic designations of heretics) see Buxtorf, Lex., and Cheyne's Cyclop. Biblica, Art. "Canon." 44 PROVERBS the momentary good result, not from the consciousness of commit- ting an unlawful or unrighteous deed. Other things being equal, men, as a rule, prefer right to wrong. The murderer in i^^'^^ is represented as committing murder not for its own sake, but to get gain of goods ; his wrong is not in desiring wealth, but in using improper means to secure it. Wicked men are those whose con- sciences are not tender and strong enough to prevent their enjoy- ing good things evilly gained. There is a formal resemblance between this v. and Job 3", perh. imitation by our author.* — 15. Synonymous, ternary-binary. Variation of the preceding verses — description of bad life as departure from the right path. The Heb. reads (with insertion of a pronoun) zuhose paths are crooked and {ihey) iniquitous in their ways (so substantially AV.). Slight changes in the text give the renderings who are crooked in their paths and iniquitous in their ways (so substantially Oort, RV.), or who make crooked their paths (Dyserinck, Kamphausen) a?id in their ways turn into bypaths (Kamp.), or tvhose paths are crooked and their ways iniquitous (so substantially most of the Ancient Vrss.). Of these the last is simplest, requiring only the omission of one letter of the Heb. ; the meaning is the same in all. — Two new adjs. are here introduced, synonymous with each other and with the iniquities of v.^'* ; they occur in OT. in the ethical sense only. Crooked (Cpu) is that which departs from the right way (aUied to false) ; outside of Pr. the adj. occurs in Dt. 32^ i/^ i8-«(2') (z= 2 S. 22^) loi*, the vb. in Mic. f Isa. 59** Job <)^. Iniquitous also (r'^D, found, outside of Pr., only in Isa. 30'-) is that which turns aside into wrong ways, morally perverted, wrong, false. 16-19. The second class of evil persons from whom Wisdom delivers men : licentious women. The prominence given in Pr., especially in chs. 1-9, to the vice of licentiousness shows that it was a notorious social evil at the time when the book was written. In the preexilian and exihan books comparatively little is said of it. That there were harlots and adulteresses in Israel from an early time is shown by such passages as Judg. 11^ (Jephthah's mother) i K. 3^'' (the two women who appeared before Solomon) * Cf. Strack, Stud. u. Krit., 1896, IV. II. i4-i6 45 Hos. 3^ (Hosea's wife), by the prophetic denunciations of the crime (Hos. 4^ Jer. 7^ Mai. 3'^), by the laws against it (Ex. 20" Dt. 22 Lev. 20^^), and by the employment of the terms harlotry and adultery (in Pent. Judg. Chr. Ps. Hos. Mic. Jer. Ez.) as des- ignations of religious unfaithfulness. Prostitution was a feature of the Canaanitish religious cults, and made its way into Israel, If we exclude the references to this last usage, the mention of the vice in question in the prophetical books is not frequent ; less stress is laid on it than on the oppression of the poor by the rich. In a polygamous society and in a country without great cities it was not likely to grow to great proportions. The case was differ- ent when the Jews were dispersed through the world, and lived in cities like Jerusalem and Alexandria, centres of wealth and luxury, inhabited by mixed populations. This form of debauchery then became commoner and better organized. Hetairae flocked to the cities. Naukratis in the Egyptian Delta was famous under the Ptolemies for its brilliant venal women. The temptations of Alexandria are illustrated by the story told by Josephus {A?it 12, 4, 6) of Joseph the son of Tobias. The picture of society given in Ben-Sira (9^^ 19^ 2^^^^" 25^*^-*^ 26^^- 42^-"), based on life in Jerusalem and Alexandria in the third and second centuries B.C., agrees in substance with the descriptions of the Book of Proverbs. The tone is modern. Instead of the old clan-life of Israel, with its definite family-ties and local bounds, we have the personal free- dom of the Greek period in Syria and Egypt. This tone, most observable in chs. 1-9, is not wholly wanting in the rest of the book. The woman is represented as the temptress, the man as the silly victim. 16. Synonymous, ternary. To save may be read (as in v.^-) she will save. The terms lewd woman and harlot are both lit. strange woman (or, stranger^. With her cajoling words, lit. : who makes smooth her words (RV. flatters, etc.). The reference is to dissolute women, but the precise sense in which the term strange is here used is differently understood. The Heb. has two synonyms, both of which occur in O T. in three significations : one w-ho is outside the circle of one's family or one's clan ; an alien to one's nation, -^ " foreigner" ; one not one's self, = " another." 46 PROVERBS For the first term (it) see i K. 3^^ Dt. 25^ Nu. i^^; Ex. 30^'^ Lev. 22^^; Pr. 6' ii''^ iV 27- (this third sense is found only in Pr.). For the second term ('"133) see Gen. 31'^ Job 19^^ ij/ 69''''^^ Eccl. 6^; Dt. 15'^ I K. 11^; Pr. 27-. Women of this class were doubtless often non-Israelites, and such might be the sense here (so Siegfr., Stade, and, so far as the second term is concerned, De.) ; but the general character of the descriptions here and in chs. 5, 7, 9^^"'^, and the contrast expressed in 5^^"°, make it almost certain that the writer has in mind dissolute women without regard to nationality, and that the straiige woman is one who is not bound to the man by legal ties, who is outside the circle of his proper relations, that is, a harlot or an adulteress. Rashi : Epicureanism.* — The smooth, cajohng words are given in 7^'^-" ; 7* is identical with our verse, except in the first word — the similarity between the themes of the two discourses makes the repetition natural. — The Grk. connects v.^*^ ^^ not with v.", but with v.^^, taking them as the description of the influence of bad men, and following a Heb. text very different from ours : \(y. To remove thee far from the right way and estrange thee from lighteous opinion. My son, let not evil counsel take possession of thee, 17. which forsakes the teaching of youth and forgets the divine covejiant. This is a bit of rabbin- ical or Alexandrian allegorizing, while in 7^ the Heb. is literally translated. — 17. Synonymous, ternary. The strange woman's social and religious infidelity. The reference is to a married woman, and the fiend of her youth is not God (to which sense the parallelism is supposed by some to point), but her husband. For the use of the term friend (^I'^i?) see 16'^ 17^ Mic. 7^ Jer. 3'* 1^2^13(14). ^Y\Q sense guide, instructor, is not found in OT. The expression of our verse is perhaps taken from Jer. 3^"^, where the adulterous spouse Israel, charged with her infidelities by Yahweh, is exhorted to cry to him : 7ny father, thou art the friend of my youth, that is, "the husband of my youth (cf. Hos. 2''-^^'^ ^'^ Ez. 1 6'*^) whom I have forsaken for others" ; but while the infidelity * Cf. Buxtorf, Lex., s. v. >nTN, for the use of Aratnaean woman as = foreign woman and harlot. On the OT. sense of strange woma?i see Kuenen, Einl., iii. f 97; Wildeboer, Litt. des AT., J 23, Anm. 7; Bertholet, Die Stellung der Isr, und Jiiden zit den Fremden, p. 195. — Cf. the Maxims of the Egyptian Any, of the New Kingdom (Eng. transl. in art. Egypt. Literature in Library of the World's Best Literature) . II. i6-i9 47 in Jer. is national and ritual, in Pr. it is individual and physical. At the same time, the marriage-obligation is here regarded as a divine law (Ex. 20"), and so as an agreement with God to obey him and thus obtain his blessing. The Heb. has of her God ; the more general form of God (as, apparently, in the Grk.) is better. — The conception of the marriage-relation involved in the verse (and throughout the Book) is a high one. The old polygamy or bigamy (the rule up to the exile) is ignored ; monogamy is assumed as the established custom. The husband is the trusted friend ; the marriage-tie has a divine sanction (cf. Mai. 2") . The expression covenant of God may refer simply to the general idea of sacredness involved, or it may possibly allude to a religious marriage-ceremony. Of the Israelitish marriage-ceremonies of the pre-Christian time we know little. The old custom was that the woman was brought into the man's dwelhng, by that act be- coming his wife (Gen. 24"' 2')) ; in WS 7^ yqyevovs wpuTOTrXdaTov is Adam. Can yqivuiv earthy be the true reading here and 9!^? cf. y-q'Cvo'i, S Job 4^^ = 13^2. (!| has the doublet Trapa ry ^Stj = Sixa* Sn (cf. 9^^). The meaning of the stem in 'i is not certain, possibly = weak, powerless (cf. Isa. 14^°) ; but this can hardly be the signification of the gentilic 'n. — 19. On the ending in jma*^ see critical note on 1^8. — For v.^^* (§ has two readings: one, which appears to be the earlier (so Lag.) takes MZ'^ as pass., KaraXa/jL^dvovrai, and for Pims* has virb eviavrQv = Pur, or •'HT' (cf. I K. 8^^ where ev. = nr), scribal errors, the latter, perh., from 32 ; the other is identical with ||J except that for a^n it puts eiideias ((@^ d7a^ds), which maybe a moralizing interpretation after the manner of v.^^- ^S or perh. (Lag.) a marginal note, or (Baumg.) a familiar term, which has ejected the original word. Neither of these readings offers any advantages over that of 1^. — For 1^ vn'^ S has jnsiPC, r^wf/z/j^^r, which in the connection yields no sense, and is emended by Lag. to poiia attain. ^ omits suff. in n\s3, and, by way of interpretation, adds aVw'3 after jiaii'\ 52 PROVERBS 21, 22. Conclusion, stating the consequences of good and bad doing. 21. For the upright shall dwell in the land, And the perfect shall remain therein; 22. But the wicked shall be cut off froin the land, And the transgressors shall be rooted out of it. 21. Synonymous, ternary. The reward of the good stated as motive for right conduct. On upright see note on v.', on perfect, note on i^'. The reward of good men is permanent abode in the land ; the retnain = survive (or ^>e /e/t), imphes that certain per- sons are ejected or destroyed from the land (see next verse), in which in all catastrophes the righteous are maintained. The expression dwell in the land (not earth) refers to the land of Israel. The ancient Israelitish conception (found also in other peoples) was that gods and men were attached to the soil. The god protected his own land and no other, and the citizen as such enjoyed the benefits of this protection. To leave the land was to lose one's connection with its deity (i S. 26^^ 2 K. 5"') and to give up the rewards which his favor promised. Hence in part the anxiety of the Israelitish law to secure to each tribe family and individual man a possession in the land (Ju. 2^ Ez. 47""^- Nu. 36^ Ru. 4" and the genealogies in Chron. and Neh.), infringement on which was regarded as a great crime (Mic. 2- Dt. 19" 27^^ Pr. 22^^ 23^"). Israel, and not any other nation, was Yahweh's own pos- session and property (Ex. 19^ Dt. 14'-^ 26^^ \\i 135^ cf Tit. 2^* I Pet. 2^). Thus the expression dwell in the land (i/'37^"'^^ cf. Mt. 5^^) came to be equivalent to enjoy the divine favor atid all the blessings of life, and such is its sense here. Though in later times a large part of the Jews dwelt out of Palestine, the old expression held its own as the symbol of happiness, and with it the hope remained of living and dying in the land with which the divine promises were believed to be connected.* — 22. Synonymous, ter- nary. The contrasted fate of evildoers. Wicked is employed in Pr. as a general term (along with foolish) for those who discard and disobey the divine law of wisdom. The primitive sense is * Much of this feeling still remains in countries in which the Jews are excluded from the rights of citizenship; it has almost completely disappeared in countries in which they have full civil recognition. II. 21-22 53 doubtful, but in OT. it commonly means morally bad. It is also a forensic term (the opposite o{ just), signifying ^«^ whose case in law is bad, rvrong, or adjudged to be bad (cf. Ex. 2'^) ; the Causative of the verb = adjudge one wrong or guilty in court (17'^ Ex. 22^^^' Isa. 50^ Job 15®). In the prophetical and historical books the noun generally means those who violate the moral law ; in the Pss. it is often used, by a natural transition, as a name for the persecutors of Israel {xpif 58^''("' 75^*^' 119"^ al). In Pr. there is no national limitation ; the wicked are they of all nations who disobey the law of right. — The term tra?isg7-essors ox faithless is here employed as equivalent to wicked. The original sense of the word seems to involve the idea of underhand dealing, faith- lessness to an agreement, treachery (Ju. cr' Jer. 3"'"), but it is extended to include faithlessness to duty and right in general = transgressors. In the Pss. it sometimes means Jewish apos- tates (i// 25^). — The verbs in the verse express violent extirpation by any means, by the hand of man or God. The first (ma) is the term used in the legal books to express the execution of intol- erable offenders {that person shall be cut off from his people. Lev. 7^" al.) ; the second (nD3) is once used (Dt. 28^) for the expulsion of the nation from its land. The writer of the verse probably has these half-technical uses in mind, but employs the terms in the broadest sense ; unrighteous persons, he says, shall have no place in the land of promise, no claim, that is, to happi- ness in this life. Here, as elsewhere, the mode of execution of the punishment is not stated, but the divine judgment is to be understood as coming in the way of natural law (courts of law, failure of plans, sickness, natural death), or through special divine interposition (violent death). 20. 1^ aoiQ ^^^; (@ rpL^ovs dyaOds, according to Lag. false reading of the abbrev. '^a. — 21. The Grk. MSS. exhibit two renderings, with a number of verbal variations. The one which appears to be nearer to |i^, writing XP'riffTol and SiKaKoi, is found (as doublet) in Compl. Aid. and (with obel.) S", in (@A(gv*(gs c. a^ H-P 23, 103, 109, 147, 248, 252, 253, 254, al., a group which suggests a combination of the recension of Lucian and some other recension; the other, writing evdeh and 6cnoi, is the text of (5^, and appears to show the hand of an Alexandrian revisor (see note on v.^^). — 22. For ^ a''>'cm (5 has 65ol dae^Civ ((@'^ 65ot 5^ ao-.), as in 1/' i^* (Jag-)> f"^^^ "^"^ careless transcription of a Grk. scribe, perh. corruption of otl (Heid.). — |^ inD% Qal 54 PROVERBS Impf., must be taken as indef., but the parallelism suggests a Pass., as all Vrss. have it (though this may be free rendering) ; we may point as Hof. (so Bi.), a form which, however, is not found elsewhere; Gr. in-i% Hof. of mj; Oort, Frank., Nif. of nDj. — Bi. omits T"ind (as perh. gloss to njsa), which in fact does not appear in the similar passages ^p oy9. 22. 28. 38. ygj- such determi- nations of niD by nouns of place occur elsewhere (Jer. 35!^ Ez. 25" Lev. 17^")) and both rhythm and syntax appear to demand a word here, njDD being otherwise left without antecedent. This chapter states the economical or prudential conception of the good life which is the prevailing view of the book of Proverbs (see note on i'*^) ; the motive urged for good living is the earthly well-being which attends it. This sort of eudaemonism, in which the individual actor alone is considered, and the reward of virtue is represented not as inward but as outward (long life, peace, honor, riches, see ch. 3), may seem to us ethically defective in several points. It does not present the good as an independent ideal, to be pursued solely for its own sake ; it does not hold up the highest well-being of the world as the goal and standard of moral conduct ; it says nothing of a sympathetic community and cooperation of men as the instrument for the development of the moral life ; it makes no direct mention of the function of con- science as moral guide ; and it makes the unmodified declaration that virtue is always attended by outward prosperity. In this last point Pr. represents the old-Hebrew view, which made no analysis of the inner Hfe, conceived of goodness as obedience to outward law, held that the deity controlled every man's life by occasional and immediate intervention, and so necessarily regarded pros- perity as the accompaniment of obedience to divine law. This view is combated in the book of Job ; but it appears that Job's argument made little impression (perhaps by reason of the absence of an ethical conception of the future life), and that many or most of the sages saw nothing more practically helpful than the old position. As soon as the idea of future compensation was established (WS. 3), the doctrine of present reward was modified ; in Pr. this idea is not accepted. See the Introduction, § 5, A, and § 6, 4. — The defects of ethical theory mentioned above are in part explained by the aim of the book. The sages no doubt recognized the function of conscience, and believed in the value III. 55 of right in itself. But they probably held that what men need is not ethical theory, but practical considerations which shall help them to live virtuously. In this they were right — the mass of men are controlled by their relations to one another in society, and by the hope of reward and the fear of punishment. It is true also that men's experience has led them to believe that goodness is profitable for this life as well as for the life to come. Further, an ideal element is introduced by the identification of wisdom with the will of God, which is held to be the absolute right, and by the personification of wisdom (ch. 8) as God's first creation and intimate friend. The sages, it may be inferred, mean to say that he who connects his ethical law with God is provided with a restraining influence so far as he fears God, and with an elevating influence so far as he loves him. In certain passages (as, for example, 2"') they appear to reach the ultimate moral conception, namely, the ethical union of man with God conceived of as the moral ideal. These considerations must modify our judgment of what seems to be a baldly prudential scheme of ethical life. III. Three independent discourses or paragraphs, introduced each by the address repute » With God and man. 5. Trust to Yahweh with all thy heart, And lean not on thine own understanding; 6. In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he will smooth thy paths. 7. Be not wise in thine own eyes — Fear Yahweh, and turn away from sin — 8. Then will there be health to thy < body > And refreshment to thy bones. 9. Honor Yahweh with thy wealth, With the best of all thy revenue — 10. Then will thy barns be filled with < corn > And thy vats will overflow with must. The teacher exhorts the pupil to remember his instruction, urging the advantage it will bring him. — 1. Synonymous, ternary. Exhortation. Lit.: let thy heart (= mind) keep (= guard, pre- serve) my commandments. 6'^/2 = " pupil," as in i^ The con- tent of the instruction (law, tora) is to be inferred from the precepts of the Book of Pr. ; it is almost exclusively moral and religious, never national, but always individual, very rarely cere- monial, never dogmatic. It thus stands in contrast with the tora of the prophet, which is national-religious (sole worship of Yahweh and obedience to his will), and with that of the priest (Penta- teuch), which is ritual. The sage presents himself as authority and source of moral wisdom ; priest and prophet speak only in the name of Yahweh, declaring his word. The prophet, it is said, who shall speak a word not given him by God shall die (Dt. i8^°), even though he has been deceived by Yahweh (Ez. 14^) ; the sage finds his word in his own mind — in the prophet this is a crime (Ez. 13^' ^). This diversity is the result of the difference of the points of view of different periods of Israelitish history. The sages represent a period of reflection, in which human life is studied for its own sake, and its natural laws investigated. — * The Received Text adds : Write them on the tablet of thy mind (lit. heart). in. 1-3 S7 2. Single sentence, which may be taken as binary, or as quaternary- ternary. The reward. Long Ufe is considered in OT. to be one of the chief blessings of man's lot (Ex. 20'-), including, as it does, the idea of happiness (so that the first line might be rendered : a long and happy life). Sheol offered nothing — the longer one lived on earth the greater one's opportunities for work and enjoy- ment (Isa. 38''' 65*).* Peace is originally wholeness, completeness of condition. It is used of bodily health (Gen. 29^), of political concord (Jud. 4'^), of friendly relation between men {\\i 41^*^"'), of national tranquilHty and safety (Jer. 6'^ 33"), and, as here, of a general condition of freedom from danger and disturbance.! The reference is primarily to outward quiet, though inward serenity is of course involved. This delightful ideal, a long and peaceful life, is the favorite one in Proverbs. It is represented both as the nat- ural product of devotion to wisdom (intelligent uprightness of life), and as the gift of God — two ideas easily harmonized by the con- ception of wisdom as having its root in reverence for God. — Bestow on thee, lit. add to thee. 3, 4. An injunction parallel to that of v.^ -, and apparently intended as explanation or definition of it. — 3. Synonymous, ter- nary (or, ternary-binary). The verse is perhaps epexegetical of v.\ a description of the law of wisdom as the maintenance of kind- ness and faithfulness. This combination of qualities (or its equiv- alent) occurs often in OT. (Gen. 24^^ Ex. 34^ Dt. 7^ xp 25^" Ss'"'"^ Pr. 14^^ 1 6*' 20-** al.) as the expression of perfectly good relations between man and man, or between man and God. Kindness is friendly good feeling and the conduct appropriate thereto (see note on 2**), love of man for man (Esth. 2^') or of man for God (Hos. 6^). It is not properly mercy, compassion, clemency, for- giveness (for which ideas Heb. has other expressions, Dt. 13^'*'**) Ex. 34^ Dan. 9^'*^'). Yahweh is good and kind to Israel because he loves the nation — that is the normal condition of things ; and * Cf. Cic. De Senectute. t The OT. shclem (RV. peace-offering) is an offering which completes one's duty to God or makes one whole with him by the fulfilment of a vow or by a free gift of gratitude for favors received. Arabic Islam (" submission, resignation ") is the putting one's self in a position of soundness with God by faith, obedience, and submission. 58 PROVERBS even when his kindness is brought into connection with the re- moval of transgression, as in i// 103, it still remains simple kindness. — Faithfulness {firmness') is steadfastness, fidelity to one's word and to the obligations which spring from one's relations with men. It is thus sometimes equivalent to truthfulness (ijy 15^) or to truth (i K. 10'' Dt. i3"*'^0j ^^^ has usually, as here, a wider signification. — The two qualities together, complementing each other (love being thus saved from feebleness, and fidelity from harshness), may be said to form a perfect moral character. They are to be attached to the neck not as an amulet to ward off evil (though such ornaments may originally have been amulets),* but, as the general connection indicates, as a necklace (i'') or a seal- chain (Gen. 38'^, possibly as bearing a seal-ring), that one may carry them with him always, and have them in remembrance. — The Heb. adds the parallel line : write them on the tablet of thy fnind, a form of expression which occurs only here and in 7^ Jer. 17^ but the same idea is found in Dt. 30^^ Jer. 31^^ The allusion is to the tablets of the decalogue, and to the command (Dt. 6'*-'') to write the divine precepts on hands and forehead, doorposts and gates (the later phylacteries, etc.)t ; cf the Arab, expression to write a thing ivith a needle on the inner corner of the eye. The moral law is not only to be accepted as an external code, but also to be received into the mind and form part of the man's nature (cf. Jer. 31''^). — This third clause is lacking in some Gk. Mss., and is probably not original — the verse is complete without it, and it mars the symmetrical distichal form of the paragraph ; it may have been inserted by a Heb. scribe from 7', where it is in place. — The general idea oi kindness tended to pass into that of pity for the poor and almsgiving ; so the Lat. Vulg. here has mise- ricordia, and the Grk. a word (eAeij/xoo-wat) which was later em- ployed for alms (BS. 3" Mt. 6^ Lu. ii"*^ Diog. Laert. 5, 17), and has given us our word eleemosynary, though here it seems to mean pity, mercy. — 4. Single sentence, ternary. The recompense. * The preexilian Israelites wore amulets called saharon (Isa. 3I8, cf. Jud. S^i- 2G) and lahash (Isa. 32") ; apparently also earrings served as amulets (Gen. 35'', cf. Hos. 213(15)). How long this practice continued is uncertain. The thufnmiin (tumtnim, sometimes improperly identified with Arab, tamima) was not an amulet. t Such legends also appear to have been originally of the nature of amulets. I"- 3-5 59 The Heb. reads: And thou ivilt find [lit. and find~\ favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man, in which the term understanding is unsatisfactory, since good understatiding (or, intelligejice) is not of the nature of recompense, parallel to favor, but is rather the cause of the latter (so i'^^ good understanding gives favor) . Most of the Vrss. have found difficulty with the expres- sion. The Grk. attaches the first part (through the word favor) to v.^, and then renders : and devise excellent things in the sight of the Lord and of men (so quoted freely in Rom. 12^'' 2 Cor. 8-^) ; but this does not agree with the connection, from which we expect the statement of the result of acting as v.'' enjoins. The Peshitta Syriac has . . . favor and good and understanding, and the Tar- gum . . . favor and understanding and good. A slight change in the Heb. gives name instead of understanding ; the expression favor and good name (cf. 22^) expresses the recompense required by the connection. — On favor see note on i^. To find favor \?, to be acceptable, approved, well thought of (Gen. 6** Ru. 2"^') ; a kind and faithful character, says the sage, will be acceptable both to God and to men (so Lu. 2'-) ; in the sight of =^ "on the part of," " with " ; the same isolation of moral qualities as the condi- tion of the divine favor is found in Isa. i^*-^^ 66- ip 24 al, but is more complete and persistent in Pr. than in any other Biblical book. The good reward of right doing (if we accept this reading) is this favor and the benefits (friendship, protection, aid) which naturally flow from it. 5-10. The blessing attendant on trusting and honoring God. Exhortation to trust (v.'), acknowledge (v.''), and fear him (v.'), the result of which will be health (v.**). Exhortation to honor him in the use of wealth (v."), the result of which will be abundance of wealth (v.'"). — The preceding paragraph (v.^"*) deals with the ethical side of life, this with the religious side. 5-8. Benefit of dependence on God. — 5. Synonymous, ternary, or ternary-binary. The Grk. has God instead of Yahiveh ; the in- terchange of divine names seems not to be significant in Proverbs, but the Grk. preference for God may indicate the later Jewish feeling. To trust to God is, from the connection, to regard him as the source of wisdom and power, the guide in the moral life 6o PROVERBS and in all other things, to obey his law, and have confidence in him ; see note on i''. We may render trust in, understanding this expression in the sense indicated. With all the heart = with the whole conviction and force of the mind, absolutely. — Opposed to this posture of mind is the leaning on one's own understanding (insight, wisdom) as on a prop or staff (2 S. i" Mic. 3'^ Job 24-^). The assumption is that man's intellect, apart from God, will not guide him aright. This assumption is founded not on any theory of man's native depravity (such a theory does not exist in OT.), but on observation of Hfe. Man is often blinded by passion and at the mercy of temptation (i^""'*), but he may avoid sin by his own will (i'") if he will give heed to God's law, which is a fixed rule of conduct unaffected by the mutations and perversions of human passion. Man, further, is fallible, and does not always know what is best to do — he must have confidence in a higher wisdom if he wishes to feel secure and be free from anxiety. This sense of security and peace is involved in the term trust (cf. Ju. 8^^). The sage probably does not mean to exclude human thought and effort. In times of great national distress prophets and psalmists sometimes represent the military strength of nations as nothing when compared with the absolute power of the God of Israel (Hos. i" Isa. 2'" 10. 31 i// 20'''^' iiS^") ; but here, as gener- ally in OT., the idea seems to be that human wisdom and strength must be guided and sustained by God. — 6. Single sentence, ter- nary. Repetition of the injunction, with statement of the result of obedience. Acknowledge — know, have intimate acquaintance with, that is, know and obey the divine law, recognize its suprem- acy and take it as guide. To smooth is to make level ; the meta- phor is derived from the preparation of a highway, as in Isa. 40''. The usual way of human life, the sage intimates, is full of inequali- ties and difficulties, but he who has in mind the law of God will find these hindrances removed and his path made easy. The reference is not to nice moral problems which shall be solved by the divine law, but, as the context indicates, to external difficulties and dangers, such as poverty, sickness, enmities, evil allurements. The paths are all a man's ways, social, commercial, political, religious ; he has only to do right and trust in God, and affairs will be made easy for him — he will enjoy prosperity in the sense III. 5-8 6l Qf ^.10. 16. 24. 25 . j|. jg ^Yie old doctrine of the prosperity of the right- eous.— At the end of the verse some Grk. MSS. add an^^ thy foot shall not stumble, a scribal insertion from v.-^. — 7. Synonymous, ternary, or, ternary-quaternary. Repetition of the warning against self-confidence. Progressive parallelism. The holding one's self wise is represented as the contrast to or negation of fearing God, an antithesis similar to that of v.^ — it is assumed that to trust to one's own wisdom is to follow another law than that of God, ordinary human standards of judgment being different from the divine standard ; a somewhat different view of conceit of wisdom is given in Eccl. 7^". The fear of Yahweh, which is assumed to be the true wisdom (as in i'^), is defined as turning away from sin (lit. evil). The evil in this case cannot = ?nisforttme, escape from which would then be the result of fearing God (as in v.^''), for the verb means a voluntary avoidance, and expresses moral character (as in Job i^ Pr. 16"). The fear of Yahweh, it is implied, gives the proper ethical norm of life, and wisdom, as generally in chs. 1-9, is understood to involve a religious element. Clem, of Alex. (Strom., 155) has fear God who alone is mighty, a free expansion, perhaps suggested by Mt. 10-* (Lag.) . — 8. Synony- mous, ternary-binary. The reward. The first line may be read : // (the fearing Yahweh and departing from sin) will be, etc., but it is better to take health as subject of the verb ; and then may be inserted (after the Grk.) as giving a better syntactical connection with the preceding verses. Instead of body the Heb. has navel, an improbable reading, since elsewhere (Ez. i6^ and a similar term Cant. 7^) the term is not used for the whole body and being. A slight change in the Heb. gives the word for body (so the Grk. reads) or the word iox flesh. The latter term occurs in 11^' for the whole man; the combination body and bone i^^ flesh and bone) is found, in this sense, in Gen. 29^* 2 Sam. 5^ Job 2^ (and cf. Job 21^'* 30™). Each of these terms is used as = self (designation of the spiritual from the physical), as in Neh. 9^^ \^ 16^ 35^" d-^^-^, and we may here render : thou wilt have health and refreshment. Of these two words the first is properly an abstract noun of action, healing (deliverance from disease), and the second, refreshment, is that which refreshes (lit. drink, as in Hos. 2" \\i 102'"). The sense of the verse is that obedience to the law of God secures for a man 62 PROVERBS a thoroughly healthy and happy condition of being. The happi- ness is primarily freedom from bodily and other outward ills, but necessarily involves inward peace. 9, 10. Religious use of wealth. — 9. Synonymous, ternary- binary (or, ternary). The word here rendered revenue (RV. increase) commonly refers to agricultural produce, and this sense is indicated by v.^"; elsewhere in Pr. (as, for example, in i6*) the word appears to have a wider meaning. The reference in the injunction seems to be rather to a general righteous employment of riches than to the payment of the legal tithes. There is else- where in this part of the book (chs. 1-9) no reference to the ceremonial law as obligatory (in 7" sacrifice is mentioned as a popular observance), and the immediate context favors the more general interpretation. The term here rendered the best (n'li'Ki) is so used in Am. 6^ \p yS'^^ 105'* (of persons) i Sam. 2-^ Am. 6" (of things). See the injunction to give freely in v."'', and compare the similar injunction in Ben-Sira 29^ '\ God would thus be honored by obedience to the commands respecting the care of the poor and other general moral precepts, r— The sense will, however, be substantially the same if we translate 7vith (or, out of) the first- fruits of all thy revenue, the reference then being to the triennial tithe for the poor (Dt. 14-^-") and the annual tithe for the temple- ministers (Dt. i8^--^^Nu. 18^"'^). These were doubtless regarded as obligatory by all pious Israehtes, though in Prov. they are else- where silently passed over as part of the acknowledged routine of religious life, observance of which did not necessarily argue a gen- uine spirit of obedience to the moral law. — With is ht. out of, a form of expression which is meant to indicate that it is a portion of one's wealth that is to be thus used. The verse reads in the Grk. : Honor the Lord out of thy righteous labors, and give him the first of thy fruits of 7'ighteousness, which appears to be a scholastic para- phrase or interpretation of the Hebrew. — 10. Synonymous-ter- nary. Statement of the reward of such use of wealth. Our Heb. text reads : thy barns will be filled ivith plenty ; but this last term is elsewhere always adverbial (Gen. 41-" Eccl. 5^^'"'), and never a thing with which something may be filled ; an easy emendation (suggested by the Grk.) gives corn, parallel to must. Corn is III. 8-IO 63 a general term for cereals. Must (ni'n, which the Vrss. here all render by itnne) is the wine-crop, the grape-juice expressed and gathered into vats ; it is frequently mentioned, along with corn and oil, as one of the main crops of the land of Canaan (Dt. 7^^ Neh. 5^^). Apparendy it was not commonly drunk till it was fer- mented ; it is spoken of as exhilarating (Ju. 9^-^) and intoxicat- ing (Hos. 4'^). The reward of honoring Yahweh is here physical, in keeping with the old-Hebrew idea. The agricultural life con- templated suits the Palestinian Jews throughout the whole of the OT. period ; abundance of the standard crops, corn and wine, was a synonym of prosperity down to the final dispersion of the people (a.c. 70). So wealth, in v.^, — "agricultural revenue." III. 1. (5 fo/ii/xwf (H-P, 68 al. v6fjLij}v^ takes mm as plu., possibly (Heid.) a Pharisaic reading to include the oral tradition, more probably induced by the plu. in ''; CI. Alex. Oefffiuiv, perh. from memory (so the Draconian laws were called). — <3 p-qixard for |^ nisa is rhetorical, untechnical rendering, not reference to the decalogue. — "isj is properly preserve, keep safe (and so sub- stantially = remember^, though " keeping in mind " may be practically equiva- lent to "observing, obeying" {\p 2510 78''). — 3. Jager gets rid of the triplet form by attaching "^ to v.- (changing '^n to nS), but this clause belongs by its content to v.^. It is better to omit '^, which is lacking in (5^ "'■ (found in (@A al. 02 Compl., Aid., CI. Al., Proc, Si^ sub ast. !L,S2r) ; see note on f. The different positions given the clause in Grk. MSS. suggest that it is a gloss (Lag.). — (@ iXeyjiJLocrivai (for iDn) here = kindness, mercy, as in Gen. 47^^, not alms. — 4. For |^ Impv. sxa Bi. writes nsdp, which, however, is unneces- sary, the Impv. being not uncommon in prot. and apod, of a conditional sentence (6'' 8^^ 9^ al.'). — |^ Sot:' is taken by (§ as Impv., irpovov, against the connection; IL (lisciplinam, a meaning which the word will hardly bear; as hyy (perhaps occasioned by 13^^ \f/ iii^") here affords no satisfactory sense, we may emend to DU', which suits the connection, though it is without support from MSS. or Vrss. — S3C take 3it3 as subst., inserting 1 before it, 1!L following the order of |^, & transposing 'r and 'a. This latter fact may seem (Baumg.) to indicate that B here follows W, only introducing an error; but elsewhere ST seems to be dependent on &, though it sometimes shows a correction after |^. — 5. |§ ^s (twice); read h-; (so (§ in second occurrence); throughout OT. we should probably emend Sn after nD3 to '^y. — 1§ nirr'; (g de^. — 6. |^ '^^'p; (S aCiTT^v, scil. (Tocpiav, against the connection; (§ takes '' as telle. — 7. f^ ■"'i'^^ @ rbv debv. — 8. In \nn niNsn it is doubtful whether the subject of >nn is 'i or the statement in v.^*"; in the latter case we should expect nvt after 'i, in the former case a connecting particle, as in fact (5 introduces the verse with rdre, and S with telic -i; a connective seems preferable: so will there be or that there may be. mxon is an Aramaic form. — ^ nc' navel ; (5 a-wixarl, and so 64 PROVERBS 5i"; S 1D3; 3L = |t; ®; ii^^JO (Lag.) or tj-jid (Buxt.) = |§ (the word, in Syr. n'.rnji3 or irjir, seems to be a compd. of i"', but the force of the first element is doubtful). Read irj, with (5, Cler., Bi. ; or, with Vog., Schl., Ew., Hi., Oort, Kamp., "^Nti*. — On (5 iirifi^XeLa as rendering of ^^p•i' see Schleusner's note; Procop. eTrifxevaa stability ; 'A ■KOTLfffibs, of which Deissmann {^Bibel- studien, p. 152) finds an example as early as B.C. 240. — 9. (§ renders I'm by diKaioiiv w6vu)v, a homiletical expression intended to warn against the unjust acquisition of wealth; for a similar use of tt. see BS. 14^^ 28^^, and for the idea Pr. 10^''; labor = wea/t/i Eccl. 2^^ loves he reproves. And he afflicts < him > in whom he delights. 11. Synonymous, ternary- (or, quaternary-) binary. Instead of refect we may render despise (the general sense is the same in the two renderings), and instead of spu7-n (lit. loathe^ the nearly equivalent be wearied out with, weary of (so RV.), as in Gen. i'f' ; The Grk. \vds faint not (so quoted in Heb. 12^), = " give not up thy self-command and endurance," which may be an interpretation of our text, or may represent another Heb. term. — 12. Synonymous, ternary (in the emended text). In the first Hne the Heb. has Yahweh ^Yahweh loves instead of he loves), which is a scribal III. II-I2 65 insertion (explicitiim) for clearness. — The second line reads, according to the Masoretic pointing, and \_= yea, reproves /u'm] as a father \_reproves'\ the son in whom he delights, or delights in him as a father in his son. These renderings, though possible, are hard, and the suggested representation of God as father would perhaps make a difficulty, since it would be unique* in Proverbs. The translation afflicts given above (which the Heb. consonants permit) is supported by the parallelism, by the Grk., and by Job 5''\ The parallelism naturally suggests (though it does not absolutely require) an explicit reference to disciplinary suffering. The Grk. has for whotn the Lord loves he repiwes, and scourges every soti whom he receives (so quoted in Heb. iz*^), in which scourges = afflicts. Job 5^''' '* reads : Happy is the man whom God reproves, Therefore despise [or, reject] not the instruction of Shaddai, For he wounds and binds up, He smites and his hand heals. The similarity between the passages in Job and Prov^ makes it probable that one is an imitation of the other, or that the expres- sions used were current in the schools.* — The word son in second line should be changed to him, so as to secure a better parallelism. — Whichever translation be adopted, the sense is the same : the suffering of a good man is to be regarded as a divine chastening dictated by love. The thought is found in Job 4. 5 (Eliphaz) and 33 (Elihu), but only here in Proverbs. The sages of Prov. else- where adopt the old view (defended by the three friends in Job) that suffering is always the punishment of sin ; the author of our passage (following the school of Eliphaz and Elihu) considers the exception to the rule, and finds the explanation of the suffering of the righteous in the disciplinary love of God, which is also the NT. view (it is suggested in OT. in such passages as Am. 4^"). Though hinted by the earliest of the Israelitish ethical writers (Amos), it appears to have made no lasting impression till after * Recent writers are divided in opinion on the question of priority between Job 5 and Pr. 1-9. As Pr. agrees, in the point of view under discussion, with Ben-Sira, it should probably be regarded as the later, unless fob be put very late (in the second or first century B.C.). In both Pr. and Job it is individual rather than national suffering that is contemplated. F ' 66 PROVERBS the acceptance (in the second or first century B.C.) of the doctrine of ethical immortahty.* 11. For various unimportant var. lect. of (5 in v."- ^ see H-P. |^ in should probably be omitted as (early) scribal insertion. — 12. pn without Makkef, as in yp 47^ 60^, probably a scribal accident, nini in v.i^ is sus- tained by all Mss. and Vrss., but may be omitted (as explicittini) with advan- tage to the rhythm. For pj 3ndi read Hif. axD^, after (5 fiacrrL-yol, and as in Job 5^^; Pi. 3ND (Dys., cf. Cappell.) is possible, but does not occur in OT. — |§ p nx; (S (exc. H-P 106) -wavra vlbv, adopted by Bi.; the tt. is natural, and may be rhetorical explanation; the universality indicated by |§ in ^ is involved in the Heb. of •'. The p, found in all texts, probably suggested the pointing ax?, and must be early; yet it is not appropriate here (it probably has no connection with the common address ij3 of v.") ; we expect irx or t:'X *?;, and this reading may be adopted as the most probable. — |^ nxi^ ; (5 vapadexeraL, free rendering of pj, as in Mai. I^^; ^ij[, m seems to be repe- tition from preceding cl., or, instead of ni-c they perh. read ns-i^ or n-n\ 13-20. Excellence of wisdom. — A group of 8 couplets, v." -" forming a separate sub-paragraph. 13. Happy the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding; 14. For the profit she brings is better than [] silver,! And the revenue she bestows than gold. 15. She is more precious than corals — No treasures [] J can compare with her. 16. Long life is in her right hand, In her left hand riches and honor. 17. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace; 18. She is a tree of life to those who grasp her — Happy are they who hold her fast. 19. Yahweh by wisdom founded the earth, By understanding established the heavens. 20. By his knowledge the waters well forth. And the clouds drop down dew. 13. Synonymous, ternary, or, quaternary-ternary. The Grk. and Syr. Vrss. have two terms for mafi {human being . . . mortal), * On the doctrine of the Talmud, see Weber, Theol. \ 69. + Heb. : better than the profit of silver. J Heb. : no treasures of thine. III. 12-14 6y and it is not improbable that the Heb. originally had such a vari- ation, perhaps = homo . . . vir, or two equivalent words = homo. Whether wisdom is acquired by one's own effort or received as a gift from God, is not said ; the two points of view were probably not distinguished by the writer. The beatitudes of Prov. all (with the exception of 16^") relate to the individual moral life, standing thus in contrast with those of the legal and historical books (and \\i 32'' 146^ Eccl. 10^') which refer to national life, and to those of the Psalter, which, with a few exceptions, have a personal-religious tone.* — 14. Synonymous, ternary-binary (in the emended text). Literally : fo7- her acquisition is better than the acquisition of silver, and her revenue than gold. The expression rendered her acquisi- tion may mean the acquiritig her, or tuhat she acquires {her gain, profit), or what she produces {— the gain that one gets from her), or her trade, or trading in her (= RV. the merchandise of it, the word merchandise being used in the now obsolete sense of commerce). The meaning seems to be fixed by the second clause, in which her revenue must signify either 7ahat comes to her ifier income), or tuhat she yields to her possessor {tJie income frotn her) ; the second of these senses is supported by the connec- tion, in which the topic is the advantage that man derives from wisdom, and by the similar passage 8^^ 7ny fruit is better than gold and my revenue than silver, that is, as v.^' suggests, what she has to offer to her followers. From the parallelism we may con- clude that her acquisition or gain signifies the profit she brings. The translation for to acquire her is better than to acquire silver and to gain her {is better) than gold, though intelligible and not out of keeping with the context, is hardly allowed by the Hebrew. Grk. : for it is better to traffic for her than for treasures of gold and silver ; cf. Mt. 13'*^*'. Latin Vulgate : for the acquisition of her is better thati traffic in silver and her fruit is of best and purest gold. Peshitta Syriac and Targum : for traffic in her is better than traffic in silver and her fruit than pure gold. These various translations give the same general idea. The parallelism here and 8^" suggests the omission of the stcond profit (or acquisi- * The Psalmist, however, often speaks as a member of the nation ; his individual experience is the common one. 68 PROVERBS tio7i) in first line. — In \\) 19^"'^^^ similar praise is given to the Tora ; the points of view of the sage and the psalmist are different. — 15. Synonymous, ternary. The Heb. has all thy treasui-es can- not (= none of thy treasures can) compare with her ; the Possess. Pron., which is inappropriate, is better omitted with all the ancient Versions. The meaning of the Heb. noun in first cl. (D'ns) is uncertain. It was unknown to the ancient Vrss. : Grk., Syr., Targ., here have precious stones, Lat. Vulg. has all wealth; else- where Lat. has a number of other renderings ; in Job 28^^ Targ. has pearls. The rendering corals is based on Lam. ^' , where the word is used to indicate ruddiness of complexion. There and here RV. has rubies in the text, and corals in the margin (see Job 28^*) ; the ruby would be appropriate in Lam. 4'' by its color, but the word here employed never occurs in fists of gems (such as Ex. 28^'"^" z^^'^^ Ez. 28'''), but only in poetical books (Lam., Job, Prov.). The coral was highly valued by the ancients (Plin., H.N., 32, 11), and, as it was found on the coast of India and in the Red Sea, might well have been known to the Jews. The ren- dering pearls (Bochart, Ewald, Reuss, Noyes, Strack, a/.) would suit if the complexion in Lam. \' could be understood as pearly; corals is favored by Gesen., Fleischer, De., Kamphausen, and others. Treasures is lit. zvhat is desired, desirable, precious. Wisdom is a source of gain (v.") and is thus precious. — Between the clauses of the Heb. text the Grk. inserts nothing evil shall resist her, she is well known to (or easily recognizable by) all who approach her ; the first of these added clauses may be a corrupt form of the Heb. second cl. (perhaps for nothing desirable can be set over against her), and the second may come in like manner from Heb. first clause. The addition is an interruption of the connection, and its meaning is obscure. — 16. Equivalent clauses, ternary. At the beginning of second cl. and may be inserted, with the Grk., and after the prevailing norm of the couplets. The pre- ceding description of the excellence of wisdom is figurative — nothing is said of the precise nature of the benefits she confers. Here we have an explicit statement of the material rewards that attend her ; see n. on v." Long life is lit. length of days. The riches and honor, here mentioned in addition to long life, are to be taken literally. The sage's point of view seems to be twofold, III. 14-18 69 On the one hand, his conception of wisdom includes prudence and sagacity, qualities that usually secure both wealth and the esteem of men; cf. such passages as 10* 11'-'' 12'^ 14^^ 19*^ 21^^ 22^ 24''"*'' 27-" 3ii"-3i — this idea runs through the whole book. These qualities do not exclude the higher side of the conception of wisdom which appears elsewhere in the book. On the other hand, there is the idea that God, by some direct intervention or according to the general laws of his government of the world, bestows prosperity on those who obey the precepts of wisdom. — After this verse the Grk. adds : out of her mouth proceeds righteous- ness, and law and mercy she bears on her tongue ; cf. Isa. 45"'^ out of my mouth proceeds righteousness (Yahweh is the speaker) and Pr. 3 1"'' and the hiw of kindness \_— kindly instruction'] is on her totigue (said of the good housewife). This couplet, which is not in keeping with the context, is the addition of an annotator who felt that the passage should contain not a Pharisaic glorification of the Tora (Held.), but a recognition of the ethical elements of wisdom. Our present Grk. text of 31"*^'^ (on which see note) is different from the clause here cited, and the latter must have been translated from the Heb. or from a Grk. text which followed the Hebrew ; the Grk. should probably here read : the law of kind- ness, etc. The ethical element introduced by the Grk. lies out- side the idea of the Heb. sage, whose purpose is simply to describe wisdom as the summum bonum. — 17. Synonymous, binary, or ternary. The pleasantness and peace are to be interpreted accord- ing to v.^" : a life controlled by intellectual and moral wisdom will be free from disturbances and cares. Cf. Job 5"* where peace is the reward of the man whom God instructs. It is outward peace that is primarily meant, but this would doubtless be accompanied, in the view of the writer, by serenity of mind ; the Heb. con- ception of life, as is apparent throughout the Book of Proverbs, was distinctly objective, but it necessarily included, as all human thought does, the posture of soul. Peace/ is the common saluta- tion among men in OT. (as now among the Arabs), a general expression, covering all the outward conditions of life ; the dis- tinctively inward application of the term does not appear in OT. Cf. Jno. 14-" 16''''. — 18. Synonymous, probably ternary-binary. Tree of life is a figurative expression (probably a commonplace of 70 PROVERBS IV the poetical vocabulary), equivalent (as appears from ii^° 13* 15'') to source of long life and peace ; the statement of this verse is thus identical in meaning with that of v.^*^- ^^ The poetical image of lifegiving fruit (found also Ez. 47^^, and cf. the fountain of life, Pr. 10" al.) is probably connected with the conception of a primitive sacred tree of life, and it is not unlikely that the allusion here is to the tree of Gen. 2. 3 ; if this be so, it is the only such allusion, besides that of Ez. 47^^, in OT. (the description of the garden of God in Ez. 28 has no mention of this particular tree). In Genesis the life is physical ; the man, it is said, would have lived forever if he had eaten of the fruit of the tree, even after he had violated the command by eating of the other tree (Gen. 3^").* Here also the life is physical, as appears from v.^*^ ; there is no reference or allusion to existence beyond the grave. But the sage departs from the account in Gen. in that he attributes long life to a quality of mind. 19, 20. A separate paragraph. From a description of the blessings which wisdom confers on man, the sage goes on to exalt it as a guiding principle of God in the creation and maintenance of the physical world; the same conception is found in S'^^i (and cf. Job 2^-"^-^), BS. i-^ WSol. 7. This view is characteristic of the Wisdom books, while in the Prophets (Am. 4^^ 5^ g*' Isa. 40 — there are no such references in preexilian writings) and the Psalms (89. 104. 139) God's works are cited as illustra- tions of his greatness and his care for his people. The cosmical conception, which dwells on the order of the world for its own sake, belongs to the post-prophetic period and indicates an influ- ence of Greek thought. t This paragraph obviously connects itself with the preceding and not with the following (which is an exhor- tation to obey the laws of wisdom) ; whether it originally formed part of a larger section is uncertain. — 19. Synonymous, quater- nary-ternary. Wisdom as primeval attribute of the Creator. * On the tree of life in Gen., see Dillmann, Genesis ; Budde, Bibl. Urgeschichtc • Cheyne, Job and So/., p. 123, and Bampton. Lect., p. 441 f . ; Schwally, Leben nach d. Tode, p. 118. t There is perhaps a trace of Persian thought also ; cf. Cheyne, feio. Relig. Life after the Exile, pp. 151, 208. Whether the sages were affected by Egyptian cos- mogonic ideas is uncertain. III. 18-20 71 It is the skill shown in the creation that is had in mind (as in Job 28 Pr. 8) ; contrast the national point of view of the prophets and the psalmists, the social interest of Gen. 2, and the statistical form of Gen. i. Wisdom here seems to be simply an attribute, with no approach to hypostatization. — The expres- sions founded and established belong to the old-Hebrew cosmo- gonical ideas. The earth was conceived of as a plane mass, resting on an ocean {^\, 24^ 136"), as having foundations (Isa. 51" ,// 104^ Pr. 8-») and as supported by pillars (Job g*' ^ 75^'"); Sheol was apparently supposed to he beneath the subjacent ocean (cf. Am. 9-^). Above the earth the heaven or sky was thought of as a material expanse (Gen. i"), fixed in its place by God and sup- ported by pillars (Job 26" ^ i8"<«'), by which we are probably to understand the mountains. The plu. heavens represents the sky as made up of contiguous parts ; the expression heavens of heav- ens, elsewhere used of the celestial abode of the deity (Dt. 10" I K. 8-^ ^\l 148*) conceives of it as including different planes. The three divisions of the world are given in Ex. 20* : the heaven above, the earth beneath, the water under the earth.* — The monotheistic view of creation is here assumed as generally held (while Isa. 40 contains a polemic against polytheism). — 20. Par- allels, ternary. Wisdom in the divine direction of the material world. The verbs are better taken as Present ; v.^^ deals with the creation of the world, here we pass to its present guidance ; if the verbs be rendered as Past, the reference will be to the original arrangement. Lit. the deefs are chft, that is, the subterranean structure is broken up so that the water may flow. The waters include all bodies of water that issue from the ground, namely, springs and rivers, and also the sea ; these come from the sub- terraneous ocean. Along with them is mentioned the water that is held to come from the other great aqueous supply : the dew is supposed to fall from the clouds, and the term is probably meant to hiclude rain (cf. Job 282^-« 36"') ; the reference is to an ocean above the sky. Cf. (Gen. 7") the double process by which the flood is produced : the fountains of the great deep * For later Jewish cosmogonic ideas see Secrets of Enoch, ed. R. H. Charles; Weber, Thccl., \ 44. On Babylonian ideas cf. Jastrow, Relig. of Bab. and Assyria, pp. 442 f., 489. 72 PROVERBS burst forth (that is, water rises from the subterranean ocean), and the windows of heaven are opened (tliat is, openings are made in the sky through which the water of the celestial ocean may fall). Apart from any scientific conception of method the verse declares that the divine wisdom appears in the distribution of water in the world. It is possible that in the original form of the section other illustrations of God's wisdom followed. Cf. 8^^""^^ 13. 1^ a^^■ . . . din; (3 (followed by 3DP. IL (and so Bi.) makes subj. sing., and S® pred. plu., but these ren- derings do not necessarily indicate the precise form of the Heb. text of the Vrss., since they might in any case make their translations conform to gram- matical rules; in the construction of |^, which occurs elsewhere (Gen. 27^9 Ex. 31I* ai., see Ew. § 319 «), the sing. pred. is distributive or individualiz- ing, or it is a simplified (unitary) form similar to initial sing. vb. followed by plu. subject. The vb. Ti'X = make or call happy seems to be Denom. — Clause ^ stands in (&i^ Kal rots iTrepeiSo/Jiivois in' avrrjv ws eiri KJjpiov; (gB ab adds daK'q and ig. by several Fathers, and to povr]n omitted by (@ba^ inserted by (S '' "■'^ H-P 69 al. Comp. Aid. — The precise sense of the expression v;p2: nbiin is not quite clear; we expect : " the rock (or, the earth) was cleft, and the waters issued," as in ^ yS^^. The construction in Pr. is supported, however, by Gen. 7^1 \p 74^^; the latter passage can hardly be rendered : ^/lou didst cleave a way for fountain and brook. Apparently the subterranean onn is regarded as a mass, lying motion- less, and requiring to be cleft in order that its waters may move. Instead of ifl;;-ii 4 MSS. have jdi;?'' with same meaning (cf. Dt. 32-), perhaps scribal error, or euphonic variation; on transposition of radicals in stems see Bottch., Lehrb., I. § 265-267. 21-26. A separate section (parallel to but distinct from the preceding), exhorting to the practice of Wisdom on the ground that it will give security to life. Hitzig's reasons for regarding the section as an interpolation (namely, that the repetition of the promise of reward is unnecessary, that the vocabulary contains late expressions, and that the omission of these verses secures a division of the chapter into paragraphs of ten verses each) are now generally rejected. The whole section, chs. 1-9, is not early, but late ; it is made up of sub-sections, in which there is neces- sarily repetition ; and the hypothesis of decimal division is arbi- trary. 21 b. My son, keep [with thee] wisdom and discretion, 21 a. Let them not depart from thy sight; 22. They will be life to thy being. Adornment to thy neck. 23. Then wilt thou go thy way securely; Thy foot will not stumble; 24. When thou < sittest down ' * thou wilt not be afraid, Thou wilt lie down, and thy sleep will be sweet. 25. Thou wilt not fear the calamity that befalls the < foolish,' \ Nor the storm that strikes the wicked; 26. For Yahweh will be thy protector. And will keep thy feet from snares. 21. Synonymous, ternary, or, in the emended text, quaternary- binary. The present Heb. text reads : my son, let them not * Heb. : liest down. f Heb. : Fear not sudden calamity. 74 PROVERBS depart (or, swerve) from thine eyes, keep wisdom (or, sagacity) and discretion. But the subject of the first cl. is lacking. The antecedent of tJiein cannot be supplied from v.''' -" (where wisdom, 7inderstanding, and kiioiv/edge are attributes of God, and in any case such reference to them would be too abrupt), or from the second cl. (which would be against Heb. usage). A similar ob- jection applies to the rendering (obtained by a slight change in the Heb.) let it [wisdom] not siverve : the reference to wisdom is abrupt, and the sing, does not agree with v.". The Vrss. are unsatisfactory. Grk. (the text of which may be corrupt) : my son, do 710 1 escape {Yxt. flow away) ; Lat. : let not these plow away from thine eyes ; Syr. Targ. : let it not be despicable in thine eyes. The beginning of the paragraph, which contained the antecedent of them, may have fallen out ; it may perhaps be supplied from the closely parallel passage 4-""--. We may either insert a verse similar to 4^', or supply a single word and read let not my words (or, let not wisdom) swerve, etc. The term swerve, turn aside, seems strange in this connection, and the Vrss. assumed different stems. We expect one of the usual words for depart, as in 2 7-^ or 17^^, or else, with inversion, tiam not away from my instruction. A proper form may be got by transposing the clauses : tny son, preserve sagacity and discretion, let them not depart from thine eyes (Umbreit), which is without Versional support, but seems to be the simplest solution of the difficulty of the first clause. On the terms sagacity (— zvisdom) and discretion see notes on 2' and I*, and ow keep see notes on 2"° 3^ — 22. Synonymous, ternary- binary. The reward (the description of which goes through v.-^). Instead oiwill, here and throughout the paragraph (simple state- ment of result), we may render shall (authoritative statement) . — Grk. i7i order that, but the verse is better understood as express- ing result. The life is physical, as in 3-- ^'^. Being is here better than soul (as rendering of t'BD), since the latter term conveys to us a spiritual sense not contained in the Hebrew ; we might trans- late they will (or, shall) be life to thee, that is, they will (or, shall) confer on thee long life, a supreme blessing. Adornment is lit. beauty, grace of form (see note on i^), and so an ornament as a thing of beauty, and as a lasting possession ; see notes on i^ 3^ True sagacity, it is declared, will bring its possessor not only long III. 21-25 75 life but also loveliness and graciousness, the reference being to the attractiveness of a character moulded by a high, Godfearing intelligence, beautiful in itself and attractive to men. — The Grk. here inserts v.^, with a slight variation i^flesh instead of body). — 23. Synonymous, ternary. Security in walk. The second cl. (which reads lit. and shait not strike thy foot) occurs in \\i 91^^ with the addition against a stone ; there the guidance is referred to angels, here to wisdom ; the whole psalm is parallel to our section, and shows the difference between the points of view of psalmist and sage. — A slight change in the Heb. gives the reading thy foot unll (or, shall) not stumble (so Grk. RV.) ; the sense is the same in both renderings. The expression was probably a common one to express safety ; it is unnecessary to suppose that Pr. took it from t//, or \\i from Pr. — 24. Parallels, ternary. Security at home. The Heb. text reads : when thou liest doivn thou wilt (or, shalt) not be afraid, yea, thou wilt (or, shalt) lie down and thy sleep will (or, shall) be siueet. The repetition of the verb is somewhat strange, though it is defensible on rhetorical grounds. The Heb. vb. has the two senses lie doivn and sleep, and Schultens thinks that the first of these is to be understood in first cl., and the second in second cl. ; but this is not permissible. Grk., in first cl. : luhen thou sittest down ; Targ. : when thou liest down and steepest; Syr.: and thou shalt sleep ; Lat. : if thou sleep thou shalt not be afraid, thou shalt rest, etc. In \p 3^'''' 4*'^' the expression is lie doivn and sleep ; in Dt. 6^ we have the pairs sit down, ivalk, and lie down, rise. We might retain the Heb. text, and under- stand it to refer to sleep undisturbed by attacks of robbers and murderers ; but a more natural form is obtained by changing the first // (as in 4"^^) occurs in some printed edd. (see De' Rossi). — In ^ (5S attach I pers. suff. to the nouns, and ,S treats isj as Inf. Heid.'s remark that '3 always signifies one who employs or controls the thing in question: husband ^^ owner of a wife; ally. Gen. 14^3 = one who enters into and employs a treaty; dreaftier. Gen. 37!" = one who has and employs dreams; archer. Gen. 49'-^ = one who uses arrows; a man of affairs, Ex. 24^*, conducts his affairs; creditor, Dt. 15^ = one who makes and controls a loan; the hair of a hairy man, 2 K. I*, belongs by nature to him; a legal adversary, Isa. 50^, is one who conducts the prosecu- tion; one who is sworn, Neh. 6^^, makes an oath; a bird, Pr. I^^, uses its wings; a waster effects waste ; an angry man, 22-* 29^2, feels and shows anger; z. glutton, 23-, has appetite; a rogue, 24^, makes mischief; a babbler, Eccl. lo^^, uses his tongue. There is thus no authority in Heb. usage for the statement (made by Schult., De., and others) that 3i3 Sy3 may here mean not him who does good but him to whom good is done ; and further, the sense actually given by them is something still different, namely, him who stands in need of good or deserves it. Nor does Aram, permit such a rendering. The word must be either, with S2C, omitted, or else changed; a corruption of -y)-\ into v'^y3 offers no great graphic difficulty. From (@ kvber\ Gr. suggests r'?N::', and Oort sees nothing better than ir^x; but (§ is probably free rendering of |^. — • K ■'11 is possible, but marginal reading i^ is the common form and is found in many MSS. of Kenn. and De'R. ; Rashi gives two explanations, one = 3L, one = @. — 28. ?^ ••>'"» is sing., the Yod being third rad. ; the omission of this letter, as in margin, is unnecessary, though it is omitted in many Span. MSS. As the next word is ^'?, the omission of T'j;"!'? in © may be due to homoeoteleuton, or possibly to homoeoarkton, especially if it were written in the abridged form 'i*^. — S. probably by scribal inadvertence, transfers "ins ii'^i from end to beginning of the verse. On the addition in (§ see note on this verse above.- — -29. |^ U'-in-^; © re/cTTycT?; BS 712(13) dporpia; the figurative sense devise comes more naturally from carve, but possibly also from plough. — 30. ^ vN*^ DN; (§ /UTj, perh. taking ^ as = jo, or perh. reading nS ncx or N*? 'vn. — It was hardly on moral grounds that ^ was omitted in S. 31-35. Comparison between the fortunes of the wicked and the righteous — a separate group of aphorisms, similar to the reHgious aphorisms of chs. 10-22, having a general connection with the preceding paragraph. It is a warning against the seduc- tion of the apparent prosperity of wickedness. 31. Envy not the man of violence. And take no pleasure in his ways; 32. For a bad man is an abomination to Yahweh, But between him and the upright there is friendship. 33. The curse of Yahweh is on the house of the wicked, But the habitation of the righteous he blesses. 8o PROVERBS 34. Scoffers he scoffs at, But to the pious he shows favor. 35. Wise men obtain honor, But ignominy is the < portion > of fools. 31. Synonymous, ternary. The warning. The second Hne may be rendered : take pleasure in none of his ways (Ut. take not pleasure in ail his ways). The paralleUsm calls for take pleasure (!-'•' Gen. 6^) rather than choose (which, however, gives a good sense). The violence is highhanded, unlawful procedure of any sort ; jnan of violence = wicked man ; the " violence " was gener- ally practised for purposes of pecuniary or political gain; cf. 10*' 16^1 It is assumed that there is something in the fortunes of such a person which one might be tempted to envy, and so to be pleased with (or, choose) ; for the explanation see i/^ 2>f^'- I* is the problem of the Book of Job, which is here solved in the old way ; see next verse. — Grk. reads procure not the reproaches of bad men, and covet not their ways, in which first clause comes from scribal error, but second clause is favored by the parallelism and by aV^ i// 37^ On the other hand our text is supported by 24^ and gives a good sense. Lat. do not imitate his ways, which represents the Hebrew. — 32-34. The reason for the warning is here found in the way in which God deals with the righteous and the wicked. The rewards and punishments are earthly and ex- ternal ; there is no recognition of ethical immortality, and life is regarded on the side of its outward experiences. — 32. Anti- thetic, ternary-binary. This form is common in chs. 10-22, but not in chs. 1-9. The term abominatio7i is used in the earlier historical, the prophetical, and the legal literature of what is contrary to a religious cult or usage, Israelitish or foreign, as in Gen. 43^^, K. 1 4^'', Dt. 14^^, Ez. 5^, etc. ; in later books it is extended to include moral offences, as here ; it means something which is incompatible with the nature of Yahweh. The bad (or iniquitous) man (for the term see note on 2'^) is as abhorrent to Yahweh as an idol or other abomination, but with the 7/pright he sits as with familiar friends (lit. with the upright is his friendship). The word rendered friendship means private, intimate converse and friendly relation, then the assembly or persons who thus converse together, in. 31-34 81 and finally the secret counsel they take and the design or plan they form. The connection must decide in any given case which of these significations is most appropriate. With this passage cf. Job 29'*-^ i/' 25^* (and ip 55'^*'^0j ^^ which the sense is clearly friendship. The ground for avoiding the ways of the wicked (v.^') is that Yahweh is hostile to him and friendly to the right- eous ; what this friendliness secures is stated in the next verse. — 33. Antithetic, quaternary-ternary, or ternary (as in chs. 10-22). We may render on the house or in the house. The value of Yahweh's friendship is here said to be the (external) prosperity it brings ; no reference is made to the moral benefit of communion of soul be- tween God and man — this latter is rather regarded as the ground of the blessing. A curse in the mouth of God is a sentence or pro- nouncement of evil ; in the mouth of man it is an imprecation, an invocation of divine punishment. Similarly God blesses by pro- nouncing good, man by invoking good from God.* — Lat. poverty from the Lord is an interpretation of curse of Yahweh suggested by second clause. — 34. Antithetic, ternary (or, ternary-binary). The surely of RV. is incorrect ; see critical note below. Nor is the hypothetical rendering satisfactory : if (or, thougli) he scorns, etc., yet he shotus, etc., the preceding and succeeding verses being declarative. Still less can v.''^ be protasis and v.^ apodosis. A variation of the preceding statement. On scoffers see note on i-^ For the conception of reciprocity in first cl. cf. ip i g^^^^e). 26(27) ^ |-|^g representation of God as acting toward men as they act toward him rests on an ancient anthropomorphism, which in Pr. is prob- ably purified by the conviction that God, as just, must be hostile to evildoers ; but the thought never rises to the point of conceiving of him as merciful to fools and sinners. — The word here trans- lated pious (d"j1:') is that which is variously rendered in RV. by poor, afflicted, huviblc, lowly, meek. Its primary sense seems to be one who is bowed, bent, or one who boivs himself (under or before a hostile force) ; it thus comes to signify one who suffers from financial poverty (Am. 8'* al.'), one who is oppressed by the strong, particularly the nation Israel in the time of national afflic- * The Heb. term for bless never means curse, blaspheme, or renounce ; in Job i''- H 2^- 9 the Heb. word is to be changed so as to read curse. G 82 PROVERBS tion (i/' 74^^ al.^, or, one who afflicts himself by fosting or is humble before God, and so in general the Godfearing, pious (so used of Moses, Nu. 12'^, and so \\i 37", quoted in Mt, 5^). This last is the sense suggested by the parallelism here, though lowly, humble, is also appropriate. — Grk. : tlte Lord resists the proud, but shozus favor to the humble, quoted, with slight variations, in Jas. 4", I Pet. 5^ — Bickell omits the verse as an interpolation which breaks the connection between v.'^'^ and v.'^' ; it is, however, closely parallel to v.^, and, if any verse is to be omitted as irrele- vant, it should rather be v.'^^ (see note on this verse below). — For the sentiment cf. i6'^ — 35. Antithetic, ternary. The first cl. = honor is the portion of wise jnen. The thought is that of 11^ 12* 13'' 14^'^ 22-^ al.: men of integrity and insight will receive recognition at the hands of their fellowmen — the approbation of society is presented as a motive for rightdoing — a powerful inducement. The term wise doubtless includes moral and re- ligious as well as intellectual elements, and so fools in the second clause. The verb means primarily to have or obtain possession (as in Jos. 14'), and secondarily to inherit, a sense which is here not appropriate. Honor is the respect or high recognition accorded by God to man, or by man to God or man (i K. 3''' Gen. 45^^ I Sam. 6') ; opposed to it is the shame of the second cl., slight estimation, contempt. — The translation of the second cl. is doubt- ful, one word being apparently corrupt. This word, as it stands, may mean lift up (from the ground, 2 K. 2^^), exalt (\j/ 89™), take away, remove out of the tvay (Hos. 11'' Isa. 57'''), offer as gift or sacrifice (that is, lift up before the deity, Ex. 35'^ Lev. 4*). None of these senses are here suitable : fools do not exalt or remove or offer ignominy, nor does ignominy do these things to fools. No satisfactory translation of the clause has been made. Grk. : the godless exalt dishonor ; Lat. (followed by RV.) : ignominy is the exaltation {ox, pro7notio)i) of fools {\\\.. shatne exalts fools), and so Schult. : the brand of infamy gives notoriety to fools ; Syr. Targ. : fools suffer (lit. receive) shame, which is not a translation of the Heb., the word in Heb. meaning not " to take away for one's own benefit or use," but " to take out of the way, do away with," and, in the ritual, " to take a portion not for one's self but for God." A slight change of text, with an insertion, gives the ren- III. 34-35 83 dering fools change Sjheir glon^ into shame (cf. Hos. 4^ Jer. 2" \\i 1 06-"), but the insertion is improbable, and the resulting sense not clear or appropriate. Another slight change gives fools in- crease shame (cf. Isa. 40-^ Eccl. 6" 10"), a good and natural sense ; and a similar rendering is appropriate in 14-". But an equally easy and more probable emendation gives the verb possess, get possession of {= obtain). In any case the meaning of the second cl. is ignominy is the portion of fools, that is, of those who are not wise enough to see that it is their duty as well as their interest to obey the divine law. The ignominy and the honor, it is to be supposed, are assigned by God. The couplet appears not to belong with the preceding quatrains, from which it differs in tone ; it is probably the addition of an editor. 31. (S fiT} KT-f) Nin as apodosis), nor can ON = surely (RV.), since, in asseverations, this word has negative force. Gr., Oort, change avX to dihSn (after Jas. 4^ i Pet. 5^), and Oort omits pref. '^; but mni is the divine name used above in the para- graph, and the Nin further must then be omitted. Dys.'s emendation to ay, with omission of pref. S (which may easily be doublet) is simpler, bringing the sentence into the norm of \p 18-''. Or, we may, with © Kiipws vireprjrpdvois avTiTda-aerai, omit ax (so .SSCIL), though this is graphically not so easy. (3 Kijpios may represent ni.T', or may be explicitum. — K. D"JJ?; Q D''1JJ?, for which Si has XD^an. For V'''^^ SM^ have r|inDj casts down, free rendering. — 35. |§ nnr; (5 vxl/wa-av; S3C pSapj; IL stultoruni exaltatio, apparently taking \h\^ as subj.; Dys. emends to aniDD, Gr. better to duid, but we should proba- bly read "f nh or vy. * Heid., by oversight, quotes Procop.'s comments as additions to the Grk. text 84 PROVERBS rV. Three exhortations (v.^-^, v}'^'", v.-"--'), the theme of all three being the excellence and beneficent power of wisdom. — They are like those of chs. 2. 3 in that the advice is of a gen- eral nature, while in chs. 5.6. 7 it is directed against a particular sin. 1-9. The sage cites the instruction given him by his father. The text is, in parts, in such condition that we cannot be sure of the exact sense. The Vatican Grk. makes the teacher's instruc- tion (and not wisdom) the subject of praise. 1. Hear, O children, the instruction of a father — Give heed that ye may comprehend wisdom. 2. For good counsel I give you — Forsake ye not my teaching. 3. When I was of tender age, [] Beloved by my ' father,' 4 a. He used to teach me and say to me : 4 i>. " Let thy mind retain my words. 4.C. Keep my commandments and live; 5 a. Get wisdom, get understanding. 6. Forsake her not, and she will preserve thee, Love her, and she will keep thee.* 8. Prize her, and she wilt exalt thee. She will honor thee if thou embrace her; 9. She will encircle thy head with a chaplet of beauty, Bestow on thee a crown of glory." 1. Extensive or exegetical (the second cl. repeating first cl. and giving the reason for it), ternary. Exhortation to hearken. The sage (by the plu. cJiildrcn or sons) addresses himself to a circle of hearers, a school, though the difference of number is not significant; when the sing, is used, the address is to a class of persons, young men in general. Father is not here used in the stricter (family) sense of the word, but with the wider connota- tion oi teacher ; see note on i**, and cf. v.^ below. On instruction and wisdom (the term usually rendered understanding) see notes on I". The word rendered give heed, = hearken, attend, is a syn- onym of hear used only in poetry and solemn prose. Compre- * On the omission of v.'^b. 7^ see note on these verses below. IV. 1-3 85 hend = knoiv (i-). The source of authority of the teaching is the experience of the teacher. — 2. Continued thought, ternary- (or, quaternary-) binary. The ground of the sage's claim to be heard. The sage speaks with conviction and authority ; he beheves that his teaching is sound and important, and the teaching or law that he gives is his own, that is, is grounded in his own soul, though derived from divine teaching ; the prophet, on the con- trary, never speaks in his own name. Counsel or instruction (RV. doctrine^, with which latv is synonymous, is here given to others ; in i^ (on which see note) it is received from others. Grk. gift = something received. Lat. / give you a good gift (omitting for, which, though not necessary, is appropriate, nearly = namely), — 3. The sage refers to his own childhood. The Heb. reads : For I was a son to my father [or, my father's son^ tender \_=^ of tender age, wea/i] and an only child in the presence of [ = tvith'] my mother. Grk. : / also was a son, obedient to a father, and beloved in the presence of a mother. The first cl. is strange — it seems unnecessary and unnatural to describe a boy as the son of his father, and it is not probable that any writer would use such an expression ; we expect a word descriptive of the son's rela- tions with the father (as the relations with the mother are de- scribed in the second cl.). The obedient of the Grk. seems to be free rendering of our Heb. (instead oi tender), though it may rep- resent a different Heb. word ; something like this would be pos- sible, but is not particularly appropriate ; it would require a change in the order of the words. The only child also is improb- able ; an adj. like the beloved of the Grk. would be appropriate ; but this sense (RV. only beloved) does not properly belong to the Heb. word here used ; the expression as an only child would be in place. After calling on his pupils to give heed to his instruc- tion, the writer (in order to give the weight of tradition to his words) might naturally say for I myself ivas a son, under the authority of a father, and beloved by a mother. But, as only the father is referred to (in the Heb. text) in the following couplet, it seems probable that the mention of the mother here does not belong to the original form, and that my mother took the place of my father in the second line after the expression to my father had been introduced, by scribal error, into the first line. If, with this 86 PROVERBS correction, we substitute beloved for only so7i, we have a simple and clear sentence. — The verse suggests an interesting picture of the family-training of the time (probably the third century B.C.). The father is the authoritative guide of the children.* The in- struction is oral — there is no reference to books ; books were rare, and were probably used only by advanced students, though children of the better families may have been taught to read at home. There is no sign of the existence of children's schools at this time.t — 4-7. It is not easy to determine the precise con- nection of thought in this passage. V.^" "^ and v.^ are plain; the difficulty lies in v.*"-^'. The following considerations may help to fix the wording. V.'', since it interrupts the connection between v.^ and v.^, is syntactically confused, and is not found in the Grk., may be omitted (see note on this verse below). V.^'' also inter- rupts the connection between v.^^ and v.^ (this last verse supposing a preceding reference to wisdom), and should be omitted. We shall thus have to form a couplet out of v.*'' and v.'*''. The resultant paragraph is not free from difficulties ; but it follows the indica- tions of the Heb. text, and affords a clear sense. — 4. The two first clauses make a couplet, continuous, ternary. The father's address, beginning with the second clause, appears to extend through v.**. The father alone is here cited, in the Heb., as teacher (see note on preceding verse). Grk. (reversing the order of the verbs) : they said and taught me, thus including the mother ; in v.^, however, it makes the father alone the speaker, and so, prob- ably, it should be throughout, in accordance with the manner of the rest of the section, chs. 1-9. — On mind (lit. heart) see note on 2^. Retain = grasp, hold firmly in hand, hold fast. — The third line of the verse is identical with the first line of 7^, and is, for this reason, here thrown out by some critics as a scribal inser- tion ; but such repetition is possible (for ex., i*'' = d^"*"). Grk. has only the first half, omitting the words afid live ; but for this omis- sion there is no good reason. In the present state of the text there seems to be nothing better than to attach the fine to the first line * The mother also was doubtless the instructor of the child (see iS), whether or not she is mentioned in this verse. t On the education of children see Nowack, Heb. Arch., I. p. 172; Schiirer, Gesch. (= Hist, of the Jezv. People, II., 2, ^ 27), and the literature therein named. IV. 3-6 8/ of the next verse, though it is an objection to this construction that the resultant couplet does not present a satisfiictory parallel- ism— we expect a whole couplet devoted to wisdom, preparatory to vA No arrangement of the lines, however, is entirely free from objections. — And live — that thou mayest {by them) live, that is, " that they may secure the happiness of a long earthly life ; " for the idea see 3-. — 5. The present Heb. text reads : get wisdom, get understanding, forget not, ajid turn not away from the words of my mouth. If the wording be genuine, the iteration expresses the earnestness of the sage, who identifies his instruc- tions with wisdom. But the present form is hardly original. The second line {ajid turn, etc.) belongs naturally with v.^'' ; and the expression forget not should properly follow not get wisdom, etc., but keep my commandinents. The former phrase is omitted in the Grk., which reads : keep comma7idments, forget not, and neglect not the discourse of my mouth ; this is in itself clear, but it makes the teacher's discourse the antecedent of v.*' {forsake it not), whereas the tone of v.''- ^- '•' almost forces us to regard wisdom as their subject. It is, therefore, better to omit the second clause {and turn, etc.) as a gloss on v.'*''", and also the forget not, and retain the rest as an introduction to v.". — Other proposed con- structions are : forget not to acquire ivisdom, and swerve not from the words of her mouth (Graetz), which has the advantage of offer- ing only one subject (as in v."), but is open to the objection that Wisdom's " mouth " is nowhere else mentioned ; Oort also would omit get understanding (as gloss on get wisdom), and add to forget not some such expression as my laiu (as in 3'), but thinks that the whole verse is probably a scribal insertion ; get wisdom, get understanding, forget not \_the instruction of my lips'], and swerve not, etc. (Bickell). While the general sense is plain, the original form can hardly be recovered. It seems probable that in v.^ the writer passes from reference to his own " instruction " to the praise of" wisdom." If the Grk. reading of v.^'-^ be adopted (see above), we must probably suppose a break at the end of v.^, the following paragraph (v."'^^) having lost a couplet in which ivisdom was introduced. — 6. Synonymous, binary. In the Heb. the subject of the discourse is wisdom or understanding which preserves its followers, as in 2" ; in the Vat. Grk. the subject is 88 PROVERBS the utterance or instruction of the sage, the function of which is the same as in 3'- ^ ; the essential thought is the same in both. The verb love, used in the ethical sense, with man as subject, here has the abstract wisdom as object (in i"^ its opposite, ignorance') ; in the Prophetical books (Am. 5'^ Mic. 3^ «/.) the object is gen- erally right conduct, in the legal books (Dt. 6^ Lev. 19'^ al.) Yahweh and man, in ^ (26^ 119''^ «/.) Zion and the Tora. — The sing, her appears to point to one antecedent in v.', whereas Heb. there has two terms. — 1.. The text is corrupt, .and the verse should probably be omitted. The Heb. reads : the begijuiifig of tvisdom — get wisdoDi, and in all thy substance get understanding, or buy wisdom, and, with all that thou hast gotten, buy, etc., that is, buy wisdom at the price of all thy property, cf. 23-'' Mt. 13'*^" ^^ or, along with all, etc. (AV. with all thy getting is incorrect). The rendering wisdom is the principal thing (RV. Zockler, in Lange) is here out of the question; the word (nTK"i), in the sense of best, chief, principal, never occurs undefined (only twice in OT, undefined, Isa. 46'" and the doubtful Gen. i\ both times in the ■s.tws.Q oi beginning) , and here we obviously have the familiar expression the beginning of wisdom. This expression cannot be brought into intelligible connection with the rest of the verse. The statement the beginning of loisdom is "get wisdom,'' if syn- tactically possible (which is doubtful), involves an intolerable tau- tology, and the same objection holds to the rendering (obtained by changing Impv. to Inf.) . . . to get ivisdom. Bickell, to avoid the tautology, reads the beginning (or, chief) of thy wealth is, etc., which is out of keeping with the tone of the paragraph, is without Versional support, and is an unnatural form of expression. — The resemblance between v.'' and v.'^'^ is obvious ; the former is expansion of the latter, or both are corruptions of the same orig- inal. In any case v.'^ interrupts the connection between v." and V.*, and is probably a gloss. Possibly the expressions get wisdom and get understanding, written in the margin as a summary of v.'*"^, got into v.^, and then in expanded form were inserted as v'' ; this, if it happened, must have happened after the Vat. Grk. Vrs. was made — the omission of such passages by the Grk. translator is not probable. See note on v.'^. — 8. Synonymous, binary. The meaning of the first vb. is not quite certain. It may signify cast IV. 6-9 89 up an embankment against a thing, or (Grk.) around a thing, so as to protect it; or, make a rampart of a thing (Jager), surround one's self with a thing as a protection ; or cast up as a highway (cf. 15'^ Isa. 57"), and so make plane and firm ; or, per- haps, simply i-aise up, exalt, esteem highly, prize (cf. the similar form in Ex. 9'' ) . This last agrees with the parallel embrace, and is adopted by most expositors. Syr. Targ. have freely love her ; Lat. Rashi : lay hold of her ; Saad. : give thyself up to her. A pro- posed emendation is : despise her not (Frankenberg), which gives a good sense but not a perfect parallelism. — 9. Synonymous, ter- nary. Lit. give to thy head a chaplet. Beauty (or, g?-ace) and glory are physically descriptive terms — the sense is beautiful chaplet and glorious (or, splendid) croiun ; cf. i" BS. 6^^^ 25^ The expression may be suggested by a custom of wearing chaplets and crowns at feasts, or on other joyful occasions, as weddings ; cf. Ez. 16'- 23*- Isa. 28' Job 19^ BS. 32"; how far such a custom existed among the earlier Hebrews the OT. does not inform us, but it may easily have been borrowed at a later time.* 1. S takes nyT as subst., and connects it by 1 with nra. — 2. ^ npS; (5 hihpov, IL donum. — |^ •'mir^; H-P 68. 161. 248 Comp. Aid. rhv efxbv \6yov, which hardly represents a different Heb. text from ours — not necessarily Christian correction ( Lag.) , more probably rhetorical variation. — 3. (S vir-qKoos may be rendering of pj ^^ taken as = sofi, submissive; Lag. holds it to be rendering of ip poor (Lev. 25-^"'); Held, of "yy oppressed (^26^^ ^ 10^^ al.), neither of which terms is here appropriate, or liltely to be rendered by iivfiKoos, The connection in |^ requires a descriptive term between p and •'3xS; ii might be transposed so as to stand before ''? or before n^in, but the signifi- cation would still make difficulty unless it could be understood as = petted (3r pJDc), parallel to beloved in ^. Read ijn ijij'^mM -\-\ in\T p ''D. — The KAyOi of (5 is probably inserted to bring out the proper emphasis. — |^ T'n'; read T'T'; (g here has ayawwiJievos; T'ni is rendered by ayair-qTos Gen. 22-- 1-- 1^ ((§B Joes not contain these passages) Am. 8^" Jer. 6"^ Zech. 12^'', by fjiovoyev-^s Ju. 1 1^'' ((g'^ adds ayairriT-fi) \j/ 22-1 25!^ 35I'', and by fj.ouoTp6wovs i/* 68''; tiii is always rendered by some form of d7a7r.; we cannot, therefore, determine |§ from (5; but in any case T'H'' must here mean only child, and this in the connection is inappropriate. On the MS. reading ijaS instead of •'jfjS see De' Rossi's note. — 4. In ^ the vbs. might be read as sing., as in ||J, or plu., as in @. — 'E/aetS^Tw may represent |^ "|?3rTi taken as Nif. (see Concord, of * Cf. Nowack, Heb. Arch., \. p. 185 f., and for the Grk. and Rom. customs, Becker, Char., E.\c. I., Gall., Exc. L, and the refs. in the Diets, of Antiqs. 90 PROVERBS Grk.), or perh. "i^rD^ (De.). — 6 iifierepos \6yos, = ij"i3"i, hardly original, proba- bly rhetorical interpretation of Grk. translator. — |^ n^n% lacking in (g^ (^H ast., retained by Proc); the clause was perhaps introduced from y^, where it is natural (S> adds y^^ at end of v.) ; according to Lag. .T^ni comes from the half-obhterated n::^n of a gloss (see note on next verse) . — After •''? © inserts nini, so as to express divine authority for the teaching, or it = ■>% erroneous repetition of the two "> in 7an"i ^S (Pink.). — 5. ^ nj>3 njp nnjn njp, lacking in (gB (^H ast.) ; Or. reads 'n mjp as obj. of nyi'n S>s, and omits '3 'p as gloss, but p as obj. of 'n does not occur elsewhere and is not a natural construction. The whole expression (together with n>ni) interrupts the connection between >."nsa (v.*) and 'n Sn, and if v.^'' be retained must be regarded as a gloss; it may be retained if v.^'' be thrown out; see note on v.'^. — 7. Lacking in @^ (&^ ast.) ; it interrupts the connection between v.^ and v.^, is syntactically and lexicographically difficult, and must be regarded as scribal insertion. Lag.'s explanation of v.'^ and v.^" is as follows : v.^, in distichal form, stood in the margin of some Heb. MS., and was incorporated into the text in two places by two different scribes; one inserted it after v.^, writing nc3n for an illegible word which followed ~'';;'Nn (the word should be a synonym of pjp, and Bi. writes ^''n) ; the other found 't and ^J''Jp V321 illegible, and omitted them, made nTii out of the first 'n, and attached the resulting sentence to v.'*. This ingenious and complicated reconstruction still leaves an unsatisfactory couplet ^/le best of wealth is get wisdom and, etc. As 'n —\ cannot be brought into syntactical relation with the rest of the sentence, it may be better to regard it as a fragment of a distich similar to i', and to take the rest of the verse as a fragment of another distich similar to 23^3, though it is hard to say how the text assumed its present shape. — 8. |^ Sd'^D; @ (and so ^f^) Trepi- XafidKUcrov; ,S2C 3i3n; IL arripe. The vb. may be denom. from n'^^b or nbpc; but, as from these nouns it may be inferred that the st. = lift up (so here Aben Ez. Qamhi), it may here be rendered, in general accord with the rest of the v., prize. For other renderings see Schultens' note. Frank, pro- poses to emend to m'^Dn '?n, from Aram. nSo, = Heb. m, on which see note on this V. above. — In ^ (5, not so well, takes n33 as Impv. with 3 sing. fern, suff., attaches 2 sing. suff. to 'p^t, and connects by 'iva (|§ 13). SIIT reverse the positions of the vbs. — 9. hmS occurs only twice in OT., here and i^; the stem in Heb. and Aram. = he attached to, accompany, in Arab, and Eth. twist, wind (so perh. also in Heb. in''i':'), which is the meaning in hm^. Or. (as in I^) reads pS^So. — |^ ^J3an; (5 {iirepacnrlarj, but stem |JD { = give, give up Gen. 14^0 Hos. ii^) is not connected with po shield, which appears to come from p enclose, protect. Gr. proposes ^J;^"l bind (see 6^1) which is hardly better than |^. 10-19. A separate discourse, consisting of exhortation to obey the sag-e's instruction (v."'"^''), and to avoid the way of the wicked in view of their character (v.'^''), with a description IV. lo-ii 91 of the paths of the righteous and the wicked (v.^* '"). The order of verses m the second half is unsatisfactory, and is variously changed by commentators. Hitzig omits v.'"- ''' as interpolation, inverts the order of v.'^- '', and before the latter inserts for ; Delitzsch, Nowack, Strack, Graetz simply invert the order of yi8. 19^ Bickell places v.^'' ^" after v.'*- ^^ The inversion of the order of v.^*- " seems to be all that is needed to secure a natural sequence. 10. Hear, my son, and receive my words, And the years of thy life will be many. 11. In the way of wisdom I instruct thee, Lead thee in the paths of uprightness. 12. When thou walkest, thy steps will be unimpeded, And if thou run, thou wilt not stumble. 13. Hold fast i my > instruction — let it not go — Keep it, for it is thy life. 14. Enter not the path of the wicked, Walk not in the way of bad men; 15. Avoid it, traverse it not. Shun it, and pass on. 16. For they sleep not unless they have done harm, Nor slumber unless they have made some one stumble; 17. They eat the bread of wickedness. And dpnk the wine of violence. 19. The way of the wicked is like darkness — They know not at what they stumble. 18. But the path of the righteous is like the light of the dawn Which shines ever brighter till the full day comes. 10. Protasis and apodosis, ternary, or quaternary. Lagarde (by a slight change of text) reads : hear, my son, the instruction of my words, etc., but elsewhere instruction is ascribed not to words, but to a person, and the verb receive is favored by 2^. The form of address is similar to that of v.' ; on sing, son, instead of plu. sons, see note on that verse. The reward — long life — as in 3^- ^*'. It is again the sage that is the source of instruction. — 11. Synony- mous, ternary. The sage (as in v.~) characterizes his instruction. Not (RV.) have taught (or, instructed') and have led ; the refer- ence is to the present instruction. Wisdom is here parallel to 92 PROVERBS uprightness, practical moral goodness. There is no mention of a divine law ; this, no doubt, is taken for granted, but the teacher's present interest is the practical guidance of life. — 12. Synony- mous, ternary-binary, or ternary. The inducement. For the ex- pression of first cl. cf. Job 1 8"'; lit. thy step zvill not be straitened. The life of a good man is likened to a journey on a well-made road — there will be no narrow and difficult ways, nor any stones or other occasions of stumbling, even when one runs ; cf. 3^- ^. — 13. Synonymous, ternary. Repetition of exhortation. The my in- struction (after the Grk. — the Heb. has simply instruction) is in accordance with v.^"- ", in which the teacher offers his own words for the guidance of the pupil. The it is fern, in the Heb., though the word for instruction is masc. ; the writer in thought identifies the latter with wisdom ; cf. 2'- ^i- -•-'--. Life is to be understood as in v.^" ; it includes not only length of days, but also all else that is desirable ; while the reference is not primarily or chiefly to the inner life, this is probably involved in the writer's scheme — moral enlightenment, he means to say, is the essence of life (cf. Eccl. 12^^), and is to be resolutely grasped and held. Grk. : keep it for thy life, the same idea as in the Hebrew. 14-17. "Warning against association with bad men on the ground of their moral character. — 14, 15. Synonymous ; v." is ternary, v.^^ is binary (curt, sharp injunction). Warning. Emphatic iteration. In v.'""^ the sense is not even if thou etiter, continue not to walk therein. On walk see critical note. — 16, 17. Synony- mous ; v.^'^ is quaternary, v.^'' ternary. Characterization of the manner of life of the wicked. Hyperbolical expression of their Ufe as one of violence (legal and illegal unkindness, oppression, robbery, murder). The type of character portrayed is an ex- treme one, reckless violence ; no account is taken of those whom moral evil has only slightly touched. The writer may have in mind the foreign and native oppressors of the Jews in the fourth and third centuries B.C., as in xp 14. 53. 64. 74, etc. ; more proba- bly he is thinking of a class of men that was numerous in the great cities of that period, unscrupulous government agents, reve- nue farmers, grasping and desperate men of all sorts, some of whom are described by Josephus. The conditions of the society IV. 12-19 93 of the time were favorable to violence and oppression, and it is on these conditions that the writer bases his description, which must thus be taken as a local picture of life. His division of men is simple : they are wholly good, or wholly bad, or ignorant and stupid ; he does not recognize the nicer and more complicated experiences of the soul. There is a certain justification for this general point of view : evil, it may be said, whatever its degree, is always evil, and therefore to be avoided ; dallying with trans- gression of assured moral rules is dangerous. This is the sharply defined, objective old-Hebrew view, which stands in contrast with the modern disposition to distinguish and divide, to recognize good and evil in all things. — The defining terms wickedness and violence (v.^') may express substance or origin ; the meaning may be that these are the food and drink of the wicked (cf. Job 15"^ 34'), or that the latter procure the necessaries and goods of life by these means (cf. 9^^), and both these senses are permitted by the general connection and by the parallelism of v.^*^ ; the first interpretation is favored by Procopius, Schultens, Umbreit al., the second by C. B. Michaelis, De., Zockler, Strack, Nowack. The general sense is not affected by this difference of interpretation ; the first sense appears to suit the context better. — The last word of v.^" cause {some one) to stumble presents a difficulty : the object is not expressed in the Heb. (the form in the text is intrans., the trans, form is given in the margin), and the Syr. has //// they do their desire ; the Heb. may be corrupt, but no satisfactory emenda- tion is obvious. — Hitzig omits v.^*^- ^' on the ground that they have no logical connection with v.'"', but the relation between the verses seems clear. 18, 19. Contrasted fortunes of wicked and righteous, pre- sented as a motive for living righteously. As v.^""* connects itself by the sense with v.^', and the initial and {but) of v.^'* more natu- rally indicates a contrast with v.^'-*, it is better to transpose the two verses. — 19. Progressive, ternary. The characterizadon of the life of bad men as uncertain and perilous follows fitly on the pre- ceding description of their moral character. The figure is that of a man stumbling on in darkness — so the wicked is exposed to perils of fortune. These pertain not to his inward moral and 94 PROVERBS religious experiences, but to his outward fate ; the reference, as the context shows, is not to the darkening of the intellect and the hardening of the conscience by sin, but to outward uncertainty and misfortunes, such as sudden death and the loss of worldly goods (cf. i^^-^^ 2^' etc.). — Instead of as darkness some Heb. MSS. have in darkness, and the ancient Vrss. dark; our text is favored by the as of v.^^. The noun, used only in poetry and solemn prose, means deep darkness and gloom ; so in Ex. lo-^ Dt. 28-'-' Joel 2^ etc., and cf, the similar term in Job 3^ 10^^ (g has two renderings, one = |^, while in the other mmx or lOTi stands instead of nui", or (Heid.), less probably, niSoi:' (^'?'3r?), which does not occur else- where in Pr. The second rendering, as freer, is prob. original (Jag., Lag.), only 65ol, which is unnatural, seems to l^e scribal error, through incorrect hear- ing of the copyist (itacism), or through oSovs in next v., or through corruption of the Heb. — ST "'JC, error for i'7D. — 11. The vbs. are Pres. Perfs. — |^ -\•^-\■, (5 65oi)s (and so 5>3C), which agrees with plu. in '•, and may be rhetorical assimilation, or original Heb. reading. — 12. |^ ^J;i', poetic and elevated term for step, walk; plu., by natural usage of language, in ©SIL and RV. — 5 ]'j}V} shaken, free rendering of ||J ij;\ — 13. Read ■noir', with (5 ^^i^s watSe/as, as the connection requires. In '^ (5 has free rendering of |^. — 14. 1^ ntrsn (st. as in nw", and Arab, id) ; the Pi. occurs elsewhere only in caus. sense = lead, or call happy, and, as the connection (parallel N^n) here suggests the meaning go foriuard, walk, it is better to point as Qal, as in 9''; Lag. writes niifn (for nia'sn), which perh. gives an easier rhythm. The Vrss. translate by regard as fortunate (^desirable), be pleased with, envy, (§ ^rfkdxrris, AG ixaKaplaris, &^ pT, 3L tibi placeat (and in ^ IL, by assimilation, has delecteris). — 15. |§ inv?-iD is sustained by parallel nor; ® (foil, by ^) iv If dLV Tdiro) a-TpaToweSeiJO-wa-iv, perh. = inyiD (Jag.) or lopD (Lag.), or DnyiD (Oort) their pasture-ground or camp, though the word occurs in OT. only of flocks; Heid. suggests the improbable ^Si: district (only Neh. 3^ "'• (S -nepi- Xw/3os) ; Schult., after the Arab., distiirba seriein ejus, " give up association with them; " 3C^»°- ii""^** (Buxt. z'-\n '3lr. tr'nx), heed not, pass over, without suff ., and following suffs. in plu. — nau' is perhaps Aramaism. — 16. |^ K 1^11:0% Q better 'h^Z':^-' (so ST), though without obj. expressed (see Ew., § 303 c) ; (5 Koifj.SivfaL (writing 1 instead of ax) = laDS'i (Schleusn., Lag.) or 1231^ (Oort), less prob. ijr^ (Heid.); Si pnjias ]:-\2]! do their will, not = iS^a'^'' cook, mature (Umbr.) or •b-'Va^ get control (?/"(Heid.), but free rendering or interpretation of |^ = (/(j harm, work their wicked will on (JK> work fall or destruction^. Oort proposes to read in''n':'i destroy, of which, he suggests, the iPC'i of v.i'^ may be mutilation. Bi. regards ^ as scribal erroneous copy of last word of v.^^ (which v. he puts immediately before v.^^), and reads iji'?^ tnurmur, speak blaspheviously, which (§, he holds, took wrongly in its other sense of lodge. These readings offer no advantage over J^. — 17. |§ o''D.':n; g6 PROVERBS (5 irapavofxii) = pj — |^ irii'i; (g nedvcTKovTai = nDi'i or nx', which Oort thinks may be the true reading of pj, the iniri being then corruption of in^n'i'i (see n. on v}^). S>'^ their bread {p-orh) is the b. of wickedness (® of the wicked), vi\i\c\i is not favored by ^ — 19. pj ^'^?^'?; 15 MSS. and Bibl. Brix. have a instead of 3, and so (§S2C3L have adjs. = dark, a reading which agrees well with ^, giving explicitly the reason why the wicked stumble — their way is in darkness ; on the other hand |^ is favored by the 2 of v.^^ — the way is dan- gerous, like darkness. — Instead of hz^z^ noJ Bi. (on what ground he does not state) reads iSirDaa \^ihey do not perceive or take note of'\ its stumbling-blocks, which does not appear to be rhythmically or otherwise better than |§. — 18. (5 takes njj, ~^\7\ and iin as preds. of nns (which it reads as plu., 65ol) ; this is hardly possible so far as regards the two last, which naturally refer to the noun niN; the first may be understood as Partcp. agreeing with niN (so SsW^L and RV.) or, less probably, with mx (in which case it must be fern. — so perh. (5), or as vb. (Oort) referring to mx (so perh. (@), or as subst. defining ^^^^ In this last case it must mean dazvn, early light, and this rendering is favored by the fact that it offers a contrast to the full day of ''. The pointing as Partcp. agreeing with mx, while grammatically good, is rhetorically not proba- ble; light is said to shine (Isa. g-t^) Job 18^ 22-^), and the moon is said (Isa. 13^") to cause its light to shine, but light is not elsewhere described as a shining thing; if the epithet were employed, the expression would naturally be defined by the name of the luminary or source of light, njj does not else- where in OT. certainly occur in the sense of dawn (possibly in Isa. 62^, cf. 2 Sam. 23*) ; but cf. v\a.yiia.Tos), a in S and apparently in (S (TrdcrTj (pvKaKrj), and 3L {pmni custodia) ; the latter is adopted by Oort, Bi., Frank., RV., and seems preferable; 'n means properly the act of zuaUhi>7g, hardly the thing 'cvatched — the two interpretations give the same general sense. — The to-utwv of (5 in ^ appears to refer to the X670is of v.-'^ (so Procop. understands it) ; the pronouns in the section are strangely varied in ®. — 24. The Vrss. except ST, render by various adjs. the substs. which in |§ are defined by r\Q and uV-^s;' (so RV. ) J deep, representing |^ mti'p;*, is apparently miswrit- ing of Nn-ip;? (E Nrnp^) ; cf. Si 22*5. — On niiS see Ew., § 165 h, Stade, § 304 r, Preuschen, in ZAT., 1895, ^^^^ De.'s note; the regular form of stat. const. (from TiS) would be '^ — this seems to be poetic variation, unless it be from an otherwise unknown st. n;S, like niaif, nij'i' from 7\yi'. The forms in n-i appear to be Aramaisms. — 25. Both terms of direction hdjS and ■^^JJ are improperly understood by (§ in an ethical sense, 6p9a and dlKaia (and so S>^ Procop.), and the first by S2uiL (not by AGS); cf. ;/' if. — 2Q. pj" is para- phrased by S9r keep thy feet (lit. make t. f. pass by') from evil -ways (as in V.2'). IL dirige for dSs. — |^ '?3 is omitted by (§ (in reversal of its custom, which is to insert a So in such statements), except H-P 296 (correction after J^). i:;'' is taken as active by (§ASG. — For variations of patrist. writers see IV. 27-V. 2 lOI H-P. — 27. |l| j;"»D; (§ dirb oSov KaKrjs, as in 2^^ — Qn the added quatrain in (S see note above. V. A discourse against sexual licentiousness in men. — After the usual introductory exhortation to give heed to instruction (v.^-^), the deadly influence of the harlot is described (v,^"''), the pupil is cautioned to avoid her lest loss of wealth and destruction come on him (v.'""), and is urged to conjugal fidelity (v.^"°), the motive presented being the fate of the vi^icked (v."-^).* Cf BS. 23'"--« 42*-!^ The Deadly Power of the Harlot. V.^A 1. My son, give heed to [] wisdom, t To [] understanding f lend thine ear, 2. That discretion may watch < over thee,' That knowledge [] may preserve i thee,> [To save thee from the harlot. The woman of enticing words.] 3. For the lips of the harlot drop honey, Her words are smoother than oil; 4. But at the last she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. 5. Her feet go down to Death, Her steps lead down to Sheol; 6. < No ' well-built highway of life she walks, Uncertain her paths and not < firm.' 1,2. The general exhortation. — 1. Synonymous, ternary. The Heb. (in this followed by all Anc. Vrss.) has the poss. prons. 7/n' wisdom and my understanding ; but the sage, while he speaks of his own words, commandments, law, instruction, never elsewhere claims rvisdom (= understanding, knowledge, insight, or discretion^ as his own, but represents it as the goal to which his instruction leads; see 2^''^-^^^ 3^-^ ^1.2.10.20. ^^j. ^^ meanings of the terms see note on i-"^. — 2. The text is in disorder, and can be only con- jecturally restored ; and the connection between v? and v.^ is not expressed. The Heb. (followed substantially by all Vrss. except * On v.21 see note on that verse below. t Heb. : my wisdom and my understanding. I02 PROVERBS Grk.) reads to preserve [= that thou jjiayest preserve'] discretion [= sagacit}', insight], and that thy lips may keep knowledge. But the reference to the lips of the pupil, proper in ^^, is out of place here ; lips utter, but do not keep ; we should rather expect thy mind {heart), as in 3^ 4'*, or simply keep thou, as in 4^" 7^, if the point is the inward acceptance of wisdom or instruction. The mention of the lips of a strange woman, in v;'', might suggest, as contrast, my lips ; so Grk. : and the knoivledge of my lips is en- joined [or, according to another reading, / enjoin] on thee. This is so far better than the Heb. as it refers to the utterance of lips, but it is syntactically not in accord with the preceding (in which the pupil is the subject), and the expression is strange — the lips of the teacher are nowhere else described as the possessors^ of knowledge, though they are said (15") to scatter knowledge, that is, by words. These considerations are unfavorable to the emen- dations that the knowledge of my lips may be preserved for you (Oort), and that my lips may etijoiti knowledge on thee (Bickell). It is hardly possible to construe the expression thy lips (or, my lips), which appears to have been introduced by an early scribe from the next verse. Dyserinck, omitting this expression, and seeking a connection between v.^ and v.'\ reads : that thou mayest keep discretion and knowledge, that they may preserve {thee) from the stra77ge woman (cf. ']'^). Some such form as this is required by the connection. The resemblance between this passage and 2U. IB yi-5 jg obvious, and we should probably here introduce a couplet like 2^'' 7^, and read : that discretion may watch over thee and ktiowledge p/eserve thee, to save thee from the strange woman, etc. (as in the translation given above). 3-6. Description of the harlot; cf 2^*"-i» 7.5-21.26.27^ The de- scription follows abruptly on the exhortation, while elsewhere there is an easy transition from the appeal {hear, attend) to the subject-matter of the instruction. Before v.^ the Grk. inserts give no heed to a worthless wo7nan (Lat. . . . to a woman^s deceit) ; but this destroys the distichal form of the verse ; it is a scribal effort to secure connection between v." and v.^, but it is not in the manner of similar passages, and probably does not represent a Heb. text. On other proposed transitional expressions see note V. 2-3 I03 above; some reference to the strange woman must have preceded v.'^, but it was early lost. — The warning is addressed only to men ; nothing is said of the danger to women from the seductions of men. This silence may be due in part to the belief that women were more hedged in and guarded by social arrangements, and less exposed to temptation than men ; but it is chiefly the result of the fact that in the O T. (as in most ancient and modern works on practical ethics) it is only men that are had in mind, the moral independence of women not being distinctly recognized. The only addresses to women as such in OT. are the denunciation of the luxurious ladies of Jerusalem in Isa. 3^''-4^ (connected with the nation's defection from Yahweh), and the similar sarcastic prediction of Am. 4'"'', directed against the great ladies of Samaria. Ez. (13'''^^) denounces the prophetesses in their official capacity. Ben-Sira (2 5-"'-'^ 26^" 42®'") directs the husband how to deal with his erring wife, and the father how to manage his daughter, but addresses no word of advice to women. In our chapter the man who is warned is thought of as married (v.'*), and, if we may con- clude from 7^", the woman against whom he is warned is married. The married state is regarded as the normal one ; in ancient life, men, as a rule, were married at an early age. — 3. Synonymous, ter- nary. On strange ivoman, = harlot, see note on 2''^. The specious, soft-speaking hps are, compared to a honeycomb, and are said to drop honey (the word means the honey of the comb), an expression which in Cant. 4" denotes not sweet speech but bodily sweetness. Bickell judges, from the parallelism, that the verb drop does not belong here, but has been introduced from Cant. 4", and that we should read the lips . . . are honey ; the emendation hardly im- proves the rhythm of the Heb., and is otherwise improbable — the sweetness of honey is a standard of comparison in the Bible (Ju. \^^* Ez. 3'^ Rev. 10^'" 1// 19^" iiq'"^), but neither mouth nor lip is called honey; we might, perhaps, say are sweet as honey, or, are as honey, though, while words are called honey (16"^), the mouth or the lip is rather the source from which the honey drops or flows. — The term rendered words (RV. mouth) is properly palate (roof of the mouth), to which the tongue cleaves from thirst (Lam. 4'*) or from emotion (Job 29'"), the result being sometimes dumbness (Ez. 3-'^) ; it is the organ of physical taste I04 PROVERBS (Job 12"), and thence comes to express intellectual discernment (Job 6^") ; and it is used, as here, for the vocal cavity as the seat of speech (8' Hos. 8') ; its smoothness denotes ilattery (29') or hypocrisy ( 23'^ Lam. 3'^- '") or, as here, as the natural outcome of man's sin. The plant meant is some species oi Artemisia*; the word is probably here used in a generic sense ; Grk. bite, the other Vrss. absinthium. — 5. Synonymous, ternary. See 2'^ Death is here a place, = the realm of death, = Sheol. — Lead doivn to is lit. take hold on (as in \\i 17^) = cleave to, follow (or, keep) the ^path to. On Sheol see note on i^^'. The woman's manner of life is represented as fatal to earthly well-being — to enter into relations with her is to go the way that shortens one's days ; the purely moral side of the procedure is not referred to. This is part of the general repre- sentation of the Book that wickedness brings death, that is, pre- mature and unhappy death ; so 2^"- " 4'^. Whether in the present case death comes from the weakening of bodily strength or by direct intervention of God is not said. The connection does not suggest a reference to legal punishment. — Grk. : for the feet of folly (perh. a philosophical abstraction) lead her associates with death to Hades, and her steps are 7iot firmly fixed, paraphrase, loith instead of to, incorrect division of the verse, and consequent inser- * See Celsius, Hieroboianicttm ; Tristram, Survey ; J. H. Balfour, Plants of the Bible. V. 3-6 105 tion of the negative. Lat., second cl. : her steps penetrate imto the Underworld or the dead {ad inferos). — 6. Text and trans- lation are uncertain. The Heb. reads : the path of life lest she [or, thoii] make level, her ways are unstable \_totter, reel, luaiider aim- lessly\, she knoivs not [or, thou knotucst not'\ ; that is, her ways are unstable in order that she 7nay not [or, that tliou may est not'\ prepare the paths of life ; but in sentences in which the protasis is introduced by lest, the apodosis always states that which is done in order that something else may not happen (the two things must, of course, be different), while here the two clauses are identical in meaning — to say that her paths are unstable in order that they may not be stable, or, in order that thou, if thou walk in them, raayest not be stable (cf. 4^*^), gives no sense, and could not have been written by the Heb. author. The Anc. Vrss. take first cl. as an independent affirmation parallel to second cl., and have not instead of lest, and this no doubt gives the proper general form (but RV. so that . . not is impossible). The con- nection indicates that it is the woman (and not the man) that is spoken of throughout the verse ; the verb in first cl. means jnake plane, and not enter on, walk in (Anc. Vrss.), or, ponder (Schult. RV. marg.). The last phrase of the verse, she knoivs not, is strange, whether it be taken to mean that she knows not that her ways are unstable, or that she knows not whither her ways wander — the point indicated by the connection is not her ignorance (in 9^^ ignorance is appropriately introduced, and cf. i/' 35*^), but the evil character of her paths. Our verse is clearly intended to express the contrast to 4-" : there make level the path of thy feet, here she does not make level the 7vay of life ; there let all thy ways be made firm, here her paths are unstable and, after which we expect an expression = not fi?-m. There might seem, further, to be tautology in the terms way of life and 7nake level, since a way that leads to life must of necessity, according to OT, usage, be level ; but life here appears to stand as contrast to the death of the preceding verse, and the verb may be retained in the sense of prepare, or may be changed to one meaning tread or enter, as in the Versions. We may, with probability, read : she prepares not a highway of life, lie r paths wander and are not firm. — Notwith- standing the uncertainties of the text, the general sense of the I06 PROVERBS verse is clear : the path of the harlot is unstable and does not lead to life — the verse states negatively what v.^ states positively, that is, she and her associates are doomed to a premature and wretched death, 1. Drop the i pers. suffs. ; see note above. — (5 writes ^ as in 4-'', \6yoi^ (so S>, only sing.), exc. H-P 23, 252, which have (ppoviria-ei. ^^ has doublet, first = (@E«'- (with obel.), second = |^(§-^- ^^-, the latter being correction after 1^. Between <3^ and pj it is not easy to decide; p? is perh. favored by the parallelism. — 2. To n:;:;''? Bi. appends suff. -\, which is proper (as subj.), though not necessary in poetical style. SST, taking 'D as subj., render 'Z'h by Pass. Impf. and insert a before 'c. — |^ ni3?:o; (5 evvoiav a.'ya.Oijv. — In ^ (gB.s*(vid) S^iad-qcns 5k ifiQv x"^^'^" fVT^Weral croL^m^ iS iPfltJ' 'il (Jag., adopted by Bi.); the other MSS. of (5 dicr97](riv . . . ivT^Wofiai ctol z= nixN . . .; on the objection to this reading and that of |^ see note above. The passage should perhaps stand as follows (cf. 2^^- ^^) : t-isji nJ;^^ hdtd TiDtrn npiSnn nnox nnsjD mr nrxa ^S^xn'7 Or, the first half only of second line may be inserted, and we shall then have a couplet quaternary-ternary. — 3. (§ (and so substantially 3L) prefixes /jltj irpdffexe 4>a(i\ri yvvaiKi, — n^MX nrxS 3^'.:'pn Sx, against which the objection based on the rhythm seems decisive, though some such connecting phrase (see note on v.^ above) is necessary. — 1§ mr; (§ TvbpvT)s, — nj;, or free rendering of 1^. — 1^ p'^r\; IL nitidius (= more shining ox sleeker), free trans, of |^, or perh. from some form of S^n. — |^ icn'ip; (5 Trpos Kaiphv apparently (Lag.) for -Kph iXalov; 29 virip eXaiov; for abv read t6v (Jag.). — Bi. improperly omits njoap, which is required by the usage of language. — The primitive sense of in (for "ijn) palate is uncertain, perh. a narroxv aperture or passage (Ges. Thes., Dillm. Lex. Ling. Aeih., cf. pjn, pjy) ; the vb. is denom., = in Arab, to rub a child'' s palate (with chewed dates, etc.) when it is named, proba- bly by way of dedication to the clan-deity (W. R. Smith, Kinship, p. 154), and hence perh. initiate, dedicate, educate ; in Heb. train a child (22^), dedicate a private residence (Dt. 20^) or a temple (i K. S''^) ; cf. note on 22^; the proper name lun (if it be Heb.) may, like Arab. y^r\, mean a man of experience or wisdom. Cf. Lane, Lex. ; BDB. — On ST see Lag., Pink. — 4. Instead of pj as (d) (5 has than (0 = jc) ; cf. Heb. 4^^. Ss has jc in both clauses, 3^ in i' only; there was confusion between 3 and D in the Heb. MSS. (easy in either the old or the square script). — At end of " (§ rhetorically adds evpifjceLs, and ^ makes suff. to nnns" plu., referring to its words in v.^ (|^ in). — 5. On the para- phrasing text of (@ see notes of Jag., Lag. ; it paraphrases suff. in n^^Sj-i, takes nn-f as Hif., has rx before m*:, and Nif. of idp, before which it inserts neg.; SE Gr. -|?:d; 1L penetrant; S" nPD(= (@) ; Bi. writes 'Hi 'S sing.; there is no reason for changing |^, unless, as in 2^^, preps, be inserted before mn and V. 6 T07 ^)X"\ though these may stand as objectives without preposition. — 6. |tj jd is unintelligible; the connection requires a neg. (perh. S2), as all Anc. Vrss. take it. Succeeding interpretations have been various. Talmud, A/oed Katon, 9 a : do 7iot ponder the path of life (that is, to discover the precepts, obedience to which is most rewarded by God) ; Rashi : do not ponder the zvay of the life of the woman, for all her paths lead to death; Schultens (connecting it with 5'^) : (she plunges into Sheol) lest perchance she should ponder, etc., and possibly repent (a result which she wishes to avoid) ; C. B. Mich. : (her ways wander) lest thou ponder, etc. ; Ew. al. : lest she ponder ; Nowack, Strack : that she may not enter on ; Kamp. : that she may miss; De. (adopting an untenable translation of ;d) : she is far from entering; Noyes : she gives no heed to; Frank, omits the line as incapable of satisfactory translation, but thinks that (@ gives the sense properly. The objections to ja are first its position (not at beginning of clause), and secondly, the identity of content of the two clauses; on the supposed similarity in this last respect of 15^3 (i^'c'", cited by Now.), see note on that verse. — |^ ms; S N>'"*>^', miswriting of NmiN (Vogel). — 1^ D'?3n; (5 freely irr^pxeTai (and so ^'iE) ; IL ambulant, referring to pedes v.^, or to gressus v.^; Gr. "|SD.n subvert. |^ may be retained. — ||J jjin N"? is omitted by Bi. as marring the parallelism; it is rhythmically and in sense inappropriate. The Vrss. represent |^; (S (foil, by f through the greatness of his folly. 21. Synonymous, ternary. The universal supervision of God is cited as a general reason for carefulness in conduct ; the principle applies to all men, not especially to adulterers. In second cl. the parallelism favors the rendering weighs — God has his eye on, estimates and judges human actions (Grk. obsei-ves, Targ., Syr., all his ways are Jincovered before him). We may also translate makes plane (see note on 4-'^), understanding this expression to mean arrajjges, makes possible, that is, God so ordains life that the bad man may run his course and meet his punishment, man is free (De., Now., Str.) ; but here, as in i^^-^-^ it seems to be the judgment of God rather than the freedom of man that the writer has in view. The way in which the divine government shows itself is explained in the following verses. — Such must be the course of thought if the present text be correct. But the connec- tion between v.-^ and the following verses is not clear. V.^^ regards all men, good and bad, v."- ^^ regard bad men only. The insertion of the words the wicked, in wP, appears to show that the reference in the ///;;/ was thought to need explanation ; and it is natural to suppose that, when the verse was written, the reference was clear, that is, that the antecedent of hijn had been expressed. The same thing is true of the his in first line of v.^^ — it has now no expressed antecedent. It follows either that v.^^ originally referred to the 7vicked (a supposition with which the general verb weigh does not agree), or that some passage (perhaps a couplet) * Heb. inserts the wicked. f Heb. : go astray. V. 21-23 117 referring to the "wicked " has fallen out, or that v.-^ is the inser- tion of an editor. The last construction would still require a modification of v." (see note on this verse below). — 22. Synon- ymous, binary-ternary "(in the emended form of the couplet). In first cl. the Heb. has shall catch him, the wicked, in which both objects cannot be original, and it is more probable that the explicit term the wicked is an old scribal explanation (found in Targ., Syr., Lat., but not in Grk.). The rendering (obtained by changing the text) his oivn iniquities shall catch the wicked is pos- sible but syntactically hard. Possibly we should read : the wicked shall be caught in his iniquities, or, less probably (with Grk.) : iniquities shall catch a man. — The figure is that of an animal caught in a net, the man is caught in his own wrongdoings (the plu. sins is given in most of the Anc. Vrss.). This is the dispen- sation of God, and it is implied that it is also the natural course of things. Net is literally strings or threads. — 23. Synonymous, ternary. The thought is that of i''"-^^ — sin is the result of lack of instruction, of the guidance of divine wisdom as given particularly in the teaching of the sages ; see the preceding sections passitn. Further, death is the outcome of sin, see i^", etc. The parallel- ism, with comparison also of such couplets as i^^, seems to require the sense perish in second cl. (so one reading of the Grk.). The Heb. has go astray, an expression so weak alongside of the die of first cl. that those who retain it have to interpret it as = stagger or fall into the grave or into utter ruin (Noyes, Reuss, De., al.'), a sense which the Heb. verb nowhere else has, or wander from the path of life (Wild.), for which pregnant sense there is no author- ity. — V.^^'-^, as regards the idea, constitute a separate paragraph, which, however, does not give the expected quatrain-form ; some critics, therefore, attach v.^^ to v.^" (with which it is not logically connected). The chapter, as it stands, has an uneven number of couplets, and, consequently, at least one defective quatrain. This defect may be removed by changes of text, as by the omission of a couplet ('"> fo"^ which 12 Heb. codd. and one cod. of 91 (De' Rossi) have wd, (@ p-trh. and so S>1L Arab., the commoner construction, and possibly the right reading here and elsewhere (Eccl. 2}^ 2 C. 2o2'') ; Midr. Mishle has c, Shohar Tab 1 .'— 19. ^n"| is the reading of the Occident, recension, and the Q of the Orient., which as K. has imii (Ginsb.). For njrn 3 codd. of De' Rossi have njirn increase, prob. scribal error. The Vrss. find difficulty in construction and sense. (5 fills out "^ with o/xiXelru} aoi, in ^ has t'St'a (-[laS?) for nn^, and r)yei- adui (no^?) and avvicTTU} (u'"'^?) for i']"' (Lag.) (but these terms may be merely allegorizing paraphrases), in •= renders i^cn by ttoXXoo-tos eVrj. ^ writes nnmiN in '', either allegorizing or reading ni3-n for niTi. 3C allegorizes throughout; only AS (and doubtless 9) % Arab, follow |^ literally. Bi., tak- ing avviarw (tol as = i"? yiP, inserts ri^inn before p;; '^22, thus gaining an additional line, parallel to the "= of |^, an attractive emendation if the sense required (^intoxicate) could be shown to belong to Hif. of '^yi ; see note on this verse above. The text of |^ is to be retained in b<', but it is doubtful whether * formed part of the original Heb.; see n. on this v. above. The emendation nm for r^^'^i (Hitz., al.) is not necessary; cf. Geiger, Urschrift, 397 ff. — 20. pj rxycr, in 3 codd. 'rr; (5 ttoXi/s, = Aram, nju'n ; cf. BS. 9*. 2r JJTi'n lead astray, Si N^an go astray. — pn is omitted in B-D by typo- graphical error. — 21. Nin should be inserted 4Defore d'^dd. — 22. Omit ns yiinn as scribal explicitum, with (S; the termination of the vb. ''71 is f_, not 1J-. — (5 dvdpa, whence Bi. u\sn, which is not probable; dvdpa seems to be merely explicit expression of the Heb. suffix. Possibly we should read : 'r'j2 i;z'-\n -idSi (cf. 6^ 11^ Eccl. 7^6). — 23. Nin, supported by the Vrss., gives un- necessary emphasis, and has perh. got into this place by scribal transposition from v.^'. — (§ fxera dTraLdevTwu, perh. error for 5ta dTraidevaiaw, as 2 has it. — VI. iig pj rtrc'\ weak and inappropriate, perh. scrilial repetition from v.-'' — we expect a vb. like nnir or -i3X or better yr, which occurs along with pi;: in Job 3I1 4I'; the change of yiJi into nj^" is graphically not very difficult. (§ ei^epicprj perh. = ■i'?!^"! or ifir. tor its /Siottjtos (which stands in the place of Ti'i'in) Schl. suggests ■fj\i6L6T7]T OS. @ adds the line /cai dwibXero di acppoavv-qv, which Jager, Baumg., take as rendering of % Schl., Lag., more probably as rend, of ^ (Schl. writes 5ia iroWrjv avroO dcpp.), and the vb. air. sustains the change of text above proposed. VI. The second half of the chapter (v."""''^) is a discourse against adultery, similar to that of ch. 5. — The first half consists of four short sections wholly different in style from the rest of this Division (chs. 1-9) ; while the other discourses are general praises of wisdom, or warnings against robbery and debauchery, conceived in a broad and solemn way, these are homely warn- ings against petty vices, with one arithmetical enumeration of sins. V.^"^ : against going security for others ; v.^" : against sloth ; v.^"^^ : against mischief-making ; v.^'^^'^ : against seven sins. In tone these closely resemble 2 2''-24^^ and 30'^""^ with which they obviously belong. Since they interrupt the course of thought in chs. 1-9, it is not hkely that they were here inserted by the author of this Division ; they were probably misplaced by an editor or scribe, and at an early period, since they occur here in all the Ancient Versions. The metrical unit is the couplet, most of the lines being ternary ; a division into quatrains is not always recognizable. 1-5. In eager, semi-humorous fashion men are cautioned against pledging themselves pecuniarily for others — a thrifty, self- regarding, prudent injunction, sound from the point of view of social-economic justice and kindness, though the author would probably not deny that there are times when such prudential maxims must be thrown to the winds. Cf. 11'^ 17'** 20'*' 22-'' 27'^, BS. 29'^-'^; in favor of suretyship is BS. 29'^'^ Commercial lend- ing is to be distinguished from lending to the poor and unfortu- nate (Ex. 2 2^'^'''*' xp 37'"), though borrowing is regarded in 22'' as a misfortune. 1. If, my son, thou hast become surety for thy fellow, Hast pledged thyself for another, 2. Hast snared thyself by thine own < lips,' * Trapped thyself by the words of thy mouth, * Heb. : t/ie words of thy mouth. I20 TROVERBS 3. Then do this, my son [] * — For thou art come into thy fellow's power — Go in hot haste, And beset thy fellow, 4. Give not sleep to thine eyes Nor slumber to thine eyelids, 5. Free thyself as a gazelle from the < snaie,' t And as a bird from the hand of the fowler. 1, 2. Synonymous, v.' ternary, v." (as emended) binary. The earnest, eager tone suggests that the writer has experienced or observed the predicament which he describes — it is a business- man advising his friend. The address my sou, with which the Heb. begins, here not inappropriate, is by some critics omitted on rhythmical grounds. Pledged thyself, ht. struck thy hand, refer- ence to a legal procedure for concluding a bargain (cf. 2 K. 10''). In v.^* lips (instead of the words of thy mouth of the Heb.) is taken from the Grk., and is in accordance with the usage of the context, in which synonyms and not repetitions are employed. Fellow and another (RV. stranger) here mean any person with whom one has dealings — the terms are not contrasted, but synonymous; for the first see Gen. i v" Ex. 2'^ 20'" Pr. 6"^, etc., for the second I K. 3^'^ Job 15'" Pr. 5'", etc. The figure of the couplet is taken from hunting — the unwary surety is an animal caught in a trap. — 3-5. The rest of the section urges the surety to get out of his difficulty as quickly as possible. — 3. Probably a quatrain (as in the Grk.), though the text is not quite certain; the first couplet may be taken as ternary, the second couplet as binary. This refers to what follows. The expression and free thyself, added in the Heb. at the end of the first line, is anticipatory, unnecessary, and inter- ruptive ; it was probably inserted by a scribe from v.^ The second line is parenthetical, and states the reason for prompt action ; power is lit. hand ; the commoner expression is to fall into one^s hand (2 S. 24" Lam. i', cf. Nah. 3'-). The verb in third line is doubtful in form and signification. It is taken by some to mean tread, stamp, crush thyself down, demean, humble thyself (^N .) ; by others, as denominative from a word meaning mire, in the equiv- alent sense ^^/ doivn into the mire (see Ez. 34^^ and cf. Pr. 25"'''). * Heb. adds (probably from v.^) : and free thyself. f Heb. : hand. VI. 1-5 121 The connection favors the meaning violently bestir thyself (RV. marg. bestir thyself), act impetuously or move quickly (so the Vulg.). Grk. : Do, my son, what I bid thee, and save thyself — for thou art come into the hands of bad men on thy friend^ s ac- count— be not slack, but sharply assail thy friend also for whom thou hast pledged thyself — the same general meaning as that of the Heb. : no time is to be lost and no soft words to be used — go and insist on being released from your pledge. Importune (RV.) is hardly strong enough ; beset, besiege, or assail better express the impetuosity involved in the Heb. term. Then (RV. now) is illative, not temporal ; so in Ex. 33'" Job 9-" 1 7^' al. — 4, 5. Synonymous, v.'* ternary-binary, v;^ ternary. Continuation of exhortation. In v.''''- the Heb. has simply frotn the hand (so Vulg.), and RV. (as AV.) suppHes, by conjecture, of the hunter ; this is a natural construction, and it is possible that the defining word may have fallen out of the Heb. ; but it is simpler to read snare or trap, with Grk., Targ., Syr. ; see this expression in BS. 27-*'. — The animal named in v.^* is a deer (Dt. 12^^), swift, an inhabitant of the plain (28. 2^^) and of the mountain (i C. 12'^, perh. 2 S. i^"), a symbol of mascuhne beauty (Cant. 2'^ 8^^), and so is generally understood to be the gazelle ( Tabitha, Acts (f^, is the fem. form of the equivalent Aramaic word).* Of the details of the old Heb. law of suretyship or endorsement we have no information. Besides the procedure of Judah in pledging himself for Benjamin (Gen. 43^), and a couple of allu- sions to the practice (Job t-T ^ 119'--), we find in OT., outside of Pr., only one description of a business-transaction involving personal security (Neh. 5^"^^), and this is rather of the nature of a mortgage given by a man on his children regarded as his property. The allusions to personal endorsement all occur in postexilian writings ; it is probable that the custom (for which there was no ground in the commercially simple preexilian Hfe) sprang up when the Jews were scattered through the Persian and Greek empires and entered on their real commercial career. On the law of pledges of things see Ex. 22^-' Dt. 24^""^^. — The surety was sometimes financially ruined by having to meet the obligations of * See Tristram, Wood, Nowack. 122 PROVERBS the debtor (BS. 29'^-^^), and was thus at the mercy of the latter, who might throw him into the hands of the creditor ; the bad men of the Grk. in v.'' appear to be creditors. Probably all of a man's property might be pledged for debt ; whether there was a homestead-exemption law is uncertain, nor does it appear whether the debtor could be sold as a slave. 6-11. Against sloth. The example of the ant is adduced, and the sluggard warned that poverty will overtake him. The tone is perhaps satirical ; the passage is a specimen of the popular teaching of the sages. — The parallel passage, 24^"'^'*, does not adduce the ant, but describes the neglected condition of the slug- gard's field, and has the same conclusion as our section : 24^-^* = lit. 6^''' '^ The two paragraphs are variations on the same theme ; both have taken the ending from the same source (some familiar expression, or some earlier collection of aphorisms, now lost), or one has borrowed from the other. In either case our passage has a clearer unity than that of ch. 24, in which our v.^ must be intro- duced before v.^ in order to connect the conclusion with what precedes. Bickell so transfers v.^, and omits v.^"- '^ as identical with 24^**; but both sections must be retained entire as parallel passages, with the possibility that one has borrowed from the other. Obviously our section does not belong in its present place, though when and how it was misplaced we cannot say ; the change was made early, since the Versions here accord with the Hebrew. Cf. BS. 22^ 2. 6. Go to the ant, thou sluggard, Consider her ways and be wise. 7. She, having no chief, Overseer, or ruler, 8. Provides her food in summer, Gathers her provision in harvest-time. 9. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou rise from thy slumber? 10. A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest — 11. So shall thy poverty come as a highwayman, And thy want as an armed man. VI. 5-8 123 6. Progressive, ternary. Cf. 30-^ On the ant in proverbial literature see Malan on this verse.* On the habits of the animal see Encyl. Brit, Darwin in Journ. of Linnaean Soc. VI. 21, Lub- bock, Ants, Bees, and Wasps. What particular species is here meant is uncertain; cf. Tristram, Nat. Hist, of the Bible. — The term sluggard appears to belong to the parenetic vocabulary of OT. \ it occurs only in Proverbs. But the observation of the habits of the ant and its use as an example of industry may be old; cf. I K. z}^"' (5'^). — 7. Synonymous, ternary-binary. The three terms employed are here used as synonymous, though they have their different shades of meaning. The first is employed in OT. of both civil and military leaders (Ju. 11'' Isa. 3'') ; the second denotes a sort of roll-officer, who keeps a hst of names and super- intends the men at their work, in peace or in war (Ex. 5'' Dt. 20^ 2 Chr. 19") ; the third is a general term for ruler, royal or other (i K. 4^^ [5'J Isa. 16^ Jer. 51*'')- — Ants are said by recent writers to have an elaborate social organization, sometimes with king and queen, sometimes with a slave-class acquired (as by the tertnites or white ants) by capture and forced to do the work of the com- munity. This organization seems to have been unknown to the ancients (Aristotle, De Anini., I. i. 11, calls them anarchal, with- out government), though Aelian (in his History of Animals, third cent, of our era) speaks of their leaders and nobles. — This verse is omitted by Bickell as a prosaic gloss, which weakens the .com- parison and introduces the irrelevant consideration of govern- mental direction — irrelevant because men are industrious not by pressure of rulers, but from regard to their private interests. The second and third points are not well taken : social organization certainly helps human industry, and our writer says that ants, with- out this advantage, set men a good example. The argument from lack of poetic form has more weight, — the verse is not a complete couplet, — but we can hardly throw it out on that account. Grk. makes it a triplet, and possibly some word or phrase has fallen out of the Heb. text. — 8. Synonymous, ternary. The vbs. provide (lit. establish, prepare) and gather here amount to the same thing, and the nouns /^^^/ and provision are synonyms. The word ren- * De. mentions also Goldberg, Oiofes Matmonim, and Landsberger, Fabulae aliqiiot Aramacae. 124 PROVERBS dered sunijuerh sometimes used for the warm season in general, as opposed to winter (Gen. 8" \p 74^')' extending apparently through harvest-time (Jer. 8""), sometimes for the latter part of the fruit- season (Isa. 28^ Jer. 40^°). Han'est also is temporally indefinite, varying with the crop, from March (barley, 2 S. 21^) to September (grapes, Isa. 18^). The two clauses are identical in meaning; the sense is not that the ant does one thing in summer and an- other in harvest-time. Nor is it intended to express progress in the action (by the different Heb. verb-forms) : begins to provide in summer, completes the gather iiig in autumn. The structure of the other verses of the section points to an identical parallelism here. — As to the industrial habit spoken of in the verse, the latest authorities hold that some species of ant are graminivorous and store up food ; for the modern opinion see the works cited above, and for ancient statements see Malan. — Grk. adds : Or, go to the bee and learn how diligent she is and how seriously she does her work — her products kings and private persons use for health — she is desired and respected by all — though feeble in body, by honor- ing wisdom she obtains distinction. The addition comes from a Grk. scribe (it is probably a gloss which has got into the text) who thought that the other industrious insect ought not to go unmentioned. Elsewhere in OT. (Isa. 7'^ Dt. i'*^ i// 118'-) the bee is introduced as hostile to man ; the word does not occur in the Heb. text of Proverbs. — 9. Synonymous, ternary. It is agri- cultural life that the description is dealing with (cf 24'^"), in which early rising is a necessity.* Cf. the Eng. early to bed and early to rise, etc., and many such popular sayings; Persius v. 132-134 re- sembles our passage in form. — 10. Synonymous (or, condnuous), binary (or, binary-ternary). The sluggard's reply, or continua- tion of the remonstrance of the sage. The repetition of a little is perh. intended to give a humorous coloring, but may be meant simply as a serious description. Cf. the babbling words put into the drunkards' mouths in Isa. 28'". The second clause is ht. a little folding of the hands to lie, that is, to lie comfortably, to compose one's self to sleep. The same phrase in Eccl. 4^ signi- * Early rising was, however, the general rule in ancient life; see Plato, Laws, vii. pp. 807, 808 ; Arist., Econ. i. 6 ; Juv., vii. 222 ff. VI. 8-12 125 fies stupid inactivity. — 11. Synonymous, ternary. Highwayman is roadster, wayfarer, the implication being that his purpose is bad ; the term, Hke Eng. highwaytnan, belongs to a time when travelling was not safe, when men who frequented the pubHc roads were likely to be robbers (cf. RV.). Armed man, lit. man with a shield, perhaps a wandering soldier out of service (Oort), more probably simply a dangerous assailant. Poverty, properly (as result of sloth) a negative thing, lack of goods, is personified as a powerful and ruthless enemy who destroys or carries off one's sub- stance. — Instead of shieldman Grk. has swift runner (apparently representing a different Heb. text from ours), which offers a formal but not a real parallel to the wayfarer of first clause. Grk. (fol- lowed by Vulg.) further adds : but if thou be diligent, thy harvest will come as a fountain, and want luill depart as a bad runner — the contrast to the preceding statement, and probably from a Grk. hand. 12-15. The mischief maker — rebuke of mischievous talk and hints. — The tone is curt and sharp, the rhythm irregular; the vocabulary perhaps points to a late period. 12. A wicked man, a bad man Deals in false speech, 13. Winks with his eyes, scrapes with his feet, Signs with his fingers, 14. Devises mischief in his mind, Is always sowing discord. 15. Therefore of a sudden shall calamity strike him, Suddenly shall he be crushed, and that without remedy. In this translation the second line of v.^^ appears as merely one item in the indictment, but the paragraph may also be translated : a wicked man . . . dealing with . . . winking . . . scraping . . . signi7ig . . . devising . . . is always sotving discord, the last ex- pression giving the result of the preceding acts ; this construction does not modify the general sense. 12. Parallels, ternary. The two adjectives are synonymous, expressing general depravity; the first (Heb. man of behalf occurs in 16^ 19-^, the second (Heb. man of badness or iniquity^ in 6^* 10^ 1 1^, etc. The term belial usually means deep depravity I 26 PROVERBS (not merely worthlessness) ; in two passages, \\i 18*^^' 41**^', appar- ently utter ruin (cf. Cheyne, Psalms). Instead of son of Belial (Ju. 19", etc.) the rendering should be wicked jnan. Speech is lit. mouth — the fault denounced is evil talk. Grk. and Syr., however, omitting mouth have walks in ways that are not good, and this may be the right reading ; the false of the Heb. would then be defined in v.^^- " ; cf. 4-'^ Mouth may be understood as expressing the man's whole thought. The first line is by some expositors (Saadia, Zock., al.) taken as a separate sentence : a luorthless [properly wicked'\ man is the deceiver, which is possi- ble, but does not agree so well with the structure of the paragraph. — 13. Three binary clauses. Gestures indicating the spirit of malice and mischief. Movement of the eyes occurs in 10'° BS. 27" as sign of mischief, in \p 35^^ as sign of exultation ; cf. the Arab. saying (attributed to Ali) O God, pardon us the culpable winking of the eye (De.), and see other parallels in Malan. The second verb is rendered in the Grk. by gives signs, in Targ. and Syr. by stamps, in Aq., Sym., Vulg. (in accordance with aTalmudic use of the word) by rubs {^scrapes, shuffles) : in any case the movement is a mark of enmity, perhaps a sign to a confederate ; the render- ing i/,?rt!/&j- (RV.) is here inappropriate, though the verb elsewhere has that meaning. Signing (lit. teaching) with the fingers is a universal gesture, of various import, here mischievous, contemptu- ous, etc. ; for the sense shoiv see Gen. 46-^ Ex. 15^. For other inimical movements of the body see Job 16"-^''. The verse is a lively description of the silent, underhand procedures of mischief- makers, the hints, suggestions, provocations, and signals that are effective in hatching quarrels or giving insults. — 14. Synonymous, ternary. A direct statement of what is imphed in the preced- ing verses. The man occupies himself with devising mischievous schemes, in private and public relations ; in second cl. Grk. has makes disturbances in the city, a fuller statement of what the Heb. suggests. In the Heb. text the verse reads : Evil is in his mind [lit. heart~\, he devises mischief continually, he spreads strifes, a triplet which may be reduced to a couplet by the omission of one word {tnischief) ; the change does not affect the sense. Evil, = 7nischief, is in the most general sense departure from good ; see note on 2^^, evil 2Xi6i wrong. — 15. Synonymous, quaternary. The VI. I2-I6 127 penalty. The writer's sense of the seriousness of the vice described is indicated by the abrupt, vehement, ahnost fierce, declaration of punishment. On calamity, see note on i-". The two Heb. terms for sudden are synonyms ; the first occurs in 24" (it is better omitted in 3-^), the second in 29' (the second cl. of which is identical with second cl. of our verse — note the difference be- tween the offences in the two verses) . Crushed is lit. broken, = destroyed; see Jer. 17^^ Ez. 32'-^ Lam. i'^ Dan. 8'-^. The blow is irremediable, that is, it is death. The agency of destruction is not stated ; the writer's view doubtless was that it might come from God directly, by sickness, etc., or indirectly, through the enemies, private and public, that a mischief-maker naturally raises up against himself. Sudden death was regarded as a great mis- fortune, and as a sign of divine anger, since it sent the man irre- trievably to Sheol (see 2''''), where he could never gain a position of favor with God. 16-19. A list of seven things hateful to God. — The section is similar to those in 30""^' in its arithmetical enumeration, and to gi2-i5 jj^ i^g subject-matter and rhetorical form (absence of com- parisons) ; by the nature of its contents it appropriately follows y_i2-i5_ ^Yie things enumerated belong all together ; they portray the character of the man who schemes to despoil and ruin his fellows. 16. There are six things that Yahweh hates, Yea, seven are an abomination to him : 17. Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, 18. A mind that devises wicked schemes, Feet that make haste to do harm,* 19. A false witness who utters lies, And he who sows discord among brethren. 16. Progressive (substantially synonymous), ternary. The se- quence SIX, seven does not imply that the seventh thing is an after- thought, or inferior in importance to the others ; it is a rhetorical form, equivalent to our six or seven, arithmetically indefinite, im- plying that the enumeration does not exhaust the list of things * Heb. : viake haste to run to harm. 128 PROVERBS coming under a particular category; cf. notes on 30"-'^. Between the expressions Yahweh hates and abomination to him there is no difference of meaning ; on abomination see note on 3^^. The sense of the verse is : God hates and abomitiates a number of things, namely. — 17. Parallels, ternary. Haughty eyes; so 30^^ Haughtiness is naturally expressed by the eyes (cf. Lat. super- ciliutn); see i// 131. In i// iS""*-*^^ the expression characterizes Israel's proud and oppressive enemies, whom Yahweh will bring down. More generally in Isa. 2""'^ 10^^ Job 21^^ 38^^ all lofty things are conceived of as standing in antagonism to God and therefore destined to be overthrown (cf. the Greek representation of the deity as jealous of powerful men, Prometheus and Poly- crates of Samos, and the Hindu stories of Indra's fear of certain Munis). This national point of view remains to the end of OT, (Daniel), in Apocryphal books (Ben-Sira, Mace, etc.), and in the Talmud, but does not appear in Pr. ; in our verse it is individual moral feeling that is spoken of — haughtiness, put alongside of falsehood and murder, is to be understood as implying disregard of human rights and divine laws — it is excessive conceit of and regard for one's own person. — Instead of innocent blood we might render by the blood of the innocent (or, righteous') as in Dt. 19'° Jer. 19*; the meaning is the same. — 18. Parallels, ter- nary. The expression zvicked schemes might be understood in a wide sense as including all plans and plots that are opposed to the right, but here refers particularly to harmful plots. The Heb., in second line, reads : make haste to run, which means not swiftness in running (RV. after the Vulg.) but haste in beginning to run, eagerness to seize on every opportunity to engage in wickedness ; the picture of eagerness contained in the word haste is heightened by the term run (instead of walk) ; cf. \p 147^^ The Grk. omits run, reading /r^/ liastening to do ill ; cf. i^'', where only one verb is employed in each clause ; as the run is unnecessary, the Grk. text is probably to be preferred. — 19. Parallels, ternary. The second cl. is identical in meaning with v.'^'', brethren being taken as = friends or associates, members of the same circle — the suggestion is that there is no occasion or temptation to sow dissensions except among persons whose mutual relations are amicable. — The mean- ing of first cl. is plain, but its form is doubtful. In 14^, where the VI. i6-i9 129 Heb. text recurs, it is properly rendered a false witness utters lies (and so the Grk. here), but this is out of keeping with the syntacti- cal form in the other verses — we expect a subject defined by fol- lowing words. Similar objections hold to other translations of our Heb. text : he who utters lies is a false witness (cf. for the con- struction Eccl. i''\ but here the resulting identical proposition is out of the question, and the declarative sentence is out of keeping with the context) ; he who utters lies as a false witness * is hard and improbable, and so the appositional rendering he who utters lies, a false witness, and he who utters lies, false testimony. The cl. is not in proper shape, and it seems better, with Syr. and Targ., to invert the Heb. order and translate by a false witness 7vho utters lies, f which accords in form with the rest of the section. For the thought cf. 12^'' i4'^'^ and ig'-^ 25''^; for laws against false testifying see Ex. 2oi« (= Dt. 5-") Dt. 19^'^ Lev. 6'^ (5'^). The expression witness of falsity (as the Heb. reads) is parallel to tongue of falsity in v.'''. 1. |§ ''JD, attested by all Vrss., omitted by Bi., as marring the rhythm; without it we have only two ictus in the line. — The force of the dx, which extends to end of v.-, is confined by (5 to v.^*. — |^ plu. idd; read sing., with (§,S2u3L, as the sense requires. — 2. Taken by (5 as ground (lAp) for the statement of v.^'' (irapadibaei?), and written in 3 pers. — a divergent text which does not agree with the context so well as |^. — The repetition of ncx in ^ is strange, and so also the similar repetition, xe^Xi?, xeiXeo-ti', in (§; as the x^^^V prob. had a Heb. basis, it is better to write "T^D'y in second line of |^ ; p-rjuacn inst. of x^^^-) is given in H-P 147 (161 suprascript.), 252, 297, and Compl. (and \6yu3 in Arm.), which may be a correction after |^, or a rhetorical varia- tion. On ISiov = eavTov see Deissmann, ^f^^A/z/^/., pp. I20ff. — 3. Pj Ssin^ see note on v^. — In '^ (S a eyui ^•, this last is omitted in (5Si2C, but is favored by the rhythm. For the second ii several Heb. codd. have hd, — 6-11. The style of (S in this section is freer than in most other passages; the text is often rather a paraphrase than a translation — a result perh. of the secular and homely nature of the subject- matter. — 6. |§ .T^r::, (5 /xrjp/xr]^, W- prDiu' or jcriu-, ^ ;cu'ir (Arab. cpcD); the origin of the Heb. word is unknown. — The ^tjXwitov and iKeivov coipure- pos of© are rhetorical expansion. — 1& ■]^; SST paraphrase by NCinn imitate. & omits ||J '?s;% and transfers ajm to next verse. — 7. f^ p"ip; (S yeoopyiov, not = Aram. ]^-ap (Lag.), but free rendering of lisp (which S2u read instead of ]'sp). — 1^ "'":?>^'> 2 ypafi/jLaria. — 8. The variation of vb. -forms is rhetorical. — On the terms in the addition in <3 see Lag.'s note. — 9. |^ ^ipp; (gABXaj iyepd-na-y, as in Ju. 2^^' ^^, perh. = y^pr, cf. Pr. 6^'^. — 10. Oort suggests that nyz'^ is dittogram from ^yz'n S of preceding verse, but the word is in sense and rhythm appropriate; it was perh. lacking in Heb. text of (g, hardly (Oort, Baumg.) read □]']C''? (o-t-tjOt]) ; cf. Pinkuss' note. — (3 makes the v. an ad- dress to the sluggard, and in "^ has an additional cl., oXiyov 8i Kad-qaai, = o;'D 2yi', probably expansion of Grk. scribe (the Heb. rhythm is against it) or here introduced by error from •* (cf. remark above on dd'J-^). — 11. H "i'7nr, writ- ten "I'^nnD in 24^*. — tTNi (sm), a favorite word in Pr., though ■■jy (ij ), t^Jiy, '^1, also occur a number of times. — The v. is variously rendered in the Vrss. H I'^na is explained in (g as /ca/cos bdoLvopos, and is taken by SST, against the parallelism, as vb., ir"n\~ii will assault thee ; |§ ;io ir-w, ffir ayadbs Spofievs (and in the added couplet /ca/c6s 5po/i,ei>s), Si^T NiitiO ni2J a quick {alert) man, = JD3 tr^N (Lag., Oort) or better -inn •lI-n (Baumg.), neither of which readings seems preferable to that of |^ (with which IL agrees). The additional couplet in (§ is doublet of ||(; on its Heb. text see Hitz., Lag., Baumg. In 24^^ (g (like S'^) renders d by Trpoiropevojiivri, and in ^ SST have Nn?a3 tabellariiis, courier (= 5po/j.eiJs). ^ appears to have in mind the vio- lence of the armed robber, (§53^ the swiftness of the traveller or courier. — 12. 1^ m«< is not elsewhere followed by defining subst., and De., Str., therefore take ^"2*^3 as adj. (cf. constr. in 11"), but, as this is hardly allowable, we must either write 'j-in, as in 16-'', or accept this phrase as proof that din may be fol- lowed by defining subst. — |^ '^i'l'?^; for the two defining terms (of ||)) (@ has &(ppoi3v and Trapdvoixos (103, 253: irapdv. and dcppuv), and '2 may here be rep- resented by the latter (which is its more usual representative); 0 folly ; 2r .xc'?^ oppression; 5L apostata (so elsewhere Aq.). ^;"''^D occurs 27 times in Mas. text of OT., and further apparently, according to (5, in i Sam. 29!", perhaps also (Cheyne) in yp 52® (always as subst.), and = ivickedness every- where except Nah. i^^ 2^ 1/' 18^ (=2 Sam. 22^) 41', where it = ruin, destruc- tion (= deatJi). The origin of the word is doubtful. It has commonly been regarded as a compound, the first element being the neg. •'^2, the second ele- VI. 5-14 131 ment being ^■'", or some form of nSj,' or ^';\ An early Jewish explanation is reflected in the apostate of Aq. IL, = Sj? "1S3 withotU yoke, disobedience (so Sanhed. iiib). From rh'i: otte does not ascend, = moral lowness (Kimchi) ; or, one does not rise (or, emerge), = ruin (so Lag., Proph. Chald. XLVII, on i/' 41^ : [sickness] from which one does not rise, suggesting lai instead of -lai) ; and, more generally, [the depth] frotn which otte does not co?ne up (Cheyne, Expositor, June, 1895, Baethgen, Halevy), = Sheol (JDMichaelis). From ^'P : no profit, — worthlessness (like nj?T '''^2 ignorance, and D'i' ■'Sj natnelessness, and cf. ^T nS, Jer. 2", = worthless [foreign] god), in moral sense, like px (Gesen. and most modern expositors). The word is possibly not a compound. It has been proposed to connect it with Babylonian Bilil, a goddess of the Underworld* (Cheyne, Expos. Times, June, 1897); "^ '''^^^ (1/' 18^) would then = streams of Shcol, and ':i i'^J'JN = servants of Bilil, = "bad men." This last rendering cannot be accepted, since the Underworld and its deities had no ethical significance for the ancient Semites; but it is conceivable that in ^ 18^ (if the -^ be postexilic) an original S<~>1 Bilil ( = Sheol) was changed by an editor into the familiar "^y^a purposely or by error. Yet the meaning ruin ( — death) accords satisfactorily with the parallel terms in the i/*, and the character of the deity Bilil is at present too uncertain to rest an argument on. Cf. Mich., Supplementa, s.v. '?;••; Baudissin in Herzog, RE^.,z.uA in Expos. Zywd-j, November, 1897; Cheyne va Expos. Times, Decem- ber, 1897, May' 1898; Moore, fudges, on Ju. I9'^'^. The derivation from the noun ^y^ appears to be the most probable; the two elements came to be writ- ten as one word, like nic^^i'. Cf. the various combinations with negatives in Heb. ("»3i n'^, ^o;' n^), and the use of the Ass. dalil, as noun = nonentity, as prep. = 7vithoiit. — Bef. nii'p;? ins. a (so Bi.). — 1§ na V; (5 65oi>s ovk dyadds, perh. after i6'^^ (Jag-); ^D is omitted in S, and Oort for 'd writes nr, which he transfers to next v. to represent (5 6 5' avrbs . The stem '>, subst. or adj., occurs in |§ with 7vay in 2^^ 28^, with heart ii-'> 17^0, with lip 19^, with mouth here and 4-''; -\^-\ would here agree well with the following context, but no serious objection in this regard can be made to ns; (g and f§ represent par- allel texts. — 13. K. p>' and "^J-^, sing., and so <§; Q plu., perh. better; 3L strangely oculis, pede, and digito. — |^ '^'^i", (5 (njfiaiveL, ^IH Dd.", 3L terit, A Tpi^wv, S TrposTpi^wv; the most appropriate sense is rub, stamp, scrape, not found elsewhere in OT., but well attested in Talm. ; whether there is any con- nection between this and the sense speak is uncertain. — |^ T\-y\::, (g 5t5d(j-/cet, S'^T tDT; teach = show, give indications (on relation between senses teach and throw in mi see SS., BDB.). — 14. ?^ is supported by the Vrss., exc. that (5 adds * As Underworld deity she appears only in a mutilated passage in the Descent of Ishtar, where she seems to be the sister of Islitar (cf. Jensen, Kosinologie, p. 225). The form Bilili occurs in a list of gods in pairs, who are invoked thus : " in the name of Alala and Bililu may it be conjured away! " Otherwise only the fem. form Bililitum is found (G. A. Reisner) ; cf. M. Jastrow, Reltg. of Babylonia and Assyria, pp. 417, 589. 132 PROVERBS at end of ^ ir6\eL (H-P io6 voWds), perh. expansion of Grk. scribe, less prob- ably = nj-ic3 (after pj °^';!c) or -\y (from foil. ^■;). — As ^ ends with Partcp., there is some ground for so ending ^ and omitting y-\, which here produces rhythmical limping (so Bi.) and is not necessary for the sense; cf. the bal- anced phrases in the similar v.^^. — Saadia (ed. Derenbourg) takes niODnn in sense of change of mind. — K. D''J^D, Q Dijnp; sing, is always written jnc, plu. 3 times a>J^D (twice 61^ lo^^^ without Q), elsewhere K. aijnc, Q D^onn (a late, probably academic, attempt to bring out the Yod of the stem) ; on Mas. text see notes in B-D on 6^* 252*, and on the form Ew., § 540^ 160 (/, 01s., § 203 b. — For nSci Gr. reads tt'nS'-, tvhispers. — 15. (§ takes jjpd and -\iv-< as substantives; in OT. 'Q occurs as subst. only with prep, and in sense of a moment. — 16. "^yn cannot be Dem. adj. {these six or those six), but is (cf. 3o'8-2i-29) either pred., six things are those, with following rel. cl. (so apparently .SS^IL), or as subj., six — they are what Y. hates ; in ch. 30 the pron. is better taken as appositional subject. — For re' (@ read ru' (Jag.), x<»^P". and i3C'i (Lag. = las'i) or -latfj, a-WTpi^erai, for yja* (or ^j^um). Read sing. n^jjin, as in marg. — 18. |§ ynS, lacking in (§, is omitted by Lag. as scribal error (fiV wrongly written for y\h), and by Bi. as tautological; it is not necessary, and is probably error (though the combination of mnc and 71 is found in xp 147^^ and fi^ may easily have fallen out of the Heb. text of (5). — 19. r\^D\ as to its form, might be taken as subst. and pointed as in stat. const. ; but common nouns made by pref. Yod are rare, the resulting sense (a breather of lies, a false witness, so IL), though possible, would not accord very well with the context (in the other cases mentioned the appositional construction does not occur), and the Vrss. (exc. Saad. who apparently understands it as Inf.) take "I as vb. The cl. seems to be taken from or assimilated to 14^ (where it is in good form), and should here be inverted, as inS2C; cf. 12I". ^.v• is taken as abstr. by Saad. Gr. The omission of "^ptt* -\y would leave an unsatisfactory sentence. — "' is well rendered in (gABa?. ^y ^^Kalei (H-P 103 iKx^ei). — nVi'C, Gr. tt'nSc, as in v.^*. — a''jic, see note on v.^*; it is lacking in 5. 20-35. Warning against the adulteress. — We here return to the material proper to this Division (chs. 1-9). This subsec- tion connects itself immediately with ch. 5, having the same gen- eral theme. — First comes commendation of parental instruction (v.^""^), then apparently of wisdom (v."-''), especially as safeguard against the adulteress who brings misfortune to her victim (v.^''"^^), he getting only wounds and dishonor (v.'^""''^) throitgh the outraged husband's anger (v."'^-^). The section is similar to 2"^^^ 5. 7. 8^'^'^. These may all have been composed by one man (since there is great resemblance between them), or they may have been col- lected from various sources by an editor. VI. 20-2I 133 20, 21. Commendation of parental instruction. — See note on i^-^ 20. Keep, my son, the precept of thy father. And reject not the instruction of thy mother. 21. Bind them continually to thy heart. Hang them around thy neck. 20. Parallels, quaternary-ternary. Parental instruction is iden- tified with the teaching of the sages ; it is assumed that in the well-ordered household father and mother will be wise ; the same assumption is made in all commands to honor and obey parents. Instruction represents the Heb. word {tord) usually rendered law. The Grk. has plu. in both clauses, laws, ordinances ; the Vulg. pre- cepts, law. Cast away (the proper sense of the Heb.) = substantially forsake (RV.), but is more forcible, = reject. — 21. Synonymous, ternary-binary. In 3" the teacher's law is to be written on the tablets of the heart ; here, with a change of figure, it is to be firmly attached to the heart, which is the seat of thought and moral and religious life. The figure of second cl. is found in i^ 3^--, etc. — The term continually is used of perpetually recurring or repeated acts (as the daily offering in the temple), and so = constantly, ahvays, all the time ; see Isa. 57''^ Jer. 52" \\i 16*^. The plu. thcni may refer to precept and laiv iyP) taken as different things, or these terms may have been plu. in the original Heb. text (as they are in the Greek). In the remainder of the chapter the wording and arrangement present difficulties. The sing, pronoun in v.^^ points to wisdom (or one of its synonyms) as antecedent, as, in fact, in chs. 1-9 only "wisdom" watches over and leads (a^^-^--"* 4*^ y-*'') ; but, as the text stands, the it (or, she) of v.^- has no such antecedent. We might (with Bickell) insert, at the beginning of v.", some such line as taisdom will keep thee ; but this would still leave the connection between v.^^ and v.^* unsatisfactory, for elsewhere (2^^ 7'') it is not precept or instruction but wisdom or discretion that saves from the harlot and other destructive persons. Further, while the normal arrangement in chs. 1-9 is in quatrains, we here have two natural sextets, v.^*"-^ and v.^'"-^ ; Bickell gets rid of the latter of these by omitting v."^, and of the former by attaching v.^'* to v.^ (the objection to this procedure is stated above). 1 34 PROVERBS making v.^^ a quatrain. — Abetter emendation would be to omit the doubtful couplets v.^*^-^, and make v.-^ a couplet by the omis- sion of third line ; and v.^^, which obviously connects itself with the first couplet, should be transposed before v.^^. 22-25. Wisdom as guide, and as guard against the harlot. 23. For precept is a lamp, and instruction is light, And the guidance of admonition is the way of life. 22. When thou walkest she [Wisdom] will lead thee, When thou liest down she will watch over thee.* 24. To preserve thee from the « alien ' f woman. From the wiles of the stranger's tongue; 25. Desire not her beauty in thy heart, Let her not captivate thee with her eyes. 23. Synonymous, quaternary. The discourse here turns from parental instruction to the idea of instruction and law in general (retaining the two terms of v."") ; the two categories were prob- ably considered to be identical. Precept and instruction (syn- onyms) represent the teaching of the sage (cf. 4-), held to be based on the divine law. Guidance (RV. reproofs), plu. in our Heb. text, is sing, in Grk. Syr. Targ. Lat., and a number of Heb. MSS., and throughout Pr., except here and 29^ ; for the meaning see note on i"^ ; and on admonition see note on i^. Way of life is the course of a long and prosperous earthly life, and the conduct that secures it; see 2''' 3- 5^ and i/^ 16", and for similar expressions see Job 28'^ i/' 27^^ 36^*'°' Pr. 10" 13" 15^ al. The Syr. and Targ. have guidance ajid instructioti ; Grk., for the pre- cept of law is a lamp, and a light is [or, is a lamp and a light,'] a way of life and guidance and instruction ; the Heb. (taking guidance as subj. in second cl.) gives a more natural construction. — 22. Parallels, ternary. Similar imagery in 3^^-^* 4^^; in (/^ 91 the guidance, here referred to law and instruction or wisdom, is ascribed to God. The she (RV. it) can hardly be understood to refer to the instructioti of v.^'^ (see remark above) ; the writer * Heb. adds : ivhen thou ivakest, she will talk -with thee ; see note on this verse below. t Heb. bad (or, evil). VI. 21-25 135 passes silently to zvisdom as subject, or else something (a line or a couplet) has been lost from the text. — Some commentators, main- taining the order v."- -^, gain an antecedent for she by inserting a line as first line: wisdom will (or, shall) guide thee (or, keep thee), or, seek wisdom, forsake it not, or, as second line : wheji thou rnnnest, she ivill keep thee ; these additions make a quatrain of the verse. The present unsymmetrical form may also be got rid of by omitting the third line, when thou wakest she will talk with thee, which, while it gives an intelligible thought in itself, seems unnecessary, since walking and lying down include all of one's time (cf. 3"^''*). The addition may have been made by a scribe who, taking liest down (which is really contrast to walkest ) as = slecpest, thought it proper to complete the picture by intro- ducing aivaking. The verb talk is here strange ; we expect a syn- onym of lead. — If we keep the triplet, the meaning is : wisdom will guide thee in thy active life of the day, guard thee while thou liest helpless in sleep, and at thy awaking be with thee to utter words of advice. — 24. Synonymous, ternary. The special theme of the section : the adulteress is the peril against which the aid of wisdom is particularly invoked. In first cl. the Heb. has evil woman, an appropriate description, but the parallelism suggests the reading the wife of another (requiring the change of one vowel), as in the Grk. (^married woman), and v."'; or the sense alien (as in 2^") may be got by a slight change of consonants. Stranger, as in 5' 7^, = " wife of another man " ; see note on 2'". The harlot, the unmarried licentious woman (or the professional prostitute), is mentioned in 6-" 7'*' 23-" 29^, but is to be distin- guished from the unchaste married woman (called adulteress, 30-", and stranger), against whom, as the more dangerous pergon, a great part of chs. 1-9 is directed. She is the more guilty of the two because she violates the marriage-vow (2^') ; the danger from her is described below. See note on 2'^- ^'' . The social evil here por- trayed is more particularly appropriate to the postexihan period ; the preexilian shrine-prostitute (Gen. 38-^" Hos. 4" Dt. 23''^^^^) belongs to a very different sort of Israelitish society. — 25. Syn- onymous, ternary-binary. The Heb. connects the two clauses by and, and at end of the verse has eyelids instead of eyes, perhaps with allusion to the seductive play of eyes (winks, etc., Vulg., I 36 PROVERBS nods), but the term is generally simply equivalent to eyes, Jer. gi8(i7) Jq5 jgie ^ jj4 Pj.^ ^25 54^ (,f_ 3o'l — Vulg. /^/ not thy heart desire, etc. ; the Grk. interprets first cl., and writes second cl. in twofold form : let tiot desire of beauty overcome thee, neither be thou caught by thine eyes tior captivated by her eyelids. 26. Our Heb. text next gives a couplet of which the second cl. (lit. the married tvoman hunts for the precious life) presents no difficulty; for the expression of the predicate cf. Ez. 13^*^-''. There is difference of opinion among expositors as to whether the harlot of first cl. is synonymous or contrasted with the married woman of second cl. ; the latter view (which is that of the Anc. Vrss., Ew. al.) is favored by the fact that the two terms are dis- tinctly contrasted in 7^", and elsewhere in chs. 1-9 it is always the stranger (that is, married woman) against whom men are warned. If this view be adopted, the verse does not condone association with harlots (Now.), but simply lays stress on the greater harm- fulness of the other class of unchaste women (cf. the contrast between the thief and the adulterer, v."'^'-). — Text and transla- tion of first cl. are doubtful. The Heb. reads either /<7r on behalf of a harlot to [= aj- far as^ a loaf of bread, or, for ifi exchange for a harlot, etc. The first form is adopted by the great mass of expositors, who then take on behalf ^ as = on account of or by meajis of, and supply the expression one [or, a man^ is brought down [or, comes down'].* The objections to this interpretation are that the prep, does not mean on account of or by means of, and that the assumed omission of the verb is hard and improb- able ; the prep, may be changed (Gr., Oort), but the difficulty of the verb is not thereby removed. The second form appears to have been adopted by the Anc. Vrss. (Grk. Syr. Targ. Vulg. and also Saad.), which translate substantially: for the price of a harlot is a loaf of bread, = in exchange for a harlot \_one gives] a loaf of bread, in which the insertion makes a difficulty as in the other form, and the sense given to the prep., though found else- where (Job 2"*), is here unnatural and improbable; this rendering of the line may, however, be obtained by a change of text. The * So Rashi, Aben Ezra, Schult., Hitz., De., Now., Reuss, Zock., Noyes, Str., Kamp., RV. VI. 25-26 137 first translation declares that the harlot brings a man to poverty, while the married woman seeks his death ; the second, that one pays a small price for the one, a great price for the other. Either of these senses of first cl. is intelligible ; the first agrees better with the context, in which the theme is the harm wrought by unchaste women. Poverty, it is true, is usually indicated by morsel (of bread) instead of loaf {\f 28'-^ Oort), but in i S. i"^ the two terms appear to be used as synonymous. A slight change in the Heb. gives the same verb in the two lines : foi- a harlot hunts just (or, only) a piece of bread. This gets rid of some of the syntactical and other difficulties, and the resulting form has the directness and homeliness of a practical aphorism : the ordi- nary harlot is after subsistence, will deprive a man of his money, but not ruin him ; the unchaste married woman brings on him destructive social (and possibly legal) punishment. That concu- binage did not bring great social discredit among the Jews of the third century B.C. may be inferred from the story in Jos. Ant. 12, 4, 6 ; and adultery is here denounced as by far the more dan- gerous evil. The retribution attending it is loss of physical life, either at the hands of the outraged husband, or by the operation of law — there seems to be no allusion to loss of property, or to destruction of bodily powers by dissipation ; see notes on v.^-"^ (and cf. Geiger, Urschrift, p. 241). — The couplet, however, in whatever way it be taken, remains obscure. It is not clear whether the two clauses describe two classes of women or only one class ; and it is difficult to give a satisfactory translation of the first clause. The verse has the appearance of an editorial or scribal addition (gloss). We may conjecturally translate : For the harlot seeks a morsel of bread, But the adulteress hunts the precious hfe; or : For the price of a harlot is a morsel of bread. But the adulteress hunts the precious life. The rest of the chapter deals with the perils which beset the adulterer: first an illustration (v.^"-^), then a comparison with another crime (v.^""^), finally the ground of the peril (v.'^'**'). While in ch. 2 the sage describes death as the punishment of this 138 PROVERBS sin, and in ch. 5 loss of wealth and of social position, he here dwells on the revenge taken by the husband of the woman. The moral wrong of adultery is of course assumed ; the practical moralist lays stress on the penalty as the best way of deterring men from the commission of the crime in question. 27-29. Illustrations of the peril of adultery. 27. Can one take fire in his lap And his clothes not be burned? 28. Or, can one walk on hot coals And his feet not be scorched? So with him who has commerce with another man's wife — Whoso touches her will not go unpunished. 27. Question, ternary. The same term is used in Heb. of the breast or bosom of the body (5'"") and of the middle portion of the outer garment in which things were kept and carried and on which they were laid (so now in Syria and Egypt); here the ref- erence is not to the bosom (De., who improperly cites Isa. 40"), but to the lap of the garment; so in 16^^ the lot is cast into the lap. — 28. Question, ternary. For coals see 25" 26-^; they were of wood (cf. i/f 120^); in Isa. 6" a different word is used {hot stone). — 29. Single sentence, ternary. Go unpunished or be held guiltless or free. Though the statement is general in form, the special reference, as appears probable from v.^°"^, is to legal punishment, or to the husband's vengeance ; here, as in the pre- ceding paragraph, there does not seem to be any allusion to the enervating effects of adultery on body and mind, or to an imme- diate divine interposition. It is implied that the law is so strict, or the husband so determined, that no plea offered by the offender, such as provocation, seduction (v.^'*), or the notorious character of the woman, will be accepted. The character of tribunal and punishment is not stated.* — The couplet gives a natural exposi- tion of the illustrations of v.-"-^^ but it may be omitted without detriment to the sense, the consequence being stated in v.^'''. 30-35. Another illustration of the folly of adultery, derived from a comparison between the adulterer and the man who steals * See note on ^'^. VI. 26-31 139 to satisfy hunger. The latter may get off by a private money- payment (v.^°-^^), the former, by reason of the husband's jealousy, cannot make such compensation, is forever disgraced (v.^-"'^), and apparently falls into the hands of the law. 30. Men do [it is true] despise a thief if he steal To satisfy his appetite when he is hungry; 31. And, being caught, he must restore sevenfold, Must give all the effects of his house. 32. But he who commits adultery is devoid of sense. He destroys himself who so acts. ^^. Blows and disgrace he will get, And his ignominy will not be wiped away. 34. For jealousy is fury in a man, And he will not have pity in the day of vengeance; 35. He will not accept any ransom, Nor be content though thou give many gifts. 30, 31. The first couplet is a single sentence, ternary ; the sec- ond is synonymous, ternary. The Heb. reads : men do not despise the thief if he steal, etc. This has been understood to mean that one who is driven by hunger to steal is pitied but not despised — his offence is not condoned, but he does not of necessity lose social position, and (v.^^) he recovers legal standing by making compensation.* No doubt moralists are disposed to make allow- ance for such cases of theft ; but there is no trace of this leniency in OT. (in Jer. 2-" the thief is disgraced), and moreover, the sage here (v.'^') forgets or ignores the thief's poverty, and represents him as a man of property. To avoid this discrepancy some com- mentators (Now., Str.) regard the two couplets as describing two different cases, that of the hungry thief, who is not despised, and that of the ordinary thief, who has to make restitution, the two categories corresponding respectively to v.^-*^ (disgrace) and v.^*-^ (no money-compensation). We should thus have the contrast: " a thief may escape disgrace, or may get off by payment cf money ; an adulterer does not escape disgrace, or get off by such payment." This contrast is not expressed in the text — there is no change of subject in v.^"-^'; and there is, further, the doubt * Cf. Loewenstein, Die Proverbieu Saloinos (1838), on this verse. I40 PROVERBS whether this lenient view of the hungry thief is probable. — The first couplet may be read as a question (Hitz., Frank., al.) : do not men despise, etc. ?, = men despise, etc. The contrast will then be : " a thief suffers disgrace, but escapes with loss of money ; an adulterer gets disgrace and blows, and no money-payment atones for his offence." This seems to be the better interpretation of the contrasted fortunes of thief and adulterer. The discrepancy between v.^" and v.^^ remains ; it must be regarded as an over- sight of the author, or the Heb. text must be so changed as to indicate the two classes of thieves referred to above. — The ren- dering : men do not overlook a thief though lie steal, etc. (Ew., Zock., Noyes) is not warranted (the verb does not mean overlook), and loses the main contrast of the paragraph. — The similar phra- seology in Cant. S'', if one should offer to give all the substance of his house for love, he would be utterly despised (that is, his offer, would be rejected with contempt), might suggest the translation: men do not contemptuously repulse ( = refect the offer of) a thief if, stealing to satisfy appetite and being caught, he offer to restore, etc. ; but this is hardly a natural rendering of the Hebrew. — In the earliest law-book the rule is that the thief, when caught, shall pay, according to circumstances, double, fourfold, or fivefold (Ex. 22^- ^-^ [21"'" 2 2^-^]), and there are similar rules for fraud (Ex. 22^**^ Lev. 6^"* [S"""'^]) ; on payment of the mulct the thief recovered legal standing. The sevenfold in our passage points, perhaps, to a change in the law, but it is more probable that the reference is not to a legal penalty, but to a private arrangement with the injured person, and that the seven is a round number, = very large; the " sevenfold restitution " is then explained as possibly amounting to all the effects (or, substance) of his house. — The phrase when he is hungry is omitted by Bickell as a gloss ; it is not logically necessary, but is a not unnatural poetical expansion. — The Heb. terms rendered steal and thief involve secrecy and not violence or malignancy (2 Sam. 19^^'^^ Hos. 7^ Joel 2^ Job V") ; for violent procedure other words* are employed. — V.^'" is ren- dered in Grk. Syr. Targ. it is not wonderful if, etc. ; Vulg. it is no great offence, etc. ; these translations inay be free renderings of VI. 31-33 141 our Heb. text. — 32-35. The folly of the adulterer in provoking the wrath of the injured husband. — 32. Synonymous, ternary. He is a fool {devoid of sense, lit. of mind or heart) because he destroys himself; how this is done is indicated in the following verses. The rendering destroys his own soul (RV. al.) conveys a wrong impression by suggesting moral and spiritual depravation and destruction — an idea correct in itself, but not here expressed. The writer doubtless held adultery to be a crime against society and against the adulterer's own moral being ; but, instead of speak- ing of the necessity of preserving the purity of the family and the individual (considerations which generally have little force against passion), he employs what he regards as the most effective argu- ment — the appeal to self-interest : an adulterer, he says, is (even compared with a thief) a fool. — The second cl. may be rendered (but not so well) he who zvould destroy himself so acts (Targ., RV.), or, with slight change of text, he works destructiotifor him- self {Grk. Vulg.). — 33. Synonymous, ternary. The retribution follows. According to the old law the punishment of adultery was death for both parties (Dt. 22""-^ Lev. 20^"; cf. Ez. 23'*^'' — the character of the penalty in the old ordeal of Nu. 5""-"^ is doubt- ful) . Later the rigor of the law appears to have been relaxed ; in Ben-Sira 23^^-^ nothing is said of death, and Jno. 8^ seems to recognize the possibility of other than capital punishment (as in fact the woman goes free). In our verse (as in v.^^) it may be that it is not legal punishment that is meant. The outraged hus- band might prefer not to parade his wrong in the courts — he might deal with the offender himself by the simple method of bodily chastisement {blorvs), though this was possibly a public form of punishment (cf. BS. 23-^). In any case, as the thing became known, the criminal would suffer indelible ignominy. — As the paragraph is dealing particularly with the male offender, there is no reference to the penalty which might be inflicted on the woman. In later times divorce, either public or private (cf. Mt. i'^), lay within the power of the husband, and it is probable that this mode of redress existed when our chapter was written, and is here assumed as possible. But the moral interests of the unchaste woman are not considered in chs. 1-9 ; she is treated simply as an evil to be avoided, and was in law largely a chattel of 142 PROVERBS the husband. In the regard of showing no sympathy with the unchaste woman Prov. is not pecuhar — it has been the general rule in most communities up to the present day. The feeling underlying it apparently is that such a woman is merely a tempter, and must be utterly depraved. Somewhat higher ethically is the sympathy expressed by Ptahhetep, Instructions, § 37 (see Art. Egypt. Literature, in Library of the Worlcfs Best Literature). — 34. Synonymous, binary (or, binary-ternary) . The sense of first cl. is : jealousy enrages a jnan (or husband) ; Grk. : the fury (or, spirit) of her husband is full of jealousy ; Vulg. : jealousy a fid a man's fmy (or a man's jealousy and fury) will not spare, etc. On the power of jealousy see 14^" 27* Cant. 8^. The day of vengeance may be either private or legal. The sage uses the common fact of the husband's rage as a warning. On the ordeal of Nu. 5 see note on preceding verse. On the power of the Jewish congrega- tion see note on 5". — 35. Synonymous, ternary. It is assumed that the adulterer (like the thief, v.'^^) will attempt to escape pun- ishment, public or private, by the payment of money as compen- sation or bribe — either the law allowed such compensation at the time, or it is supposed that the husband will not go to law. Ran- sofn (lit. covering of a fault) is the general term for anything offered or prescribed in lieu of punishment, whether as legal sat- isfaction (Ex. 21'"' Nu. 35^^ Job 33-* Pr. 13^ 21^*) or as bribe (Am. 5^-). The second cl. explains that the compensation here meant is in money or its equivalent. The general case is here stated ; there might be exceptions, but ordinarily the husband would be relentless, and the adulterer is a fool to run such a risk — the thief may escape, but not the adulterer. 20, 21. Between the Heb. sing, nouns and the Grk. plu. in v.20 there is little to choose. — |^ 3^, (g ^vxv- — 22. On the inversion of v.^^- ^3 gge note above on v.22-24. |^ -|nK nmn; <5 (followed in part by S) eirdyov aiiTTjv k. fiera crov eVrw, = "jriN nnjn (Jag.), or the second part is doublet, = inx D-^np, IL gradiantur and custodiant, to conform the number to that of v.^^. Bi. inserts at beginning i^sn xn dj ncini; see note above on v.22. In third line @ is free rendering of |§. — For.|§ in^ii-n Gr. suggests -[rr'a'ip. — 23. p? plu. ninjin; read sing, with © e\e7xos, but i (© koC) should not be inserted before iDiD; Cl. Al. 154^^ (cited by Lag.) has A^7x"- ® makes two clauses instead of three: fin \i5x''os kvroKT] v6fj,ov, Kal np3C' is in form dual of the fem. (as in the second numeral), lit. tzvo sevens, but used in the sense sevens, = sevenfold ; for a different view see M. Heilprin, Histor. Poetry of the Anc. Hebrews,No\. I. note A. pj JH"; (5, interpreting correctly, Soi)? pvaeTai. eavrbv. — 32. |^ reads lit. he who destroys himself (3C who wishes to destroy, etc.) he does it, or better he destroys himself zuho does it (taking Nin as in apposition with n^nrc). (5 (followed by IL) appears to render freely, so that its Heb. text can hardly be conclusively made out. It improperly takes the verse as a single sentence, writes 5t' evdeiav (= nona?), makes 'a (or nnrr:) obj. of the verb in which it omits suff. (irepiiroieTrai), and apparently omits Nin (omitted by Bi.). |§ gives a good sense as it stands, but becomes easier if we omit Nin and take njc;ji as rel. clause. — 33. f§ >vxc% (§ virocp^pei, which Lag. emends to dTro^ throws no light on its date; such additions were natural for a long period. Ew., without giving reasons, regards the v. (which he renders into Heb.) as genuine. — 2. Segol with Athnah in n>n 148 PROVERBS bears witness to the phonetic force of this vowel. — pa'iK, = Arab, insdn, apparently a human (or manlike) thing ; the ending on {dn) is elsewhere in O.T. not dimin. but general-relational; Aram, iln is diminutive, p;; 'N is par- allel in ^ 17® to Jij? n2 (perhaps = the centre or principal part of the eye); the Aram. Vrss. here render 'n by Kn33 gate; cf. Ges., Thes., BDB. — 1§ imin; (5 Toi)s 5e e^oi>s X670US, as if it read nan, or ncN, as in 4^*^; between such variants there is no ground of choice. — 3. For |^ njjaxN 5, by scribal in- advertence, has lis, as in 3^. — 4. |§ Nipn ; <@ irepiiroirjcrai, — njpn (Jag.) ; whether @ had nj'^an (Jag.) or took *? in |^ nji^S as sign of accus. (Lag.) can hardly be determined. — For jj-ib Oort suggests fem. n;;-iD, but this is not neces- sary.— 5. ® TTOfrjpds, apparently miswriting of Trdpvrjs (Lag.); cf. (5 in 2^^. — 6, 7. On the ist pers. in the vbs. in (5 see note on these vv. above. Oort suggests ^nt23n for ino, to secure fuller parallelism, and Gr. the insertion of njm before nyj; S has 3d pers. plu. — 8. J§ njfl; the masc. form of the noun is found only here and Zech. 14}^. — pic'j is omitted in (B, "^H'i^ in & (by free translation or inadvertence). For nysi @ has XaXovvra, error of Grk. scribe; for proposed emendations see notes of Lag., Baumg., and on ^ cf. Pink. — 9. The Heb. text appears to offer an inverted parallelism (cf. Schult.) : ^rj (degree of light), 2■^•; (part of the day), nS^S ptj'w (part of the night), nSoN (degree of darkness) ; we should probably, in accord with the preceding ex- pressions, read nSsNo. (g, however, makes two phrases of the v. : ii> a-Kdrei ecfwepLvQ, ^ 3"\y 'J3, and rjviKa hv rjirvx^O' vvKTepiv^ kblI yvo^codris, = J^, except that for ]w>i< it seems to have had some form of ja'^ skej> (Schl.), or possibly of tDpir repose. With such twofold division |^ would read : in the tiuilight of evening, in the depth of black night. 10-12. The woman. 10. And lo, ( the ' woman comes to meet him. In harlot's dress, and wily (?) of heart. 11. She is boisterous and a < gadabout > — Her feet rest not in her house — 12. Now she is in the street, now in the squares, And she lurks at every corner. 10. Continuous, ternary. As the woman is referred to above (v.*), the def. art. (as in the Grk.) is preferable to the reading of the Heb. {a woman). She comes to meet him by design, not simply meets (or, met) him (RV.). Instead of dress (or, orna- ment) Grk. hzsform, appearance, a sense (= mien) which perhaps better suits the context, in which the woman's character is de- scribed. Whether harlots at this time wore a distinguishing dress is uncertain (in Gen. 38^* it is the veil that is characteristic) ; the reference is perhaps to the style of attire. In this expression the VII. IO-I2 149 woman here described (the married woman) is technically distin- guished from the harlot proper (who was unmarried). — The translation wily (RV.) is conjectural ; other proposed renderings are false (Schult.), inalicious (Ew., Now., Kamp., etc.), secret, hypoaitical (Berth., Str., Stade), excited (Frank.), subtle (AV., De.) ; in Isa. 48'' the Heb. word appears to mean hidden, secret, and here, if the reading be correct, some such sense as wily suits the connection. Grk. : causes the hearts of young men to fly away (or, as emended by Lag., causes young men to lose their heads) ; Vulg. : prepared to catch souls. These renderings may represent our Heb., or may rest on a different text ; they do not suggest any satisfactory emendation. — 11. Synonymous, ternary. Here also the adjectives are doubtful. The first (which occurs again in 9^^^) usually expresses excited movement and noise (i K. i"*^ Isa. 2 2"), and may here refer to the woman's free, boisterous manner of talking, or to her unrestrained actions, or to both of these ; proposed renderings are garrulous (Vulg.), loud, clamoroits, excited, vehement, passionate, boisterous, of which the last appears best to reproduce the Heb. term. The second word, as it stands in our Heb. text, means rebellious, selfwillcd, luilful, which may be understood as expressing her attitude toward her husband, her refusal to obey him and stay at home ; a slight change of letters, however, gives the sense going about, gadding about (Vulg. stroll- ing, cf. Cant. 3-'', where the maiden and the watchmen go about the city), and this is in keeping with the following clauses. The older Greek laws forbad free women to leave their houses after sunset,* but it appears from this passage and from Cant. 3^ and Ben-Sira (26^-^") that at a later time women had no little liberty of movement, and part of the duty of a careful husband or father was to keep his wife or daughter indoors (Ben-Sira 25^^, cf. i Tim. 5^^ Tit. 2^). — 12. Synonymous, binary- (or, quaternary-) ternary. Licentious women showed themselves freely in the streets and in the squares or open places at gates and elsewhere (see note on I-""'), choosing corners particularly as convenient places for seeing and being seen. The paragraph is a vivid description of the city manners of the later time (probably third cent. B.C.). V."-^ are of the nature of a parenthesis. * Becker, Char. 468 f. I 50 PROVERBS 10. The Art. before n^N (found in (@) has dropped out by reason of pre- ceding n. Before nNipS there is usually a vb. of going, but this is sometimes omitted, as in i S. lo^'' al. — The signification dress for nv^- seems to be assured by i^i 73C; after (g elSos Hitz., Oort suggest a form of r\\v (8^1 26* 27^^). If the text-word be retained, prep. 3 should perh. be inserted before it. — |^ mxj 3*^; @ (foil, by S3r) TToiet vi' (but this stem is em- ployed elsewhere in Pr. only in good sense), and see the expressions in Eccl. 728. 'ich\x\\.., Jictu cordis, from ms, in sense of Arab. ivi. — 11. ||J m-no headstrong ; (5 Hctuitos projligaie seems to represent ^ (Lag. improbably, from n-iD); read ^•22^D (cf. Cant. 3^- 3), % vaga, ST NmnD. — 12. (5, less well than 1^, divides the v. at l'in3, after which it inserts, to complete the parallelism, the vb. pifji^erai roams. 13-20. Her invitation: she assures him that she has made special preparations to receive him. 13. So she seizes him and kisses him, With impudent look says to him : 14. "A vow-offering was due from me — To-day I have paid my vows — 15. So I came out to meet thee. To seek thee — and I have found thee. 16. I have spread my couch with coverlets, With striped cloths of Egyptian yarn. 17. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, With aloes and with cinnamon. 18. Come, let us, till morning, take our fill of love, Let us take our pleasure in love. 19. For my husband is not at home. He is gone on a long journey; 20. He took a bag of money with him. He will come home at full-moon feast." 13. Continuous, binary-ternary. This free procedure may have taken place in a retired spot, else it would probably not have escaped the attention of the poHce ; though women at this period had, as we have seen (note on v."), some liberty of movement, it VII. 13-14 15 I would appear from Cant. 5' that the night-watchmen sometimes arrested strolUng women, though under what circumstances does not appear. Watchers on city-walls no doubt existed from of old (Isa. 2i"-^^ 62'' {j/ 127'), but the relatively modern night-patrol is mentioned only m Cant. 3^ 5". — The expression wi/Zi impudent (or, wanton) look (lit. puts on a bold face, so 21-") does not inti- mate that the woman assumes an attitude not natural to her, but simply describes her meretricious boldness. — 14. Protasis and apodosis, ternary. Of course the observer at the window does not hear the long and probably whispered speech that follows ^^14-20^ . ^]^Q writer describes a common scene. — The woman (who thus appears to be an Israelite) begins by telling the young man that her payment of a vow-offering enabled her to provide special entertainment at this time ; the feast is not mentioned, but, as the invariable accompaniment of the sacrifice, is taken for granted; we might, therefore, render : I have a sacrificial feast at my house. The Heb. term here rendered offering {shelem, RV. peace-offering) is a general one comprehending several varieties. It signifies primarily wholeness, soundness, and so security, friendly, peaceful relations with the deity, or the payment of one's obliga- tions to the deity so as to secure his friendship.* As a technical sac- rificial term it denotes the ordinary offerings made freely to gain favor, or presented in gratitude for favors bestowed or in fulfil- ment of a vow (see the different sorts in Lev. 7^^""'). It consisted always of flesh, to which (at least in the later ritual) was added flour, oil, and wine (Nu. is"'^") ; and of the animal presented only the blood and the fat of the intestines was offered on the altar, the rest was eaten by the worshippers. The shelem thus differs from the holocaust (Heb. ola, RV. burnt-offering) which was wholly consumed on the altar. It is in fact the old sacrificial meal of the family or clan, which was of a festive character (Am. ^21-23^ . In the present instance its occasion is a vow which has just been fulfilled {to-day) ; the law required that the flesh should be eaten on the day of offering (Lev. 7'"). The woman, not inat- tentive to her religious duties (and there is no reason to suppose * The same stem is found in Arab. Islam, = the establishing of sound relations with God by submission, resignatiojt ; and Moslem = one who is resigned to God's will, a professor of Islam. 152 PROVERBS that she herein acted otherwise than in good faith), having dis- charged her vow and prepared the feast, goes out to seek a com- panion, and pretends to the youth (it seems probable that it is a pretence) that she has come expressly to find him. If the sacri- fice was offered on an altar, the scene of the incident is doubtless Jerusalem ; but it is possible that the Egyptian Jews, before the building of the Onias-temple (b.c. 149), maintained customs of vows at home, dedication being substituted for actual sacrifice. From the plu. vows it may perhaps be inferred that vows were suf- fered to accumulate, so that a number were paid at one time ; and from Eccl. 5'*'^ we gather that there was sometimes undue delay in paying, so that it became necessary for the priests or other officers to send messengers to demand payment.* — 15. Continuous, ter- nary. The so (or, therefore) refers to the festive character of the occasion : " as I have prepared an excellent table, and do not wish to enjoy it alone, therefore I have come," etc. To seek thee, lit. to seek thy face. The reading proposed by Bickell, that I might find thee, is feeble and improbable. — The two next verses describe the luxurious appointments of the woman's house, whence (and from ^19.20^ it may be inferred that her husband was a man of sub- stance, and she of good social position. — 16. Synonymous, ter- nary. Couch is properly bedstead (Dt. 3" i// 132^), elsewhere (Job 7^^) used also for the whole of the sleeping-furniture, but here apparently for the structure on which bed-clothing is spread. The uncertainty of the term here rendered coverlets appears from the diversity of the translations given it : Grk., Vulg. cords ; Syr. Targ. beds or mattresses (or perh., cushioiis, pillows') ; Aq., Theod. spreads; and these renderings (except the first) are variously adopted by modern commentators. The word occurs elsewhere only in 31-^, where it seems to mean some sort of cloth-work (Grk. is here doubtful, Aq., Th., Vulg. spreads, Sym. carpets shaggy on both sides). AV. coverings probably gives the sense of the term (RV., not so well, carpets, marg. cushions), but the addition of tapestry (= embroidered) is without support. AV. decked = covered, spread. — The terms in second cl. must also describe some sort of bed-clothing : the first is in Grk. carpets shaggy on * On the later regulations respecting delay see commentary on Dt. 2321-23 in J?os/i ha. Shanah, 5 b. VII. i4-i8 153 both sides ; Syr. Targ., spreads or carpets ; Vulg. embroidered car- pets ; recent commentators generally striped (or, party-colored) spreads or cloths. The second term represents some kind of ma- terial, stuff, or, as the word signifies in Aram., yarn; it is left untranslated by the Anc. Vrss. (or they may have had a different word), except that Theod. has marked with Egyptian paintings. — Across the ancient Greek bedstead (which was usually of wood, sometimes of bronze) were stretched girths (cords) which sup- ported a mattress, and on this were spread coverlets, which were sometimes colored. There was a headboard, and sometimes a footboard ; at the former were placed cushions or pillows. This is the general arrangement here referred to, though the precise significations of the various terms are doubtful. — The mention of Egyptian material may indicate that the section was not written in Egypt ; commercial intercourse between Egypt and Palestine had existed since the time of Solomon, and became more frequent after the settlement of the Jews in Alexandria. — 17. Continuous, ternary-binary. After the bedstead was spread with costly cov- erings, the bed, thus prepared, was perfumed (lit. sprinkled). The aromatic substances here named are frequently mentioned in OT. (e.g. Cant. 4^'*). Myrrh is a gum-resin which exudes from the Balsamodendron Myrrha, a shrub growing in Arabia and Abyssinia ; it is reddish brown in color, has an agreeable odor and an aromatic-bitter taste ; a liquid form of it appears to be mentioned in Ex. 30-^ Cant. 5^ ; for its use in the preparation of the temple-oil see Ex. 30^-""''. Aloes is the fragrant resin-gum of Aloexylon and Aquilaria ovata of Malacca and A. agallochum of Bengal. Cinnamon is the aromatic bark of a Ceylonese tree ; it was an ingredient of the sacred oil of the Jews (Ex. 30'""^') • The description indicates a high degree of luxury. Among the Israelites ivory couches (or divans) were used by the rich as early as the eighth cent. B.C. (Am. 6^), but the perfumes here men- tioned appear only in postexihan writings (Ex. 30, Esth., \\i 45, Cant., Pr.) ; they seem to have become known to the Jews through late intercourse with foreign peoples. — 18. Synonymous, quaternary-binary. The vbs. express fulness of enjoyment. The first {take our fill) means to be filled, saturated with water (Isa. 55^*^), with blood (Isa. 34' Jer. 46^°), with love (here and 5^^) ; 1 54 PROVERBS the second means to enjoy one's self, Grk. to roll in, Targ. give one's self up to, Vulg., Syr. embrace. — 19. Synonymous, ternary. In first cl. the Heb. reads the man, an expression which is per- haps used by the woman in a slighting way instead of the friendly my husband, as if she would say : the man who owns the house, whom I happen to be bound to but do not care for. But such a refined sneer does not seem very probable, and, as Grk. has my husband, we should rather so read, or with RV. write the goodman. The master of the house appears to be a rich merchant, called on to make long journeys, as was the custom with merchants (Tob. 5^ 9- Mt. 13^^). — 20. Continuous, ternary. Time is reckoned by feasts, and these by the phases of the moon (so now frequently in rural communities, even where the solar year exists). Fullmoon- feast {ip 81'^^^') is the middle of the month — the scene occurs in the first half of the month, and the intimation is that some days must elapse before the husband can return. There was no fixed day for paying vows. The festival referred to may be Pass- over or Tabernacles. 13. On the r rafatum of 'riV}T\ (a local peculiarity of Masoretic pronuncia- tion) see De. 's note in B-D. — n^jQ is unnecessarily omitted by Bi., apparently on rhythmical grounds. — 14. |§ qid*?^'; plu. everywhere except Am. t;'-^'^ (where it is perh. scribal error), nar often = z'^z' (Ex. 24^ cf. Ez. 44" with 45^^), here = slain offering. — 15. The Vrss. have free renderings of |^. On S2r see Pink. — 16. ^ ""a-i, laic, of uncertain meaning, the vb. only here, the noun here and 31^2; (gB t^^^piq^ (^(gs-c. a. a piu/) r^raKa, in which the noun = girths, suggests the sense bind for the vb. (as in lOT chain. Gen. 41*2 y,z. 16^^, and in Arab.), but in 31^2 (g has xKa.lva.% mantles, which favors the render- ing coverlets here ; S>3C have stem ^r, AG TrepLffTpivvpvijLL, spread \vi vb. and noun ; IL intexui funibus, the noun being after (§, but the vb. zveave, appropriate in 31^2, is here out of place. The weight of authority appears to favor the sense spread. — nnan, cf. Arab. 3iDn. Oort, taking it as rendered by (@ ea-rpwKa, emends to intsn, but the Grk. word rather represents '^ p-JN, read as Titan or nas. — |it3N, found here only, is possibly a foreign word (but 666v7) linen may be a loan-word from Sem.) ; in Jew.-Aram. it = thread, a possible sense here, but 2r has another term, NDip carpet, perh. = stuff woven of thread. On the form see 01s., p. 335 ; it seems unnecessary to regard it as Aram. — 17. |^ "'PflJ sprinkle, Qdl only here; Bi., Hif. inbjn (cf. \p 681'^), Oort 'prjaj (cf. Cant. 5^); Gr. insj, from ns:. — -\b is Semitic, aiSnN (cf. Hind, aghil, Sanscr. agurii) East Indian, and Iic:p, though its origin is uncertain, is probably foreign.* — * Cf. H. Lewy, Seinit. Fremdworter im Griech. ; C. P. G. Scott, Malayan Words in Eng., in JAOS., Vol. 17. VII. i8-2i 155 18. The plu. □m and 0"'3nN are used always of sensual love. Geiger, Urschrift, p. 398, reads D"n (see 5^^), but the Mas. form is better. J§ nD'?ynj; (5 ivKv- \i(TdC}fjL€v, after which Oort unnecessarily emends to New-Heb. n'^jj.'Pj let us wallow. — Bi., to complete his scheme of quatrains, adds the couplet ^^ai D3JJ □Jjyn ipPDM yi nans djtjj — the woman, he holds, according to v.-', em- ployed argument (np*?) and it must be introduced here; but her persuasions are sufficiently given in v.^'*"-". — 20. nd;, only here and ^ 81* ("103). Here ^ has M11J? feast (Rashi : the time fixed for the feast), S = (S, (5 5i' T)iJ.€pCiv TToWQv (perh. free transl. — Lag. suggests that 81 r)ti. = 8LxotJ-'fivri),lL plenae lunae (and so Bar Ali, cited in Ges. Thes.'), Saad. day of sacrifice, Aben Ezra new moon ; in -^ 81* ^T has 'Djnm Nm\ % nd:), IL^ in iiiedio niense, (5 emrniip favorable (apparently a guess). And since in 2 is no doubt explanatory addition. Insertion of a is easy, but perh. unnecessary. — J§ nm^; @ Kardyovvai, free rendering, or = nnnic (Lag.). VIII. Exalted function of Wisdom. — A separate discourse (cf. j2o-33^^ consisting of two closely related sections (v.'^-^ and v."'"'^') with introduction and conclusion. After the description of Wis- dom as public exhorter (v.^"^) comes her address, in the first sec- tion of which (v.^-^) is set forth her high character and honorable function among men (she utters truth, v.*"^, and confers knowledge, riches, and honor, v.'""-^), and in the second (v.^-"^^) her position as cherished companion of Yahvveh in the beginning ; the conclusion states the happiness of those who obey her and the evil fate of those who reject her (v.^^"^^). With this hymn to Wisdom cf. the hymns to Yaliweh, verity,' * And the utterance of my lips is right. 7. Yea, my mouth discourses truth, And I false lips are my abomination.' f 8. All the words of my mouth are just, In them is nothing false and wrong. 9. They are all true to those who understand, And right to those who find knowledge. These verses form a group of aphorisms, all saying substantially the same thing, with variations of phraseology. — 6. Synonymous, ternary. Instead of verity (lit. verities) the Heb. has princes, or perhaps princely {noble) things {^\ . excellent things) , a term here out of place ; a slight change of letters gives the word used in v.^% straightfomiard, honest, true things, corresponding to the right or right things in the second clauses of v.'' and v.^. Utterance is lit- erally opening. — 7. Synonymous, ternary. The initial particle, sometimes =/t'r, is here better taken as asseverative ; v.' is par- allel to, not explanatory of, v.®. In cl. 2 our Heb. has and wicked- ness is an abomination to my lips, in which the lips are poetically described as rejecting wickedness with horror ; but a more natural reading is suggested by 12", false lips ai-e an abomination to Yahweh (cf. 16'''), and Grk. here has false lips are an abomina- * Heb. : excellent things (?). t Heb. : wickedness is abomination to my lips. VIII. 5-IO i63 Hon to me; the change of sense requires no great change in the Hebrew. — 8. Synonymous, binary-ternary (or, ternary). Just, lit. injustice (RV. in ?'ighteousness) = in accordance with rigJit (see notes on i^ 2^-^), in contrast with ihe false and wivng of the second clause, synonymous terms whose original, physical sense is tiuisted or crooked ; the first occurs in Pr. only here (cf. Job 5^^) ; on the second see note on 2''. — 9. Synonymous, ternary. The sense right, true for the adj. in first cl. is assured by 2 Sam. 15'' Am. 3^" Isa. 30'" Prov. 24-", and the second adj. is identical in meaning with that of v."''. What the verse says is not that Wis- dom's words are clear, intelligible, simple to the instructed,* but that they commend themselves as true ; RV. plain is ambiguous, being = either level (as in RV. Isa. 40'*) or clear, but neither of these senses is correct. — The verse is an appeal to the moral consciousness of men, affirming that he who understands the true relations of hfe, who finds (attains) moral knowledge,\v\\\ recognize the truth of Wisdom's words. This affirmation stands almost alone in OT. In Ez. 18"' there is the assumption that the people know in their hearts that Yahweh's moral procedure is right ; here we have a direct recognition of the insight of the conscience. How a man comes to understand the truth the sage does not say. His picture is objective and stative : the world is divided by him into the two classes of the wise and the fools, and it depends on the man's will to which of these he shall belong. In the NT. the nearest approach to this conception of moral classes is found in the Fourth Gospel. 10, 11. The sage declares the preciousness of wisdom. 10. Take ye instruction and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold. 11. For Wisdom is better than corals, With her no treasures can compare. The same thought is found in 3''^'", on which see notes ; 8" is substantially identical with 3^^. There (and so 8^^) the revenue or outcome of wisdom is extolled, here wisdom itself. — 10. Synony- mous, ternary. The Hebrew has t?iy instruction, but the simple * Kamphausen, and, in part, Delitzsch. I 64 PROVERBS noun (as in the Grk.) answers better to the knowledge of second cl., and to the wisdom of v.". The speaker is not Wisdom, but the sage : the most desirable thing in hfe, he says, is the insight which enables one to order one's life by the standard of truth — the point of view is that not of the prophets and psalmists, but of the younger school of Jewish thinkers. Cf. 4''"^ Choice gold \% doubt- less the same as the fine gold of 3", gold valuable by the gold- smith's standard. The word rendered choice is found, in OT., only in Proverbs.* — 11. Synonymous, ternary. On corals see note on 3^^. Treasiires is literally desirable things (as, for ex., in Hag. 2^), a general term including all things held to be valuable. Instead of can compare with we may render are equal to. 13. This verse is not here in place, but it is not clear where it is to be put. It not only interrupts the connection between v.^^ and V." (in which the intellectual excellence of wisdom is the theme), but its tone is not that of the rest of the chapter. It differs from the paragraph v.*^^ (which it resembles in a general way) by the use of the expression the fear of Yahweh ; in this paragraph it is with moral insight, and not with religious fear, that the writer is dealing, and elsewhere in Proverbs i\\& fear of Yahweh is defined only in general terms (as = wisdom, i' 9^" 15'^, or as source of blessing, 10^'' 14-^-^^ i9"'')j I'^ot by a specific moral con- tent (in 16'' men depart from evil by the fear of Yahweh). Else- where in this chapter Yahweh is spoken of only in his relation to Wisdom, either as her friend (v.""'^^), or as granting favors to her friends (v.^). The first clause of the verse is a general declara- tion which (apart from the difficulty stated above) might stand anywhere in the section io'-22"''; it is omitted by Bickell as a gloss summing up the content of the verse. But even with this omission it is impossible to find a natural place for the verse in this chapter. In the section v."''' the theme is the truthfulness of the instruction of Wisdom, and the mention of pride is out of place, and its thought has no special relation to that of v.^'', after which it is put by Bickell. We must therefore conclude that the verse, though found in all the Anc. Vrss., is a scribal insertion. * On ancient Semitic methods of preparing gold, cf. Rawlinson, Phcenicia, Ch. 10. VIII. lo-ii, 13 165 Many such aphorisms were doubtless in circulation among the learned, and were occasionally inserted out of place. Heb. : The fear of Yahweh is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogancy, The way of evil and the mouth of falsehood Do I hate. Or, omitting the first line : Pride and arrogance and sinful life And the mouth of falsehood I hate. The inconcinnity of the two parts of the verse, as it stands in the Heb. text, is obvious : the first part is the sage's statement of the relation of religion to evil ; the second part is, in the connection, Wisdom's statement of her attitude toward evil. The rhythmic arrangement is bad, and is not bettered by Grk. : the fear of the Lord hates unrighteousness and insolence and pride and the ways of wicked men, and I hate the corrupt ways of bad men. On the omission of first line see above. The sentiment of the verse is a familiar one in Proverbs; see 2^- 6'^"'^ 11^ 16". Pride and arro- gancy are identical in meaning ; the first occurs only here in OT., the second is found in 16'^, and in OT. often elsewhere. On falsehood (lit. what is turned away, that is, from truth) see notes on 2-" 6^\ VIII. 1. ^ (which IL follows exactly, and ^ with one variation) is sup- ported by the context. (J|Bxa o-|> . . . K-qpiJ^eLS and 'iva . . . vwaKovcrri (for nV-ip inn); Procop., with H-P 23, 109, 147, 157, 295 Aid., Swo-i) . . . K-fjpv^ov, and 3C has nj^ti ^rjs, = jd'?, = 5i6. Since this is a separate discourse, a con- necting pS is improbable. The hatural subject in ^ is Wisdom's utterance, and the inis >'Dtt'n of (@ is doubtless scribal error. — 2. "ill iSy is omitted by nroi; the distinction which seems sometimes to be made {\p 49^(3) 62"-'*i'^', cf. Isa. 2^), between mx '2 and B'vs '2, is not contem- plated here. — 5. |§ 3^ iran, @ ivdeffde Kapdiav, = sS u^sn, to which the ob- jection is not so much that the remote object is not expressed (for the 3*^ r^'y of I Sam. 4^'' offers support for such a construction) as that it destroys the parallelism of the verse — :jS corresponds to nm;'. ■ — Q. (B elaaKoiia-aTi fxov. — i§ oiT'jj, as adj. dw. \ey., possibly (cf. "iip, in) visible, clear (see Schult.'s note), but probably (from i^Jj) princely, a sense here inappropriate; read □ \ijj, as in v.^* (so Gratz) ; (5 atfxva.; S^TIL as pj.- — ||J nnsc, elsewhere key, here opening (abstract noun of action) ; (@ avo'i * intelligence, I have knowledge and insight. 14. With me is counsel and skill. With me understanding and might. 15. By me kings do reign. And rulers administer justice. 16. By me princes govern, And sovereigns • rule ' t the earth. * Heb. : dwell in. t Heb. : all the rulers {ox, judges) of. VIII. 12, i4-i6 I07 12. Synonymous, ternary. Possess is emendation of the Heh. inhabit, which is here unnatural. The statement of the Heb. is not that Wisdom dwells, in friendly alliance, with intelligence, but that she dwells /// i-iitelligence, an unexampled form of expression.* V.^-- " obviously set forth the resources of Wisdom ; the predicates all state what she has at command. The connection calls for a word expressing ownership, and the Peshita and the Targum have create, which is apparently the rendering of the Heb. verb (see v.") which means both create and possess ; the latter term fits the con- nection. Another emendation is am acquainted with (cf. i// 139'^). In second cl. the verb, lit. find, = come up07i, come into possessio7i of {%o in V.*'). On intelligence (or, sagacity) see notes on i^* 8'. In second cl. the and, lacking in the Heb., is properly supplied by RV. ; the combination occurs in i'"'. The three predicate nouns are synonyms. — 14. Synonymous, binary-ternary, or bi- nary. In second cl. and is lacking in the Heb. before the second noun ; this being supplied, the translation is : /, 2mderstandi?ig is mine and 7night. The rendering of RV. / am understanding is out of keeping with the context and with the usage of the whole Book. Counsel is advice, and the knowledge which enables one to advise profitably. Skill is the ability so to arrange things as to lead to the desired result ; see note on 2". Might is power of thought, and, by consequence, of action ; see Isa. 11- and Job 12^^, passages which stand in some relation to this. — The predicates in V.'-- '•* are synonyms of wisdom ; but the latter conception is here personified, and endowed with all the qualities that are connected with it. — 15, 16. Synonymous, ternary. The rendering above given of 16'' (which is after the Grk.) has the advantage of gaining symmetry of clauses. The Heb. reads and sovereigns (or, nobles, or, magnates'), all the judges of the earth. A similar sequence occurs in \\j 148'^ : kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all judges of the earth; in the psalm it is natural, v.^'- being com- posed entirely of groups of nouns, with the verb in v.". In our passage the arrangement is different : v.'^*- '■'"'• "''' consist each of subject and predicate; the predicate is simply verb in v.^^*-^''^ in v.^^'' it is verb and noun, and this form we expect in v.^^**. The * Cf. the appropriate expression of i Tim. 6io : [God] dwelling in light un- approachable. I 68 PROVERBS Heb. text seems here to have been asshiiilated to that of the psahii. — Administer =■ decree. — Instead of earth some Vrss. and Heb. MSS. have justice, which is probably repetition, by scribal error, from end of preceding verse. — The rulers of the world are here conceived of ideally as governing by wisdom. The writer's tone is friendly ; it is that of a man who looks on governments broadly, as institutions of life to be controlled by the laws of human knowledge and discretion. He thus stands in contrast with those psalmists who regard the kings of the earth as hostile to Israel (as i/' 149^), and with such passages as Eccl. 10^, in which the king is spoken of as a dread personage to be cautiously dealt with. Throughout Proverbs the source of royal success is wisdom ; in the Psalms it is Yahweh who guides the earthly rulers of Israel {^ 144^"), and is indeed himself Israel's king (10"^ 2(f^ al.^. 17-21. The first half of the chapter concludes with a descrip- tion of the earthly rewards of "Wisdom. Whatever men seek, riches and honor, is supplied in abundance by Wisdom — men will consult their interests in seeking her. The sage appeals to dominant human motives, and teaches men how to make life a success in the worldly sense. Cf. 3'°- ^'^'^. V." belongs rather to this paragraph than to the preceding. 17. I love those who love me, And they who seek me find me. 18. Riches and honor are with me, Lordly wealth and prosperity. 19. My fruit is better than finest gold, And my produce than choice silver. 20. In the way of equity I walk. In the paths of justice, 21. To endow my friends with wealth, And fill their treasuries. 17. Synonymous, ternary-binary. On the rendering seek, v!\- %\.t2i^o{ seek diligently {ox, early), see note on i-l — The reciproc- ity expressed in first cl. is not real (like that of t// ig^^- -"<-*'• ^>), but only formal, the sense being that, by a natural law of mind, only those who earnestly desire Wisdom can come into intimate rela- tions with her. The first clause states the attitude of mind, the VIII. i6-i8 169 second the consequent effort — the two are mutually complement- ary. It is assumed that men may naturally desire wisdom, and that search for it is always successful. The sage recognizes to the full the moral responsibility and potency of man ; the highest gift of life is within every man's grasp. His thought is an expanded and refined form of the old-Hebrew idea (Ez. 18''). Similar stress is laid in the Fourth Gospel on the power of the human desire and will (Jno. 5''"jr do not wish to come to me) and on the attitude of mind here expressed by the word love (Jno. 3^'-' men loved the darkness rather than the light). Cf. note on v.^. — 18. Synonymous, ternary. The connection shows that the refer- ence is to earthly honor and wealth, (as in v.-^ 3"^ al.). Honor is good repute in the eyes of men. Lordly = s/>lendid, or, in general, great, Grk. abundant, Lat. Vulg. superb, RV. durable, margin ancient (that is, inherited from ancestors) ; the word appears to mean advanced, eminent, and some such superlative adjective is suggested by the connection, but the sense inherited (Stade) is not appropriate. — The term here translated hy prosperity (np"il£) is usually rendered hy justice or righteousness. It signifies prima- rily that which is right, true, as quality of a fact or of the soul (the English y//y//V'"i ( = had fitan) in Talm. see li. Deutsch, Spr. Sal., p. 68. — 14. In '' we must either take ^jn as preposed subject, and insert 1 before mi3', or, what is simpler, following (5, change ■'JN to ^'^. — 16. |fj I'in y^^'i' Sd; (§ rvpawoL KpaTovcn 7^s; read 'N liDs:-. — For inx ^^TiL and many Heb. MSS. and printed Edd. give p-i-i (see De' Rossi), which seems to be scribal repetition from end of preceding verse; after -^yi' we expect 3 before p-iy, as in \p 961^ 98^. — On SiK see Pink.'s note. — 17. Read Qeri 13ns (so (@);-Bi. anx ni ans ijn I love him zvho loves Yah, an improbable reading. — 18. |£j pnv; <& iroWwv, perhaps for TraXatwi' (Grabe, cited by Lag.); ST N'''??di and riches; 5t =p?; 'A ^ter' elp-qvr]s; S (and 0) Tra\ai6s; IL siiperhae. — 20. At the end (5 adds a.va.(TTpe the fountains of the deep, 29. When he set bounds to the sea, [] * When he laid the foundations of the earth. 30. And I was at his side, as his < ward,' Full of delight day by day, Sporting in his presence continually, 31. Sporting in his world. [] f 22, 23. Wisdom's primeval origin. 22. Synonymous, quaternary-ternary. Instead of Yahweh Targ. has God. — The rendering formed ( = created ) is supported by the parallel expressions in v.-'^-^^-^^ {?nade or ordained and brought into being) ; the translation possessed (RV.) is possible, but does not accord with the context, in which the point is the time of Wisdom's creation. — The Hebrew, all the Greek Versions, and the best MS. of the Vulgate (Cod. Amiatinus) have as the begin- ning, Clementine Vulgate, Syriac, Targum /;/ the beginning (so RV.) ; the two readings are substantially identical in meaning, but that of the Hebrew is favored by the form of second cl. {first), and by the similar phrase in Job 40'^, where Behemoth is described as the chief (lit. beginning) of the creation of God. % — Creation is lit. way, = procedure, performance (Job 26" 40^''') ; Grk. has pin. ways, which is perhaps favored by plu. zvorks of second cl. — First (RV. margin) is the more natural rendering of the Hebrew ; before (RV. and some Anc. Vrss.) is hardly allowable. — Cf. the begimiing of the creation of God (Rev. 3"), and the firstborn of all creation (Col. i'*). — In days of yore (RV. of old) = "in remotest antiquity " ; see note on the parallel expression in next verse. — 23. Synonymous, binary. While v." describes Wisdom as the first of Yahweh's works, v.-^ gives the time of her creation in general terms. The Hebrew prepositions introduce the point of time not before which (RV., some Anc. Vrss.) but at which the creation took place. Primeval time (usually everlasting in RV.) * Heb. adds : that its wafers should not transgress his command. + Heb. adds : and my delight was with mankind. X See Budde's note, in Nowack's Handkominentar . 1 74 PROVERBS is time hidden by distance, remote, dim, in the past or in the future ; in Mic. 5-'^^ it is used to express the remote origin of the Davidic house : a ruler in Israel whose origin is long ago in the distant past. The famihar expression from everlasting to everlast- ing gives the two termini of a long period, = from a remote past to a remote future ; so in \^ 90^, where the termini, appHed to God, are indefinitely remote, though the Hebrew word has not the modern sense of the temporally infinite. — The rendering fashioned is favored by the formed of v." (see also the verbs expressing birth in v.-* -"). It seems, however, to be forcing the terms when it is held (Frank.) that v.^^-^ refer to Wisdom's con- ception in the womb, and v.^^-" to her birth ; both paragraphs relate to her birth, the difference between them being that the first is general, the second specific. The rendering (see ; E xnSx — |^ ^jjp ; (gBSA ai. ?;«»•. (and so SST) €KTiosiL's, p. ^g^-^14; Toy, Judaism and Christian- ity, p. 99-102. X See Weber, Theologie (on Memra, Metatron, etc.). § Dorner, Person of Christ, Eng. transl. I., 2, p. 1835. II Cont. Haer., Bk. 4, ch. 20. II Cont. Prax., ch. 7. ft De Trin., Bk. I., ch. 12. ** De Decret., 13, 14, and Or at. II., chs. 16-22. ++ Letters, 8, 8. \\ In Crit. Sac. (on 8-^) by Calv. Inst., 2, 14, 8, Turretine, lust., 3, 29, and (appar- ently) by Dick, TheoL, ch. 30, but not by Hodge and other recent writers. I 82 PROVERBS designed to a.void the expression of primeval origin, which it brings out fullj in the context. SSC Dip jc; % aniequafii. — The construction of this verse, and particularly of mp, is difficult. Dip is not a preposition in Heb. (RV. befo7-e), nor does it elsewhere occur as noun = foremost, first (what was the Heb. original of BS. i* irporepa ttolvtuv we do not know). Either (if the text be retained) it must be read as an Aram, form, D"ip (which is not a probable writing for the original text), or it must be conjecturally assumed to mean first. If the context (v.--^) be held to call for the temporal interpretation of the two predicates, we must read n''!y}\"i3 (so Jerome, Ep. 140, ad Cyp.). The difficulty with Dip might be avoided by reading : tnd "ijS;'i3 aipc, 0/ old hi created me, of yore ; there would then be no word in '^ answering to the i3"n of ^, but this would not be an insuperable objection. — 23. "^ ^•^DpJ ; (5 ede/xeXiw- aev, as if from iD", and so S) 'j:pr>', and 2C (pass.) n^jpnniN; 'A KaTeo-Tdd-riv; IL ordinata sum. The signification put, set, establish for the stem "|DJ is assured by 1/' 2^, and by Ass. nasak { = put, set, De., Hwbuch); possibly this signification and the pour out of Heb. are connected; Ass. has tiisakku {j^ priest'), and both Ass. and Heb. have "ID] prince, perhaps = one set (in official position), possibly, like ttisakku, — a pourer (of libations). But the derivation of our word from t^D is more satisfactory (Ew., Hitz., Frank.) ; TiOD: was read by S (and, according to one account, by 9), vpoKexeipKrfiai., probably for TrpoK€xpl-ViJ.ai, and (De.) by Graec. Ven., k^x'^I^"-'- — 24. |§ •'n'?'?n; @, less well, TTotrjcrai. — |^ ^1231, lacking in (§, and perhaps to be omitted as yielding no satisfactory sense; we may, however, read ^S''?CJ or inSd (cf. Eccl. 11^). Bottcher's noblest of ivaters is not appropriate. Oort D^;jp3j cleft, with omission of dt, does not commend itself. The dag. forte in the t seems to be due to the rapid pronunciation of stat. const. — 26. |^ nS nj"; (S Kipios, free rendering, or possibly = ^j-in. — ][§ nixin; (§ aoiK-fiTovs; the word is in- compatible with v-iN (perhaps inserted from Job ^'^^), and is better omitted. S^SCIL rivers, on which see Noldeke's remark in Pink. — ||J nnajJ JJ'vSi; Graetz noblest of dust, = gold (Job 28^). For '>' Dys. writes ^'^op heights, an unneces- sary change; (g oiKovfxeva, the origin of which is doubtful; Baumg., probably rightly, rejects Aram, nnnv inhabited ; Held, suggests nrnp, the name of one of the seven heavens, according to Pirke Eliezer, c. 18 (see ^ 68^) ; cf. Levy, Chald. Wort. — 'in. 1^ Jin (see Isa. 40^2 Job 22"); B Bpbvov, perhaps after Job 22^*. — (S aviixoov, = mnn, or freely takes mnn to be the upper ocean, the o^urce of rain and wind-clouds, and so perhaps, in next verse, t^s vir oipav6v. — 28. ^ pr;; write vvj (Oort, Bi.), from the connection, and (3 dffcpaXeis irtdei. — (3 TTJs vir ovpav6v (see preceding note), perhaps = '?2n (cf. v."^^); Ju;5t. and Iren. are cited in H-P as having d/3i^tr(rov, and Lag. holds this to be the genuine reading of (g. — 29. (5^ omits a''-, apparertly by scribal error; Bi. omits "^ as induced by the erroneous Grk. text of v.^'^''; probably |^ has lost a line. For pj pin (S^ had pin, a good reading, but no change of |§ is neces- sary.— 30^ ?§ I'CN; taken from stem px firm by (5 apub^ovcra.; ^ Njpna arranger (or perhaps pass., =firm, trusty) ; 29 iffT-qpLyiiiv-q; 3L cuncta com- ponens ; understood as connected with jnx nurse hy ' h. riQ-qvovp.h-r] (= ^idn. IX. 1 83 cf. Lam. 4'^ Graetz) ; rendered as adj. by ST nr^i'C'^Ti faithful, trusty. Nouns of the form '?it3p are either abstract nouns of action (Inf. abs.), or of the nature of Pres. Parts., usually of stative vbs. (f'^p), sometimes of active or voluntative vbs. (l^S, perhaps pN lord); on the norm see Ew., § 152^; on the masc. form, Ges.'^*^, § 122, 2, c. Anm. i. For the name of agent we expect the form Sap, as in Cant. 7-, and Ass. uinindnu. Read ps'. Cf. BDB., s.v. pDN and JON. — 1§ D'';;Vi;'>'::' n^i.^i; (§ i'^ui tj/mtju rj Trpocr^xatpej', reading vyiB'i""', which, from the connection, is improbable. The expression, which looks tau- tologous, is omitted by Bi. as dittography from the context; if it be taken as scribal repetition, the DV DV also should probably be omitted. The Hne may, however, be retained; see note on this v. above. — 31. @ understands nini as subject, and at end of * adds a-vvreXfaas, perhaps reading niSon for S^n (Lag.), perhaps free translation, since (Baumg.) oiKov/xevriu suggests Sap. — 32. The order in <3^ is v.^-"- 34a. 32b. 34b. etc. ^v.33 is omitted), a natural arrangement, favored by the 1 in n^'Xi, which seems to point to a preceding parallel clause. Bi., after the Saidic Vrs., fills out v.^-"- ^ as follows : And now, my sons, hearken to me ; Hear the instruction \_of my words I Live to length of days'\ and be wise, And reject not \my admonition'\ ! a possible but suspicious ex- pansion; it introduces the reward (life) in anticipation of v.^^, and employs the doubtful expression Qini tinS vn (in \p 23^ the verb is different). If not the addition of the Coptic scribe, it is based on a doubtful Heb. text; cf. Bi.'s note. — 33. The Heb. text is rhythmically unsatisfactory, and, if the verse be retained, we should perhaps, with Bi. (see preceding note), add innDin at end. — 35. K ■'Ni'D (Q .s'sd) seems to be scribal repetition of preceding word; (5, '4^o5oL fjLov e^odoi fw-^J, read nxxb and nssb, inappropriate and improbable. — 36. (& has Part, and vb. plu. in ^ — probably a change of the Grk. scribe, in the interests of rhetorical symmetry; Heb. poetry is fond of variations of grammatical number in adjacent clauses. IX. Wisdom and Folly as hosts. — This chapter, as it stands, consists of three parts. In v.^"^ Wisdom is personified as a house- holder who prepares a feast (v.^-^), to which she invlces the unin- structed (v.^*), urging them to partake of her provision and Hve (v.'*'') ; cf. i"""-^ 8^"^^ In contrast with this, stands, in the third part, v.^''"^^, the invitation of Folly, who, noisy and seductive (v.^^), sits in a prominent place and calls to the passers-by (v."-^*), tempting the uninstructed youth by promise of secret delights (v.^^ ''), he not knowing that her house is Sheol (v.^*). Standing between these two descriptions, and interrupting their connection, is the paragraph v.'^"^", composed of separate aphorisms ; it belongs by its contents in the succeeding division of the Book (10-22^^), and is here doubtless inserted by scribal error. The remainder of 1 84 PROVERBS the chapter stands in specially close connection with ch. 7 as a warning against debauchery. 1-6. Wisdom's invitation to her feast — a semi-allegorical description of her gifts. 1. Wisdom has built her house, < Set up ' * her seven pillars, 2. Killed her beasts, mixed her wine, And prepared her table. 3. She has sent forth her maidens i to cry > f On the thoroughfares of the city : 4. " Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither " ! To him who is void of understanding she says : 5. " Come, eat my bread. Drink the wine I have mixed ! 6. Forsake < folly,' J and live. And walk in the way of understanding " ! 1. Synonymous, ternary. The building of the house is men- tioned as a necessary preparation for holding a continual feast ; it is an indication that Wisdom has set up a permanent establish- ment, in which she is ready at all times to entertain all who may come to her. Instead of Heb. hewn (the technical term of the stonemason) the parallelism favors the builder's term set up, reared, erected (so Grk. Syr. Targ.) ; the point is not that the pillars are hewn, but that they are put in place, so that the house is finished and ready for guests. The pillars are an ordinary archi- tectural feature of the time, here introduced as a natural append- age to the house. The precise position of the pillars in the Jewish house of this period (c. 3d century B.C.) is not known; probably, as in Greek and Roman houses, they surrounded the hall or court which was entered from the street-door and was used for festive purposes ; they served as support for an upper gallery. The number seven is not significant ; either it is merely a round number, or it indicates the usual architectural arrange- ment of the time. — The verse easily lends itself to allegorizing * Heb. : hewn. f Heb. : she cries. X Heb. : ye foolish, or, possibly, the foolish (or, simple'). IX. 1-2 1 85 and spiritualizing interpretation, and has been understood in this way from an early period. The Midrash takes Wisdom to be the Law, which created all the worlds ; Procopius : the enhypostatic power of God the Father prepared the whole cosmos as its abode ; Rashi : God by wisdom created the world. The seven pillars have been explained as the seven firmaments or heavens, or the seven regions or climates (Midrash) ; the seven days of creation, or the seven books of the Law* (Rashi) ; the seven charismata or gifts of the Holy Ghost (Procop., Bernard, De.) ; the seven eras of the Church (Vitringa) ; the seven sacraments, or the om- nipotent word of the Son of God (Geier) ; the prophets, apostles, and martyrs (J. H. Mich.) ; the seven liberal arts (Heid.) ; the seven first chapters of Proverbs (Hitz.).t These interpretations carry their refutation on their face. The allegorical element in the paragraph is simply the representation of Wisdom as hostess, dispensing, in her own house, instruction, here symbolized by food and drink. — 2. Parallels, quaternary- (or, binary-) ternary. In first cl. the Heb. is literally slain her slaying — killed her beasts. Meat and wine are mentioned as the chief materials of a feast (so I Sam. 1 6^ Dan. lo^). Meat was eaten by the Jews probably not daily, but on special occasions (festivals), which had a religious character. J Fermented wine (Yith. yayin^ was a common article of food (i Sam. 16-" Job i^^ i/^ 104^^). It was mixed with spices to make it more pleasant to the taste (Isa. 5" \^ 102^*^"^). The Greeks commonly mixed their wine with water in a bowl {krater), and the Grk. here introduces this term : she has mixed her wine in a krater ; to drink unmixed wine was considered by them un- seemly (Plato, Laws, I. g). Which sort of mixing is here intended is uncertain. — The table, originally a leather mat or other mate- rial laid on the ground (as among the Arabs to-day), came at an early time among the Hebrews to be a raised tray or board at * Gen. ii and Num. lo^s {when the ark set forward, etc.) were regarded, on account of their importance, as separate books. t For other interpretations see notes of Geier, Vitringa, De. X For the preexihan custom see Dt. 1220- 21 i423-27_ and for the later usage Lev. 17.3. 4. 13 ; cf. note on Pr. 7l'4. The daily provision of meat on the king's table (i K. 423 [58]) was probably connected with a daily sacrifice. In our verse Grk. has slain her offerings. The use of meat is comparatively rare in Palestine at the present day. 1 86 PROVERBS which people sat on stools (so, perhaps, i Sam. 20"^) or reclined on divans (Am. 6^) ; cf. the tables of the Temple (Ez. 40^^ Ex. 25^). — 3. Continuous, ternary. The fuai dens are the necessary machinery of invitation, not to be explained allegorically as signi- fying preachers of righteousness; the householder (as in Mt. 22^) bids her guests through servants, who thus (as sometimes now) take the place of letters. The term is a general one for young women, sometimes free and unservile (Gen, 24" Ru. 2^ Esth. 2^), sometimes, as here, attendants (so 27-'' 31^^), apparently not slaves. — According to our Heb. text {she cries) she herself also, not content with sending messages, gives her invitation on the thoroughfares of the city (lit. high places), elevated places where one could easily be seen and heard (see note on 8^) ; these have, of course, no connection with the old shrines called highplaces in the prophetical and historical books. It is not clear whether it is thus intended to represent her (as in i-"-^^ 8^"^) as going forth to places of public resort, or (as might be suggested by the parallel v." below) as having her house and her seat in an elevated part of the city. But the syntax and sense of the Heb. are unsatisfac- tory, and the change of one letter gives the reading she has sent forth her maidens to cry ; this is not out of accord with v.*, in which the proclamation may be understood to be made by Wis- dom through the messengers. In the Grk. she cries not on the heights, but with a loud voice, but this reading is improbable. — 4. Synonymous, ternary. The invitation is addressed to the simple and void of understanding, those who have not moral insight and power of self-direction, the negative, unformed minds, not yet given up to sin, but in danger of becoming its dupes ; the steadfastly good and the deliberately evil are not considered — the former do not need guidance, the latter will not accept it. Obviously, however, the author does not mean to exclude any class of persons from the counsels of Wisdom ; he writes as a practical moralist, and represents the simple as her natural hearers. — The division of the verse is unusual ; the second clause, instead of continuing the exhortation of the first, introduces a new for- mula of address ; some expositors, following the Grk. of v."^, would write : whoso is devoid of understanding, I say to him, etc. ; but this would not be a natural form of address — see note on v.^'^. IX. 2-6 18; — 5. Parallels, ternary. The invitation in figurative form. Bread, which here takes the place of the incat or flesh of beasts of v.-, is also a necessary part of the feast. — 6. Synonymous, ternary. The invitation in literal, explanatory form. The Heb. reads : for- sake, ye simple (RV. incorrectly : leave off, ye simple ones'), an in- complete sentence, since the verb requires an object, as in 2'^ 3'^ 4-, etc. ; the object can hardly be the simple (AV. forsake the foolish), for this would be a singular admonition to the simple, and the parallelism calls for an abstract noun as object. Some (as Kamp.) suppose the object to have fallen out of the text, and leave a blank ; others (De., Now., Str.) supply simplicity as object : forsake, ye simple, simplicity. A better expedient is, by a slight change in the Heb. word, to read (as in the Grk.) simplicity or folly ; Luther : verlasset das alberne wesen ; cf. i^^. The v^oxA folly (which might easily have fallen out on account of its resemblance to the preceding) may be added ; but the resulting clause will be less rhythmical. — Grk. : Forsake folly, that ye Jiiay reign forever ; and seek discretioji, and direct understanding in (or, by) knowl- edge— a misreading and expansion of the Hebrew. For the reign cf. Wisd. Sol. 6-^ IX. 1. l^niDDn; see note on i^o. — |^ nDsn; (g iiTTTypeto-ei', = na>xn (Vogel), from ai'j; S>^ nriD:;D; 3C HT'n;'; Si .■^s'^ps; this reading is favored by the par- allelism.— 2. After hddo (@ has ei's Kparripa, = Dra, probably not in original |§ (fallen out by resemblance to preceding word, Lag.), but addition of Grk. scribe for completeness. — On ]rb'^ s. Moore, on Ju. i'^. — 3. (H Soi^Xous, perh. rhetorical generalization of gender, or scribal error, possibly (Lag.) suggested to a Christian scribe by Mt. 22^. — 1§ mp id^d isj '?>; remaining, however, at the door of her house. The expression those who are going their ways (cl. 2.) = the passers-by (cl. i.), noX. who are going straightforward (^right) on their ways — the intention (as appears from the connection) is to represent these passers not as earnest persons bent on going forward without turn- ing to right or left, but as ordinary wayfarers, to any and all of whom Folly addresses herself; a similar verb {walk) is used in V.*'; in 3'' 11^ 15-^ the connection is different. — 16. Synonymous, ternary. See note on v.^. The expressions simple and void of understanding, here as there, mean lacking in knowledge of the world, unable to recognize good and bad (cf. v.^'^). Instead of she says Grk. has / say, a reading which would give unity of form to the invitation in this verse, yet is not quite natural, since Folly would not address her intended victims as void of sense ; cf. v.*. — 17. Synonymous, ternary. The inducement she offers is the delight of secret enjoyments, things prohibited by law or con- demned by society, more tempting because they are forbidden. Folly here appears as identical with the stra?ige woman of chs. 5 and 7. Her ivater and bread are parallel to the bread and wine of Wisdom (v.^), only here the feasting is clandestine — the refer- IX. i4-i8 191 ence is to illicit sexual relations. Stolen waters (= any illicit thing) are sweet was probably a current proverbial saying ; and, in the term water, instead of the more festive wine, there may be an allusion to the figure of 5'^ ^'"', on which see notes. — 18. Synony- mous, ternary. Comment of the sage : the fate of Folly's guests. In 2'^ 5' 7-" it is said that the licentious woman's ways lead to death; here, in sharper phrase, her house is identified with the Underworld — it is already in effect in the depths, and its inmates, though they have the semblance of life, are doomed and as good as dead. The death is physical, as in the parallel passages cited above ; the guests are no doubt regarded by the writer as morally dead, but that is not the statement here. On Shades (Refaim) see note on 2^*. The word rendered depths also = valleys, but, from the connection and from general OT. usage, this cannot be understood as a topographical description of Sheol, an assertion that it contains hills and valleys. It merely describes Sheol as lying deep beneath the earth, but there is possibly an allusion to the valley of Rephaim, near Jerusalem (2 Sam. 5^^ Isa. 17'). — The simple youth, who yields to Folly's invitation, is ignorant of his danger ; on the class of persons meant see note on v.^ — Grk. here adds four couplets : But turn away, linger not in the place, Nor set thine eye on her; For thus wilt thou go through alien water. And pass over an alien stream. But abstain from alien water, Drink not of an alien fountain. That thou mayst live long. That years of life may be added to thee. This is the addition of a scribe who felt that the curt ending of the text needed a hortatory complement ; it mars the poetic unity and vigor of the paragraph. The figure of the three first couplets is taken from 5^^*^- ; the last couplet (a familiar expression) is nearly the same as v." of this chapter. 13. 5^ m'^-DD and moo are air. \ey. (both probably Aram, forms) ; the latter may come from a st. "'""i (01s.), the rt-vowel being preserved by the doubling of the Yod; De., following Qamhi <^Miklol, 181 «), points nvno; from ins we should have pvpd. Oort proposes Pi. nno::, which may help to account for (5 ^vSctJs \po)fj.ov (from ja and ro); Jager points out that @ in- 192 PROVERBS volves a form of nc. The connection favors the reading nnoc, = enticing. — In niS^D:) nu'N the 'd cannot be appositional definitive (De.). There is no example in OT. of a determinative standing in apposition v^^ith a single noun in Stat, const, (irs n3 is not a case in point, for 's here is local definition of '2) ; on the construction called suspended determination (where one noun defines two in stat. const., these being in app. with each other) see Ew. § 289 c; Ges.26 § 1 30. 5 ; Moore, y;/a^('5, on Ju. ig^-; Driver, Z>('i'V'')j an attractive reading (cf. Jer. 3^) if '3 may be under- stood as meaning the feeling of shame; this sense it has nowhere else in OT. (though dS:), Ni. and Hof., is so employed) — elsewhere it = opprobrium. na is always to be taken as interrog., direct or indirect, even in Gen. 38^; we might here read ncixn (as in Gen. 39®), but the connection does not favor the resulting sense. We may doubtfully read noS;3 — less well (Frank.) oS^n (Jer. S^-). — 14. ||J mp ■'Dt:, of which (5 ifxcpavCis ev ir'Kareiais may be free rendering (see the wholly different wording of (3 in v.^) ; it would seem that (5 takes iDlD as = streets or squares ; see note on this v. above. ^T xj^a';Ji NDi and opiJ.riv opportwiity ; W writes iSn. The rhythm does not suggest an omission in pj, which is intelligible also as it stands; but the insertion of a word (= instructioii) in a translation is allowable. — 10. 1^ Dic'-ip is rendered as plu. in all extant Vrss. (the readings of the Hex. are not known) except S^^*', and Saadia; it seems then to have been under- stood (except perh. in ®) as = righteous ftien. — (5 adds at end : to yap yvQivai pSfjLov diavolas iffrlv dya0rjs, the remark of a legalistic scribe, here out of place. — For variant expressions in Clem. Al. (which, however, do not necessarily mean different MS. readings) see H-P and Lag. — 11. pj ^3 is followed by IL only; S3C nj; (5 toiJtv T(f rpdvip, probably = n3; see note on this verse above. — 1§ ifl^Dr must be taken with indef. subject, but we should perh. read Nifal. — 12. On the addition of (5 in " Kal tois irX-qalov see note on this verse above, and on aeavri^ Deissmann, Bihelstud., p. i2of. On the added couplets see notes of Lag. and Baumg., and for a translation of them into Heb. see De. (the Germ. ed. — the translation is omitted in the Eng. translation). II. DETACHED APHORISMS (X. i-XXII. i6). On the constitution and date of this division see the Introduc- tion. The title Proverbs of Solojiion belongs to the whole division. The proverbs will be arranged in groups as far as their subject- matter allows. Ben-Sira is to be compared throughout. X. The main thought is that moral goodness and industry bring prosperity, and wickedness and indolence adversity — the portraiture is broad, not going into particulars. The parallelism is generally antithetic. 1. Wise and foolish youth. A wise son makes a glad father, But a foolish son is a grief to his mother. Antithetic, ternary. Cf. 19"" 2 8^ Wise = discreet, living a good Hfe morally and industrially. We pass now from the philo- sophical conception of chs. 1-9, in which wisdom is a lore, the subject-matter and product of organized instruction, to the every- day common-sense view of wisdom as general soundness and pro- priety of conduct. The difference is not, however, to be pressed very far — it is largely one of shading ; the aphoristic teaching of chs. 10^-22^", the outcome of observation under a general religious point of view, is expanded in chs. 1-9 into discourses in which life is regarded as an organized whole, with wisdom as central and governing principle. — The antithesis is symmetrical and exact : zvise and glad are contrasted with foolish and grief. Glad and grief relate primarily to external conditions, such as the satisfac- tion or worry which come to parents from the good or bad con- duct and reputation of their children ; but the emotion founded simply on affection is not to be excluded. The interchange of father and mother is poetical variation ; the meaning is not that the father is more interested in the wise son, and the mother in the foolish son (special maternal tenderness for a feeble or erring 197 198 PROVERBS child), hvX father and mother stand each for parents. Similarly, the silence respecting the daughter is not to be interpreted as showing complete lack of interest in female children ; it comes in part from the relatively greater seclusion of young unmarried women, and their freedom from the grosser temptations of hfe — they might naturally be passed over in a book which deals not with the inward life, but with visible conduct in the outward world of society, and, in fact, the unmarried woman is not mentioned in Proverbs. The depraved woman is introduced as a warning not to women, but to men ; the good woman of ch. 31 is the married head of a household, and is praised mainly for the advantages of wealth and social position which she brings to her husband and family. The non-mention of daughters and of women in general may, however, be attributed in part to the relatively small estima- tion in which women were held in the ancient civilized world, among Chinese, Hindoos, Israelites, Greeks, and Romans.* — On care of daughters see BS. 7-'*-^ 26^"'^- 42^". — Similar sayings con- cerning good sons are cited by Malan from the Ramayana, Confu- cius, Menander, etc. 2. Profits of wrong-doing and rightdoing. Treasures wrongly acquired profit nothing, But righteousness delivers from death. Antithetic, ternary. The Heb. has treasures of wickedness, = wealth acquired unjustly (not stores or masses of evildoing) ; this is contrasted -with, justice, righteousness as a method of proce- dure in business-transactions and other affairs of life. Ill-gotten wealth, says the writer, though it may procure temporary triumph, profits nothing in the end, since violence and injustice are sure to bring divine or human (legal or private) vengeance on the man's head. Justice (= probity), on the other hand, by avoiding such vengeance (and having the blessing of God), secures to its pos- * On the position of women in antiquity see Revue Encycloped., vi. (1896), 825 f ; A. Bebel, Die Fran u. d. Sozialismus, 1891 (Eng. tranl., 1894) ; Th. Matthias, Zur SteUung d. griech. Frau in d. klaasisch. Zeit, 1893 ; Marquardt and Mommsen, Hdbch. d. 7-dmisch. Alterthiimer , 1871-1888 ; Gardner and Jevons, Manual of Grk. Antiq., 1895 ; Becker, Char, and Gallns. As to Egypt cf Wilkinson, Anc. Egypt., chs. 2. 5. 8. etc. X. 1-3 199 sessor a long and peaceful life — exemption from premature death, which is regarded in OT. as a direct divine judgment. Wealth, says the sage, will not avert God's judgment, but righteousness secures his favor. For the nature of the death see notes on i^^ 2^*-^-, etc. ; cf. v.'*'- ^^- ""■ ^ of this chapter. That there is no refer- ence to rewards and punishments beyond the grave appears from the whole thought of the Book. On the terms wickedness, right- eousness see notes on 4^' 8^* i^. — As early as the second century B.C. (and perhaps earlier) the term righteousness came to be used as equivalent to almsgiving, alms, as in Dan. ^'^~^\ where the king is urged to rid himself of the guilt of sin by righteousness defined as showing kindness to the poor; and parallels to our proverb are found in Tob. 4^" 12^ BS. 3-^" 29^^ with substitution of aims- giimg for righteousness ; in Tob. 12^ the two terms are employed as synonyms. This usage occurs also in NT. (Mt. 6'), Talmud {Succa, 49^), Midrash (on Pr. 21^), Koran {^'^^)* It is to be explained by the prominence which almsgiving always assumes in society (the care of the poor being the most obvious of social duties) — it naturally comes to be regarded as the special indica- tion of a good heart, and as a means of wiping out guilt (cf. the analogous use in OT. of afflict one's self iox fast) . This idea, how- ever, does not seem to be contained in our proverb ; the contrast appears to be between probity and wickedness in general, though it is possible that the intention is to put treasure acquired wick- edly and used selfishly over against wealth expended for the needy. 3. Desire fulfilled and unfulfilled. Yahweh suffers not the righteous to hunger, But he disappoints the desire of the wicked. Antithetic, quaternary-ternary. /Righteous and wicked are used in the most general sense. The Heb. has the soul of the righteous, where j-£'///= the personality, with special reference to desire or appetite, as in Dt. 14-" ^\l 10 f^ Pr. 13^1 Disappoiiit is lit. thrust away, reject, put out of consideration. The word here used for desire mtd^n^ evil desire (cf. note on 11") ; for good desire another * It seems not to have existed among the Greeks and the Romans. 200 PROVERBS term is employed (lo-^ ii"^ al.'). The point of view (found throughout OT., except in the speeches of Job and in Eccl.) is that the temporal wants of the righteous are provided for by God. This idea is expanded at greatest length in i/' 37 (see especially v.^^-^), a poem which seems to belong to the same period as the central part of Proverbs. Elsewhere in OT. the application is to the nation, or rather to the righteous part of it (Isa. 7. 8 Ez. 36 Isa. 53, the Psalter passim). Founded on the conviction of the divine justice, it survived all changes of fortune, and in Proverbs is applied without reservation to the individual man. In Wisd. Sol. and NT. this view is abandoned, and the reward of the right- eous is sought in the future life. 4, 5. Industry and sloth. 4. A slack hand makes poor, A diligent hand makes rich. 5. He who gathers in summer acts wisely, He who sleeps in harvest acts shamefully. 4. Antithetic, ternary. Cf. i2-* 19^^ 22^ 6*""" 27^^^ 28". Prob- ably based on an old popular proverb ; parallels are found among all peoples. The second line is lit. : the hand of the diligent 7nakes rich. As hand in OT. often —person, we may also render : The slothful becomes poor, the diligent becomes rich. By the change of a vowel poverty may be read instead of poor, with the sense : The slothful gains povert}>, the diligent gains wealth, but the change is unnecessary. The Vrss. give different readings : poverty brings a man low (Grk. Targ. Syr.) ; or, a slack hand brings poverty (Lat.). In the first of these the verb is, from the parallelism, obviously wrong ; the second is identical with a read- ing given above. — The Lat. and the Hexaplar Syriac here add the first couplet of the addition found in Grk. after 9^^, which see ; it seems here to be the random insertion of a scribe. — 5. Anti- thetic, ternary. Providence and improvidence. Lit. is a son who acts wisely, and is a son who acts shamefully. The last ex- pression may be rendered, as in RV., ivho causes shame (cf. 28^), but the parallelism favors the translation here given. We may also reverse the order of subject and predicate, and render : He X. 3-5 201 (or, a son) who acts wisely gathers in summer, he (or, a son) who acts shamefully sleeps in harvest. The meaning is the same in the two translations ; but the first (characterizing the act as wise or unwise) is more natural than the second (characterizing the man as acting so or so) . The statement is meant to be uni- versal ; the word son contemplates the man as a member of a family, but it is also assumed that he is an independent worker. The agricultural life, to which the proverb relates, existed among the Jews in Palestine from their first occupation of the land down to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. On summer and harvest see note on 6^. — Grk. has : A son who is instructed will be wise, And shall use the fool as servant. A thoughtful son is saved from heat, But a lawless son is blighted (or, carried away) by the wind in harvest. The first couplet appears in some MSS. at 9^- ; the second has a general resemblance to the Heb. of our verse, with great verbal variation. X. 1. The title is lacking in (§5, and was perhaps not inserted in |§ till after (5 was made. — To 3n SCCT attach suff., which may have fallen out through foil. 1; but the simple form accords with the curtness of aphoristic expression, and may be retained notwithstanding the icn. — 2. |^ jm (and so IL) ; (5 dc6/xoi;s (and so S2C), less appropriate, since pitn nnss forms a con- trast to n|-ns. — For npis in the sense oi justice, aid, succor to Israel (by Yahweh) see Ju. 5^1 Mic. 6^, and of. the similar sense in Sabean, in Hal. 188, 8 (p-is). Gr. adds map dv3, as in 11*. — 3. pj pix; (gABaJ. SiKaLav; between the two readings there is little to choose. — The primary sense of the stem nin seems to be go, tnove, whence blo'o (of the wind), and Aram, be (perh. from breathe, perh. irova fall out, happen), and specifically ^0 do2U}!,fall (^Axah.); the noun =: air (Arab.), desire, connected with breathing (Arab., Heb.), mis- fortune, destruction, = that -which, falls on one (Heb.). In Job 37'' mn appears to mesin fall, but Siegf emends to r\^_i xvater (see Konig, p. 598). Cf. Fleischer, in De.2, p. 94, Budde on Job 6^ yf, BDB. Fleischer (in De., Job 376) holds that the primitive sense of the stem is gape, yawn. ^K jn possession ; It insi- dias. (3 fwTjf, =: pin, does not give so good an antithesis as |^. — J§ apa'i, for which a number of MSS. and printed edd. (see De' Rossi) have DiJ3 treacherous, apparently a gloss which expelled the text-word. The variation of number (sing. 'S, plu. '-») is for rhythmical effect. — 4. (§ (foil, by SiST) Trec/a ('l:\v->) civdpa TaTreivoT, perh. taking ftj as = poverty makes the hand slack (cf. Schleusn.), or reading some form of njy or ■^^. • Between rN-< and d'nt 202 PROVERBS there is not much choice; the parallelism (-i"'>'p) rather favors the former. The Hif. 'n may be simple causative {makes rich) or causative-reflexive {^be- comes rich). On the couplet added in ILS^ see Baumg.'s note. — 5. The text of (5 seems to be based on that of ^J. Its first cl. vlbs Treiraidevfj-^vos (rocpbs eVrai = '"'DZ'D iDia p, the 'D 'a being perh. paraphrase of I'^pa "bjs"; of this the third cl. dL£'T; Krochmal (cited by Gr.) 3pv shall be cursed (cf. ii^''), a good reading if the nj-i:: be understood of men (Frank, apr). — 8. |^ '^in; @Boj. ao-TCYos babbling ((@'''° S" iSoraros ziiisleady') ; the ffKoXid^uv of (5 is gloss on this expression, or (Jag.) on the diaarp^cpiov (|^ iJ'P^'d) of v^. |^ taay ; ® viro(jK€\instV3 n^b; Bi. nav n;'D 0*?!^; /oier. Trap, is rendered by Lag. nvDCp (so in Lev. 26^^), by Gr. D'^JD Sn. — 11. For l^"* '3 (5 has iv xe'/>^, perh. scribal error for x^'^^' (Grabe, Lag.)i — 12. On 1^ ann see note on 6" — ^y after noj occurs i/' 44'-^' 106^^ Job 2i26, the primary sense of the vb. being perh. lay, heap. — (§ toi>s /xt; (\)CKovei.KovvTo.%, = a;7ti'a mS, the neg. being inserted to obtain a contrast with ". r^ can be taken only in the causative sense, as everywhere else in OT. (the only other occurrence of the Hif. in Pr. is 12'^^, on which see note). Read Qal npn (the D being omitted as erroneous repetition of preceding n), or, with Hitz., point nyna as Hith. — On the mis- translation of (5 see notes of Vog., Lag., Baumg. — 18. For (5^ blKai.a. (for 1^ "^p") Grabe suggests d.bi.Ka, Lag. (with (gioc) g^Xta, which may be conformation to |^, or 5. may be free rendering to gain a good sense. The text of |^» appears to be corrupt, and no aid is got from the Vrss. See note on this V. above. 19-21. The proper use of speech. 19. In a multitude of words transgression will not be lacking, And he who controls his tongue acts wisely, 20. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, The mind of the wicked is little worth. 21. The lips of the righteous feed many. But the foolish die through lack of understanding. 19. Antithetic, ternary. Tongue is lit. iips. The second line may also be rendered : the zvise man controls, etc. The caution is against much talking — in general, says the sage, it is impossible to talk much and be wise. The reference is to everyday life ; transgression is overstepping the bounds of sobriety and good sense. The preceding proverb is directed against gossip as inju- rious to others ; this is intended to guard the man's own charac- ter. It may be popular in origin, but its present form was given it by cultivated thinkers. Cf. BS. 20*. Malan cites a number of close parallels to this proverb, as talkativeness is intemperance in speech (Theophrast. Char. 8), and silence is a hedge about wisdo7n {Pirke Aboth, 3, 13), and cf. Pirk. Ab., i, 17, which is probably 212 PROVERBS based on this verse. . — 20. Antithetic, quaternary- (or, ternary-) ternary. The antithesis rests on the identification of thought or mi7id (ht. hearty and speech {tongue') ; it is assumed (and in general it is true) that they correspond to each other. A good man's speech, issuing from his good mind, makes for everything good in Hfe, and may be hkened to choice silver, silver refined, of highest value, and everywhere current. The 7nind of the wicked (their inward being, attitude toward life, thought and opinion), which naturally expresses itself in words, is of small account — a contemptuous expression, doubtless = of no account, of no value for speaker or hearer. The point of view is moral (as in chs. 1-9) ; righteous and wicked are identified with wise and un- wise.— 21. Antithetic, quaternary- (or, ternary-) ternary. Speech and thought are identified, as in the preceding verse, and righteous (= wise') is set over z.^2^\ViSX foolish (no doubt here = wicked); understanding is lit. mind {heart), as above. The antithesis is between the nutritive power of wise thought and speech, and the incapacity of moral folly to gain life — earthly life, taken in the widest sense, with physical and moral content. The good man ministers to all the wants not only of himself, but also of others {fuany here = all with whom he comes in contact), the bad man cannot keep even himself alive ; the death referred to is the premature physical death which is the penalty of failure to grasp and follow wisdom ; see note on v.". The thought is substan- tially that of 3^^^^, with substitution of the righteous man for wis- dom. — A sharper antithesis would be gained by the reading majiy die through one who lacks understanding, but the change oi fools to many is difficult; the rendering /^^/y die through ojie, etc., gives no appropriate thought. — In the first line the translation the lips, etc., gain many (as friends) is hardly allowed by the Hebrew. Cf. BS. 6*^ 9I8. 22. Happiness of work blessed by God. The blessing of Yahweh, it makes rich, And he adds no sorrow with it. Continuous or extensive (the second cl. completing the first by an additional detail), ternary. The first cl. affirms that physical wealth is the gift of God, as in chs. 1-9 this gift is ascribed to X. 20-23 213 Wisdom. The repetition of the subject by the insertion of it indicates that it is the divine blessing and not anything else that gives riches, that is, the divine blessing on the labor of men's hands. In the second cl. the term sorrow (sometimes = painful effort, toil) is used, as in 15^^ {sorrow of heart ox mind), Gen. 3'**, for pain, suffering ; the wealth bestowed by Yahweh is distin- guished, as being free from sorrow, from ill-gotten gain, which brings evil with it (13" 15® 16^^ 21" 28^). There is an implied an- tithesis between the wealth of good men and that of bad men. — Elsewhere in OT., when a preposition follows the verb add, it is to (see Jer. 45^), which would here be out of place. —This under- standing of the term rendered sorrow is that of the Anc. Vrss. Some expositors,* taking it in the sense of labor, render : and toil adds not to it (namely, to the blessing), that is, human labor counts for nothing in the acquisition of wealth — it is all God's doing. But such a sharp separation between man's work and God's work is hardly an OT. conception (passages like Ex. 14''* \\) 1 1 8^ do not bear on this question) — man is everywhere repre- sented as working under God's direction; so ^ 127^ (which is cited by Ew., De., Str., as supporting their translation) affirms not that labor in itself is useless, but only labor unattended by the divine blessing. In 14-^ it is said that there is profit in all labor. 23. How wrongdoing appears to fools and to sages. It is as sport to a fool to do wrong, But it is » abomination > to a man of sense. Antithetic, quaternary-ternary. The essential idea in the term sport is not ease of performance (De. al. : child'' s play), but recre- ation, enjoyment — so Gen. 17^'' Ex. 32^ Ju. 16-^ Zech. 8' Job 40^" Pr. 8^"-^^ 26^^31^ (the sense derisio7i which the word sometimes has, as in 2 C. 30^" Job 30^ ip 2* Pr. i-®, does not come into con- sideration here). It is the fool's moral superficiality that enables him to enjoy sin — he has no deep sense of its sinfulness; it is involved that such conduct is easy for him — the assumption is that wrongdoing may become part of a man's nature, his normal and joyous activity. — The term here rendered wrong {^Y. wicked- * Saadia, Rashi, Luther, Ew., Hitz., De., Str., Kamp., Frank. 214 PROVERBS ness) is a strong one, sometimes expressing general enormity of conduct (21^'' 24^ Job 31" if/ 26'°), frequently in the Prophetical and legal books — leivdness (Jer. 13^' Ez. 16^ 23^^ Lev. 18'^), here badness in the most general sense. — The Heb. of the second line is lit. : and wisdom to a man of sense (or, u?iderstanding), which may conceivably mean that a man of sense is wise (an identical proposition), or that wisdom is as sport (natural enjoy- ment) to a man of sense (but wisdom is not parallel to wrong- doing— we should expect the name of the act, righ/doing) . The natural subject of the second line is wrongdoing, d^nd the predicate should be antithetic to sport ; from the similar thought in 16'- we may here read abomination. Other proposed readings are : a dis- grace (which does not furnish a distinct contrast to spoj't), and as {object of) anger (which gives the desired contrast, but the inser- tion of object of is unwarranted, and the as inappropriate). — The terms /^(?/ and man of sense have an intellectual and moral content. 24, 25. Fate of righteous and wicked. 24. What the wicked fears will befall him, But the desire of the righteous will be granted. 25. When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more, But the righteous is established for ever. 24. Antithetic, ternary. \a\. the fear of the wicked. The con- trast is between /^c«r and desire. Instead of saying that the desire of the wicked will not be granted, the author gives a more strik- ing antithesis by declaring that the calamity apprehended by the wicked will overtake him. It is the ancient opinion of retribution in this world : every man desires happiness, and fears and appre- hends misfortune — the good man shall have his desire (so ch. 3 and passim), the fear of the bad man shall be fulfilled. This opinion is combated in Job 3'-^ : Job, a good man, had feared evil, and it had come upon him. Our sage maintains the old view (which long continued to be the prevailing one), doubtless con- sidering it to be necessary for the restraint of evil and the encour- agement of good. The happiness had in view is general prosperity, without special reference to the satisfaction of a good conscience or the enjoyment of communion with God, and with no reference to the retribution of the future life. — In the second hue the Heb. X. 23-25 215 has : the desire, etc., he will grant. The he is regarded by some critics as indefinite (the resulting sense being ivill be granted^, by others as referring to Yahweh. Neither of these interpretations is favored by the usage of OT., and the verb must be written as Passive. — 25. Antithetic, ternary. \lX.. at the passing over of the tempest (that is, of misfortune) the wicked is not. The Syr. has : as the tempest suddenly passes, so the hoicked perishes and is not found. In I-'' the fear ( = source of fear) of the wicked is Ukened to a whirlwind or tempest, but (even if the Heb. allow it) the comparison is not appropriate for the idea of impermanence, and the Syr. is obliged to insert the word suddenly to get the picture of swift destruction. The same construction (without the suddenly) is given by Targ. Lat. and AV. — The second cl. reads : the righteous is an everlasting foundation, not that he is a support for others, but (as the contrast requires) that he himself is firmly established. The verse sets forth the permanence and imperma- nence of the two classes of men : the wicked is swept away by the tempest of divine punishment (i"'^), the righteous is secured against overthrow by divine protection (cf. 12^ 14"). The thought is adopted in Mt. f'^-'' . 19. For ][§ Siii; S> has ios (|§ iri3j), perh. for ireireipa/iivos (Lag.) — 21. |§ lyn''; Frank., not well, gain as friends. — The subst. ^Dn occurs in OT. only here and 28-^, the adj. ten times in Pr.; aS is omitted by <5, probably by scribal error. (§ badly fTriorarat v^p-qXa, = ncn i>"i'> (i^ ani i>n-). — 22. After Hif. of ']D-< the thing ^0 which something is added is introduced generally by *?;•, sometimes by '^ or Sn; here alone the vb. is followed by D," — the prep, introduces the thing along 7vith which the 3i">' is not added. — (!| follows |^, but inserts explanatory phrases : eirl KecpaXrjv diKaiov after evXoyia k., and iv Kapdia after Xijutt). — 23. noDn in J^ is to be taken as the antithesis to not nr;'. For 'n Graetz sug- gests no'^j disgrace, as contrast to pnz', taken as = spori, a partial antithesis, but hardly convincing. Read nTfn. Frank. : r^i^n-^. (§* ev y^Xuiri &(ppujv wpdcra-ei KCLKa, = 'r ry-y; Sdd pnra, in accordance with which ^ might be ren- dered : and {with enjoyment') a man of utiderstanding {practices') wisdom (omitting ^), which has no advantage over |^. In i' (@ takes njpn as pred.; SE follow (5 in a (ST N.-113;' for ncr), and p? in h. iL = |^. — 24. p? ]y_, hardly with subj. ni.T' understood — there is no reason why "■ should not have been written, if it had been meant (cf. \p 21-^), and there is no trace of it in the Vrss., except in Saad. ; nor is there in OT. a clear example of the impers. 2l6 PROVERBS or indef. construction of ]r\\ not in 13^'' (on which see note below) or in Job 37W (on which see Budde's note). It is better, with &K1L, to take it as Pass., and point as Hof. (cf. Job 28^^), or (Vog.) as Nif. — (S* iv d-n-wXela dcre^ris Trepi(f>^peTa.i (and so Sh), where dir. perh. = nj::, as in Jar. 49^^, and wep. = {<2; (cf. Schleusn., Lag.). After " (S'^ adds bovXeiai 5^ dtppuiv (ppovifiii) (perh. from i i^S), and after ^ Kapdia 8k dcre/SoOs eKXelxpei (perh. corruption of ^, and cf. 15'). The additions do not belong to the Heb. original. — 25. In layo the D is taken as compar. by S2uIL Saad.; if this were the sense we should expect p in '', and so ^'HL render; 1L has t/uasi before fundamentum. (^'' StVaios 5^ iKK\iva% o-wferai d% rbv aiOiva seems to be free rendering of |^, and it is unnecessary (Semler, cited and approved by Lag.) to change skk. to a,K\ivr)$ tmswerving. 26. The sluggard. As vinegar to the teeth and as smoke to the eyes, So is the sluggard to those who send him. A simple comparison, quaternary-ternary, based on some pop- ular saying. The term rendered vinegar is used for any acid drink made from the juice of the grape (Nu. 6^, forbidden, there- fore, to Nazirites) — in some forms it was refreshing (Ru. 2"), in others unpleasant (i// 69^^'"') ; see note on 25-". Hitz., Ew. render, in second cL, not so well : to him who, taking the Heb. word as plu. of majesty (like the word for lord). Grk., in first cl. as unripe (ysour) grapes, perhaps scribal error for vinegar, and in second cl. so is lawlessness to those who practise it, which agrees well with the ethical tone of this chapter, not so well with first cl. It is probably a misreading of our Heb. text. Whether the proverb originally stood in this place is doubtful ; it resembles in form the aphorisms of chs. 25. 26. 27-29. Contrasted fortunes of righteous and wicked. 27. The fear of Yahweh prolongs life, But the Hfe of the wicked will be shortened. 28. The hope of the righteous will have a glad issue, But the expectation of the wicked will perish. 29. Yahweh is a stronghold to the « man of integrity,' But destruction to the workers of iniquity. 27. Antithetic, ternary. So 3^^ and many other passages — long life, a supreme blessing when there is no hope beyond the grave, is the reward of piety. The sage probably thinks both of natural causes (sobriety, etc.) as producing this result, and of im- X. 26-30 217 mediate divine action. For life the Heb. has days in first cl., years in second cl. On fear of Yahweh see note on i^. — 28. An- tithetic, ternary. Lit. in first cl. the hope of the righteous is glad- ness. The thought is substantially that of v.^*' ^ — the aim of all men, good and bad, is happiness — the cause is human law and divine control — the good will, the bad will not, gain what they wish. Cf. Job S''' i/' 112^", and so everywhere in OT., except in the speeches of Job and in Ecclesiastes. The aphorism looks to the close of hfe. — 29. Antithetic, ternary. According to the Masoretic punctuation the first line reads : a stronghold to perfec- tion is the luay of Yahweh ; the parallelism requires that we read (with Grk.) perfect (or, righteous, or, pious) instead oi perfection. But, as elsewhere in OT., it is always Yahweh himself, and not his " way," that is called a stronghold, the line must be translated : Yahweh is a stronghold to him who is perfect in his way, that is, to a man of integrity. The conception is the old-Hebrew one, that the retributions of God in this life are determined by men's moral character. — When (as in RV.) the "way of Yahweh" is taken as subject of the sentence, the understanding is that the divine government of the world produces the results named — an idea appropriate in itself (see Ez. 18 \\i ig^^-^^s-ss)-) . |J^^- "strong- hold" is a strange predicate of "way" (or "method of govern- ment"), and OT. usage is against such a construction. — In the translation here adopted Yahweh is the subject of the whole couplet, the antithesis being found in the two members of the predicate, stronghold, etc., and destruction, etc. We may also take the second cl. as a separate sentence, and render : but de- struction will be to the workers of iniquity ; the antithesis will then be simply between the protection given to the righteous and the ruin visited on the wicked. The objection to this rendering is that it does not recognize the syntactical parallelism between stronghold to the perfect and destruction to the workers of iniquity which is suggested by the Heb. — both expressions appear to be predicates of Yahweh. The second cl. recurs in 21^^, on which see note. 30. Permanence of the righteous. The righteous will never be moved, But the wicked will not abide in the land. 2l8 PROVERBS Antithetic, ternary. The general idea is the same as that of v.^^, but there is special reference to the privileges of citizenship. The sentiment of love of country was reinforced among the Israel- ites (and probably to some extent among other ancient Semitic peoples) by a definite view of the relation between the deity, the citizen, and the land. The favor of the deity was confined to his own land and people, and the prosperity of the man was insepa- rably connected with his share in the soil. In ancient times this view was held in a crude, unethical way (i Sam. 26^^) ; in Israel it was gradually purified by intellectual and moral growth, but never wholly given up — it was always in the land of Canaan that the final blessing was to come to the people. The prophets inter- preted exile as a temporary cessation of privilege, a preparation for a higher destiny (Jer. 27"^ Ez. 39-^-^ Isa. 53). Thus posses- sion of the soil, dwelling in the land, came to be the synonym of the highest blessing {ij/ 37^'^ cf. Mt. 5'), and is so used here. The expression retained its validity in the Greek period in spite of the dispersion of the people (cf. Dan. 12 BS. 36'^ Enoch 85- 90). The reference in the first cl. (as the parallelism shows) is to physical permanence, not to the maintenance of moral integrity. See notes on i^ 2-^-^1 31, 32. Speech of righteous and wicked: The expressions are not perfectly clear ; the text is perhaps in disorder. The Heb. reads : 31. The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, But the tongue of falsehood shall be cut off. 32. The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked is falsehood. 31. Antithetic, ternary. The causative sense uf/er seems to be required by the connection; but elsewhere (i// 62^°'^^' 92"'^^') this form of the verb means sprout, grow, increase (the causative form, make grow, occurs in Zech. 9''). As the text stands, the antithe- sis is implicit. Instead of saying that the tongue of the wicked Jitters folly or falsehood (as in v.^-), the verse, looking forward to consequences, declares that it shall be cut off ; the proverb in full form would be : the righteous speaks wisdom, obeys God, and lives — the wicked speaks folly, disobeys, and dies. It is a repeti- tion of the familiar idea of precise compensation in this life ; cf. X. 30-32 2!^ •A 36^^*' 37* 59''*^^' 144^ (the reference in the Psalms is generally to national enemies) Pr. 4'* lo"'^^ i2^*''^'-* 15^-^ Eccl. lo'^-^", etc. — 32. Antithetic, quaternary-ternary (or, ternary-binary). A simple statement of the difference between the utterances of the two classes of men. Acceptable is that which gives content, pleasure, to man (Esth. i*) or to God (Pr. 8^ 11^ 12-, etc., Isa. 49*, and, in the sacrificial ritual, Lev. 22^, etc.). In the latter case the divine name is always expressed elsewhere in Prov., and the reference here must be to man. Good men, the proverb says, employ the sincere and kindly language that gives men pleasure. On the other hand, the false language of bad men, the parallelism sug- gests, stirs up strifes. The verb know, as predicate of lips, is somewhat strange. It might be taken, as in 12'°, in the sense regards, pays attention to, but we should then expect the righteous man as subject; here we shall better, with Grk. and Hitzig, read Jitter.* The proverb defines men's characters by the nature of their speech. — In the four clauses of the two verses there is pos- sibly a chiastic arrangement, the fourth cl. answering to the first cl., and the second cl. to the third cl, so that the simple form would be : The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, But the mouth of the wicked falsehood. The lips of the righteous utter what is acceptable, But the tongue of falsehood will be cut off. 26. In ^ (5 Trapavo/xia may = n^i>' (|^ ^V"^) '■> whether xpw/i^wis represents vnStr or some other word is uncertain. — 28. |§ nSnh hope ; (5 ivxpovl^ei, lasts long (because there is always hope), or, less probably, is deferred (because only a hope), or perh. represents some other Heb. word, as inxp. — 29. |§ ^-n; @ (pojSos, as in v.-^; S^ (with note oi \onrol waaOrus^ 656s, which may be conformation to |^, or may be original (S. — |^ dh must be pointed an; De. suggests that the Masoretes here pointed the word as subst. because the adj. is not found elsewhere with prefix. D^ occurs nine times in ethical sense (in poetical books only), twice of physical purity (Cant. 5- 6^), once of social habitude (Gen. 25^^) ; it is an ethical term of the later literature (Job, Pss. Pr.). — 31. ^ 3r is doubtful, since it elsewhere means sprout, grow, and even Hif. is hardly satisfactory; Hitz.'s emendation ivai is not improbable, (gs a-KO(XTa,^ii may = 2r or ']V (Jag. in Lag.), or may be error for eiriffraTai (so (§23.2.32 ^H^— pj,-,, (^as in v.3-1). — 32. |JJ ti;"'.i; we should probably read IVa^ (cf. 152). * Cf. Job 338, where there is a similar difficulty, and the second cl. should per- haps read : t>iy lips speak what is sincere. 220 PROVERBS XI. The contents are similar to those of ch. lo, but there are several new groups, as v.^°' ", ^^""\ "^"^ 1. Honesty. A false balance is an abomination to Yahweh, But a just weight is well-pleasing to him. Antithetic, ternary. Honesty in commercial dealing. So i6-^ 2oio.23^ and cf. 20^*; for the earlier legal precept see Dt. 25^^ Ez. 45^° Lev. 19^*^. On abomijiation see note on 3"; originally ritual- istic, it later acquired an ethical meaning. The moral rule is here connected with the divine will. 2. Pride and humility. When pride comes, then comes disgrace, But with the humble is wisdom. Antithetic, ternary. Pride is here an overweening sense of one's deserts, and the humble man is one who does not overesti- mate himself; the latter term is in the Heb. a different one from that so rendered in \\i q^-'^'^^ and elsewhere (which properly =//^/^i') ; it occurs in Mic. 6* of humility before God, and might be so un- derstood here * ; but the context suggests the more general sense, referring to relations between man and man : as the haughty man makes enemies, is opposed and overthrown, so the humble man is complaisant, avoids antagonisms and disgrace, and is therefore wise. Such appears to be the antithesis : wisdoin involves the honor or peace which we might expect to be put over against the disgrace of the first cl. Wisdom here = good sense in worldly relations, though it may also involve acquaintance with and obe- dience to the law of God, as in chs. 1-9. The term pride' occurs I Sam. if^ Ez. f^ Jer. 49^^ (and the &dj. in Pss.). With this proverb cf. 13^*^ i^^ i6^^-'^ 18^- 22^ and the Eng. "pride will have a fall," and for other parallels see Malan. — Instead of Ihe humble the Lat. has humility, which gives a directer contrast to pride, though it is probably not the original Heb. reading. * In the prophets and Psalms all things which come into rivalry with Yahweh are regarded as objects of his displeasure, to be cast down ; this theocratic sense Qi pride is probably not the one meant by the proverb. XI, 1-4 221 3-6. The saving power of goodness contrasted with the de- structive power of evil. The point of view is that of outward compensation in the present life according to moral character. The occurrence of these slightly varying forms of the same idea suggests the teaching of schools, in which sages would seek to inculcate a fundamental thought by repetition. 3. The integrity of the upright will guide them, And the wickedness of the wicked will ruin them. 4. Riches profit not in the day of wrath, But righteousness rescues from death. 5. The righteousness of the perfect smooths his path, But the wicked will fall by his wickedness. 6. The righteousness of the upright will save them, But the wicked are caught in their own desire. 3. Antithetic, ternary. Integrity is moral perfectness, freedom from misdoing — it is the quality of the upright, those who walk in the straight line of duty (rectitude) ; so (Job i^) Job is called perfect and upright. Opposed to this is the wickedness (devia- tion from the right way, wrongness) of the wicked ; this last term does not represent the Hebrew word usually so rendered ; it sometimes means faithless, those who act secretly, treacherously, not keeping word with man or God, but, from the connection, commonly in Prov. = the morally bad in general. Guide = lead in the right way, procure wellbeing ; ruin = devastate, reduce to nothing. The proverb contemplates in the first instance the op- eration of natural, social law (the agencies mentioned are human qualities, integrity and wickedness) , but doubtless with inclusion of the idea of divine reward and punishment (the upright, being per- fect, are guided by God — the wicked, being bad, are destroyed by God). — 4. Antithetic, ternary, or quaternary-ternary. The day of wrath may be the time of any crushing catastrophe, brought on by man or God ; here, from the parallelism, the refer- ence seems to be to the crowning catastrophe, death, that is, death premature, sudden, violent, or otherwise unhappy (in sec- ond cl. Targ. has evil death) ; see note on 2^1 In the prophets the day of wrath has a national signification — it is the day in which Yahweh visits the sin of Israel or of other nations with famine, pestilence, exile, or overthrow ; in the Wisdom books it is 222 PROVERBS the day (usually the final day) of retribution for the individual sinner. The verse contrasts moral and non-moral defences against misfortune; riches seems to stand for any social non-moral power, with the implication, of course, that it is not allied with rectitude ; cf. \p 49. Here, as in the preceding verse, the sage may have in mind both natural and divine law, or ordinary social law regarded as the law of God. It is not said that wealth is in itself bad, but it is hinted that some men rely on wealth instead of righteousness to save them from calamity — a condition of things that holds good of Hebrew society from Amos down to the second century B.C. ; anywhere within this period such a proverb may have originated. — Righfeousfiess was sometimes interpreted as = almsgiving (cf, note on lo") ; see Tob. 12^, and cf. BS. 29^^ — Saadia (loth cent, a.d.) renders in first cl. day of restcrrection, against the usage of Pr., which takes no account of the future life. — 5. Antithetic, quaternary-ternary. The figure is taken from wayfaring : one man walks safely in a smooth, level road, another, wandering from the main road, stumbles over rough places, and falls irretrievably. See note on v.^; on the verb smooth (make level or straight) see 3". The agencies are here again quahties, righteousness and wickedness, and the same union of human and divine law as in the preceding verses is to be understood. — 6. Antithetic, ternary. An antithesis nearly identical with that of v.^ : goodness is socially helpful, badness is hurtful. The iden- tity would be complete if we could render in second cl. in (or, by) their own wickedness. The Heb. word (see note on 10') has two assured senses, desire (always evil) and calamity or destruction (17'* 19^^ Job 6^° 30^^); the latter is here inappropriate (RV. im- properly, mischief), the former approaches nearly the idea of wickedness, — The figure implied in caught (or, taken) is probably that of a net (cf. 6^ 1// 35*), possibly that of the capture of a city (16^-). The term wicked of the second cl. is the same as that so translated in v.^''. 7. The text is uncertain. The Heb. of first cl. reads : When a wicked man dies, his expectation perishes. The second cl., in its present form, can only be rendered : and the hope of strength (or, sorrow) perishes. The abstract strength XI. 4-7 223 is taken as = concrete strong by Rashi (who holds the reference to be to the hope of the children of strong men), and by De. ; but the term (as De. points out) is never elsewhere used in an ethical sense, and (though the inadequacy of strength, as of riches, v.*, might conceivably be referred to) we expect a definite ethical term as equivalent or opposite to the wicked of first cl. ; nor does the concrete sense occur elsewhere. The sense iniquity, wicked- ness or tvicked, unjust* is without support from OT. usage, the plu. (found here) being never elsewhere so employed. The ren- dering i-^rww (Ew.) ox sorro7vful (Berth.) is not appropriate ; it is improbable that the expectation of the wicked would be de- scribed simply as sorrowful hope. Failing a satisfactory render- ing of the present text, emendations have been proposed : Graetz, sons (= Rashi) ; Bi. bad men; or (by dropping the plu. termina- tion) we get iniquity. But, in the two last cases, we have the proverb consisting of two identical propositions, which, in this place, is a very improbable form.f The Grk. suppUes a desired antithesis by rendering : When a righteous man dies his hope does not perish, But the boast of the wicked perishes. This form, which is not supported by any other ancient authority, looks like an interpretation of the Greek scribe, under the influ- ence of the later belief in immortality. The true text of the second cl. must be left undetermined. The form of the first cl. suggests that the hope of the righteous man, in the sage's view, would not perish at his death. If such an interpretation were certain (here and in 14^^), it might help us to fix the time at which the doctrine of immortality entered the Jewish world. But the doubt respecting the second cl. attaches itself to the first cl. also, and we cannot regard its form as assured. The more natu- ral thought for Pr. is given in 10^^ ii** ; cf. note on 14^^ — One of the clauses of the verse is perhaps a doublet, each clause having originally read : the hope of the wicked will perish, and the doublet * Saad., Luth., Hitz., Zock., Noyes, Reuss, Str., Kamp. t The change of form of the verb, from Impf. in first cl. to Perf. in second cl., is not to strengthen the thought (as \i perishes, will perish . . . has perished), but is rhetorical variation. 224 PROVERBS having ejected the proper antithetic clause which described the hope of the righteous. 8. Rescue of the righteous. The righteous is delivered out of trouble, And the wicked comes in his stead. Implicit antithesis, ternary. In his stead means reversal of posi- tions, not vicarious suffering (Isa. 53), an idea not found in Pr. ; cf. 21^**. The aphorism contains the sage's solution of the problem of evil. The righteous is sometimes afflicted — of this fact the sage (unlike the author of Job) attempts no discussion ; but the affliction, he maintains, is temporary (so Job 20'') — ultimately the righteous is rescued (so 12'-^), and the wicked, cast down from his shortlived triumph, takes his proper place as sufferer. It is the doctrine of recompense in this world. The case of the good man's suffering and the bad man's prospering throughout life is not considered here or elsewhere in the Book. Cf. \\i 49. 73. 9. The righteous escapes the ruin which the wicked designs. With his mouth the impious man would destroy his neighbor, But by knowledge the righteous are rescued. Antithetic, quaternary-ternary. The word here rendered impi- ous seems to have been originally a ritual term, signifying the op- posite oi pure, sacred (so = profane'), as in Isa. 10^ (and the verb in Jer. 3^ Isa. 24^ Nu. 35^ i// 106'^) ; then it passed to the sense of morally impure, out of relation with God (so RV. godless). Lat. : simulator; Aq. Sym. Theod. : hypocrite. The speech of such an one is false, malignant, likely to bring his fellowmen into trouble and death (as, for ex., by traducing them to men in power). There is probably no reference to the corrupting power of evil talk. As contrast to this we might expect in second cl. the statement (somewhat as in 10"') that the righteous saves his neighbor (and so perhaps we should read), instead of which it is said that he escapes (that is, apparently, the destruction of first cl.) by knowledge — either by general acquaintance with Kfe (a result of devotion to wisdom, i^^'''^^ 22^), or by knowing the wiles of the impious and avoiding them. The converse statement is found in 10^^, where the righteous saves with his lips, and the XI. 7-9 22 5 wicked die through ignorance. In general in Pr. the effect of evil and good is confined to their possessors. — Grk. : in the mouth of the wipious is a snare for citizens, but the knowledge of the righteous is prosperous, a free rendering of the Heb. (with some changes of text), affected by next verse. — If we suppose second cl. to be isolated, standing in no logical connection with first cl., its meaning may be that knozvledge (= wisdom) is the saving thing in life — a conception which controls chs. 1-9. XI. 1. |!j ^cSr; (5 BiKawv. On the use of 5. in the 2d century n.c. cf. Deissmann, Bibehiiidiejt, pp. 112 f. — 2. On f'r'p see note on ■^^. — Stade ( Wbck.) suggests that >'jx is Aram.; he refers to 13^'', which has the general form of our v., only with nxp for jSp, and Dsyj well-advised for oyji' htanble, but such mutations of subjects and predicates are common in Pr., and there is no good ground for changing the text here; cf. Lag. The occurrence of yjx in Mic. 6^ is against regarding it as Aram. (Baumg.). — ^"^ arbixa M TaireivQv fxeXerq. ffotpLav, in which = ||J v.i"''. 9 = |£J. — 4. pj p; ^ Nipc deceil, = Jin.— (g 109. 147 give ||J; the v. is lacking in all other (@ MSS., perh. by scribal over- sight, possibly (Heid.) omitted from dogmatic considerations, because it seemed to favor the rabbinical doctrine of justification by alms (cf. Baba Bathra, 10 «) or by the study of the Tora (see the Midrash), against the Christian doctrine of justification by faith. — 5. |^ DDn; Bi. an. — |^ S-Ji; Yalkut -\2'~'-; Ber. Kab. nm-, both free renderings, or citations from memory; cf. v.^. — 6. The singular construction of '^ (nin without suff.) is not supported by Gen. 9" (De.) or ^ 326 (Now.) ; these passages do not leave the reader to infer the subject of the verb from a preceding predicate; read a^in, with (SSSTIL. — 7. See note on this v. above. For the impossible djs (elsewhere only Hos. 9* Isa. 4o"*'29 \l/ 78^1, the last better ein, cf. ^ 10526) we may read (with (S dcre^Qv) a'^iN (Bi.), or |1n (but this latter term cannot be taken as concrete); but the form of the whole v. is doubtful. In '^ a-^x, though sustained by (§, is better omitted, for the sake of the rhythm. — 8. Impf. followed by 1 + Impf., both expressing general facts, the second a sequel to the first; it is unnecessary to point ]. — 1^ .1-1"; (5 d-qpas, — m> (Jag.) taken as = persecution. — |^ irnn; (S di'T' avTod, for his sake, or in place of him. — 9. no3, with the mouth, as n;;i3, by knoivledge ; or we may write no3. — ^yr\ is to turn away (to good or to bad), used in Arab, of persons in good sense, in Aram, and Heb. in bad sense, of one who turns from religious faithfulness, profane, and so in Pr. of Q 226 PROVERBS the wicked in general. — (5^ da-e^ibv (x'' afj.apToi\wv) ; AS9 UTro/cptTiJs; S Sv ■wicked; lE^^i ireacherotts ; IL simulator. — |^ in'n rriw'^; (5 wayh -n-oKlTaLS, perh. = 'T (or nncc) nnc'. 10,11. Kelation of moral goodness to civil prosperity. 10. When it goes well with the righteous the city rejoices, And when the wicked perish there is shouting. 11. By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, But by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown. Antithetic; apparently quaternary-ternary. See 14''^ 28'^ 29". The first couplet states the fact, the second the reason. The counsels of the righteous, controlled by probity, bring blessing and prosperity to the state ; those of the wicked, dictated by selfish ambition and rapacity, bring destruction. This view of the rela- tion of virtue to civil prosperity is found in substance in the prophets (Am. 4'-=^ Hos. f' Mic f-'^ Isa. 3"-^^ Jer. 22--^ Ez. 22«-i*). But, for them the nation is the unit, and the worship of other gods than Yahweh the chief sin ; here the moral side alone is men- tioned, and the civil unit is the city. It was in the Greek period that the city-state became familiar to the Jews, and it seems to be this later civilization that is here meant. — The expression blessing of the upright might mean God's blessing on the upright, but the parallel }?iouth (utterance, counsel) of the wicked (which is malefi- cent) points to the beneficent words (involving deeds) of good men. 12, 13. Against contemptuous talk and talebearing. 12. He who mocks his neighbor is lacking in sense, But the man of discretion keeps silent. 13. A talebearer reveals secrets, But a trustworthy man conceals a matter. 12. Antithetic, ternary. Reversing subject and predicate in first cl., we may read : the fool mocks his neighbor (so Grk. Str. Kamp.) ; the sense is the same. The Heb. has despises. Con- tempt, lack of due regard for one's neighbor, may show itself in various ways : in 14"^ (where its opposite is care for the poor) it manifests itself in indifference to men's bodily wellbeing; here, as it stands in contrast with silence, it involves speech. A man who speaks contemptuously of his fellow-citizens is said to be lacking in sense (Ht. hearty because he thus makes enemies and involves XI. IO-I4 227 himself and others in difficulties ; it is obviously the part of ^..- ^Zn (or, un^^erstandin,) to keep silent. The reference .s no mmedi tely or mainly to the k^ndUness (to the neighbor) that sZd si one's tongue, or to reflection on the falhbility of human ud ments that shodd make one cautious (though these thmgs lould naturally be involved), but to a prudent regard for conse- quences in social relations. Nor is the line drawn between ju t L blameworthy criticism; the sage ccn.tents ^--^ ^f j^ nouncing contemptuous talk as a foohsh thmg. - Grk^ . -- lacking in sense shows contempt for his fellow-atizens. - 13. Anti ^tic ternary. A simple statement of two types of character. The Heb. expression describes the talebearer as one who goes about spreading malicious gossip - lit. . walker of slander ; see Ter 6^ q^^^^ Ez. 22« Lev. 19^ It is unnecessary to render by he Iho goes about as a talebearer (RV.) ; the going is included m the tear. In contrast with such an one the trustworthy man (trusty of mind) keeps silence respecting things which he has learned in confidential intercourse or otherwise - secrets of family or state; the reference is to things the mention of which is dan- gerous or undesirable. The first cl. occurs in 20-; on secret ci note on 3^^ ; the word is here to be taken in a general sense. The clause is understood by Grk. of political relations (cf. next verse) . a double-tongued man reveals the deliberations of the assembly (or, council) - by the Lat. of private affairs : he who rs of faithful mmd conceals his friend^ s act; it is apphcable to all the relations of life. 14. Value of political wisdom. Where there is no guidance a people falls, But in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. Antithetic, ternary. A civil and political adage. Guidance is Ut. steering- there must be some one at the helm ; the guidance is assumed to be good (so RV., interpreting, wise guidance). Ihe nuMtude of counsellors points not to any special political organi- zation, but simply to the need of manysided advice ; that will be a well-governed city or state in which questions of policy are looked at from^ all points ; Frank, refers to the " friends " of the P o emies and Seleucids. On the term guidance see note on i ; the word belongs to the poetical vocabulary. Instead of counsellors the 228 PROVERBS Anc. Vrss. have counsel or counsels. The proverb (which has no rehgious element) is not a folksaying, but the reflection of a man living in contact with public affairs. Hitzig cites, as representing the opposite point of view : " too many cooks spoil the broth." 15. Against giving security. He who is surety for another will suffer, But he who hates suretyship is secure. Antithetic, ternary. A prudential maxim, the wisdom of which, as a general rule, is verified by universal experience, though there are obvious occasions when it should be disregarded. The word here rendered another (see note on 2''') has three possible mean- ings : a person of a different natioti ; one of a different clan, family, or household ; and a different individual. The strong Jewish national and family feeling might seem to favor the first sense, or the third, with exclusion of one's immediate family (father, son, brother). But the tone of the proverb appears to be universal, and in the later Jewish life the old relations of clan had partly vanished — the Jews became commercial, and needed com- mercial strictness ; exceptions might be left to the individual. Suretyship is lit. (as the Heb. text stands) those ivho go security (lit. strike hands) ; cf. 6^ 17^^ 22^^ Si/fer is go ill. RV. he that hateth suretiship is sure gives a good verbal play. 16. Honor to good women. A gracious -woman obtains honor, Violent men olatain wealth. Antithetic, ternary. This is the only verse in Pr. in which men are contrasted with women (such contrast is not made in 19'^). If the text be correct, the proverb relates to the struggle for riches and social position in communities in which women had some sort of influence, and the contrast is between upright gentleness and immoral force : an unscrupulous man may gain riches, but not esteem — a woman of gracious bearing, beautiful in manner (and presumably, in spirit) obtains honor. And as the industrious woman of 31^^ helps to procure social consideration for her hus- band, so the honor here may be for husband and family, though women in Pr. (except those of licentious character) have no im- XL 14-17 229 mediate relations with society at large ; but as there is no mention of family, it is probably better to understand the expression as referring to the esteem which comes to the woman Ikrself from her family and her circle of friends. — The Grk. expresses a fuller antithesis by means of two couplets : A gracious woman obtains honor for her husband, But a woman who hates righteousness is a throne of dishonor. The slothful come to lack riches, But the manly lean (securely) on riches. Lines 1,4 represent the Heh. ; /or her husband is interpreta- tion. Lines 2, 3 are probably an addition by a Greek scribe ; throne is nowhere else used of a person (the expression perhaps comes from \\i 94™) ; hates righteousness indicates that gracious is taken as = righteous ; line 3 may be rendered : they who are slothful as to riches come to want. — It is possible that the two lines of the Heb. verse are remnants of two independent couplets, the first relating to women, the second to men ; but the Grk. hardly gives the true text. 17. Kindliness is good policy. The kindly man does himself good, The cruel man does himself harm. Antithetic, ternary. Self is lit. soul in first cl., flesh in second cl. ; the two terms are synonymous — the Heb. language expresses the idea self only by such words. It is on this term that the em- phasis is laid ; it is himself that the kind man helps and the cruel man hurts — the one makes friends, the other makes enemies ; the commendation of kindness is based on its good results to him who practises it — a practical suggestion which would not prevent the sage's holding that it is in itself an obligatory thing. There is probably (to judge from the rest of the Book) no reference to the ennobling power of one quality and the depraving power of the other. The translation (Mich.): he who does good to hitnself is kind {to others') and he ivho is hurtful to hitnself is cruel {to others), is grammatically possible, but here improbable, because of the difficulty of supplying to others, and because in the context ^y_i8-2o. 24-L'6-j the subjects of the lines are such words as righteous, wicked, kind, cruel 230 PROVERBS 10, 11. nnp (v.i'^) occurs in preexilian prophets (Hos. Isa. Hab.) and several times in Pr., m|i (v.i^) only in poetical books (Job 29^ Pr. 8^ 9^- ^'^ ii^i) ; the use of the two words is not a ground for supposing difference of authorship in the two V. (so Hitz., who omits v.i'^), since both terms seem to have been common in the writer's time. — ©^ here omits v.'^'' (which it gives in v.^**) and v.i'% making one couplet of v.'*'*H''; the omission, apparently scribal error, is supplied in (gABbNc (taken, according to S'^, from 6). (§ Karwpdoicre (I'V^'n) is changed to KaTwpx?jcraTo by Lag., who refers the present (5 text to Theodotion. — 12. 1^ n^n; (3 noXLTas, as in v.^'^, a political interpretation natural m a city like Alexandria. — 13. '?ioi elsewhere = ^/awt/i?/- / so Ez. 22^ '"\ •'fjN, Jer. 6*^^ 9^, and probably Lev. ig^^ Pr. 20'^. The vb. -t'?.i has the sense oi going about, Jos. 14^°. For the construction here cf. Isa. 33^^ r^^-\^ ^S^ one who walks in righteousness ; cf. also the common construction in which 'n is defined by an Inf. abs. The st. is S:n go, whence the noun = a going, gadding, and, as the principal occupation of gadabouts is malicious gossip, talking maliciously, and so slander. i'?n is sometimes followed by an adj. which describes the condition of the subject of the vb., as in Gen. 15^ {I go childless), 2 S. 15'''' Job 24^°, and so "\ might perhaps be taken here (= slanderer, talebearer'), but for the phrases in Jer. and Ez. above cited; but it is to be observed that the adj. after iSn describes the condition rather than the action of the subject, Cf. SS., in which both constructions of "> are given, adj. under iSn, subst. under '?pi. — On ib see note on 3^''^; (5, freely, jSoi/Xas kv (rvve^pii^. — 14. |§ Sd^ D;'; @ TrlirTOV (sing., defining the category) the Anc. Vrss. read n-i" counsel, as in 12^^ 20^^^ ^nd this is perh. preferable as corresponding more precisely to nS^n.i in first cl. — 15. In '^ ^n; jjT the vb. must be taken as Nif. of i'>n (not >'n, Ges.26 §67/), and the yi as intensive nominal addition, performing the function of Inf. Abs, (cf. Ew. § 312^); and we may point p^ (Gratz). Siegfried, in JVbch., pro- poses to omit j.n% or to read jni y^, Inf. Abs. + Impf. Qal, which is the usual construction; but, as Nif occurs in 1320 and the j?-i is intelligible, the change is unnecessary. — For |^ 2-\y o read 3 v. — |^ ir; Gr, itS, as in 6^; see note on 20^^. — The verb };pp occurs in the sense of making a bargain only in Job and Pr. ; this Hmitation is perhaps an accident. |^ ^''?i^, Act. Partcp., should perhaps be written •;pr\ Inf. — the a may have arisen from following 3 ; SS. suggests Pass. Partcp. (cf. opri', Eccl. 4I) ; for Act. Partcp. as = abstract noun D'73n, Zech. 11'', is not decisive. — @ irov-qpbs KaKOTroie? (vO Srav (rvfjifiL^rj SiKalu! (it) /jLLceT d^ ^x^" dacpaXeias (n'J3D J-'pp). In second cl. S has ^a/^.f those ivho confidently hope ; % hates those who put their trust in God. It was chiefly the word aypn (IL laqueos) that embarrassed the ancient translators. For further discussion of the readings of the Anc. Vrss. see notes of Jag,, Schleus. Lag. Heid, Baumg. Pink. — 16. See note on this v. above. For 1^ ]n we might read '^^n. as in la* (recalling also the '^■'n ni:'N of ch. 31), but the jn also gives a definite and natural character. — Whether or not the expanded text of © (adopted by Bi.) comes from a Hebrew MS. may be doubtful; but the strangeness of the expression Opdvos dTi/xlas and the vigorous XL 18-19 231 curtness of ^ favor the originality of the latter. E1L agree with ^ ; & follows 7-^ m..^; ®-Ma; Sor.o.s, probably for o^.do.sCSchl.); !L /..- %,uos.-m "-P^; ^- -^^ °" 5^ ® writes a form of ..., there properly, here improperly. 18-21. Contrasted rewards of virtue and vice. Antithetic. 18. The wicked earns delusive pay, But he who sows righteousness real wages. 19. If one « follows after - righteousness, (it leads) to hfe, If one pursues wickedness, (it leads) to death. 20 They who are of wicked mind are an abomination to \ ahweh, But they who are perfect in their walk are well-pleasmg to him. 21. The wicked will assuredly not go unpunished, But the righteous will be rescued. 18 Ternary The form of expression is taken from industrial life ' J?ea/ wages is lit. reward of truth. The gain of a bad man is not real, for it is not enduring (lO^O, and camiot save hnn from misfortune (n*), but he who sows goodness shall reap prosperity (lo^n— his revenue is real and permanent, not illusive. The fact is here recognized that a bad man sometimes prospers, and the explanation offered is that his prosperity is only seeming; cf. note on v.«. The Latin has a slightly different form : The ungodly does unstable work, But to him who sows righteousness there is a faithful reward; but the idea of Mv, wages for work done, is clearly found in both clauses. Goodness, says the proverb, is commercially profitable -the pay is prosperity, insured by the laws of man and the favor of God. -19. Ternary. The second cl. is lit.: he who pursues wickedness, to his death (RV. doeth it to his own death). The general idea of the verse is plain: righteousness insures a long and happy life, wickedness a premature or otherwise unhappy death ; see notes on i-- 2-- 3^ The wording of the first cl. is doubtful The more natural rendering of the Heb. is so righteous- ness (tends) to life (Saad.) ; this would connect the verse with the preceding as illustration or result (Luther has for, Noyes^.) ; but such connection is contrary to the usage of this Part of Jr., in which each verse is an independent affirmation, and besides, the relation of thought between this verse and the preceding does 232 PROVERBS not suggest or justify a connective so. The word may be taken as adj., = true, righteous (Ew., see note on 15', Jer. 23'"), but right- eous in righteousness is insufferable tautology : if it be taken as subst., = that which is true, righteous, genuineness (Rashi, Coco. Schult. De. Str.), the resulting expression, what is true in right- eousness ( = not true righteousness, but the true part of righteous- ness) is unnatural ; the renderings firm, steadfast (Zock. RV.) are lexicographically unsupported, and this objection holds to Vogel's emendation he who is firm in his walk. The Lat. has clemency, Grk. and Syr. (by a change of text) son (Grk. a righteous son is born unto life). The expression son of is used frequently in OT. to denote doom or quality, but always evil quality : 31^ sons of destruction, \\i 79'^ so7is of death, \\i 89"'"^^ son of ivicked- ness, and the common son of depravity {belial, i Sam. 25'^, cf. note on Pr. 6^') ; the reading son of righteousness would give a not wholly unsatisfactory sense if so7i could be supposed to be properly used in a good sense. The Partcp. he who pursues sug- gests for the first cl. a Partcp. he 7vho folloivs after (\\\.. feeds on, 15") ; cf. \2^^, the form of which is similar to that of this verse. — 20. Ternary. General statement of the moral demands of the divine favor; cf. 12" 14' 15^. Mind (lit. heart) is the whole spiritual being. They who are of ivicked mind, lit. the wicked (averted, perverted) of mind, are those who stray from the straight path of goodness. The perfect man is morally well-rounded, com- plete ; the term in OT. involves general right feeling, but not absolute perfection of soul ; see note on 2^^. No heightening of effect or increase of intensity is involved in the sequence mind . . . walk ( = conduct) ; the two terms are equivalent, each involv- ing the other. The terms abomination and well-pleasing 2xt oppo- sites, originally ritualistic, here ethical; see Dt. 7^^ Lev. 2 2^\ and notes on 3^" 8'^. — 21. Ternary. The idea is a fundamental one in Pr., the reference being always to retribution in this life ; see j26-33 221-22^ etc. Assurcdfy (so recent expositors and lexicographers generally) is lit. hand to hand/, the meaning of which is properly given in margin of RV. : tny ha7id upon it! = my word for it! It appears to be a popular phrase of asseveration, derived from the procedure in a bargain, in which the parties clasped hands ; so in v.^^ above, 6\ and Job 17' who will clasp my hand (enter XI. 19-22 233 into a bargain with me, be my security) ? The rendering though hand {.join) in hand (RV.) = though men unite their forces, a-ainst which the form of the Heb. sentence is decisive ; of. i6'\ Tlie translation (Schult. Ges. after the Arab, usage) from genera- tion to generation, ^through all time, is not supported by Heb. usage. Saad. : as the turn of hand to hand, apparently = sud- denly. Rashl explains the clause to mean : from the hand of God to the hand of the wicked the retribution will come. Targ. and Syr. -. he who lifts his hand against his nciglihor shall not be held innocent of evil, a mistranslation. In second cl. the Heb. has the seed of the righteous, the seed meaning simply race, as in Isa. I* (where the prophet calls his contemporaries a seed of evil- doers^, 65-^ (where seed is contrasted with offspring), and not posterity (a sense which the word often has) ; a reference to pos- terity (Berth, al., in the sense : not merely the righteous, but also their descendants) would be inappropriate here, where the purpose is simply to contrast the fates of the wicked and the righteous. 22. Beauty without discretion. A golden ring in a swine's snout — Such is a fair woman without discretion. A simple comparison, ternary, but with omission of the particle of comparison — the Heb. says: a golden ring . . . is a fair ■woman ... The nose-ring was, and is, a common ornament of women in Western Asia, and in many barbarous and half-civilized tribes ; see Gen. 24^^ Ju. 8^" Isa. 3^^ Job 42", and Lane's Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians, Appendix A. The term rendered discretion signifies first physical taste (Ex. 16''' Job 6'0, then capacity of intellectual discrimination (i Sam. 25'^ Job 12- ), and apparently also ethical and religious judgment {^ nc/")- It occurs in one other place in Pr. (24''), where it means intellectual judgment, opinion, answer based on sound judgment. Here the moral element is probably included. There is as great incon- gruity, it is said, in the union of beauty of person and deformity of mind and character in a woman as in the presence of a rich ornament on the coarsest and uncleanest of beasts (so the Grk.) ;* * There is no allusion to a ring used to lead animals, for which process Heb. employs the word hook {2. K. ig-"^ Ez. 19*). 234 PROVERBS this is no doubt the meaning of the condensed expression of the Heb. that such a woman /s a ring, etc. 23. Character determines fortune. The desire of the righteous issues only in good, The expectation of the wicked in wrath. Antithetic, ternary. Desire = expectaiion. Lit. . . . is only good, and . . . is wraih (or, arrogance) . The proverb is suscep- tible of two interpretations, according as we take the predicates to express quahties or results of the subjects. In the first case (De.) the desire of righteous men is described as itself good, morally pure, embracing praiseworthy objects, that of wicked men as selfseeking, proud, arrogant (such is the sense of the word in Isa. 1 6^, = Jer. 48^"). In the second case it is declared that the issue of hope will be in accordance with the character of the man — prosperity (divine favor) for the one class, wrath (divine pun- ishment) for the other ; the last word of the verse commonly means anger, of man (Gen. 49O, or of God (Isa. 13^^ Zeph. i^^) ; such is its sense in ii^ where day of wrath is parallel with {doom of) death. If the first interpretation be adopted, it will be under- stood that the hope of the righteous is fulfilled, that of the wicked denied (Grk. is destroyed) . The second interpretation is favored by such proverbs as 10-^-* 11^, and by the tone of the Book, which in general describes the consequences of actions. It is, besides, very nearly a tautology to say that the desire of a good man is good, that of a bad man bad. 24-26. Liberality or generosity, and niggardliness or avarice. 24. One man spends, yet still increases. Another withholds what is proper, but (it tends) only to want. 25. The liberal man will be prospered. And he who waters will himself be watered. 26. He who withholds corn, the people curse him, But blessing is on the head of him who sells it. 24. Complete antithesis, ternary : one spends and grows, another hoards and declines. Lit. there is one who spetids. The terms and the sense seem to be general — there is no special reference to almsgiving (as in \p 112^), but it is said that a just expenditure XI. 22-26 235 of one's wealth, in every way, is rational policy, tending to gain. That the reference is to physical wealth (and not to thought and act) may be inferred from similar expressions in Pr. (n^^-^e j^23 21^), and that a general habit or policy is spoken of appears from the general character of the terms employed : experience teaches that the man of liberal methods prospers, and such an one, it is probably meant to say, has the blessing of God. The sage does not seem to have in mind a man's care of himself. Proper is that which is just, appropriate to the circumstances (the RV, rendering more than is proper is incorrect) ; want is lack, deficit. See a similar thought in BS. ii". In second cl. the Lat. (and so the Syr.) has, incorrectly : Others seize what is not theirs, and are always in want. — 25. Synonymous (a form of rare occurrence in chs. 10-15), ternary. Liberal maji is lit. person (lit. soul) of blessing, one who dispenses kindness, beneficence. Prospered is lit. made fat, metaphor derived from the condition of well-nour- ished animals or vegetables (Ju. 9''' Isa. 30^ Jer. 31^^ Job 36'^, cf. Pr. 13* 28-''*) ; the metaphor in waters, watered is agricultural. The reference appears to be specifically to kindly, generous con- duct toward others ; the reward of such conduct is determined by social laws and by the divine approval. — 26. Antithetic, ter- nary. Allusion to the practice of hoarding grain in seasons of scarcity in order to sell it at a high price. This is the only men- tion in OT. of this procedure so frequent in commercially devel- oped communities ; Am. 8^"^ speaks only of eager desire to make money, and of fraudulent methods in trade. The practice here denounced probably became familiar to the Jews under Greek governments in great commercial and financial centres. Syr. and Targ. : He who ivithholds corn in time of famine shall be aban- doned to his enemies, in which the last expression is based on a misreading of the Hebrew. 18. There is a paronomasia in n|"ir, "i^r; the latter Stade would write nsr or 'ilDty (so S), since the usual noun-form is iri'; the assonance, however, may be intended; S maybe free rendering of |^. The Participles express the general rule; tw) is to be understood in second cl. (S ffiripua 5^ diKalwv, as in |§, V.-''', which see. — 19. See note on this v. above. Omit the suff. in inb, as in all Anc. Vrss. — 1§ jr; (@ (followed by S>) vi6s, and Bi. p; 21 NJ^n l3yT IXC, apparently taking p as = i::'xj; IL clementia, perhaps taking n|-ns 236 PROVERBS in the sense of alms (Baumg.), and p from stem |ir, or possibly reading p. The connection calls for a term parallel to the qnc of '°; Kamp. n;;^, he who associates with, after 15I* Hos. 12^ \p 37^; Gr. pr, graphically easy, but not appropriate in sense, even though, with Vogel, we supply *? lom; nb'j? is graphically possible in the old alphabet, but not easy; to pr: the same objec- tion lies as to jjd; Kamp.'s emendation may be provisionally accepted. — 20. In * © has 68ol for |^ 2'-, assimilation to •>, and in ^ rhetorically inserts Travres. — 21. With t>':' i^ cf. the common expression ^D >'pr, strike hands. — 1^ apis Jjir; (§, not so well, 6 o-n-elpov 8iKaio(T^vr]v, = npis j?-ir. — For |f^ taSnj (3 has \-fifj.\p€Tai. fuffdov iruTrbv, after v}^'^ (Lag.). — 22. |^ 2r\} (favored by the rhythm) is lacking in (5^, found in (S*<'^»; the epithet is often inserted in |^, but sometimes omitted, as in Hos. 2'^ Isa. ^^^ Ez. i6'-^. — 23. PJ ^"i^i?; (5 dTroXetrat, = .-|-I3N, and so De' Rossi 941, a natural reading, but not dis- tinctly antithetic to the 33 of ^— 24. pj iu'^; Perles, Analekt., p. 88, ic^ Wifrt///i, which is appropriate, but not better than pj. — (5, in "", eialv koX o\ avvdyovTe's, apparently free rendering of |£J. — 25. In |^ sn" the n seems to be substitution, by an Aramaic-speaking scribe, for n, which is found in many MSS. of Kenn. and De' Rossi (in which, however, it may be correction). The stem may be nn, Hof. ryyy, whence n", nn*, nv, or (Fleisch., De.), by metath- esis, T^-\v, n-\i^; or, from st. m> (Hos. 6^) we may get Hof. nn-, nv; it is, perhaps, better to emend to Hof. (Bi.) or Nif. (Gr.) of nn; 2^ takes the form from Hif. mh teach, & from -nx curse, both improbable, (g is corrupt; its iraffa aw\7j is perhaps for TriauBrjcreTat. will be fattened (so AS9), and its 6vix(hb-q% for ixidvffos (S), or perhaps = fJlD one zvho excites anger ; ewx^MW may = nsnn ata, or may represent a form of r\Q'^. — 26. |^ I'l^pi; @ viroXiTroiTo, = Aram. pOB* (so SiW-). 27. Kindness gains goodwill. He who seeks good < wins' favor. He who seeks evil, it will overtake him. Antithetic, ternary. The word rendered favor may = good- 7vill, acceptance (12^ 14^), or what pleases, what is acceptable (10^-, etc.); see note on 8^. The good and evil are better taken in a wide sense, as embracing moral (as in Am. 5") and general conditions (as in 3^-" 13-^ i/zgi^'^ Eccl. 2^^), and as describing the man's conduct toward others. The second cl. declares that evil doing rebotmds on its author — such is the implication in the expression overtake, lit. come upon (or to) him. The first cl. should give the antithesis to this : he who seeks good (for others), it will come to him as well. The Heb. has seeks favor; the seeks may be understood to mean is thus really seeking {and finding) favor, or, if this be thought to be putting too much into the word, XI. 27-29 237 we may change the text. The simple sense of seeks yields no satisfactory meaning for the clause. The favor can hardly be taken as = God's favor, for, if such reference had been intended, the divine name would have been expressed (De.), as in 12^ If the favor be understood as referring to man, we have (in the Heb. text) the statement that he who wishes good fortune for himself must so act as to gain the goodwill of others, must do what is pleasing to them — an idea found nowhere else in Pr., and here offering no good contrast to first cl. Nor is the noun {favor, or, what is acceptable) elsewhere in OT. preceded by the verb seek, and it is better to understand some such term as win, gain, obtain, procure (so AV., Reuss). Yet this reading does not give a perfect antithesis, and it may be better to supply the divine name, and render : he who seeks what is (morally) good secures God's favor, while he who seeks what is (morally) bad brings down on him- self 'divine retribution. Possibly the two lines belong to different couplets. 28. Folly of trusting in wealth. He who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will flourish like the green leaf. Antithetic, ternary. The antithesis assumes that the man who trusts in riches is ungodly, and that the righteous trust not in riches, but in God. Riches is here the representative of worldly power, and the admonition is directed not against legitimate con- fidence in wealth (as a means, for example, of doing good), but against the belief that it can save a bad man from the conse- quences of his deeds (that is, from human or divine wrath) ; see 10^ 11^ i/' 62"'<^". The metaphor is different in the two clauses — it is taken in the first from a building, in the second from a tree. Identity of metaphor may be gained by substituting fade for fall (see {p I" 3 7"), by the change of one Heb. letter, or (as in the Grk.) by reading rise instead oi flourish. The former of these changes gives a natural sense, but it is hardly necessary; difference of metaphor in two clauses of a proverb is not unnatural. 29. Economic folly of stinginess. He who brings distress on his household will have the wind as his possession, And the foolish will be slave to the wise. 238 PROVERBS Synonymous, ternary. For the verb brhigs distress on, or harms {RY.troubleth) see 11^ 15*' 2- Gen. 34™ i Sam. 14^9 i K. 18"; household is lit. house ; the rendering inherit for the second verb in first cl. (RV.) is possible (the man may be said to inherit pov- erty from his own folly), but the idea is rather that of coming to possess. The general sense of the verse is indicated in 12''^^ J ^1.19 J ^2. ^]^g xn-3ixv who, by incapacity, negligence, or niggardli- ness, fails to nourish and build up his household will find his re- sources reduced to nothing ; for wind, as = nothingness, see Jer. 5^^ Eccl. i". The second cl. restates the case : a man guilty of this economic and moral folly becomes literally or virtually a slave. The wise man (lit. wise of mind) is thrifty and successful, and neglect of one's own family is declared to be the sign of a fool. Slavery existed among the Jews throughout the OT. time (Neh. 5^ Pr. 12^ if 30^", etc.), and later* ; but whether the reference here is to the holding of Hebrew slaves by a Hebrew master is uncer- tain— foreign slaves might be possessed by a Jew, or Jewish slaves by a foreigner. — Possibly the two clauses do not belong together. 30. Life and death the outcome of conduct. Our Heb. text reads : The fruit of a righteous man is a tree of life, But a wise man takes lives. The takes is generally (as by RV.) interpreted to mean wins : a wise man wins souls ( = persons) by his wisdom, which is under- stood to be morally good. But elsewhere in OT. the last expres- sion of the couplet always means takes away (= destroys) lives, and must be so interpreted here ; the resultant affirmation is, how- ever, impossible. A better form is suggested by Grk., which has : from the fruit of righteousftess gr'ows a tree of life, but the lives of the lawless are taken away untimely, in which the word untimely probably represents an expression containing the Heb. term ren- dered violence by RV. (10^ al.), and we may read : The revenue of righteousness is a tree of Hfe, But rapine destroys men's lives. * See A. Griinfeld, Stellung der Sklaven bei den Juden, etc. XI. 29-31 239 Antithetic, ternary. F/uif — ^product, revenue (8^^); rapine in- volves the idea of revenue (or wealth) acquired by violence (injus- tice). The couplet may be paraphrased thus : the wealth which is gained by rectitude is a source of long life and happiness, while that which is gained by injustice brings death; cf. 3^^^^ 11^^ 13" 15^^ 21^ The result is stated in general terms — the agencies are divine and human. Tree of life is a famiHar figure of speech, used in Pr. of wisdom (3^'*), of fulfilled desire (13''), of healing speech (15^), and here of the product of integrity. — Another reading of the couplet is proposed by Gratz : The mouth of the righteous is a tree of life, But the wicked harms himself. This gives an appropriate sense ; for the first line cf. 10", for sec- ond fine 8^^ The changes required in the Heb. text by this emendation are, however, somewhat violent. Ewald and others arrange v.-'-'- ^ in the order : v."'^-'^- ^^- '^"^^^ ®'^ but nothing is thereby gained. 31. Certainty of retribution for sin. Behold, the righteous will be punished on earth — How much more the wicked and the sinner ! Progressive parallelism (advance from the less to the greater, or from the presence to the absence of a modifying condition), ternary. Instead of behold we may render if (so the Grk.) — the sense of the clause is not thereby changed. The verb punish is lit. repay, give what is due (for one's actions), the sense of puni- tive retribution obviously belonging to both clauses. The basis of the thought is the justice of the divine government : even the righteous will be punished for evildoing, then of course the wicked. The expression : " all the more will the wicked be punished " may appear to involve the idea that the divine justice, if relaxed at all, will be relaxed in favor of the righteous, and that, if it be main- tained in spite of their claims, it will more certainly be maintained in the case of the wicked, who have no claims ; the meaning of the couplet may perhaps, however, be understood to be : " he who sins even a little will be punished, and he who sins much will receive greater punishment." It appears to be directed against 240 PROVERBS those who fancied that sin might somehow escape God's notice ; cf. Eccl. 8", and, contra, Eccl. 3^^ 9^ By some expositors the verb is understood in first cl. as = rewarded, in second cl. as =^ punished, but this gives the unsatisfactory sense that God will more certainly punish the wicked than reward the righteous. Or, the verse is thus paraphrased (Str.) : the righteous are in general rewarded, though with real or apparent exceptions, but the wicked are most certainly punished — an interpretation which reads into the text what it does not contain. — The retribution is represented as coming from God (though it may come through man). Wicked and siimer are synonymous ; the terms appear to be sep- arate grammatical subjects (not forming an hendiadys). The righteous are not perfect men, but men generally obedient to God, though capable of faUing into sin. On earth does not express a contrast with a future life, but merely states that the world is the scene of hfe and retribution ; we might render in the land, as in 221.22^ The reading of Grk. (quoted in i Pet. 4^*) if the righteous is scarcely saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear ? may be free translation of our Heb., the retribution inflicted on the righteous being taken as the means necessary to secure their final salvation, which is thus indicated as difficult ; but Grk. probably had a different Heb. text from ours. 27. For |§ C'p3'' Gratz doubtfully proposes Pfji finds, which occurs in 313 835 122 1 822. this is not graphically hard, and gives the desired sense. On in.;' and t:'pa see notes on i^^ 2*; a'lT is frequently used of inquiry at an oracle (Gen. 25^2 Ez. I4i<>),but means also simply j^fi (Dt. aa^). — 28. |§ Sisi; Ewald '?ii\ — 1^ nSuD; (5 avTiXa/x^avd/jievos, = n'?yD, as Partcp. (Jag.) or b'/c (Ew.); Bi. reads nSj'C as Subst., /I'd/ie ; Ew. nSvr, a.s = immer h'oher ; Gr. D"^nNi, as aloe trees. None of these readings offer decided advantages over 1^. — 29. 1^ 13>'; (5, periphrastically, 6 ytt?? X3, but (here alone) renders aSir^ by \Dm2T:, a term which elsewhere means control one's self (pflx), or come into possession of C^nj), but here, from the connection, must = strengthen one^s self, groiv strong (and in ** it has : but the wicked and the sinners vanish from the earth'). |^ and (§ give two different texts, with different ideas; we cannot combine them, writing a^r> y'?!<3 (Bi.) or '1 !D>'D3 (Gr.), for "> then gives no appropriate sense (we get a good sense, however, by writing oSd''). Either text is possible; that of |^ perhaps accords better with the general tone of Proverbs. In *> (!| has ttoO, = n^^x, for pj •'D r|N; SC assimilates the form of the clause to that of *. IL follows ^. Saadia : would to God the righteous might be at peace in this world, tJien how the wicked and the sinner I Cf. notes of Hitzig, Heidenheim, Lagarde. XII. 1. It is wise to desire instruction. — Antithetic, ternary. The couplet admits of several translations. It may be rendered : He who loves knowledge loves instruction, But the stupid man hates admonition. Here the man is defined by his attitude toward wisdom, — he loves it or he is insensible to it, — and he will accordingly seek or reject instruction. Or, reversing subject and predicate, we may He who loves instruction loves knowledge, And he who hates admonition is stupid. In this form the defining point is the man's attitude toward in- struction, and the predicate states the result : in one case he gains (and so shows that he loves) knowledge ; in the other case he vir- tually declines knowledge, and so proves himself stolid and irra- tional. The general sense is the same in these two translations, and either may be adopted ; but a more natural form is perhaps gained by varying the order of subject and predicate in the two clauses, and reading : He who loves knowledge loves instruction. But he who hates admonition is stupid. 242 PROVERBS The terms instruction and admonition are practically synonymous ; the reference is to moral and religious teaching ; see notes on i^-^^. Stupid (lit. like a brute animal, incapable of recognizing what is reasonable) is here likewise an ethical term. The proverb may allude to all sorts of teaching (by parents, friends, priests, lawyers), but probably contemplates especially the schools or writ- ings of sages, in which were given rules for the conduct of life. 2, 3. Contrast in fortunes of virtuous and vicious. 2. A good man will find favor with Yahweh, A wicked man he will condemn. 3. No man stands by wickedness, But the root of the righteous remains unmoved. 2. Antithetic, quaternary. Good is here used in the most gen- eral ethical sense. On wicked (ruaTtt, wickedness, wicked devices) see note on i"*. The word means reflection, plan, and is capable of being understood in a good or in a bad sense ; in Pr. 1-9 it occurs in the good sense only, in chs. 10-24 (it is not found in 25-31) in the bad sense only, a difference of use which accords with the view of difference of authorship for these two sections. In the general sense of thought, purpose it occurs in Jer. 23^° 30^'* 51" \\i 10* Job 42^ Condetnn is a forensic X.&xts\, = pronounce guilty : in first cl. we might have the corresponding verb pro- nounce right, instead of which stands the equivalent expression find favor ; see notes on i^ 2"^. The idea of the verse is divine retribution in this life. — 3. Antithetic, ternary. The thought, familiar in Pr., that permanence comes only through goodness. The result is no doubt conceived as effected by God, who, how- ever, may employ human instrumentalities. Stand (or, be estab- lished) = stand firmly fixed in a position of earthly prosperity. The figure is varied in the two clauses. 4. Wives, good and bad. A good wife is a crown to her husband, One who acts badly is as rottenness in his bones. Antithetic, ternary. For other references to wives see 11'^ 19'* 2i9-^3 (= 252^) ^o'^ 311"-" BS. f" 25"^* 26^- '•^<'- 22-2' 362^24 4019 Eccl. XII. 1-4 243 'j^ 9' ; the treatment of family life belongs naturally to the gnomic literature both by the character and by the date of the latter. The wife of first cl. is described in the Heb. as a woman oi power, capacity (b^n), a term which, when used of men, expresses the vigor or prowess of the warrior (Ju. y\ etc.), or intellectual strength (Ex. 14''), or physical wealth (Ru. 2^ Pr. 13-^ etc.). Of women it is used only four times in OT., once of Ruth (Ru. 3"), and, in Prov., here and 31^°--' ; in ch. 31 it describes a woman of good, vigorous character, especially of business capacity, and in Ruth it might be rendered irreproachable — i\-\e stress may be laid on general capacity or on moral worth ; here, probably, both shades of meaning are included. The words virtuous and capable are too narrow — the best English representative of the Heb. term is good, understood as including probity and housewifely capacity. Such a woman, it is said, is her husband's crowti, his glory and joy, bringing him happiness at home and honor abroad by the excellence of her household arrangements, and the respect which her character commands. The crozan signifies royal honor ; see 4^ Lam. 5'^ Job 19^ Cant. 3". In contrast with her is the wife who acts badly (cf. lo'^) ; bad is here to be taken as the opposite of the good above ; such a woman destroys her husband's happi- ness and power as rottetiness {caries) destroys the bo?us. The bones represent the substantial framework of the body (see 14^°). — Here and in ch. 31 the wife appears as manager of the eco- nomic aff-airs of the household, hke the lady of medieval Europe. Though she is not spoken of as the intellectual companion of her husband or as the educator of her children, it need not be doubted that she acted in both these capacities. Her teaching is expressly mentioned in 6=" (cf 3i'')> ^^^^ in the later history (Jo- sephus, the Talmud) we meet with not a few Jewish women who, if not technically "educated," were capable of the best intellect- ual sympathy with their fathers and husbands. 5, 6. Contrast between virtuous and vicious in designs and words. 5. The plans of the righteous are just, The designs of the wicked are deceit. 6. The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, But the speech of the upright saves []. 244 PROVERBS 5. Antithetic, ternary. Plans and designs are synonyms — they are not contrasted as simple and not-simple (De.), and are not ethically distinctive ; the first, here used of the righteous, is used of the wicked in 15^", and the second is employed in a good sense in i^ 11"; they mean designs in general, and must be defined by distinctive predicates. Just is lit. justice. The statement of the verse — that good men deal fairly, bad men unfairly — is not an identical proposition, but is equivalent to by their fruits ye shall know them. — 6. Antithetic, ternary. The first cl. is lit,: the words . . . are a lying in wait, etc., which may be interpreted, in accordance with i" : relate to lying in wait* ; but it is better to retain the lively figure of the text : the words ( — plans) of bad men are assassins who treacherously lurk for their victims. Speech is lit. mouth. — In second cl. the Heb. has saves them, in which the them (which has no antecedent in first cl.) must refer to the upright. Such a reference, however, is not favored by the paral- lehsm : the wicked, in first cl., attack others, and the upright, in second cl., should save others ; good men, moreover, are, in Pr., saved not by their words, but by their righteousness (10^ ii*-^) or by God (i6^-^ 18^" al., cf. note on 14''), To avoid the suspended the77i Bickell changes the blood of first cl. (Heb. dam') to men or mankind (Heb. adam) ; but so general a statement ("the wicked lie in wait for human beings, or for a man ") is not probable ; the wicked rather attack the innocent (i"). It is simpler to omit the them, whereby we gain for the couplet the sense : " the words (= plans) of the wicked are hurtful, those of the upright helpful." — The reference in first cl. is to slanderous talk, accusations to great men, false testimony in courts of justice, and the like ; the second cl. refers to the healing power of just and kindly speech. 7. Permanence and impermanence. The wicked are overthrown and vanish, But the house of the righteous stands. * Wildeboer suggests that the author of lU-io had our verse in mind, and ex- panded its thought. This is possible, and would agree with the supposition that chs. 1-9 are later than chs. 10-22 ; but the idea may well have been a common- place of the schools, and may have been expressed independently by different writers. XII. 5-9 245 Antithetic, ternary. The same thought is given in lo-. Vamsh is ht Z. 0 f, = cease fo. us f; the sense of first cl. is : ^ke ^uke^ shall ie completely and finally destroyed, without hope of restoration hat is by judgment of God, with or without human instrumentahty. The verse repeats the beUef that virtue and vice are fully recom- pensed in this hfe.-The first cl. may be rendered : overthrow the licked and they vanish (so the Latin, verte) It is taken by some (Saad. Ew. Reuss) to mean: "once ^^^ ^^^^^ '""'ll^X that is they have no power to recover themselves. Others (as ztk ' interpret : " turn about and are not," that is, '' vamsh m the twinkling of an eye." These renderings are possible, and may be regarded as included in the Heb. words ; but a simpler and more natural antithesis is gained by the translation here adopted. 8. Intelligence commands respect. A man is commended according to his intelligence, A wrongheaded man is despised. Antithetic, ternary (or, binary-ternary), '^'fl'^"'^;"^^^ of sound thought and judgment; so m 3' (on which see note) ;,» "6» .9" n' Job .7' I Sam. 2s\ and cf. the correspondmg adi (Partcp.) in io» " .4", etc. The opposite quaUty ts d,stor- tiln wJsL of Mdlec, (lit. ./ heart), incapacUy to thmk soundly The contrast intended is not of learning and ignorance, or of philosophical depth and shallowness, but of ability and m- abil ty to th,nk justly ht common matters of life The proverb .s a tribute to intellectual clearness, without special reference .0 but doubtless with inclusion of the mora, and ..h^^^^^^ The Engl sh term perverse (RV.) has an eiemeiu which is not contained in the Hebrew; the sense o the latter i better expressed by our wrongheaded, taken as = " mcapable of just, discriminating thought, lacking in judgment," Lat. excon. 9. Comfort better than show.-The present Heb. text must be rendered : ^^^^^^ ^^ .^ ^^ ^^^ 5^ ^^^i^^ly lo^, yet has a servant, Than he who plays the great man, and yet lacks bread. Antithetic comparison,"ternary (or, ternary-binary). Better off \^ Abetter. Thit the term low (or, lowly, RV. hghtly esteemed^ 246 PROVERBS refers to social position appears from the connection, and from I Sam. 18^^ Isa. 3^ (RV. base). The proverb does not commend the social middle class as such (De.), but simply says that a man of small social importance, if he be in comfortable circumstances (this is implied in his having a slave), is really better off than one who tries to keep up a certain state, while he lacks the necessaries of life. Flays the great man is lit. acts as if he were (or, pretends to be) ho7iorable (or, rich) ; cf 13^. We expect the man of the second cl. to be described (in contrast with the low of first cl.) as being really of high rank, not as merely assuming it. But the sage seems to have in mind a man of petty pride of rank, who finds his pleasure in keeping up a vain show. The proverb may be a popular saying : comfort before show ; the case of a well- born man struggling honestly and openly with poverty is not here considered. — Some Anc. Vrss. and some modern expositors (Schultens, Hitz. Ew.) render the second half of the first cl. : and is a servant to himself (works for himself, is sufficient unto himself ) , a sense which may be obtained by a slight change in the Hebrew. It gets rid of the statement (which to some seems incongruous) that the socially unhonored man has a servant ; but the possession of a servant, by no means improbable for a man in moderate circumstances,* may well be put as an indication of comfort, while, on the other hand, the expression acts as servant to himself {is his own servant, works for hi?nself) does not offer a distinct antithesis to the lacks bread of the second clause. Frank- enberg, rendering : it is better when one is despised for working his field than when one plays, etc., finds in the proverb proof that manual labor, especially agriculture, was looked on as degrading. But the opposite of this is true if we may judge from the respect * At Athens the price of slaves varied considerably, but it was possible in Xen- ophon's time {Me?n. ii, 5, 2) to buy a slave for half a mina (in weight about ten dollars, in purchasing power from five to ten times as much). The possession of only one slave was regarded as a sign of great poverty (Plut. Apophth. i, p. 696, Phoc. 19). In early Israel (Ex. 21^2) the value of a slave was 30 shekels of silver, = about 18 dollars. According to 2 Mac. SH Nicanor (in the second century B.C.) promised to sell 90 Jews for a talent, that is, at the rate of about 14 dollars a head. A poor man might thus easily buy a slave. It would happen, also, that a man would inherit a slave, and, though reduced in circumstances, would then manage to keep him. XII. 9-IO 247 with which work is spoken of in Pr. (6'^" lo' al.) and in later books, as Pirke Aboth i, lo; 4, i. Ben-Sira, as sage (BS. 38-^''^), looks down on the ploughman and the handicraftsman who have no time for the contemplation of true wisdom, but he never speaks of work as socially despicable. — Some critics (as Kamp.) regard the expression as corrupt, and leave it untranslated. — A similar proverb, perhaps a modification of this, is found in BS. Io2«■2^ XII. 2. J§ is supported in general by the Vrss. (5 TrapaffiwirrjO-ffffeTai, is prob. not from iinn (Jag.), nor (Lag.) confluence of ivapa du) {— niniD) and riTT-qO-qcreTai (= i'^ni Isa. 54''), but free rendering of |ij >wn\ — 3. (B oLvbjjLov, perh. scribal error for avoplas, perh. (Lag.) — -jz'^. — 4. |^ rnbi'va; (5 ev |i)X(y, = Y^i (Jag.), and following airoWvffLV, Jag. thinks, represents the rest of the f§ word, ip'c. ^ = (5; C = (§, with transpositions. |^ nrac; % qtii confusione res dignas gerit. — P'or f§ mp;? Midr. Tanch. gives niNijp, citation from memory. — 6. See note on this v. above. The suff. in |§ o'^i'' is given in all the Vrss., but is better omitted, if "^ be retained, so as to avoid the ambiguity of ^, and gain the general form of statement which is found in *. — For |§ Di Bi. reads ms, which is too general a term in the connection; Gr. DDipn (see his emendation in i"), but this is not favored by the Dttt'\ This objection lies against the reading acr*^ mx' OVJ'"', and ||J n2i is besides supported by the 'fl of ^ — 7. |IJ ibn is better taken as Inf. Abs., = finite vb. (Ew., § 328(5), as in S^T; fL vcrte ; (5 o5 khv (Trpacprj. Gr., referring to 14II, adds i'?nx, but this is unnecessary, and mars the rhythm. — 8. f^ SjU' is the specific Hokma term for intellectual sobriety. — |^ ni^M occurs only here in Prov. (and elsewhere only i Sam. 20^'') ; the common terms are S^oj and ij^pj,'. — (5 ffrd/jLa crvveToO eyKUfudi^'eTai vtto a,vdp6s, = 'i;'x '^7.11 hyz' id*?; S'?ni in 3 codd. of De' Rossi. — P? ra"-; (@ fxvKTrjpl^eTai. S'ST = p?. For p? SSn> IL has ttosceiur, and for a'? nij;j vanus et excors. — 9. Hithp. of n23 only here and Nah. 3^^; in Nah. = shoiu i'/i'j'jf^ (really) great, or perh. 7nake a sho-v of greatness, here act the part of greatness. — % = '^. <@ (followed by S) S 5ou- Xeiiajf eauT(?, 3L sujfficiens sibi, pointing i3 •, and perhaps (though not neces- sarily) reading ic-dj'? instead of iS, Bi. ir;, and Gr. -rm (for ploughing), but 1^ i3y gives a satisfactory sense. 10. Kindness to animals. The righteous regards the comfort (even) of his beast. But the heart of the wicked is cruel. Antithetic, quaternary-ternary. Righteous is sing, in the Heb., wicked plu. — rhetorical variation. The first cl. reads lit. : . . . knoius the soul of his beast. Kno^vs here = gives attention to, 248 PROVERBS comes into sympathetic relations tuifh (cf. Dt. ■})'^ Job 9^^ 35^^)- Soul is the principle of life, common, according to OT. usage, to man and beast ; it here signifies not the mere vitality (it is not that the good man refrains from killing his beast), but the sum- total of Hfe as experience (cf. Ru. 4'^ Job 10^) ; the righteous man provides all things necessary for the animal's healthy and happy existence. The connection (cl. 2) indicates that the clause is of the nature of a meiosis : the good man is careful even of the lower animals, much more, then, of human beings. — The second cl. is universal in form : the bad man is cruel to all (beasts and men). The term rendered heart above usually means compassion (RV. tender mercies'), and is here so under- stood by many Anc. Vrss. and commentators * ; the oxymoron cruel compassion is possible, but occurs nowhere else in OT., and seems somewhat forced. In several passages (Am. i^^ i K. 3-^, and perhaps Isa. 63^^) the Heb. word in question appears to mean bowels, as seat of emotion, for which the Eng. equivalent is heart, and this sense may be adopted here (with De. Reuss, Str. Kamp. Frank.) as the more probable. — Kindness to domestic animals is enjoined in the Tora (Ex. 20^'' 23'^ Dt. 25*), and the divine care of beasts is spoken of in Jonah (4^^) and in various Psalms (36«''» 104" ^ cf. 148^") ; so also BS. f\ 11. Steady industry. He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, But he who follows useless pursuits is lacking in sense. Implicit antithesis, ternary. Cf. 28^^, BS. 20-*. In second cl, the direct antithesis would be expressed by will lack bread (so nearly in 28^^), but the Masoretic form of the proverb, perhaps for the sake of variety, states not the result, but the quality of mind ; such variations of apophthegms were doubtless common with the sages. Possibly, however, the second line should read : He who follows useless pursuits will lack bread. The verse does not give special praise to agriculture, but takes it as a common pursuit, and as an example of legitimate and profita- * Aq. Targ. Saad. Schult. Ew. Zock. al. XII. IO-I2 249 ble industry ; the sense is he who seriously pursues a settled occu- pation will live comfortably. Tlie antithesis favors the sense pur- suits in second cl. rather than persons (the Heb. gives simply the adj. vain, unprofitable^ ; the reference seems to be not to idleness or slothfulness (Lat. otiuni), but to purposeless, unsteady occupa- tions, perhaps also to immoral commercial and political practices. Agriculture was followed by the Palestinian Jews down to the de- struction of Jerusalem by the Romans ; see Joseph. Atit. 20, 9. 2 ; War, 7, 8. 3. — Grk. (followed by Lat.) here adds the couplet: He who indulges in banquets of wine Will leave dishonor (as a legacy) to his strongholds, or, as Bickell emends, Will come to poverty and dishonor. The idea is appropriate, but the couplet is more probably an editorial addition, or an extract from some current collection of proverbs, than part of the original Heb. text. 12. Text and translation are doubtful. The Heb. reads : The wicked desires the net of evil men, but the root of the righteous pro- duces (lit. gives) . If we understand the net of first cl. to be that which bad men spread for others, the result is an identical propo- sition : the wicked desire the net of the wicked ; if the net be that in which bad men are caught, the resulting expression, the wicked desire (that is, in effect by their evil conduct seek and gain) the net which entraps the tuicked is hard and unnatural. Others * render : the prey of evil men, taking the meaning to be that the wicked seeks (but in vain) to enrich himself by unrighteous gain ; but, even if we accept the translation prey, spoil (which is without authority), the statement that the wicked desires the spoil of the wicked is in form unnatural. The second cl. also offers a diffi- culty : the verb there employed is used of a tree which produces fruit, but never of the root of a tree (RV.), and it cannot be ren- dered shoots forth, that is, sends forth slender stocks. Moreover, in all these interpretations a real antithesis is lacking. — Grk. has : the desires of the wicked are evil, but the roots of the righteous are firm, which gives a clear sense, accords in second cl. with v.", and * Fleisch. De. Noyes, Zock. Str. 250 PROVERBS may be got from the present Heb. text without great changes, but it gives no good contrast in the two clauses. Targ., in second cl., shall be established. Syr. : the wicked desires to do evil (a change of one word in the Heb.). Lat. : the desire of the wicked is a de- fence of the worst {thiiigs or persons^, but the root of the righteous will grow. — Various emendations have been proposed. Hitz. : the refuge of the wicked is clay, but the root of the righteous en- dures (or, is enduring^ ; this form of second cl. is adopted by Ew. Zock. Kamp. al. Gratz adopts the Lat. defence. Bi. trans- forms the couplet, reading : the pillars of the wicked totter, but the root of the righteous is a fortress. Kamp. omits the second half of first cl. {the net of evil men) as untranslatable. Reuss : the wicked hunts for misfortune, which he offers as a guess ; Frank. : wickedness is the net of bad men (cf. v.^^*), that is, they are caught by their own conduct. Hitzig's reading of second cl. (obtained by a slight change in the Heb.) seems probable (cf. v.'') ; in first cl. we should expect (as in v.^") some figure of unsteadfastness (such as Bi. tries to supply) ; Frankenberg's emendation is the least open to objections, but it does not supply a satisfactory con- trast to the second line. The two lines appear to belong to different couplets. 13, 14. The effects of speech. 13. By the sin of his hps the wicked is ensnared, But the righteous escapes from trouble. 14. From the fruit of his lips comes [] requital to a man, And what his hands do will return to him. 13. Antithetic, ternary. Cf 10" 11^ 18^ 29*^. Sin (or trans- gression) of the lips is any wicked, especially malicious, form of speech, which brings a man into danger by making enemies or exposing him to legal penalties ; the reference is solely to the evil consequences of a man's own talk. The Heb. of first cl. reads : in the sin of the lips is a snare to the wicked. The form given by Grk. (requiring the change of one letter of the Heb.) is better : the si?iner falls into snares. In second cl. the reference is to the guarded and kindly speech of the righteous. — Grk. adds : He whose looks are gentle will be pitied, But he who encounters (men) in the gates will afflict souls. XII. 12-15 251 The reference in second cl. seems to be to litigiousness. De. suggests the emendation : will afflict himself. The origin of the couplet is doubtful. — 14. Synonymous, ternary. Cf. 13^ 14" 18^". In first cl. the Heb. has : from the fruit of a man's lips he is sated (or recompensed) with good ; but this does not give the general statement which we expect as parallel to second cl., and which is given in 18-"; the omission of the word good (which may easily have been inserted by a scribe) secures the symmetry of the couplet. We have then the declaration that every man must take 1 1 '^ the consequences of his words and deeds (cf 14"). The Heb. I' has in the two clauses two synonymous words for man {ish and adam). The marginal Heb. reading of second line is : and what a man's hands do he will requite him for, in which the he is re- garded by some as indefinite subject {one will requite), by others as referring to God ; but neither of these interpretations is sup- ported by the usage of the Book. For the form of the text, 7-eturn, see Obad. 15. — In second cl. Grk. (probably incorrectly) gets a completer parallelism by rendering : and the recompense of his lips shall be given him ; the variant hands is better than lips. Syr., with slight difference of order from Heb. : a good man shall be satisfied, etc. — If the reading of the Heb. be retained, 'we have a progressive parallehsm : in first cl. wise, kindly, righteous speech brings reward ; in second cl. all actions bring requital. — In these two couplets the immediate reference appears to be to social law, ^v^ not to the fact that God takes cognizance of words and deeds. 15, 16. Two marks of a fool. 15. The way of a fool seems to him right, But a wise man listens to advice. 16. A fool's anger is displayed on the spot, But a sensible man ignores an affront. 15. Implicit antithesis, ternary. It is assumed that the fool is stupidly self-confident and does not see the need of seeking advice. The reference, appears to be solely to intellectual judg- ments, not to religious opinions, though these also will be included in the broader scope of the proverb. There is obviously here no condemnation of rational confidence in well-considered opinions. 252 PROVERBS — 16. Antithetic, quaternary-ternary (or, perhaps, ternary). Lit. : a fool, on the very day (on which he receives an insult, a disgrace), his anger makes itself knozuji (or, displays his anger), but a sensi- ble man covers up insult. The proverb condemns thoughtless, passionate resentment, and enjoins calmness and deliberateness in the face of insult. It does not condemn self-defence, or resent- ment directed against wrongdoing, nor approve weakness, or cow- ardice, or reticence under all circumstances ; it does not relate to forgiveness of injuries, or to the non-resistance described in Mt. 5"**"''"; it simply enjoins calmness. The motive indicated is not love or consideration for the author of the affront, but regard for one's own interests, or for the general well-being. Quick resentment is treated first of all as a foolish thing ; doubtless it was also considered morally wrong. On the term affront see note on 3^. Cf. the sentiment of ii-. 10. J^ "iDm; (5 (rirX(i7xi'o; so ^ {the wicked, their botvels are closed); 3L viscera. On 'i as = bozuels see Ges. Thes., and cf. am wotnb and (in Arab.) relationship ; whether the sense mercy, love is derived from a stem = soft (cf. Arab, am), or is connected with the viscera considered as the seat of affection, is uncertain. — 11. pj 3S non; Gr. nnS 'n; Frank.: urh nDn\ — For the addi- tional couplet in (§ see note on this v. above, and notes of Lag. De. Baumg. Bi. — 12. 1^ ncn; (@ eirt^u^ki, = men; Si'iE^ = ^; '^ desideritini, — -^-gn; Hitz. -iph; Bi. noy. Frank, makes onS (end of v.") out of |^ ^D^ aS (v.i^-i-), regards the T of ^c^ as misvvriting of n (in following >'^'i), and attaching the 2 (of 3*7) to -\, reads: op Tic yz'-\z, an intelligible sentence. — |^ D^;;i iSD; @ omits 'c, for which S has ^aJ;n':', = Heb. n^r-ynS; IL muniynenttim pessimo- rum ; Gr. oi'ii'i iXD; Bi. (omitting 'c) DV^. The simplest reading of " is that of @, but it is not connected in its thought with ^■, the readings of Bi. and Gr. are not natural; the true text can hardly be recovered. — In ^ we may read irTix for ||J jn-, 2C a^inj, (5 ev oxvpu/xacriv (so Ew. Gr. Kamp.) ; Bi. IXD. Lag. suggests that in> may be corruption of the ]^i ((5 otvuv) of =. For other emendations see Nowack. — 13. Pj cpb; <§ e/jLTrlTrrei els 7ra7i5as; read t'p'i of ii'pp. — 1^ NSM, 1 -|- Impf, rhetorical sequence. — On the additional couplet in <3 see Lag. and Bickell; Bi.'s -\yz'D Nipi (= (S 6 5e a-vpavruip ev irvXais) is suspicious {cr_y in the gate is not the natural antithesis to have a gentle look), and the couplet, while it looks like a bad translation from Hebrew, is of doubtful origin. — 14. On the omission of ^a see note on this v. above. — J§ ir'N; (5 ^vxv avSp6s, in which 1/'. is probably interpretation of the Grk. translator (deleted by Lag.); a t:'3j in the Heb. would mar the rhythm. — f^ n^; (3^, not so well, xe'^^'"'" (23. 157 X"Pw»'. and so 21. No mischief befalls the righteous, But the wicked are full of misfortune. 22. Lying lips are an abomination to Yahweh, But they who deal truly are his delight. 23. A man of sense keeps back his knowledge, But fools proclaim their foolishness. 20. Lit. : injustice is in the hearts of those who, etc., is their purpose, belongs to their nature, and is the product of their acts. On i?2justice (RV. deceit) see note on v.^''; lack of fairness and truthfulness is injustice. On devise evil ^te 3-^ 6"-^* i Sam. 23^ — The second cl. in the Heb. reads : but to the counsellors of well- being there is joy. The counsellors of well-being are those whose designs and plans are such as to promote the welfare of their fellow-beings ; for this sense, plan or design, see Isa. 14^^. But the \.txvs\joy of second cl. stands in no natural connection with the injustice or deceit of first cl. This latter term expresses the purpose of wicked men, and we should expect the corresponding term of second cl. to express the purpose of good men, their sincerity and equity. Such is the contrast given in v.^ of this chapter, and obtainable here by a slight change of the Heb., with the reading : to the designers of well-being there is justice. — If the joy of the Heb. be retained, the couplet must be interpreted to mean : wicked men design injustice, but the good men, purposing good to others, will be rewarded with joy or happiness. This is a possible but not natural and easy antithesis. In 21^^ it is said that the practice of justice is joy to the just man, but the omission of the subject (the practice of justice), as is here assumed, would be hard. — On well-being (RV. peace), = "wholeness, completeness of being," see note on 3^. Counsellors of well-being = benevolent, XII. 19-24 255 righteous men. The interpretation oi joy as that which the good man procures for others is hardly allowed by the Heb. ; see lo^® 15^ 21^', where the joy is subjective, and similar constructions in jq16 j j26 g^(,_ — 21, The doctrine of full compensation in this life. Mischief axid misfortune (RV. stands with D3rD (he should except 29^) ; but this may be accidental. — <3 ■ eTridetKuvfji^i'Tjv irtcmv iirayyiWei diKaios; in id. may perhaps (Jag.) represent a form of npn, taken as = affirm (in a court of justice), though elsewhere in Pr. (exc. 19^(2) iyKaXQv) 'r\ is rendered by eKKaleiv; Lag.'s suggestion, r\:i\ is not probable, since this vb. is regularly represented by iXiyxetv (cf., however, eX. a^^es^ and e-rrid. demonstrate, prove, in a court of law). — 18. ||J .TJ3 («'S I'm; (5 KaropOoi fiaprvpiav, = iv'^ p-\ (Jag.), the h being taken (in Aram, fashion) as introducing the object, or perhaps the h had fallen out; in b also the ly was read improperly as np. — IL in * = |^, in •> = (g; ^ in * free, in ^ follows (g; 3C in ^^ = ||^, in *> follows (&. (5's rendering of ^ is thus strongly supported, but ||J is favored by the antithesis. The form nyijns is commonly explained as i pers. sing. Hif. Impf., but it is a noun, sometimes (Jer. 49!^ 50**) used adverbially; it appears to be an Inf. of Aram, form (less probably = yjiN, from y_n, with n prosthetic). — 20. |^ tinn, in the sense of mental construction, is a Hokma term (329 6i^- ^^ 14^-) ; but see also i Sam. 23^ Hos. loi3 Job 4^. — Note assonance in nniD, nnci:'; for the latter term Gr. pro- poses njpx; it is better to read \::i^vr::. — (g l3ov\6p.evoi; read ^ov\ev6p.evoL, with ^Hmarg. 23(Lag.). — 21. p? Hj.s^; @ (and SO SST) d/3^(j-et, = HiN:, a not improb- able reading. — 22. pj ■'•.:';•; Gr. suggests ]Z'h\ as parallel to Tflr, but the varia- XII. 24-26 257 tion of ^ is natural and effective. — 23. For ^ no j, xip'', nSw (5 has dp6vos (ndd), ffwavT-qcrerai (from mp), dpaTs (•"''^n)> ^^^ niisreadings. — 3C^, paraphras- ing, xnj,'Ti ■'jND. — 5' in " = ®, in '^ apparently = |^, rendering nVis* by xntt^^; cf. Pinkuss' note. — 5L = |^. — 24. The adj. I'ln, in sense of diligent, only in Pr. (cf. the vb. in 2 Sam. s''^^), elsewhere (Isa. 41^^) sharp ; @ eKXeKrQv, free rendering, or (Baumg.) connected with 'n />ure gold ; cf Job 37^^('''^ where ckX. represents nj, taken by @ as one word, and connected with n2 cJiosen, brilliant, and Pr. 122'' where Kadap6s = 'n. — 25. (5 renders freely: (po^epbs X670S = njNi; rapdaaei = nnE*;;; 8iKaiov is added to tr'x as interpretation; dyyeXia = n2T (it is unnecessary to suppose, with Gr., that (3 read mra). 1^ is reproduced substantially by SSTIL, and ^ by 0; but Si® give the 0oj3. and rap. of (§, which, here as elsewhere, appears to have influenced these Vrss. 26. A satisfactory translation of this couplet can hardly be given. The second cL, //le ivay of the wicked misleads them (or, leads them to destructioii) is intelligible, though in form somewhat strange, A man's way (common metaphor for conduct, manner of life) is described in OT. as easy or hard, or as leading to hap- piness or to misfortune, or it is said that men go astray or are led astray (by God or man) in their way, but it is never elsewhere said that the way itself causes men to wander; see i^''""^ 2'-'-" 3^"^ 4-" 8^ 13^^ 14^^ 15^^ al. ; we should perhaps read : the way of the wicked is error, or the ivicked goes astray in his 7i>ay. — In con- trast with this we expect in first cl. some such statement as the path of the righteous is straight (cf. 15^^), or the righteous departs from evil (cf. 16^''), but the text offers no such thought. The Heb., as it stands, must be rendered : the righteous searches out (= explores, studies) his friend, which here yields no satisfactory sense. A change in the Heb. preposition gives . . . explores (the way) for his friend (or, neighbor), which is hardly apposite ; and the same remark holds of Ewald's translation (adopted, appar- ently, by RV.) . . . is a guide to . . ., in which, moreover, the rendering ^/^/^(? is unwarranted. — The Anc. Vrss. give no material help. Grk. : a fust arbiter will be his own friend, perhaps cor- rupt for the just is his own friend, or the just man kiiotas his frie?td; Aq. : he who makes his neighbor rich (lit. to abound) is just (or righteous); Targ. (followed by Saad. Rashi): the righteous is better than his neighbor; Syr. : the righteous gives his friend good counsel (= . . . is a guide to . . .) ; Lat. : he %uho ignores loss for his friend's sake is just. — Most modern expositors (fol- 258 PROVERBS lowing Doderlein) prefer to change the vowels of one word and render : the righteous searches out his pastur-e, that is, superior to sinful desire, seeks (and finds) moral and religious nourishment * — a figure taken from pastoral life in which good pasturage stands for well-being and happiness (Job 12^*). But the expression, used appropriately of the wild ox (Job 39*), is never elsewhere em- ployed of man (not in Ez. 34^'*^^), and is somewhat strange and forced. The verb of the clause is suspicious ; it is used in the earlier literature of the selection of a camping-ground (Dt. i^ Nu. 10''^) or of a country, for example, by Yahweh (Ez, 20®), of the investigation of Canaan by the spies (Nu. 13^, and frequently in Nu. 13. 14), perhaps of a specifically military reconnoissance (Ju. \^, but the text is doubtful), later of reflection (Nu, 15^^) and intellectual investigation (Eccl. i'^) ; it does not seem to be appropriate here. — The simplest emendation or interpretation is that of Targ,, followed by AV. : the righteous is more excellent (marg. abundant^ than his neighbor, but this is neither apposite in itself, nor related to second cl. We can only surmise, from com- parison of 14^^ 16" 21^^, that the general sense of the couplet is : the righteous departs from evil, but the wicked strays from the {right) way. The two lines may be, however, wholly unconnected with each other. 27. The two clauses are unrelated to each other ; there appears to be a displacement — each clause has lost its parallel. The first may read : the slothful man (lit. slothfulness, — the man of sloth- fulness) does not hunt (or, rouse, or, roast) his gatne — metaphor taken from hunting-life ; the meaning of the verb is doubtful, but the general sense appears to be that the slothful man is too lazy to provide food for himself, and must consequently suffer ; Kamp. regards it as too corrupt for translation. — The second cl. should express the idea that the diligent man does make provision for himself, but this meaning cannot be got from the present text. The following are some of the translations which have been pro- posed. Rashi (obtained, however, by an inversion) : the sub- stance of an industrious fnan is valuable (and so AV) ; Qamhi, Schult. (followed by De. Reuss, Now. RV. marg. Str. Kamp.) : * So Hitz, Ew. De. Bi. Str. Kamp. XII. 26-28 259 a valuable possession (wealth, substance) of a man is diligence (or, to be dilige?it), but the last word is the adj. diligent, and can- not be rendered diligence ; Berth. Ew. : a precious treasure of (^= to) a man is one who is diligent, that is, an industrious servant — an allowable rendering of the Heb., but an inappropriate idea ; the intention of the clause is to praise the diligent man for his value not to others but to himself. — Grk. (and so Syr.) changes the order of the words and reads : a precious possession is a pure man, which order is adopted by Umbreit, Bi. and others, substi- tuting diligent for pure ; Targ. : the substance (wealth) of man is precious gold, and Latin : ... is the price of gold. — RV. (and so Noyes) inserts a preposition : the precious substance of men is to the diligent. If, in addition to this insertion, we transpose two words, we have the simple reading : the diligent man possesses (or, gains) wealth (lit. there is valuable property to the, etc.), a familiar idea in Prov., but not obviously connected with first cl. Cf. lo* 12^* 15^^ 19^^ 20* al. 28. Antithetic, ternary. The first cl. reads : iti the path of righteousness is life — the doctrine, abundantly dwelt on in Prov., that goodness insures a long and happy life ; see notes on 3^ 8^ 14^^ The second cl., in its present form, is untranslatable {the way of its path — not death, in which not is the imperative neg., and can quahfy only a verb). Saad. Schult. De., mistranslating the negative : the way of its path is i?nmortality ( = not death) ; RV. (repeating AV.), adopting this mistranslation, inserting a preposition (without italicizing it), and writing way of path as one word, renders : in the pathway thereof there is no death. The definition of zvay by its synonym path is unexampled in Prov., and the resulting second cl. is a simple repetition of first cl. The form of the negative here employed is used only in voluntative sentences, and, if there were a verb, we might render : and let not the way of its path be death, an obviously impossible form of state- ment. The Anc. Vrss. and some Heb. MSS. and printed edd. have to instead of the negative (the difference involves merely the change of a vowel), and the clause should no doubt read: but the 7vay of ivickedness leads to death, or some equivalent ex- pression (so most modern critics) — the idea that the bad man 26o PROVERBS will be cut off prematurely, or die some unhappy death. Cf. 2^^-^* ^18.19 ^5 y27 jji9 j^i2 j ^9^ ^j^^j^ f-Qj. ^j^g insertioii of the verb leads, see 14- ,23 26. "^ is reproduced by ©SSTIL, but can hardly be correct; fn cannot be subject of Hif. of n;?n. — J^ ^^•> gives no good sense whether pointed as adj. or as Hif. of in. The text is hardly recoverable; the Vrss. seem to have had |§. We might read: pis n;!-\D ipi (cf. 1 61'^), but there vv^ill then be no distinct contrast of expression between ^ and ^. See Lag. Baumg. Pinkuss, and note on this v. above. — 27. The Vrss. in general support ||J, though, in some cases, with inversions (see note on this v. above). J^ Y~^p; & (and so S>) Ka.6a.p6s; STIL gold. Gr. ipi Y'^'^'^- Read in *» 'n dinS; ipi jh occurs in i^^ 24*. The insertion of a^^< between the two words is possible, but here hard. — |§ inn is taken by Rashi, Qamhi al. to mean roast, — burn, as in Aram. (Dan. 3^''), and cf. Arab, pin; Schult. and others compare Arab, fin move (intrans.); '^sz.'z.A. meet, encounter {^•vi III.); see Ges. 7y^^J■., BDB, De.; the word is perhaps corrupt. See De' Rossi. — 28. In ^ for |^ '^n the Vrss. have Sx; and for this reading in MSS. and printed edd. see De' Rossi, B-D, Gins- burg. 1^ n^nj; (5 fivqaiKaKuii' revengeful ; ^ JJPDN wicked ; 3C S':n2X, scribal error for '3N; IL devium, possibly for n^njD (Baumg.). Some word, standing in contrast with T\p-\-i, must probably be substituted for njnj. Levy, Chald. Wbch., suggests that (5 read 3ynj, but this is not probable; Jag. naiD; Buxt., Anticrit, 717, thinks ixvtja. an insertion of the Grk. translator; Lag. prefers, wi^h 161 marg., 6 5e fjLVTjcriKaKQv ; Bi. map (see 21^'*). XIII. 1. Our Heb. text reads : A wise son his father's instruction, But a scoffer listens not to rebuke. Antithetic, ternary. In first cl., if our Heb. text be retained, a verb, = /imrs or regards, should, from the parallelism, probably be inserted (so Targ. RV.) ; Kamp., instead of /it's father^ s, reads loves (see 12^, where, however, the verb in second cl. is hates) ; Rashi inserts seeks and loves ; Saad. accepts ; Schult. : one is (or, becomes) a tvise son (when) instructed by one''s father; Lat. (fol- lowed by De. Now. Str.) : a wise son is (= is the product of) his father's instruction, which is a hard and improbable construc- tion. The verb, by scribal corruption, has disappeared from the Hebrew ; probably we should read : a wise son heeds (or, loves) instruction. — On first cl. see notes on 2^ 3^ 4^; on instruction see note on i^, and cf. i3'^' ^^ ; on scoffer see note on i" ; rebuke occurs 13* 17^*" Eccl. 7*, etc. — In second cl. we might txi^tct foolish son, XII. 28-XIII. 2 261 as in I5^ but scoffer (which occurs in 9' as antithesis to wise) is a more vigorous synonym oi fool. The Grk., assimilating the two clauses, reads (its destroyed being corrected to rebuked) : A wise son is obedient to his father, But a disobedient son will be rebuked, to which, however, the Hebrew form is to be preferred. — The proverb lays stress on teachableness ; the scoffer, out of badness of heart, refuses instruction. Whether or not father be retained in the text, the reference is especially to young men. 2. The outcome of conduct. — The Heb. is probably to be translated : From the fruit of his mouth a man enjoys (lit. eats) good, But the desire of the wicked is violence. So the couplet is rendered by many expositors * ; others t supply in second cl. the verb of first cl. : the appetite (lit. sotil) . . . feeds on violence, but appetite in OT., though it desires or loathes, is full or empty, is never said to eat. The violence may be that done to others (which is the natural interpretation), or (as first cl. suggests) that which rebounds on the bad man ; but in this last case the expression (=" the appetite of the wicked for wrongdoing really brings violence on their own heads") is round- about and hard. — The first cl. is substantially identical with i2>^% in which, from the parallelism, we should probably omit the good (and so Reuss here) ; but here the antithesis demands its reten- tion.— The form of the Heb. couplet is unsatisfactory: the ex- pressions *' a man's words bring him good " and " the desire of bad men is for violence" stand in no natural relation to each other. Grk. : the good man eats of the frtdts of righteousness, but the souls of the wicked perish untitnely ; Syr. : . . . perish; Targ. : . . . are snatched away ; Gratz (after S'**) renders second cl. : the faithless do harm to themselves. We seem to have here a disloca- tion— the two clauses do not belong together. The first cl. should perhaps be assimilated to the corrected form of 1 2", and the second cl. might then be retained, with the sense that bad men desire to act violently (that is, to gain wealth by unjust * Lat. Saad. Rashi, De. Zock. Str. Kamp. t Schult. Berth. Ew. RV. 262 PROVERBS means). An antithesis is gained by adopting the Grk. reading, or by rendering : a good man enjoys the {good) fruit of his mouth, but (or, ajid) the wicked harm themselves. On wicked {ox, faith- less) see note on 2^-, and on violence note on 3^^ ; cf. also notes on 10" " 12" 26^ 3. Speech must be cautious. He who guards his mouth preserves his life, He who opens wide his lips — it is ruin to him. Exact antithesis, ternary (or, quaternary-ternary). Warning against incautious speech, as in 10^" 17-^ The warning is always in place, even in everyday affairs, but is especially appropriate under a despotic government or in any ill-regulated society (such as abounded under the Persian and Grk. governments), where an imprudent word may cost a man his hfe. The reference is obvi- ously to the physical life, not to the soul (as the Heb. term may sometimes be rendered) as the seat of moral and religious expe- rience. Cf. BS. 9^^, and the Syr. Menander, p. 70, 1. 12. 4. Sloth and industry. The slothful desires and has not, The diligent is richly supplied. Antithetic, ternary. Contrast of results of industry and idleness. Lit. the soul of the slothful and the soul of the diligent, in which soul is the physical principle of life, = desire, appetite. Richly supplied is lit. made fat (11-^ 15="^ 28^ Dt. 31^" i/' 23') ; fatness, originally the sign of animal and vegetable health and vigor, is used as general symbol of prosperity. The shiftlessness of the lazy man is similarly denounced or ridiculed in 6^" 12^'' 19^* 20* al. The Grk. (omitting the neg.) : the idle desire, but the hands of the active (or, strenuous or manly) are diligent (perhaps error iox prosperous) ; Lat. (repeating the verb in first cl.) : the slothful will and will not, = is too lazy to decide or to act. 5. Men's relation to truth. The righteous hate deception, But the wicked act vilely and shamefully. XIII. 2-7 263 Antithetic, ternary. The subjects are sing, in the Hebrew. De- ception (Ht. a false thing) includes all words and deeds opposed to truthfulness (cf. Col. f Eph. 4-*) . As in first cl., so in second cl. the verbs more naturally express an attitude of mind (cf., for this rendering, 10^ 12'' 14^ 17" ig"*^) ; deception =vile a7id shame- ful action* Other translations (which, however, fail to bring out a distinct antithesis) are : brings into evil odor (or, disgrace') and shame (Schult. De. Str. RV. marg.) ; is loathsome and comes to shame (RV.) ; is ashamed and without confidence (Grk.) ; is ashamed and put to the blush '(Targ.) ; acts badly and brings sha?ne (Saad.) ; confounds and shall be confounded (Lat.). 6. Preservative power of probity. Righteousness preserves him whose conduct is perfect, But wickedness destroys the sinner. Antithetic, ternary. Lit. the perfect of walk ; the Heb. seems intended to read : innocence of walk, and, in second cl., sin, but the concrete terms are preferable in the Heb. text as well as in the Eng. translation. In second cl. the Anc. Vrss. have (not so well) sin destroys (or, carries off) the wicked. On the OT. con- ception perfect see note on 2^ , and, on the general statement of the earthly consequences of good and evil conduct, notes on i^^-^ 3^^ 10^, etc. — There seems no reason to hold, with Lag., that righteoicsness here = almsgiving ; the natural opposite of wicked- ness is goodness in general. Lag. refers to v.'-^ (on which see notes), and inclines to take sin (= offence against the theocratic order) as subject, but for this there seems to be no necessity. On the OT. relation between righteousness and almsgiving see note on 10-. — Righteousness may save, and wickedness destroy, through the operation of natural causes, or through the directly manifested fevor or disfavor of God, who remembers and reckons acts for or against men (Gen. 15" Ez. 21-*'-'-"). This verse is lack- ing in the Vatican MS. of the Grk., perhaps by scribal oversight. 7, Social pretence. Some, having nothing, pretend to be rich, Others, being wealthy, pretend to be poor. * So Rashi, Ew. Kamp. 264 PROVERBS Antithetic, binary (or, ternary-binary) . Apparently a condemna- tory reference to two contrasted weaknesses, namely, foolish love of display, and equally foolish miserliness, conduct which is doubt- less to be met with at all times. Or, there may be special allu- sion to a state of things which was common in the disordered period of the conflicts between the Greek princes of Syria and Egypt, when there were often pressing reasons for making a show of wealth or poverty. The moral is that men should be simply honest and unpretentious. In second cl. there might possibly be an allusion to desire to get rid of the obligation to give alms (see note on preceding verse), but such allusion is not obvious. 8. Wealth as a protection against enemies. — The text of second cl. appears to have suffered from scribal error. The Heb. of the couplet reads : A man's wealth is ransom for his life, But the poor man does not heed rebuke, in which the predicate of second cl. is identical with that of v.^**, and stands in no relation to first clause. It is not the character- istic of the poor to reject admonition, and the connection calls for the statement that the poor man, not having money with which to buy off his prosecutor or oppressor, must suffer the legal or illegal consequences of his crime or misfortune ; see similar references to the social disadvantages of poverty in 14^" 19*-^ 30". Examples of a state of things in which money alone saves life abotmd in Jew- ish and other histories (and cf. the reference to murderous rapac- ity in Ez. 22^''). The predicate of second cl. may be erroneous scribal repetition from v}, and should perhaps read something like has nofi-iends, or is a prey to his enemies. Or, the second cl. may be repetition of v.^'', with erroneous substitution of poor man for scoffer ; in that case it has nothing to do with first clause. — Various attempts have been made to establish a connection be- tween the two clauses. Saad. : [wealth, rightly used in good works, saves life] but he is poor who heeds not the admonition of God ; Rashi : the poor does not hear reproach (from the good rich man, who, on the contrary, gives him alms), or he who is poor (in the knowledge of the law) hea?-s not the admonition (of the law, and therefore does not escape evil) ; Midrash Haggada XIII. 7-8 265 (cited by Rashi) refers the clause to the payment of the half- shekel obligatory on all Israelites equally (Ex. 3o''^), so that the poor man is not exposed to contempt for his poverty ; De. points out that the reference cannot be to the old legal commutation of the death-penalty to a fine, for this is restricted to one case (Ex. 21^"), and even then the offender does not escape threatening or rebuke, and, if he cannot pay the fine, must suffer death (cf. Ex. 2 2^'-') ; Schult. agrees in general with Saad., holding the meaning to be : true riches is that (namely, wisdom and virtue) which saves a man from death {ip 49^'"), and he is poor who does not heed admonition ; Ewald takes the second half of the clause as subject (an improbable construction), and translates: yef he became poor who never- heard an accusation (reference to legal proceedings) ; some * take rebuke as = threat (a sense which the word nowhere else has), and understand the meaning to be that the poor man, secure in the fact that he has nothing to be robbed of {cantabit vacuus coram hitro7ie viator), hears or heeds not threats, is not concerned with the schemes of the powerful op- pressor.— These renderings are all forced and improbable; the first clause simply points out the value of wealth, apparently in evil or corrupt times, as a means of security (by bribery, and, in general, by procuring powerful protection), and the second cl. either belongs to another couplet, or must be emended so as to give a contrast to first clause. The emendation zaicked for poor does not furnish a contrast. — On ransom see note on 6*'. In the present case the rich man is exposed to the legal and other assaults of the powerful, and saves his life by a payment of money. See 10'^, and, contra, ii-^ XIII. 1. In ^ yniy or Sap may have fallen out; cf. i^ 4^ 8^^ 19^'' al. Dimock (cited by Dys.), 2nx, for J§ 3{<; Kamp. ans (if this be adopted, noa and anx should be transposed) ; Bi. inserts prep, jd before iDC, but the resulting con- struction is hard. (S^ vtti^koos may represent yc::' (so in 21^^, where, however, Jag. proposes to read eTnj/coos), or may be free rendering of J^; in •* olv^koos = jJDi:' nS, and 11165 apparently represents yh (assimilation to form of *) ; ^j* d7rwXe^^(^ ni^ji) is perh. corruption of iv dTreiXrj (Jag., see v.^). — ST inserts S^pD in % and '3, and Pinkuss. — For non 4 MSS. have nci:", * Mich, De. Now. Reuss, Noyes, Zock. Str. Kamp. RV. 266 PROVERBS after lo^. — 2. In " ^ renders as in 12"*; for pj r\s ^q <@ has diKaLoavvri^, perh. reading pis, perh. imitating ii^'^ (Baum.). (§'' oXoCi'Tai dwpot may represent J^ D;:n (the evil fate which overtakes the wicked), or DDP, from DDD (Capp. Crit. Sac, iv. 4, 5, cf. Lag. Baum. Pink.). On 6.wpoi cf. Frank, on 11^''. The word does not of itself render D:;n, but only in conjunction with some other term, as perish. — A connection between " and '^ might be got by inserting ya after w's (so Si), and supplying in "^ a verb parallel to '?3X\ See note on this v. above. — Instead of '^o.n^ 7 MSS. and Bibl. Sonc. have yaB", and so SiCiL Venet., as in 12I*. — 3. The stem x^t'fi in Arab, —go forth, separate one''s self (then transgress, act unrestrainedly) ; in Aram., cause to go forth or away, cut off ; in Heb. cause to go apart, open zvide (Qal only here. Pi. Ez. iS''^^). — 4. In |§ '?sy i;;'i3j the ■> may be petrified sign of Nom., as in inin, Gen. i2* al., ij3, Nu. 243- 1^, uvc, ^ 114^ perh. to be read •'jvo (the form is not found elsewhere in Pr.), or Aram, anticipatory suff. (elsewhere in Pr. only 14^^, on which see note), or we may (with Bi.) omit it as scribal error. % adds the suff. to the second Z'qi also. — With \6-\ cf. Assyr. >^v■^, Jl^'^. — (g, not so well, omits pN; 3L takes it as negation of nixriD: vult et non vult piger. (SSIL render Vi7 'j as = ^-i';. — 5. ||J u\x3', from i:'N2; better vy, from vi. — ® ovx e^enrapp-qcrLav is free rendering of |^ ncn''; on i:-i, and one asan. Read CvS-on instead of |^ rxon. The subst. an occurs a number of times in Pr. (2^ 10^ 19I 20'^ 28'^), the sing. adj. here, lo^^ 29!", the sing, dcp i^^ 2^1 ijS. 20 281"- is. — Yor the stem ^iSd cf. the Arab, sense go beyond, and turn over (land for sowing) ; in Heb. Pi. turn over, destroy ; subst. fj^D departure from {going beyond) the right ■way, falsity. — The couplet, found in (§^- ''^- ^^^- 2^*- "'• S>^ Clem. Procop., is lacking in (@^, probably by scribal inadvertence; its sentiment, though of the most general nature, is appropriate, and the style of the Hebrew is natural. — 8. For |^ t"\ F"rank. suggests >^:^n; see note on this v. above. If this emendation be adopted, the two lines of the v. must be held to belong to different couplets. J^ ^lyj; (S aireL\-qv. On this word, and on ST Nni'3, & nhno, see critical note on v.i above. ' 9. Permanent prosperity of the righteous. The light of the righteous 4 shines brightly,' But the lamp of the wicked goes out. Antithetic, ternary. Shines brightly is in the Heb. rejoices, an expression not appropriate in the connection. Statement of the earthly fortunes of good and bad men under the figure of houses, one brightly illuminated (symbol of life, prosperity, joy), the other in darkness (symbol of adversity and death) ; see the full form of the figure in Job 18*'. Light and latnp are synonymous (so in Job 18^), not symbols respectively of divine providence and human sagacity (De., who, inappropriately, refers to 6^). For XIII. 9-IO 267 some general parallels in Talmudic and other writings see Hitz. De. (the references in Malan are scarcely appropriate). — ■ Another emendation (Frank.) is: light rejoices the righteous, which gives a less marked antithesis than the reading here adopted. Grk. : there is light to the righteous ahvays, perhaps a free rendering of our Heb., perhaps based on a different text. The Grk. adds the couplet : Crafty souls go astray in sins, But the righteous pity and are merciful. For the first cl. cf. 2^^ 6^-, and, for second cl., i/^ 37^^; the two clauses have no special connection with each other. The couplet is not improbably a combination of glosses. 10. Pride as source of discord. The Heb. reads : Pride causes only strife, But with those who take counsel is wisdom. Antithetic, ternary-binary. Cf. 11^" 12^ 15^^ 24^. According to this reading/;'/^.? (haughty self-confidence) is set over against the disposition to take counsel, which is the sign of rational self-dis- trust ; and such pride, bringing one into conflict with others, is thus foolish, while the opposite disposition is a mark of wisdom. A distincter antithesis is gained if (with Hitz., after 11^, on which see note) we read : with the humble is wisdom (for which the change required in the Heb. is not great) ; on the other hand, the reading of the text is intelligible, and is perhaps a designed variation of that of 1 1^. The general sense remains the same — those who take counsel (RV., not so accurately, the well-advised') may be described as humble or modest. The proverb is directed against litigiousness and general quarrelsomeness and offensive assertion of one's supposed rights, perhaps, also, against the obsti- nate pride of rival princes, which frequently led to wars. — Grk. (with different text) : a bad man does evil by insolence, but they who judge themselves are wise, in which the antithesis is less clear than in the Hebrew. The couplet should perhaps read : Pride engenders strife, But with the humble is wisdom, humble being taken as = unassuming. 268 PROVERBS 11. Results of legitimate and illegitimate accumulation of wealth. Wealth gathered i in haste > grows small, But he who gradually amasses increases. Antithetic, ternary. The Heb. reads : wealth (got) from nothing- ness (or, vanity), in which vanity is by some* taken as =f7-aud, swindling; but the word means only "a breath, something transi- tory, practically non-existent" (Dt. 32-^ Job 7'^ Eccl. i^), a sense which is here inappropriate (since wealth built up from nothing may be praiseworthy), and does not offer a good contrast with the following gradually. Comparison with 20^^ 28-^ makes it probable that the Grk. and the Lat. are right in reading in haste f ; the expression probably looks to abnormal methods, not accord- ing to the ordinary laws of industry or inheritance (as by son from father), but fraudulent business procedures, extortion, and the like. A man who becomes rich in this way, says the proverb, is likely to lose his wealth ; the reference is probably to reckless expenditure in luxuries, dissipation, speculations and illegal ven- tures, not to divine retribution ; and, on the other hand, legiti- mate industry will be accompanied by caution and thrift. This is obviously the observation of a man who lived in a commercial community. — The rendering wealth dwindles away sooner than a breath (Umbreit, Noyes) is in itself inappropriate (since a breath, here = notlmig, cannot dwindle), and does not stand in contrast with second cl. — The translation by labor (RV.), instead of gradually, is improbable. — The Grk. inserts the explanatory phrases ifiiquitously (in first cl.), righteously (in second cl.), which latter Targ. renders and gives to the poor (see note on 10^). — Grk. adds : The 7'ighteous is merciful and lends, on which see note on v.^. 12. Hope fulfilled and unfulfilled. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life. Antithetic, ternary. Hope and desire are synonyms — each = "the thing desired or hoped for." Fulfilled \^ lit. having come. Instead * Schult, De. Str, f So Vog. Hitz. Ew. Reuss, Bi. Kamp. al. XIII. II-I3 269 of hope deferred we might render extended waiting — the sense would be the same. Heart is not the emotional nature, but the whole inward man ; on tree of Ufe see notes on 3^^ 1 1^". The proverb has no ethical bearing ; it is true without reference to the moral character of desire. The Grk., misimderstanding the scope of the saying, writes good desire. 13. Safety lies in obedience. The Heb. reads: He who despises the word is treated as debtor to it, But he who fears the commandment is rewarded. Antithetic, ternary. Is treated as debtor is lit. has been forced to give a pledge. According to the Jewish law the debtor deposited with the creditor some article as pledge (Ex. 22'*''-^' Am. 2* Job 22^ Pr. 20^" al.) or mortgaged his house or land (Neh. 5^), and the creditor, if the debt were not paid, might take possession of the debtor's property (Mic. 2^), and even, if this did not suffice, of his person, and his wife and children (2 K. 4^ Isa. 50^ Neh. 5^).* So, our text declares, he who offends against the word (that is, the law) is regarded as a debtor to it, and, if he do not meet his obligation, will be punished, while he who feais and obeys will be rewarded (cf. 11^^). The sinner, it is said, exists on sufferance for a time ; at the end of that time he must dis- charge his obligation by obedience, or submit to his fate. This, however, is hardly a natural representation, and a slight change of the Heb. gives the simpler reading : He who despises the word will perish, But he who fears the command will be safe. The term word may mean " law in general " ; possibly it = word of God, with specific reference to the divine law given to Israel. The punishment and reward may come from man or from God. Cf. notes on i^ 3^ 16-°. — Gratz unnecessarily emends to : he who despises strife . . . and he who fears contention ... — Grk. adds the triplet : A crafty son will have no good thing, But the affairs of a wise servant will be prosperous, And his path will be directed aright. * See Nowack, Heb. Arch., pp. 353 flf. 270 PROVERBS This is apparently a scribal addition, taken, perhaps, from some current collection of proverbs (not from Ben-Sira) ; the second and third lines perhaps form a doublet. The thought is in keep- ing with that of our Book of Proverbs, in which, however, the only parallel couplet is i f. — The Lat. adds the couplet given in the Grk. after v.^ 14. Wisdom is life-giving. The teaching of the sage is a fountain of life, Whereby one may avoid the snares of death. Ternary, progressive (second cl. = predicate of first cl.), in form a single sentence, contrary to the norm of this part of the Book ; 14^ is nearly identical. The two hnes give two different figures. The second cl. is lit. : to avoid, etc. On fountain of life see note on lo^^ Teaching (Heb. tora^ = "content of the instruction." Snares of death are snares set by death (as fowler or hunter), or, more probably, snares of which the result is death, as in first cl. the result of the fountain is life. The sage (see 22'' 2\-^ i""* 2^) is the man of experience and wisdom, the teacher (public or private) whose instruction is designed to be a practical guide in everyday affairs. The sages appear to have formed a recognized class at this time, and to have performed the function of Heads of schools or Professors of the philosophy of life. Their teaching related to matters of common-sense prudence, and to the more nearly ideal conception of right and wrong ; it included the observations of practical sagacity, and the prescriptions of a strictly ethical-reli- gious view of life ; see notes on i-"® 10" 13" 14-'' al. In Proverbs the guide of life is not the immediate divine word of the Prophets or the divine rule of the Tora, but human reflection illuminated by divine wisdom — a difference which indicates a new phase of development of Israelitish moral and religious thought. — The Grk. gains a contrast by reading second cl. : but the foolish dies by a snare, an improbable form (cf. 12^'"'). An antithetic form might be expected, but cannot be got by any natural emendation of the Hebrew text. The idea of the proverb, as it stands, is that integ- rity (probably religious integrity) brings long and happy life, as in i' al. XIII. 13-15 271 9. J^ rru'i; S3r rnj; IL laeiificat, reading Pi. (so Frank.), but the order of words does not favor this reading; (§ Sid ■Ko.vTb^, perh. paraphrase of pj, con- trast to the extinguished ol ^ (Jag.), hardly for noiyi is extended {\^d.g.), possibly for nsjS or ^Dn; see Schleusn. who thinks that a word (perh. x^'P^^") has fallen out. One MS. of De R. has n:3S\ Gratz would emend to mi'' (cf. 2 K. 3^2 Isa. 58!" Job 9'^), a more natural reading than that of |^, and here, probably, to be adopted; na'i' is nowhere else used of a light. — For Heb. translations of the couplet added in (§ see Ew. and Bi.; cf. note on this v. above. — 10. pj asyj; Hi. (not improbably) opv, after 11-; (3, freely, eavTCof iiriyvupLoves (see 12-''). — (S >'i for 1^ p-i. It is better to omit f-\ and the 2 of pra as corrupted repeti- tion of preceding li^. — 11. p? '?3n^; (S eTria-rrovda^ofji.^i'Ti, % festinata. .SST follow ®, with modifications. Read (with Ew. Reuss, Lag. Kamp.) 'rnbc. — Vy Ti = " according to the task of the day, gradually " (cf. Levy, NHW., for the late Heb. use) ; T13 would mean " by the labor of one's hand." © adds at end: S/zcatos oiKreipeL Kal Kixpg-. — 12. (3 gives an elaborate paraphrase of *, making of it a full couplet: Kpeiaa-iiiv ivapx^/JLevos [B — fj.^vois'} ^orjOCsv [«•=■» 106. 248. A ai. ^o-qdelv] KapSlq, ToO iwayyeWoixii'ov Kal els eXirlda dyovros, = Setter speedy help than halting promise. Some MSS. of (@ (23. 106. 149 «/.) and S^ here add the line above given at end of v.^', while others (106. 248) omit l^**. As the form of ^ is obviously original, these variations exhibit the liberties and uncertainties of Grk. scribes (see Baum.). — 13. On the Heb. represented by the addition in (5 (found also in S) see Ew., Bi., and, on the texts of (5 and S, Baum. Pinkuss. — Gr. reads 3t for iji, and nsD strife for nisc. Better Frank., who omits i*?, and reads a'?L^'' ((§ vyialvei) for J§ a'7:i'\ — 14. In^ (§ has: 6 5^ &vovs vwb irayidos davetrai, = tT'pDD PDi Sddi (so Baum.; Jag. id) ; but the collocation die + snare is hard. We should perh. expect some such form as p-fs iD\ — S and one Heb. MS. have nojn for ^ D3n. 15. Value of intelligence. The first cl. reads : Fine intelligence (or, good sense) wins favor. The expression (DQ bat') which stands as subject of the clause signifies intellectual /(?;/^/ra//,?;z ox fineness {\ Sam. 25^), or wis- dom in the most general sense {\^ iii^°) (in Pr. 3^ the text must be changed) ; the substantive is the distinctive term in Prov. for sagacity, discretion, prudence (12* i6" 19" 23^, and so Ezr. 8^*). Here the reference is to that fine perception of propriety which makes a man discreet and courteous in his dealing with his fellows, whereby he wins their favor ; the term culture (suggested by De.), understood to include both intellectual and social fine- ness, may convey the idea of the Hebrew. — With this idea the second cl., as it now stands, cannot be brought into clear relation. Lit. it reads : The way (conduct, manner) of the wicked (faithless) 2/2 PROVERBS is permanent (enduring), in which wickedness is not a natural con- trast to intelligence, and the conduct or manner of Hfe of the wicked is described not as bringing disfavor, but as permanent, a term used everywhere else in a laudatory sense, as indicative of strength, but never with ethical significance. It is employed to describe a stream as perennial (Am. 5-^ Dt. 21^ i/^ 74^^), or men (Jer. 5^'' 49^^ so"*^ Job 12''), or their abode (Nu. 24-^), or the foun- dations of the earth (Mic. 6^), as enduring, a bow (Gen. 49'^), as standing fast, sure, the sea as having a permanent place or flow (Ex. 14^), and pain as perpetual (Job 33^^). The renderings hard (AV. Str.), rugged (RV.), unfruitful, desolate (Reuss, Zock.), uncultivated (De.), are unwarranted by etymology or usage. Schultens understands it as = tenacious, inflexible, that is, in a bad sense, but such a sense does not belong to it ; the clause can- not mean : the manner or conduct of bad men is characterized by an immovableness which pays no respect to the claims of others. Grk. Syr. Targ. : are destroyed; Lat. : whirlpool. — The true read- ing is uncertain. The translation of AV. : the way of transgress- ors is hard has been by many readers understood to mean that transgressors have a hard time of it, or, that the modes of proce- dure of bad men are cruel — senses which are foreign to the words. The next verse may perhaps suggest that the original text contained some such expression as " the conduct of fools is hate- ful" (or, "breeds enmity"), or, less probably, "is their destruc- tion" (Grk.), or (Frank.) "is emptiness" (cf BS. 41^"). The two lines appear to belong to different couplets. — After the first cl. the Grk. adds the apparent variant : And to know the law is the part of sound understanding, the first half of which reads like a gloss on the expression wins favor — one, that is, gains the favor of God by a knowledge of the law. But the line is found in the Grk. at the end of 9^" also, where it is more appropriate ; and it was, perhaps, here inserted merely because of the common expression sound understanding i^z=i fine intelligence^. 16. Good sense and its lack shown in conduct. The man of sense shows intelligence in all he does, But the fool makes a display of folly. XIII. 15-17 273 Antithetic, ternary. The Heb. has, in first cl. : Every man of sense acts with knowledge (or, intelligence') ; the transposition (with Syr. Lat.) of the every (= all) gives a better form to the sentence. The adj. sensible (= of sense, 'RN. prudent) is a com- mon term in Prov. for the expression of intellectual sobriety and acuteness ; what is here said is that a man of this sort acts with due regard to circumstances, while the fool spreads out or displays his ignorance and folly like a pedlar who openly spreads his wares before the gaze of all men. Cf. 12"^ 15-. The reference appears to be solely to intellectual qualities. 17. Good and bad messengers. An i incompetent > messenger < plunges one > into misfortune, But a trustworthy envoy insures success. Antithetic, ternary. In first cl. the Heb. has jvickcd and/?//f into ; but it is the business capacity of the messenger, and not his moral character, that is in question (so in 25^^), and the predicate refers (as in second cl.) not to the misfortunes of the messenger, but to the unhappy consequences which his incapacity entails on his em- ployers. The correction requires only the omission of one letter and the change of two vowel-points. The term envoy occurs again in 25^''; in Isa. 18'- Jer. 49" (= Obad.'), and perhaps in Isa. 5 7^,* it means a political or governmental messenger, an a>?i- bassador, but the more general name envoy is preferable as suiting all the passages in which the word occurs. The reference is prob- ably to private as well as public negotiations, and to affairs of every description for the settlement of which an intermediator is required. The terms incompetent, trustworthy, misfortune, heals are of general (not primarily ethical) import. — Insures success, lit. is health, that is, is a source of health, the agency by which a sound, prosperous condition is attained. See 4-^ 6'^ 12'* 14^"' 15* 16''' 29^ Mai. 4^ (3'").t The second cl. states not that the good messenger heals or remedies the mistakes of the bad messenger of first cl., but generally that such an one is helpful. * In Jos. g"* the word sliould be changed so as to agree with v. 12. t On the term in Eccl. lo* (= quiet or conciliatory demeanor) cf. Siegfried (in Nowack) and Wildeboer (in Marti). T 274 PROVERBS 18. Financial success the reward of docility and caution. Poverty and shame will be the lot of him who rejects instruction, But he who regards admonition will be honored. Antithetic, ternary (or, quaternary-ternary). Prudent regard to advice, says the sage, insures success in hfe ; the maxim is a gen- eral one, and leaves room for cases in which, for moral or other reasons, one must go against the counsel of friends. The primary reference is to commercial success. The sha7?ie {disgrace) is that which usually attends poverty, and the honor is that which is given to wealth. The principle involved (caution in decisions) has, of course, a wider scope. Cf. 12^ 15^'". The mstruction and admo- nitioft may be understood (but less probably) to refer to general moral and religious teaching. — The Grk., against the parallelism, inverts the order, rendering : instruction removes (or, averts) pov- erty and dishonor. 19. Two displaced lines, each of which has lost its proper par- allel line : Desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, But it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil. The first cl. is substantially identical with second cl. of 13^^, and the second cl. with second cl. of 29% in each of which couplets there is a distinct antithesis. A connection here between the two lines has been sought * by paraphrasing : " desire fulfilled is pleas- ant, and thus fools cherish their evil desire, and will not abandon it," or (Wild.) : "the desires of good men are granted by God, but fools cannot expect such a blessing " ; but these interpreta- tions are forced, and contrary to the style of Proverbs, in which the connection of thought is simple and obvious; cf. 18^, in which the fool's pleasure is defined, and see notes on 13^^ 29^. — Grk. (followed, with some variations, by Syr. Targ.) has : The desires of the righteous gladden the soul, But the deeds of the unrighteous are far from knowledge; which in part represents a different Heb. text from ours, and seems to be in part a religious interpretation of our first clause. Similar religious interpretations of the first cl. are given by Rashi, * Rashi, Schult. De. Reuss, Str. al. XIII. I8-20 275 Delitzsch, and others, but it obviously contemplates a general non- moral fact of human experience. 20. On choosing associates wisely. Walk with the wise, and thou wilt become wise, But he who associates with fools will smart for it. Antithetic, ternary. In first cl. the Heb. margin (assimilating the construction to that of second cl.) reads : he who walks ... be- comes. Will smart (see ii'^) is lit. will be inade (or, become^ bad ( = will come into evil case) ; there is an implied contrast between this evil, the result o{ folly, and the good or advantage which is derived from wisdom. In the Heb. of second cl. there is an assonance : roe Ifsilim yero'a. The power of association to mould character is referred to in i^" 2^^ 4^* 16^^ 22-*-^ 23^° 28''". The wise may be in general men of good sense, or the reference may be specifically to sages, men who sought and taught wisdom. The verse may be an admonition to attend the schools ; cf. BS. 39*'^ Eccl. 12^". 15. At end of " Bi. adds "iDni (presumably for the metre's sake). — 1§ irriS (on the stem see BDB), apparently an elative form, made (as in South Sem.) by pref. x, sporadic in No. Semitic; (§ ei' dTrwXelq: (and so ,S) ; ST (apparently following both |ij and (@) i^n npi xspn Nmsi; % vorago. Jag. supposes that (5 read din Iheir calamity (i'^'' 24-2 Job 21" a/.), Gr. p3N; neither of these would account for IL vorago. <§ may possibly be free rendering of |^. Frank, inn (see Job 6^^ 12^* BS. 41^"), which is not satisfactory in itself, and secures no good contrast between the clauses. — 16. |§ m'y ay; S3; better (as apparently SiL) y "' Sd; & takes 7 '■> as defining relative clause (Pink.); cf. 16^. Gratz proposes '^du* for |^ S3. — 17. |§ Tn (so Gratz). — ^ bh^; read Hif. Stji (so Reuss, Now. Bi. Gr. Kamp. Frank.); cf. 7^6 igis^ — |^ djcn, plu. of extent and emphasis. — nsid may be pointed as subst. or as Pi. Partcp. ; (3, freely, pvaerai avrbv. — 18. Before 1^ y-\h insert S. — 19. |^ n^nj niNP; @ iwLdvfilai. eiae^Qv (68. 106. a/. Compl. dae^Civ), in which ever, is probably insertion to gain a religious tone, though it may represent a apis (cf. note on 21^'') ; © epya, = m^v (Jag.) for 1^ nayh; dirb yvdiffeojs, = ynr, for |^ >'ic. — 3L ^ui fitgiiait, as if D"iD or ip\ On a reading a;z'-\, for |^ d'^dd, see De' Rossi. — 20. Kethib ^ (followed by (5), two Impvs. in conditional sentence; Qeri (followed by SSTIL) has Partcp. and Impf., as in ''. — pj v^"; (5 yviixrdrjaeTai, = Nif. or Hof. of ];t'; 3L, freely, similis efficietur ; in ^ &'!![■ = |^. 276 PROVERBS 21, 22. Recompense of righteousness and unrighteousness. — Antithetic, ternary. The doctrine of earthly reward according to conduct ; see notes on 3^^^^. 21. Misfortune pursues sinners, But good fortune is the lot of the righteous. 22. The good man leaves wealth to his children's children, But the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the righteous. 21. Misfortune is Ht. evil; good fortune is simply good in the Hebrew. On the tQxm.'s, sinners and righteous see notes on i^-^" 2^. The second cl. is lit. : he (or, ojie) recompenses the righteous ■with good. The he is by some * taken to refer to God (Yahweh), but this is improbable, since such omission of the divine name as subject occurs nowhere else ; others f understand the subject to be the indefinite one, and render the verb as passive {the righteous are recompensed^, a construction possible, but hardly employed except where the connection points naturally to a definite subject; still others would construe good as subject {good rewards the righteous^, taking it as = " the Good One," God (but God is never in OT. called simply "the Good One"), or as = " pros- perity" (but this expression represents the reward, not the re- warder). It is perhaps better, following the Grk., to change the verb into overtakes, and make good (corresponding to evil in first cl.) the subject: good overtakes (= is the lot of) the righteous; for this use of the verb see Isa. 59^ Job 27^". The sense is un- affected by this change of text. The Pass, form of the verb in the Heb. is found in 11^* 13^^ — 22. The term good describes that which is satisfactory of its kind, well adapted to its ends, as food (Gen. 3*''), or land (Ex. 3^) ; used of persons it may mean beautiful (Gen. 24^^ i Sam. 9^), or ki)id (i Sam. 25^^ \p 73'), or morally exemplary ; here, from the parallelism, it is equivalent to righteous, as in 12^ 14^*- '^ The reference is not to successful thrift, or to the kindhearted, liberal man who by dispensing bless- ing is himself blessed (as in ii"^), but to the morally good man whose obedience to law is rewarded with worldly prosperity. The ethical use of the term is frequent in Prov., less frequent in Pss., elsewhere rare. The bequeathal of wealth to descendants was in * Saad. Now. Str. and apparently Schult. f Lat. De. RV. XIII. 21-23 277 Israel (as among ancient peoples generally) a crowning test of prosperity. This blessing is said to come to the righteous, but not to sinners, whose wealth, on the contrary, passes (by natural laws) into the hands of the good. On sinner see notes on Z^' 11=''. 23. The Hebrew yields no satisfactory sense. It reads : The fallow-ground of the poor yields (lit. is) abundance of food, But many a man perishes (or, is swept away) by injustice. The statement of first cl. is opposed to common observation and to the declaration of lo'*, and uses the strange term fallow- ground instead of some general word for " land " ; the second cl. is vague (the ifijustice may belong to the perishing man or to his destroyer), and between the two clauses there is no obvious rela- tion— the productivity of a poor man's land has nothing to do with a man's perishing by injustice. A sufficiently free para- phrase may, indeed, supply the needed connection : " even the xesh land (which requires severe labor, and is presumably of mod- rate productive power) of a (pious or industrious) poor man }elds abundance of food, while many men (relatively rich) by tfeir unjust actions (fail to get nourishment from their land, and inthe end) are destroyed." * But these insertions overpass the lirits of allowable interpretation. There is nothing to indicate the the poor man of first cl. is diligent or righteous — this cannot be roperly inferred (by contrast) from the injustice of second cl. ; noris the poor man, as such, ever commended in Prov. (not in i9"^^nd not in 3^^) ; moreover, a man supplied abundantly with foodis hardly to be called poor (cf. v.-^).^ — The Anc. Vrss. vary consierably from the Heb., and from one another. Grk. : the righte^s shall pass majiy years in wealth, but the unrighteous shall \ speedily destroyed ; and that there were variations in the Greefeersions is shown by the rendering of the Hexaplar Syriac, which ; based on the Greek text of Origen : the great enjoy wealth \any years, but some men perish little by little; Pesh. Syr. : those w\ have no habitation (or, means of subsistence) [that is, the "^ooX waste wealth many years, and some waste {it) [or, per- * So substantially Ew. De. Reuss, Now. Str. 2/8 PROVERBS haps, by emendation, perish'] completely; Targ. : the great man devours the land of the poor, and some men are taken away {= die) unjustly (or, without judgment) ; Lat. : there is much food in the fresh land of the fathers (= chiefs, heads of famihes), a7id (or, but) for others it is collected without judgment. The medieval Jewish commentators are equally at a loss in translating the verse. Saad. : food (that is, the manner of one's eating) is often a sign of poverty, and many men are carried off without judgment (that is, without knowing the judgment of God, or with- out dying a natural death) ; Rashi allegorizes. — Frankenberg emends : The fallow-ground of the wicked yields abundance of food, And wealth gathered by injustice. But such a general affirmation is not found elsewhere in Pr., the translation wealth collected is not probable, and the difficulty of the fallow-groimd remains. — The Hebrew text appears to be corrupt beyond emendation. 24. The rod for children. He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him chastises him. Antithetic, quaternary-ternary (or, ternary). Spares = withhcJs, fails to use (it does not mean "uses slightly") ; see lo^^ ii*'* 7^^ 21^*^ 24" Gen. 22^'' \\i iqI"'!*' Job 7". Chastises is lit. seeks 'jith chastisement, = deals (with him) by chastisement ; the verbioes not contain the idea of " early, betimes, diligently " (De. KYjl.) ; see notes on i*^ 7^^ 8^" ii"^ The proverb simply commends bodily chastisement as a means of training ; details are lefto the judgment of parents; on chastisement see notes on i-^ dmilar sayings are 22^^ 23^^ 29^^; the regulation of Dt. 21^*"^^ (iliction of death on a disobedient son) seems, in the later pc-exilian period, to have fallen into desuetude.* * On methods of corporal punishment of children among the reeks and Romans see Becker, Char ides, Exc. to Sc. I, and Gallus, Exc. II Sc. I, and A. Zimmern, The Home Life of the Ancient Greeks (transl. from the^erm. of H. Bliimner), p. 98; for Chinese and other apophthegms relating tc's point see Malan. XIII. 23-25 279 25. Relation of righteousness to supply of bodily wants. The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, But the wicked suffers lack of food. Antithetic, ternary. Lit. ; the righteous eats ( = has food enough) to the satisfying of his appetite, but the belly of the wicked lacks. On appetite (= animal life or soul) see notes on 6^° i^*. Belly is the middle part of the body, rarely the outer surface (Job 40^® Cant. 7^^^^), usually the interior, including the womb (Gen. 25^ al.) and the cavity containing the bowels, regarded as the seat of general feeling (Job 20"°) or as the receptacle of food (here and 18^, on which see note) ; it thus comes to stand for the man's being or personality {\\i 17"), or the combination j-^z// and belly expresses the whole being {^ 31^*'"'). The reference in the prov- erb is to the satisfaction of all bodily needs, food standing for all the physical necessaries of life — not to the satisfaction of spiritual needs, of which there is no suggestion in the words; the inward life of spiritual experience is alluded to in Prov. always under the general terms wisdom, fear of Yahweh, and the like. On bodily compensation in this life see notes on i'^--^ 2-^", etc. — The dis- tinctness of the phraseology of this verse brings out in sharp relief the indistinctness of v.-^ 21. ?^ 3b aSc'i; <5 KaraXriiiij/eTai dyadd; read 2'J Jty (Ew. Kamp.) ; Bi. aStr^; Grjitz aSB*^ apis njpi; Lag. suggests that the word was written 'W', out of which (5 made jit'i; Jag. regards aj::''' as the word read by (S, miswriting of a'^,:'\ — 22. To understand m.T' as subj. of '■•nr is unnatural and unnecessary. Before TJ Bi. inserts Z's, but cf. 12'^. — %, {u\\y,Ji/ios et nepotes. — 23. (5 may be based on |^ : b'iKa.101. (Jag. a-ir-, for J§ ai'.si) irotrjaovcnv (perh. Aram. f2]} pass time, for ^ ^dn) iv wXovrqi (||J ij la)id, taken as = iveaWi) erri woWd (= J^ 3"i), &81K01. S^ (free rendering of ^ Z'^\ to bring out contrast with SiKaioL) aTroXovvrai ( = p? nsDj) ffwrdfiu^ (perh. free rendering of |^ nS^ t33!rc, possibly = BS*nB, omitting nS^). ^ = (@, except that in * it has periph- rasis for poor instead of righteous, and renders ^ Vox by naiN, and in ^ also has nais, which, however, may be scribal error for nax (Pink.). The Vrss. appear thus to support the text of |^, but furnish no suggestions for its emendation. — Frank, reads ay^^'i for f§ ai'Ni, and takes r; as = wealth ; this latter is here hard, and the resulting couplet is unsatisfactory. On tr^ see BDB. — 24. 1^ iDp i-inr, 'Z' with two objects, as aip, 2 K. 19^2. the suff. refers to the son, not (Ew. al.') to '?:. — © eTrt/xeXcDs TratSei^et, probably not reading no^o (Pink.), but taking "y as = seek carefully, and rendering the phrase according to Grk. idiom (as RV. according to Eng. idiom). This 280 PROVERBS incorrect rendering of in'i' is found in S (which = (@, except that it expresses the suff.) © (aipD) IL (insianter) and an anonymous Grk. Vrs. {opdpL^u, in Field), and is obviously due to a supposed derivation of this stem from -\n;:' dawn (so Saad. Rashi). — Gratz suggests noiD n-jnao corrects him in {his) youth, but the change is unnecessary. — 25. pj p3; (5 fvxal, perh. by assimilation to ^ '2 being usually rendered in P i8'-"(2i) (=28. 2221) the corresponding noun is em- ployed to describe the hands, but as a figure of moral purity. XIV. 3-6 283 where there are no oxen the crib is clean. A slight change of text gives for the first hne the rendering : Where there are no oxen there is no corn. In the second line we should expect : " many oxen, much prod- uce," a statement that may be got from the present text, since the strength ( — working power) of oxen is in proportion to their number ; the precise statement is that the crops depend on the ox, the animal used in ploughing. — The couplet states a fact of agricultural economy : a wise farmer will see to it that his oxen are numerous and in good condition. Care of animals is implied, but not for their sake. The duty of kindness to working animals is enjoined in 12^° Dt. 25'*. 5. True and false testimony. A trustworthy witness does not lie, But a false witness utters lies. Antithetic, ternary. The thought is identical with that of 12^'', on which see note ; the man makes public affirmation of truth or falsehood. The proverb is aimed at the crime of false testifying in a court of law. Cf 6^^ 14^^ 19*. 6. Wisdom comes only to the serious. The scoffer seeks wisdom and finds it not, But to the man of understanding knowledge is easy. Antithetic, quaternary-ternary. Wisdom = knowledge, acquaint- ance with right principles and methods, here especially in things moral and religious. The term scoffer, as used in Prov., while it is often a synonym of wicked, ungodly, always contains the ele- ment of lack of moral seriousness, and generally, also, that of posi- tive opposition to truth ; it here stands in contrast with the man of tinderstanding, that is, intellectual sobriety and insight, based on moral earnestness. The scoffer's desire for wisdom is not explained ; the sage means, we may surmise, that he valued it because it gave social power and excited admiration — he did not love it for its own sake, had no real sympathy with it, and there- fore no receptivity for it (cf. 2 Tim. 3" : "ever learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth "). These two classes. 284 PROVERBS here as elsewhere in Prov., are assumed as facts — no attempt is made to analyze the characters, to trace their origin, or to suggest methods of training, whereby the one may be strengthened and the other transformed. 7. Text and meaning are uncertain. The Hebrew text more naturally reads : If thou go from the presence of a foolish man, Thou hast not known lips of knowledge. The first cl. has the Imperative go, = if thou go. If it be taken as a command proper, the second cl. must be understood as giving the ground of the exhortation : go from . . . for thou hast not ob- served {in him), etc., but this the Heb. does not warrant. The same is true of Saadia's rendering : go from . . . else wilt thou not know. Some (Schult. Ew. RV.) translate: go into the pres- ence of, which is allowable, but less probable (it does not, how- ever, change the general sense). As the couplet stands, the meaning is that a fool has no knowledge, and that from inter- course with him one gains nothing. This is an intelligible state- ment, but the form is strange, and the phraseology of second cl. is not natural — the expression knotv lips occurs nowhere else, and we expect the explanatory phrase in him (inserted by RV.). — The Anc. Vrss. give various turns to the couplet. Grk. (with several variations from the Heb. text) : All things are adverse to a foolish man, but wise lips are weapons of discretion, an unsatis- factory form, followed by Syr. and (with a slight modification) by Bickell ; Targ. : Withdraw into another path from the presence of a fool, for there is no knowledge in his lips, a simple and natural sentence, probably a free translation of our Hebrew ; Lat. : Go into the presence of a foolish inaii, and he knows not lips of pru- dence, in which the verb knows (3 pers. instead of 2 pers.) may be the erroneous transcription of a Latin scribe. — These readings show that there was difficulty in the Hebrew text, but it is not easy to suggest a satisfactory emendation. The second cl. might be conformed to 20^' : wise lips are a precious adornment, but this stands in no relation to the first clause, the form of which in the Grk. is not probable ; after 26^ we might read in first cl. : there is no honor to a fool, but this has no support from Versions. XIV. 6-8 285 The simplest emendation, perhaps, would be : go from the pres- ence of a fool, for his lips do not titter knowledge ; cf. 15". 8. Conduct must be carefully considered. — The couplet reads in our Heb. text : The wisdom of a man of sense consists in understanding (or, considering) his way, The folly of fools is deceit. Free or loose antithesis, quaternary-ternary (or, ternary). The first cl. gives the gist of the practical philosophy of the sages : a man of good sense shows his wisdom not by fine words and the- ories or by boldness and display, but in the capacity to consider his actions, comprehend their real import, and choose that course of conduct which is best adapted to secure happiness. The wis- dom referred to is practical sagacity ; there is no mention of moral or religious elements, though the second cl. may perhaps suggest that these are involved. The second cl. does not offer an explicit contrast to the first. We expect the statement that the fool shows his folly by the absence of reflection and insight in the direction of his affairs, instead of which it is deceit that marks him — that is, craft, deception practised on others ; such is the mean- ing of the term in Prov. (see 11^ ^^^^.m-i^a ^^j, ^^^ 26-*) and throughout OT. The contrast would be obvious if we could take the word in the sense of "self-deception" (so Berth. Ew. Zock.), but the usage seems not to allow this. We may suppose that the sage chooses to pass over the obvious mental incapacity of the fool, to characterize him by his moral procedure, and to stigma- tize or ridicule this as folly — folly, he may say, is best shown in craft and fraud ; or, reversing subject and predicate, we may un- derstand the line to say that deceit is essentially folly. Taking a suggestion from the Grk., the line may be read : The folly of fools leads them astray, which furnishes a direct and natural antithesis, and should per- haps be adopted. It is possible that the two lines did not origi- nally stand together in one couplet. XIV. 1. 1^ nbDn, fern. plu. const, of Don, is improbable because of the sing, vb. nnj3 and the abstr, sing, nVix in i*; read nc^n, as in 9^, on which see note. 286 PROVERBS crj is best omitted as gloss to adj. ncDn. If a reference to wise and foolish women were intended, we should rather expect nc^n riE'N (or ncDn rti'N) and nSiN. — pj '^T^ though logically unnecessary does not mar the rhythm (Bi.). On the Vrss. see note on this v. above. — 2. The suff . in nc''' may be retained, as in 1^ 28** (on which see note), but is better omitted, as in |§ lo^. On n'? see note on 2^^. (3 renders the vb. in '' by the passive, against the parallelism; iL further makes one sentence of the couplet : ambiilans recto itinere et timens Deum despicitur ab eo qui in/ami graditur via. — 3. TJn occurs elsewhere only Isa. ii^, where it = shoot, stem, or branch; the Heb. word may have had the meaning (which the word has in Aram.) rod, though that is probably not the sense here, and there is no need to regard our word as Aramaic. The sense pride (Barth., Etyinol. Stud.), though it may have some support from Arab, (laxn = 'walking with a proud gait) is not favored by Aram, or by the connection here; cf. BDB. — 1§ amCw'n is probably scribal error for anDiiT, so (5 eL\r)(Tov exists, for the upright, without OB'S*. — 3C read Y^\ but renders it by I'^nr, taking the stem in the sense speak in parables. — Lag. changes (§ Kadapicr/jLov to Kadv^piaixbv, and gives as Heb. text of (5 : nii'j ni"''?D SmvV. See Baum. — S has two forms of the couplet, one = (§, the other nearer to |^; the second reads: fools commit (i3>') sin, but the sons ('J3 for ||J p3) etc.; for i"'^'' it had, perhaps, some form of '^^>" (hardly a form of y^'f). Gratz, )'["'; Frank. DC\s ■^^ 'ik j^i. but the '^^ is hardly apno- 292 PROVERBS site. — 10. 1^ T; (S i^jSp") = ?'i.!) adopted by Frank.; see note on this v. above. The suff. in innDtr might then be omitted. — 11. |^ niD''; (g ffri]- (Tovrai; Gr. suggests niT" have free space. — '^nx, in Heb. tent; thence, in Arab., fa?nily, people; of. Ass. alu, = city. — 12. f§ idti; probably to be read, with ®, sing. — 13. For |§ a"? 2iO'' Gr. proposes yS 3N3\ — |ij nmnN nnn^r; the n is probably not anticipatory suffix (though it may have been added by an Aramaic-speaking scribe, see 13*), and is not to be prefixed, as art., to following word (which would be against the usage of Pr.), but is better deleted as scribal inadvertence. — Before verb of " (5 inserts the neg., which may be the slip of a scribe (Lag.), or may come from v.^", or from an altered Heb. text. S attaches suff. to 7\r\-oz'. — 14. |^ iVj'p; read i'j''?>'Dp (De. Str. Kamp.). On (§ StavoTj/idTwi/ (hardly = Ti'?'?yi:, possibly v'?;', taken as = what is in hint) see Capp. Crit. 4, 17. 6, Buxt. Anticrit. 579, Jag. Lag. Baum.; on % cf. Pinkuss. For the combination of tit and '?V;'C see Ju. 2^^ Hos. 4^ Jer. 4^^ l^^io ^2^^ Ez. 3621 Zech. I*-^ al. — 15. |i? Tid; (H &KaKos, ignorant of evil, simpleminded in good sense; and, on other hand, (§ iravovpyos takes D"iy in bad sense. In (§'', Travovp-yos 8k epxerai eU ixerdvoiav, it is not clear what Heb. is represented by eh /uer.; Jag. IDU'n'?; Schl., = |^; Held., 7\2Z'V>?. Si® take ^ ^-\^'ii as from -\Vi>. good fortune ; IL gressus is preferable. — IL adds the couplet given in (5 13°. — 16. |^ la^inD is read by (g (followed by ^SCi Frank.) as aijjnn (Capp. Crit., 4, 7. 3), dud/xo: being addition of translator; 17, 18. Good sense versus irascibility and stupidity. 17. A quick-tempered man acts foolishly. But a wise man i endures.' 18. Simpletons come into possession of folly, But men of sense ^ acquire ' knowledge. 17. Antithetic, ternary. In second cl. the Heb. has : and a schemer (or, a inan of wicked devices) is hated. According to this reading the proverb compares two bad dispositions by their outcome and by the impression they make on men. The quick- tempered man (he who is easily angered, RV. soon angry) often acts foohshly, and thus loses the respect of his fellows ; the ma- licious plotter, on the other hand, is hated. But a better contrast is obtained if (by the omission of one Heb. letter) we read (with the Grk.) a man of thottght endures, bears much without getting angry. The verb bear, endure is used absolutely in Isa. i'* 46'* Jer. 44-2 (and cf. Pr. 19'^). In the subj. of second cl. the term thought (or, schemes, plans) may be understood in a good sense (hence wise man), or in a bad sense (hence ivicked plotter) ; see XIV. I7-20 293 note on the word in i* ; it is understood by all Anc. Vrss. except Lat. in tlie good sense. The antithesis is chiastic : angry is con- trasted with endures, and foolish with wise. — 18. Antithetic, ter- nary. Simpleton, as in v.'\ In first cl. the verb should not be rendered by inherit (RV,), which may suggest the incorrect inter- pretation that the silly, unformed man falls heir to folly without effort, while the man of reflection or good sense acquires knowl- edge only by exertion ; the proverb affirms merely that a thought- less person is ignorant and foolish, while a man who understands the needs of life gains knowledge. — The translation in second cl. are crotvned with knowledge, or, wear knowledge as a crown,* while it gives the same general sense as that of the emendation here adopted, is lexicographically doubtful. 19. Triumph of goodness. The bad bow liefore the good, And the wicked at the gates of the righteous. Identical parallehsm, ternary. In second cl. we may supply some such verb as stand suppliant. The adjectives are all to be under- stood in the ethical sense. The form of expression is taken from Oriental custom : the inferior prostrates himself before the supe- rior, or waits humbly at the great man's gate to implore his favor. The doctrine (based on belief in the immediate intervention of God) that moral goodness must in this life triumph externally over wickedness was held by Jewish philosophy till it accepted the broader doctrine of ethical immortality (VVisd. Sol. 2-5). 20, 21. Evils and claims of poverty. — Antithetic, ternary. 20. The poor man is hated even by his neighbor, But the rich has many friends. 21. He who despises his neighbor sins, But he who has pity on the poor, happy is he, 20. Neighbor is any one who stands in close social relations, from whom, therefore, sympathy may be expected (Lu. lo'^''). Hated is probably to be taken literally, = " detested " as a troublesome and obstructive person ; possibly, however, = " relatively disre- * Theod. Targ. Saad. Rashi, Luth. RV. Schult. De Wette, Noyes, Reuss, De. Kamp. Frank, at. 294 PROVERBS garded " (cf. Lu. 14^''' with Mt. 10'''). The second cl, is Ut. : the lovers of the rich are uiany. The proverb states, without com- ment, a universal social fact. — 21. Neighbor, as in the preceding verse, only he is here a person to whom sympathy is due, and it is assumed that he is poor; despise (= contemptuously neglect and repel) is substantially hate. The first cl., thus, passes judg- ment on the coldhearted " neighbor " of v,-", declaring that he sins against the law of God (see notes on i^" 8^®). The parallel- ism of the two proverbs points to the rendering poor (RV.) in second cl. (= physically poor), though the Heb. word may also mean afflicted, sufferiftg in a general sense (De. Kamp. al.). — As he who despises the poor sins against God, so he who is kind to him is happy (not in the consciousness of well-doing, but) in the favor of God, who will reward such beneficence. Here we see the starting-point for the later view (Dan. 4^*'^'') that almsgiving has expiatory efficacy, and for the use of righteousness as = alms- giving (Mt. 6'). 17. |§ TDTD C'N is taken in good sense by the Vrss., except 03L. — 1§ i^ya^; (5 vTro(p4pei; read NU'i; Hi. ]i is quiet ; Ew., against the usage, NVi" (= nir^) hears himself quietly, endures (he refers to ■^ 131^). IL = |^. On ^ (= (5) see Pink. ® paraphrases |^, only taking 'o in good sense, and Nr-" as Qal, making subj. in "• the same as in ^. — 18. For |§ tipd^ neither the Heb. meaning surround (as = get possession of, cf. Ez. ai^^) nor the Aram, wait for (Job 36^) is here appropriate. The denom. sense, from 1.^3 crown (favored by a large number of authorities, ancient and modern) is more appropriate; but this use, which occurs nowhere else, is of doubtful correct- ness, nor does it furnish an exact or specially apt antithesis to the i^nj of *. The term for crown in Pr. (4^ 12* 142* 16^^ 176) is ma;?; the noun ^n^ may be Heb. (cf. mnb a capital, i K. 7^8, and Ass. kudur, a sort of cap or head- covering [De. Ass. Wbch.y), but, as it occurs only in Esth., and as, according to Suidas, Kldapis was said to be a Persian term for royal or priestly crown, it may be Persian. The Pers. word may, however, come from the Babylonian. KldapLS (= drapK), it seems, meant also a felt hat, a sense which Bab. kudur might well have. Cf Lag. Gesa>n}?t. Abhandl. 207. De. compares post-Bibl. T'j:: giver of crowns, and nyin inD crown of knowledge. Bi. ns^ buy, which is not decidedly apposite; Gr. y\^^?\-' glory (as he and Cheyne read in ^ 142^), also unsatisfactory. The connection calls for the sense acquire, but the reading is uncertain; we should, perhaps, emend to rc'-iii or Vi*ni% or to iinx", which (@ KpaTTjo-ova-LV may represent. — 19. The Anc. Vrss., except IL, supply a verb in *>: (S d€paireij in the mind of fools. XIV. 26-31 299 29. Antithetic, ternary. Wisdom is, more exactly, good sense'; the irascible man is characterized as a fool on general principles of personal and social well-being. In second line the verb of our Heb. text is lit. lifts up, exalts, which (if the text be retained) is best understood * as = increases ( = is full of, brings to a high pitch), orf as = proclaims aloud; in any case the sense is that hasty temper is a sign of lack of sense ; the renderings : takes folly up (as it lies before his feet)} and carries folly atoay (receives it as his portion in life),§ while they give the same general mean- ing, are not favored by the parallelism. The text should probably be changed so as to read increases. — 30. Antithetic, quaternary- ternary. Tranquil mind is lit. heart of healing, = a mind or na- ture which soothes its possessor ; its opposite is an excitable, passionate disposition which keeps the man in turmoil, which is to the soul as caries to the bones. Body (f\\.. flesh) and bodies stand for the man's whole being (as often elsewhere), and are not to be understood (De.) as referring to the close relation between body and mind ; this physiologico-psychological observation is not found in OT. The xtwA&xnxg passion (for the word which often means emy, jealousy, indignation) is suggested by the connection (the term expresses the opposite of tranquillity) ; for a similar sense of. Ez. 5^^ Isa. 42^^ Cant. 8". Jealousy (if this translation be adopted) will express the pain one feels at the success of others ; but we should then expect in the first cl. the opposite feeling (sympathy, well-wishing). — 31. Chiastic antithesis, ternary. The his may refer to the subject he, or to the poor ; in the former case, the insult to God consists in the violation of his command to be good to the poor, in the latter case the consideration is that neglect of the creature is offence to the Creator. In either case the familiar duty is based on religious grounds, but in the latter case (as De. remarks) there is the implied recognition of a common humanity — the needy man is not merely an object of passing sympathy, he is respected as a creation of the divine wisdom. A similar idea is found in Mai. 2'", and an exact parallel in Job 31^^; in the well- known hymn of Clean thes all men are said to be sons of God. Here a practical turn is given to the conception. Cf. 17^ 19'^ * So Grk. Targ. Syr. Fleisch. Kamp. X Ew. t With Schult. Reuss. ^ Raslii, Ue. Str. 300 PROVERBS BS 4^-® (in which a special prudential motive is introduced). Maker ii a divine name of the late reflective literature (Isa. 51^^ 54'^ Job 4" 35^° 1/' 95'') ; Hos. 8^* Isa. \f, in which also the word occurs, are probably late editorial insertions. — 32. Antithetic, ternary. In the reading given above (which follows the Grk.) the contrast is the common one between the results of righteous- ness and wickedness, the second cl. affirming that a good man, on account of his integrity, has ground to expect the protection of God. This does not involve self-righteousness (De.), but is sim- ply the general teaching of Prov. as to the reward of the righteous. — As the text stands, it must be rendered : The wicked is overthrown by his calamity, But the righteous has hope (even) in his death, in which the contrast is between the absoluteness of the fall of a wicked man, and the confidence or trust which the good man has even in the greatest of calamities. One objection to this render- ing is that the term hope (or, tries f, confidence^ is nowhere else used absolutely, but always with the addition of the object or ground of hope (30^ Isa. 30- i/^ 118* «/.). But the chief difficulty lies in the necessity of defining Jiope in accordance with the usage of Proverbs. The book does not recognize a joyful immortality, but everywhere retains the old idea of Sheol, and regards death as a misfortune. What hope could the righteous have for the here- after? Delitzsch suggests that, though there was then no revela- tion of true immortahty, yet the pious trusted God, and fell asleep, believing that they were going home to him ; this, however, is but another way of saying that they had the hope of immortal life. We must either suppose that Prov. here announces a doctrine which is ignored in the rest of the book, or we must recognize an erroneous reading in the Hebrew text. A slight change gives the reading of the Grk. — 33. Antithetic, ternary. Lit. : In the heart (= mind) of the intelligent man wisdom reposes (or, is at rest), but in the mind (or, inward part) of fools it makes itself known (or, is made known). Since the meaning cannot be that true wisdom is possessed by fools, the it (= wisdom) of second cl. must be understood (according to the present text) in a sarcastic or ironical or humorous sense, and known must express a contrast XIV. 31-34 30I to reposes, so that we may paraphrase : " a man of sense, not being ambitious to gain applause, keeps his wisdom to himself (reserving it for fit occasion), while a fool, anxious to shine, or ignorant of propriety, airs what he thinks his wisdom at every opportunity." But this paraphrase contains too much explanation, and the employment of wisdom in a sarcastic sense is unexampled and improbable ; moreover the expression // makes itself known in the mifid of fools is strange and hard. Cf. 12^^, where a sentiment of this sort is clearly expressed. The Grk. (followed by Syr.) inserts the negative, and says that it is not known in fools, while the Targ. reads : folly is known (or, makes itself know?t) ; these emendations offer an intelligible statement, but they leave the strange term known, which yields no satisfactory sense. The Lat. gives the bold interpretation : it will teach fools also (cf S''), which, however, the Heb. cannot mean. The rendering : (^that which is) in the inward part of fools is made known (Schult. RV.) is syn- tactically highly improbable, if not impossible. The present text seems impracticable ; the change of is knoivn to folly (not a vio- lent one in the Hebrew) gives a syntactically natural sentence, with a sense substantially that of 13^*^ 14** 15^" (and cf. Eccl. 7^) : practical wisdom is the permanent possession of men who have a true perception of the relations of life, while folly in conduct (n'^ix) characterizes those who are intellectually dull (^DS). The distinction between perception and conduct is made elsewhere in Prov. (10-^ 14^ a/.). 34, 35. Relation of nations and kings to integrity and intelligence. 34. Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is the disgrace of peoples. 35. The king's favor is bestowed on a servant who acts intelligently, His anger rests on one who conducts affairs badly. 34. Antithetic, ternary. Righteotcsness here = general moral integrity, its opposite is sin ; exalts = gives prosperity and power ; disgrace = that which produces contempt, namely, on account of lack of national vigor and power. The sentiment is substantially that of the prophets, that national prosperity accompanies obedi- ence to divine law — only, there is here no reference to the specific Israelitish Law, and the relation between integrity and success is 302 PROVERBS conceived under the general laws of social life. It is not clear whether there is reference to the nation as a political unit, whether, that is, we have here a principle of international ethics ; but, as such a principle is nowhere else stated in OT., the reference is probably intranational. The recognition of the necessity of in- tegrity in the Hfe of the people is distinct and noteworthy ; the motive, as elsewhere in Prov., is utilitarian : morality is commer- cially and socially profitable. — 35. Antithetic, ternary. In first cl. the predicate is who acts cleverly, skilfully, that is, in adminis- trative affairs ; the contrasted predicate is who acts badly, that is, is incompetent. Servant = any subordinate, here an official person. The verse may be rendered : A clever servant has the king's favor, An incompetent one his displeasure. 22. J^ NiSn is not expressed in any Anc. Vrs. {^ s'Siy the godless, and so 2C), but is good in sense and rhythm. For |^ i;;ni Hi. proposes i>*i", and for "i 'n Gr. suggests I3;;ni ^'Cf; neither of these emendations is a distinct improvement of |§. Before lann in ^ insert S (cf. 13I8 16^); so (§. — On the double rendering in (@S see Lag. Baum. Pink. Lag. regards the second form in (5 as original, but this is not clear. — 23. (5 appears not to give a double translation of |§* (Lag.), but to render |§ d\'^d-' "13-1 freely by T)hm /cat dj'dX7i;ros. On S (which follows (§, but also gives "^ paraphrastically) cf. Pink. — 24. ^^ ma'j'; (§ 7rawOp7os; read a:D^v or ancn;". — "^ r'rivS (first occurrence), rendered freely by (5 dtaTpi^iri; read pm'^ (i^ 48). The second 'n is better written anSiN. — pj n::^n; read, with Hi., ^,'3^D destroys. — 26. ^ nini dnio; read "> Nn'''?, to gain an antecedent for the suffix in following im3. — 27. |^ nNi>; (S irpda-rayfia, = mh, as in 13^* (Jag. Baum.). — 28. pj f?i, only here; else- where (815 21* Ju. 53 Hab. i^" Isa. 40^^ ip 2^) yn; the stem (see the Arab.) = heavy, weighty, powerful; (S 5vvd knowledge, The mouth of fools utters folly. Antithetic, quaternary (or, ternary). Dispenses is lit. drops (5^ Job 29=^ Am. 7^*^ Ez. 20**^ [21-] al.), for which the Heb. has makes good, that is, does or treats in a good, excellent way, RV, uttereth aright; this does not give so exact a contrast to utters as the read- ing here adopted, which 'is obtained by a slight change in one Heb. letter. The reference is to all wisdom and folly, religious and other. Cf. lo^^^^'^^ X2^^ 14^ 3. God's criticism of life. The eyes of Yahweh are in every place, Keeping watch on wicked and good. Continuous, ternary. The Participle in second cl. is used of the watchman of a city (2 K. 9^^ Isa. 52^), of the prophet as moral and religious critic (Ez. ■^'), of the wife as guardian of the house- hold (31-0, and the verb of God as observer of men («/^ 66^. This universal divine criticism is adduced as a warning against wrong-doing (De.) : Yahweh will punish the bad and reward the good — nothing escapes his eye. Possibly also (Frank.) the couplet is aimed at the philosophical theory that God looks with indifference on human actions (Epicureanism). 4. Gentle speech. A soothing tongue is a tree of life, But violent words wound the soul. 304 PROVERBS Antithetic, ternary. Soothing tongue is lit. the healing of the tongue, that is, its utterance which has power to heal or soothe the feelings of others, becoming thus to them a source of enjoy- able life ; the two terms of the Heb. expression should perhaps be inverted, so as to read a tongue of healing (such is the order in 14^°, a heart of healifig). RV. wholesome tongue ; De. gentle- ness of tongue. On tree of life see note on 3^^^. — The Heb. of second cl. reads lit. : hit violence (RV. perverseness) therein (that is, in the tongue) is a breaking of the spirit, a crushing or wound- ing of the man to whom or of whom such words are spoken ; spirit = inner being or personality ; for the expression see Isa. 65" (RV. vexation of spirit). — Violent is that which passes beyond the line of right, the immoderate, extravagant, or false ; see note on 11^, and, for the corresponding verb, notes on 13*"' 19^ 21^^ 22^-. The parallelism here favors the sense immoderate (so the Lat.) or violent, which gives a contrast like that in v.^ — The second cl. is misunderstood by all the Anc. Vrss. except the Latin. 5. Docility a mark of wisdom. A fool despises his father's instruction, But he who regards reproof acts wisely. Antithetic, quaternary-ternary (or, ternary). Cf. 13^ 15"". Acts wisely = is wise, that is, shows his good sense in accepting re- proof. The first cl. assumes that parental instruction is the basis of moral life, but the characterization of the fool as a despiser holds good, in Prov., in respect to all instruction (10* 12^ al.). 6. Financial reward of righteousness. In the house of the righteous are great stores, But the revenues of the wicked are < cut off.> Antithetic, ternary. Cf. 10- 11* 15^. Physical prosperity is rep- resented as the reward of virtue. The Heb. reads lit. : the house of the righteous is a great store (or, treasure) , but in the revenue (or, produce) of the wicked is a thing troubled (that is, brought into misfortune, calamity, or embarrassment, see Ju. 11^ i Sam. 14^ I K. 18^^) ; cf. 11^'- -3. This last expression is not here ap- propriate; calamity (RV. trouble) would be logically correct, though the Heb. does not admit of this translation ; the antithesis XV. 4-7 305 favors the reading (found in one Greek text) destroyed, cut off; the prep, in should be removed from second cl., and inserted (as in RV.) in first clause. The form of expression of the couplet is drawn from agricultural life; the term reveime occurs in 3"" 8'^ io^« 14^ 16^ 18-" Ex. 23^" Jos. 5^2^/.— The Grk. has two render- ings of the couplet, one differing slightly from the Heb., the other conformed to it ; the former is probably the older, the latter a revision. 7. Sages, not fools, seek knowledge. The lips of the wise < preserve > knowledge, But the mind of fools is without < intelligence.' Antithetic, quaternary-ternary. The proverb contrasts the wise man's devotion to knowledge with the intellectual dulness of the opposite class. Wise and foolish denote tempers or constitutions of mind ; knowledge is the product or the accumulated treasure of wisdom. Lips and mind {hearty are substantially synonyms ; the Hps speak what the mind thinks ; so in v.-*^, and cf. v.". Here, as elsewhere in Pr., stress is laid on utterance and teaching. — In the first line the verb in the Heb. is scatter, a word elsewhere used of destructive dispersion (20'^-'^ Ez. 5^° \\i 106-^ al.^ ; the ap- propriate term pj-esej've is obtained by the change of one letter. The last expression of second cl. reads in the Heb. is not so, or, is not upright (or, honest, or, steadfast, or, trustworthy). The first of these renderings is rhetorically lame and improbable, and is hardly bettered by RV. doeth not so ; the verb scatter, retained by RV., suits lips, but not mind, though this difficulty disappears if we xt-SL^ preserve. The second rendering supphes no good con- trast to first cl. ; the point is not the fool's lack of uprightness, but his inability to appreciate knowledge. The contrast is gained by a slight change in the Heb. text, whereby we have the sense does not understand ; for similar expressions see 18^ 23'^ 28^ 29^ The fool, whose point of view puts him out of sympathy with the right, has no real comprehension of hfe. 8, 9. Two abominations of the Lord. — Antithetic, quaternary- ternary. 8. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh, But the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him. X 306 PROVERBS 9. Abomination to Yahweh is the life of the wicked, But him who practises righteousness he loves. 8. This is one of the few places in Prov. in which the sacrificial ritual is mentioned (see 7" 17^ 21^-^^), and here, as in 21^-', it is introduced in a connection which calls for disapprobation. Sacri- fice without righteousness, say the sages and the prophets, is ab- horrent to God ; sacrifice with righteousness is not mentioned in Prov., perhaps because it was obviously proper, and called for no remark. The sages recognize the ritual as a legitimate and bind- ing form of worship, but they lay no stress on it — they never enjoin obedience to its requirements. — The contrast q{ sacrifice and prayer appears to be doubly significant : it intimates that the former is an outward service easily performed by a bad man, while the latter is an inward service appropriate to the sincerely pious ; and it suggests that, in a certain circle, a movement had begun which, by laying stress on communion of heart with God, tended to bring about the abolition of the sacrificial ritual; a sim- ilar movement appears to be indicated in \\i 50'"*, and is most fully visible in the Sermon on the Mount. — The two terms can hardly here be synonyms, standing each for a ritual complex which in- cludes the commonly associated acts of sacrifice and prayer (see I Sam. i^^ 2 Sam. 7^*, and cf. Lu. i^°) ; the antithesis is here marked. — For a similar attitude toward sacrifice cf. Am. 5-' Isa. i" Jer. 7^2 I Sam. 15^- ^ 50^" ^ ji6.i7(i8.i9)_ Qn sacrifice see note on 7'^, on acceptable, notes on 8-'^ 10'^- ii\ and, for the ritual use of the term. Lev. i'^. The prayer of the morally good man is acceptable, is pleasing and is heard, simply because he is good — but it is not said whether or not he also offers sacrifice. — 9. Par- allel to the preceding couplet, with substitution of ethical for reli- gious conditions. Life is fit. way, = line of conduct, manner of life ; practises is \\\.. follows after. — Possibly the editor, in putting the two couplets together, meant to explain the first by the second. 10. He who will not learn must die. There is stern correction for him who forsakes the way, He who hates reproof shall die. Identical, ternary. The way is that of truth and righteousness. The stern (hard, grievous, sharp) correction is death (second cl. XV. 8-1 1 307 shall die). On correction and reproof see notes on i^^. The person described is the morally wicked, disobedient man ; the punishment is physical and earthly. Life is represented as a dis- cipline — woe to him who fails to profit thereby ! — Grk., inter- preting : shall die basely (or, a shameful death). 11. The depths of the soul are known to God. Sheol and Abaddon lie open before Yahweh, How much more the hearts of men ! Extended parallelism, ternary. The couplet expresses a conclu- sion from the less to the greater ; it is assumed that the Under- world is a more remote and mysterious region than the human soul. On Sheol see notes on i^- 5^ al. The term Abaddon ( = place of destruction, region of death) occurs elsewhere in OT. in 27-° (in connection, as here, with Sheol), Job 26" (parallel to Sheol), 28" (in connection with Death, — the Realm of death), 31I2 (— Underworld), \p 88"'^-* (parallel to Grave, and = Under- world) ; it is thus a synonym of Sheol, to which it is here added for rhetorical emphasis. There is no authority for the opinion (De.) that Abaddon is the lowest region of Sheol. The OT. does not recognize strata in Sheol; the expression in Dt. 32^' i/' 86'^, Sheol below (AV. lowest hell, RV. loivest pit), simply describes Sheol as a place beneath the earth, like the Netherland (= Sheol) of Ez. 31". In the NT. Apocalypse (9") Abaddon is the name of the Angel of the Abyss (= Angel who inflicts death, and sends men to Sheol) ; in the Talmud {Shab. 89°-) it is used in a similar manner ; as the conception of the other life became more defi- nite, the tendency was to personalize OT. expressions. Here, as in Job 26^, Yahweh is apparently represented as controlling Sheol ; a different view is expressed in Isa. 39'"^ where (as generally in the earlier literature) Yahweh has nothing to do with the Under- world (cf. note on i^-) ; the change of view was due to the com- pleter development of the monotheistic idea. Even Job (Job 14^'') is not sure that God's power controls Sheol; the view of Prov. is more advanced, but still does not express a moral control exercised by God over the denizens of the Underworld. — Men is lit. children of men ; son of man is a comparatively late Heb. 3o8 PROVERBS expression for " human being" ; so Ez. 2' al., Job 25*^ i/' 8*^*^ 33^' Dan. 8^^ (and Aramaic, 7^''). 12. Indocility of the scoffer. A scoffer loves not to he reproved, And will not walk < with ' the wise. Explanatory parallelism, ternary-binary. On scoffer- see note on i^^. In second cl. the Heb. has go to; the better reading is given in 13-" (so the Grk. here) ; cf. 22-^ ("do not walk [asso- ciate] with an irascible man"). Cf. also i^'^ 4". The scoffer is regarded as a man whose character is fixed. It is not suggested that he might be helped by association with the wise. 13. Joy enlivens, sorrow depresses. Joyous heart makes cheerful face, But by sorrow of soul the spirit is broken. Antithesis partly implicit, ternary. RV. (= AV.) : a merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance, in which the word fnerry now im- plies more of movement and utterance than is contained in the Heb. term, which means joyful, glad. Soul is lit. heart; heart and spirit are synonyms, both signifying the inner nature or being, but, in the connection, spirit may have the connotation (in Heb. as in English) of courage and hope. — Exact antithesis in expres- sion would require " sad face " in second cl. ; the variant phrase implies that a broken spirit is manifested by sadness of counte- nance, while a cheerful face shows a high, courageous spirit. The proverb notes a fact of experience : joy is inspiring, sorrow is depressing — the advantage of the former is clear. The man's mood is shown by his countenance. Cf. BS. 13^. 14. The aliment of sages is knowledge, of fools folly. The mind of the wise seeks knowledge. The mouth of fools feeds on folly. Antithetic, ternary. The relation between wise and knowledge is the same here as in v.'', on which see note. In second cl. the Heb. text has face, which EvvaUl retains ; but the reading of the margin, mouth (which is found in all the Anc. Vrss.) accords with the \!tx\) feeds, and is obviously better ; mouth feeds is a rhetorical XV. II-I5 309 variation of mind seeks. — Instead o{ feeds on, the verb of the sec- ond cl. may be rendered is occupied tvith, strives after (lit. asso- ciates with), ox, delights in, but feeds better suits the noun mouth. — The word rendered /t'^A denotes the highest degree of stolidity, insusceptibility and unreceptiveness ; the mental furniture and nourishment of such an one is foolishness or folly in thought and deed, and this is the product of ignorance. Here, as in 14^"^ al. and throughout chs. 1-9, virtue is allied with knowledge, vice with ignorance. The verbs express eager interest and devotion. XV. 1. 1^ -yz'^; Berakoth, l"] a arp (Strack, Proleg., 105) — ?§ Ti; adds nj::), apparently free rendering of (§. Bi. writes 1^0 and >'3r. There seems to be nothing better than to retain |^, perh. omitting 3 in n-)3 (Isa. 65^*) ; De., in support of the 3, adduces Arab. ^2^p2 lao ke has broken my hem-t ; the 3 would thus mark the place of the act of breaking. — ^p (the stem in ^ usually "lijn, 5E '^P'^p) occurs only here and 11^, on which see note. — 5. J§ F^J'; (5 /xvKTrjpl^ei. — 6. In 1^ nN3ra omit the 3, and insert the same prep, before n3 (so S^T). Bi. n3"in3. |§ rrisn; read p^dj. — On (S see Lag. Baum. — 7. |^ nr''; (g d^derai, from ITS'; 2 (^uX(£(r(roD(Tt ; read nx> (Frank.). — |^ p; (@ do-^aXeis; 3L (p N*?) dissi- mile ; read pi (so also Gr. suggests). — 10. ?^ nix iv;^; (S yvupl^erai virb tCov irapL6vT(i}v, = 'X nsjj"? (Jag.), 7v. being supplied to make the sentence complete. — (§ olkolkov (|^ >'i), probably error for kukov (Jag.). S follows (S; ^ nmN Ni;'i3r:, perh. free rendering of |§. — 1§ pt''; Gr. an^^ (Hos. 13^). — 11. ||J ppN; (5 dirciXeta.— 12. |§ '^x; read P(< ((§ /xerd). — 13. In ^ (§ ffKuOpwira^ei. is sad maintains aja as subject, while S follows ^ except that it makes the verb transitive; in both cases we have the natural freedom of translators. — 14. Kethib ^jb; read Qere ■>fl (so (§Si3C). — ?^ p'^.^!< ^')>y/y (§ yvdjaerai (y\^) KaKo. (perh. = ^) ; Gr. nsTi delights in, and Frank. n;?-\> as corresponding Aram, form; all the senses of the stem n>'p seem to be closely related to one another. 15. Happiness is better than sorrow. Every day is hard for him who is in trouble, But the happy man has a continual feast. Antithetic, ternary. A statement of ordinary experience (cf. v.^*), without ethical import, but with implied commendation of 3IO PROVERBS cheerfulness and happiness. Happy is \\\.. good of heart, that is, in a good, joyous, or cheerful frame of mind. ')L\\t feast is the enjoy- ment of the conditions of life. Hard here represents the same Heb. word that is rendered by stern in v.^". On the adjective translated in trouble (which elsewhere has also the senses poor, afflicted, pious^ see notes on 3"'^ 14-^ i6'^ 16, 17. Superiority of spiritual over physical wealth. 16. Better is little with the fear of Yahweh Than great treasure and trouble therewith. 1 7. Better a dish of herl^s with love Than a fatted ox with hate. 16. Single sentence expressing an antithesis, ternary. Lit. in the fear, etc., that is, so held. Trouble (a diiTerent word from that rendered in trouble in preceding verse) is disturbance, anxiety, perplexity. It is assumed that the/^^r of Yahweh, morality based on or connected with religion, saves one from harassing care, since it brings divine protection. It is not said that wealth necessarily entails trouble and distress, but only that this may be the case — a statement which the experience of all men, especially in highly organized communities, abundantly confirms ; and the couplet is a warning against rage for riches. — 17. Antithetic sentence, ter- nary. Cf. 17^ The word rendered dish appears to mean prima- rily, " that which one offers to a traveller," and then, in general, " a portion of food " ; Grk. entertainment of a guest ; the allusion in the proverb may be to such entertainment, though the applica- tion is general, to all meals. The allusion, as in the preceding couplet, is to the perils of wealth {fatted ox stands for luxury in general). There is no polemic against wealth, but a reminder that it is not always an unmixed blessing. On fatted see note on 14^ andcf. I K. 4^^ (s''). 18, 19. Commendation of patience and industry. 18. An irascible man stirs up contention, One slow to anger appeases strife. 19. The way of the slothful is i hedged up with > thorns, But the path of the < diligent ' is well-built. 18. Antithetic, ternary. The man of first cl. is not one who is angry (RV. wrathful), but one prone to anger, quicktempered, in XV. I5-20 311 contrast with the calm, patient man of second cl. See the similar statements in 14-'^ 15^ BS. 8^^ 28^^^ — 19. Antithetic, quaternary- ternary. Grk., happily : f/ie way of the slothful is strown with thorns, that of the sturdy is smooth. Heb. : is like a hedge of thorns, in which the like is to be omitted (in accordance with the form of second cl.) and the hedge changed to hedged — a path cannot be compared to a hedge, but may be said to be hedged up, encumbered ; so Hos. 2*^'"'" : / ^vill hedge up thy way with thorns. The slothful man meets with obstacles at every point, and makes no progress. On the other hand, the path of the industri- ous man is cai-efully constructed and free from obstacles, like a highway (so RV.); the adj. means cast up, roads having been con- structed by throwing up earth (Jer. 18^^ Isa. 57'^). The antithesis requires that the man of second cl. be described as diligent; the Heb. term {yashar) may mean honest, straightforward (usually, upright) , but an inconsiderable alteration gives the ordinary word for industrious (10* 12-''-' 13^ 21^). 20, 21. Wisdom and folly — their results for life. Antithetic, ternary. Delitzsch makes v.-" (on account of its resemblance to 10^) the beginning of the third section (see 13^) of the collection contained in 10^-22^''. It may mark the beginning of a separate minor collection ; see the Introduction. 20. A wise son makes a glad father, A fool scorns his mother. 21. Folly is delight to one who lacks sense, But a man of understanding is straightforward in his ways. 20. The first cl. is identical with first cl. of io\ In the second cl., instead of the is a source of anxiety to of 10^ (which furnishes an obvious contrast), we have the variation scorns, which may be taken to mean " despises advice and so brings sorrow to his mother," or " shows by his conduct that he despises his mother's teaching," or simply " scorns his mother and her advice " (so the Grk.) — that is, the wise son honors and gladdens his father, the foolish laughs at and saddens his mother. The variation of expression in a familiar apophthegm would be not unnatural ; it is possible, however, that the second cl. stood originally with some such line as a wise son honors his father. — In second cl. the 3 1 2 PROVERBS Heb. reads (as in 21^) : a fool of a man {RY . foolish man) — a construction like that of Gen. 16^-, a wild ass of a man (a man of the fool sort, of the wild ass species). The Anc. Vrss. and some Heb. MSS. xtsid foolish son, which may be assimilation of the expression here to the more familiar form of 10^, — 21. The term follv here has a moral as well as an intellectual content. The delight is made possible by intellectual and moral obtuseness — the fool does not understand the consequences of his actions, and therefore has no basis for his moral hfe ; he takes pleasure in things bad not because they are bad, but because he does not know that they are bad, and does not see or believe that they will bring punishment on him. — He who has insight into the laws of life, human and divine, acts in a straightforward way, is wisely upright, knowing that this is the only safe rule of hfe. Knowledge is thus represented as the foundation of character. 15. Before |^ ab insert *?. — ry) TrpocrS^xovTai KaKci. Lag. supposes that the Grk. translator had y-\ -y-y -jji, which he read nj?-\ njjn ay-\; perh., however, the Grk. stands for nyi uy-\ ''JV''; Bi. nyn pn 'jiy. — 1[§ nnsrD; (§ ir/a-uxdcroucrtj', = nair'c (I-ag.). — 16. 1^ ncHD; Or. nniD. The following 13 is omitted by Bi. on rhythmical grounds. — For |^ 'D (5 has dcpo^ias, a singular expression (= without the fear of Yahiveh^, but apparently chosen as contrast to the (pd^ov of '^; the reading dae^eias {^^ 23. 252. Lag.) is scribal emendation; cf. Baum. On 5> see Pinkuss. — 17. |^ nniN; (3 ^fvia/xds; ^K n";^:' a meal; % freely, vocari ad. Bi. omits DC", instead of which (5 has Koi. xdpiv, perh. = jm (Bi.), perh. rhetorical expansion. — >'2); ^^ Kapdlais = ^'-■^ (^ 2^3). — The insertion of li- ; counsel at end of ** ((gSST) is adopted by Bi., who refers to XV. 32-XVI. 319 the sing. ^p~; this insertion is possible, but hardly necessary; Gr. nnir'n:; ri^sn. ■ — On Si, which follows ©, but with arbitrary changes, see Baum. Pinkuss. — 23. (!B oil /xTj VTraKoijffTj 6 kok^s air^ oiid^ (jlt] dirr) Kalpidu ti Kai KaXbv r(p koiv(^ = 2b no inv3 -i3-;i n^3 njyca ti'vS yr^Z'^ n^, the man being interpreted as KaK6s, and the couplet freely rendered throughout. — As to the original sense of the stem nj; answer cf. Ges. 7'/ies., and Arab, •■j;', >j;'c. — 24. J^ "''^;;-'^; ® 5iaw^- /xara, perh. after Ez. 11^, perh. = raw'nn; cf. Jag. Lag. — |fc^ nj:, ; (5 (ru}6rj, perh. = 'i'^':: (Baum.), or nrj-^-; (Jag.). — 26. On '' sec note on this verse above. (5 ayvCov 5^ prjcreis ae/xfal, in which it is doubtful what Heb. word cr. repre- sents. For 1^ a-iirj we should perhaps read ^ji-i. — 27. Instead of o-ciftrat (11? n\-i>) 23. 103. 252. 253 have ^rjaerai, a. correction after the Heb. — See notes of Lag. and Baum. on the dislocation of couplets at this point. — 28. In 8^ 242, ;// 2I n:in is followed by the object directly, in 1/' 771^ 1430 by 3 and object, here by 3 in &^; as, however, the object is here an act, the '7 is appropriate. — '^~y:^; (3^ irliXTeis; <§'^^ iria-TLv; 5'2u (following (5) .srjx:'.""; these Vrss. seem to have had njcx or pjcn, which should perhaps be adopted in |i^. — 30. |§ u^y; -\>iZ; (5 16- deojpQu 6(pda\ix6s KaXa, free rendering of pj taken to mean " what the eye sees." The Heb. expression does not occur elsewhere in OT., but appears to mean //le light that resides in the eyes (cf. ^ 90^) ; for the rendering good fortune there is no authority in O T. ; ^!^^ differs from Si in a couple of words. — • 32. 1^ Dsb and T\p; (g 16*, freely, to gain a distinct contrast, ^iffeZ and ■ ayawq.. — 33. pj nin-; (g (16*) ^ «!■ Beov; (gB.i.x Kvpiov; which of these is original in the Grk. it is hard to say. — 1§ iDr ; Perles, Analekt. p. 60: ■'Dn basis, which is suitable, but the change is not necessary. — See H-P, Lag Swete. XVI. 1-9. Divine control of life. 1. To man belong the plans of the mind. But from Yahweh comes the answer of the tongue. 2. All a man's conduct seems to him pure, But it is Yahweh who weighs the spirit. 3. Commit thy work to Yahweh, Then will thy plans succeed. 4. Yahweh has made everything for its own end, • Yea, even the wicked for the evil day. 5. The proud man is an abomination to Yahweh, He will assuredly not go unpunished. 6. By kindness and truth sin is expiated. And by the fear of Yahweh one escapes misfortune. 7. When a man's ways please Yahweh, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. 320 PROVERBS 8. Better is a little with righteousness Than great revenues with injustice. 9, Man devises his way, But Yahweh directs his steps. 1. Antithetic, ternary (or, binary). This proverb is identical in meaning with v.^, and with our ''man proposes, God disposes"; see Malan for Chinese and other parallels. Plans is arrange- mefits (RV. preparations) ; mind is lit. heart; the answer of the tongue = the final outcome of one's reflections and purposes. To regard the couplet as contrasting merely thought and expression (De.) is to empty it of meaning; Mt. 10^^ (referred to by De.) is different. The idea of God's absolute control of human affairs is found throughout OT., as, for ex., in Am. 3*^ i// 118^ Ex. io\ cf. Rom. 9^^ In the term ansiver there is possibly allusion to the task of speaking (defending one's self, etc.) before great men (PVank.). See 22-^, and note on 15-^ — 2. Antithetic, ternary. See 3^ 14^^ 21" 24^^. Contrast between human and divine moral judgments. The first cl. does not mean to affirm that men never condemn their own conduct, but states a general rule of human self-satisfaction, or is in the nature of a supposition, so that the couplet may be paraphrased : " though a man's actions may seem right to him, ignorant and prejudiced as he is, yet the final ver- dict on them comes from the infallible investigation of God." The suggestion is that men should not take their own judgment of themselves, but should test themselves by the judgment of God, that is, by the absolutely pure moral standard. Conduct and spirit are lit. zvays and spirits ; the latter term expresses the whole inward nature, its purposes and motives ; weighs = meas- ures, determines, tries, appreciates. — In i Sam. 16^^ we have a somewhat different contrast, namely, between human judgment based on the merely outward and visible, and divine judgment which regards the mind. — 3. Continuous, ternary-binary. Lit. roll on Yahtveh thy works (or, deeds), trust everything to him ; so i/' 37^, cf \p 2 2'-^"'. Syr. Targ. Lat. read disclose. — V.^'^ are lack- ing in the Greek. — 4. Continuous, ternary. The Heb. permits the translation for his own end, but the rendering its is indicated by second cl., which states the end or destiny for which wicked men are created. The proverb declares, in a simple and direct XVI. 1-5 321 way, the principle (recognized everywhere in OT.) of the abso- luteness of Yahweh's government of the world, and it is added that every one of his acts has a definite purpose ; since the wicked are punished, it is Yahweh who has created them to that end. This predestination to evil (to use the modern expression) is held in OT., without metaphysical speculation and without em- barrassment, in connection with the belief in human freedom — men are considered to be either good or bad, but the good man may at any moment become bad, or the bad man good ; see Ex. 9>« Ez. i4« i8, BS. 39^*^^ cf. Eccl. 3"^ — Grk. reads: all the zvorks of the Lord {are done) with righteousness, and the wicked man is kept for the evil ^^n-. — The evil day is the day of judg- ment, retribution, punishment. — The prophets regard the nations of the earth as controlled by Yahweh in the interests of Israel ; the sage considers individual men as created with a purpose. This larger view belongs to the philosophic period of Jewish his- tory. What God's purpose is in creating the wicked for punish- ment the proverb does not say. According to Ezekiel (Ez. 38'" 39-I) Gog is punished that Yahweh may manifest his power and glory to all nations, and so in the Pentateuch Pharaoh is dealt with (Ex. 9^ cf. Rom. 9^')- The sage's point of view is not clear — it is, perhaps, that the moral government of the world makes the punishment of the bad man necessary ; but no explana- tion is given of why the bad man should have been created at all. There is no intimation of a behef that the wicked are a neces- sary element of God's education of the world (cf. BS. 15'^)- — 5. Continuous, ternary-binary. The first cl. is the same as first cl. of 11'", with substitution oi proud iox false ; the proud man is he who sets himself presumptuously against Yahweh, and refuses to obey the divine law. The second cl. is the same as first cl. of i I'S with omission of the wicked; on the expres- sion assuredly (lit. hand to hand, = my hand oti it!) see note 21 on II . Grk. here inserts the two couplets : The beginning of a good way is to do justly, And it is more acceptalile with God than to offer sacrifices. He who seeks the Lord will find knowledge with righteousness, And they who rightly seek him will find peace. Y 322 PROVERBS These couplets (which may have been written originally in He- brew) resemble proverbs in our Hebrew text ; the first may have been suggested by 16", the second by 28^ (cf. 14''). It is prob- able that many aphorisms were in circulation which are not in- cluded in our Book of Proverbs; some of these are found in the Greek text of Proverbs, others in Ben-Sira. — 6. Synonymous, ternary. The expression kindness and truth stands for morality or virtue in general ; so it is used in 3'', on which see note. By such ethical integrity siii (or, iniquity^ is expiated (lit. covered), that is, the divine anger against sin is turned away, and the man's relation to God is as though he had not sinned. The priestly mode of expiating sin was by offerings, but prophets and sages lay the greater stress on disposition of mind and on conduct ; see Hos. 6® (where love to God and knowledge of him are said to be more desired by Yahweh than sacrifice), Jer. 7"-^'^ (where Yahweh is said to have commanded not sacrifice but obedience) ; cf. Ez. 18 i// 50" ^ii^ircis. 19) . jj.^ jg^^^ ^^2 ^^^ ^^^ of Jerusalem is said to have been expiated by her suffering. — The fear of Yahweh is parallel and equivalent to kindness (or, love) and truth; and misfortune (or, suffering), lit. evil, is identical with the punishment which is averted when sin is expiated. — 7. Continuous, ternary. Grk. (the couplet occurs after 15-^) : the ways of lighteous men are acceptable with the Lord, and by them even enemies become friends, which is identical in meaning with the Hebrew ; the form of the latter seems preferable. In- stead of the by them of the Greek we should perhaps read to them. In the Heb. couplet the happy condition of the righteous is brought about directly by divine action ; but human causes, such- as the kindliness and helpfulness of the good man, are probably not meant to be excluded. — 8. Comparison, ternary. Substan- tially identical with 15^". The proverb differs from the others of the group in not containing an explicit reference to the divine government; but righteousness = the fear of Yalnueh (15'"). — 9. Antithetic, ternary. Identical in meaning with v.\ Lit. the mind (heart) of man devises (or, thinks out, plans'). Grk. : let the heart of a man think (or, reckon^ justly, that his steps may be set right by God, which misses the striking antithesis of the Heb., but gives a good thought; \\\t justly is added from the connection. — XVI. 5-9 323 In v.^- ^ we have two substantially identical aphorisms in close prox- imity. One is a variant of the other, perhaps in a different collec- tion ; the editors naturally took all good material that they found. 10-15. Functions of kings. The couplets are extended parallelisms. The reference is to all sovereigns, not merely to those of Israel ; if, as is probable, the paragraph is postexilian in date, it is the numerous non- Jewish monarchs of the Greek period (possibly, also, the Macca- bean princes) that formed the writer's milieu. It is, however, the ideal king whose character is here sketched (except in v."-'^), whether the proverbs be preexilian or postexilian — ^ the king who governs in wisdom and justice. In such ideal portraitures in the Prophets and the Psalms (Isa. ii'"^ i/^ 72) the king is guided by God, and controlled by the divine law ; here, and elsewhere in this part of Prov., the reference is to the human law of right (in 8'* to the personified divine-human wisdom). The term "theo- cratic " can be used of the Israelitish kings only in the vague way in which it is applicable to all ancient sovereigns — they all per- formed religious rites, and consulted the deity in important affairs. The kings of Israel were as arbitrary and absolute as the inde- pendent spirit of the clans, tribes, elders, and princes permitted them to be — hardly one of them paid much respect to the moral law of Yahweh in his political policy or his private concerns. De- litzsch observes that the OT. never speaks of the actual king as infallible ; the idea " the king can do no wrong " did not exist in Israel. — Reference to kings is found both in chs. 1-9 and in chs. 1 0-3 1 . 10. The lips of the king are an oracle, In judgment his mouth transgresses not. 11. [] Balance and scales are > the king's,' All the weights of the bag are his work. 12. It is abomination to kings to commit wickedness, For the throne is established by righteousness. 13. Righteous lips are the delight of kings, And they love him who speaks right. 14. The anger of the king is a messenger of death, — • A wise man will pacify it. 15. In the light of the king's countenance is life, And his favor is like a cloud of the Spring rain. 324 PROVERBS 10. Binary. Lit. on the lips . . . is an oracular decision (RV. divine sentence) : the decision of the ideal king is as just as if God himself had given it — that is, as second cl. puts it, he does not violate justice ; judgment = legal decision. The meaning (as may be inferred from the parallel proverbs in chs. 10-31) is not that God speaks through the king. Delitzsch's rendering : let not his mouth err is out of the question. — The term oracular decision is Y\i(^x3\\y divination, the consultation of the deity (Ez. 21^^'"^' Nu. 23^) ; the practice was condemned by the prophets as generally connected with the worship of other gods than Yahweh (i Sam. 15^^ Dt. i8^° 2 K. 17''), or with false pretensions to speaking in his name (Jer. 14^* Ez. 13®). Here the term is used figuratively. — Bickell emends to oracle 0/ Yahweh, but the addition is unnec- essary— the divine name is understood. — 11. Ternary-binary. Weights is lit. stones, which were kept in a bag. From Am. 8^ we may, perhaps, infer that, as earb as the eighth century b.c, the Israelites had a legal standard of weights and measures (and, for the sixth century, cf. Ez. 45"''^" ; it is possible, indeed, that the Babylonians had introduced their system into Canaan in or before the fifteenth century.* It may be assumed that, after the Exile, under the Persians and the Greeks, the Jews had a regular system of stamped weights of stone or metal. — The balajice is the steel- yard—cf. 11' 2oi»-^-^ Am. 8^ Hos. \2^^^'^ Mic. 6" Lev. 19^6 Jer. 32!". — In the first cl. the Heb. has are Yahweh'' s, for which it seems better (with Gratz) to read are the king's, with the sense that the system of weights and measures is ordained by the king as supreme authority and fountain of justice ; this emendation brings the couplet into formal accord with the context. As the text stands, God is the ordainer of the machinery of commercial trans- actions, a statement which is not elsewhere found in OT. — he is said (as in Lev. icf'^ al.) to demand just weights, he is not said to make or establish them. The word hing may have been inter- preted by some scribe as meaning the divine king, Yahweh. — In the first line the Heb. reads: balance and Just weights are, etc. * The Babylonian predominance in Canaan is shown by the fact that the Amarna correspondence employs Babylonian script and language. On early Babylonian weights and measures see C. F. Lehmann, Altbabylon. Maass- und Gewichtssystcm, 1893, and G. A. Reisner on Bab. metrology. XVI. IO-I5 325 It is singular that the adjective just should be attached to one of these, and not to the other. The Lat. avoids this difificulty by rendering (with a slight change of text) : balance and scales are {inatter of) judgment for Yahweh, that is, he has to decide all cases in which a false use of them occurs. But this interpretation of the term judgment is difficult, and the resulting sentence does not offer a proper parallel to the second line. It would be better to omit the word balance (which would get rid of the difficulty), but a more satisfactory sentence is gained by omitting the adjec- tive, which is here not appropriate — as second cl. states that all stones are the work, etc., so first cl. must state that balance and weights in general belong, etc. A scribe might naturally think it desirable to note that the balances are just. — The rendering d! just balance and scales are, etc., given by many commentators and translations,* is grammatically incorrect. — 12. Ternary. Cf. Dt. 17^^-2*' Isa. 32'. The affirmation includes all kings considered as ideal rulers ; such rulers understand that justice is essential to their permanence. Grk., less well : he who does evil is an abomi- nation, etc. — Cf. 2 Sam. 7""^' i/' 94-" Isa. 16'; similar aphorisms are 20-^ 25' 29". — 13. Ternary. Good kings desire honest coun- sellors and servants. The verb love is sing, in the Hebrew, either individualizing ("every king loves"), or agreeing' with a sing. king, instead of the kings of the text, or error for plural. — 14. Binary. The Heb. has plural messengers. The sense of second cl. is probably not "it maybe pacified by a wise man" (that is, by wise precautions or other measures), but "he who is wise will seek to pacify it" (instead of braving it). The point of the couplet is to magnify the king, not the wise man, and the second line is more naturally understood as adding something to the statement of the first line : the king's anger is so terrible a thing that a man shows wisdom in trying to pacify it. The king is represented as absolute, as was true, in many respects, of all ancient monarchs ; this trait is not necessarily out of keeping with his ideal character; the couplet, however, rather regards him simply as ruler. — 15. Binary. The antithesis to tUe preceding * Geier, Ew. De. Str. RV. al. These assume an exception to the grammatical rule. Zockler : scale and just balances. 326 PROVERBS aphorism. The light of the coufitenatice is a friendly look, —favor, g?'acious reception ; the word for light is different from that used in 15^, but the general sense is the same. — Life is long and happy hfe, = prosperity. The king, here as in v.", is regarded simply as the arbiter of fate ; his moral qualities do not come into consideration. — The Spring rain ("latter rain," March-April) was essential to the ripening of the crops, and the cloiid which heralded it was a symbol of blessing ; see Jer. 3'' Zech. 10' Job 29-^; the Autumn rain ("former rain," October) preceded the sowing (Hos. 6' Dt. 11" Jer. 5'* Joel 2-^ if/ 84*=''>). For details of agriculture see Nowack, Arch. I. § 41. XVI. 1. Wanting in (S^, found in 5,H(523ai. ^gi;^^. (§252.253 a!. _gH add fiery liiyas el toctovtov Tarreivov aeavrbv koI '4vavTL Kvplov rov 6eov evprjcreis X'*P"'> = BS. 3!^, and perhaps thence taken by (5"''-"'-. — 2. The adj. fr occurs only in the late priestly ritual (Ex. 27'^° 30^^ Lev. 242-^), Job, Prov., but the verb njr is found in Isa. i^*^ Mic. 6^^. — The stem pr,.= establish, appears to be a second- ary formation from p; the origin of the sense -weigh, test is not clear. Gr., unnecessarily, jn3. — The couplet is not found in this form in (§^; something like it appears in (§ 16^, which is nearly related to the added couplet given above under v> ; cf. BS. 3517- 18. — 3. Wanting in (5^, found in eS"(g23 ai.^ perhaps a late addition to pj, after '/'37^. — On v} 3 see notes of Lag. Baum, Bi. — 4, = 9 in ©. — |^ '??f'; (5 ep7a. — |^ sj; (§ ^uXdo-o-erai, = icr. This is probably a mere scribal variation, and not an attempt to avoid the statement that God destines the wicked to punishment (Pink., who refers to Baethgen, JPT. 8, 413). — (§'s rendering of inj^cV by ywera Si/caioo-yi'??? is accounted for by Held, from the Rabbin, reference of the Heb. expression to students of law; but, like 9r those who obey him, @ simply takes the form in 1^ as = obey. — In 1^ nv;o'^ the vowel-point under ^7 may be scribal error, or it may be anoma- lously inserted to distinguish this expression from the prep, tjjn'? with suffix (so Ew. De. Philippi). — 5, = 6 in (§. — |^ p^'J"'; (§ d/cd^opros (cf ^8e\vyfjia, 15-^). — 10. CD|i, originally part, fragment (Arab, portion), from stem =: divide ; divination is perhaps from the fragments (of stone, etc.) which were used in divining processes (Halevy, REJ., 1887), perhaps from the verb = divide, determine {2Xt%. — 11. The stems dSd and ]rN (Arab, wazan) appear to express the idea of evenness, equality. — OD-'D qualifies only •'JTNC, not dSd; see Philippi, Stat. Const, im Heb., p. 12 ff. (5 poiry] ^vyov diKaLoaiivq irapa k. — mn^S tOD^'D n^:TND 0^2, taking as'i-c as pred., and so &%. The oqcd is better omitted as gloss. — |^ nin^*?; read, with Gr., i'?d'^; see note on this v. above. — 12. S read n^vn and n'^'>', the latter word qualifying dd^c; SST appear to have been influenced by , Qal; IL Nif (and so Jag.) ; if a change is thought necessary, it will be better to write the vb. Qal. plur., or (with (5) the noun sing., n'^c. — 14. |^ "'Dn'^!:; <§, sing., is XVI. 15-17 327 better. — 15. i;'pS:: is, perhaps, originally titne of gathering, and mb, n-\'> sprinkler. On the reading of 2C see Flcisch., in Levy, Chald. Wort., I. 420, and on SST cf. the notes of Baum. and Pink. 16-19. Wisdom, integrity, humility. 16. Wisdom is better than gold, And understanding more to be desired than silver. 17. The path of the upright avoids misfortune, He guards his life who takes heed to his way. 18. "Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. 19. It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor Than to divide the spoil with the proud. 16. Two equivalent comparisons, ternary. Lit. the getting of wis- dom and the getting of understanding ; for the terms see note on 3'^ Fully expressed : " the acquisition of wisdom is better than that of gold," etc. The Heb. of first cl. reads : the getting of wis- dom— how much better is it than gold! but the how i7iuch is probably scribal error. The identity of the thought of this couplet with that of 3''' is an indication that the final form was given to the two sections, chs. 1-9 and chs. 10-22^^, about the same time. — 17. Identical, ternary-quaternary. In second cl, he who pays careful attention to his (moral) conduct is said thus to guard or preserve his life (or, himself, lit. his soul) — that is, integrity is a guard against rnisfortune — this is the familiar teach- ing of Proverbs ; in accordance with the parallelism the evil of first cl. (as the Heb. lit. reads) is naturally misfortune, which the path of the upright avoids. The interpretation " the conduct of the upright consists in avoiding moral evil " is possible, but does not furnish an antithesis. — The second cl. may be rendered: he who guards his life (or, himself) takes heed to his way, that is, he who desires to have a good, happy life looks carefully to his con- duct. Combining this with the second rendering of first cl., the couplet would mean : " a good man avoids wrong, and he who has care for himself looks to his conduct," which (if we may be guided by the context) is less satisfactory than the interpretation : " the upright man escapes misfortune, and he who is careful in his conduct saves his life" — the surrounding couplets deal not with the method of securing happiness, but with the results of 328 PROVERBS good living. — Grk., adding three lines after first cl. of v.^", and one line after second cl., makes three couplets, as follows : The paths of life turn aside from evils, And the ways of righteousness are length of life. He who receives instruction will be prosperous, And he who regards reproofs will be made wise. He who guards his ways preserves his soul, And he who loves his life will spare his mouth. This is probably a scribe's expansion of the Hebrew couplet ; the matter is all to be found in the Heb. Proverbs. — 18. Identical, binary. Cf. ii" (pride brings disgrace), 15^ (humility brings honor), 16'^ iS^' (contrast of pride and humility), 21-^ 22'* 30'^ The reference seems to be to the social laws and conditions which tend to abase pride. The English " pride will have a fall " may be derived from this proverb. — 19. Chiastic comparison, ternary. With loiuly is contrasted proud, and with poor the rich who divide the spoil. Instead oi poor we might render by hiiinbk (RV. marg. meek), but this would destroy the antithesis, and introduce a tau- tology, since lowly = humble. The terms lozuly and proud are here ethical, = the unassuming or inoffensive, and the overbearing or oppressive : they have, perhaps, also a religious import, = those who submit themselves to God, and those who disobey and disre- gard him. — The expression divide the spoil is taken from military life (Gen. 492- Ex. 15^ Jos. 22^ Ju. ^^ i Sam. ao"---* Isa. 53^^ ^ ggi2(i3)^^ Qj. fj-om the judicial and other civil injustices of the rich ; cf. i^'' 31". 20-25. Wisdom and graciousness. 20. He who gives heed to the word will prosper. And the man that trusts in Yahweh, happy is he ! 21. The wise man is called a man of discernment : Sweetness of speech increases power of persuasion. 22. Wisdom is a wellspring of life to its possessor, And folly is the chastisement of fools. 23. The wise man's mind makes his speech judicious, And gives persuasiveness to his discourse. 24. Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the body. 25. There is a way that seems right to a man, But the end of it is the way to death. * XVI. 17-22 329 20. Synonymous, ternary. Gives heed is acfs wisely (in ref- erence to) ; cf. 21'^. The word is the law of right as given by the sages and by God, and it is unnecessary to add of Yahweh (Gratz) ; see note on 13^'^ ; it is not improbable that the reference is in part to (postexilian) legal and prophetical documents. Pros- per is \\\..find good. — Trust substantially = gives heed, since trust and obedience involve each the other. The good and happiness include all desirable things of this life. The proverb gives the purely religious point of view : God blesses those who obey and trust him, and they need no otlier protection; see v.'' 3''' ". The expression happy is he occurs in i4''^ 29'*. — 21. Synonymous, ter- nary. The power of discreet gentleness of speech. Lit., in first line : the wise of mind [lit. heart\ is called discerning. The dis- cernment, as may be inferred from second line, shows itself in selecting proper language by which to influence men. Is called = "is recognized as, given credit for being." The last expression of second line (RV. learning, as in i^) is to be rendered persuasive- ness, as in 7^', on which see note ; such is the effect of sweetness of speech (lit. of lips). A man of true wisdom of thought shows himself intelligent, judicious, discerning (RV. prudent) by his attractive words, whereby he brings men to his way of thinking, or to a recognition of duty. The rendering increases learning does not convey a distinct sense ; in i^ the sage adds, by study, to his own learning ; sweetness of discourse could increase the learning of others only, but the Heb. expression does not naturally convey that idea. — Instead oi discerning {or, intelligent) Gratz, by change of text, would read agreeable, and Bickell harp (that is, as melo- dious as a harp) ; the latter reading is unnatural, the former furnishes a good antithesis, but the Heb. text is favored by v.*. — Sweetness = graciousness, friendliness ; on discerning see note on 1^ — 22. Antithetic, ternary. Ox\ wcllspring {ox, fountain) of life see 10" 13'* 14"'^ 18*; on chastisement (the word is also ren- dered instruction and correction) see i^ 3" 7^- 13"'* 22'^. As tvis- dom secures for its possessor (by natural and divine law) all the blessings of life, so folly brings on its possessor loss of blessing, and positively punishment. The chastisement is not here a means of reformation, but merely a requital of wrongdoing ; the fool is once for all ignorant, inapprehensive, disobedient to human and 330 PROVERBS divine law. — 23. Synonymous, ternary. Identical in thought with V.''. On makes judicious (a different term from the discern- ing of v.-^) see notes on i^ lo^'^^ 14^ 15-^. Here it is the wise man's mind (=good sense or sagacity) that makes his speech persuasive ; in v.-^ the agent is sweetness of expression ; but the epithet judicious or sagacious favors the reading discerning (in- stead of agreeable') in v.^^. The two couplets are variations of one theme. Speech and discourse are lit. mouth and lips. — 24. Single sentence (second cl. interpreting first cL), binary (or, binary- quaternary). Honeycomb, of. \\i 19^°'^^^ i Sam. 14^^ Cant. 5^; pleasant — graceful, gracious, friendly ; body is lit. bone. Gratz finds in this couplet a suggestion for his emendation in v.^^ ; it does give some support to his reading, yet it is to be observed that the reference here is simply to charm of expression and man- ner, while there the connection between wisdom and speech is considered. — 25. Identical with 14^-. 16. On njp cf. 01s. § 173^, Ges.^s § 75 n; it seems probable that the form is here, as 01s. suggests, scribal error for njp, since the latter occurs in ^; IL Inipv. in both clauses, inserting quia; Stade takes it as Inf. abs., Bi. as Impv., but the |^ Infin. is more satisfactory. (5 voaatal, = mp or \:|"i. — Omit HG (probably repetition of preceding nr.), which is syntactically difficult, if not impossible. — 17. In •* a reviser has brought the text of (@ into accord with |^, which latter is obviously correct. Bi. makes two couplets, adopting the '' and the •= of @; but no great advantage is thereby gained, and the preference should probably be given to |^ as the shorter. — 18. On the dira^ Xey. piyp cf. Barth, Nominalbild. § 196 b. — 19. '?3U', Intin., taken as adj. by %, which inserts it also before '>', pointed D\rv. — On the relation between Du; (here Qeri) and n^j; (here Kethib) see critical note on 1421. — 20. |§ nji "^'i, where "?; = according to, in respect to (cf. ^ \i(f T(213 let;''?) ; Bi. -1312, after @ iv. — Gr. mni i3i. In ^ the Grk. Codd. vary between ^eijJ and Kvpl({>, a varia- tion that appears throughout OT., and is adduced by Klost. as proof that difference of divine names in the Heb. text is not a sign of difference of authorship (for a criticism of Klost. see E. Konig, Theol. Stud. u. Krit., 1893). — 21. (5 expands |^ a*? DDH into s koX (tvp€toilis.- — |^ j'zy, (3 (pavXovs, = ^5: (Jag.), whence Bi. Sai harp ; Gr. suggests nvj. S" gives |^ freely. See note on this v. above. — 22. Before pj r'^;3 insert ^, with (5; it fell out by reason of the S of preceding '-^yv. — 23. <5S vary from, but support, |^. — 24. (S in ^, less well, •^yiiKo.dixa. 8i avrov i'ao-is ^J/vxv'St = NOID B'dj'? ipnpi. — 25. (SS2C1L here vary slightly from their renderings of 14^2. XVI. 23-28 331 26. Hunger makes a man industrious. The laborer's appetite labors for him, For his mouth impels him to work. Single sentence (second cl. explaining first cl.), ternary. Cf. Eccl. 6^ Appetite is Heb. nefesh ( = soul^ , that part of the nature which desires or craves food ; so 6'* 23^ 2f Dt. 14-" 23^^'^^^ Job 33^. The second cl. is lit. for his ?nouth presses on him. The parono- masia in first cl. is effective : man works, and his appetite works for him. Hunger, says the proverb, is a useful thing, since it drives a man on to work ; or, a man will work, whether he likes it or not, for hunger forces him to gain food. Industry, from this point of view, is not a virtue of high rank. Grk. : A man who labors labors for himself, and drives away ruiti ; but the perverse brings ruin on his own mouth ; ruin is misreading of the Heb. word for mouth, and the last clause is the comment of a scribe. Syr. : the soul that inflicts suffering suffers, a7id frotn its mouth comes ruin, which in part follows the Greek. 27, 30. Mischief -making. Ternary. Cf. 6'-"'^ a paragraph which is out of place in chs. 1-9. 27. A wicked man digs (a pit of) mischief, And on his lips there is as it were a scorching fire. 28. A false man scatters discord abroad, And a backbiter separates friends. 29. A villain entices his neighbor. And leads him in a way not good. 30. A slanderer devises falsehoods, A backbiter consummates mischief. 27. A metaphor and a simile. Wicked tnan, lit. man of belial ; see note on 6^". Mischief (or, misfortune^ is lit. evil. The second cl. indicates that the reference of the couplet is to slanderous talk : the man's lips scorch, burn those of whom he talks — he digs a pit mto which they fall. — 28. Synonymous. Cf. 17^ Lit. a man of falsehoods, a liar; on this term see note on 2^"; backbiter is lit. murmurer, whisperer; in the second line, lit. : separates a friend, probably = not alienates his friend, but, as the parallelism {discord) and 18^* suggest, separates (= alienates) one friend from another; on friend see 2^' (the RV. rendering, chief friends, = 332 PROVERBS intimate friends, is possible but unnecessary) ; Rashi : alienates the prince (such is the meaning of the Heb. word in Gen. 36^^ Zech. 9"), that is, God ; Luther : makes princes disagree. — 29. Extensive. ViHaiji is ht. man of violence, here in general a man of immoral or criminal methods of procedure ; he entices his neighbor or comrade (as in i^^-^^) into habits of vice and crime, not to some secret place where he may rob or murder him — this last does not suit the expression in a way not good. Neighbor = any associate or acquaintance, and, in general, any man. — 30. Parallelism of expressions. The couplet is almost identical with 6^^' ". Lit. : he 7vho shuts (or, 7vinks) his eyes to devise, etc., he who shuts (or, bites) his lips consummates, etc. ; in first cl. the Infinitive expresses purpose, and the sentence is incomplete, or the meaning may be : he who shuts, etc. {does it) to devise, etc. (RV.) ; in second cl. the verb expresses the completed act. We may gain symmetry and completeness by changing the Infinitive into a finite verb, and reading : he 7vho shuts . . . devises, etc., and he who closes . . . con- summates, etc. ; this reading supposes that the acts of shutting or winking eyes and closing or gnawing lips are regarded as signs of evil purpose, which, from 6^^- ", appears to be the case. On the other hand, if we change the finite verb of second cl. into an Infinitive, we have a natural expression, but, at the same time, two incomplete sentences, and it must be supposed that a final clause has been lost, the complete proverb reading : " he who closes (or, winks) his eyes in order to concoct mischief, and he who shuts (or, snaps) his lips in order to perfect (or, as a sign that he has perfected) mischief, let him be avoided (or, he will surely come to grief)." Such a couplet, however, would be contrary to the norm of this Division, in which every couplet is complete in itself. The construction with two finite verbs is the simpler and the more natural. The expressions he who winks the eyes and he who closes (or, gnaws) the lips are equivalent to slanderer and backbiter. The progression of thought, devises . . . consummates, is rhetorical — each of these classes of persons does both of these acts. — The Grk. reads : He who fixes his eyes devises falsities And marks out all evils with his lips; He is a furnace of wickedness. XVI. 28-33 333 Whence Bickell : he who shuts his eyes is false, he who closes his ears is a fia-nace of wickedness. — Lit. : he who with astonished eyes meditates wickedness biting his lips perfects evil. — The general sense of the couplet is plain, but form and translation are uncertain. Cf. BS. 5". 31. Righteousness gives long life. A hoary head is a crown of glory Which is gained by a righteous life. Continuous, ternary. The second cl. is lit. /// the way ( = life') of righteousness it is found (= come upon, acquired). The Heb. hardly allows the rendering if it be found in, etc. (this idea is expressed eloquently in BS. 25'*^). The assertion is that old age is the reward of rightdoing: righteousness, = wisdom, bestows long life (s''^" al.). The possibility that a bad man may live to be old is not here considered ; it is assumed that the wicked perish early (2-- 12' 24^" 29^ \\j (f'^'^^^ 55"^'^'") • This conception, which is the prevailing one in OT. (it is opposed by Job) and in BS. (i^^ 16^), was modified by the acceptance of the doctrine of happy immor- tality (VVS. 4'^''' "honorable age is not . . . measured by number of years "), and is not found in NT. 32. Excellence of self-control. He who is slow to anger is better than a warrior, And he who rules himself than he who takes a city. Synonymous, ternary-quaternary (or, ternary-binary). Hijnself is lit. his spirit (= his inner nature, soul). The sage extols the virtue of moderation, self-control, a familiar one to Greek thought {(jhi(^fio see notes on 5^ 6-'; the reference here is to the garment. 26. 1^ Spy tS'OJ; (5 dvrjp iv ttSuols; but 'j is better understood as = appetite. — 3^in'3; (5 dTTtiXetai', = -113 (Hitz.) ; in (§ the line <= is gloss on b. — The stem r|3N appears to signify lay on (so in Arab.),/r«5, urge, impel ; in Syr. to be solicitous ; for the Assyr. see De. Assyr. Hdivbuch. ; in |^ Job 33'^ the noun r|DN is probably to be emended, after (5, to t^D (01s. Siegf. Budde, a/.). S;? ^Ds' is regarded by Wild, as Araniaism. Cf. BDB. — 27. On SySa see critical note on 612. 1^ ;-,-,-,. Qr. suggests (but unnecessarily) ann. — Between Kethib VDDtt' and Qeri insa' there is little choice. — 28. ]nj was not understood by the Vrss. : (5 'Kafj.TTTTjpa ddXov -wvpa-eiffei KaKoh, in which X. suggests "(j (Lag.), and K. is interpretation; ^ quarreller, ox fieiy, irascible; S empty, inane; it verbose; cf. Lag. Baum. — The small final Nun is doubtless due to some scribal accident in the archetypal MS. (cf. Lag.). — 30. The stem nsj; = com- press (so Syr.) or strike (so Arab.) ; see note above on this verse. Stade com- pares ax;', which stem, in its late-Heb. and Aram, sense, shitt, should perhaps be read here (so Gratz, Frank.). In any case the sliut may suggest wink. On yip see notes on 61^ iqIO, and cf. 1/' 351^. The sense gnaiv, bite, found in Ass. (De. Wbch.') suits the connection {lips) ; cf. i-rriSaKvuv below, and the connection of inp in Arab. Aram, with slander. — In (@ irdvTa rd KaKd is doublet of ovTos Kdixivb% eariv Kanias, but which is the earlier is uncertain; Bi. adopts Kdfiivos /ca/c/as, = n;n Tp. Instead of the opt'fet of (5^, = n-i^ ((3^ opyi^ei., perh. scribal error, perh. = fisp), a number of Codd. (23. 106. 109. 147. 149. 157. 252. 260. 295.297) have iiribdKvwv gnawing, adding, how- ever, bpi^ei before irdvTa, and e. is probably the original (5 reading (Lag.). — On S see Pink. — For yip Gr. reads rop, a possible but unnecessary emenda- tion.— 33. Sn':in pn after passive verb (so Gen. 4I8 al.); what is commonly grammatical subject is here presented as the object of the action, or rather, as the object of contemplation, as in Arab, after Hnna, 'atina ; it is an attempt, on the part of the language, to give prominence and emphasis to the thing by holding it up as object of thought; see Ew. § 295 b, Ges. ^o § 121 b. — XVI. 33-xvii. 2 335 (3, having rendered it3D-'0 '^3 by Travra to. dlKata, assimilates " to f' by writing ■rrdvTa rots adlKois, h-\> being left untranslated. • XVII. 1. Desirableness of a quiet life. Better a dry morsel and quietness therewith Than a house full of feasting and strife. Antithetic comparison, ternary — the value of a quiet Hfe. Cf. j^i6. 17 2^24^ ^i^g word here rendered feasting is ht. sacrifices ; in ancient Israel all eating of flesh was a religious act — the animal was first presented to the deity by the priest, and then eaten by the worshippers with the accompaniments of a feast ; see i Sam. ^12.13 2o^' -^ The ordinary term for this animal sacrifice is the one employed in our verse. Such sacrifice was offered at a shrine ; but the Deuteronomic code, which abolished all shrines but the Jerusalem temple, expressly authorizes the killing and eating of animals at home (Dt. \2^^-^^). The old term for the ritual slaying of beasts is, however, sometimes used to express private slaying (Dt. \2^ Ez. 39^^ Isa, 34*=), and thus comes to denote feasting (so RV. ; AV. marg. good cheer) ; this word suffi- ciently expresses the contrast of the meagre dry morse/, bread without savory accompaniments, and the richness of a meal in which meat is the principal feature. It is uncertain whether the proverb contemplates a sacrifice proper, or a private preparation of animal food, but the general sense is the same in the two cases. Cf. note on 7". 2. Cleverness succeeds. A wise slave will rule over a profligate son, And will share the inheritance among brethren. Continuous sentence, quaternary (or, ternary). IVise = one who acts with sagacity, a clever, capable person ; moral excellence is not expressed, but is possibly to' be understood. Frofiigate = one who acts shamefully, in such a way as to bring disgrace on himself and his family (see 10^ 12* h'"^). Share is lit. divide. The slave, in the case here supposed, is said, not to act, after the father's death, as executor of the estate, distributer of the property among the heirs (De.), but himself to be one of the heirs, promoted above the unworthy son ; for this sense of the verb see 29-' (RV. 7^T^6 PROVERBS is partne?-^; share the inheritance need mean no more than come into possession of part of the property. Slaves in Israel, even when non-Israelite of origin, were considered as members of the family, adopted the religion of the master, and took part in the national festivals (Gen. 24'^ pt. 5" 12^2-18 ^(^u-u^^ . ^^.^ ^^^ |^^gj. j^^ (Gen. 17^-) the slave is required to be circumcised, though this rule is relaxed in the Talmud i^Yebam. 48 b). Abraham (Gen. i5'^) speaks of his homeborn slave Eliezer as his heir; a man sometimes gave his daughter in marriage to his slave (i Chr. 2^), who thus came to be head of the household. So an unworthy son, it is here said, might be partly or wholly set aside in favor of a capable slave. Such a case was, no doubt, exceptional — the Old Testament law regards sons as the heirs, but it appears that, in later times, the father had considerable liberty in disposing of his property (see 30-^).* In regard to the value set on sons com- pare what is said in Ben-Sira (16''') and Wisdom (4') of the unde- sirableness of bad children. — For the idea cf. BS. 10^. 3. God the judge of character. The fining-pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, And Yahweh is the trier of hearts. The couplet may be regarded (as in RV.) as expressing a con- trast between material and spiritual testing, but is better under- stood as an implied comparison: as ... so ; quaternary- (or, binary-) ternary. Other references to the process of testing and refining metals are Isa. i-' Jer. 6^^ Ez. 22'''"-2 Mai. ■^ ; the figura- tive use is found in Isa. 48^° n3 j here, as in 9^; the Vrss. had the word of ?^. — (g^ Me^' T)hovr^% probably = r\-yr: (see |§ 20") for ?§ na^n (Jag.), 340 PROVERBS but may be interpretation of |^; in i' instead of the iroWQv of B we should per- haps read 7rXi}pr?s with nAC, and dyadiijv kolI adlKcov are expansion, dd. being possibly scribal variation of /xera /idxT/s. — 2. ^ c'ao p; (5 dea-iroruv d(j)p6- vuv, apparently = 'D Sy3; Bi., comparing BS. lo^s (eXei/^epot), reads anna, but this is hardly probable. — In ^ (g has free rendering of ||^; m^ for pa stands eKkeKTaL (n* iKXi-yerai), from nna. Instead of /ci;p^(fj (S'^ has Gu) (Gey). — 4. 1^ yiD is Hif. Partcp. of yyn; we therefore expect a corresponding con- crete form in ^, and may, with Gr., read -ipi:'D (cf. i S. 15^^) instead of ips:'; jrc is for fTNC; both this verb and arpp are commonly and properly followed by Sn, and so we should probably here read instead of Sy. — For an extraordi- nary translation of this couplet see Schultens. — (gN'ABo«. SiKaios Si ov wpoa- ^X". probably scribal alteration to gain an antithesis; ^ is followed in (g68. 161. 248. Compi._ — On a couplet here added in ©^ "'• see note on v.^. — 5. 1^ TN; @ dwoWvfiivcp, perh. = nas (Lag.). — After misfortune STIL add, as interpretation, of another. — 6. On the couplet added in (5 see note on this proverb above, and cf. notes of Lag. and Baumgartner. — 7. In " (§ ttio-tci may be free rendering of |^ ini to gain a contrast with the \l/fvd7j of ^-j but it is possibly error of Grk. scribe for Trepicrad (Grabe, Lag.); in •> dcKalip (representing ||^ 3"ij) may be miswriting of diKa.(TT^ or dwdarrj (Jag.), or, the Heb. may have been read piv, but (5 may be free translation of ^. — i;^"' must mean either remainder or abundance or excellence ; see note on this couplet above. The stem has the sense over and above in North Sem. (Ass. Aram. Heb.) and South Sem. (Arab. Eth.) ; in all these dialects, except Ass. (so far as reported in De. Wbck.) the noun also means string — whether this sense is related to the other is uncertain. The word should here probably be emended to ic'\ 8. Power of a bribe. The Heb. reads : A stone of favor (or, beauty) is a gift in the eyes of its possessor — Whithersoever he (or, it) turns, he (or, it) prospers (or, acts cleverly). Extensive (second cl. explaining first cl.), quaternary-ternary. Gift here, from the connection, = seek to do mischief, But a terrible messenger is sent to him. Continuous sentence, ternary (as the text stands). The first cl. reads literally : rebellion seeks only mischief, or possibly, rebellion certainly seeks, etc. — the translation above given involves a slight change of text ; there is no good authority in OT. usage for the statement (De. Siegfried «/.) that the abstract rebellion is used for the concrete rebellious (in Ez. 2' 44*^ we should read, with Grk., house of rebellion). Grk. (followed by Lat. and RV.) inverts this order of subject and predicate: every bad man stirs up strifes, but so general an allegation does not account for the sharp threat of the second clause. The statement a bad man seeks only rebel- lion (as the Heb. may be rendered) is not true unless the last term is taken (as it is used elsewhere in OT.) as — "disobedience to God " ; so it seems to be understood in part by the Grk., which renders the second cl. : but the Lord will send to him a pit- XVII. 9-12 343 iless arjgel (or, messenger'), that is, some frightful misfortune (storm, pestilence, or the like). This sense is, however, here im- probable— if Yahxueh were meant to be the subject, it would be expressed — and the second cl. suggests that some flagrant crime like rebellion is had in mind, and then the subject of the sentence is naturally a rebellious man or a rebel. Rebellious, in the sense of " disobedience to God," is distinctively a term of the Prophetic thought. If the text be correct (as to which there is ground for doubt) the proverb is purely political (like 23'''^, etc.), affirming that rebellion against constituted authority is an evil and danger- ous thing. Such an opinion might suit many different periods of history : it might possibly belong to the time of Ezekiel, who (Ez. 17) denounces Zedekiah for his rebellion against the King of Babylon, or to the fifth or fourth century B.C., when the Jews were accused (Neh. 6*^*) of wishing to make themselves independent of Persia, or when (according to Euseb. Chroiu, in the Armenian translation) a considerable body of Jews was deported, by Artax- erxes Ochus, to Hyrcania in punishment for an uprising ; but it more naturally falls in the Greek period when rebellions were rife in the various provinces into which Alexander's empire was di- vided..— The emendation: the king will send a terrible one against him (Dyserinck) gives a good sense (substantially iden- tical with that of our Heb.), and should, perhaps, be adopted. On terrible (or, cruel) see 5^ 11^'' 12'" Jer. 6~^ Isa. 13^. 12. A fool is dangerous. Meet a bear robbed of her whelps Rather than a fool in his folly. Continuous sentence with implied comparison, binary. Lit. : let a bear, etc., meet a man rather, etc. For the picture of the bear see 2 Sam. 17^ Hos. 13^. The point of comparison is the danger involved in the two meetings ; in the animal the danger arises from her ferocious anger, in the fool from his intellectual and moral idiocy — he is capable of everything, his folly is an integral part of him. The couplet may be based on an old folk-saying. — Grk. (with a peculiar reading of the Heb.) : care may come on a wise man, but fools 7neditate evil. 344 PROVERBS 13. Punishment of returning evil for good. Whoso returns evil for good, From his house evil shall not depart. Simple afifirmation, ternary. Such base ingratitude, it is said, will be punished — whether through the social laws that spring from men's moral sense, or by direct divine action, is not said. For the phrase of first cl. see i Sam. 25^^ and on returning good for evil see Pr. 25-^-^. 8. %} nnt'H ]n px, for which (5 has fxia-Obs xap/rwi' iraidela; Lag., with probability, emends to ffradfjibs for fx., and i-n-idocns for tt.; ^, inverting, nd3 NHDn Nnnt'i; .S misunderstands; 3L gemma gratissima expectatio praesto- lantis. — 9. |^ r\rc repeat (with 3 introducing the thing in which the repeti- tion occurs) gives a good sense; Gr. emends to tmv errs, and Winckler to njtt'D reports, a meaning which occurs in Ass. (De. IVbch.') but not in Heb. — (5 M'""" KpinrTeiv, in which /x. = xjtr (and so ST), and k. may be rendering of "I3T understood as = the idea contained in the noDD of* (Lag.). On Si, which is based on (§, see Pinkuss. — 10. In |§ nnn (from nnj) the first rad. is assimi- lated, and the tone, for rhythmical reasons, is retracted; the assimilation occurs also in Jer. 21^^ Job 21^^, but not in xj/ 38^; cf. 01s. § 237 a, Ges.^s § 66 f. The stem is perhaps Aramaic. — (5 in '^ has free rendering of |§ ; in •> it seems to have read dnd ^v^ nrna (Jag. Lag.) or to have taken nnn from nnn (awTpi- ^et), a reading which Frank, adopts; the derivation from nm seems more appropriate. ^ expands |^; ^ follows (g; 2L = ?!?. — 11. |^ IN (wanting in (5S9r, in 3L rendered by semper) taken either as = on/y or as = certainly, is inapposite, and the abstract nn (read naiD in @lL)is here very improbable, if not impossible; read nn tivx (as S^SC have it). — After rhv the Prep. 3 seems properly to introduce the object which one stretches out the hand to grasp; we should here perh. read iS or vSn. — Before yT Bi., following ©, inserts ':'3; for 1^ -[N'^n Gr. reads tSriD (so 6^1), but the difference is not important; Dys., more probably, i^n and TWq\ — 12. For the Heb. of ^^ Jag. suggests rn Sst' t:'N3 i^3Ni; in '' (5 read Sn instead of ^n : to a fool is folly. ,S in '' follows @, only doubling the subject {^care and fear), in l" = |^, with '?N for '?n. (ZT in '^ mingles |^ and <§, in b, reading "^x, interprets pj. IL = |^. 14. Of quarrelling. Text and translation are doubtful. Our Heb. may be rendered : a letter out of water is the beginning of strife, and before getting 7u rough t up (= excited, angry) leave off contention, or . . . before contention (or, quarrelling^ breaks out, leave off. The word ren- dered getting wrought up (or, quarrelling) occurs elsewhere in OT. XVII. 13-15 345 only in iS^ 20'', on which see notes.* The reference in the first Hne of our Heb. text seems to be to making a small aperture in a dam or in anything which prevents the flow of water : it is easy to let the water out, hard to stop it — the aperture grows larger, and the flow of water stronger. This construction is intelligible, though the language is somewhat indefinite ; we should expect mention of the point whence the water is let out ; in any case, we must, for grammatical accuracy, read : a letting out, etc. The Grk. gives what is perhaps a better text by reading words instead oi water, whence we have : outpouring of words is the beginning of strife, a warning against thoughtless talk, as in 10" 17-^ — In the second line the norm of the Book leads us to expect an asser- tion (parallel to that of first line) that something comes before something (as in 15^^ 16^*) — perhaps (omitting the leave off) : before conflict goes quarrelling, a progression in the thought. Either the rendering of RV. {leave off contention before there be quarrelling') or that of Siegfried (before contention break out leave off) is, however, possible. Whatever the precise form of the aphorism may be, its general sense is clear — it is a warning against strife. 15. God abhors judicial corruption. He who gives judgment for the wicked and he who condemns the righteous Are both of them an abomination to Yahweh. Simple affirmation, quaternary-ternary (or, binary-ternary). The offence described is that of the unjust judge, controlled by preju- dice, passion, servility to governors, or a bribe. The Heb. of first cl. contains an assonance that cannot well be imitated in modern English, somewhat as he who rights the wrong and he who wrongs the right (the verb right as in Shakspere, Jiich. III. I, 3). The rendering of ^W., justifies (that \s, pronounces fust), now conveys a wrong impression, one too distinctly ethical, and acquits is too narrow a term, since the bad man is not necessarily the defendant in the trial. From this Heb. word the forensic ex- pression y«j-///i' has passed into NT. (Rom. 3'", etc.). Wicked is * Schult. De. al. take it (from Arab, and Syr.) to mean show the teeth (in sign of anger), whence quarrel ; according to others (Siegfried al.) it means break forth (in a hostile way). 346 PROVERBS he whose cause is bad, righteous he whose cause is good. On abomination see note on 3^^ For the idea of tlie couplet cf. Ex. 23^ Dt. 25I Isa. 5^3 I K. 8^- Job 34'' "A 94^' Pr. 24-^ 16. Wisdom is beyond the fool's reach. If the fool has money to buy wisdom, What boots it, since he has no mind? Question, really prose, but arranged in ternary form. Lit. why (or, of what avail) is there a price in the fooVs hand to buy wis- dom, and intellect (lit. heart) there is none ? Grk. : why has a fool wealth ? for a dolt cannot buy wisdom. The term fool ap- pears to refer to both intellectual and moral weakness, since wis- dom in Pr. is commonly employed in the wider sense. There may be an allusion to attendance, by mentally and morally weak persons, on the instruction of sages; but, as it is doubtful whether fees were taken by the Jewish teachers, the proverb may merely affirm that wisdom cannot be got without certain qualities of mind. Here, as elsewhere in the Book, the fool is absolutely ex- cluded from the domain of wisdom, and nothing is said of a change of mind whereby he may enter it. De. cites the " golden proverb " of Democritus : " there are many who have learning without mind (voCv) " ; but the antithesis of Pr. goes deeper — the fool is not merely lacking in breadth and fineness of intellect- ual apprehension, he is also unsympathetic toward all knowledge and wisdom. Mind is properly " capacity to learn," which here probably involves "disposition to learn." — The Grk. adds a couplet made up from v.'^" and v.-". 17. Value of friendship. A friend is always friendly, A brother is born for adversity. Identical, ternary. As symbols of steadfast, helpful affection friend and brother are here (as in \p 35", cf. 2 Sam. i-") equiva- lents : one is loving at all times, even in times of trial ; the other is born for ( = intended for, adapted to, exercises his specific function in) adversity, the occasion which most severely tests friendship. — Many recent translators (De. Reuss, Kamp. RV. marg. al.) adopt the rendering and is born as a brother for (or, XVII. i5-i8 347 in) adversity, that is, the true friend, in time of trial, is, as it were, born anew into blood-kinship and assumes the role of brother. This translation gives substantially the same sense as the other, identifying /;■/(?//(■/ and brother in respect of faithfulness, but is less natural, and less exact. — Some interpret the second line as ex- pressing a contrast to (and an advance on) the first line, with the sense : " a friend, it is true, is always friendly, but in time of trial it is the brother (at other times indifferent) that comes forward " ; but the term always appears to include times of trial ; the friend is not friendly in fair weather only, and the brother does not con- fine his kindness to seasons of adversity. A brother is a natural representative of unselfish love; but Pr. in two places (i8^^ 19^) represents the fraternal relationship as far from perfect, and in two places (18-* 27^") puts it below the relationship of friend or neighbor — that is, it estimates the bond of social affection as higher than that of blood. — On the value of friendship see BS. ^14-16 2 223_ 'Y\\Q love of sister for brother or of brother for sister is nowhere directly spoken of in OT. (in 2 Sam. 13-° Absalom is next of kin and natural protector), but the word sister is used as = dear friend (y'* Cant. ^ al.). 18. Folly of going security. Void of sense is he who pledges himself, Who becomes security to another. Identity of predicates, quaternary or ternary. Pledges himself is \\\.. strikes hands; on the expression see notes on 6^ 11'^. The another refers to the creditor. To another is Ht. in the presence of his neighbor. Grk. : for his own friends, with the same gen- eral sense. Similar warnings are given in 6'^ 11^'' 20^*^ 22^*^ 27'^ BS. 29^*'-^'. The OT. law says nothing of such security; the cus- tom arose, doubtless, in the later commercial life. 19, 20. Strife and falseness are destructive. 19. He loves i wounds > who loves strife, He who I talks > proudly seeks destruction. 20. A false heart finds no good, A lying tongue falls into calamity. 348 PROVERBS 19. Chiastic parallelism, quaternary (or, binary). Instead of wounds the Heb. has sin, not here appropriate, the corresponding term in second cl. being de s true Hon ; the emendation requires only a shght change in the Hebrew. In second cl. the text reads : he who tnakes high his door, which is understood to refer to the pride and ostentation shown by building the house-door high * ; but no such custom is known to have existed in antiquity, and the paralleHsm calls for an expression referring to strife ; the change of a letter gives the reading makes high his ?nouth, = speaks lof- tily, haughtily ; cf. the similar expression s/eah loftily in i Sam. 2^.\ — The parallehsm involves the idea that proud words occasion strife, and strife is always injurious, often destructive. Cf. ii" i8^^ 20'' 29''^^ — 20. Synonymous, binary-ternary. Lit. /;^ who is false in heart (= mind, inward being) and he who is false in tongue ; on the first of these terms for false see note on 2'^ — it means " that which deviates from the straight line," " morally crooked"; the second means " that which is turned away from the proper form." Finds = meets with. The good and calamity (lit. evil) relate not to moral advantage or disadvantage, but, as appears from the whole course of thought in the Book, to external prosperity or adversity ; it would, besides, be tautological to say that the liar is not niorally good. 21. Children not always a joy. He who begets a dolt does it to his sorrow, And the father of a fool has no joy. Identical, ternary. The two terms dolt (Heb. kesil) and fool (Heb. nabal) are here practically identical in meaning. The former (which occurs nearly fifty times in Pr., see note on i^-) is " dull, slow-witted," intellectually, morally, or religiously ; the latter (found elsewhere in Pr. only in 17'' 30", and less than twenty times in the whole OT.) commonly, outside of Pr., relates to religious folly. Here the reference may be to intellectual and moral stupidity, or to the intellectual sort alone. Cf. v."' of this chapter, and BS. 22'. — Grk. (imitating 10^) adds: but a wise * The Grk. has : who makes his house high. t Aben Ezra, Schult. al. interpret door as = mouth, but this is an improbable metaphor. XVII. 19-22 349 son makes a glad mother, an antithesis which might naturally have been appended by a scribe. 22. Cheerfulness is health. A cheerful heart is a good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones. Antithetic, quaternary (or, binary). Cf. is''', to first cl. of which our first cl. is conformed by some critics ; but the variation of the Heb. seems more probable. On heart and spirit see notes on 2^ and 11'^; both terms here relate to temper of mind — in first cl. we have a cheery, courageous nature, in second cl. a broken-spir- ited, dejected, downcast nature. In first cl. the predicate is lit. causes good healing (or, recovery^. The bones, as skeleton, repre- sent the whole body ; they may be vigorous, fat, full of marrow (3" 15''° 16'^ Isa. 58"), or feeble, rotten, eaten by caries (12'' 14^" \\i 3i'"('^* Job 30^") ; in this verse the dryness is contrasted with \X\& fatness (fulness of marrow) of healthy bones. The reference is primarily to the physiological effect of temper of mind, and then, perhaps, to the general effect on life ; as to the old-Hebrew conception of the relation of the bones to the rest of the body, the process of nourishment in bones, and the relation of mind to body we have no precise information. For similar sayings among other peoples see Malan ; on ancient medicine see art. Medicine in Smith, Diet, of Bible. 14. •\")-) or Tp'j is better than |^ to'^ (so Gr.). — On the stem y^i see Schult. Ges. Thes. BDB. From Arab, it appears to signify uncover, disclose (= Heb. n'?)), then shoiu the teeth, qiiari'el, rage ; the last-named meaning suits the use of the Hith. in Pr.; Gr. (after Nidda, viii. 2) takes it as = burst forth (so also Siegf.); Heb. n*^', Syr. •;'?', Arab. i^\ seem to be different stems. Frank., in opposition to the rendering before there be conflict, says that 'n*^ is never used in dehortation, but always introduces something that actually precedes; yet cf. Gen. 2'f v'^b ^ii-. — (S is partly corrupt, partly based on a different Heb. text from ours: i^ovalav SiSjiaiv perh. = -iji gives free course (but Jag. refers to ^ 22^) ; Xdyots = "^r: (instead of :)".); diKaiocrOvrjs is perh. for 5ia5i- Kaa-ias and ivdelas for avaiSelas (-<\-r) (Jcig ). — S> read ■:•- for ::': , and perh. 2-'-.-i for v'^i-n (Baum.); C appears to expand S> (cf. Pinkuss); Wei antequam p.jtiatur contumeliani (perh. = before lie is stripped^ judicium dese- rit. — 16. On the arrangement of lines in (S see note on v.'^ below. — 17. To take "l"^ -'^ as — in adversity is perh. possible, but is here hardly natural. — In *> (@ has a doublet, the second member of which is abridged; or this second line 350 PROVERBS may be an interpretative gloss. ^ y-}^ ^^^' according to Jag., understood by (3 as Hif. Impv. of n-;-\ make thee a friend. — 18. (§1L take ^d ^\iT\ as a gesture of joy. — 1^ inyn -ijoS; Gr., retaining sense of |^, t ]";cS; Bi., after (§ (twv eo.vTo\j (plXiijv) n-n^, making the reference general — the nature of the warning is not thereby affected. — 19. ^ ^'^^'s; Gr. ps?, which is preferable. — In (5 the order of lines differs from that of |^ : after v.^^ come v.^^'' and a modified form of v.'^"*, then v.^'' («■'"> doublet), is. i9a. 2). the change is due to an error of a Grk. scribe. — 1§ ^nr^S; (5 rbv eavrov oIkov, = ina or inns, a good sense, but not preferable to that of |^. It is better, however, with Frank., to read >s; of. the combination of njj with -i^--, i Sam. 2^. — 21. pj -''^''; (@ Kapdia, = 2^. here inapposite and against the parallelism ; it is perh. induced by the k. of v.-^. — 22. 10 mi is most naturally connected with the verb of Hos. k,^^, and so, = healing. The similarity to 151^ has suggested the sense face, for which, however, there is no authority (see Arab, nnj and nji). The primitive signifi- cation of the stem is uncertain; cf. Syr. xn', flee, tuithdraiv (whence perhaps our noun, = cessation, betterment^, and see notes of De. Now., and the lexi- cons. (§ iwKTiiv; ,S2r read hmi body, and Dys. Gr, emend to nu. 23. Wickedness of taking bribes. A wicked man accepts a bribe To pervert the course of justice. Single sentence, ternary. Lit. . . . accepts a bribe from the bosom (that is, of a briber) . . . the ways of justice. On bosom as = a part of a garment, and on its use as pocket see notes on (y^ 16^; on bribe (lit. gift) see v.* above, and on the power of gifts cf. 21". The rendering . . . takes a bribe from {fiis ow7i) bosom (that is, in order to corrupt a judge and pervert justice), while possible, accords with the Heb. and with parallel sayings less well than the translation above adopted. The wicked man is here the corrupt judge or other influential person. 24, 25. Inanity and oppressiveness of the fool. 24. The goal of the man of understanding is wisdom, The fool's eyes roam over all the world. 25. A foolish son is a grief to his father And bitterness to her that bare him. 24. Antithetic, ternary. Lit. in front of the man of understand- ing is wisdom, but the eyes of the fool are on the ends of the earth. The man of tinde?-standing (see 8^ 17^" 2^) is he who compre- XVII. 23-26 351 hends the issues of life, and makes it his aim to attain the true principle and law of conduct (the divine law implanted in the mind of man); the /;^;/, on the other hand (Heb. kesil, see v.^'), lacking in insight and stability, is incapable of fixing his attention on any one thing, and therefore does not seek wisdom. The in- terpretation " the man of sense sees wisdom everywhere, the fool seeks it unsuccessfully everywhere" (Ew. al.) is improbable — the fool is not represented in Pr. as seeking wisdom except in the moment of final deadly peril (i"^), while the reference here is to the man's ordinary thought, and the point is his lack of serious- ness ; cf., on the other hand, the attitude of the scoffer in 14^ For the expression ends of the earth see Jer. 25''''^ Dt. 28'''* \^ 135' Mt. 12^- al.; it denotes the extremities of the then known world, that is, the region south of Ethiopia, the south of Arabia, the region just east of the Tigris (perhaps to the centre of Asia), Asia Minor, and the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. — 25. Identical, ternary-binary. The proverb is a variation of 10' 15-" 17^'. Fool {kesil^ as in v.-'-^. — Delitzsch makes 17-^-18- a separate section on the ground that it begins and ends with the same thoughts which open and close the preceding passage, i7'^"'''; but the repetition of a proverb hardly warrants such a division ; see the Introduction. 26. Against injustice under forms of law. The first line of the Heb. is clear : Also to fine the righteous is not good. The word also (= intensive and), which implies a conjunction or contrast with something that precedes, is here without significance, unless we suppose a lost line or couplet with which this line or this couplet stands in contrast (possibly 18^) ; and even if the order of lines in the couplet be inverted, the word will still be in- apposite, since the relation of thought between the two lines does not call for such an emphatic connective ; the rendering even (Kamphausen : already) is, for the same reason, improper. — Fine (usually employed of a pecuniary mulct, Dt. 22^^ al.) may = more generally punish (as in 22^). Not good = not proper. — The second line may be rendered : To smite the noble /or upright- 352 PROVERBS ness (RV.), or: ... against equity, = unpistly (Frank, at.), or: . . . is against equity, = is unseemly (Wild.). The first sense is improbable : in first line the bad act is simply punishing a just or righteous man (without the addition " for his justice or righteous- ness "), nor in fact is the '' noble " man commonly assailed " for (= on account of) his nobleness," but in a rapacious spirit which cares not whether its victim be noble or ignoble, or his cause just or unjust. The second rendering (in which the expression is not good must be supplied from first line) involves a tautology — any punishment of a righteous man must be unjust. The third ren- dering gives a distinct parallelism of predicates in the clauses. Kamphausen changes the text and renders : to smite the noble is so in high degree (that is, is emphatically not good), but the trans- lation is doubtful, and a cUmax here is improbable. — If the word noble be retained, it must, from the parallelism, be understood in a moral sense, as = righteous. It may mean nobleman, prince (8'" 25^ Job 12^^ (/^ 118^ al.), or zoilling, freehearted (Ex. 35^), but also, apparently, morally noble : thus in v.^ of this chapter i^ is put over against fool, and in Isa. 32^-^ is contrasted with fool and knave. — Another emendation of text (Frank.) gives the reading : to oppress {him) in court unjustly (or, inequitably), to which the tautology {oppress . . . unjustly) seems a decisive objection. Probably the second line should be read either : it is not seemly (or, fair) to oppress the upright, or : // is not seemly to pervert justice. Cf. 18^, which appears to be a variation of this couplet, and after it our line might be read : to oppress the upright in court. 27, 28. Value of silence. — Identical, quaternary-ternary (or, ternary) . 27. He who is sparing of words is wise, A man of cool spirit is judicious. 28. Even a fool, if he hold his peace, is accounted wise. Sensible, if he keep his lips shut. 27. Cf. 10^'. First cl. lit. . . . kiioivs knowledge ; cf. 4^, hiow understandijig. The man of cool spirit (lit. he who is cool of spirit) is one who maintains composure and self-control, is not under the dominion of excited feeling, and is therefore cautious in XVTT. 26-28 353 speaking ; the proverb is primarily directed not against literary loquacity (though this may well be included), but against lan- guage which may stir up ill feeling. — Subjects and predicates may be inverted, so as to read : The wise man is sparing of words, the judicious man is cool. — The ancient Heb. editors (in the Ma- sora) read, in second cl., he who is precious (= costly, dear, rare) of spirit, which is interpreted by Rashi (perhaps guided by first cl.) to mean he who is sparing of words, by others of zuorthy bear- ing (Saadia) or character (Schult. AV.). The two last render- ings are tautological (cf. De.) ; the translation cool (which is generally adopted by recent expositors) seems satisfactory ; Grk. longanimous ; Targ. humble. — Wise, lit. a ma7i of wisdom (or, comprehension^. — 28. The meaning is not that the fool shows wisdom in keeping silence, but that silence conceals folly, and is, moreover, commonly regarded as a sign of profundity. See many proverbs, similar to these two, in Malan's Notes. 23. (S gives a very free rendering of the whole couplet as a single sentence, and adds a doublet of the second half; see Lag.'s attempt to explain the word- ing, and Baum.'s criticism of Lag. — S he tuho receives bribes is tuickeil, and per- verts (he way of justice, less probable than |^. — 24. |l? ^JD tn alongside of, in front of; Gr. emends improperly to ^n '^n toward. Before 73*: Bi. inserts t'», unnecessarily; sense and rhythm in |^ are good. In (SSST rss- is not ren- dered.— With (!|:03. 147. 253 the Grk. text is better read trpiauiirov crweTOv dv8p6s aocpbv, (!|S giving no sense (Lag.). The ]-\n rejoice of ST^^s- must be emended, after Si, to •[•^•'J^ look, as in the Breslau Codex (Pink.). — 26. Omit 3J as mean- ingless ( f. note on v.-^ below) . The *? before pis is improbable, since rj;? is elsewhere followed by noun without Prep, (see 21II); we should perh. read tT^ (see the '^ in b) ; the insertion of the Prep, before the noun may be error of eye, or may be due to an Aramaic-speaking scribe. — i^ r;n''; better ronS (F"rank.). For 211 cf. Arab. 3i: active, excellent ( = physically or morally good), and Eth. 3i]r exposed to peril {= pressed on) ; the stem perhaps = move on, press forzvard. — J^ nc^i ■'^y affords no satisfactory sense; read "i-"' ^^3 (Gr.),as © ov5e dcnov (Dys. tj''' •■Sa) • the emendation IT'; -h'; superabundantly (Kamp.) does not accord with the context. Si^T who say what is right ; IL qui recta judicat. — 2t. K -\pi; Q ip\ The latter is followed freely by ©STIL and the medieval Jewish interpreters, the former by %. — 28. |^ ai introduces a con- trast between the '^is and the naturally suggested a^n (in v?^ there is no such natural suggestion of contrast between pii" and >';•">). — <5 a.voT]ri^ itrepw- T-qcraPTi (:-!-'::) (yocpLav a-o comes then comes also contempt, And on < insolence > follows scorn. Synonymous, binary (or, quaternary-binary). The Heb. reads: when the wicked man comes, comes also contempt, and with dis- grace is scorn. The reading wickedness (obtained by a change of vowels) is favored by the form of expression of first cl., by the second cl., and by the parallel line in 1 1^ {comes pride, then comes disgrace) . — Of the three other nouns of our Heb. the first and third are active (expressing one's feeling toward a person), the second is passive (expressing the state of the despised person). The relation of the nouns of first cl. to each other is ambiguous : the contempt may be felt by the wicked for others, or by others for him ; the second sense is favored by the parallelism (the scorn of second cl. is directed toward the bad man), and by such proverbs as ii". — The second cl. in our Heb. affords no satisfac- tory sense. Disgrace cannot be taken (Zockler) as = shameful conduct (synonymous with tvickedness) . The couplet is by some * understood to mean : " the wicked man despises others, but with the disgrace which he inflicts on others comes scorn from others for him," a forced interpretation of second cl. Others, f following the Grk., read : " When the wicked comes, comes also contempt, disgrace, and scorn," which is grammatically and rhythmically improbable. A slight change of text gives the reading for sec- ond cl. \ : and 7vith him are disgrace and scorn, that is, he (the wicked man) inflicts these on others ; this (identical in sense with Fleischer's rendering, but grammatically better) is intel- ligible, but is not quite natural. — A parallel to first cl. is got if * Strack, al. f With Fleischer. % Gratz, Bickell. 356 PROVERBS (by an easy change of consonants) we substitute insolence (or, pride) for disgrace : "with wickedness is contempt, with pride is scorn." The ambiguity of direction in scorn remains ; for the reasons given above it is better to take it as felt toward the bad man. Grk. and Lat. regard the contempt of first cl. as inflicted by the wicked ; in second cl. Lat. makes him the sufferer, Grk. is doubtful. — On contet?tpt, disgrace, scorn see notes on 12* 3''^ 6^. Tiie distinction made by Delitzsch, that the first and third of these terms relate to words, and the second to conduct, is not warranted by OT. usage. 4. The Heb. text reads : The words of a maji's mouth are deep waters, a flowing brook, a 7vellspring of wisdom. This unre- stricted statement does not accord with the thought of Prov., in which no such excellence is ascribed to men in general (in 12" the text is to be changed) ; nor can we take man as = " the ideal man," or paraphrase (Ew. De.) " it often happens that the words," etc. — this is not in the manner of the Book. As the couplet stands, the 7nan must be qualified by some term like " good," or, " wise," and the second cl. must be regarded as continuing the predicate of first cl. To take second cl. as an independent sen- tence, and describe the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing hj-ook (RV.) is to introduce an impropriety of language — a fountain is not a brook ; and the rendering the words, etc., are deepened zvaters [that is, of a cistern, which is exhaustible], the weU), and the definition life here suits the context better than wisdom. The ex- pression fountaiii of life may mean either " fountain of life-giving water," or " perennial fountain " ; the latter sense accords with the parallel brook. The reading life, instead of wisdom, is found in the Grk. and in a few Heb. MSS. ; the testimony of the latter is not of great value, and the Greek reading may be a correction after 10". But the usage of Prov. must be allowed to have weight, and we should perhaps read the couplet : The words of the xvise are deep waters, a flowing brook, a perennial fountain, that is, an inexhaustible source of counsel and blessing. — On word z.% equivalent to thought see note on 10". 5. Against legal injustice. To favor the guilty is not good, Nor to oppress the innocent in court. Identical thought with antithesis of terms, ternary, A forensic saying, = 17^*^ (cf. 17^^) ; guilty and innocent axQ the terms usually rendered wicked and righteous respectively. Favor is lit. lift up the face, that is, " raise a suppliant from the ground in token of favor" (Lev. 19^^ Mai, i^ 2^ Job 13* \\i 82^, and the verb alone in Gen. 19-^, = accept) ; the implication here is that the favoring is unjust. — The Heb. of second cl. reads: to oppress (lit. turn aside, that is, from one's rights), etc., which may be taken to mean so as to oppress, etc. (RV. marg.), but it is more natural to understand second cl. as simply parallel to first cl. Court is lit, judgment, = legal decision. Lat. : that thou mayest decline from the truth of justice (reading truth or righteousness instead oi right- eous). Grk. (expressing the implied adjective) : nor is it holy to pervert justice in judgment. Cf. i K. 21^'^ Am. 5'- Isa. i^ Jer, 22'' Ez. 22'- al. XVIII. 1. 1^ niN— ; (5 irporpdaeis, = njNP, as in Ju. 14* (Capp. Cn'/. Sac. 4, 5, 13), which should, perhaps, be adopted; cf. 2 K. 5'^. Possibly jnj slanderer should be read instead of -ns:; cf. 16^^; the S of |^ appears to be taken by (Capp. 4, 7, 3). — On S and ST see notes of Pink, and Baum. — 2. (5 ft7erat (supplied by the translator) is apparently scribal error for 6.-yaTaL (Jag-), and dtppocrvvri is interpretation of |§ u"? n-iJ.nn, or perh. (Gr. Baum.) represents n'7'?n (which, however, it does not represent in Eccl. iqI^). — 3. |§ yu'i and i'^p ; read •;•£'-> and jir. — r3, ]^p, nflin, are general terms for contempt, which is naturally often expressed by words, sometimes also by deeds; see 12^ 6^\ 335 ^8;^^'', 6^^ Ju. 5I8. Bi. (and so Gr. doubtfully) reads loyi. — (@ els ^ddos is ingeniously explained by Jag. as = DjNa in^o the pool (for |^ aj N3), but it is doubtful whether ^a.Oo's would be used for djx, a word which (5 elsewhere in or. perfectly understands; one might rather think of pD>'; cf. /3a6i> in v.*, 3§ apcp. — 4. For ::'vS ^3 read a^n (Gr. nja.-i ^-n), and for noon read D;n (so (S and several fieb. MSS.). — (5 X670S e;/ Kapdiq. dvdpds, = trx 3^3 13"', in which aSa appears to have arisen out of |^ oia (in ''d i^i), the n and d becoming *? and 2 (Lag.). — (5 dvairriSveL Lag. regards as error for dvairidvei. 6-8. Foolish and slanderous talk. 6. The lips of a fool lead him into strife, And his mouth brings on him stripes. 7. A fool's mouth is his ruin, And his lips a snare to him. 8. The words of a slanderer are like dainty morsels, They penetrate into the innermost recesses of a man. 6. Identical, ternary. Cf. ly^-^^ 19-^201 Lit. come into strife, — lead, etc. ; or a slight change of the Heb. will give lead (so the Grk.). Brings on him is lit. calls for. The fool's thoughtless or malicious words involve him in disputes (legal or other), which, since he is in the wrong, entail punishment. — 7. Identical, bi- nary-ternary. Cf. \2^'^ \f \f^. The thought is the same as in the preceding couplet. Ruiji is to be taken as = " grievous ca- lamity, crushing misfortune." The Heb. is lit. a snare to his perso7i (lit. soul),— to himself — 8. Comparison explained, ter- nary. The couplet occurs again at 26^^; cf 16-^ 26^". The slan- derer is one who whispers mahcious gossip, which, says the proverb, is received by the hearers as eagerly as choice morsels of food, and, like them, pass into men's being, and so affect their thought and action. On other translations of the word here ren- dered dainty morsels (such as sJ>ort or mockery, blows [AV. wounds'] burning, tormenting, simple, reserved, soft) see critical note below. The text does not express an antithesis in the two XVIII. 6-9 359 lines : the words are soft (or, reserved), nevertheless they penetrate (lit. go dowfi) ; it is the quality of sweetness in the words that makes them acceptable. The Heb. has lit. in second cl. go down into the inner chambers of the belly, in accordance with the men- tion of food in first cl. ; the expression the recesses of a man is more appropriate to the acceptance of gossip. On in>ier cham- bers (here = interior) see note on y^ The proverb simply states a fact — men's readiness to listen to malicious talk — without com- ment. For the concluding phrase cf. 20^'\ 9. Sloth is destructive. He who is slack in his work Is brother to him who destroys. Single sentence, binary-ternary. Against indolence and careless- ness. The primary reference in 7vork is probably to the ordinary bread-winning occupations of life, but the term may include all affairs, of friendship, statesmanship, etc. The slothful or indolent man, the proverb declares, ruins things as effectually as the spend- thrift or traitor or any one who sets himself to destroy. Indo- lence, as an offence against physical well-being, is specially denounced in Proverbs; so in 6^" lo^ 12"^ 15^'-' 20^- ^'^ 21-^ 24^"'^* 2513-16 ^(,f gg_ 22^-40-'^°). Brother = "one of similar nature" (so companioti in 28-'*). Hi/n who destroys is lit. a possessor (= a dealer) of destruction ; the reference is not to robbers and murderers, but simply to those who bring ruin on their own affairs and those of others. Rashi explains the expression as referring to Satan. 6. 1^ Qal 1N3-; (52C Hif. in^-, unnecessary. — pj nic';'-ip'^; (5 r6 dpaav edvarov; the last word seems to represent the three last letters of pj (Jag.), the rest is doubtful : Jag. suggests that (5 out of nn'^ made nr:n (comparing gi'* 20I), Baum. suggests ^rJr\n (9>3 -ywr) . . . dpadela), and Levy {Ckald. IV'ori., s.v. iiT\-\:^) -\r\-o'^ (out of 'rno'?) ; the reading 7\'cnr^ is the most probable. — 8. On jnj see note on i628. — |^ acnS-ip (found only here and in the duplicate couplet 26--) has been variously explained: I. (f (in 26'-^) tJ.aKa.Kol (which elsewhere in (5 = l^) ; cf. ^'^n 2^-'^ flatlering (so Kimhi, Geier), and Arab, rcn^ soft (Ew. compares c:,-j), or (Frank.) Aram, ri^n sweet ; possibly S (26^2) iv irapepyu) subordinate, incidental is here to be included, in the sense oi feigned, but see below under spo)-l. 2. Whisper, tnurmiir (= t'r\'^); 'A (26-2) yoTjTiKoi jugglers; Ew. suggests comparison with Aram. 3>'n as 360 PROVERBS possible, = murmur, as expressing either the transient or the insinuating character of words. 3. ® pxi disturb, vex (and so substantially S), as = aSn strike ; so Immanuel (in Reuchlin), Rashi zvounds (of. zn'^, Heb. and Arab.) or (252^) combatants, Luther, AV. (see text and margin), Levi, Vatablus those who feign themselves luounded. Similar is 3^ \T\ (26'^-) strike doivii, perh. scribal variation of p>ST (cf. Levy). 4. S in ^^ I"''Dr, = aKipaioi. (Middeldorpf fi/ca- Koi), IL simplicia, 9 (26'-'^) i^aTr\otjfji€i>OL, perh. free rendering of (3, perh. error of text. 5. Sport, play, taking ^n'? as = nn'^; so Saad. Mich. Zock. 6. Hidden (Aben Ezra) , perh. with reference to Arab, ^rh, IV, or connected with whisper. 7. Burning (Ew.) = destructive (like poison), taking sn'? as = ^n'?. — The comparison with Arab, en'? swallow with avidity seems to be the most satisfac- tory, though the rendering s%veet morsels is possible. — (5 omits the couplet, substituting igi^^, but with changes (Jag. Lag.). — 9. "^ cj, with reference to other classes of persons who are destructive. Originally it may have pointed to an immediately preceding statement; in the present connection it is with- out significance. 10, 11. God and wealth as fortresses. 10. The name of Yahweh is a strong fortress. To which the righteous runs and is safe. n. A rich man's wealth is his strong city, It is like a high wall in his estimation. 10. Single sentence, ternary (or, binary-ternary). The expres- sion name of Yahweh, common elsewhere in OT. (except in Ju. Ru. Ezr. Esth. Job [discourses] Eccl. Cant.), is found in Pr. only here (a similar expression in 30"). The name^=\kvt. person, because it expressed his nature and quaUties (as early names com- monly did), and because in very ancient times the name was re- garded (perhaps in consequence of its significance) as having an objective existence and as identical with its possessor,* and the locution which thence arose survived in later times when the old crude conception had vanished. Every people came to associate with the name of its god all that it attributed to the god. The name Yahweh was significant to the Jews at this time not because it was a " tetragrammaton " or had in it any mysterious meaning, but because, as the proper name of the national deity, it repre- sented for them all ideas of divine guidance and protection. On the period of the history during which the name was commonly employed see note on i'. The superstitious notions which were * See Spencer, Social., I. 263; Jevons, Iiitrod. to Hist, of Rel., pp. 245, 361; Brinton, Rel. of Pritn. Peoples, pp. 92 f. xviii. 10-13 361 later attached to the " tetragrammaton " are unknown to the OT.* Cf. Ex, 3". — Is safe, Ht. is set on high or /;/ a high place, where he is safe from the attacks of enemies. The proverb affirms gen- erally that God protects the righteous ; it says nothing of the means employed. Cf. i/^ 27^ — 11. Parallel comparisons, quater- nary-ternary. Estimation, lit. picture, then, apparently, itnagina- iion, thought; cf. \p 73^, and note on Pr. 25". A better parallelism is given by reading : and like a high wall is his riches. The Heb. appears to say that wealth is a protection not really, but only in the opinion of its possessor ; this is possibly the cor- rection of an editor who took offence at the role ascribed to wealth. Whichever reading be adopted, the couplet simply states a fact ; it is doubtful whether praise or blame is implied ; cf. 10^^, in which our first cl. occurs. Wealth is regarded in Pr. sometimes as a desirable source of power, sometimes as associated with im- moral and irrehgious pride. — From the collocation of v.^° ^' it might be surmised that the former is a correction of the latter, or a protest against it. Such protest may have been added or inserted by an editor ; v." stood originally, no doubt, as a simple record of observation. 12, 13. Danger of pride and hasty speech. 12. Pride goes before destruction, And before honor humility. 13. He who answers before he hears, It is folly and shame to him. 12. Antithetic, ternary-binary. Lit., in first cl., before destructiofi a man (lit. a man's heart) is haughty ; see 16^^. The second cl. occurs in 15^. — 13. Single sentence, ternary. Hears = " gwes attention to " ; sha?ne = " disgrace." Cf. BS. 11*, Firh. Al>. 5, 7. 14, 15. Value of courage and wisdom. 14. The spirit of a man sustains misfortune. But a broken spirit who can bear? 15. The mind of the intelligent acquires knowledge, The ear of the wise seeks after knowledge. * See Buxt. Lex. s. v. uho and •j-\iod Dr. In Lev. 24"- 16 " the Name " should be read " the name of Yahweh " ; the " Yahweh " was omitted causa reverentiae by lale scribes. 362 PROVERBS 14. Implicit antithesis, ternary, = " an unimpaired spirit is strong, a broken spirit is weak." Frankenberg, in first cl., not so well : He who soothes a man sustains ( = controls) his anger. Spirit is the inner being thought of as the seat of vigor and courage (as in Eng. spirited) ; broken = stricken, crushed. Sustain and bear are here synonyms; the rendering raise up (RV. marg.), instead of bear {= endure), is here improbable. Misfortune is Ht. sickness (RV. infirmity), here used of any suffering. The proverb records a fact of human experience, the sense being : when the spirit, which is the source of strength, is itself crushed, what help is there? (for the rhetorical form cf. Mk. 9^"), and the implied ex- hortation is : be brave, do not succumb to trouble. There is no reference or allusion to divine aid. There is here a near approach to the Greek conception of " courage " as a virtue, a conception hardly elsewhere formulated in OT. — 15. Identical parallelism, ternary. The first cl., with variation of verb, occurs in 15", in which the second cl. introduces the fool as contrast. — Intelligent (see note on 1^) and wise are synonyms, and so acquires and seeks after. The word ear points to oral instruction. A progres- sion of thought, such a.i : " the intelligent (the higher grade of mind) already possesses knowledge, the wise (the inferior grade) is only seeking it," is improbable. No such distinction exists in Pr. between intelligent and wise. 16-18. Legal and other contests. 16. A man's gift makes room for him, And brings him before great men. 1 7. The first comer is right in his plea, Then comes the other and tests him. 18. The lot puts an end to disputes, And decides between the mighty. 16. Synonymous parallelism, ternary. The gift is not intellectual endowment,* a sense foreign to the Heb. term, nor the bounty which a liberal man benevolently dispenses (19"), thereby gaining friends,! nor precisely a bribe, but probably, as second cl. appears to indicate, a present made to great and powerful men, whereby they become well disposed to the giver, afford him protection and * Hitzig. t De. Str. at. XVIII. 14-19 363 aid, and he thus has i-oom, a free field, access (as in second line) to the presence of the patron. Cf. 17**. The custom of making such presents to the great, common in Israel and elsewhere, was notably prevalent in the Greek period of Jewish history ; see, for ex., the stories of Joseph, Hyrcanus, and Herod in Jos. Ant. 12, 4, 2. 9 ; 14, 12, 2. — 17. Single sentence, with implied antithesis, ternary-binary. First comer, he who first presents his cause before the judge, and is naturally able to make out a good case ; is right, that is, in appearance ; plea, lit. latvsuit (RV. cause) ; the other, lit. his neighbor, the other party to the suit ; tests him, lit. searches him, examines his argument, and presents the other side. The first cl. may be translated he who is first in his plea {^■N . pleadeth his cause first) is right*; the sense remains the same. — In Pirk. Ab. i, 8 it is said that the judge, so long as the parties are in his presence, must regard both as guilty, that is, must distrust both. — The proverb = audi alteram partem. — 18. Synonymous, ternary-binary. On the employment of the lot among the Israelites see note on 16'^''. In this case the contend- ing parties, instead of going into court, agree to refer their dis- pute not to an arbitrator, who would weigh the arguments and decide like a judge, but to God, who was supposed to order the drawing or casting of the lots in accordance with justice ; this divine decision, if accepted in good faith, would at once stop con- tention, even when the contestants were powerful. The questions in which the lot was resorted to in the later time were, it is proba- ble, chiefly or wholly such as concerned property rights of private persons — political disputes would commonly be otherwise settled. Decides is lit. separates, that is, parts the contestants, so that the dispute ceases. 19. It is difficult, if not impossible, to construe the Heb. text. Lit. : a brother sinned against (?) than a strong city, and disputes are like the bar of a fortress. The translations sinned against {treated perfidiously, iiijured, offended ^^ and who resists, sets him- self in opposition J are grammatically doubtful. The insertions harder, stronger, harder to be won, etc., before the comparative sign than, are unwarranted ; it would be necessary, if the preced- * So De. Reuss, al. t Rashi, RV. al. I Ew. Zock. al. 364 PROVERBS ing word should be retained, to change than to like (see second Hne). But even then the comparison of an injured friend and of disputes to a fortified city or a fortress is strange and improbable. It is not impossible that the couplet is a variant of v." of this chapter (cf. lo^''), and should read: the rich man's wealth is a strong city, and his riches is like the bars of a fortress. — Grk. : a brother helped by a brother is like a strong and lofty city, and is as strong as a wellfounded palace. This is better than the Heb., but is still unsatisfactory — there is no reason why a brother helped by a brother should be thus singled out. — For the bars of cities and fortresses see Ju. 16^ i K. 4^' Isa. 45- Neh. 3^, and cf. Nowack, Arch. i. 142, 368 ff. 10. (§ kK fieyaXua-ijvrjs, — V^'jq (Jag.). — 11. |!J P3t:'c (cf. 25") apparently = "something graved or fashioned"; the meaning of the stem is uncertain. Frank, suggests Vi^oi or vddj, which is, perhaps, to be adopted. — 12. |^ Z'H need not be omitted in the interests of the rhythm, since u^k a';' may be pronounced as one word. — 14. ^ r'!^!!]-; <§ ^epdTrco;' 0p6viyuos, according to Jag., = n-inn (cf. 19^) one who carefully attends to hi»i (see Lag.'s note), which Frank, adopts, rendering : tver ilin schmeichelnd besanftigt, and taking n"i as = anger, but the resulting line does not offer a good antithesis to second line. — 1^ HN'pj n^; %, spirituin ad irascendwn facilem. — 17. K NJ''; Q N3\ Either reading gives a good sense, but a connective is natural, and we should perh. write njm; a 1 may have fallen out by reason of precedmg 1. — (§ eauToO KaT^7opos, = iann (i Sam. 2^') or 13-1 (Isa. 45^). — 18. pj Si'jn; (gABx o-£7tj- p6s (= (7t7ijX6s) a silent man; better /cX^pos, as in (g -^c. a. marg. ^H ^/_ — |§ nnxv; Gr. suggests N^i ot z'i'^ coiiles/an/s. — 19. pj j-c'di ns; (g (followed by 5i2r3L) d5eX06s virb adeXcpov ^o7]dovfx.€vos, = >rj ns', improbable in the con- nection. The isolated >»w'OJ is suspicious; the Nif. occurs only here, and the Qal is always followed by n or ^j,'; De. compares •'rp = ■''?y arp, but to this it may be replied that the two forms are different (Frank.) — in the case of an Act. Partcp. the construction is possible, but not in the case of Pass. Partcp. See note on this v. above. — 1§ vj ni"i|'5r, though syntactically possible, is hard; the substitution of 3 for d is favored by ^ and by (SSSTiL. — On K ajnn, Q amn see critical note on 6'*. — pj jbix m^-; (§, inverting order, ucrirep redeixeXioifi^vov ^acriXewv as a firtnly founded palace ; for t. (AB.s" a/.) Lag. would read nefioxXevixivov (S^ ^//) barred. 20, 21, Power of the tongue. 20. From the fruit of the mouth comes requital to men, The outcome of the lips they must bear. 21. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, They who use it must eat its fruit. XVIII. 19-22 365 20. Synonymous, ternary (or, quaternary-ternary). The thought 1; is that of 12" 13" ^ on which see notes — a man must take the consequences of his words, which are here regarded as expressing . his thought and nature. Xa'i. from the fruit of a man's mouth his belly is filled, the outcome (or, product^ of his lips fids Jeim. Fill and belly belong to the figure employetl (eating) — words are spoken of as something that a man feeds on, they, by their conse- quences, determine his position and fate, they bring requital, for '^ good or for evil according to their character. On outcotne (^ = produce, product) see notes on 3^". — 21. Synonymous, ter- nary. See 13^ Good and bad speech are contrasted by their results. The death and life are physical ; see notes on 3- ^'^. Are in the power of ==\^' axQ at the disposition of, are dealt out by." ; Caution in speech is suggested, since words may bring the great- est misfortune (the termination of earthly life) or the greatest good fortune (a long and prosperous life). — In second cl. the Heb. reads lit. they who love it (the tongue), which, in the con- nection, can mean only they who are fond of using it, but the verb is not natural, and the text is perhaps wrong. Grk. they ivho con- trol it does not agree with the general form of the predicate of second cl., or with the thought of first cl. ; the predicate to such a subject should be itnll enjoy good. The suggestions of De., that the // may refer to wisdom, or should be read Yahweh, are out of the question. Cf. BS. 2>f^. 22-24. Wife, wealth, friend. 22. If one finds a wife, it is a piece of good fortune, A favor bestowed on him by Yahweh. 23. The poor man uses entreaties, The rich man answers roughly. 24. There are friends who only seek society. And there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. 22. Synonymous, ternary (or, quaternary-ternary). Lit. he who finds a ivife (that is, a good wife) finds good, and obtains favor from Yahweh, that is, he finds not a good thing (RV.), but good fortune, which, says second cl., he must regard as a special favor from God, who bestows all good fortune (not " he may, in conse- quence, expect favor from God"). Reuss : may congratulate 366 PROVERBS himself, it is a favor from God. On the sentiment and on the meaning of good (= capable) as used of a wife see 12^ 19" 2,^^^^^ BS. 7" 25* 2e-^-^^-^^-^^-^ 40^ (read prude^it wife) ; cf. 5^** Gen. 2^^ Eccl. 9^ (for another view see Eccl. 7-*). Rashi : "he who finds the law" ; Saadia sees in the wife an allusion to Eve. — Cf. 8^, in which our second cl. occurs, the reference there being to the find- ing of wisdom. Numerous similar sayings are cited by Malan. — The Grk. adds : " he who puts away a good wife puts away good, and he who retains an adulteress is foolish and ungodly," a scribal addition intended to bring the thought of the couplet out more fully. — 23. Antithetic, ternary (or, binary-ternary). The social eminence and the rudeness of manner which sometimes accom- pany wealth, and the social dependence and humble bearing of the poor man — put by the proverb as a general rule ; this may be taken as a testimony to the manners of the time (probably the Greek period) ; cf. 22" BS. 13''. — 24. Antithetic, ternary. Heb., first line : A i7ian of friends is to be broken \_— crushed, ruined\ that is, his nominal friends, so far from helping him, will only use him for their own purposes. This interpretation * is exaggerated in its statement, does not offer a satisfactory antithesis to the second line, does not follow the best Heb. text, and is in part a doubtful translation. The expression man of friends, with the sense " he who possesses (or, makes) many friends " is not quite in accordance with OT. usage, in which the defining noun after man states a personal quality or a characteristic occupation (see 3^ 10-^ 12^ 19^- 29* Isa. 53^^ \\j 41"'^"*) ; thus in Gen. 46''* the Jtieii of the flock means precisely not " men owning flocks," but "raeft whose business is the tending of flocks." Apart from this the parallelism (supported by a Jewish tradition) favors the reading there are instead of man (the difference between the two is that of a vowel), and first line might be rendered: there are friends for being crushed, that is, who only bring ruin. But, since the second line speaks of a steady, reliable friend, we expect in first line a reference to superficial, untrustworthy (rather than to hurt- ful) friends ; this reference is gained by giving to the verb the sense of " friendly association," a sense which is found in several * Adopted by Schultens, De. RV., and the majority of modern expositors. XVIII. 22-24 l^-j Anc. Vrss.,* and is adopted by Luther, Mercer, Geier, AV. The verbal form (the Prep, to + Infin. in the Heb.) must be under- stood to express the purpose and function of the friends : they seek only society, and are found wanting in time of stress, while, on the other hand, there are friends who stand by a man in his darkest days, and are more to be relied on than the nearest blood- kinsman. Friends, says the sage, are of two sorts : some are fair- weather comrades, but some are stout and faithful helpers. — The terms ///ends (first line) and/n'end (Ut. /(?7'er, second line) are in themselves synonyms — the difference between them here in- tended is suggested by the context. The second line has some- times been understood to refer to the Messiah. Cf. BS. 6*"^^ (especially v.^") 37* ^ 20. Bi. omits the Prep, in i-isrr, making the noun the subject of the verb — possible, but unnecessary. — The reading 2'j t:\s', suggested by Gr. (who refers to 12^*) is here inappropriate. — 21. ^ st. anx; (g KparovvTes, from thn, which affords no good sense; all other ancient authorities and most moderns follow 1^, which can hardly be original. No good emendation has been sug- gested; neither 13;' (//lose who are sid'ject to it) nor ~\'ct' {those zvho give heed to it) (Gr.) is satisfactory. Rashi : "he who loves his tongue and exercises himself in the law." Saadia: "according as he loves one or the other" (death or life). — 22. The insertion of na'j after nu'N (©SiSriL) is natural, but unnecessary (cf. Eccl. 7-*^). — On the couplet added in © (and in SiL) see note on this proverb above; * follows closely the norm of lij", and *> is the natural antithesis. — 23. Lacking in (S^^^""', given in S^^ and H-P 23. 103. al.; see notes of H-P, Field, Lag. — 24. |§ -^-pr^ri, not from >'■> (Gr. Ven.), or j?-\ bad (Zock. al.), but from yi break. Read nj,n.-i.-i, from n;-i (so ^WL®-^). — |§ Z'H is read r; by 2C Hitz. Lowenstein, Frank, al., and is, from the parallel- ism, to be adopted. Baer (in App. Crit. to the B-D ed. of Prov.) observes (from the Masora) that this is one of the three occurrences of w"s, in which tt" is to be expected, the others being 2 Sam. \d}^ Mic. 6I''; see Knnhi, Libr. Had., s.v. ti'^'N. — The couplet, like the preceding, is wanting in (@'^«'-, found in H-P 23 al.; yyinnS is rendered by rov eraipevcraffdai., cf. IL ad societatem. 5i" a man loves himself in order that he may be loved, either a free rendering of n, is going to be (or, is to be) mined. In the emended text "? -|- Inf. expresses purpose. Cf. critical note on 19^. * Targ. Lat. and some Grk. 368 PROVERBS XIX. 1-4. Poverty, wealth, folly. 1. Better is a poor man, upright in life, Than he who is false in speech, even though he be ( rich.' 2. To act without reflection is not good. He who is hasty in action fails of his aim. 3. A man's folly ruins his affairs. And then he is angry with God. 4. Wealth adds many friends, But the poor man — his (one) friend withdraws. 1. Comparison, antithetic, ternary. In first cl., lit. who walks in his uprightness {or, perfectness). Speech is lit. lips ; on false (RV. perverse^ see note on 2^'". Instead of rich the Heb. has a fool. The couplet occurs again at 28'^, with rich instead o{ fool, a read- ing here required both by the parallelism of the clauses {poor . . . rich) and by the obviously intended antithesis in second cl. : the though he be (lit. and he is) naturally introduces something which might appear to oppose the better, but fool could only strengthen the comparison. Ewald thinks that rich was the orig- inal reading, but retains fool on the ground that this expression {—haughty) is a synonym of rich*; but this is obviously not true in Pr. — the poor may be upright, but he is never identical with the religiously humble ; and the rich, though he may be arro- gant, is always the man of physical wealth. — 2. Synonymous, ternary. Against heedlessness. The Heb. begins with the word also, which is significant here only in case it is intended to add heedlessness to falsity (v.^) as a thing not good, and this is hardly probable. — The first half of first cl. is defective, lit. without knowledge of soul, that is, " in the soul," = without reflection, as appears from the parallel haste of second cl. ; the verb, act or be, must be supplied, and soul should perhaps be omitted. The Heb. word for soul may also mean self or desire, but the renderings to be without self-knowledge (Ew.) and desire without reflection (Hitz.) are not in accordance with the usage of the Book. The translation that the soul be without knowledge (RV.) is grammati- cally untenable. So, also, the interpretation : when one pays no regard to his desires (that is, denies himself all pleasures, in order * So Zock. De. Novvack al. The reading rich is adopted by Gratz and Kamp- hausen. XIX. 1-6 3^9 to save money), that is not good, is hardly to be obtained from the Heb., and is not a probable reflection for Pr. The last ex- pression of first cl. means " not a good (or, sensible, useful, help- ful) thing," nearly = unsuccessful ; Reuss's blind eagerness can only be hurtful, and Wildeboer's where there is no knowledge (or, reflection), there also (even) eagerness is not good are grammati- cally doubtful. — In second cl. is hasty in action is lit. hastes with his feet. — If the proverb be taken in connection with the preceding, it must be interpreted as directed particularly against heedless pursuit of wealth ; but it seems better to understand it as a condemnation of thoughtless eagerness and hastiness in gen- eral. Fails of his aim =^ misses the mark (see 8"''' Job S"'*), — 3. Continued thought, quaternary-ternary. Ruins = overturns (RV. subvertetli) ; affairs is lit. 7vay ; God, lit. Yahweh. For the thought cf. BS. 15"'"° Soph. Oed. Col. 1693 ff., and other par- allels in Malan. — The couplet is a criticism of the allegation that failure is the work of God ; the reply is that the fault is with men themselves — a practical way of dealing with a much-debated question characteristic of Pr., and standing in marked contrast with the lines of thought of Job and Ecclesiastes. — 4. Antithetic, quaternary-ternary. Cf. v.'^ and 14-". The second cl. may also be rendered : the poor is separated from his friend (so RV). On the terms wealth and poor see notes on i^'^ io^'\ 5-7. Perjury, liberality, poverty. 5. A false witness will not go unpunished, He who utters lies will not escape. 6. Many seek the favor of the liberal man, All are friends to him who gives. 7. All the poor man's brethren hate him — How much more do his friends stand aloof! 5. Identical in thought, ternary (or, binary-ternary). For the expressions see 6^^ 14^-^ and v.^ below, of which this couplet is a doublet, and here not in place ; the reference is to legal proceed- ings, and the certainty of punishment is affirmed as a general rule — a testimony to the justice of the courts of law of the time. — 6. Identical in sense, with increment of expression, ternary. The 2B 370 PROVERBS indefinite 7nany is heightened into the definite ail, and thus receives the suggestion of universality. Seek the favor is Ht. stroke (or, smooth) the fare (caressingly) or jnake the face soft (gentle, favorable) ; see Job ii^' \p 45^^'^^^ i K. 13^ xp 119^*, etc. The translation liberal (lit. willing) is suggested by the parallel- ism, but the Heb. word {nad'ib) may also be rendered potentate (Grk. kings) or ?ioble ; see notes on 8^*^ if-"^^. The reference is probably to the munificence of the rich private man or prince who seeks, by gifts, to attach men to his person and his cause — such was the method in ancient political and social life. A more general reference to unselfish liberality is possible, but the prov- erb appears to contemplate the somewhat corrupt city life of the later period of Judaism. — 7. Advance from the less to the greater, ternary (or, ternary-quaternary, or, binary-ternary). Hate is to be understood literally — a poor man, as likely to be burdensome, easily becomes an object of detestation ; brethreti — kinsfolk in blood, and friends are associates, not bound by the tie of blood, whose friendship is superficial and untrue. It is assumed that blood-kinsmen are under greater obligation than friends to help. At the end of this couplet the Heb. has a line which is now unintelligible, reading lit. he who pursues words, they are not (Heb. marg. his they are), which RV. interprets as meaning he [the poor man] pursueth them 7vith words, but they are gone, a sense which is not contained in the Heb., and is forced and unnat- ural in form (RV. marg. is correct except the expressions zvhich are nought and he pursueth). Lat. : he who pursues only words shall have 7iothing, which is intelligible (though not a rendering of our Heb.), but the expression pursue words is strange. The line appears to be the corrupt remnant of a lost couplet, but it is hardly possible, with our present means of information, to recover the original form. 8, 9. Wisdom is profitable, falseness is fatal. 8. He who acquires understanding is a friend to himself, He who follows wisdom < will > get good. 9. A false witness will not escape, He who utters lies will perish. XIX. 6-IO 3/1 8. Synonymous, binary- (or, quaternary-) ternary. Understand- ing, lit. heart, — mind, intellectual perception, with reference to all the affairs of life ; the same idea is expressed by wisdom, lit. " apprehension, comprehension, insight " (see note on 2") ; fol- lows = preserves, pays due regard to; is a friend to (or, loves) himself (lit. loves his soul) = " has regard for his own interests " ; as predicate of second cl. the Heb. has to find (or, get) good, which may be understood as = "is going to get," etc., but a simple change of letters gives the better reading will get ; good = " what is advantageous." The sense is : intellectual insight (= clearness of thought, good sense) is profitable in this life, the moral as well as the physical life being probably included ; cf. ^13-18^ etc. — 9. Synonymous, ternary (or, binary-ternary). The couplet is a variation of v.^, with the stronger expression perish in second clause. 10. Wealth and power befit only the wise and the free. Luxury is not a fitting thing for a fool, Much less for a slave is rule over princes. Climax, ternary. Fitting = appropriate (not exactly seemly or becoming); see 17^ 26^ The proverb compares two things in which there is no propriety : the value and use of luxury are not understood by an obtuse, uncultivated man, rather it develops his bad quaUties, and he becomes ridiculous and disgusting; and a slave, with all the vices of a servile class, elevated to political power, is likely to become arrogant and tyrannical. Wealth was often acquired by men morally and intellectually dull, and the pro- motion of slaves to places of authority was not uncommon in Asiatic and African governments (Strack refers to the role played by eunuchs) ; cf. 30^" Eccl. 10^ BS. 11^. The fool of first cl. may be identical with the slave of second cl., but this is not necessary. On the other hand, slaves sometimes proved excellent governors \ cf. 17^ 14^. — On the position of Heb. slaves see notes on 11^ * Cf. Job 41* [40^^], from which, however, it cannot be inferred that the relation of a slave to his master was based on an agreement between the two. 372 PROVERBS 11. Forbearance is wise. It is wisdom in a man to be slow to anger, It is his glory to pass over transgression. Synonymous, ternary (or, quaternary-ternary). On wisdom^ = "sound sense," see note on 12'* (in 3* the text is incorrect) ; the couplet in the Heb. is Ht. : a mail's 7visdom defers his aiiger, and his glory (== that on which he may pride himself) is to pass, etc. ; the translation given above is obtained by changing the vowels of one word, whereby we gain the exact parallelism to be slow {—to defer) . . . to pass, corresponding to the other paral- lel expressions a mail's wisdom . . . his glory. The same thought is found in 14"-^, and cf. 25^-^^ and Eccl. 8\ Forgive- ness of errors and injuries is here represented as a sensible thing, probably because it promotes social peace and wellbeing ; there appears to be no reference to divine reward, though there may be an implication of moral law. For the expression pass over trans- gression cf. Mic. 7^^. 12. A king's anger is dreadful, his favor refreshing. The wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion, His favor like dew on vegetation. Antithetic, ternary (or, quaternary-ternary). The first cl., with change of one word, occurs in 20", on which see note ; similar references to royal power see in 16" 28'^ Eccl. 8""^ The picture of the king suits many periods of history, but particularly the time when the Jews had special reason to fear the caprices of foreign rulers. The word rendered by vegetation includes grass, herbs and cereals. XIX. 1. Wanting in (5^'ABC. ^w sub ast. Compl. H-P 23. 103. 253 = ?^.— 1^ ""D:; S' xiv"i>", IL dives (but adds et insipiens at end) ; read ~\t-;, which the parallelism imperatively demands. The insipiens of IL and the N^p D of some MSS. of S are corrections after |^. — For |^ vpsr '-i n'?3 n\n. — 4. In pj ■^^;;^c the d may be Prep., or nominal preformative. — 6. The art. in •;-\n is to be omitted; Bi. jjn ri*??. — 7. |^ I'l^^D is defectively written plu. — (@ follows f^^- ^ with change of pointing. — Bi. adopts the additional couplet of O and renders it into Hebrew. — 8. f^ Ni'cS; read XSD% as apparently (§ will die. Antithetic, quaternary-ternary. Lit. he who keeps the coni7nand- fnent keeps his life (lit. soul), he who despises his ways will die. The law may be human (especially the teaching of the sages) or divine ; the principle of the couplet is the same in both cases, but in the latter case it is God who (directly or indirectly) deals out reward or punishment (as in ;f^), while in the latter the agent of retribution is the court of justice, or the natural law of human society. — We may also translate : he who obeys (or, co7iforms to) law, that is, regulates his conduct by an established (and, presum- XIX. I4-I8 375 ably, wise) norm, instead of by his own caprice ; the general sense remains the same. — For the Heb. despises his ways an easy change of text gives the reading: despises the word (as in 13^^), which supplies the appropriate parallelism of nouns ; the verb despises cannot well be used of a man's ways (Frank.). Will die is the reading of the Heb. margin (Masoretic), the text has will be put to death, that is, by decision of the judge — the common legal expression (as in Ex. 21^--^*, etc.) ; the former is more in accordance with the manner of Pr., which regards death as the natural consequence of wrong-doing. Cf. 13^^ 15^" 16^^. 17. God rewards kindness to the poor. He who has pity on the poor lends to Yahweh, And he will repay him his deed. Continued thought, binary, or ternary-binary. On poor see note on 10'''; cf. 22^ 29^ \\i 41''-'. In second cl. we may render good deed (as RV.), the adj. being supplied from the connection ; the Heb. word signifies "something done," sometimes good {\\i 103"), sometimes bad {\\i 137*), often with the suggestion that there is to be retribution or recompense for the thing done, as here and 1 2". Kindness to the poor is regarded as done to God (cf. Mt. 25^"), who will repay it, as the whole Book suggests, by bestowing long life and worldly prosperity. — The ethical basis of the proverb is the recognition of the natural duty of caring for the poor. The motive urged is not the obligation to do right, but the reward of rightdoing. 18. Chastisement saves a child. Chastise thy son while there is still hope — Set not thy heart on his destruction. Implicit parallelism, quaternary-ternary. Chastise is teach {^ 2'"), reprove (Pr. ^), correct (Jer. 30"), here punish bodily, as in 2gi7. 19 j3|._ 21I8. Instead of 7vhile the Heb. may be rendered for (RV. seeing). Set not thy heart is lit. lift not np thy soul (= thy desire^, as in 1// 24^ 25' 86^. On his destruction is lit. to kill him. Cf. 13-^ 23" 29''. The sense is : train thy son by bodily chastise- ment in the docile period of childhood — do not, through weak 376 PROVERBS or mistaken kindness, so neglect to control him that he shall go astray and finally suffer death as the natural (legal or other) conse- quence of his ill-doing. The second cl. can hardly be understood as a warning against excessive bodily punishment {^cio not cai-ry your chastisement so far as to kill him) . According to Dt. 21^*"^^ a son, on the representation of his father that he was intractable, might be sentenced to death by the elders of the city ; but the more refined feeling of later times revolted against this procedure.* In the family life contemplated by Pr. it is highly improbable that a father would ever think of carrying chastisement to the point of killing his son. The meaning of the couplet is given in 23^^. — Bickell : do not fancy that thou could' st kill him, a violent and inappropriate emendation. The rendering let not thy soul spare for his crying (AV.)t is hardly permitted by the Hebrew. 13. Before |^ •^•\^ dripping 3 should, perhaps, be inserted. — 14. J^ nSx'D prudent ; (§ apixb^erai (with which Lag. compares the (g rendering of hyi< in Gen. 48^*) takes the Heb. word as = is wisely adapted, that is, given in marriage (and so SC). — 15. The couplet occurs in (@ in 18^, with variations. — 16. Bi. changes the second nrr of |§ to 3ns to avoid repetition (referring to v.^) ; but the repetition is here effective. — |^ vom; read ^J^, to agree with njb, Keth. nr;^; read Qeri nc\ — 18. p? Tcn "^n; (S (followed by S) eh v^piv, = ■^iT'Cn Sn, from ncn (Jag.)) or Aram. Ncn 7ieglect, despise (Lag.) ; A^TIL = 1^. — The text appears to be corrupt, but no satisfactory emendation offers itself. Bi. : ics: Ntifn D-in '^ni. 19. Text and translation doubtful. The Heb. margin reads : A man of great anger pays a fine (or, must bear a penalty) (or, he who pays a fine is very angry), for, (or, but, or, in truth) if thou rescue, thou must do so again (or, thou wilt increase). In first cl. great is the reading of the Heb. margin ; the text has an obscure word, variously rendered {stony, * In the oldest known Semitic material there is no mention of the father's power of life and death over the son ; see the Sumerian " Laws relating to the family " (found in Assurbanipal's library, and probably adopted by the Assyrians), in which the severest punishment that could be inflicted on a refractory son is expul- sion from the father's house. But the law in Dt. 21I8-21 js probably a modification of an earlier Hebrew regulation, according to which the father had the power of inflicting death (cf. Ex. 2ii5. 17). Cf. W. R. Smith, Relig. Sem."^. pp. 59 f. The power of life and death was originally included in the Rom-^n patria poiestas. t Following medieval Jewish authorities. XIX. i8-2o 377 hard, rough, freqiienf). Of the many interpretations offered of second cl. the following are the principal : If thou save [thine enemy] thou wilt add [good to thyself] * ; If thou save [thy son, by moderate chastisement], thou mayst continue [chastisement, and so educate him to virtue] f ; If thou save [the angry man from the legal penalty, thine interposition is useless], thou must do it again [since he will repeat his offence] % ; If thou save [the person who is the object of the angry man's wrath], thou increas- est [the angry man's wrath]. § These interpretations supply a great deal, and the two last assume (what is improbable) that anger is a finable offence. With changes of text we may read : The more he sins, the more he adds to his punishment || ; or, [a man who is fined is very angry] but if he show contempt [of court], he has to pay more^; but such details of legal penalties (even if they could be got naturally) are out of place in this series of aphorisms. The text appears to be incurably corrupt, and there is perhaps, in addition, a dislocation. 20, 21. Human counsel, human and divine plans. 20. Hearken to counsel, and receive instruction, That thou mayst be wise in future. 21. Many are the thoughts in a man's mind, But the plan of Yahvveh, it will stand. 20. Continuous, ternary, or quaternary-ternary (possibly binary- ternary). On counsel diXidi insiructioti see notes on i^^-; they are the teaching of the sages, or of sagacious persons in general, and they make one wise in all affairs. The thought may be simply the commonsense one : " take advice if you would act sensibly — only a fool refuses to take advice," or there may be a reference to the philosophical, ideal conception of wisdom of chs. 1-9. In future is lit. in thine after-life (RV. thy latter end), an expression which generally means " the end of life " (see 5'*), but here, from the connection, seems to signify " hereafter [after receiving instruction] in thy life." The Syriac reading in thy ways is per- * Rashi. t Saad. Michaelis. % Bertheau, RV. al. § Str. Wild. Strack quotes Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar {Pirke Aboth 4, 18) : "do not try to soothe thy neighbor when he is angry," for you thereby only exasperate him. II Syr. Targ. \ Frankenberg. 378 PROVERBS haps better. It is not probable that the couplet, taken as an address to the pupil, refers to technical teaching and promotion in the schools : " thou art now only a beginner, but listen to instruction, and thou wilt become a sage" (Wild.). — 21. Anti- thetic, ternary. Thoughts = reflections, designs ; plan is in Heb. the same word as that rendered counsel in v.-", but here decision, design (regarded as the result of deliberation). The absolutely wise and sure divine purpose in the government of the affairs of men is contrasted with the diversity and uncertainty of human plans; cf. i6^-^-^ 20-^ 3^ 22. Form and sense are uncertain. Lit. : the desire of a man is his kindness, and a poor ?nan is better than a liar. The meaning of first cl. is doubtful. It may be taken (with objective genitival construction) to be : " the desire felt toward a man (our regard for him) is called forth by his kindness" (to us or to others), but this* is an improbable translation ; or " that which is desired by man is to receive kind- ness " (Saad.), or "man's desire and joy is to show kindness,"! both of which are doubtful as translations, and give a thought which is not in accordance with the tone of the Book. Many recent expositors % render : " a man's goodwill is his kindness," that is, beneficence lies in the intention ; but the Heb. word hardly means "goodwill" — it is "desire" or "the thing desired," § as in 10-^ 11^ j^^- ^^ \p 10^^ 78^^ Gen. 3'', and never elsewhere in OT. has the sense of " intention." And further, if it could be held to have that sense here, the form of the Heb. sentence would still be hard and improbable. None of these translations establish a relation between the two clauses of the couplet ; the interpretation: "the essence of beneficence is the intention — a poor man who would give, but cannot, is better than a rich man who could give, but lies and says he cannot give " || manifestly imports into the text what does not exist there. — Grk. (with change of text) " mercy is fruit to a man," whence Ew. " a man's gain is his pious love," and so a poor man who has this love (Grk. * RV. marg., Rashi and other medieval Jewish expositors, Schult. Noyes ("that which makes a man beloved"). t Bertheau, Zock. f Stade, Kamp. Wild. I Euchel, De. Reuss, Now. Str., and so RV. || De. Str. al. XIX. 21-23 379 a righteous poor man) is better than one who has become rich by lying (Grk. a rich liar) ; this, though more intelHgible than the Heb., is still forced. It would give a better sense to read : a man's kindness is a revenue to him, that is, " kindness is good policy," but the Heb. would not be a natural form of expression for this thought. The Lat. gets the doubtful proposition in first cl.: "a needy man is merciful." Hitzig, taking the suggestion of the Grk., renders : " from the revenue of a man is his kind gift," an insignificant truism. Dyserinck, changing the text in second cl. : " what is attractive in a man is his friendliness, but better rough (or, crabbed) than false"; but the interpretation of "the desire of a man " as = " what is desirable in a man " is not sup- ported by OT. usage. — The second cl. should probably read : an honest poor man is better than a rich liar. The first cl. must be left untranslated, as affording no satisfactory sense ; and it cannot be brought into natural connection with the second clause. 23. Piety gives safety. The fear of Yahweh leads to life, < Who hopes in him ' will be unvisited by harm. Synonymous. Lit. : the fear of Yahweh {tends) to life, and he dwells (or, abides) satisfied, he 7vill not be visited by evil. The enallage of subject in the Received Text is harsh, and not in accordance with the style of Pr. — the he of second cl. has no antecedent; the rendering one dwells (De. Zock.) is not allow- able, but, if our Heb. text be retained, this form, or the insertion of " to man " in first cl. or the explanation " he who has it dwells " (RV. and most recent translators) is necessary for syntactical clearness ; the Heb. text is in bad condition, and something like the emendation above suggested seems necessary; cf 29^ \^ 146^. Life = long Ufe and prosperity, bestowed by God as reward of obedience; see notes on i'^'^ 3-. On dwell see note on 15^^ Satisfied = content (27^ »// 17^^, cf. Pr. 30^ xj/ 16^^). With first cl. cf. 14"', with second cl. cf. 10^. 24-29. Sluggards, mockers of parents and of truth, perjurers. 24. The lazy man dips his hand into the dish, And will not bring it to his mouth. 380 PROVERBS 25. Smite a mocker, and the ignorant becomes wise, Reprove a man of sense, and he gains knowledge. 26. He who maltreats his father and drives away his mother Is a son who acts shamefully and disgracefully. 27. ? < He who ceases' to listen to instruction » Will' wander from words of knowledge? 28. A false witness scoffs at justice, And the mouth of the wicked i utters ' iniquity. 29. Penalties are prepared for scoffers. And stripes for the backs of fools. 24. Continuous, quaternary-ternary. A humorous and sarcastic rebuke of laziness, repeated, with variation of expression in second cl., in 26^^ Dips is in the Heb. Ut. hides (RV. hurieth) ; dish occurs in 2 K. 21'^ (and nearly the same Heb. word in 2 K. 2-° 2 C. 35^") ; the scene is a meal, and the method of eating is Oriental (cf. Mk. 14^). The verb of the Heb. {taman) is hardly appropriate (Schult. Bi.), and should perhaps be changed (to tubal, dip). The last word of first cl. is rendered or read vari- ously in the Anc. Vrss. : bosom*; armpit \ ; Rashi reports a ren- dering slit in a garment (= bosoni), and Gratz suggests garment. There seems to be no good reason for changing the reading dish, though bosom gives a good sense. — 25. Antithetic, quaternary or ternary. On mocker ( = one who contemptuously rejects right teaching, is unteachable) see note on i". Ignorant = simple, moral simpleton (!■*•"). The morally ignorant man, says the proverb, is warned when bad men are punished — it is an intelli- gible object-lesson ; a wise man learns in a more rational way, by giving heed to advice. — 26. Continuous, binary-ternary. In second cl. we may render : who is vile and despicable (Reuss), or who causes shame and reproach (RV. De., cf. 29^"). Cf. 10^ 13^ 17^ Nothing is said of the punishment of the unworthy son ; the old laws (Ex. 21^^^^) had probably at this time fallen into desue- tude.— Maltreats is probably equivalent to drives away. The son here seems to be in possession of the property in his father's Hfetime ; the latter is presumably decrepit, the care of the property falls naturally to the son, whose unfilial conduct, though it may be condemned by public opinion, does not come under the cogni- * Grk. Syr., and so some medieval Jewish commentators, AV. Bickell. t Aq. Sym. Targ. Lat. XIX. 24-29 3^1 zance of the law. — 27. Lit. cease, my son, to listen to instructio?i, to wander from the words of knowledge. The saying has been inter- preted as a serious exhortation, = " cease to hsten to that sort of teaching which will cause thee to wander," etc.,* but the Heb. term here rendered instruction can hardly be understood, when used without an adjective, to mean anything but right instruction, nor has it any other meaning elsewhere in Pr. ; or f " cease to listen to [good] instruction in order (that is, if thy purpose is, or, if the result for thee is to be) to wander," etc., but such an exhor- tation (= "better not hear than hear and not obey") is foreign to the thought of Pr., which elsewhere divides men into the two classes, those who hear and those who do not hear, and does not deal with the case of those who dally with teaching or seek it in sport or know and act not (Wildeboer refers to Lu. \2^'). Ewald and Reuss regard the exhortation as ironical, = " only cease to hear, and you will soon wander," etc., but the latter thinks such a form unexampled in Pr. and doubtful. The grammatical construction of the Hebrew, also, is not clear, and the address 7ny son does not else- where occur in this division of the Book (10^-22'*^). The text must be changed either as in the translation given above, or so as to read : Cease, my son, to hate instruction, to wander, etc., or, do not cease, tny son, to listen, etc., and do not wander, etc. If the second or third reading be adopted, the couplet should be trans- ferred to chs. 1-9 (cf. 5^-) or chs. 22^'-24-^ (cf. 23^-). — 28. Syn- onymous, quaternary or ternary. False is lit. wicked; for the mean- ing of the term {belial) see note on 6^^ The scene of first cl. is a court of justice (Ex. 20^*^ Lev. 5^), and the second cl., from the par- allelism, is to be so understood : the wicked witness inflicts injury by false statements ; the iniquity is the harm done by the perjurer not to his own soul (so the Grk.), but to the legal rights of others. Instead of Heb. gulps down, read utters (see i"^ 15" \p 59^*^' 78^). Cf. 6^^ 14-^ 25^*. — 29. Synonymous, ternary. Penalties, \\t. judg- ments, a term which occurs only in the plu., and is found elsewhere only in Ez. and later parts of Ex. Num. Chr. ; a change of one letter of the Heb. gives rods (so the Grk.), which offers an exacter parallelism to the stripes of second cl. On scoffers (to which fools * Saad. Schult. Str. t Oetinger, De. Now. 382 PROVERBS is here equivalent) see note on i'^ The punishment spoken of is that inflicted by men. 19. Kethib SiJ, with which Arab, ^-j) stony, hard may be compared (Ew. explains it by Arab. ^•'U frequent, but the interchange of r and i is improbable). The stem ^-\:i in this sense may be found in "•ij /o/ (originally, ■p^xh^.^ts, pebble, Schult. al.), but as the adj. does not elsewhere occur in North-Semitic, the Qeri ViJ (so 0) seems preferable. For |^ '^xn and ^oh Frank, proposes y'-'^ and fiD'-. — l^'' appears to be corrupt, but a satisfactory emendation is difficult. — 20. |§^."n^s3; 5i irmx^, perhaps to be adopted. — 22. I^nix^; i^ Kapirhs, whence Ew. and Bi. emend to nsan revenue ; kindness may be said to be a source of revenue, but cannot be called revenue. -Dn is not "pious love" (Ew.), but general benevolence and friendliness. — In ^ <3 supplies the sug- gested adjectives. — 23. |§'' f';'^ >'3i;' appears to be a corrupt expression. An intelligible reading of ^ would be: yi i|^g; '?3 rVy i3t:'; the same thought is expressed in 29-^, with n^2 instead of "13;;'. — 24. |^ rnSx; (§ kSXttov accords with the verb of |^, |ClC, and is perhaps a guess induced by this verb. The noun in f§ is more pertinent (for why should a man take his hand from his bosom in order to carry it to his mouth?), and the verb should perhaps be changed to '?rj. — 26. |^ -\T<^r.; Gr. iVjc ejects, to secure exacter parallelism with n-i:i<, or, as he writes it, mac. — 27. (3: .ijn for |^ nij-, and >n for 1^ ~iy-i; 3L: do nut cease . . . afzd be not ignorant etc.; SST : cease, my son, and hear . . . and thou wilt not wander etc. The Heb. form is doubtful; we may insert the neg. with 3L, or write vxju' for |tj •;r2Z', or, omitting •'J3, read h-^'n and njr^ for |§ '?in and n'jr'?. — 28. |§ '?>"'^a iv; <& 6 iyyvufievos iraida &pova, = -2 p 2-\y (Lag.). — |^ ^"^2^; Frank., better, j!a\ — 29. |§ a-JOB*; (§ fxda-TLyes, = oaati', perh. better. XX. 1. Folly of drinking to excess. Wine is a mocker, mead is a brawler. Whoever is overtaken thereby is not wise. Extensive, quaternary- (or, binary-) ternary. The sense is : it is not prudent or sensible to indulge to excess in intoxicating drinks, or : one thus overtaken (that is, drunk) does not in this condi- tion behave or act wisely. JVi//e {yayin) is the fermented juice of the grape ; of mead (RV. strong drink) all that appears from OT. is that it was intoxicating (Isa. 28''), and, in the later legisla- tion (Lev. 10^) forbidden to priests, that it was a common bev- erage of the people in the religious feasts of the preexilic time (Dt. 14^®), and that Nazirites (and probably also the Rechabites, Jer. 35) abstained from it (not on account of its intoxicating XIX. 29-XX. 4 383 qualities, but because they represented the old pastoral life, and rejected agricultural novelties). It is not improbable that it was the fermented juice of fruits (other than grapes), such as the pomegranate (cf. Cant. 8") and the date.* Mocker, scoffing at all things good and true ; brawler, violent, loud, uncontrolled. The drink is credited with the characteristics which it produces in men. Is overtaken, lit. reels (Isa, 28^), is intoxicated (cf. 5^^) ; the rendering errs (RV.) or is deceived (AV.) is possible, but less appropriate, 2. Royal anger. The wrath of a king is hke the roar of a lion, He who < angers > him sins against himself. Comparison and its explanation, quaternary-ternary. Wrath of, lit. terror of, = " terror inspired by " ; Grk. threat is formally a more appropriate expression — the lion's roar is properly an illus- tration of an utterance of the king ; the Heb. means to say : the terror produced by an angry king \z as great as that produced by the roar of a lion. The translation angers follows the Grk. ; the Heb. is rather is angry with (RV. marg.). Instead oi himself we may render his own life {nefesh, soul). For sins against we should perhaps read harms, as in 8^. Cf. 16" 19^^. 3. Folly of strife. It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, Only fools are quarrelsome. Antithetic, quaternary-binary. The second cl. reads lit. : but every fool is qua7-relsonie (or, quarrels, RV., will be quarrelling). On the word here rendered quarrel set notes on 17" i8\ 4. Sloth produces no bread. In the autumn the sluggard does not plough, And therefore in harvest he looks in vain (for a crop). Continuous, ternary. Autumn is here particularly the season, following the last ingathering of crops, when the ground is to be * Our words sugar, sacc/iarhte probably have the same stem as the Heb. term (shekar). On its meaning cf. Lag., it/ is known by his deeds, According as his conduct is good or i bad.' 7. Ternary. Lit. ojie who walks in his probity as a righteous man. The expressions in probity and righteous are to be taken together as hendiadys. The term probity (lit. perfectness, integ- rity) signifies hearty conformity to divine and human law, not abso- lute sinlessness (cf. v.^) ; see 2' io« 19^ Job 4« ^ 26^ 101-, and cf. the adj. in Dt. 18^^ Job i^ .A 3?' Pr- 2'' 28'^ 29^" al. Instead of righteous we may translate \iy just — each of these terms here = perfect. The first line may also (but not so well) be rendered : the righteous man walks in his probity (or, in probity). — The second cl. states the common OT. doctrine of the heritability of blessing for good conduct; see, on the other side. Job 21°"' 8-n * So Saad. Ew. RV. al. f He. Reuss, Wild. al. % Syr. Targ. Lat. Kamp. 2C 386 PROVERBS i}/ 17". — 8. Ternary. The Oriental king (like the chief of the tribe or clan) acted personally as judge ; cf. 2 Sam. 15^"* i K. 3^* Isa. ii^-* i/' 72* (so also, for ex., the Califs of Bagdad). The king (who is assumed to be just, see note on 16^°*^) winnows all causes with his eyes, personally examines all claims and charges, sifts the evidence, especially sifts and exposes all crime and injustice. The verb of second cl. may also mean scatfers (RV), = dissipates, destroys ; but the other sense accords with the expression with his eyes, and is supported by the use of the verb in v.^^ — 9. Ternary- binary. A declaration of human moral imperfectness. Such a belief was doubtless coeval with ethical reflection in Israel (Gen. 3 Isa. 6'), being a necessary result of observation. In the earlier literature (down to the sixth or fifth century B.C.) it is taken for granted without formal statement. The distinct recognition of sinfulness as an element of human nature begins to appear in Ezekiel (18. 33), and the formulation of the view is found in philosophical or reflective writings and utterances (i K. %^ Job 4^""^^ 14^ [apparently an interpolation] i/' 51^''' 130^ Eccl. 7™) ; in the Psalter we have only two or three occurrences of the general affirmation, the reference in \p 14'^ and similar passages being (as the context indicates) to the enemies of pious Israel. The two conceptions, universal sinfulness (v.^) and the possibility of practical perfectness (v.^), were held together, without attempt to harmonize them logically — they furnish the raw material of later theological dogma ; in our Book of Job the hero is pronounced perfect by God (Job i^), yet is charged with sin not only by Elihu (Job 34^ ®) but also appar- ently by God himself (Job 40*). There is, in OT., no refer- ence of human peccability to the event described in Gen. 3. — 10. Binary. See ii^ 2o-3 Am. W Dt. 2^^^'^^ Ez. 45^ and, for second line, 17^^; cf. BS. 26-", and v.^^ below, — 11. Ternary. The Heb. reads : a/so (or, eve?i) by his deeds a child is (or, makes himself) knoivn, whether his work be pU7-e or right. The initial particle here qualifies either the expression by his deeds, or the whole clause ; in the former case it introduces a contrast between deeds and something else (conceivably, words) as mark of character, but of such other thing there is no trace ; in the latter case it contrasts this clause with some other, but there is no XX. 8-II 3^7 other with which it stands in contrast. The natural suggestion is that the emphasis is on cJiild, and the position of the particle must be changed so that it shall qualify this word. Even a young child, the sense is, shows character by conduct ; the suggestion is that conduct is always the test of character (Mt. 7-"), and that training must begin early. In second cl. the form of the Heb. implies an antithesis, and it is therefore better to read bad instead of right: whether the child's conduct be good or bad, in either case it indicates his character. The translation good and right (Lat.) gives up the antithesis. The rendering even in play (Ew.) is not supported by Heb. usage, and the ?,Qn?,Q feign, dissemble (Gen. 42^) for the verb of first cl. is here inappropriate. The rendering whether his actions [hereafter] will be pure etc. is syntactically improbable. In chs. 1-9 of Pr. child is used of mature young manhood, in chs. 10-31 it signifies a person under the control of parents, living (unmarried) in the father's house. XX. 2. For |§ ncN Frank, suggests ncn; cf. the fiyr of ig''^. — -^aynn else- where = to be (or, become) angry with ; the Vrss. take it here as = provoke, and it may be so poetically used, in a sense for which we might expect Piel, but this form is not found with such a meaning; a reading aiync, as in v.i^, is here improbable. Hi. conjectures n3;;rr, denom. Tiphel from the late (Targumic) -ibj)n anger, but such a verb does n t occur. Possibly we should read ^d.'dd (cf. Dt. 32-1). After Nai the object sinned against is elsewhere introduced by 3 or ^';; 8'*'' •'N'jn lie zvho jjiisses me appears, indeed, to show that a direct object is possible, but we should perhaps here adopt the reading of that passage \y^i D ;n (so Lag. Gr.) ; otherwise a should be inserted before i:'3J; 1^ is supported by (!9i"' ; ® rifxiov, — -\p\ — 8. 1^ n-iT?: ; (g ovk ^rai'TioOrai, = Pass, mic, which Gr. adopts with the sense fastidio est. — 10. (5, interpreting: ffrddfiov litfa Ki\ ixiKpbv. — (5^ nere, varying from |^, gives the order of couplets as v,9. 20-22 il-iJ. 23-30. the order of |^ is given in N 23. The reason for the differ- 388 PROVERBS ence is not apparent; but as there is no logical connection between couplets, accident or scribal caprice might easily vary the order. — 11. Transpose dj to stand before nyj, and for -\\yi read ;;ir-\. — % Bi. omit the second dn. — S2C refer "}' to "i;'j, and ■^z'^< to iS>'2, which does not relieve the syntactical difficulty. 12-14. Man's faculties the gift of God. Industry, honesty. 12. The hearing ear, the seeing eye — Yahweh has made them both. 13. Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; Open thine eyes, and thou wilt have plenty of bread. 14. " Bad, bad ! " says the buyer; But when he is gone, then he boasts. 12. Continuous, quaternary- (or, binary-) ternary. Hearing and si'g/it here stand for all man's faculties — all, says the proverb, are the creation and gift of God. The .suggestion is that he is greater than they, that he watches them, and that they must be used in obedience to him. Cf. ij/ 94^. — 13. Antithetic, ternary. Lit. open . . . have plenty (or, be sated with), two Imperatives, the first stating the condition, the second stating the result — a com- mon construction in Hebrew. — Instead of bread we may %z.y food; the same term means for the pastoral Arabs meat, and for the agricultural Hebrews bread. — 14. Continuous, quaternary-ter- nary. A trick of trade. The purchaser disparages the ware, beats down the seller, and boasts of his cleverness. 15-18. Wisdom, fraud. 15. Store of gold and wealth of corals And precious vessels — (all this) are wise lips. 16. Take his garment — he is surety for another! For another hold him in pledge ! 17. Sweet to a man is bread gained by fraud. But afterwards his mouth will be filled with gravel. 18. i Arrange > thy plans by counsel, Carry on war under advice. 15. Single sentence, ternary. Wealth is abundance ; tvise lips is lit. lips of knowledge ; the Heb. has sing, a precious vessel. The syntactical order is not certain, but the translation here given, in which the three first expressions all describe wise lips, is the most natural. The couplet is sometimes rendered in antithetic form : XX. 12-18 ' 389 store etc hut (or, yct^ lips of knotvkdge are a precious vessel, but this leaves first cl. syntactically suspended, and the resultant sense either suggests that a precious vessel is more valuable than gold and corals ("gold etc. is valuable, get wise hps" etc.), or puts wisdom and gold together as similar values ("gold etc. is valu- able, and wise lips [also] are valuable") ; neither of these state- ments is probable. Most expositors render : there is gold etc., hut lips of knowledge are a precious vessel (or, je7uel). In this translation the antithetic form makes a difficulty, as above, and the expression " there is gold etc." is, in the connection, strange, feeble and syntactically loose. Possibly the text should be changed so as to give a comparison like those of S"''^ 8".-0n corals (RV. ruhies, or corals, or pearls) see note on 3 . Vessels are articles of household furniture, sometimes made of precious metals, sometimes ornamented with precious stones (see Gen. 24^^ Ex 3-- 31^-^) ; the Heb. word is also used for articles of per- sonal adornment, as of a bride (Isa. 61'"), comprising jewels and similar ornaments. — 16. Synonymous, ternary. Lit. for (or, when) he is suret^' etc. ; in second cl. the Heb. text has plu. others (or, strangers), the margin fern. sing, a strange woman (= -another man's wife"); the latter reading is less probable from the parallelism, which also favors masc. singular. — The couplet (which occurs again in 27^'^) is an exclamation of con- temptuous rebuke: "he has been foohsh enough to become responsible for another man's debt -hold him to account, exact the le-al penalty ! " The garment, commonly given as security (Dt 2V°-'^0 could be taken by the creditor if the debt was not paid - In second cl. we should perhaps translate : hold it (the garment), for, though the person might be pledged for debt (Neh. c^) the reference, as first cl. suggests, is rather to the garment; hold him in pledge may, however, be understood to mean not -hold his person as security," but " hold him to account as secu- j.ity"_On the Vtxm another see note on 2"''. — 17. Antithetic, ternary Lit. bread of fraud (or, deceit). Gravel is a mass ot small particles (Lam. 3'^^, here perhaps earth or sand. Pleasure fraudulently gained, says the couplet, is not lasting; of 10 23' Job 20^2-^« —18. Synonymous, ternary. The necessity of consul- tation and deliberation in all proceedings ; the thought is substan- 390 ' PROVERBS tially identical with that of 24®. Counsel is the advice of wise persons. The first cl. in the Heb. is declarative : plans are arranged by counsel, to the form of which the second cl. may be assimilated by reading : and by (or, tinder^ advice war is carried on. But it is better to understand the couplet as an injunction, and assimilate first cl. to second cl., with the sense : " when thou formest plans or carriest on war, do it under skilful guidance " (with the advice of able counsellors, statesmen, and generals). In any case war is spoken of as a common incident of life ; nothing is said of its moral accompaniments or its desirableness or unde- sirableness. Cf. 21''^ 24^ Ecc. -^ Lu. 14^', There seems to be no ground for taking war to refer to the common affairs of life, such as legal processes, and similar conflicts (Frank.) ; in the Psalms (27^ 35^ 120^ al.) terms relating to war are doubtless sometimes to be understood figuratively, but such can hardly be the sense here. On plans and direction see notes on 6^^ i^. 19-21. Gossip, filial impiety, unjust acquisition, 19. A talebearer reveals secrets — Have nothing to do with a gossip. 20. He who curses father or mother, His lamp will go out in midnight darkness. 21. Property got prematurely at first Will in the end not be blessed. 19. Developed thought, quaternary- (or, binary-) ternary. On the terms in first cl. see the substantially identical first cl. of 11'^. — Gossip is lit. one who opens wide his lips, as in 13'' (where, how- ever, the Heb. verb is different) ; the Heb. expression would ordi- narily mean foolish of lips, which might possibly be understood as = " gossip," but it is easier to take the Partcp. in the sense of " opening," or else change the text. Luther false mouth and AV. hitn that flattereth (marg. enticeth) with his lips are incorrect ; RV, openeth wide his lips. — 20. Single sentence, ternary or ternary- quaternary. In the old law the punishment for cursing a parent is death (Ex. 21^' Lev. 20^, and cf. Dt. 27^") ; the reference here is to the natural consequences of barbarous impiety (so 30'') ; it is not probable that the old law was in force in later times — the punish- ment for the offence in question was rather social, as now, and such XX. I8-2I 39' is the point of view of the Wisdom-books ; cf. BS. s'\ and see in BS (y-**) the moral motive urged for honoring parents (another motive is given in Ex. 20^^). The old legal control of children was gradually replaced by the control of the family and of society. — Midnight darkness is lit. tlie pupil of darkness, = deepest dark- ness; on ////// (of the eye) see note on 7- ^ On the meaning of the expression his lamp will go out see note on 1 31 — 21. Single sentence, ternary, or ternary-binary. Instead of property, we may render inheritance, property which comes to one from one's father (cf. if 19") ; the more general reference is the more probable. Got prematurely (one word in the Heb.) is the read- ing of the Heb. margin, which is adopted by most recent expos- itors ; the verb means to act hastily, precipitately, and (if this reading be accepted) the suggestion here is that the man accu- ,mulates wealth unfairly (or that the heir does not wait to receive his inheritance in due course of nature, but obtains it prematurely, by foul means) ; no blessing, the proverb declares, will attend prop- erty so acquired. Saadia, referring the couplet to the impious son of the preceding couplet : his inheritance will be full of trouble. The meaning of the verb of the Heb. text is doubtful : Schult. : (an inheritance on which) rests the curse of niggardliness; Ew. : is cursed; <^t\gtx : full grown ; modern lexicons : is loathed, disgust- ing, abominable (cf. Zech. ii«), that is (if this reading be here adopted), because obtained by foul means. The margmal read- ing here adopted, which is that of the Anc. Vrss., appears to yield the more satisfactory sense. — //^ the end refers to the final out- come of the man's wealth (see note on 5^), perhaps with conno- tation of divine retribution. 13 ■% nrr; (5 KaTO.\o.\eiv, for which Jag. compares \f BS. 19^ Lag. refers to f Voi^, where k. = a form of the stem l--.-|^ ^'^^ ^^ ^y """"^ derived from t-v, and = shall be expelled (or, deprived), by others taken as metaplastic formation from v^ to he poor; better, perhaps, as Hof. of z^ 14 > is reference of the action to the personality of the grammatical subject, the so-called ethical Dative.-?^ Ns; Gr. -rx. = s,n bought cheap, from -1T. _V 14-19 are wanting in (5; they are supplied, from 9, m S« 23. I49- 253- 260 " The omission is probably connected with the fact that our v.^^--^ are placed after our v.^, but the origin of the change is uncertain; there is nothing in v.i*-i9 to cast doubt on their genuineness. — 15. "^ 3-ir -;, Gr. 'ir -iP'. Un ^> see note on S'^^; it is better to take it here as noun, but it is possible to 392 PROVERBS understand it as verb. — 16. The Impv. np*? is found elsewhere only Ex. 29^ Ez. 37^^. — ?^ It; Gr. ti^, as in 6^, which is allowable, but apparently not necessary; for noun without Prep, after 3^y see ii^^ 271^. — K anoj, Q nnDj; read sing. masc. ^-i3J. — in'?2n might, so far as its form is concerned, be Impv. or Perf.; the latter would be possible only in the sense he has pledged (paral- lel to yyp), which does not elsewhere occur; as Impv. it is to be taken as Qal, not as Piel (Konig), which vfOvXA^^ injure. — 17. |^ "inN; Gr. \"nnx (see 23^^), unnecessary. — 18. For f^ Impv. r\-v^ we might, to secure com- pleter parallelism, read Infin. (so Bi.), or Nif. Impf. (so apparently S^TIL), but it is better to change pj pri to Hif. Impv. J3^. — 19. ?^ ^"^P', ® jjt^'D entices, ^=Y\A of nns, here hardly appropriate; 9, similarly, dTrciTtDi'Tt; S pn-iDD /zaj/^«, perhaps free rendering, = o/f« wide; IL dilatat. — 1§ can mean only foolish (of lips), and this sense is here possible. If the text be changed, we should take not nns (which is used, in connection with lips, only in a general sense, of speech, never in a bad sense) but pz's, as in 13^ (so Gr.). — 20. K j^r^N; Q JVC's, a word of doubtful meaning, rendered in ST by the equally doubtful njipn, on which see De. and Levy, Chald. VVbch. ; the other Vrss. render Kethib. Instead of Prep. 3 (of f^) Si^T read ?, which suits the connection less well. — 21. K n'^n^c, Q n'^n^c. Schult. explains ^r^2 as = Arab. ^r\2 avaricious, Ew. as Sna curse, the Lexicons as = Syr. ^n^, which is appropriate in Zech. 11^, but not here. Read Qeri. Ew. adopts curse as antithesis of the bless of •>, but the contrast thus gained is not satisfactory — we rather expect in * an explanation of why the property is not blessed. — For MSS. and edd. which give the Qeri see De' Rossi. 22-24. God's control of life. 22. Say not : " I will take revenge for wrong "; Trust to Yahweh, and he will save thee. 23. Divers weights are an abomination to Yahweh, And a false balance is not good. 24. A man's steps are ordered by Yahweh; How, then, can man understand his way? 22. Sentence with implied antithesis, ternary, or binary-ternary. The same injunction is given in 24^, and is implied in 25-^ ; so, in NT., I Th. 5" Rom. 12'^ i Pet. 3^ cf. Heb. 10^''. It is the pro- test which the advancing moral feeling made against the prevalent principle of retaliation ; see note on 24^^ — The ground or motive adduced in second cl. appears to be simply that God will deliver his servants from the machinations and injuries of enemies (so De.), there being no reference to revenge, an interpretation which is favored by 24'^ God is thus represented not as avenging, but as saving. The conception of Yahweh's vengeance on enemies in XX. 22-25 393 Dt. 32^ (quoted in Rom. 12'° Heb. 10''-) does not refer to private relations between man and man. — Take revenge for wrong is lit. repay evil, that is, with evil ; trust to is hope in, wait on, that is, confide a matter to God, wait for him to act. — For similar sayings among other peoples see Malan. — 23. Synonymous, ternary. See v.'" and 1 1\ — 24. Continuous, with implied antithesis, ternary. See 3'' 16^ ■' 19-' Jer. 10-^. Since, says the proverb, human life is con- trolled by God [a principle which is a necessary inference from the doctrine of divine omnipotence], it is obvious [as Jeremiah had already affirmed] that no man can comprehend fully the meaning of his own experiences. The suggestion is that man must throw himself on God, acknowledge, obey and trust him (v.-- ■^) — then his life will be rationally and successfully directed. Exactly how this reliance on God is to be reached our couplet does not say ; there is no mention of written law, of Tora or Prophets (though these a pious Jew would naturally have in mind) — here, as else- where in Proverbs, the sage rests on the conscience enlightened by all available means. — If, in the second line, we emend under- stand to order, the meaning of the couplet remains the same. — This Division of the Book is thus at one with the first Division in the recognition of absolute divine sovereignty, and no attempt is made to reconcile this belief with the belief (held with equal dis- tinctness) in human freedom. — The first cl. is nearly identical with first cl. of \^ 37^^, and is perhaps taken from it (though the sentence may have been a commonplace of religious thought) ; but, while the psalmist uses it to point out that a good man will be upheld by God, to the sage it suggests the limitations of human knowledge (and so, it may be inferred, the necessity of intellectual and moral humility and reverence) ; the former is national-rehgious, the latter is philosophical-religious. 25. Text and translation are uncertain. Our Heb. may be ren- dered : // is a snare to a man ivhen he rashly says " sacj-ed/'^ and after vows to make seairh, that is, perhaps, to try to avoid payment. To declare a thing sacred (or, holy) was to renounce ownership in it (for ever, or for a time), and make it the property of the Temple (Lev. 27). The Heb. is not syntactically or logic- ally glear : the snare (or, danger) to the man is expressed in the 394 PROVERBS first line only ; the second line appears to give the ground of this statement, that is, the nature of the danger ; and the word ren- dered rashly says is doubtful. The Grk. is clearer : it is a snare to a 7>ian hastily to consecrate property, for after {such) vowing comes repentance ; this may be a free rendering of our Heb., or may represent a different text. — The precise meaning of the expression make search is not certain. Elsewhere in O T. it signi- fies look after, look for, seek out (Ez. 34"' ^", of lost sheep; Lev. 13''^, of signs of leprosy on the skin), or make inquiry (Lev. 27^, of inquiring and distinguishing between good and bad parts of the tithe), and perhaps inquire of an oracle (2 K. 16^^ \\i 27'*, though the reading in these passages is doubtful) ; for the rendering reflect on there is no authority, and the sense make a selection, = " endeavor to substitute a less valuable thing for the thing vowed" (Frank., who refers to the expression in Lev. 27^: inquire between good and bad) is hardly here appropriate, since there is no question of choosing particular objects out of a mass (as was true in the case of tithes). The more natural sense appears to be : " make inquiry into one's affairs or into the terms of the vow, so as to escape payment." The couplet may be con- jecturally rendered: It is dangerous for a man hastily to consecrate property, For, after vowing, he begins to make inquiry. Under some sudden impulse, good or bad, men would sometimes make gifts which they afterwards regretted : they would see (as sometimes happens now to those who make religious or charitable donations) that they had given beyond their means, or had been unjust to other obligations, or, when the motive was one of selfish personal interest, that they had failed to gain their ends. Such a procedure the proverb declares to be a S7iare as leading into diffi- culties financial and moral ; in like manner Koheleth (Ecc. 22.4-6(1.3-0)^ ridicules hasty vows, when a man, called on to pay (for rates of redemption see Lev. 27), has to say lamely to the Temple collector that he made a mistake. Against this thought- less, immoral habit of giving to religious objects the sages protest ; a similar evil is rebuked in Mk. 7-^ where, however, the gift {corban) is made advisedly, and for a bad purpose. On vows XX. 25-26, 28 395 see note on 7". The renderings to devour holy things (which were lawful only for sacred persons), zx\^ destroy holy things are improbable. Saadia, who has the first of these, explains the search of second cl. as referring to attempts to get possession of property consecrated by others, or to avoid paying one's own vows. Cf. the Talmud tract Nedarini [Vows] 21a. 26,28. The ideal king is just and kind. — The two apho- risms, by their contents, belong together. 26. A wise king winnows the wicked, And passes the wheel over them. 28. Kindness and truth guard the king, And by 4 justice > his throne is sustained. 26. Synonymous, quaternary-ternary. On first cl. see note on v.^ ; here the king is described as wise, and it is the persons, the wicked, who are winnowed, sifted, disposed of. The wheel i?, that not of fortune, but of the threshing-cart (Isa. 28-^-^*), which sepa- rated the grain from the straw,* and there is also the implication of destructive or serious punishment ; the winnowing proper was done with fork and shovel (Isa. 30-^ Jer. 15^). In Am. i^ the devastation of the Syrian invasion is compared to the crushing power of the threshing-sledge — it was the custom of war of the time.f A slight change in second cl. gives the reading : and repays them their iniquity. Cf. Isa. 11*. — 28. Synonymous, ter- nary. On kindness and truth see notes on 3^, and cf. 11^'' 14^ 16". Truth involves faithfulness to all obligations; kindness is not merely mercy (= compassion or clemency), but general benevolence. The combination of the two terms (frequent in OT.) gives an expression of high and attractive moral character. The two are applied to a king in Isa. 16^; in the Prophetic por- traitures of the ideal king it is more commonly justice that is emphasized (Isa. 11* ;// 72- Zech. g'-*). — In second cl. the Heb. reads lit. : and he sustains (or, supports, or upholds') his throne by kindness. The repetition of only one of the two qualities men- * See Nowack, Arch. I. ^^ 41. t On the interpretation of 2 Sam. I23l see Hoffmann, ZA W. 1882 (in which it is maintained that David did not torture the Ammonites, but only set them to work), Stade, GVI. I. 278, Driver, Samuel, and cf. Geier's note. 39^ PROVERBS tioned in first cl. is strange, and the substitution, in the Grk., of the other quahty which should characterize royal administration is probably right. 27. Conscience is God's search-light. The spirit of man is the lamp of Yahweh, Searching all the chambers of the soul. Single sentence, ternary-binary. The spirit is the breath (Heb. neshama) which is breathed into the body by God (as in Gen. 2^^), whereby man becomes a "living sorul," that is, a complete living person. The OT. conception appears to be that into every human body, as soon as it is formed, there is introduced a new " breath," which is the inward moral and intellectual being * ; but there is no theory of preexistence of souls, such as is found in Wisd. Sol. 8^. — The spirit is here man's moral and intellectual perception, the conscience, represented as the critic of the moral life, and therefore the search-light of God, who is the supreme and final critic ; the presupposition is that the conscience is not only the creation of God, but also morally identical with him. — On chambers (fully secret chambers) see i8*; soul (lit. interior, ox belly, as in i8*, cf. Job 32^'^) = the whole inward being, here especially the moral nature. Though, in the expression " the spirit searches the soul," there is a formal antithesis of "spirit" and "soul," the two terms are really equivalent each to the other, as in our expression " the conscience judges the soul " ; but the former denotes the moral nature in its capacity of judge, with ref- erence to the moral ideal, while the latter exhibits it on the side of its actual life. — Cf. i Cor. 2^°. — The rendering the light of Yahweh searches the spijit of man and all etc. (Gratz) is rhyth- mically unsatisfactory. 29. Strength in youth, wisdom in old age. The glory of young men is their strength, The beauty of the old is the hoary head. Antithetic, ternary. Glory = beauty, = adornment, that which constitutes the highest attraction, and is thus an indication of per- * Cf. the later theory of creatianism, as opposed to traducianism. XX. 28, 27, 29-30 397 fectness. The proverb must be understood as giving one aspect of things : what is most characteristic, attractive, and admirable is, in the young (persons in the prime of hfe), physical strength and exuberant animal life, in the old, gray hair regarded as the indica- tion of gravity and wisdom ; the sage would doubtless hold that a young man should have something more than bodily vigor, and an old man more than wisdom. Cf. i6^\ and the references there given. 30. Text and translation are uncertain. The Heb. may be ren- dered : " wounds from stripes [RV. : stripes that wound] cleanse away evil (or, cleanse the bad man), and blows (cleanse) the inward parts (or, and reach the inward parts, or, and blows which reach the inward parts)." — Grk. (with different text) : blows and contusions befall bad men, and stripes (penetrate) itito the inward parts; Lat. (followed by AV.) : the blueness (or, bruise^ of a wound cleanses away evil things ; Rashi : bruises and wounds are remedies [lit. abstergents] for evil, and blows {entering into) the inward parts. Modern expositors * generally adopt Rashi's ren- dering. In second cl, De. translates : and reach the inward parts (Partcp. striking, reaching instead of Subst. blows) ; RV. : and strokes {reach) etc» — The thought of the proverb appears to be (cf. 17'") that moral evil must be put away by severe chastisement. The word in first cl. representing "cleansing" occurs as noun in Esth. 2'^-^-^- in the sense of " cosmetics " (applications to the skin) for women of a harem, and as verb in Jer. 46* Lev. 6-**^'' 2 Chr. 4^" in the sense of "furbish" (of weapons and vessels). The text appears to be in bad condition, and we should, perhaps, adopt the reading of the Grk., or emend so as to read : Stripes cleanse the body, and blows the inivaid parts, in which body and inward parts may both refer to the moral being, or the first term may be taken literally, and the second as = soul ; or, since it is difficult to understand how stripes (or bruises) cleanse the body, we may read : Cosmetics purify the body, and blotvs the soul. 24. Instead of p^ several MSS. (and so S) have ja^ (cf. -^ 37^^), which also gives a good sense. — 25. |§ "'^•' may be Impf. of i"'*? or j.M^ or n;'*^, or Perf. or Impf. of •;''\ Lag. identifies the stem with Arab, y^i IV., = incite, * Geier, Schult. Mich. Reuss, Zock. Noyes, Kamp. al. 398 PROVERBS and so, hasten, and he would then point the following word ttnp; the two words, he observes, would thus be correctly rendered by (§ ra.xi . . . ayiaffai. Another proposed derivation (De.) is from ny^, = Arab, r.j-', speak carelessly (cf. \i'-> pc"!, a vow made lightly') ; •;'^^ may thus be taken as Impf. of >'>''? or yiS, = "that he should lightly say": cf. Job 6^ (in Obad. i6 some form of j?S:3 should perhaps be read). — (5 may = U'tp-' '?n3 (Frank.). — 2b t^: voxv, free rendering, or guess based on ^■, % devorai-e, = ■;'^i. — 1[§ ip^; (@, well, /xeravoeiv. — Gr. reads ]';"' and nnx, procrastinate in paying one's vows. — 28. 1^ ]3N; Gr. Dis (and requites them for) their iniquity {^ 94^^). — 27. 1^ "'p.; (§ 0<2s, = -ij or is, or is perhaps free rendering of |^. — Clem. Al. 221*^ TTvevfMa Kvpiov Xi/x^os epevvwv rb, Ta/ieXa ttjs yana; Kamp. jJir. — 1^ ni-i3n and i'i'.? are synonyms (Ex. 21-^ Isa. i*^), and the latter should perhaps be omitted as gloss. For ^ ■;-\2 we may read it;'a; better perhaps: •\t'2 p-ipn njn; for Hif. of -no see Jer. 4" 51". XXI. 1-3. God's control of men. 1. Like watercourses is a king's heart in the hands of Yahweh — Whither he will he turns it. 2. All that a man does he thinks right. But Yahweh tries the heart. 3. To do justice and equity Is more acceptable to Yahweh than sacrifice. 1. Comparison with explanation, ternary. A king is generally supposed to be autocratic, but God, the proverb declares, con- trols even his decisions and actions. Heart = mind. The pic- ture is that of a land (as Egypt or Babylonia, but not Palestine), or a garden, watered by canals (cf. 5"^ Isa. 58"), whose flow is reg- ulated by ofificers or gardeners ; in the fertilizing water there may be an allusion to royal deeds of kindness (cf. 16'"'), but the main reference is to the divine control of kings. Cf. Tob. i'^ Esth. (Grk.) 14'^ — 2. Antithetic, ternary. See note on 16^, with which this couplet is nearly identical ; cf. i6^-^^ 17^ Lit. every ivay of a man is light in his eyes. Tries is lit. weighs or measures. — 3. Single sentence, ternary. Cf. v.^^ i5« ^ 40«^^> ^^^^.vai.m Am. 5-^"^* Isa. i" al. (and see also Hos. 6"). The ethical concep- XXI. 1-5 399 tion of piety, announced by the prophets, lost none of its force with the sages ; see BS. 34^^"*^ S5^' ^• 4. Text and sense doubtful. The couplet appears to contain fragments of two couplets. Lit. : haughty look and protid heart (or, haughty of h>ok and proud of heart) — the tillage (or, ploughing) of the wicked is sin. This may be understood to mean that pride, which is the industry or occupation of the wicked, is sin ; but the figure is strange and forced. In Hos. 10^' Jer. 4^ preparing one's heart for a new life is called " breaking up the fallow ground " ; so here in second cl. the bad man's preparation for life may be supposed to be called sin, but this is not a probable sense — the meaning is rather that his life itself is sin. — The difficulty is not diminished if, by the change of a vowel, we read (with Grk. RV.) Ia7fip instead of tillage ; the sentence the lamp of the wicked is sin conveys no meaning; cf. 13^, where the figure of light and lamp is simple and clear. — The first cl. recalls 16^, the second cl. 10^'* 13^ 24'; new couplets might be conjecturally constructed, but the recovery of the precise form seems impossible ; see Lagarde and Wildeboer. 5. Industry and sloth. — Antithetic, ternary. The Heb. reads : The methods of the industrious lead surely to gain, But every one who hastes (hastes) surely to want. Hastes can here be understood to mean only " hastes to be rich," as in 13" 28-"; but in that case we expect the term to be defined, as in 13'^ 19- 28'-° 29-". Hasty (even if it be taken to mean "using improper methods") is not a proper antithesis to indus- trious; we rather ex^^^ci slothful, as in 13'' (so the Lat.). The parallelism also suggests, instead of every one, some term equiva- lent to methods, and the word surely (or, only) adds nothing to the meaning. We may thus read : The methods of the industrious lead to gain, The ways of the slothful to want. J/ and (those) of the wicked, perh. reading y'2 (Pink.), perh. free rendering of |ij; IL omnis antem piger, = Sx;; Sji. — Read Ssj; 1311 ; ^v; is read by Gr. The in may be retained, but is unnecessary, and the thought is better without it. — 6. (5 reads Partcp. Sj:s. — ?^ IIJ; (§ diwKei, = ffn (Jag.). — |^ ^a'pniz; (& vayidas, IL laqneos, = iH'nb * Schult. t Lat. Ew. J De. RV. marg. \ Mercer, Geier, De. at. 402 TROVERBS (so Rashi, Ew. Hitz. Reuss, Kamp. al.'), obviously to be preferred to |^. — ®'s form of the couplet, adopted by Bi. Frank., is not clear. — 7. |^ a"]'r; (S eTri^evw- d-fis). SSCIL foreign (it). Gr., taking the i to be scribal insertion from following -\v, reads it, which also gives a good sense, and is perhaps preferable to |^. — 9. On K □''jnr, Q 3>j'ir, see note on 6i*. — ^ -i3n n^3 is followed by (SS9IL; 2C Npi'J '3 « closed house, free contrast to "open roof," perh. after (§ KeKoviajxivois; & omits. For lan read 3m (so Gr.). 11. How simple and sage are taught. When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise, When the wise man is instructed, he receives knowledge. Antithetic, binary-ternary. On scoffo- and simple see notes on i"^--^. The punishment of the bad man is a warning to the morally untrained, who is too unripe, intellectually and morally, to be benefited by instruction ; the wise man, on the other hand, is receptive and teachable. Cf. ip-'. — The three similar terms of second cl. are here employed with different shades of meaning : wise denotes general comprehension of the issues and needs of life ; to instruct is to cause to know, to give insight into practical truth ; and the result is knowledge, acquaintance with definite rules of conduct. 12. Text and translation are uncertain. The Heb. may be rendered : the righteous considers the house of the luicked man, overturns the wicked to misfortune (or, rui?i). As the Heb. text stands the subject of the couplet must be God, the righteous one (so most recent expositors, and RV. marg.) ; a righteous man might be said to note the wicked, but could not be said to hurl them to ruin ; the rendering " one hurls the wicked etc.," = " the wicked are hurled " (RV. how the tvicked are over- thrown to their j-uin), is difficult if not impossible, and the same thing is true of the interpretation : "the righteous man notes etc., he (= God) hurls etc."; see textual note on lo-^ The refer- ence to God is favored by 22^^, in which it is said that Yahweh overthrows (= hurls down) the affairs (or, words) of the wicked. XXI. II-I4 403 — On the other hand, the designation of God as "a (or, the) righteous one"* occurs nowhere else in Proverbs, and elsewhere in or. only in Job 34'^ " the just-mighty one," where the context makes the reference obvious and natural ; here, on the contrary, the word is isolated.! — The Heb. text seems not to be in its original form. Hitzig emends so as to read : the righteous man considers his house, but wickedness hurls the wicked to ruin (cf. 13"), a possible sense for the lines separately, but giving no natural connection between them. The repetition of the term wicked is strange — we expect a contrast in the lines, such as Hit- zig gains, or, with closer connection : Yahweh considers the right- eous, but overthrows the house of the tvicked ; cf. 3"", and i// 41^'-'. — Consider (or, note) is lit. to act wisely in reference to a thing, direct one's intelligence to it; cf. i// 41^'-'. The house of the wicked is his household or family, which stands for his social position. On hurls (or, overthrows) see 13'' 19^^ 22'-. Ruin is Ht. evil, harm. 13, 14. Kindness to the poor. Bribery. 13. Whoso closes his ears to the cry of the poor, He also shall call and not be answered. 14. A gift in secret turns away anger, And a present in the bosom violent wrath. 13. Single sentence, ternary. The poor is the physically needy. Also emphasizes the fact that the unkind man will suffer the same fate as the man whom he neglects ; it is the law of retaliation. He will call not to God (Targ. Syr.), but to his fellow-men ; the statement is that a hardhearted man need expect no sympathy in his misfortunes. For answered we may write heard (RV.), in the sense listened to. Cf. BS. 4^"® Jas. 2^^. — 14. Synonymous, ter- nary. The gift and the present are bribes, carried by the briber in his bosom and given /;/ secret ; the reference is to dealing with * Delitzsch's assertion that the word, being without the Art., cannot mean "the righteous one " is disproved by Job 34^'. t The Anc. Vrss. all understand the righteous to mean righteous man, and so the body of interpreters (except Rashi) up to De Wette, Fleisch. Ew. ; Raslii refers it to God, but this exegesis of his has no great weight, for the reason that he habitually introduces references to divine things (God and the Tora), often without ground. " God " is supplied as subj. of second cl. by AV. Geier, Mich. Wordsw. al. 404 PROVERBS judges and other great men. For the use of the bosom of the dress as a pocket see 17--. — For turns away some Anc. Vrss.* have extinguishes (RV. pacifietJi), a probable reading. The Grk. makes second cL antithetic : he who withholds a gift stirs up vio- lent wrath, a sense good in itself, but less probable than that of the Hebrew. — The power of a bribe is here noted simply as a fact. Against bribery see 17^. 15, 16. Punishment of bad men. 15. The execution of justice is a joy to the righteous, But destruction to evil-doers. 16. The man who wanders from the path of wisdom Will rest in the assembly of the Shades. 15. Antithetic, quaternary-ternary. The sense is : to those who are in sympathy with what is good, and are conscious of right- doing, the execution of justice (by courts or otherwise) can only be a source of satisfaction (making manifest their integrity), while to offenders against law and right it means destruction. Instead of destruction we may render dismay, terror,-\ which furnishes a more direct antithesis to the Joy of first clause ; but destruction is the meaning of the Heb. word elsewhere in Pr., and gives an effective heightening of the thought. — The subject of first cl. is lit. to do Justice, which may be taken to mean " rectitude of con- duct," X but this interpretation affords no satisfactory sense for the second cl. ; the statement that "rectitude, or obedience to the law of God, alarms evil-doers " § is unnatural in itself, and is foreign to the tone of Proverbs. The rendering there is destruc- tion to the etc. (AV.) is not favored by the parallelism, which suggests that destruction must be predicate of the subject of first clause. — 16. Single sentence, quaternary-ternary. Wisdom here = " understanding, insight, intelligence " in the law of life, which is the law of God. The assembly of the Shades is the population of Sheol ; to rest therein is to be numbered with the dead. The verb rest (= "take position") is the poetic equivalent of dwell, and is probably not meant to convey the idea of repose. In Job * Sym. Targ. Lat. \ De. Reuss, RV. al. t So De. Wild. al. § De. Wild. XXI. 14- 1 8 405 3!^ the " weary " find rest in Sheol from the wicked who trouble them on earth ; but here it is the wicked themselves who are said to rest. There is possibly a tinge of sarcasm in the expression ; but this is hardly probable. The idea of the couplet is the old one that bad men die prematurely — physical death is the punish- ment of sin; cf. ^ 8^^''«' 55"'^'^' ^'- ^'' etc. -On wisdom and S/icii/es (Rephaim) see notes on i^ 2^'. 17-21. Thrift, righteousness, comfort. 17. He who loves pleasure will come to want, He who loves wine and oil will not be rich. 18. The wicked is a ransom for the righteous — Instead of the upright stands the bad man. 19. It is better to dwell in a wilderness Than with a quarrelsome and vexatious woman. 20. There is precious treasure [] in the abode of the wise, But the fool swallows it up. 21. Whoso follows after justice and kindness He finds life [] and honor. 17. Synonymous, ternary. Immoderate love of pleasure and of luxurious living is meant; cf. 3^ where wine is regarded as a blessing, and, for the representation of wine and oil as common sources'of enjoyment, cf. 27" Ju. 9''' ^ 104'^ BS. 31^^ Among the Hebrews, as among the Greeks and Romans, they were usual accompaniments of feasts; see Am. 6« Dt. 14"= Neh. 8^^' ; the oil was used for anointing the person. In first cl. the Lat. has w/w loves feasts, but the reference is rather to unbridled luxury in gen- eral, which is likely to lead to excessive expenditure of money and' to poverty ; cf. BS. 19^ — 18. Synonymous, ternary. Ran- som is that which is given to free a person from a penalty to which he is exposed; in 6'^ it is a sum paid to an injured husband, in 13*^ it is money considered as securing its possessor against legal judgment or the oppression of great men, and so in ^ 49^^») a consideration paid to God for averting physical death, the common lot of men ; it is the old legal term for weregeld (Ex. 21^°); in I Sam. 12'^ it appears to be equivalent to "bribe." Here,' as second cl. suggests, the idea is a more general one : when punishment is inflicted (by God) on a community, it is the 406 PROVERBS bad man, and not the good, on whom it falls. The form of the couplet suggests the sense that the righteous would, in the ordi- nary course of justice, be punished, but that God takes the wicked as his substitute ; but this is too crude a conception — the thought appears to be simply that the bad and not the good suffer, a fact which is poetically represented as a substitution of the former for the latter. See note on ii^ — On bad (or, failhkss), here — wicked, see note on 2". — 19. Single sentence, quaternary-ter- nary. See v.^ 25-^, from which this differs in putting wilderness instead of housetop, both lonely and incommodious dwelling- places, but at least affording peace. Wilderness is pasture-land, not wholly without houses and people, but sparsely settled and quiet. — In second cl. we may render (so RV. marg.) a quarrel- some woman and vexation ; the sense is the same, since the vexa- tion comes from the woman. — The Heb. is lit. better abode in a wilderness than a quarrelsome etc. — 20. Antithetic, quaternary- ternary. The meaning appears to be : the wise man amasses wealth, the fool squanders it ; cf. io\ The form of expression is somewhat strange : elsewhere in this Division of Prov. the sage is not represented as rich, and here the fool seems to squander the wealth amassed by the sage (as if he were his heir). The it must mean the fool's own treasure, and wise must = " provident." On treasure (physical, not spiritual, riches) see 10^ 15^" 21^; precious is lit. desirable (Gen. 2^ i/a 19^"'"'). The Heb. has precious treas- ure and oil ; the oil (wanting in the Grk.) is, however, here inappropriate, and must be regarded as an incorrect scribal inser- tion (perhaps from v.^"). Fool is lit. a fool of a man, as in 15'''. — Grk.: p7-ecious treasure will rest on the mouth of the sage (cf lo"-^^"), but how the fool can swallow this treasure is not clear. — 21. Single sentence, ternary. Probity, the proverb says, brings long life and honor — the same thought as in 3--^^ al. Instead oi justice the Heb. word might be rendered righteousness, but this general term would make the following kindjiess unnec- essary ; a good life is summed up in the two qualities justice (see 8'^ i^) and kindness (see 3'), as in 3'^ it is summed up in kindness and faithfulness. — In second cl., after life, the Heb. adds justice (or, righteousness) , which is manifestly a scribal insertion (prob- ably an error of eye) from first clause ; to say that he who follows XXI. 18-23 407 righteousness finds righteousness is meaningless. — On life and honor see notes on 2P 3'^. 11. In 1^ DDnS the Prep, is possible, after Sr^'P, but may be scribal repeti- tion of preceding ^. — 12. It is doubtful whether '?3:'n can be understood as = " observe in order to control." It occurs in the sense of give heed to (the law) for the purpose of obeying (Neh. 8^^ Dan. 9-^), consider (one's ways) for the purpose of rightly ordering (16^'), and be {kindly) considerate were substituted for pis. The deliberate hostility, moreover, thus ascribed to Yahweh, is unexampled in Pr., even in i-^^i. These considerations would incHne us to interpret pis of the good man, but p?, as the text stands, cannot be so understood. Dys. Sti-jc, for '^yvc, hardly helps; Gr. ic'n ip-'a^, for J7.^'^ piaV, and l'^D\ for fl'^?"> gains a contrast between the reward {good fortune') of the righteous and the punishment {destruction) of the wicked, but gives a text which is syntactically difficult. — 1L apparently read pnc a3?.r-i "T'dS {ut detrahat), but such procedure is not elsewhere in Pr. ascribed to the p-ix, and tr^D is nowhere else in OT. used in a good sense. — It is probable that the original form of the couplet stated a contrast between the actions or fortunes of righteous and wicked men. We should, possibly, read: n^Ji p-is nini ^yvxi ri'^DD Nin yen. — 14. pj nsD^; Sf X3;?ic, IL ^x//;/^?/zV, = n^D'. — 15. "^ npnc; (g aKdOapTos, perh. reading nx-jn ; So-tos is then supplied as subject. — 16. p? axo-i; (5 -yL-yavTuv; ^2C N71X 'J2- — 18. <& omits '' (probably by accident), and v}^^ was then wrongly attached to v.^'. — 21. Omit the second 7\p-\-i, with (5'^^ "'■■, Ziegler, Elster, Gr. Bi. 22, 23. Power of wisdom and prudence. 22. A wise man scales the city of the mighty. And casts down the stronghold in which it trusted. 23. He who is careful of mouth and tongue Saves himself from trouble. 22. Synonymous, ternary. Intellect or practical sagacity versus physical strength. Cf. Eccl. q^-^^ 7^^ Pr. 2o'« 24^^. Scales is lit. ascends (Joel 2''). In second cl. lit. stronghold of its confidence ; the Heb. has strength, which may be understood as = stronghold, or the text may be changed (by the addition of one letter).* — 23. Single sentence, ternary. Lit. he who guards etc. guards himself (lit. his soul) from troubles. Cautiousness in speech is * On the ancient Semitic methods of defending and attacking cities see Nowack, Arck., J^ 71. 72; Billerbeck, Der Untcrgang Nineveh's (in Beitr. z. Assyriol., iii.). 408 PROVERBS inculcated, as in 13'' i8^^ The troubles referred to are probably social and legal difficulties into which imprudent talk brings one, especially in a community in which there are gossips and profes- sional informers (Eccl. 10-") ; the reference is hardly to distress of conscience (De.). 24. Definition of scoffer. Scoffer is the name of the proud, arrogant man, Him who acts with insolent pride. Single sentence, ternary. The syntactical construction is not per- fectly clear. The Heb. is lit. : proud, arrogant, scoffer is his name, acting in insolence of pride. We cannot well translate " he who acts with insolent pride is proud and arrogant and is called a scoffer" (Reuss), or " the proud and haughty man, scorner is his name, he worketh etc." (RV.), since this would be defining /ri?//^ by pride. The couplet must rather be taken as a definition of the term scoffer ; in that case it and 24^ are the only examples of formal definition in the Book. If this interpretation be correct, it appears to point to the existence of a precise, philosophical form of instruction in the schools, and to the distinct recognition of a class of arrogant disregarders of moral law, both of which facts suit the time when the Jews came under Greek influence. The term rendered proud occurs only here in Pr., and is not found in any preexilian writing ; from such passages as Mai. ■^^ \\i 11 9^' we should infer that it was sometimes a designation of those Jews who were faithless to the national law. The corresponding sub- stantive occurs in 11^ 13^", where it = haughtiness in the ordinary individual sense. Arrogant (found elsewhere only in Hab. 2^) must here be a synonym oi proud. Insolence is lit. outbreak, used of anger and pride. On scoffer see note on i-^ The definition given in the couplet appears to include all persons who acted with bold disregard of moral and religious law. The word does not mean "freethinker" in the modern speculative sense (De.) — it is conduct with which Pr. deals — nor (to judge from the general tone of Proverbs) can it designate merely national enemies or apostate Jews (as in the Psalms) ; it is simply " insolently wicked," one who scoffs not at belief, but at law. XXI. 23-27 409 25. Sloth kills. The desire of the sluggard slays him, P'or his hands refuse to labor. Single sentence, ternary. The sluggard's desire is for ease, and this kills him, since his indolence prevents his acquiring food and clothing and other necessaries of Ufe. Y ox desire see 10^^ 13" Nu. 11^ Job 33""; the word has a wider sense than appetite. Cf. 19-^ 26. Text and meaning uncertain. Lit. : All the day he desires desire, but the righteous gives and withholds not. The second cl. apparently refers to the good man's kindness to the poor (cf. Mt. 5^-), but with this the first cl. stands in no relation, and in itself yields no sense. The repetition of the word desire points to the preceding v., and the clause (read all day long he desires) may be merely a variant of, or a gloss on, v.-'\ The meaning of the couplet is by some * taken to be : people are all the time wishing and begging, but the righteous man, so far from asking for himself, is always ready to give to others ; but the Heb. does not permit this interpretation. — No satisfactory emendation has been pro- posed. Grk. : the wicked ?nan desires . . . bad desires, which gives no antithesis to second cl. ; Bickell : all day long there is request on request, which fails to say who they are that request. The substitution of diligent for righteous in second cl. gives an improb- able statement. The clauses appear to be dislocated. The first, by a violent emendation, may be read : the sluggard desires and has not, with antithesis as in 13'*, and a new couplet might be formed on the second clause. 27-29. The wicked man's methods and perils. 27. The sacrifice of the wicked is (in itself) an abomination — How much more when it is brought as atonement for crime ! 28. A false witness will perish, 29. A wicked man hardens his face, An upright man considers his acts. 27. Climax, ternary. The first cl. occurs in 15^ with the addi- tion to Yahweh, which ought perhaps to be inserted here, though * De. Bick. al. 410 PROVERBS it is naturally taken for granted. The proverb declares (as Am. 5^^"-'* Isa. i"'^'') that sacrifice without righteousness is displeasing to God. A bad man's offering, even in the ordinary performance of ritual commands (vows, passover etc.), is abhorrent; how much more when, offered without repentance, it is meant merely to relieve one from the consequences of evil-doing ! Sacrifices were prescribed, in the law, for sins of inadvertence (Lev. 4) and for certain cases of fraud (Lev. 5 6^'^ [Heb. ch. 5]), but not for more serious crimes, such as murder and adultery ; but it is not improbable that in the popular view an offering atoned for any offence (see t// 50"^^'). The suggestion is that this superstitious and immoral conception of the power of sacrifice existed among the Jews of the writer's time. The case of genuine repentance is not considered ; the wicked man is regarded as one who is given over to sin. — As atonement for crime (RV. marg.) is lit. in crime, that is, " in the case of a crime." The word here rendered crime means originally plan, but appears to be used in OT. always in a bad sense (lo-' 24^), often of unchastity (Ez. 16'*"' 22^ 23-^"'- Lev. 18'^).* — This seems to be the most probable understanding of the expression, the meaning of which is, however, doubtful. Grk. : wickedly (or, ujilaw/ully) , = ^' w\i\\ evil design" (RV. : with a wicked mind) ; the " wicked design " is naturally to secure safety for the offerer, hardly to do harm to others. We know regret- tably little of the customs and ideas of sacrifice of the later Jewish period. — 28. The first cl. is nearly identical with first cl. in 19^-^; there the false witness is punished, here he perishes, either by course of law (cf Dt. 19^^), or by divine intervention. — The second cl. is obscure, Ut. a mail who hears (lit. a man hearing) shall (or, will) speak for ever. The expression a man who hears yields, in this connection, no good sense. It cannot mean one who hears God (Saad.) or is obedient to the law of God (Rashi), for such predicates are elsewhere either expressed (i* ^3 j^si ^^_^ or clearly suggested by the context (i^ al. Ez. 2^). Li i K. 3^ the heading 7nind which Solomon asks for, in order that he may judge the people, is a mind which attentively considers, and in this sense the term is here understood by some interpreters f ', * In Job 17II the text is doubtful ; see Budde, Hiob. f Saad. Ew. De. al. XXI. 27-29 4" I but there the context clearly indicates the nature of the hearing, here there is no such indication ; a hearing man is a strange phrase by which to express the conceplion a man ivJio carefully listens (and so is able to give trustworthy testimony). — The pred- icate is not less obscure. To speak for ever is something which would not be naturally said of (or desired for) any man, good or bad, in a court of law or elsewhere. Delitzsch interprets it to mean " will never need to be silent," or, preferably, " what he says will stand" (RV. shall speak unchallenged^, but these mean- ings are not contained in the words. Instead oi for ever we may perhaps render to victory (or, gloty) * ; but this rendering is obscure and unnatural. Wildeboer connects this term with the preceding, and suggests the translation : a man who is known as trustworthy may speak, but the interpretations known and trust- worthy are both lexicographically improbable. Graetz changes the text and reads : a man of truth will be remembered for ever, in which truth stands in satisfactory contrast \s\\\\ false, but remem- bered for ever seems to be too large a reward for the man of truth, if, as the connection would suggest, he is simply a " true witness " ; cf. 10^, where such a reward is assigned to the fust, the man of general probity. We expect a statement equivalent to " a true witness will be established." — In default of a satisfactory interpre- tation or emendation the clause is better left untranslated. — 29. Antithetic, ternary. On " hardening the face " see note on 7^^. Here the expression (lit. shoius boldness in his face) refers to the impudence with which a bad man deports himself toward facts and persons ; he unblushingly maintains what suits him, without regard to truth. On the other hand, the upright or vir- tuous man, anxious to do right, carefully considers his ways ( — conduct, acts) . Considers is the reading of the Heb. margin (and of the Grk.) ; the text has establishes, which Reuss prefers, finding thus the admirable antithesis : "a bad man fixes his face, a good man his deeds " (cf. 4-'') ; so RV. : ordereth his ways. On the other hand, the marginal reading offers a better antithesis to the picture of effrontery which appears to be given in the first clause. On establish see note on 4"^, on consider notes on 2^ i4^\ * Aq. Sym. Theod. will advance to victory ; Lat. will speak victory. 412 PROVERBS 30, 31, Divine sovereignty. 30. There is no wisdom nor understanding Nor counsel against Yahweh. 31. The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But to Yahweh belongs the victory. 30. Single sentence, binary. In the second line the preposition may mean over against, in comparison zvith, or against. The two meanings give the same general sense for the couplet ; the second meaning appears to be favored by v."^ : " no human wisdom can avail against Yahweh." A similar thought is found in Job 5^--^^, cf. Jer. 9^. The three nouns of the subject are practically syn- onyms,* counsel involving "capacity for giving advice"; see notes on i" 2" i-^ 8^^. — 31. Antithetic, ternary-binary. Victory in battle, the couplet says, is decided by God, in spite of human arrangements. A similar thought, from a national point of view, is found in \\i 33^' 76"^^* 124; here the point of view is universal. Victory is deliverance from enemies ; see 11" {^safety). Prepared — set, harnessed. — The horse is here spoken of as a usual (and apparently as a legitimate) feature in an army. The early Hebrews in Canaan, being mostly mountaineers, did not employ horses in war, and the use of them, as characteristic of foreigners, was not favored by the prophets ; see Hos. i' Dt. 1 7^*^ Zech. 9^" al. Horses were imported from Egypt by Solomon (i K. io-^).t 22. In 1^ ^n*J33p the suff. n is written without Mappiq, and quiesces in the preceding vowel, the object being to secure a fuller vowel sound at the end of the couplet; for a list of occurrences of He raphatum in OT. see Bottcher, Lehrb. §418. On the Segol under 13 see Ges.^^ § 29;;;. — @ interprets the suff. as = ot dtre/Sets; 9C omits the suff., perh. by error of copyist. — 23. Sing, ms is given in Kenn. 30. 253, Bibl. Soncin., Brixiens., (gSiST. — 24. On ini see Ges. Thes. and De.'s note; the stem is probably in>, with which n\T is allied (cf. Arab.) ; the Aram. Vrss. render it by mc, a stem (found also in Arab.) with a related sense. — 26. S^C = pj; IL in * concnpiscit et desiderat ; Bi. nixn nixn. |§ nivxn seems to be scribal repetition out of the preceding word. — On the unexpressed subj. see Ew. § 294, Ges.^^ § 144. — 27. nini is * Immanuel, cited by Delitzsch, interprets the first of theology, the second of worldly science, the third of politics; but no such distinction exists in the Hebrew terms. t On Assyrian war-horses cf. Rawlinson, Anc. Mon. i. 414-427. The horse appears to be native in Central Asia. XXI. 30-XXII. 2 413 read or supplied after nsyn (P3"r) in (S and S", and is added by Dys. Reuss, Kamp. — 1^ •'3 1*^' is inexactly represented in (§ by /cot yap; in the other Vrss., including S", H'^' is neglected. — 28. J§ >?"^'; (S yTTTjKoos, for ^tttJkooj. — |l] nxr ; (5 (pv\aa-(76fM€Pos, = -\sj'? (Capp.), or possibly free rendering of |^ (Baumg.j; S" has -»j:; SST rightly ; IL victoriam ; ASG et'j i/j/cos. — Gr. rxi ~oi'' nx:'? PCN. — The Heb. noun nsj appears to represent two stems: one = shine (Syr. Arab.), whence glory, victory, clearness (of voice), purity (of heart), and hence perh. n^i:. ; the other = endure, whence, continuance {jy-it! forever^. Cf. Orelli, 5y«., pp. 95 ff. — 29. K \t is given in the great mass of Heb. MSS., and in AS^SCIL; Q P' is found in (§3[r, and about 50 Heb. MSS. — K vom; Q oti. — 30. |^ nin<; (gB a(. .^6^ dcre/3^ (in some cursives Kvplov) ; ave^rj is perh. error for exjae^rj, perh. (Baumg.) represents HIT' -1 la'^ /o /^/w w/i(? zj unfaithful to Vahweh (see ^ 73'®) ; possibly the Heb. expression was written '> njj (= nin> -a), and the "1 was overlooked by the Grk. scribe. XXII. 1, 2. Value of reputation. Mutual relations of rich and poor. 1. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, To be well thought of is better than silver and gold. 2. The rich and the poor stand side by side, Yahweh is the maker of them all. 1. Synonymous, ternary, or quaternary-ternary. The Heb. has simply name, = " repute, standing," here involving the predicate good, as in Gen. 6^, men of (military) reputation, Job 30* a natne- /ess race (God -forsaken, without social standing), Eccl. 7^ (good) repute is better than oil, BS. \\^'^ be careful of thy (good) name. To be well thought of (lit. favor) is to have kindly appreciation, good reception from others, to be persona grata ; and, from the parallelism, name is the estimation in which one is held by others, during life, and after death. Q'^i favor see notes on i" 13^', cf. Eccl. 9'^ A good reputation, the proverb appears to say, is val- uable for the advantage it brings, respect, influence, material pros- perity. Or, the sense may be the larger one that good repute, involving high intellectual and moral character, is a more precious possession than material wealth. The first interpretation is per- haps supported by the term favor. — RV. loving (lit. goof) favor is improbable ; good is not a proper epithet oi favor (in which it is implied), and does not so occur elsewhere in OT. See note on i^ — 2. Single sentence with suggested antithesis, ternary. 414 PROVERBS Stand side by side is lit. meet one another. The meaning is : There are social differences among men — but all men, as crea- tures of God, have their rights, and their mutual obligations of respect and kindness. This conception of human equality, having its roots in the old Hebrew life, and recognized by the Prophets, is more definitely expressed in the later gnomic literature, which looks at men apart from accidents of birth and station. Cf Job 34^^ BS. 1 1" ; Frank, refers to Syriac Menander 66. 3-5. Sagacity, piety, 3. A prudent man sees danger and hides himself, Simpletons go on and are mulcted. 4. The reward of humility (and) of the fear of Yahweh Is riches and honor and life. 5. < Traps and> snares are in the path of the lawless, He who has regard to himself avoids them. 3. Antithetic, quaternary-ternary. The couplet occurs again in 27^^. On p7-udent — " observant, sagacious," see notes on 12^^ i*. Danger is lit. evil, anything which is a source of injury, financial, physical, or moral. Simpleton, a favorite term in Pr., occurs elsewhere only in Pss. (three times) and Ez. (once) ; it expresses lack of good sense, and is not properly represented by Eng. " simple " ; see note on i^. Mulcted or subjected to fine (Ex. 21" Dt. 22^^ Am. 2* 2 C. 36'^) here = suffer injury or are punished in general, but the legal coloring may be retained in the translation; see 17^*^ 21". — The prudent man here is not a sneak or a coldblooded and selfish person, but simply a man of forethought and acuteness. — Grk., first cl. : an intelligent man, seeing a bad man severely punished, is Jmnself instructed — a sense good in itself (cf. 21"), but not that of the Hebrew. — 4. Single sentence, ternary or quaternary- ternary. The and of first cl. is not in the Heb., but should probably be inserted. The cl. may be rendered : the reward of humility is the fear of Yahweh,* but humility, in such a connection, is substan- tially identical with the fear of God, or if a relation of sequenoe be supposed, it is rather the fear that precedes. — The combina- tion of the two terms is, however, somewhat strange. They might be taken as in apposition (Now.) : humility (which is) the fear of * De. Wild. XXII. 2-6 415 Yahwch, in which case humility would have the rehgious sense, and would ^//V/y; the sage must then be supposed to be guarding against the non-religious interpretation of the term - '' humility," he would say, " provided it be the fear of Yahweh is rewarded" ; this construction, however, seems hardly natural, for elsewhere (15"^' i8'^') honor is declared to be the reward of non- religious humility. The term humility may, however, be a gloss explaining /.ar of Yahweh. Or, the couplet may be based on IC33 combining in one clause the two subjects there standmg m two'clauses (see note on 15^^) ; m that case humility may here be understood as non-religious. Cf. the similar expression m ^45 • For humility see 15^^ i8^S and cf. ^ ^^"^ (= ^ Sam. 22 ) - The general meaning of the text is clear : reward follows humility and piety. On the nature of the reward see notes on 3- . — 5 Single sentence, with implied antithesis, quaternary. On law- iess(= crooked) see notes on 2^^ ii^». He who has regard to (lit keeps) himself (lit. his soul) takes care to avoid {V^^. ^^f^' f^^^f^ the dangers of the lawless life. Instead of traps the Heb. reading is thorns, an expression which, in the connection, is hardly appro- priate : if the word be correct, the reference maybe to hedges, which bar the way of the vagrant. It is better to emend to a term synonymous with snares (see Job i8«). Snares are set for trespassers. — Dyserinck reads : snares are hidden in the path etc., which gives a good sense. 6. Education forms the man. Train up a child in the way he is to go, And even when he is old he will not depart from it. Single sentence (condition and consequence), ternary, or quater- nary-ternary. Train up = give instruction, experience. In the way he is to go, lit. according to his way, that is, not exactly m the path of industry and piety "* (which would require in the right way), nor - according to the bodily and mental development of the child "t (which does not agree with second cl.), but " in accord- ance with the manner of life to which he is destined," X the mi pli- cation being that the manner of hfe will not be morally bad; but * Ew. AV. RV. t Saad. De. X Now. Zock. Wild. 41 6 PROVERBS the point on which stress is laid is the power of education. Frank, renders : train a child in the begijining of his way, then etc. j but the translation in the beginnifig is without authority. The couplet reflects the opinion of a community in which the pre- cise training of children was recognized as possible and obligatory. 7-9. Thrift, improbity, liberality. 7. The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is slave to the lender. 8. He who sows iniquity will reap calamity, And < the produce of his work > will come to naught. 9. The kindly man will be blessed Because he gives bread to the poor. 7. Synonymous, ternary. Cf. ii"'' 12-^ 17^ The couplet states a natural social law ; the reference appears to be not to legal con- trol, but to the state of dependence consequent on poverty and borrowing ; this is expressed by the strong term slave, which is probably not to be taken literally. According to the old Heb. law a man might sell himself or his children into slavery (Ex. 21-"" Neh. 5^), or the creditor might sell the debtor (Am. 2^ 2 K. 4^) ; how long this law continued in force is uncertain, but the parallelism in our couplet suggests the more general sense for the term slave. — 8. Synonymous, ternary. Iniquity = moral badness in general (Hos. lo^'^) ; see the similar term in 29^^ — The term (awen) here rendered calamity (= trouble^ commonly means iniquity (so in 6^- 10'-^ 21^^ al), sometimes idolatry ox false god (as in Beth- aven, Hosea's contemptuous name for Bethel, Hos. 4^^), here the result of wickedness (as in 12-^). — In second line the Heb. has: ajid the sceptre of his insolence (or, the rod of his wrath) zvill (or, shall) fail { = pass away), the reference being apparently to the tyranny of bad and powerful men * ; the interpretation the rod of his punishment (= the wrath that fiills on him) shall come to pass (be fulfilled)! is improbable. Gratz, with change of text: will destroy him. The expression of the Heb. is, however, unnatural (whether 7'od be taken as emblem of rule or as instrument of pun- ishment), and offers no good antithesis to first clause. The emen- dation above adopted \ {work being tilling) preserves the figure * De. RV. t Schult. Ew. % Frank. XXII. 6-n 417 of first line, and furnishes a precise antitliesis. On the doctrine see notes on i^- 2^^ etc. — 9. Single sentence, ternary. Kindly is \\\.. good of eye ; the opposite, evil of eye, occurs in 23'' 28^-. Eye here = look, expression ; there is no immediate connection with the idea in the magical "evil eye." — Blessed, by God, immedi- ately or through natural laws, and by men ; see 10" 11^". Bread, lit. of his bread. Cf. 14^'' 19^^ 31-° BS. f WS. 7^. 10. Insulting words stir up strife. Expel the scoffer, and discord vanishes, And strife and insult cease. Synonymous (second cl. = predicate of first cl.), quaternary-ter- nary. On scoffer see note on i^^. Strife is lit. decision ox judg- ment, then a lawsuit, here, from the connection, any quarrelling or contention, = discord. Insult, lit. disgrace (3^ 9^), here sub- stantially the talk that tends to inflict disgrace. — The Grk., read- ing second cl. differently : for, when he sits iti a coujicil (o-weS/ato)), he insults (or, dishonors) everybody. The reference in the Heb. is probably not specially to proceedings in courts of law. Cf. 1 7" 20^. 11. Defective text. The Heb. reads : He who loves purity of heart (or, the pure of heart) the grace of his lips the king is his friend, which is syntactically defective. A slight change of text may give the sense : he who loves etc., on whose lips is grace, the king etc.* ; this is intelligible, and the combination of ethical and intellectual qualities (purity and eloquence), though not usual (see 12^3-0 14,^ 15-2 161" 18* 20«-« 25^ 29^" .^ 45'"^ Eccl. lo^^) occurs in 16^^. Ewald : he who loves with pure heart, which the Heb. does not allow. Lat. (followed by RV.), emending by the insertion of a Preposition : he who loves etc., for the grace etc., which introduces an inconsequence in saying that, if a man is morally pure, then he is loved not for this purity, but for his gra- ciousness of speech. Grk.: the Lord loves holy hearts. Delitzsch mentions a Jewish interpretation which, in second cl., translates : his friend is a king, that is, the friend of an honorable and culti- * Rashi, Luther (who takes king to be = God), De. Reuss al. 2E 41 8 PROVERBS vated man is as fortunate and happy as a king — which, as De. remarks, is a beautiful, but improbable, exegesis. — If resort be had to conjectural emendation, we may suppose either that there is a contrast between God and king, or that king is the subj. of the whole couplet. In the first case we may read : God loves the pure in heart, grace of lips pleases the king (so Wild.) ; such a contrast occurs nowhere else, and is not probable. In the second case the reading will be : the king loves the pure in heart, and grace of lips is his delight (so substantially Rashi and Luther), and this seems to offer the most probable sense (see 16^''). 12. Text and translation doubtful. Lit. : The eyes of Yahweh guard kno7vledge, but he overthrows the words of the wicked. The text of first cl. cannot be correct for several reasons. The verb can here (as predicate of the eyes of Yahweh) mean only guard (not obey), and cannot be followed by the abstract term knoivl- edge, nor does OT. usage permit the interpretation of this term as = Imn who has knowledge * ; and the verb is not an appropriate predicate of the eyes of Yahweh, which are said elsewhere to " rest upon, be directed toward," but never to "guard, protect." For this latter reason the emendation (Ew.) knowers of knowledge is unsatisfactory. Somewhat better Gratz : the eyes of Yahweh are on those who keep (= observe, obey, or, preserve) knowledge ; the verb, in the sense obey, is elsewhere followed by a concrete noun, as law (28^ \\i 119'^^) or p7-ecepts {ij/ 119^") ; in the sense preserve, guard, it is followed by sagacity (3^^), which is a quality of the mind, and instruction (4''^), which is concrete, and it is, in any case, doubtful whether such technical philosophical terms would be employed in a theocratic couplet. Frank, interprets : Yahweh possesses (all) kno7vledge, and etc., but the verb does not mean possess, and this rendering offers no good antithesis or synthesis of the two lines. As the ordinary antithesis to wicked is a term = upright, we may perhaps read : the eyes of Yahweh are on the righteous ; cf. \^ ■54'^''''' loi^ The expression "the eyes are on" carries, in OT., an implication of benevolence. — On overthrows and wicked {faithless) see notes on 13^ 2*^, and cf. 21^. * Saad. De. Zock. RV. al. XXII. II-I5 4^9 13-15. Sloth, adultery, folly. 13. The sluggard says: There is a lion without, On the street I shall be slain. 14. The mouth of the adulteress is a deep pit, He with whom Yahweh is angry will fall thereinto. 15. Folly is bound to the mind of a child, But the rod of correction will remove it. 13. Continuous, with synonymous predicates, quaternary-ternary. Humorous sarcasm : to suppose that there was a Hon on the street (Heb. streets or operi places) was absurd, but any excuse would do for one who was determined not to stir from his place. In the Heb. the danger in second cl. is from the Hon, in the Grk. from human murderers {there a;r murderers in the streets) ; see the parallel 26''. On the sluggard see 6^-^ io-« 13^ 15" 19''^ 20^ 21^ 24'''" 2 6'''"'*-^'^. — 14. Continuous, ternary. Adulteress (plu. in the Heb.) is lit. strange woman, on which see note on 2^^ Mouth is a reference to her seductive speech. — Except in this couplet and its parallel 23-'' the term here rendered strange woman in RV. occurs in Pr. only in chs. 1-9 (2^*^ s'^-" 6"-"' f), and Ewald would therefore here read harlot. But a reference to this vice in the present section is not improbable, if the final revision of the Book be put in the Greek period.* — In second cl. De. has, cursed of God, and RV. abhorred of the Lord, both possible, but the ordi- nary sense of the Heb. term, angry, is more appropriate.-^ 15. Continuous, ternary. Children, the proverb says, are morally immature, and the rod is the best discipline for them; see 13^* 2^13.14 2pi\ The fool is to be similarly treated (lo^'^ 2(y'). Cor- poral chastisement of children was probably universal in antiquity (so in Egypt, Greece, and Rome — Plato commends moral train- ing, Laws v., p. 729). — The affirmation of the couplet is general, and is not to be put as conditional : " if folly is bound . . . then the rod" etc. — Cf. Menander, Monost ^22 : he who is not flogged is not educated. \ * Another word for adulteress (lit. strange woman) occurs five times in chs. 1-9 (2I6 5I0. 20 624 yS)^ once (23-') in the rest of the Book ; still another is found once (in a gloss, 3020). The term iox harlot is found twice in chs. 1-9 (626 7W), and twice in the rest of the Book (232^ 298). t See Becker, Char., Exc. to Sc. I., Gallus, Exc. II. to Sc. I., and, for Egypt, the maxims of Ptahhetep and Dauf. 420 PROVERBS 16. Lit. : He who oppresses the poor, to bring increase to him, he who gives to the rich, only to loss. Interpretations have varied according as the couplet has been taken as a single sentence or as antithetic, and according as the him of first cl. has been referred to he or to the poor, and the loss of second cl. to he or to the rich. Hence a great number of forced translations.* Possibly, follow- ing 28*-^'' (cf. ii^*), the oppresses should be changed to gives to: he who gives to the poor it is gain to him, he who gives to the rich it is only loss ; we should then have a double contrast, between poor and rich, and between gai}i and loss, and the couplet would be a commendation of benevolence and a condemnation of bri- bery and servility. Gifts were made to the rich not out of love, but to secure their favor. — Cf. 14^^ 19" 28^ XXII. 1. After |§ -3;:' an adj. = good is inserted by (g^TlL Bi., not by S; the adj. is probably not original — the usage permits, and the rhythm rather favors, its omission. — 1§ 2'j is not a proper epithet of \p, and must be taken as predicate. — 2. Gr., referring to 29'^, supposes that there is a lacuna before T\v:. The statement " Y. enlightens (or protects) them all" would be appro- priate; but |§ gives a good sense. — 3. K td , Q td ; between the two there is little choice — the time is present, the Impf. with i would follow the general rule of sequence, with 1 would isolate the act as inchoate, the Perf. would be parallel to nvX->. — 4. Before n{<^' insert >. — n 13 ,• occurs outside of Pr. only in Zeph. 2^ (where it is parallel to pTi), 2 Sam. 22^^, = ^ l8-^s (where it is an attribute of God), and ip 45^; in the last passage it apparently forms a compound with pny, but the text is doubtful (see Wellh. in SB07\, and cf. Cheyne, Psalms and Psalter). Here it is unnecessary, probably a gloss. — 5. |^ DJ'i; © rpL^o\oi thortts or thislles ; 3L arnia (taking njs as = shield); S^T .s3:'i snares, — 33>' (Job 18^), which is the better read- ing; Gr. Ven. dKavdai. The sense l/iorus for |^ may perh. be inferred from rj>, Am. 4^, parallel to nn t^d Jishhooks ; masc. plu. nji" occurs elsewhere only in Job 5^, where the text appears to be corrupt (cf. Budde, Hiob). — Dys. nns {snares are hidden), which is appropriate and should perh. be adopted, though ojs gives a more satisfactory parallelism in first line. — 6. The couplet is wanting in (S^ax^ found in 23. 109. 147. al., and in S>^, where it is ascribed to 0. — The stem ^3^ in OT. = dedicate (a building, Dt. 20^ I K. 8°^ ^ 30I Dan. 3^) and, only here, (rain. In Arab., in the sense give training, experience, sound judgment (cf Eth. understand), the verb is a denom. from tin (Heb. in palate); this sense may be supposed to come from taking the palate as the seat of taste, first physical and then intellectual (so Ges. Thes.), or from the guidance of an animal by a bridle in the mouth, * See the Anc. Vrss. Saad. Luth. Ew. Hi. De. Reuss, Str. Wild. RV. al. XXII. i6 421 or from the rubbing of children's palates (with dates, etc.) as an act of initia- tion into full membership in the clan; this last appears best to account for the two senses of the verb in Heb. — The -- before -\:;i may result from the meaning of the verb give initiation or training (to the child) ; otherwise it must be regarded as an Araniaism. — J^ T:a:. is omitted by Bi. as having no antecedent; but it refers naturally to '3-(-_. — 8. J^ 2nN I^D, or, with transposition, ^j's-i r^T^QV pi aV nna ^Sd 3nx. S in ^ ; and he (God) loves (= pn) the lips of those who love (= "'in) the king. — 12. Ew. '•v-iV npi; Gr. '1 nxj Sy; Hi. nyn for nyi. Read either'! ipi S;; mni ij>i; (which, however, does not offer a good contrast to "mz ^^.a""), or D|"ns3 "> ij^>'. — 14. |J| nnr; Gr. mr. — 16. |^ pu*;; read perh. |ro, though this is graphically not easy. III. SECOND COLLECTION OF APHORISMS (XXIL 17-XXIV. 34). This collection consists of two parts, 22^^-24--, and 24^^^ the second being an appendix to the first. The collection is marked off from the preceding (10^-22^'') by the introduction of the author (22^'^"^^) and by the title prefixed by the continuator (24^'). It differs also in tone and structure from the preceding collection : it is in the form of an address to the pupil (who is called the son), it is intimate, argumentative, descriptive, and it is arranged in strophes instead of couplets. In the two last points it approaches Ben-Sira. The moral and religious content is the same as that of the rest of the Book. On the date see the Introduction. XXII. 17-21. The author's introduction. The person of the author of 2 2^'-24" is unknown; he is prob- ably not the same with the author of i^-p''^ the structure and material being very different in the two sections. This introduc- tion differs also from that (i^"*^) which is prefixed to the whole Book — it is more personal in tone, and less lapidary in style. The author speaks as a sage who has composed or collected a body of maxims which he regards as of high importance. The text is doubtful ; the Greek form differs considerably from the Hebrew. The Hebrew reads : 17. Incline thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, And apply thy mind to my knowledge. 18. For it is pleasant that thou keep them in thy mind. That they be ready on thy lips. 19. That thy trust may be in Yahweh I instruct thee to-day, thee also; 20. Did I not formerly (?) write for thee In plans and knowledge, 21. To cause thee to know the truth of words of truth, To return answer, truth, to him who sends thee? 422 XXII. 17-21 423 17, 18. The expression the wise seems to be a marginal title (as in 24^) which has got into the text ; read my words. The description of keep them by pleasant is improbable ; this term properly describes knowledge (so the verb in 2'"), but "keeping" is rather characterized as wise or beneficial (2^"^' 3"''^^ «/■)• The Grk. has in i y** : apply thy mind that thou mayest know that they are good, but the proper object of "know" is "instruction" (i^ 4'). Ewald, better : apply thy heaii to knowledge, because it is pleasant. — Be ready is lit. he fixed, established, = ready for use. — 19, 20. By the to-day thee also of the Heb. the sage appears to intimate that he had taught other persons at a former time, but he does not further explain this. In the formerly (?) there would be a reference to former instruction given to the pupil here addressed ; the Heb. word may be a fragment of the common expression for formerly (lit. yesterday and the day before^ . This rendering is, in any case, improbable, for the reason that it intro- duces a strange contrast between the instruction now given to teach trust in Yahweh, and that formerly given to impart the capacity of answering (v.-^) . — The Heb. margin, instead of this word, has a term meaning officers (2 Sam. 23- 2 K. 7- 9"' Ez. 23^'), which by most interpreters, from Saadia on,* is taken as — noble (or, excellent^ sayings, a rendering which is without authority in Heb. usage, and cannot be called probable. Delitzsch, in support of it, refers to the 7ioble things of 8'^ (which is probably an error of text), to the royal law of Jas. 2^, and to Plato's \xkp-r] T7ye/i,ov£s {Tim. 91 ^), = " governing powers of the soul " ; but neither of these references is in point, since the terms "royal" and "governing" are epithets of the nouns "law" and "parts," while here the word officers stands alone and undefined, and the designation of a maxim simply as a " captain " (or, " offi- cer") is unexampled and unnatural. — In some Anc. Vrss.f the word is rendered triply (which Rashi explains as referring to the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa), by Luther, freely, man- ifoldly. This rendering (which may perhaps be taken as = repeat- edly') is intelligible in the Grk. translation {do thou transcribe them triply for thyself), but not in the Hebrew. — 21. In the * AV. Mich. De. Reuss, RV. Kamp. al. \ Grk. Syr. Targ. Lat. 424 PROVERBS Hebrew the first truth is superfluous, probably a gloss. Similarly truth has been repeated, by scribal error, in second cl. — The expression to him who sends thee (or, in some texts, to those who send thee) could only be understood to mean " to thy parent or guardian, who has sent thee to school, and desires an account of thy progress." A better sense is given by the Grk. reading to those who question thee* The pupil, as sage, would be consulted by many persons, and the proof of his maturity would be his abiUty to answer questions concerning the conduct of life ; cf. I K. lo'^ BS. sg^-i" VVS. S^^-^^ The text of the passage has suffered greatly ; the following translation is an attempt at a restoration of the original. 17. Lend thine ear and hear my words, And give heed to learn right things, 18. So that thou mayest keep them in mind, And they be ready on thy lips. 19. That thy trust may be in Yahweh I teach thee my words. 20. I write(?) for thee . . . That thy plans may be intelligent. 21. I teach thee words of truth, That thou mayest answer him who questions thee. On the omission of the wise see the note on this verse above. To iea?-n, lit. to know (v.^') is adopted from the Greek ; 7-ight things is suggested by 23^*^. The form of v.'^'' is taken from 1^. The term write is suspicious, since elsewhere in the Book the instruc- tion given by the sages is oral ; but cf. Eccl. 12'". The verb sug- gests a very late date for the final recension of our passage. For the word omitted in v.-"" I can offer no emendation ; the connec- tion suggests a word = " wise counsel or instruction " or " excel- lent things." In wr^'^ plans and knowledge may be understood as hendiadys, = plans of knowledge ; on plans see note on i'^^ (RV., there, devices) ; we might perhaps render : that thy counsels (to others) may be intelligent. Notwithstanding the difficulties of the text, the general thought of the paragraph is plain : the pupil is to devote himself to study, in order that his religious life may be firmly established, and that * So Saad. Rashi, Ew. De. Reuss, Now. Bick. Frank. XXII. 21-23 425. he may be able to give wise counsel to those who seek advice. The exhortation supposes a community in which study is valued and provided for : there are teachers and recognized bodies of truth — this is the Jewish reproduction of the Greek schools of philosophy. XXII. 17, 18. 1^ D!:Dn, though given in the Vrss., appears to be a gloss, a marginal title, perhaps originally □:;3n"'; cf. 24'-'^. (§ has a doublet, one form (Kttt dKOve ifiov \6yov) apparently omitting 'n. Read ''']3-'. — |^ a^'j 13 ipyT?; (Q 'iva yv(^s Sti KaXol eicriv; read air''D n>'"i'? — S2E because they are pleasant, keep them etc. — Bi. inserts \~ncNS at the beginning of v.^^, and makes v.^''- '^^ triplets; but the triplet is rather to be avoided than sought in this Section. — 19, 20. 1^ nns -ix a»n yields no good sense; (5 tii]v odov ffov may be inter- pretation, the n.nx ix being carried over (Jager) to the next v. (/cal o-i)) ; yet the connection favors some such reading, perh. ''■23"'. — K Dt''?:;', Q Di^"'!;'; (§ Tpiaaws; IL tripliciter ; SCCS) p^r xn'?;! "?;•. The embarrassment of the Grk. translators and expounders is shown by the variety of readings in v.^^- '^, on which see II-P, Lag. In |§ rhi'.i we should perhaps write ^ for a. — In Megil. y a f^ v.-"'' is cited (against the proposal to canonize the Book of Esther) as showing that the three divisions of the Canon were already made up : have I not zuritten three (and no more) ? — 21. |^ '^'^?'^ \ better, perhaps, qTipn. — 1^ ae'p is the gloss of an Aramaic-speaking scribe. © omits 'p, but expands the line by a second clause; % appears to have read op^' qiiiet instead of 'p (Pink.), and to have followed (§ freely in its insertion; STiL insert 1 between 'p and ii"3N. — 1§ inPj'':', and so all Vrss. except (@; (§ rots 7rpo/3a\Xo- ix^vois ffot, for which Lag, reads rots irpo^dWov(ri croi, = I'l'^Nb'':'. Read sing. The Maxims of the Second Collection (22^^-24^*). 22, 23. Against oppression of the poor. 22. Rob not the poor because he is poor, And oppress not the lowly in the gate. 23. For Yahweh will plead their cause, And rob their robbers of life. 22. Synonymous, ternary. I'oor (see 10^^) and /oza/y (see 3^^) are here synonyms, both referring to physical poverty, which car- ries with it low social position and defencelessness {because he is poor). Oppress, = crush, = " rob of possessions." The ga/e is the place of dispensing justice; cf. i-' 24'. — 23. Synonymous, ternary. Cf. Ex. 2 2-'---''-°-^> 23*^ Dt. 24"' ^^ The word rendered roi> (different from that of v.^^) occurs elsewhere only in Mai. 3^® 426 PROVERBS (where VVellhausen changes the text so as to read cheat) ; its exact meaning is not certain, but some such sense as "rob, cheat " is suggested by the connection. 24, 25. Against passionateness. 24. Consort not with a man given to anger, And go not with a passionate man, 25. Lest thou learn his ways, And bring destruction on thyself. 24. Synonymous, ternary. Consort not zvith (or, be not frietidly with) — go not with. Cf. 15' ^ — 25. Single sentence, binary- ternary. Learn (= accustom thyself to), a late, poetic word; the stem is found elsewhere only in the causative form, = teach (Job 15^ -^-^"^ 35")- — Ways is the reading of the Heb. margin; the text has way. — Destruction is lit. a snare, which is explained by some * as = danger, but the suggestion in the word is rather death ; see 12'^ 13^* 14-'' 29". Anger is denounced not as immoral, but as injurious ; the obvious implication, however, is that it is morally bad. The destruction (or, danger) comes through the violation of human law, which the sage doubtless regards as also divine law. Cf. BS. S'^'l — Bickell (v.^-*"- ^sa) . ^,^^ ^^ not friendly with a pas- sionate man, lest thou get in his way, that is, the destruction comes from his passionate violence (see BS. ubi sup.) — but the translation is lexicographically doubtful. 26, 27. Against going security. 26. Be not of those who pledge themselves, Of those who are surety for debts. 27. If thou have not wherewith to pay, Thy bed will be taken from under thee. 26. Synonymous, binary. Similar cautions in 6^ 11'^ 17^® 20^^ Pledge themselves is lit. strike hands. Are surety for debts, lit. bind (ox, pledge) themselves for (other persons') loans. — 27. Sin- gle sentence, ternary (or, binary-ternary). Heb.: tvhy should one (or, he) take thy bed etc.? the why is scribal repetition (ditto- gram) ; the question would be appropriate only if the first cl. * E\v. Reuss. XXII. 23-29 427 were omitted. On the legal right of the creditor to seize the debtor's bed see notes on the couplets cited above (on v.^^) . 28. Rights of property. Remove not the ancient landmark Which thy fathers set- up. Partially synonymous (second cl. explains predicate of first cl.), ternary. The couplet is substantially identical with part of Dt. 19". As citizenship and a share in the protection of the tribal or national deity were regarded, among ancient peoples, as depend- ent on possession of land, boundaries were treated as sacred, and were placed under the protection of deities (Zeus Horios, Ter- minus etc.). The land of the poor was often encroached on by the rich and the powerful (i K. 21^' Hos. 5^° Is. 5^ Dt. 27" Job 24^). The antiquity of a boundary-line {= landmark) gave it special sacredness. Cf. note on ^.f", and see 23^ which is a vari- ation of this couplet. — Bickell omits the couplet as a shortened form of 23^", with a gloss (the second cl.) on aticient taken from Dt. 19" (in which the Grk. has thy fathers instead of Heb. they of old). It is true that we expect a strophe of two couplets here, as above, and there is, perhaps, some derangement in the Heb. text. 29. Praise of business capacity. Seest thou a man skilful in business? Before kings he shall stand, Not stand before obscure men. The triplet form, unusual in Pr., perhaps indicates the loss of a Une. Skilful, as in Ezr. f ^ 45'''' ^ the Heb. word may also be rendered quick, swift, and so, perhaps, diligent (RV.), but the suggestion is rather of readiness and skill. Stafid before = enter the service of . Obscure; 'RN.inean. 23. On the meaning of V3p cf. Ges. Thes. and Lag. In Arab, the stem = hide, in Aram, fx firmly. Possibly we should read 3P> ; in Mai. 38- 9 & has iTrTipvi% yno take revenge; it coufiget {^ transfix).— 27. The interrog. in b is not given by ©S^T. In |t? na'^ the a^ seems to be dittogram of preceding 3^ (in aV-'^). — 29. |§ rs rvn; (5 6p,xrcKbv Mpa, = niin -C'H (Jag.). — Bi. makes a couplet of ^ by inserting nj^n after t:\s. 428 PROVERBS XXIII. 1, 2. Good manners at a king's table. — The qua- train is a single sentence, ternary. 1. When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, Consider well who is before thee, 2. And put a knife to thy throat, If thou be a man of great appetite. If one be in danger of excess in eating, one must be severely cau- tious — anything like voracity will excite the contempt, and per- haps the hostility, of the ruler.* — " To put a knife to the throat " is said by Fleischer to be a proverbial expression for self-restraint ; one, as it were, threatens to kill one's self if one misbehaves. — In v.^** we may render : if thou have a great appetite (on this particu- lar occasion); the moral is the same. In v.^** lit. : consider him who etc. The rendering what is before thee (= the dishes) is possible — it would enjoin a wise choice of food — but is less probable than the other ; it is the ruler that the guest must have in mind. To this interpretation it may be objected that to describe the ruler as being " in the presence " of his guest is unseemly — rather the expression should be : consider in whose presence thou art (so Frank.) ; yet see Gen. i8-^, where it is said (in the correct text) : and Yahweh ivas still standing before Abraham. The modern courtliness of expression appears not to have been the rule in the OT. times. — Ewald : thou wilt put a knife to thy throat (= wilt bring ruin on thyself) if thou giz>e free rein to desire (that is, if the avaricious ruler perceive that thou too art avaricious) ; but this does not so well accord with the place (the dinner- table). — Cf. BS. t,^^-'^^- In the Heb. follows, as v.^, the couplet : Do not desire his dainties, Seeing it is bread of deceit. This appears to be out of place, since the point in the preceding quatrain is control of appetite, and not treachery or insincerity on the part of the king. The first cl. is identical with second cl. of v.^, where it is appropriate, and whence it may by mistake have * Cf. Prisse Papyrus, Sect. 2 (translated by Griffith, in Lib. 0/ the World's Best Z?/., Vol. 13), and Malan. XXIII. 1-5 429 got to this place (so Bickell). The second cl. also is misplaced — the sing, it does not accord with the plu. dainties. Bickell places it after first cl. of v.^ — Bread of deceit is food offered with deceitful purpose. Cf. Pirke Aboih, 2, 3 : "be cautious in inter- course with the powerful ; they are friendly only so long as they can use men for their own interests." 4, 5. Against anxiety for wealth. 4. Toil not to make thyself rich, From such a < purpose > desist, 5. For < riches > makes itself wings As an eagle that heavenward flies. 4. Synonymous, binary. First clause : " make not wearisome effort (= take no pains) to become rich," that is, it is not worth the trouble. The second cl. is lit. from thy wisdom (or laider- standing, or intelligence) desist (RV. cease from thine own wisdoni), which appears to say that the man holds it wise to get riches ; this is a singular form of expression, and is certainly not the point of the couplet. Some such term as purpose must be understood. — 5. The Heb. text is in disorder : lit. shall thine eye fly to (or, 071) it, and it is gone (lit. is not) ? (or, Heb. marg., make thine eye fly to it etc.), for it assuredly makes itself wings etc., in which the " flying of the eye " is an impossible expression, and the // has no antecedent. The first y?}' appears to be a sciibal insertion from the nearly identical form {flies) at the end ; the expression tJmte eye (is) on it, and it is gone is a gloss on the couplet (describing the fleeting character of riches) — cf. Job 7* ; the asstiredly is mis- writing of the word for riches. The couplet, thus restored, expresses simply and effectively the reason why one should not be anxious to be rich. The rendering of RV. : wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? is not permitted by the Heb.; see RV. margin, where the correct translation is given. 6-8^, 3b. The niggardly (or, churlish) host. 6. Eat not the bread of a niggard, And desire not his dainties. "J a. (?) For as he deals with himself, T b. So he deals with thee (?). 430 PROVERBS 7 c. " Eat and drink," he says, 7 d. But his heart is not with thee. 8 a. The morsel thou eatest thou must spit out, 3 d. For it is bread of deceit. 6. Synonymous, ternary-binary. Niggai-d is lit. a tnan of evil eye, illnatured, ungenerous, iniiospitable ; the expression occurs in OT. only here and in 28''^ (cf. 22^) ; see in Pirke Aboth 5, 13 four classes of the "evil-eyed." The eye represents the look with which one regards men, and evil (or, bad^ is simply the opposite of good and kind. In our couplet either niggard or churl suits the connection. — 7. The Heb. of the first couplet (which has apparently lost some word or words) hardly admits of a satisfac- tory translation. The renderings : as he reckons ivithin himself (ht. in his soul), so is he (RV.) ; as one tvho reckons etc. (De. Reuss) ; as he had decided etc. (Saad.) ; after he has reckoned in his {jiiggardlyi) soul, then he says to thee etc. (Frank.) 've no nat- ural sense, and do not connect themselves with the context ; to describe the churl simply as a calculating person, looking after his own interest, is not what we expect, nor would this be a natural way of expressing that idea. Moreover the translation reckon (derived from the later Jewish usage) is open to doubt. Bickell emends so as to read : for selfish and calculating is he in soul, but with his lips ?iot so is he, in which the two adjectives are both doubtful. Possibly : for not as he is with his lips, so is he in his soul; or, for kindness is on his lips, but in his soul he is not so ; or, as the verse is rendered above : " he deals stingily with thee, as with himself." — 8. According to a possible rendering, the sage, continuing the injunction (after eat not), bids the guest spit out, as something offensive, any morsel ( = any small bit) which he may have eaten ; but it is probably better to translate by thou must (or, wilt) spit out (or, vomit up) the disgusting morsel which offends the taste or turns the stomach — the verb will then describe simply the result of the eating. — As second cl. the Heb. has : and thou wilt lose thy pleasant words, a statement which has only a farfetched relation to the preceding context (it would mean that the guest had thrown away his agreeable conversation or his thanks on the host), but connects itself naturally with v.", to which it should be transferred. What we here expect is a line XXIII. 6-IO 431 describing the disgusting morsel, and this may perhaps be given by second cl. of v.'' : it is bread of deceit, that is, not offered in true hospitality. — In any case the paragraph is a maxim of social intercourse, a caution against indiscriminate dining out. Cf. BS. 2922-2*. 9, 8b. Do not try to teach a fool. 9. Speak not to a foul. For he will despise thy wise discourse, 8 b. And thou wilt throw away thy goodly words. Single sentence, ternary. Lit. : speak not in the ears of a fool, that is, so that he can distinctly hear, not merely " speak in his hearing" (RV.) ; the expression "uncover the ear," = "reveal a secret" (i Sam. 22*) is different. — Lit. despise the imsdoni of thy words. On fool and wisdom see i^^ 12^. — The suggestion* that 8'' be attached to this couplet commends itself as good; the change makes a natural connection. Lit. : thou wilt lose (or, r///«) thy goodly {ox, pleasant) words ; the 2id]. goodly {GxV. beau- tiful, or good) occurs nowhere else as epithet of words — it appears to belong to the philosophical vocabulary (Grk. KaAo's), in which " beautiful " and "good " are synonyms. f — A line, nec- essary to form, with S*", a couplet, has perhaps been lost — some- thing like " thou wilt weary thyself in vain." — Cf. 9* 26*^ BS. 22'^ 10, 11. Respect the land of widows and orphans. 10. Remove not the landmark of i the widow,' Into the field of the orphan enter not; 11. For their redeemer is mighty, He will plead their cause against thee. 10. Synonymous, ternary. Heb. : the ancient landmark, proba- bly taken from 22^^ or Dt. 19"; the parallelism favors widow (the graphic difference is not great in Heb.) as natural correspondent to orphaji \ ; for the collocation of the terms see Dt. 10* 14^^ al. * Pinsker, Babyl.-Hebr. Punkfatiotis-sysiem , p. 134. t Such terms may have been introduced in imitation of Greek phraseology. The question whether there was such borrowing is discussed in recent works on Ecclesiastes (Tyler, Plumptre, Renan, Wright, Siegfried), and cf. Siegfried, in Z. Wiss. Jheol., 1875, Pfleiderer, Her'adit, Bois, Phil. Judeo-Alex. X So Dys. Bi. Wild. 432 PROVERBS Jer. 7^ Job 22^ 2^ al. ^ 146". — 11. Single sentence, binary-ter- nary. Redeemer (or, protector^ is the technical term goel, the next of kin, whose duty it was, under the Hebrew law, to redeem the lands of kinsfolk which had for any reason been alienated. Here the supposition is that there is no human goel, in which case God himself will act as protector. For the function of the goel in regard to land see Lev. 25^ (cf. Nu. 5*) Ruth 4^^ — Cf. note on 2 2-**. XXIII. 1. pj I^JdS Ti'K PN; (5 TO. wapaTLd^tJ.evd coi. (and so SSTE). — 2. 1^ ^;''^3. The air. \ey. -^^ has been rendered by throat from Saad. on (Rashi: throat, lit. jaws), which seems required by the ]Trc nn"'i. The verb has the sense swallow in Ob.^^, and in Aram. = lap (cf. Arab. i'Si); the noun in Aram. = chin, and is here rendered by 2C chin, by S month. It was perhaps a general designation of the parts concerned in swallowing, with different special applications in the various dialects. Lag. : in thy longing, from stem ^'^ = >J'^i (in Arab, desire'), but this does not go well with the preceding words. — 4. |§ Tiivn':'; (g TrXouo-iy, = nt;';'^ (Hitz.). — 5. |^ nr>'; read -\'&;. — K ^r;\; read Q fiU". — 7- |^ -^"y; (5 Tpix«> = ■^"'^■> ^nd so Si\ 2t >'ir, = """i;'; 3L quoniam in siinilitndine arioli et coniectoris aesti?nat quod ignorat, apparently free rendering of |^ taken as = " guess, predict." The stem — in Aram, estimate, reckon, in Arab, know,* neither of which senses suits here; the word is probably error of text. Frank, takes 123 as conjunc- tion (after the Aram.), — after, and regards the words nPiT'i Son* as citation placed between the subj. xin and the verb irs"'; but this rendering of ^:;d is without authority, the corresponding sense of \-, then, is equally doubtful, and the interposition of a speech between subj. and verb is unexampled in Hebrew. Bi. T.'t'i dd; the sense he attributes to the former of these, holding back, = self-seeking, is doubtful, and the occurrence together of two Aram, words, otherwise unknown in OT., would be somewhat strange. Possibly we should read: "jO n:;';'i )d xz'^'ii nj-;-' i:;^. — 9. The noun '"?!;• occurs, in preexilic writings, only in i vS. 25^; it became a term of the gnomic literature. — V.^"^ (properly added after v.^) is expanded by Bi. into a couplet by the insertion of Ti^cv p-^ after the first word; it would be rhythmically better to keep v.^'' as a line, and insert a second full line parallel to it. — 10. |^ a"?;'; read hjdSn. 12. Introductory exhortation. Apply thy mind to instruction And thine ear to words of knowledge. * On the old- Arab, poet as = seer, diviner, cf. I. Goldziher, in Trans, of Tenth Intertiat. Congr. of Orientalists. XXIII. II-I6 433 Synonymous, ternary-binary. The appeal is similar to that in 2 2^^ 23^^- ^^■'"•-®; it is intended to call special attention to what fol- lows, and perhaps once introduced a longer collection of apho- risms. See note on i^ 13, 14. Training of children. 13. Withhold not chastisement from the child; If thou beat him with the rod, he will not die. 14. Thou must beat him with the rod, And rescue him thus from Sheol. Ternary. The two couplets are mutually identical in meaning, perhaps independent variations on the same theme. Chastise- ment represents the same Heb. word as instruction in v.^^ ; the connection indicates that it here means corporal correction or instruction. The second cl. of v.'^ reads lit. : and deliver his life (lit. soul) from ShcoL The implication is that ill conduct brings physical death, by human and divine law ; from this fate the child is saved by instruction, in which corporal chastisement is recog- nized as a universal and necessary means; see notes on 19'^ 22''. On death and Sheol see notes on 2'^ i^^ 15, 16. Exhortation to the pupil. 15. My son, if thou be wise, I shall be glad; 16. I shall rejoice When thou speakest right things. The quatrain is chiastic, the fourth line being parallel to the first, the third to the second. The first couplet is ternary, the second, as the text stands, binary-ternary, but a word may be lacking. — The second cl. of v.'^ has Ht. : / also, here — " I, on my side " — "wisdom for thee, gladness for me." The same contrast exists in \}^, though the word also is not there written. — In second cl. of v.^^ the subject is my heart, = my jnitid, = myself; in first cl. of v.^® the subject is my kidneys (RV. reins), — my mind, = myself. The Hebrews regarded both the heart and the kidneys (on account of their physiological importance) as seats of intellectual, moral, and religious life, and the two terms are in this respect treated as synonyms (Jer. ii"" 17"" ip 26"); both are regarded also 434 PROVERBS as seats of physical life. Whether or not there was some specific difference in the intellectual functions ascribed to them the state- ments of OT. do not indicate. — On right things see note on i^ — It does not appear why this hortatory address is inserted just here. Possibly the section is a collection of fragments, and the following quatrain, which this address introduces, is only a part of a paragraph. 17, 18. Reward of fearing God. 17. Do not envy sinners, But fear thou Yahweh always, 18. For there is a future. And thy hope will not come to naught. 17. Antithetic, ternary. The second cl. reads in the Heb. : but in the fear of Yahweh all the day, an incomplete sentence. The line has been rendered : but those who are in the fear of V. etc. (Saad.), but the insertion of those who are is not allowable, and the verb emn', in this construction, is always used in a bad sense. This latter objection applies to the translation : but on account of the fear etc., that is, = " seek after not sinners but the fear of God " * ; this rendering is forced and contrary to usage. By others t the Subst. Verb is supplied in second cl. : but be thou in the fear etc. ; this also violates the usage of the language. A simple change in the Heb. gives the reading : but fear thou Yahweh etc. (cf. 24-^), which follows naturally on first cl. — In first cl. lit. let not thy heart envy etc. — 18. The second cl. expands and explains first cl. The introductory particle of the Heb. is a compound, lit. " for if." The renderings yi^r J-// ;r/v (RV.) and rather (Ew.) are syntac- tically impossible. It is better (with Saad.) to omit the if, which may be scribal repetition from the preceding couplet. — The word future (lit. end) may signify the last part of a man's life (5*" 19"° Job 8^ ^ sf^) or of a certain period of time (Isa. 46"), or the result or outcome of a thing or act (14^--^^ 16-') ; here the reference is to the termination (RV. marg. sequel) and the outcome of the righteous man's life, and the word nearly = reward (so RV.). The outcome (= the hofe) is long life and prosperity, as in 2^^ * Schult. Hitz. De. Zock. Wild. al. f Grk. Lat. Ew. Reuss, Bi. RV. XXIII. I6-2I 435 y.8 io27-28 J 2" 1432 {contra, of the wicked, 10-^ 11"), not the hfe beyond the grave. Grk. : posterity. — The form of first cl. is somewhat strange ; everywhere else (except in the identical phrase in 24") the term end is defined by some special word or (Isa. 46^") by the context, and here Grk. adds for thee. Reuss, not so well : everything has an end at last; this expresses resigna- tion, but the connection suggests confidence. 19-21. Exhortation. Warning against drunkenness and gluttony. ° *^ 19. Hearken, my son, and be wise, And walk in the path of < prudence 20. Be not thou among winebibbers, Among gluttonous eaters of flesh; 21. For drunkard and glutton come to poverty. And drowsiness clothes one in rags. 19. Synonymous, ternary. The second cl. is Ut. : make thy heart walk {^^ guide thy heart') in the way ; on the verb of the Heb. see notes on 4^** 9^ The way, according to this reading, is the path of rectitude or wisdom ; cf. Jno. 14** and the Buddhist and Moslem use of the term for the rule of life which leads to perfection and happiness. But the term does not occur elsewhere in Prov. in this absolute (undefined) sense, and the text must be changed so as to read a word (as prudence or understanding, cf. 9'"') parallel to the wise of the first line. — 20. Synonymous, ternary. Winebib- bers = " those who drink wine to excess " or "drunkards in wine." Gluttonous eaters (one word in the Heb.), lit. "squanderers, excessive consumers." The flesh is not their own bodies, as if drunkards were described as self-destroyers (Ges. Ew. a/.), but (as the parallelism shows) meat consumed at table. — 21. Par- allel, ternary. Drunkard, the same word as in v.^ above {bibber, without the wine). — The drowsiness (or, sleepyheadedness) is the torpor which follows excessive eating and drinking. Cf. Pirk Ab. z, 3. 22-25. Value of parental instruction and approval. — V.^^ (which is wanting in the Grk.) belongs more naturally with v.'^. Bickell omits v.^'', makes a quatrain of v."' '*, and regards v.^' as an appendix of the editor. The paragraph interrupts the series of 436 PROVERBS injunctions relating to definite lines of conduct, and was probably here inserted by a scribe or editor. It belongs more properly at the beginning of the series, just after 22^^ 22. Hearken to the father who begat thee, And despise not «the words of' thy mother. 23. Buy the truth, and sell it not. Wisdom, instruction, and understanding. 24. The father of a righteous man will be glad, The < mother > of a wise son will rejoice. 25. Let thy father [] rejoice, Let thy mother be glad ! 22. Parallel, ternary. Lit. thy father who etc. The injunction relates not to honoring parents, but to heeding their instruction. Hence the Heb. of second cl., despise not thy mother when (or, because') she is old, does not accord with first cl. ; BS. 3" exhorts a son not to despise his father when the old man's intellect fails, and we might suppose a similar reference to the aged and faihng mother here, but the question in the paragraph is one not of age, but of instruction, and it seems better to change the text accord- ingly; cf. 1^* — 23. Synonymous, ternary. Cf. 4^' 15'^ The nouns are here substantially synonyms : instruction is training in truth; understanding and wisdom are perception and practical knowledge of truth; see notes on 3^ i^. — 24. Parallel, ternary. In second cl. the Heb. has the begetter of a wise jnafi, but the par- allelism and v.^ suggest mention of the mother. — 25. Parallel, binary. In first cl. the Heb. has thy father and thy mother, but as mother (lit. she who bore thee) stands properly in second cl. as obvious parallel to the_/a//!'' iNaba. — ncij is dir. Xey. — 22. On nr as Rel. Pron. see the grammars. — |^ idn njiir ^d does not accord with the rest of the strophe, and the '? ''3 appears to be a gloss which displaced the original word '-icx or n3T or iDC. Bi. : idd ]pj, but y_24. 25 niake it probable that the reference to the mother should be retained here. — 23. The couplet should perhaps stand at the beginning of this strophe, or it may be omitted. — 24. Read Q ^U'' ^v. — If masc. l^'' be retained, then Q r\DSf] must be adopted (the connecting 1 of K would here imply that Sr is repeated) ; but it seems better to preserve the antithesis of v.-- 25^ and read m'^'' and na^T, in which the n may perhaps account for the m of K nDrM. — 25.' Omit ?§ qDNi. — 26. K njsnn; Q, better, njn-xr. — 27. |§ ripi^y nntr (of the harlot), which (5 (cf. 22^*) renders by widos Terpyjiiivos; the expression is taken (Jag.) from a Grk. proverb, which is cited by Erasmus (I. 10, 33) from Aristotle {Econ. i. 6) — to get riches without being able to keep it is " to draw water in a sieve and a perforated tub"; thus the aWbTpLos oUos (|^ nir) is wasteful and destructive (see Lag.). — 28. The air, Xey. f|Pn is, from the connection, a concrete noun, = robber (in form like TiSc) ; the verb f|rn occurs once (Job 912). The stem is written with n here and Job 9^2. ^\^^. where (Ju. 2121 -^ lo^) written with a, as in Aramaic. — ?§ o^.'^; read, from the parallelism, ii3, or mn (cf. Frank.). 29-35. Against drunkenness. 29. Who cries "woe"? who "alas"? who has strifes? who complaints? Who has wounds without cause? who redness of eyes? 30. They who linger long over wine, Who often taste mixed wine. XXIII. 28-31 439 31. Look not on wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup. [] * 32. At the end it bites like a snake, It pierces like an adder. ;i;i. Thou wilt see strange things, Queer things thou wilt say. 34. Thou wilt be like one who is sleeping at sea, Like one asleep in a i violent storm.' 35. " I have been .struck, but I feel no pain, I have been beaten, I am not conscious of it. When shall I awake < from my wine ' ? I will seek it yet again." 200 General parallelism, quaternary (or, a quatrain). A lively description of the bodily effects of excess in wine. Instead of nouns the first line uses interjections — lit. : 7a/io has oh .' who has alas ! The man quarrels over his cups, gets into difficulties, whence complaints (Job 10^ 21* 23^ i/^ 64^'-^) ; in scuffles he is wounded (cf. Zech. 13") without cause, that is, unnecessarily, for those slight and groundless differences that arise among drunken men; his eyes, by their dulness or redness (cf. Gen. 49'"), pro- claim his dissipation, and indicate that he is not fit for work. — 30. Synonymous, ternary, or binary-ternary. How mixed wine (lit. simply mixture) was prepared is not known, perhaps by adding spices ; cf. note on 2o\ — Lit. go to try, = investigate, test, taste; the man is a devotee — he drinks continually. — 31. Sec- ond line = predicate of first hne, ternary. Description of wine when complete fermentation has taken place. The wine of Canaan seems to have been red ; cf. the expression " the blood of the grape" (Gen. 49"), and Is. 63^"^ — Sparkles is lit. gives its gleam (the term rendered gleam is the ordinary word for eye), that is, is full of life. — The Heb. adds : it goes straight (cf. Cant. y9(io)^ . ^j^jg jjQgg jjQj. accord well with the rest of the couplet, and appears, as the text stands, to be a gloss, explaining that wine in this state gUdes straight or smoothly down the throat ; the expres- sion was perhaps here inserted from Canticles, and was possibly meant as contrast to v.^'. Or, it may be original, in which case we should perhaps read : At first it glides smoothly down, over the * The Heb. adds : i/ goes straight (or, smoothly). 440 PROVERBS lips and the palate, but at last it bites etc. We should thus have a quatrain instead of the couplet, v.^-, or the triplet, v.^^"-^^ — 32. Synonymous, ternary-binary (the second Une is perhaps defective). Lit.: its end is : it bites etc. The rendering a^'^i??' is uncertain — the species of snake meant is not known (Jer. 8^^ Is. 11^ 59^)- — The precise signification of the verb in second line is not sure (it must be a synonym of bites') ; it has been rendered stings * =: pierces, and poisons. ^ The point of comparison is the deadly character of the result, but there may also be allusion to the silent, treacherous attack of the snake. — 33. Synonymous, ternary. Lit.: thine eyes will see . . . thy heart (= thoii) will speak. Description of the erratic fancies and fantastic talk of the drunken man — perhaps reference to delirium tremens. — The connection forbids the interpretation of strange (fem. plu. adj. in the Heb.) d&^= strange women. — On queer {^= distorted, topsy- turvy, false) see note on 2'". — 34. Synonymous, ternary. Description of the man's unsteady, whirling brain. In both lines we may render : like one who sleeps, or : like one who lies down ; both renderings represent the disturbed rest, the perturbation of thought, occasioned by the motion of the ship at sea ; the first seems to be favored by v.^, in which the drunken man is awaking from sleep. — In the first line the Heb. is lit. : in the midst of the sea, which means not at the bottom of the sea (a place where men do not usually lie down), or on the surface of the water (on a plank, for example), but (as in Ez. 27"^-'' 28--* Jon. 2'^''*') sur- rounded by water, on the high seas, at sea. — The text of the sec- ond line appears to be corrupt. Literally it reads : and as one sleeping {ox, lying) on the head . . / the word left untranslated (RV. mast) occurs only here in OT., and its meaning, if it be a real word, is unknown ; it is similar to the term for line, rope, but can hardly mean mast (which is a mere guess). Grk. : and as a pilot in a heavy sea ; Targ. : as a sailor who is asleep in a ship ; and so Frank. : as a sleeping sailor in a storm. A sailor, however, is precisely the person who sleeps well in rough weather, or, in gen- eral, at sea. It is simpler to adopt the expression /;/ a violent storm (see Jon. i''), which requires no great change in the « De. RV. t Grk. Lat. Saad, XXIII. 31-35 441 Hebrew. The couplet apparently describes the broken, unsound sleep of the reveller — his head is whirling, his mind is confused. There is no reference to the danger of drowning ; the main refer- ence is not to any danger, but to giddiness. — 35. The first coup- let is synonymous, binary ; the second couplet is two sentences, and, as emended, ternary. The words of the drunken man as he is awaking from his debauch. He recollects that he was beaten in a quarrel, and congratulates himself that he feels no bad effects from the blows. The first couplet may also be rendered : I was struck but I felt no pain, I was beaten but I did not know it, with reference to his former happy state of insensibility ; but the solilo- quy appears to describe his present feeling. — Hitzig (by a slight change of text) reads : // [the wine] has smitten me . . . it has beaten me; but, though wine is represented in 20^ as a mocker and brawler, its sudden introduction here unannounced is not quite natural. His experience teaches him nothing — his only desire is to get back to his debauch. When shall I awake ? that is, I hope I shall soon recover full consciousness and strength ; not if I awake, which the Heb. does not permit. — The expres- sion fro7n my wi?ie is not in the Heb., but seems to be required by the following it, which otherwise, in the translation here adopted, would have no antecedent (so Bickell) ; it also gives rhythmical symmetry to the couplet. If Hitzig's rendering be adopted, the insertion will not be grammatically necessary. — This paragraph, v.^^ gives the fullest and liveliest description of drunk- enness in OT. ; cf. Is. 28*"'", BS. 19I In its length and vividness it resembles certain paragraphs of chs. 1-9 (see chs. 5 and 7). 29. On the form of Djia see critical note on 6^^. — 1& :D:n; (H, here and Job 2^ 9" 22^, 5tot Kevrj^, but usually in Pr. Swpedc; Lag. calls attention to the difference of usage in the two books. — The stem ^Dr\ — dark; cf. Ass. akal (in De. Ass. Handwbch.), Schult., Ges. Thes. BDB.; the reference appears to be to the dull red effect produced by excessive drinking of wine, perhaps, however, simply to the dulness of stupor. — 31. K D;; read Q D . — ?!? V'^ here hardly refers to the round bubbles, like pearls, on the surface of the wine (Ges. Fleisch.), for which, as De. remarks, the plur. would naturally be used (for a possible Ass. use in this sense see De. Ass. IVbch.). Since the eye is the determining feature of expression, the word is used in Heb. for the appear- ance of a thing, and so here, perhaps, from the connection, sparkle, gUain (or perhaps from the sparkle of the eye). — In J^ z-'.^'l.^ i^^^^ the Hith. 442 PROVERBS is somewhat strange (Cant. 7^'^ has Qal). — 32. |§ in-ins is defined by the pred. jj'' vn:^. — For the stem \i^-\Si cf. Ass. parussu siaff'(De.) Aram, ttho ox- goad, which appear to involve "piercing," cf. Schult. Ges. De. — 34. |§ 33B'>i San c'ni3; @ KoX wawep Kv^epvT^rrjs iv TroXXy kXiiBuvi, whence Frank.: '73'n>i (or n-iy;:'^) tfjjna apr. A preferable reading is : Vtj n;'D3 2yyj^. — 35. <&: when will it be morning, that I may go and seek those with zvhom I may associate, the suff. having perhaps been understood (Schult.) to refer to the symposium; but such a reference would be too remote. XXIV. 1, 2. Bad men are nat proper objects of envy. 1. Do not envy bad men, Desire not to be with them, 2. For they meditate harm, And talk of mischief. 1. Synonymous, ternary. Envy=^'\)t stirred up by, seek to emulate," attracted by their apparent success. Bad men is lit. ?fien of badness, with special reference not to disposition, but to deeds. — 2. Synonymous, ternary. Lit.: their tnind {Wx.. heart) ?neditafes and their Zips speak. They plot evil, and will come to grief; cf. i^^^^ 3-^^^ 24^" i// 37^'. We have here again a resem- blance to chs. 1-9. Harm is "spoliation, robbery" (21' Job ^21.22 ^j^^_ ^^ Hab. i^) ; the term mischief (properly "harmful deeds") occurs in Job 4* \\i 7"(^^' Isa. 59'* etc. 3, 4. Domestic utility of wisdom. 3. By wisdom a house is built. By intelligence it is established, 4. By knowledge its chambers are filled With all precious and goodly wealth. The quatrain forms one sentence ; the first couplet is synonymous, binary (or, ternary-binary), the second is a single clause, ternary. The three nouns wisdojn, intelligence (see i^), knowledge are syn- onyms, all expressing practical sagacity, without reference to moral and religious qualities. The house is here not the family, but the building ; its erection and furnishing are, however, put as the sign of domestic permanence and prosperity. On chambers see 7-' 18^ 20-", on precious, \^'^, on goodly (or, pleasant), 22"* 23* \\i 16^ Cant. i^®. Cf 14^ — This quatrain probably does not give the antithesis to the preceding. XXIV. 1-7 443 5, 6. Military value of wisdom. 5. A wise man is < better than a warrior,' And he who has knowledge > than he who > has strength, 6. For war is conducted by wise guidance, And victory lies in counsellors. 5. Synonymous, ternary. Heb. : a wise man is in sire?igth, and a man of knotvledge strengthens might. The second couplet, how- ever, indicates that a contrast is intended between intellectual insight and bodily strength. — Warrior, lit. mighty man. — Has strength, lit. strengthens might. — 6. Synonymous, ternary. Lit. thou conductest (or, makest) war; cf. 20^*. — Lit. safety is in the multitude of counsellors, that is, in well-considered advice. On 7vise guidance or planning ( = wise counselling, steering) see i^ 11" 12^ 20^** Job 37^^; as the guidance is civil, political, and mili- tary, the terms "statesmanship" and "generalship" are too nar- row. — An exacter parallelism is gained by writing counsel instead of counsellors. For victory see 21^^ Ju. 15^* i Sam. 11® 2 K. 5^ al. Cf. Eccl. f^ g'^^^- '\ 7. Text and meaning doubtful. Heb. : Corals to the fool is wisdom, in the gate he opens not his mouth. This reading of first cl.* gives no satisfactory sense. Corals (or, pearls) is taken as = "unattainable treasure," of which the fool can make no use; but the term is elsewhere (Ez. 27^^ Job 28^*) used in the sense of a thing esteemed as valuable, and the addition " unattainable " is farfetched. Moreover, elsewhere in Pr. (17"^ \%^ al.) the fool is only too ready to open his mouth, and the one moment in his life when he may be called wise is when he closes his lips. On gate see note on i-\ — The first clause may also (by a slight change) be rendered : wisdom is high to a fool, which is held f to mean too high, = "unattainable " (identical in sense, therefore, with the preceding reading) ; this interpretation of the Heb. is doubtful, and, if it be accepted, the difficulty of second cl. remains. — Bick- ell : If thou art silent in the presence of a fool, thou art wise. If thou hold thy peace, it is to thy credit ; For a wise man refrains from strife. In the gate he opens not his mouth. This reconstruc- * Adopted by Rashi, De. Reuss, Now. Str. t By Saad. Luth. Mich. Ew. RV. al. 444 PROVERBS tion is ingenious, but in 31^ it is an honor to the man that he is known in the gate, the place of pubhc dehberation. We expect a quatrain, in which the loquacity of the fool is contrasted with the reticence of the wise man ; an exact restoration of the text is hardly possible. 8, 9. Public opinion condemns the mischievous man. 8. He who is intent on mischief, Men call him an intriguer. 9. Sin is folly's intrigue, And a scoffer is offensive to men. 8. Single sentence, binary-ternary. Lit. : he who devises to do evil, that is, harm to others. Intriguer {^schemer, plotter, trickster') is lit. master of {evil) plans. The term was perhaps a popular epithet of scheming, mischief- making men. On plans see notes on I* 12^ The couplet gives a definition of a current term; cf. 21^. — 9. Synonymous, ternary. The translation given above imitates the paronomasia of the Heb. baal mezimmot {intriguer') and zifnmat {intrigue). The latter word means "scheme, plan," good or bad ; see notes on 10-'^ 21-'^. The first cl. is lit. : the plan of folly is sin, in which plan may be taken as subject, and folly will then be defined as sin (so Lat. RV. al.); but, from the par- allelism (second cl. is lit. : an abomination to man is the scoffe?-), it is better to regard siti as subject,* it being thus defined as the scheme of folly, and therefore despicable, just as a scoffer is des- picable to men. On scoffer (here equivalent to " mischiefmaker ") see notes on i-- 19^. — Offensive = "that which produces loath- ing " ; see note on 3'^^. 10. Text in bad condition. Heb. : If thou art inert {or, slack) in the day of adversity, narrow is thy strength ; or : If thou art inert, in the day of adversity thy strength will be narro7v. The general idea is intelligible (an exhortation to work while there is opportunity), but the wording and form are doubtful. Strength may be understood in the sense of substance, wealth (as in 5^° Job 6^^) : indolence brings poverty. But narrow (as Hitz. points out) is not a proper epithet of strength, whether the term = power ox * So De. Reuss, Wild, al. XXIV. 7-12 445 = wealth; cf., for the use of this adj., 23'^ Nu. 22^" Is. 49-° (in Isa. 59^^ Job 41' the text is probably to be changed). We might suppose a paronomasia: in the day of straits (Heb. saraJi) strait (Heb. sai-^ is thy strength, but it is doubtful whether the word would be thus used out of its proper sense. — Bickell : Trust not in thy good fortune, And let 7iot thy hands be slack; If thou be slack in the day of prosperity, In the day of straits thy strength will be strait. 11, 12. Duty of rescuing^ those who are going to death. — It may be a question whether we should take these verses sepa- rately, or regard them as giving a couplet followed by a prose comment. The couplet reads : 11. Deliver those who are taken to death, Save those who are tottering to slaughter. Synonymous, ternary. The expressions taken and tottering appear to describe the gait of persons who are condemned, by the polit- ical or judicial authorities, to death. The reference may be to the ransom of prisoners of war, or to the rescue, by legal means, of innocent men who have been condemned by the tribunals. Perhaps some time of persecution of Jews is referred to (see WS. 210-20 J ]y[^(,_ j3o-37 jQg_ jijjf^ 12. 4. I ; 12. 5. 4) ; or, the injunction may be a general one, suggested by the customs of corrupt and tyrannical governments. The vigorous character of the expres- sions {death, slaughter) makes it improbable that the reference is merely to the ordinary oppression of the poor by the rich, who deprive them of wealth, and thus of livelihood (= life). It is still more improbable that the couplet should refer to the holding back of those who, by vice or imprudence, are hastening to death. The verb rendered save is lit. hold back ; elsewhere (as in i Sam. 25^^ ^ 19^^'''*') it implies restraint of the man's voluntary effort, but the parallelism {deliver) here requires the sense save, as in Job 11'' ^ 7S^«. V.'^ of the Heb., of which the English translation may be writ- ten stichometrically, reads (with one slight change) : 12. If thou say: "< I > did not know this," He who weighs hearts, does he not perceive? 446 PROVERBS He who observes thy soul, does he not know? And will he not requite every man according to his deed? In first line the Heb. has : 7i'e did not know this ; it is better, with the Grk., to write the sing., in accordance with the thou and thy soul. — The this, in this reading, may refer to the situation described in the preceding couplet ; if a man plead ignorance of the situation, the answer is that he ought to have known. Or, the this may possibly (though not probably) refer to the obligation to help the suffering ; the man would then say : " I did not know my duty," but this would be an extreme case of ignorance. Cf. To bit i^^-''. It is an objection to both these interpretations that the this has no expressed antecedent, since v." does not state a fact, but only enjoins action in a supposed case. The Lat. ren- dering : // is not in my power, is, therefore, perhaps preferable. The man pleads inability — but this plea will be scrutinized by God. If this reading be adopted, the // may be regarded as refer- ring to the duty enjoined in v." ; or v.^' may perhaps be taken as an independent exhortation. Bickell omits first and second lines, and thus makes a quatrain of v.^^-^^, in which there is no excuse and answer, but simply the statement (the interrogative particle being omitted) that God observes and rewards deeds of kindness. The first and second lines may have been inserted by a scribe who supposed that the third and fourth lines contained a rebuke of negligence. Or, the whole verse may be regarded as the anno- tation of a scribe or editor who wished to enforce the exhortation of v.". — For the expression iveighs hearts cf. i6- 21I Heart a.x\di soul here = " inward being" (or, "thought"). On the fourth line cf. 12" 24^^ Jer. 25^* 50'-^ Job 34". XXIV. 2. 1^ T^S or plene iv:*; (§ ^pevdrj, = NiU', with N for -■, a confusion which appears to suppose the old alphabet (Lag.); cf. 10-* ig^^ 20* 24^-^ 28'^. — 5- 1^ i>'3 SDH -1:31; 13 (followed by BiH) Kpeia-aoDv (=: iji) ao4>bs iax^pov. Read: rj7D ab asn lai, or rvn osn lai. Similarly, in ^ for '^ nb yaxr, read riD VDNC (cf. Job 9*). — 7. Bi.'s reconstruction is as follou'S: nc^n '?in|^ pdt ns nriQ^ nS nr^i'? 3ip 2p^ 03n "^ ITP^'^'^^ '^''^IP'!!- It is hardly probable that so much of the Heb. text would have fallen out. — 10. Bickell: 3^3 n"03n '^x n'n3 -\5S ms 01^2 noinn nyj ai''3 T^mn "^x Tn-i i^-n. — 11. P"or 3n as hortative '-: T TT T • - : • T V : ■ - ' VT particle cf. xf/ 81^ 139^'. It was treated by (5S1L as if = "^x, is lacking in VL, and may be omitted without detriment to the sense, and with advantage to the rhythm. — 12. ?§ ^i]!y; <3 ovk oUa, = ''nyi'' k'7; IL 7'ires non suppehmt. XXIV. 12-15 447 = uSr n"^, or belter •■t' SnS ]\s', a reading which may be adopted. — pj ]y ; (5 yivuaKe, — pan (Jag.). 13, 14. Comparison of wisdom to honey. — The Heb. has first an incomplete quatrain : 13. My son, eat honey, for it is good, And honeycomb is sweet to thy taste. 14. So know wisdom (to be) to thy soul. If thou find it. To this is appended the remark : and there is an end, and thy hope will not be cut off. This remark is hardly here appropriate ; elsewhere in Pr. there is reference to the end only when there is direct question of retribution ; see s"*" 14^2-'^ 16-^ 19-" 20''^ 23'*-^^ 24-° 25** 29^^ The sentence seems to be here improperly inserted from 23^^ where it is in place.: — Note the difference of statement in v.^'' and 25^"; for other references to honey and honeycotnb see 5' i6-\ The address my son should perhaps be omitted, and for eat we might write thou eatest. Taste is lit. palate. — In v." we expect the statement, in couplet form, that wisdom is sweet to the soul. The expression // thou find it is suspicious ; a reference to finding is natural in such passages as 3'''' 8^" 25^", but not here where the sweetness of -wisdom is the point. Comparing 2'° 16-^ we may surmise that the original form of the couplet was in sub- So knowledge will be pleasant to thee. And wisdom sweet to thy soul. The general sense of the quatrain is clear, though the form is doubtful. 15, 16. Caution against assailing good men. 15. Lie not in wait [J for the home of the just, And assault not his dwelling-place. 16. For seven times the just man falls and rises. But the wicked are overthrown by calamity. 15. Synonymous, binary, or ternary-binary. After lie not in wait the Heb. inserts O wicked man; this is stylistically out of place (since throughout this Section it is the pupil who is addressed and warned against the wicked), mars the rhythm, and is proba- 448 PROVERBS bly a gloss. — Home is abode (3"'' 21*) ; just= righteous ; assault =^ do viole?ice to, violently assail, injure, devastate (see 11^ 19^® 21^ Am. 3'" Jer. 5^ Job 5'') ; dwelling-place, properly couching- place, the lair of animals (Is. 35'' 65^''), used of Israel when the nation is called a flock of sheep (Jer. 50''), the verb also, ordina- rily used of animals (Is. 11" i// 104"), sometimes referring poet- ically to men (Gen. 49^ \\i 23-). The injunction is against secret and open attempts on the homes of righteous men, and contem- plates a period of violence, probably in a great city. — 16. Anti- thetic, ternary, or quaternary-ternary. Seveti, a round number (cf. Job 5'" Mt. 1 8-^-^^) — the righteous, it is said, shall never be permanently cast down (cf. Mic. 7*) ; the wicked, on the con- trary, has no power to rise above misfortune — once down, he does not rise. The couplet probably refers not to the natural inspiriting power of integrity and the depressing effect of moral evil, but to divine retribution. — Are overthrozvn, lit. are tnade to stumble, or do stumble. Instead of by calamity we may render in calamity, that is, "in time of calamity." 17, 18. Against taking pleasure in the misfortunes of enemies. 17. At the fall of thine enemy rejoice not, At his overthrow do not exult, 18. Lest Yahweh see and be displeased, And turn his anger from him. 17. Synonymous, ternary. Lit. at the falling of and at his being overthrown. In second cl. lit. let not thy heart exult. The verbs rejoice and exult commonly signify the audible expression of joy ; the exultation may be generous (as in 5^* 23-^), or malicious (as here and in ^ 35^^). The injunction is negative (cf. Job 31^), against exultation over enemies ; the positive side, sympathy with enemies (see \^ 35^'^^^ Mt. 5*^), is not expressed, but is perhaps involved. — 18. Single sentence, ternary. The turn his anger from him (that is, from the enemy) is not to be understood as affirming that God will cease punishing a wicked man because another man is pleased at the punishment ; the full form of the expression is " turn from him to thee," and the stress is to be laid on the "to thee." "Thou," says the sage, "wilt then become the greater sinner, and Yahweh will be more concerned to punish thee than XXIV. 15-22 449 to punish him." — The motive here assigned — fear of Yahweh's displeasure — belongs to the ethical system of Proverbs. But this motive does not impair the dignity of the moral standard pre- sented. Yahweh's displeasure is the expression of the moral ideal : it is one's duty, says the proverb, not to rejoice at the misfortunes of enemies. This duty is enforced by a reference to compensa- tion, but it remains a duty. 19, 20. It is unreasonable to envy the wicked, seeing their end is unhappy. ♦ 19. Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, Envy not the wicked; 20. For there will be no (happy) end for the bad man. The lamp of the wicked will be put out. Both couplets are synonymous ; the first is binary, the second ter- nary, or ternary-binary. Cf. 33^32 23'''® 24^ ij/ 37''^'^"' 73. J^re/ = " be not angrily excited," that is, at the apparent prosperity of the wicked. On efui see note on 23^^. Lit. : //lere will be no end, no outcome of life — that is, no good outcome. This pregnant use of the term is found only here and in 23^^ (see note on 24") ; everywhere else it is defined. Thus it might be rendered future (Saad. a/.), or reward (RV.) in this life. Grk. posterity (as in i/' 109^') is, in this connection, less probable. — On the figure in V.-"'' see notes on 13^ 20-". — The problem of the quatrain is that of the Book of Job ; the practical moralists retained the old view, holding that it furnished the strongest incentive to well-doing that could be urged. 21,22. Duty of obedience to constituted authorities. — Our Hebrew text reads : 21. Fear Yahweh, my son, and the king, And with those who change have naught to do; 22. For suddenly arises their ruin, And the destruction of them both who can know? The address my son, because of its strange position and because it mars the rhythm of the Heb., is better omitted as scribal insertion. Have Jiaught to do is lit. )nix (or, join) not thyself. — Who can know ? = " comes suddenly, unexpectedly." — The expression 2G 450 PROVERBS who change (intransitive) has been variously rendered : Schult. RV. : them that are given to change, which can mean only nova- rum reriim avidi, political agitators ; a slight modification of the word gives the sense changers (transitive), wrongly interpreted (by Hitzig aL) as = revolutionists, insurrectio7iists ; Mich, al.: those who are of a different mind, that is, those who do not fear God and the king — a rendering lexicographically inexact ; Ewald : the quarrelsome; Reuss : the discontented; Syr. Targ. : fools; Lat. : detractors. — Grk. : do not disobey either of them {= to them both be not disobedient). If in the expressions their ruin and the destruction of them both the pronouns be understood as refer- ring to God and the king (with the sense : " the ruin and destruc- tion inflicted by them"), the Greek reading is satisfactory. If the expressions in question mean " the ruin etc. which befall them," the reference must be to persons mentioned in the second line of v.^\ and the reading them both is impossible (since the expression cannot designate the two classes, those who fear Yahweh, and those who fear the king). If the pronouns be taken as objective, we may read : Fear thou God and the king, With the wicked (or, with fools) have naught to do; For on them falls sudden ruin, And destruction unforeseen. If the pronouns be regarded as subjective, a natural reading will be : Fear thou God and the king, Anger not either of them; For the ruin they inflict is sudden, And the destruction they send unforeseen. The general sense is the same in the two forms : obedience to God as supreme religious authority, and to the king as supreme civil authority, is enjoined (so i Pet. i'^) ; opposition to them by wicked conduct will be punished with destruction. — God, as the more familiar word, may be substituted for Yahweh. — The trans- lation of v.-^** : the destruction of their years who can know ? * is unnatural — in OT. years (as = life) are said to be increased or lengthened (9"), or diminished (10-'^), but never to be destroyed. * Syr. Targ. De. RV. marg. XXIV, 22-23 451 — The Grk. here mserts 30^'" of the Heb., giving an improbable order. 13, 14. The Vrss. substantially reproduce |^. The pointing of the Energic Impv. nv'i (Cod. Hillel), instead of n;-, is due (as in the Art. before n) to the following n, to which the vowel is made to conform; see Strack, Proleg., p. 19, and notes of De. B-D, Ginsburg. — 15. Omit ^ •;z'^, with Bi., as the gloss of a scribe who incorrectly assumed that the warning must be addressed to wicked men; the word is represented in all Vrss., but S has dcri^eiav, and !L impietatem. — \%. p? •}-it, = seven times, as in ^ lig'^-i. — 17. K plur. "I'^v^; Q, better, sing. — |^ i'? .:•-:!, as if abridged form of Nif.; better Qal -iV^r^D. — 18. p2 yTi is better understood as 3 s. m. Perf. with 1 consecutive; the adj. would properly be followed by .sm; (g koI ovk dp^aei. — 19. P^ '^^'^r'' 7 in both cases (@ has wo-Trep, and it omits irnay. — 31. o^rrDP is written with either t- or 'a; see B-D, Ginsb. On the meaning of the terms |t:'Dp or ^'op (Hos. 9'' Is. 34^^) and Sin see Low, Aram. Pflanzennam. — 33, 34. See notes on b^"- ^^ — 1§ ~\ir\7\T.; read l^np. IV. CHAPTERS XXV.-XXIX. This Section falls, by its style, into two parts. The first (25-- 27^^) bears greater resemblance to III. (2 2^'-24^^), the second (28. 29) to II. (10^-22^") ; between the two stands a discourse (27^-^) after the manner of III. The Section thus appears to have been formed by the combination of two collections. It has certain couplets in common with the other collections. See the Introduction. The Title. 25^ The title reads : T/iese also ajr proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah, king of Jiidah, transcribed. The verb has this sense only here in OT. ; elsewhere (Gen. 12^ Job 9' 21^ a/.*) it means remove (in space or in time), and its sig- nification here {^transcribe = "remove from one book to another") belongs to the late literary vocabulary.! This superscription thus belongs in the same category with the titles found in the Prophet- ical Books and the Psalter, and has no value as a witness to the date of the original collection or to the origin of the particular proverbs ; it only bears testimony to the disposition, in later times, to ascribe all wise sayings to Solomon, and a special suggestion of Solomonic authorship may have been found in the mention of kings with which the collection opens. Internal evidence leads us to refer this Section to the same general period as that of chs. 10-24; see the Introduction. — The supposition of the tide is that, in addition to Solomon's own book (10^-22^''), other collec- tions of his proverbs were in existence in written form, and that these were copied out (or, in modern phrase, edited) by Heze- kiah's men. J This indicates the opinion that our Section was * Job 32I5 appears to be an interpolation ; see Budde, Hioi. t On the Talmudic use see Buxt., Lexicon. X If the meaning were that the proverbs were handed down orally, and com- mitted to writing from the mouths of men, the verb would naturally be wrote. 457 458 PROVERBS later than II., an opinion which is supported by considerations of matter and style. Hezekiah's time may have been selected by the author of the title (or by the tradition which he represents) as being the next great literary period, in Judah, after Solomon, the time of Isaiah and Micah, or, the selection may have been suggested by the military glory of the period (the repulse of the Assyrian army), and the fauie of Hezekiah as a pious monarch and a vigorous reformer of the national religious life ; the men of Jiezekiah are the literary men of his court. The period would, in these regards, be an appropriate one, but the history of Israelitish literature makes it improbable that such a work should have been then undertaken; to regard Hezekiah as a Jewish Pisistratus (De.) is to ascribe to the time a literary spirit of which our doc- uments give no hint. It might be supposed that the fall of Samaria would have led the men of Judah to collect the literature of the northern kingdom, and our Section has, in fact, been regarded as Ephraimitic ; but the vocabulary, style, and matter of the Section do not warrant such a supposition. 2-7^. On kings. 2. It is the glory of God to conceal, It is the glory of kings to search out. 3. The heaven for height and the earth for depth, And the mind of kings is unsearchable. 4. Take away the dross from silver, And I it ' comes forth < perfectly pure.» 5. Take away the wicked from the king. And his throne is established by righteousness. 6. Claim not honor in the presence of a king, And stand not in the place of great men. 7. Better that it be said to thee : " Come up hither," Than that thou be humbled before the prince. [] The paragraph consists of three quatrains, a structure similar to that of the third Section. The space devoted to kings is note- worthy ; cf., in the first Section, 8'\ in the second, 14-^-^ jgio. 12-15 19I2 2o--8-«-» 21^ 22^', in the third, 22-''* 24^ in the fourth, 29^", in the fifth, 3o'^-^*-^^ 31^ *, and similar sayings in Eccl. and BS. The political condition assumed is probably not that of old Israel. XXV. 1-5 459 2. Antithetic, quaternary, or ternary. It belongs, says the proverb, to the greatness of God that his work (in nature and in history) is mysterious, and his purposes inscrutable ; on the other hand, the function of rulers is to investigate (not the purposes of God, but) all the affairs of the State — they should be open and straightforward in government. The saying is perhaps directed against the tortuous diplomacy and other underhand methods of the time. — Lit. : conceal a thing and search out a thing, that is, anything and everything. — Cf. Robert Hall's sermon entitled : "The glory of God in concealing." — 3. Comparison, quaternary or quaternary-ternary. As heaven and earth are too large to be comprehended, so the purposes of kings. The couplet is comple- mentary to the preceding ; both are to be taken as statements of poUtical facts, not at all as sarcastic or disparaging. The sage has a great respect for kings. — The heaven is the sky, the indefinite visible upper region, somewhere in which is the abode of God (Eccl. 5") ; the earth is indefinitely deep, reaching down to Sheol (2^* 5^ Jon. 2--®). — Delitzsch regards the form of the couplet as that of the priamel, the three subjects having the com- mon predicate unsearchable ; but it is more natural to confine this latter to the second line, the first line having the two predi- cates high {height) and deep {depth). — 4, 5. The quatrain forms a comparison (the couplets are ternary). In the second hne of v.^ the Heb. reads: and a vessel comes forth to the smith (RV. finer). The vessel, according to this reading, has, as its parallel, the throne of v.* ; both may be said to be products of skill, and the vessel (according to some expositors) may be poetically con- ceived of as emerging to (or, for) the artist out of the refining process (cf. Aaron's brief history of the golden calf, Ex. 32-'*). But this is not a natural form of expression — the vessel (as Wilde- boer remarks) does not come to the silversmith simply by the process of refining, and the parallelism points to a comparison between the purity of the silver and that of the throne. It is, therefore, better to follow the suggestion of the Greek, which has : it will be purified entirely pure. — For dross see Isa. i"^ Ez. 22^* \^ 119^^''. — By righteousness, that is, by means of righteous coun- sellors and counsels ; the Heb. expression may be rendered in righteousness, that is, in the sphere of righteousness or justice. — 460 PROVERBS For the Heb. smith {^silversmith or goldsmith, lit. refinei-) see Ju. 17* Isa. 40^^ In postexilic times the goldsmiths formed a guild (Neh. 3^) ; the reference in Neh. is to general artistic work, else- where in OT. to the making of images.* — 6. Synonymous, binary, or binary-ternary. Claim not honor ; the sense is well given in RV. : put not thvself foriuard. One's place in the royal presence was determined by rank or royal favor; the reference here seems to be to a feast. For an example of prudence see Jos., Ant. 12, 4. 9. — 7, Single sentence, containing antithetic comparison, ternary. The scene is a dinner \ cf. Lu. 14^^^ Hither, that is, near the prince ; Grk. to me. — Be humbled, ■= be put lower (RV.) at table. — After prince the Heb. has: ■whom (or, what) thine eyes see (or, have seen), a lame and insignificant expression in the connection. Grk. Syr. Sym. Lat. attach the words to the following line. Sym. (with v.*") : what thine eyes have seen do not bring out to the jnultitude quickly. 7°-10. Condemnation of gossip and tattling. — V.'' ^^ form a quatrain, and v.*^ gives three lines, for which a fourth may be found by adopting the reading of Sym. given above, and we then have two variant quatrains. Otherwise it is difficult to make any- thing out of the concluding line of v.^ We may provisionally render as follows : *]€. What thine eyes have seen 8. Report not hastily < in public; « For ' what wilt thou do in the end When thy neighbor puts thee to the blush? 9. Discuss the matter with thy neighbor (in private), And reveal not his secret < to ' another, 10. Lest he who hears put thee to shame, And thine ill-repute pass not away. 7°, 8. Single sentence, ternary. What thine eyes have seen (or, see), that is, of thy neighbor's affairs. — The reading of the second line of the couplet is got by changing two vowels ; ht. : do not bring forth to the multitude hastily (Heb.: go not forth to strive [or, to strife'] hastily). Instead of a warning against lawsuits or * On casting in metal see Now., Arch. ^ lest the question "what doest thou?''' he the end of it.\ ThcbC insertions are not easy, and do not produce satisfactory senses, and Ewald's translation, lest thou do something (^ihat is, something thou oughtest not to do), is equally unsatisfactory. It is better to change lest to /or, or (with Reuss) to omit it. — The second couplet describes the confusion of the tattler when he is charged with his fault. JVeighdor here = any man with whom one has relations (cf. Lu. lo^'"'^-). The situation described is a private difficulty. Cf. BS. 27^^-^ — 9, 10. Single sen- tence ; v.^ is ternary, v.'° is binary (or binary-ternary) . The injunc- tion is identical with that of the preceding quatrain. Lit. quarrel thy quarrel etc., = debate thy cause (RV.) or discuss the matter (Hodgson) with thy neighbor, that is, with him alone, in private — do not talk of his affairs to others. He 7t>ho hears thee = any one who hears thy talk, and thus becomes aware of thy gossiping, un- trustworthy, and dangerous character ; but we should perhaps, with the Grk., read thy neighbor, as in v.^. — On secret see notes on 3^^ 1 1^^ The second cl. of v.^ reads, in the Heb. : and reveal not ail- other's secret ; Lat. : do not reveal a secret to another, which is a more appropriate injunction than that of the Heb., being exactly parallel to the preceding Hne. — Ill-repute, properly, defamatory talk, usually active, concerning others (Gen. 37- Jer. 20^** Pr. 10^*), here concerning the man himself, and so equivalent to his reputa- tion; a babbler, the proverb says, is universally disliked and despised. XXV. 1. 1^ 'h-f-z; (gB TToiSaat = no::; (g***-"- ^ Tropot^ii/at, probably cor- rection after |^. — (§ adds at dStaKpirot (var. e^udiaKptroi, diaKpiTOi), perh. = miscellaneous, and representing "^ 3) (Jag.) ; S^ render (5 by \-ipv pro- found, that is, " not (easily) comprehensible." ^T omits |tj n;:^^', probably by scribal error. — 2. |^ ipn; (5 n^^ (Grabe reads Ti/xai'), = "i|"'n (Jag.), from lp\ — 4. ^ ^'^T f\-\-i-^ Ni'>-; @ koX Ko.dapiaQi\aerai. Kadapbv &irav (ti^i'D « Saad. Rashi, Schult. RV. t Hitz. De. Str. al. % Wild. 462 PROVERBS was read by S and Bemidbar Rab. c. 7) ; read with Dys. Wild. iSo insj NS'l; Frank. f\-\;i, instead of fiii-j. — 3C xaii' I", = fl">V);. — 7°, 8a. S a elSov oi 6(pda\iJ.ol crov fxij i^ev^yKrjs ets irXrjdos rax^- Read, with Bi., in v.*^ : Nxh Sn -inp 3^^. Elsewhere 3^'^ = i?t abundance, and 3^, except in such adverbial expressions, is always defined by a noun (so 12 times in Pr.) ; yet it is possible that from such an expression as ctn 3^ (20'') it may have come to be = rnul- titude ; cf. Syr. .N3">n. If this sense be thought improbable, then for a^ we might read td^. — For |§ p read ^o. 11, 12. Value of wise advice. — The meaning of several words in the quatrain is so uncertain, and the text is in such bad condi- tion, that only a tentative translation can be given. The Heb. 11. Golden fruits in silver carvings Is a word fitly (?) spoken. 12. A golden earring and a necklace (?) of gold Is a wise reprover to an ear that hears. 11. The first noun (RV. apples here and Joel i^- Cant. 2^-* -f^^^ 8^) is variously understood as meaning apple, apricot, quince, citron, orange ; all that is certain is that it signifies some sort of fruit.* — The second noun signifies carved work on a stone or image (Lev. 26^ Nu. 33^') or carvings or drawings or pictures on a wall (Ez. 8^^).t Here it has been rendered ornamental objects (Saad.), admirable thitigs (Sym. Theod.), beaten work (Syr. 'Yaxg.), filigree-work (RV. n\dirg.), pictures (AV. Wild.), salvers (Luth. De.), baskets (Ew. RV.), necklace (Grk.,- possibly error of text for basket), couches, or sofas (Lat.), — The golden fruit of the Heb. text must be understood to mean an object of solid gold, which does not accord with " pictures of silver " or " baskets of silver " ; solid gold apples or other fruits were never put in such pictures or baskets, nor would the representation thus given fur- nish a natural simile for the thought of the couplet. The inter- pretation ^^/(/ Cant. 5" Dan. lO'^) is a poetic word (RV. Ji?ie gold). By changes of text the qua- train may be rendered conjecturally as follows : Like graved work of gold and carved work of silver Is a word fitly (?) spoken. Like an earring of gold and an ornament of silver Is a wise reproof to an ear that hears. Like is supplied (twice) as an expression more natural in Eng. than the Heb. form. The sense graved ziwrk is obtained by a transposition of two letters in the Hebrew ; the resulting word occurs in Ex. 28"- -^-^^ 3^^6.14.30 ^ j^_ ^29 ^ (^ ^A^).xim Zgch. 3^ i// 74". — The and (instead of in or on) follows the norm of the third line, and secures a better sense — the rendering like gohlen graving on silver carved work (or, on a carved figure of silver) gives a combination hardly congruous. — In the third line the term silver is substituted (by an easy change of letters) for the word of the Heb., and the line is thus more nearly assimilated to the first line, Rep7-oof (instead of reprover) is parallel to 7vord, and requires only a slight change in the Hebrew. — The point of comparison in both couplets seems to be the adornment of char- acter which results from wise advice given to receptive minds ; see i" 3-^ 4^ 14^'*, and cf. BS. 50' 22''. This last passage compares a mind composed and fixed by wisdom to ornamentation (sculp- tures) on a wall, and it has been held that in like manner the thought of v." is the fixedness and enduring character of counsel given to a man of sense (Frank.). To this interpretation it seems to be an objection that it does not accord with v.'^, with which v." is probably identical in meaning, whether the two couplets form a real quatrain, or v.^' be a variant of v.". 464 PROVERBS 13, The faithful messenger. Like the coolness of snow in harvest-time Is a faithful messenger to those who send him. Comparison, with added explanation, — ternary. The rhythmic norm here changes from the quatrain (as in III.) to the couplet (as in II.). On the time of harvest see note on 6^ Grk. here understands a fall of snow, but this, as is suggested in 26\ would be untimely (so Rashi) ; the reference is more probably to drinks cooled by snow brought from the mountains.* — As third line the Heb. adds : he restores ( = refreshes) his master's soul (= spirit), an unnecessary explanation (contrary to the manner of proverbs), a gloss. — Bickell makes the Heb. text a couplet: As snow in heat is a faithful etc., he refreshes etc. 14, Braggart pretence of liberality. Clouds and wind and no rain — So is the man who boasts of gifts ungiven. Comparison, ternary. The first line describes a deceitful appear- ance or attitude : clouds and wind, as it were, boast of rain, and there is none. In second line lit. a gift of falsity, which must refer not to what is received (Hitz.), but (Saad. E\v. al.) to what is bestowed. Clouds, properly vapors, mists (Jer. 10^^ 51^*^ i/' i350> which ascend. For Arabic parallels see Schult, De., and, for others, Malan. 15, Power of patience and gentleness. By forbearance < anger is pacified,' And a mild word breaks the bone. Synonymous, ternary. The Heb. has a prince (instead of anger) ; but one does not show forbearance to a prince — it is he who may be forbearing. The. emendation requires only the change of a letter. Forbeai-ance, lit. sloivness to (lit. deferring of) anger (1429 15I8 i6''2 Ex. 34«). On prince (Ju. ii« Isa. i^o Dan. ii>«) see note on 6'j the rendering /«^?^^ (De. RV. marg.) is improb- * For the ancient custom see Xen., Mem., 2, I. 30; Aul. Gel., 19, 5 ; a similar usage in Austria is mentioned by Michaelis; cf. notes of Hitz. and Zockler, and, for the modern custom in Syria, Hackett, lllust. of Script., pp. 53 ff. XXV. 13-19 4^5 able. Instead of is pacified the Heb. has : is befooled, deceived, enticed (i'^ i6^ 24^* i K. 22^), a strange term in the connection; the emendation is taken from 15'^ Breaks the done = "destroys power," that is, in this case, takes away desire and disposition to speak angrily. 16. Moderation in enjoyments. If thou findest honey, eat what is enough, Lest thou be surfeited and vomit it up. Single sentence, binary. On honey see note on 16^*. With the couplet cf. V-''' below, and see 24'^ Cf. BS. 31-^ 37"'''^^- 17. Caution against wearying one's friends with visits. Let thy foot be seldom in thy neighbor's house. Lest he be sated with thee and hate thee. Single sentence, ternary-binary. Lit. make precious ( = rare) thy foot. Cf BS. 21-^ 13". — This couplet bears a general resemblance to the preceding, but is not so hke it that the two should be con- sidered as forming a quatrain. 18. The false witness. A maul, a sword, a sharp arrow — Such is the man who bears false witness against his neighbor. Single sentence, virtual comparison, ternary. In the Heb. the couplet is a metaphor : a maul etc, is the man etc. The term rendered maul means " that which shatters," as a hammer or a club; related terms are found in Jer. 51^ Ez. 9I — The second line has the expression of the Decalogue (Ex. 20^^ Dt. 5^"''^^), probably a common legal phrase. 19. The hope of a bad man is ill-founded. A broken tooth and an unsteady foot. Such is a bad man's ground of hope in time of trouble. Metaplior, quaternary. Such is supplied as in the preceding coup- let. The rendering broken requires a slight change in the Hebrew. Unsteady, or out of Joint, or palsied, is lit. wavering, tottering (Job 12'). On bad (or, faithless) see notes on 2" 23^^ For the sense ground of hope (one word in Heb.) see 14-® Job 8'* 31^* Jer. 2 H 466 PROVERBS jf Ez. 29'^ That on which the bad man rehes will fail him, says the proverb, in time of stress. — To break a man's teeth is to deprive him of power (»// 3''^^ 58'''''), an expression derived, per- haps, from observation of wild beasts (cf. 0 35'^ 112'") or of savage men. — The translation : (such is) confidence in a bad (or, tmfaithfiil) man etc. (De. RV. al.') is in itself improbable, and gives a statement that is not quite correct : it is not confidence but the ground or basis of confidence that is as unreliable as a broken tooth etc. — The ground of hope referred to is wealth or power, or deceit and violence. 9. For pj -inx ib read insS ^-iD. — 11. J^ ^nsn; read inns. Write 1 instead of 3 before n'13'i'C. See Lag.'s note. — |^ vjdn '^>'; see Geier, Ges. Thes. Ges.- Buhl, DBD. and De.'s note. O'^S omit; S (and so IL) ev Ka.ip(^ o.vro\i; 2[ niN-DD, perh. (Pink.) from D^s (Treto-ts), and = "in the way of argument (or, persuasion)"; 'AGiS^'^" kiti dp^6fou(rii' aiJTiJ), perh. = " under suitable con- ditions, on appropriate occasions," perh. (Ges. Lag.) represents cjon'^, cf. 8^™, a reading (adopted by Frank) which is not precisely parallel to an ear that hears, and is not quite natural in the connection. Ges. Orelli al. take the stem in rj^.s to be jo.x tiirji (as in jdin wheel^, and the noun as = tivie (Ges.) or circwnstajice (Orelli) ; Barth. assumes st. ."i>r, and the expression (after the Arab.) as = " according to its propriety." Others compare the late Jew. use of jaiN in the sense of vianner (Rashi according to its modes, = on its basis). None of these explanations are satisfactory — the word may be scribal error — but nothing better suggests itself than to adopt the interpretation of S. — 12. 1^ 3.~o; read ^Dj. The origin of 3pd is unknown. Neither cover, conceal for the stem (Ass. Arab.) nor 7tiark, spot (Aram.) suggests a suitable sense; the meaning blood-red in Jew. Aram, is prob. merely a special sense of mark. |§ nx; (@ X670S; Bi. la-i; better rnp>. — 13. ?^ nri and ci^^; (g e|o5os (= PvSi-) and Kara KaOfxa (= on^). /A (properly is moved out of one's place) is the standing expression for loss of position, that is, of wealth and all that makes life pros- perous and enjoyable ; usually in OT. it is said that the righteous will never be moved (io'^° 12^ ^ io<^ 15^ i6«^/.), will never be ejected from his position by the machinations of his enemies. In one passage (^ 17') the verb signifies moral faltering, and in this sense it is sometimes here understood,! with the rendering : the * On Palestinian winds see Robinson, Bibl. Researches, i, 429 ; Now., ArcA. J 11. t So Mercer, Geier, Lag. De. at. 4/0 PROVERBS righteous man who yields to (the temptation of) the wicked — such an one is a melancholy picture of lost purity and usefulness, like a ruined spring. In this sense, however, it is the path of rec- titude from which the man is moved (so in xp 17^), the verb is not naturally followed by such an expression as before the wicked, and it seems better to understand our couplet as referring to the loss of social standing and prosperity by the plots of bad men (see 12® 16^'' 24- (/^ 11^ 17^ «/.). — For the reason given above the couplet probably does not contain a reference to yielding to evil through false modesty and fear of men (Reuss) ; nor can the stress be laid on the wicked as contrasted with the righteous, with the interpretation : " if a good man's fall is known only to good men, it does not injure others, but if it is known to bad men, it encourages them in mockery and all evil" (Str. Wild.) — this limi- tation of the range of the couplet is not suggested by first line or by the general tone of the Book, and such a secret society of the righteous, concealing the sins of its members from the outside world, would be immoral, if it were possible. 27. The Heb. gives two unrelated Hues. With the first : to eat much honey is not good cf. v.^^ The second reads lit. : the investigation (or, searching out) of their glory is glory, an obvi- ously corrupt text. Some expositors, by change of vowels, get the intelligible sentence : the investigation of difficult things is glory (or, honor),* that is: "there may be a surfeit of honey, there cannot be excess of investigation" — a not very attractive antithesis, and the rendering difficult is doubtful. Noyes : so the sea?-ch of high things is wea?-iness (cf. 27^), which offers a scep- tical sentiment, proper to Eccles., but strange in Proverbs. Grk. : it is proper to honor notable sayings, and Frank. : therefore refrain from complimentaty words (lit. words of honor), a sort of speech as cloying as honey — a rendering in itself appropriate, but else- where in OT. the Genitive defining zvords is always subjective (characterizing them as true or false etc.), never objective (stating their aim or result). — Probably each line has lost its * So De. Reuss, Str. Bi., and the same translation, without change of text, is given by Zock. al. Hodgson's in deeds of virtue to exceed is glorious furnishes an antithesis to the first line, but cannot be got from the Hebrew. XXV. 26-XXVI. I 471 companion line, and the text of second line remains doubtful ; it is perhaps a corruption of v.-"^. — For other attempts at translation see the notes of De. and Zockler. 28. Absence of self-control is fatal. A city broken through, without a wall — Such is a man without self-control. Virtual comparison, ternary. Broken through, a breach made in the wall, so that it is defenceless — the wall is practically destroyed ; the reference may or may not be to a siege. — In second line, lit. : a man to whose spirit there is no restraint — he has no defence against anger and similar emotions. — Such is siipplied. 20- ?^ "^r^ "^i'; <5 ^X/cei, whence Oort pr^i scab or scurf (J^zv. 13"°), but this is not suitable; Bi. writes >70 after S;', and adds '?>• a''a before ipj. — |§ DnB^a lit']; read simply -\t\ — (5 in '', -ii:'3 nr; (g^i is variation of •>; ©« is perhaps based on |^*. — 21. '-^ an"i and a-'C are probably glosses; their absence from (5 may, however, be free translation. — ||J -inju'; (5 6 ix^pdi aov, perh. = J§, perh. = ria^X (so Bi.). — 22. pj n.-h; (g a-wpeva-eis, IL congregabis. The stem seems to mean snatch, seize in Isa. 30^* "A 5 2" Br- 6"''; see Ges. Tlies. BDB. ; here, in pregnant sense, seize and put, = heap. Whether it = snatch away (Bi.) is doubtful ; the sense away might come from the context (as perh. in -^ 52"), but here, after the omission of ^c'ni "?>', such pregnant sense would be difficult. On the Ass. stem see De. BDB. — 23. 1^ ^'-!^7\-r, brings forth, from '7in; (@ i^eyeipei; 3L dissipat, from '?'^n. — 25. 1^ I'-iN is omitted by Bi. unnecessarily. — 27. |§ ni^-n has been construed (De. Wild. «/.) as subject of the sentence and defined by joi "^dn : " to make gi-eat the eating of honey"; but this construction is unnatural (Stade), and it is better to read "t^-in, as adj. much (so the Vrss.). — |^ ai'33; De. Dys. : D^OD. (S in l': Tijxav di XPV X670US ivdo^ovs, perh. = ibD a^aDi "ipni; Frank. : 133 n3T -\pni. — SST (and RV.) carry over the neg. into b. _ XXVI. 1-12 (except V.-) form a Book of Fools — a string of sarcasms on the class most detested by the sages. The folly described is intellectual. 1. The fool and honor. As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, So honor does not befit a fool. 472 PROVERBS Comparison, quaternary-ternary. Honor is high position, respect, especially public. The saying is probably aimed at the elevation of incompetent men to high places in the governments of state and city. On the seasons see notes on 6^ 25^^. 2. The groundless curse. Like the sparrow in its flitting, like the swallow in its flying, The curse that is groundless does not strike. Comparison, quaternary-ternary. FUtthig, lit. wandering. Strike, lit. come, RV. light. — The point in first line is the aimlessness of the birds' motion, which never reaches a definite place. The apho- rism is a partial denial of the old belief (generally held among early peoples), that blessings and curses had objective existence, and, by whomsoever and howsoever uttered, always reached that at which they were aimed — that is, that the deity invoked (in the blessing or curse) was coerced by the utterance of his name, and could not but respond to the adjuration. This belief, held by the earlier Hebrews (Gen. 27^ Ju. 17^), necessarily receded, to some extent, before the advance of a purer theistic faith. It is so far modified in the proverb that the power of an unjust curse is denied. How far the belief in the efficiency of well-founded blessings and curses remained we have no means of ascertaining. — In second line the Heb. margin reads : the curse . . . comes to him, the him referring to the curser or to the cursed (the old belief, never completely eradicated) ; but the neg. particle is required by the illustration of first line, in which the point is failure to reach, not certainty of reaching. — The translations sparrow (6^ 7^ Gen. 7" i/^ 11^ 84^^^*' Eccl. 9^^ al.) and swallow (ij/ 84^^^*), though not certain, are probably substantially correct.* 3. Government of the fool. A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, And a rod for the back of fools. Virtual comparison, quaternary- (or, binary-) ternary. A fool, says the proverb, is like a beast, not to be controlled by appeal to * See Bochart, Hierozoicoji ; Tristram, Survey of West. Pal., and Nat. Hist, of the Bib. ; Now., Arch. ; Hastings, Diet, of the Bib. ; Cheyne, Cyclop. Bibl. XXVI. 1-6 473 reason. The designation of whip for horse and bridle for ass may be in part rhetorical variation — both animals may at times have required both instruments of guidance ; but there may be special propriety in the terms ; the ass, the favorite riding-animal (Gen. 2 2^ Ju. i" I S. 25™ Zech. 9^), hardly needed the whip in moving over the rough mountain roads of Palestine ; but for horses, rarely employed except in war and on plains (21^^ 2 S. 15^ 2 K. 9^* Isa. 31^ Job 39^*-^^ 1/' 2o'<**'), the whip might be useful; cf. note on 21^^ See 10" ip 32^ 4, 5. How to answer fools. 4. Answer not a fool according to his folly Lest thou become like him. 5, Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he become wise in his own conceit. Each couplet is a single sentence, ternary ; the two form an anti- thetic quatrain. The first is a warning against descending in man- ner of thought to the fool's level ; the second enjoins rebuke of folly. The Talmudic interpretation,* which refers v.'' to worldly things, v.^ to religious things, misses the point ; such juxtaposition of contradictories belongs to the nature of gnomic teaching. The rabbis, however, took exception to these discrepancies, and hesi- tated to receive Proverbs into the Canon ; the objection was removed by such interpretations as that quoted above. Cf. Aboth Rabbi Nathan, i., and see notes on 'f 11^. The second line of v."* is lit. lest thou also become like him. Cf. BS. 22^^. 6. The fool as messenger. — Heb. : He cuts off {his) feet, drinks in viole?ice, who sends a message by a fool. The second line expresses an imprudent act, of which the injurious conse- quence is described in first line, but the text and meaning of the latter are not clear. Cuts off {his) feet is commonly taken to signify: "deprives himself of the power of locomotion " — that is, to send a fool is equivalent to not sending at all ; the expression is perhaps designedly bizarre. In the phrase drinks in violence the verb must mean not "practices" (as in 4^^ Job 15^®) * Shabbath, 30 b, cited by De. 474 PROVERBS but "suffers" violence (as in Job 21-"). The noun makes a dififi- culty ; the connection calls for a sense like " damage, injury " (so De. RV. ai.), but the word means "violent wrong, highhanded injustice" (cf. 4^'), an expression which seems here out of place. — The text of first line appears to be in disorder; we might read for the second phrase : prepares disgrace (for himself) ; or, for the line : he cuts off his messenger'' s legs. We get from the couplet only the general sense that it is imprudent or dangerous to employ a fool as a messenger. 7. The fool as proverb-monger. — The second hne : aitd a proverd in the mouth of fools is clear, but no precise translation of first line can be given. The first word of the Heb. is taken to mean either " draw up, elevate, take away," or " hang loose." Hence : take axvay the power of locomotion from the lame (Grk.), that is, if a lame man can walk, a fool can utter wise sayings* ; the legs [of others] are higher than those of the lame, and so a proverb is too high for a fool (Rashi) ; like dancing to a cripple, so is etc. (Luth.) ; the legs of the lame are not equal (AV.) ; the lame man's legs hang too loose (Ew. ), or . . . hang loose (RV.) f With change of text : what the lame ?naji's legs are to him, so is a proverb etc. (Reuss) ; {as) the leaping of the legs of a lame man, {so is) a proverb etc., that is, both are impossible (Hi. Frank., = Grk. Luth.). The sense of the couplet perhaps is: a fool fares with an aphorism as a lame man with his legs — he limps and does not go far. 8. Honoring a fool. — The least improbable translation of the Heb. is that of AV. : As he who binds a stone in a sling so is he who gives ho?ior to a fool. The first line then expresses an absurd procedure, namely, the fixing a stone in a sling so firmly that it can- not be thrown out (so Ew.). Delitzsch (following Rashi) takes the meaning to be : " as a stone is placed in a sling only to be thrown out, so honor, bestowed on a fool, does not remain" ; but if the author had meant this, he would rather have said : " as a stone is slung from a shng, so honor vanishes from a fool." — The meaning * So substantially Syr. Targ. Lat. Saad. Zock. al. t So substantially Ges. De. Sir. Kamp. Wild. aL XXVI. 6-IO 475 sling given (in the Grk.) to the last word of the Hne is by no means certain ; it may also perhaps be translated stone-heap, but to bind (or, enclose^ a stone in a stone-heap (that is, it is said, to do a use- less thing) is not a natural expression. — Nor, if we take the first word as = hag (or, bundle^ (as in 7^), does the rendering as a bag (or, bundle) of stones (properly a stone-bag) iti a stone-heap offer any clear sense, and if, on the authority of Zech. 3^ i C. 29^, we make the first stone =^ precious stone, gem (Saad. RV.), this does not suit the verb bind, or the noun bufidle. — It is equally inadmissible to give to the first word the meaning put = lay, throw, as in Lat. : as he who casts a stone on the heap of Mercury,* that is, as he who takes part in idolatrous worship ; the allusion is to the custom of casting stones on a sacred cairn, particularly at the foot of a Hermes-pillar, the survival of a very old usage. f Luther : as one who throivs a jewel o?i the gallows-heap (that is, the heap of stones at the foot of the gallows). — The proverb may have had some such form as : " like him who puts a jewel on a swine's snout is he who gives honor to a fool." 9. The fool with an aphorism. — The second line is identical with second Hne of v.^ The first line may read, if we follow the usage of Biblical Hebrew : a thorn gro7vs up in the hand of a drunken man, which is meaningless, or a thorn goes up into the hand etc. (RV.), which is contrary to fact (the verb does not mean pierce). Or, instead o^ thorn we may render thornbush (as in 2 K. 14^ Cant. 2-), and, with De., assuming that the expression contains a late-Heb. idiom, translate : a thorn-branch cojnes into the hafid (= into the possession) of a drunken man ; the resulting sense is not inapposite : there is a touch of humor in the compari- son of a fool with a wise saw in his mouth to a half-crazy drunken man brandishing a stick. We may, perhaps, read : like a thorn- stick in the ha?ids of a drufiken fnati is an aphorism in the mouth of a fool. 10. Corrupt text ; lit. : tnuch produces (or, wounds) all, and he who hires a fool and he who hires passers-by ; the word ren- * So the Midtash ; cf. the Talm. tract Cholin, 133a. t The god was often, in early times, represented by a cairn, and it was a pious duty to throw a stone on the heap. 476 PROVERBS dered 7nuch may also mean master, lord, and is by some (proba- bly incorrectly) rendered an archer. Many combinations and modifications of the words may be made, but the text is in too bad condition to permit a translation, and no satisfactory emen- dation has been suggested.* 11. The fool as learner. Like a dog that returns to his vomit So the fool repeats his folly. Comparison, ternary. Or, first line freely : as a dog returns etc. Returns etc., that is, to eat it ; the fool, how often soever warned, does not learn; cf. Terence, Adelph., i. i, Hor. Ep., x. 24.! — The Grk. adds a couplet which is word for word the same with BS. 4"' (Jager) ; the addition is probably by a Christian scribe. 12. Folly versus self-conceit. Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit — There is more hope for a fool than for him. Single sentence, quaternary-ternary. Lit. in his own eyes, and more hope to a fool. Folly is obtuse, but self-conceit is bHnd and unapproachable. The folly is intellectual. Elsewhere (except * Of the innumerable attempts at translation and emendation the following are the principal : Grk.: all the Jiesh of fools suffers 7nucli, for their fury is crushed; Syr. Targ. : the flesh of fools suffers much, and the drunken wan crosses the sea; Sym. Theod. in second line : and he who shuts up [Th. muzzles'] a fool shuts up [Th. muzzles'] anger ; Lat. : judgment decides causes, and he who imposes silence on a fool mitigates anger ; Saadia (connecting with v.9) : he [the fool] repels [= wounds] all with it [with his wise saying], refus'nig it to the ignorant and the bygoers ; Aben Ezra: a lord [= a ruler] afflicts all, hiring fools etc. [that is, to make them work] ; Rashi : The Lord {= God] creates all, giving pay to fool and passer-by (cf. Mt. ^'^^) ; Luth. Fleisch. : a [good) master makes all right [= fashions everything], but he ivho hires a bungler [= a fool] ruins it ; Reuss (cf. RV. marg.): the master does cverytli'ing himself, the fool hires the first comer; Ew. RV. : an archer who wounds every ojze — and he who hires fools and loungers [= bypassers] ; De. : much produces all [that is, he who has much gains much], but the fool's hire and his hirer pass away ; Bickell : (like) an archer who wounds all bypassers is he who hires fools and drunkards. t The first line appears in 2 Pet. 2'-2 as part of a couplet different from ours, which is cited not as " Scripture " but as a " true proverb " ; it would seem either that the line, taken from Pr., had been recombined in popular use in the second century of our era, or that Pr. took it from a popular saying. The reading in Pet agrees with the Heb. and the Aram, of Pr., not with the Grk. XXVI. IO-I7 477 2(f) the fool is treated as incurable ; here a possibility (though a very small one) is granted him. The point of the proverb is the denunciation of self-conceit. See v}^ and 29''°. Here ends the Book of Fools, and is followed by a Book of Sluggards (v.'^i«) ; cf. e'^'' 2^"^. 13. The sluggard says : " There is a roaring beast without, A lion is on the street." 14. The door turns on its hinges And the sluggard in his bed. 15. The sluggard dips his hand into the dish — To bring it to his mouth costs him an effort. 16. The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit Than seven men who can answer intelligently. 13. Single sentence containing a parallelism, quaternary-ternary. Without, lit. in the way, that is, in the street. Roaring beast, lit. lion, a poetic word (Hos. 5" Job 4'° "A 91'' ^^■) > ^^^ this animal Heb. has many names ; see Job 4'°''- A variation of the proverb is given in 22'^ — 14. Comparison, ternary-binary. The sluggard turns in his bed without getting out of it. Cf. 6'-*-^'^ ^f "' "" 15. Single sentence, quaternary- ternary. Bring it, lit. bring tt a^ain. Costs him an effort, lit. wearies him, --= he is too lazy to bring it etc. See note on 19", with which this couplet is nearly idendcal.— 16. Single sentence, ternary. Bis own conceit, as in \}\ Answer intelligently, lit. answer good sense, = ansiver dis- creetly (RV. marg.), not exactly render a reason (RV.), though this is involved. — Seven is a round number. —The proverb appar- ently means to say that the sluggard thinks himself wise in avoid- ing trouble and thus enjoying life — men about him are toiling, but he has repose. Possibly the sage has in mind some form of Epicureanism ; the intimation then is that the sluggard is blind to the higher pleasures of life. He is put beneath the fool in inteUi- gence (cf. v.*^). 17. Meddling with other men's quarrels. He seizes a dog by the ears Who meddles with a quarrel not his own. Single sentence, ternary. In second line lit. : excites himself over, = )akes part in, meddles with (Lat. AV.), or this sense may be 47S PROVERBS got by a simple change of text. — At the beginning of second line or the end of first line the Heb. inserts the adj. passing by, whence the translations who, passing by, takes part (or, vexes himself, RV.), or seizes a passing dog etc. The first of these renderings is the more appropriate : it is folly in a bypasser to mix in a quarrel, but there is no special propriety in designating the dog as one that happens to be passing by. This is under- stood (De. Bi. at.) to refer to a strange dog; one may, it is suggested, with impunity seize one's own dog, but not a passing dog. But the dog was not a domestic animal in Palestine, and to seize any dog was dangerous. The adj. in question is in any case unnecessary and cumbersome, and is probably a gloss or an erro- neous repetition ; its omission also improves the rhythm. 18, 19. Folly of deceiving for amusement. 1 8. Like a madman who hurls about Deadly brands and arrows 19. Is he who deceives his neighbor And says " I did it in jest " ! 18. Single sentence, binary-ternary. In first line the noun of the Heb. text may mean "one who is exhausted" (Gen. 47^'^), or (Aram.) " stupefied " ; neither of these senses is here appropriate. A slight change of text gives the sense madman (Jer. 51^), or, ofie who plays the fool, feigns madness (i Sam. 21"), that is, the jesting deceiver is like a man really insane, or, like one who pre- tends to be insane ; the second interpretation agrees with they'^j-/ of v.^^, but the first seems better to convey the sense of the qua- train. — The second line is lit. : brands, arrows, and death, the last term qualifying the two preceding. — 19. Single sentence, ter- nary. In second line lit. : was (or, ani) I not in jest? The quatrain forms a comparison. 20-22. Malicious gossip. 20. When there is no wood the fire goes out, And when there is no talebearer strife will cease. 21. Charcoal for embers, and wood for fire. And a quarrelsome man to make strife hot. 22. = 188. XXVI. 17-25 479 20. Virtual comparison, ternary-quaternary. On talebearer see i8^ — 21. Virtual comparison, quaternary. The rendering^/zar- coal accords with the term ivood (that is, in each member fuel is mentioned), but is not certain; in the other passages in which the term occurs (Isa. 44^- 54"^) it may mean burning coal, a sense not here appropriate. A change of text gives the reading bellows (Wild.), which should perhaps be adopted. 23-28. Hypocritical words, 23. Impure silver laid over a sherd — Such is < smooth > discourse when the heart is bad. 24. With his lips one who hates dissembles, But in his heart he nourishes deceit. 25. When he speaks fair believe him not, For seven abominations are in his heart. 26. One may conceal hatred by guile, But his malice will be revealed in the congregation. 27. He who digs a pit will fall into it, And he who rolls a stone, it will come back on him. 28. A false tongue 4 brings about destruction,' And an insincere mouth works ruin. 23. Virtual comparison, quaternary-ternary. Impure silver, lit. silver of dross, = the impure mass left when, in the process of refining, the pure silver has been removed (RV. silver dross, = the dross which contains silver).* A sherd overlaid with this mixture had a gloss which resembled that of silver, a false exterior which concealed a mean material. — In the second hne the Heb. has burning ( = gloiuing, fervent) lips, which is taken to mean fer- vent protestations of friendship, but it is hardly a natural expres- sion; the smooth { — flattering, specious) of the Grk. accords with the first line and with v.-^^-^*; on the word see note on 5^ — 24. Antithetic, ternary. Dissembles, cf. Gen. 42'' i K. 14^ In his heart is lit. in his inward part. Nouiishes, lit. puts, sets ; cf., for the verb. Job 38'"' \j/ loi^; the rendering arranges is less appropriate. — 25. Single sentence, ternary. With the preceding this couplet may be considered to form a quatrain. Speaks fair, * It is probable that this dross was largely composed of lead oxide. See Raw- linson, Phoen., ch. x., and the Bible-Diets, under silver and lead. 480 PROVERBS lit. 7nakes gracious his voice; cf. v."^''. Seven abominations, = " countless wickednesses." On abomination see note on 3'1 — 26. Single sentence, with one antithesis, ternary. The Heb. reads : hatred may conceal itself ; the insertion of his before hatred (so RV.) gives a satisfactory sense ; a different change of text gives the equivalent reading : one may conceal haired. One or the other of these changes is required by the following expres- sion his malice. — The term congregatioii (5" 21^'^) means any assembly. From the time of Deuteronomy on it is generally used (but not in Job and Prov.) to designate Israel assembled in a theocratic or ecclesiastical capacity (i K. 8" Joel 2^*^ «/.). In the Persian and Greek periods the Jewish communities in various parts of the world acquired civic organization, with the right to administer justice, and the allusion is probably to this function of the congregation.* — 27. Two parallel sentences, quaternary (or, ternary) . Mischief recoils on the perpetrator — a widely diffused proverb. The pit is supposed to be dug with malicious motive ; Grk. adds for his neighbor, an unnecessary explanation. The stone is apparently rolled uphill, so that it may descend and crush. Cf. lA 7"-i6(i«i') Eccl. io« BS. 272^^ Esth. 9^ Dan. 6--'. — This gen- eral observation seems to receive a special application in the next couplet. — 28. Two parallel lines, ternary. Ruin is " a blow that causes a destructive (or, fatal) fall," and so the "ruinous fall", itself. — The form of the Heb. in first line: a false tongue hates its afflicted ones is improbable, and has called forth a number of forced interpretations, some of which may be seen in the notes of Delitzsch and Zockler. The rendering of RV. : hateth those whom it hath wounded (marg. crushed^ is incorrect : the last word is a simple adj., = oppressed, unfortunate {ip 9^'^°' 10^* 74'^) j and further, the tongue is said in OT. to speak and to smite and pierce, but never to hate or to crush a person (in 25^^ it is the soft tongue that breaks the bone, a figurative expression, = " dis- arms opposition "), and the rendering ('/v/i'/z is not found in any Anc. Version. The expression luorks ruin appears to require in first line some such sense as deceives its possessor (or, owner), or brings (or, produces') hate or destruction ; Fleischer (assuming an * On the later Jew. civil organization cf. Schiirer, Hist, of the Jew. People, \ 27. XXVI. 25-28 48 1 hypallage) : crushes those whotn it hates, but this is hardly allow- able— it is better to change the text. — The couplet may refer to the ruin brought by the false tongue either on others or on its pos- sessor ; the latter interpretation is suggested by the sense of the preceding couplet ; the former is the more natural suggestion of the words. XXVI. 2. K nS; Q iS; the authorities are given by Ginsburg. The Anc. Vrss. follow Kethib. — 3. |^ u; (5 idvn, = ^J, improbable. On the form of 11 see 01s. § 153, Ew. § 146 f., Stade, § 184. — 5. SM,, stumbling at the formal contradiction between v.* and v.^, put here imssn in place of ^ mViN. — 6. |§ n^sris; <5S> read ni-po ((gBo^. ^5^^ should be -KohQiv, as in S^ 106 a/.); 3L claiuius ; ^ Nann he who rie/ts, a free rendering or guess; Bi. nspr, which he takes as = ai the end, finally, a sense not supported by usage, and not here specially appropriate; Ew. nxnc, perh. better than the Act. — |^ Dcn; , Barth. Sem. Nom.-Bildung^ ; Hitz. Frank. t!-^_ (cf. Isa. 35"), but the expression the leaping of the legs is strange and' improbable. The form of ^ permits either a noun or a verb as first word of % but what noun or verb is not clear — the whole clause is suspicious. — 8. |§ i^i'; better -\-j^ ((@ 0% d^oSecr/iei^et) , parallel to inj. But the whole line seems to be corrupt; possibly it should read: r]X3 mpi psD i;n. — 10. The meaning archer for 3") is doubtful. In Jer. 50^9 Job 16^^ we may point 33^ (instead of ^a"]) ; in the latter passage Budde retains the pointing of 1^, but renders, by conjecture, missiles. In Gen. 2i2> Ball emends n^^ to nc^. — 17. 1^ 'Kn; (@ KipKov tail, — Djr (Jag.). — Omit "la; as insertion out of follow- ing word (-(a;;."!):). .SIL aiynr, which should be adopted. — 18, 19. pj ^^"'^■'^'?; Frank. '?'?n"ic. On nn*? in Gen. 47^^ cf. Ball (in SBOT.) ; the stem appears to be Aram, (not found in Ass. Arab.), but might occur in Prov. — 21. |^ nnf); (5 icrxdpa hearth; 3L carbones ; Bi. rns. Inf. of ngj; Wild, nsp (Perles, Analekt. p. 90). — On pj s^jnc see note on 6^*. — 23. |^ a^pSi; (5 Xeta; read c-pSn (Jag.).— 24. ?lj niu"; (5 ^x^pos, whence Bi. 2;s-. — 26. |^ hd^p, Hith.; (5 6 KpiiTTcov, — rD'j or hd:]:: (and so ,S3C5L). Read (or inN:r) nxrf 'c, or i-iNr.:' nD3P. — On the form of jiNU'p (from ntj) see 01s. § 215 d. 11. — 27. f^ rSx; (5 e0' iavrdv; read r*?". — 28. p? 13T ityc, (@ puaei dX-ndeiau (and so .S^TIL), a guess from the connection, or reading Aram, not pure. Possibly in ';;'i we have K'C'2 (from ^t'l), and for idt we might read v'?>'3 {befools its possessor) ; NO' nsjr, brings hatred, is graphically easy, but "y does not give a full contrast with ^rpr.; better (or, nxr) na;;; NO". — On the omis- sion of the •■ in !-•] (Hahn vz-C) see B-D, Ginsb.; it is perhaps a scribal accident, perhaps veils a different reading of the text. 21 482 PROVERBS XXVII. 1, 2. Of boasting. 1. Boast not thyself of tomorrow, For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. 2. Let another praise thee — not thine own mouth; Some other — not thine own lips. 1. Single sentence, ternary.* The boast implies overweening sense of one's capacity and power. We may omit day, reading what it may etc. ; the sense is the same. Cf. Isa. 56^^ BS. 10-" ii'*^ Jas. 4^^^^ — 2. Synonymous, ternary-binary. Another and some other are lit. stranger ; on these terms see note on 2^*^. 3, 4. Folly and jealousy. 3. A stone is heavy, sand is weighty. But a fool [] is heavier than both. 4. Wrath is ruthless, anger destructive, But before jealousy who can stand? 3. Comparison, quaternary- (or, binary-) ternary. lit. : the heaviness of a stone, and the lueightiness of sand ! that is, these things are well known, but etc. — In second line the Heb. has : a fooPs anger is heavier etc. ; but heavy is not a proper epithet of anger — it is the fool himself that is burdensome; cf. BS. 22" ^% where it is said that a fool is harder to bear than lead, sand, salt, or iron ; anger is a gloss, perh. suggested by the next couplet. — On anger see 12^^ 17-^ 21^'-'; in the Heb. it is the effect of the anger not on the fool himself (Zock.), but on others, that is meant. Frank., less well, regards the anger as that excited in one by the folly of the fool. — 4. Comparison, quaternary, or binary- ternary. Lit. : rnthlessness of wrath, a flood of anger ! The flood is probably here thought of as destructive ; cf. Nah. i* Job 38-' i/' 32" Dan. 9"*^ ii". — On jealousy see notes on 6^* 14''"^. The reference is to the jealousy of a husband ; cf. Cant. 8*^ (the jealousy of married love). 5, 6. Healthy rebuke. 5. Better is open rebuke Than a love that is hidden. * Each member of this couplet is composed of four Iambi, but it is evident from the punctuation that the Heb. editors did not so read it ; they divided it not by feet, but by ictus. XXVII. 1-7 483 6. Sincere are the wounds of a friend, < Deceitful > the kisses of an enemy. 5. Comparison, ternary-binary. Open (lit. manifested'), frank, direct, from friend or foe. The love is hidden, invisible, manifest- ing itself by no rebuking word, and therefore morally useless ; or, by change of vowels : love tJiat conceals, that is, does not tell the friend his faults. Frank. : love given tip, that is, the man, instead of telling his friend his fault, withdraws his friendship without a word ; but the rendering given up is not possible. De. : " love that does not show itself by helpful deed in time of need," but this gives no antithesis. Cf. BS. 19^"'"^^ — The Heb. text is not quite satisfactory — the antithesis rebuke . . . love is not clear, and possibly /lafe should be substituted for loz>e (cf. v'') — "hatred hidden under pretence of friendship." — 6. Antithetic, ternary. The adj. of first cl. is faithful, trustworthy, here = sin- cere. In second line we expect a contrasted term, instead of which our Heb. text gives a word which is represented in the Anc. Vrss. by suppliant, confused, fraudulent, bad, but is generally interpreted by modern expositors as = rich, plentiful, profuse (so RV.), that is, the enemy is profuse in insincere professions of love. This latter rendering is to be rejected as lexicographically doubtful, and as not furnishing a proper antithesis. For the reading deceit- ful (AV., after Lat.) a change of text is necessary. — Yox faitJiful cf. 25'^ Dt. 7^^ Job 1 2-" ; for ivounds cf. Job 9^^ ; friend and enemy are lit. lover and hater. 7. Hunger is the best sauce. One who has enough refuses honeycomb; To the hungry any bitter thing is sweet. Antithetic, quaternary. Lit. : the full soul tramples on ( = dis- dainfully rejects) honeycomb, but to the Jumgry soul every bitter thing is siveet. Soul here = the person, especially as possessing appetite. RV. loatheth, = refects. There is perhaps an allusion to praise and congratulation, which may be nauseous to him who has much of it, grateful to him to whom it rarely comes. — Cf. the references to honey in 2c^^^--\ 484 PROVERBS 8. There's no place like home. Like a bird that wanders from her nest Is a man who wanders from his home. Synonymous comparison, ternary. Home is lit. place, a general term which may signify either the abode of the individual man or family (Ju. 7^ i S. 2^), Eng. home, or the land of abode, Germ, heimath (i S. i^®). For "native land" the Heb. usu- ally says simply " land" ; for Eng. " home " it has only the terms " place " and " house " (cf. Fr. chez lui, Germ, zu hause), but the idea of " home " was doubtless coeval with that of " family." — The reference in the proverb appears to be to any withdrawal from the security and comfort of one's permanent dwelling-place — the wandering of a merchant or a vagrant, the enforced jour- neying of an exile, or the departure of one who is ejected from his house by creditors or enemies.* There is probably, however, no allusion to Jewish national exile, or to the absence of the Dis- persed Jews from Palestine — for that the language is too general, and the Jews of the Dispersion were quite at home in their adopted countries. — The renderings a bird scared from and a man driven from are not exact. 9. Lit. : Oil and perfume (or, incense') make the heart glad, and the sweetness of his friend from counsel (or, sorrow) of soul. The first line describes a physical pleasure which is presumably the illustration of a spiritual pleasure to be next described. The second line of the Heb. is unintelligible : the his has no antece- dent, the expression "sweetness of a friend" is strange and doubt- ful (cf 16-^), and counsel of soul, if it be a possible expression, means simply "counsel given," not hearty\ (or, highmindedX) counsel, or one's own counsel. % — Grk. (with different text) : and (or, but) the soul is rent by misfortunes, which offers neither par- * De. calls attention to the pathos of the Germ. adj. elend " wretched," = eli lend " foreign land " ; see the citations in Grimm's IVorterbuch. t See Mich. De. Str. al. AV. RV. X Ew. : but a friend's sweetness comes from counsel of soul (from a " deep, full soul," in contrast v/\x\\ perfume). § Saad. Rashi, Zciclc. al. : the sweetness (= agreeable discourse) of a friend is better than one's own counsel. XXVII. S-io 485 allel nor contrast to first line ; Lat. (by inversion) : and the soul is sweetened by the good counsels of a friend, an appropriate par- allel ; Kamphausen : but sweeter is one's friend than fragrant woods (cf. petfume-boxeSy Isa. 3-"), but the introduction of another physical illustration is improbable ; Reuss : sweet friend- ship (= " the sweetness of a friend ") strengthens the soul, a satis- factory reading but for the phrase "sweetness of a friend." Pos- sibly : sweetness of speech (or, of counsel) strengthens etc. ; "sweetness" is an epithet not of persons, but of things ; cf. 16-^ "A 55"""-— <^''^ (21I7 Am. 6" Ez. 16^ Cant, v' 4^") and perfume (see the adj. in Cant, f) are cosmetics and accompaniments of feasts. Cf i/' 104'^ BS. 40^ -^* XXVII. 1. 1^ ^'^ is omitted by S, Bi.; (g 17 ^TrtoOo-a. — 2. The nS in » distinguishes T'd from t; in i' the "^n makes -yrzt' the subject of the prohibi- tion. It is a question whether this difference is rhetorical variation, or whether the nS should be written '?>', or the '^x be written n-. — 3. Omit |§ D^ro as scribal insertion. — 5. |^ nanx may have been induced by the ans of v.^. — 6. pj -im M. The stem t^", = abundance, is Aram., but can hardly be Ileb., since the proper correspondmg Heb. form TiT,' exists; cf. Smend, Cornill, Toy (in SBOT.) on Ez. 35!^, and <& in Jer. 33'^. But, even if |§ be accepted as Aramaizing form, it is here inappropriate in the only sense (^abundant') pos- sible for it. The Vrss. give no helpful suggestion. (§ fj eKoOa-ta, whence Bi. T\'^'^'iTi than the -ivillingness. Dys. : n'S",': dreadful. But these emendations do not furnish the desired antithesis. The form of the couplet does not favor the introduction of ^ by p (as in (5); as correspondent to D'JCNJ we expect an adj., possibly Nif. Part, of c*p;' (cf. 28'^) or of tc, = crooked, evil, deceitful. ■ — 9. r^"}'^? is used elsewhere only of the fragrant vapor or incense of the ritual service; but the verb (Pu. Part.) — perfume in Cant. 3^, and the noun may have this sense here. — (5 o'ivoi'i is scribal addition for fulness. — 1§ |ina ■in-p; (5 KarapTTiyvvTai, = .Tnii-^r (Jag.), which reading (accepted by Hi. Bi. Frank.) is incongruous with ». — |^ c'dj nsvc; Reuss 'j yow, good graphically and in sense. Kamp. : 'j 'Sv^, taking 'j as = fragrance. Bi. 'j nsjja Dy'npnm; Frank. : -j nbi^D ';;i. Possibly the line should read : 'j yoND nsj? pnm. 10. Of friendship. — The verse is composed of three lines which, in their present form, appear to have no immediate con- nection one with another. — 10^. A friend of thyself and of thy father forsake not (lit. : thy fiend and thy father's friend etc.), = " do not abandon an old family friend for new friends," as * For Grk. and Rom. use of cosmetics see Beck. Mommsen and Maiquardt, Bliimner (Eng. tr. by Ziinmern). 486 PROVERBS youth is often disposed to do. The reference is not specially to seeking aid from such an one, but in general to maintaining friendly relations with him. Only one friend is spoken of. — 10*'. Lit. : And to the house of thy brother go not in the day of thy calamity. But to whom should one go if not to a brother? " A brother," it is said (17"), "is born for adversity." And even if there be a friendship which is stronger than fraternal affection (18-^), this would be no reason for ignoring the family tie — nor is anything here said of such a stronger friendship (see note on v.^"" below). It is futile to suppose that the prohibition wishes to save the brother distress (Saadia), nor is the reference to exces- sive visiting (as in 25"), and it is impossible that the sage should lay down the general rule that one should not go to a brother in time of need — such scepticism and cynicism would be out of keeping with the tone of the Book. The text must be regarded as defective, or the clause must be taken as a gloss inserted by some scribe whose experience had made him bitter against brothers, as Koheleth (Eccl. 7'*) is bitter against women. We might omit the negative particle and read : but go to a brother's house etc., which would be an isolated and unnecessary injunction, unless, with Bickell, the brother be taken as = the friend of the preceding line, and this is improbable — i f /;'/>;/ ^/ had been meant, it would have been so written. Cf. the warning, in 25", against wearying one's neighbor with visits. — 10°. Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far off. The near and far refer to space, not to feehng ; the saying is a maxim of common experience. But there is nothing to show that it is this " far-off brother" who is meant in the preceding line — on the contrary the " brother " of the second line is regarded as near. As the text stands, the third line is an independent aphorism, perhaps part of a full couplet, of which the rest has been lost. — A connection between the three lines may once have existed ; but if so, the links have disappeared. If the second Hne be omitted, a couplet might possibly be formed of the other two. 11-15. Wisdom, prudence, hypocrisy, strife. II. Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad, That I may answer him who shall taunt me. XXVII. IO-I4 4^7 12. = 22^. 13. = 20^''. 14. When one blesses another with a loud voice, [] It is to be reckoned as equivalent to a curse. 15. A constant dripping in a rainy day And a quarrelsome woman are alike. 11. Single sentence, condition and consequence, quaternary-ter- nary. The speaker is the teacher (whether the father or some other), who is concerned for the young man's career, and desires that he may so conduct himself as to furnish a triumphant answer to all assailants. Wise is to be taken in the most general sense. For the verb taunt {ox, reproach) see 14^' 17^ lA 119*^ (in the psalm the answer is furnished by religious trust, in the proverb by wisdom) ; for the noun see 6'^ 18^. The taunt (here mentioned as a possibility of the future) will have been induced by some real or supposed mis- conduct or display of ignorance on the part of the youth. The teacher is held responsible for the faults of the pupil. Cf. 22^^ 23^^ BS. 30^"^. — 13. The text in second line has fem. sing, a strange woman, which is to be emended, from the parallelism, to masc. sing, (or, plu.) ; the reference is simply to going security for other persons. — 14. Condition and consequence, quaternary-ternary. Heb. : he who blesses his neighbor (or, friend) with a loud voice early in the morning {or, in the morning, rising early), a curse it is (or, zvill be) 7-eckoned to him. The expression early in the morning refers not to the dawn of good luck (this is not warranted by Heb. usage of language) but to the zeal of the blesser (Jer. 7''') ; the him may be either the blesser (he shall be considered to have uttered a curse) or the blessed (he shall be considered to have been cursed). It may be man or God who reckons. In the former case the proverb is a rebuke of hypocritical loud-mouthed adulation, which public opinion will regard as concealing willing- ness to ruin its object, if profit is to be thereby gained. In the latter case the ineaning is that a loud-mouthed blessing will excite the anger of the deity, and call down a curse on the person blessed ; in this interpretation the early is commonly held to mean "before the issue of the man's good fortune is known" — the deity is offended by this premature assumption. On divine jealousy of human pretensions cf. note on 6^' ; elsewhere in OT. 488 PROVERBS except in early mythical narrative (Gen. ii^'), it is directed against Israel's enemies, or against wickedness, not against mere good fortune. It seems better, therefore, to adopt the first inter- pretation mentioned above. — The early in the morning is unnec- essary, mars the rhythmical symmetry, and is probably to be omitted as gloss. On curse see note on 26^, and cf. 20™. — 15. Comparison, quaternary-ternary. The couplet is substantially identical with second line of 19''^, on which see note. — Grk. : drops drive a inan on a wintry day out of the house, so a railing woinan also [drives him] out of his oivn house. Our Heb. may in fact be translated : dripping drives on a rainy dav, out of which the Grk. expands its line. Syr. better : a drop which drops ( = continues to drop). Lat. : leaking roofs i?i a cold day, in which roofs is free translation, and cold follows Grk. wintry, a sense less probable than rainy. The roof, made of board, with a layer of earth and straw, was kept from leaking only by constant repairs.* 16. Lit. : He who hides her hides wind, and oil meets his 7-ight hand (or, Ids right hand calls for [or, meets'] oil), which conveys no sense. Lat. he who j-estrains her is as one who restrains the wind\ connects the couplet with the preceding, the sense being supposed to be that he who undertakes to restrain the woman of v.'^ (whom Rashi regards as unchaste) might as well try to hold the wind or slippery oil (or, according to Rashi, he uses oil to get rid of the taint of her presence). But the verb does not mean I'estrain, and the interpretation is obscure, unnat- ural, and improbable. Grk. : the north wind is a severe wind, but by its name is termed auspicious. % Bickell : the north wind [it is true] is the cheerfulest of 7vi}ids, but the [hot and oppressive] southwind is called " auspicious." But, whatever the Grk. trans- lator might attempt, one hardly expects such subtle etymologizing from the Heb. sage. § No satisfactory construction of the couplet has been suggested. Cf. 25"-^ 26^ * On Pal. roofs see Thomson, Land and Book, ch. 25; Now., Arch.; cf. Mk. 2*. t So Saad. Rashi, Luth. Ew. De. Kamp. RV. al., but not AV. J The Heb. word for hide may a\s,o = north ; \h& right hand represents good fortune in Grk. Lat. Aram. Arab., though apparently not in Bibl. Heb. ; its name comes from a slight change in the word for oil. § For other impossible readings see De. Wild. xxvii. 14-17 489 12. Before -tiDj insert \ — 13. ^ "ii 37'"; (5 napijXdev . . . v^pi2'; II (Jag.). — 1^ n^-\T]; read n^j; the n is insertion induced by following n, or else the incorrect interpretation of a scribe. — 14. pj ^'P'^'lI ""P^^; his folly out of him. Single sentence, ternary. The Heb. reads : his folly will not depaj't from him; the causative form thou wilt not remove (so Grk.) suits the first line better. — The proverb is a picturesque and forcible way of saying that a fool's folly is his nature ; the folly is intellectual, not moral. — At the end of first Hne the Heb. adds: /;/ the midst of grit (or, bruised corn, or, pounded graiti) 7vith a pestle, which mars the symmetry of the couplet by unnec- essary additions : the " pestle " goes as a matter of course with the mortar, and the "grit" is out of place — it is the fool alone that is pounded. The phrase appears to be a gloss. — Vat. Grk. : though thou scoujge a fool, disgracing him in the council etc. One Grk. text represents the process as beating the fool up in a mass of preserved fruit (figs, olives, or grapes).* * On the word rendered mortar see Moore, yudges (on Ju. 15^^), and G. A. Smith, The Book of the Twelve Prophets (on Zeph. iioj. 492 PROVERBS 17. Omit \JD. — On m^ cf. K6n. i. 373 f. ; the stem is probably -nn (Job i^), and the first ' may be Hof. (Ez. 21I*) or Hif., the second Hilil. If the first be read Hif., the Prep. 2 should be omitted. — 19. ^ 3'?^; ® oja-irep; read '^120 with Vog. Bi.; Bottch. De. : a^cj "ir.xD. — (g oiix Sfj.oLa, which Bottch. explains as = a^t-\ pxr, misreading of 3''Ca -\-»N3; or, the negative particle may be interpretation of the translator. 'HL follows S, except that it inserts the □•'D of 1^ — 22. |§ c'.i37; (@ fj.aim'yo'is. — On the stem see Ges. Thes. BDB.; cf. Heb. Aram, and Arab. nno. The stem jto seems to be used of any pounding or pressing of hard or soft substances. It is perhaps Aram.; cf. D. H. Miiller, Sendsch. 58. — 1§ ■''^■.•3 ^^s-\p '^^r^ ;:' noa; (5 kv ix^atf crvve- dpiov drt/ixdfwj', after which Bi. omits 'op, makes '>'t the beginning of ^, and also with (5, omits V^"'r ; aTi/jid^oov he refers to some form of '?"',•. N. Herz (cited by Cheyne) makes ffvv. = man a company or society (Job 34^) ; Cheyne prefers man, and renders the Heb. : . . . a fool amidst his associates (or, equals in rank, cf. '/'45''), you would not remove etc. See Expos. Times for May, June, July, 1897. It seems better to retain 'j^'j ^"d omit the three next words of 1^; (@ may have omitted '3T from its similarity to following '\\~i. — On nonn see Hi. (who makes the stem p^), Ges. The word occurs elsewhere in OT. only in 2 S. 17^^; 'AS Trno-dvas; 0 TraXd^as; "^ ptisanas {barley-groats) ; in 2 S. 17^^ (5 a.pa(j)d}9. The form of the stem is uncertain; perhaps -id^, ^n or HDT; cf. Job 26'!, and Arab. Aram. ^s~^, strike, break. 23-27. Importance of small and large cattle for the farmer. 23. Look well to the appearance of thy flock. Give careful attention to < thy > herds, 24. For riches last not forever, Nor < wealth > to all generations. 25. When the hay is removed, and the aftergrowth appears. And the grass of the mountains is gathered, 26. Then the lambs will supply thee with clothing, And goats furnish the price of a field, 27. And there will be goat's milk enough for thy food, [] And (enough) for the maintenance of thy maidens. The poem is a short treatise on the culture of animals, and gives us a glimpse into the life of the rural population of Palestine. The soil of Israelitish Palestine was better adapted to the raising of sheep and oxen than to the production of grain, and the writer points out that it is to the former that the country landowner must look as his chief source of wealth. The introduction of this subject is in accordance with the practical aim of the Jewish gnomic writings. Cf. the works and remarks on agriculture by XXVII. 21-26 493 Aristotle, Theophrastus, Cato, Varro, Virgil, and others, and the extracts in the Geoponica. 23. Synonymous, ternary, or quaternary-ternary. Look well, lit. k?iow (emphatic). Appearance, lit. /ace, = state or condition (RV.). Flock, of sheep and goats. Give careful attention to, lit. set thy mind on. The Heb. has simply herds (that is, of cattle or of sheep and goats) ; the insertion of thy (so Grk. and Lat.) is favored by the parallelism. The context (v.-*^-') shows that the writer has in mind sheep and goats, not large cattle ; so Nabal (i S. 25-- ^•^) has sheep and goats. Oxen, however, were owned in the south of Canaan (Isa. 7-^ Dt. 8^^), though the country seems to have been better adapted to small cattle. See 7-'-^ 14^ 15^' for mention of oxen. — 24. Synonymous, ternary. Exhortation to continual effort, which is necessary because one's stores are constantly being consumed — if one would transmit wealth, one must be all the time amassing it ; the ivealth is then that of rural products, especially sheep and oxen. Or, the wealth referred to may be non-agricultural, ready money and the like, and the meaning will then be that flocks and herds are the only solid and permanent riches ; in that case we must think of the writer as unfriendly to urban and commercial life. — In second line the Heb. has crown as the term corresponding to riches ; this is explained as = " princely dignity," but the expression is inap- propriate to the condition of such a person as is here described ; a slight change of letters gives the parallel wealth (cf. Jer. 20"). — 25. Single sentence, quaternary-ternary. Lit. : the grass is removed and etc. The connection indicates that this verse gives the protasis or condition of a conditional sentence, of which the apodosis or result is expressed in the following verses.* The grass is removed to the barn in the form of hay as food for the animals. After it is stored appears the second growth of grass (RV. tetider grass), the aftergi'owth. This is the growth of the lower lands, but the high lands {mountains) furnished admirable pastures (i Sam. 25-), from which also, it appears, the grass (the term including all herbage) was gathered. The haying began in Nisan (March-April). — 26. Synonymous, binary-ternary (the * So Saad. Rashi, Fleisch. De. Sir. Wild. Frank, al. 494 PROVERBS first member is perhaps defective). Provision thus laid up, the flock will be well nourished and profitable ; animals may be sold, and will thus furnish money to buy clothing or a field. Probably also in first line there is reference to the making of clothing at home from wool (cf. Job 31^") ; the clothing of the household for the year was doubtless prepared at this time. — 27. Parallel statements, ternary-binary (according to the emended text). Goafs milk here appears as a common article of food. In the enumeration of foods in Dt. 32^^", besides cereals, honey, oil, flesh, and wine, we find curd (= sour milk) of kine and milk of small cattle (sheep and goats). Meat was rarely eaten; the staples of food were bread, honey, fruits, and the products of the dairy.* — The second line is lit. : and maintenance (lit. life') for thy maidens, but the Prep, {for) is probably to be continued. — After for thy food the Heb. adds : for the food of thy household, thus giving three terms after enough, of which Syr. omits the third, and Grk. the second ; these two are really synonymous, and it is better to omit the second, which seems to be a gloss (explanation of the third). t 23. |§ \J£3; (S \pvxa.s, perhaps = z'd:, perhaps (Jag.) = ijd in sense of person. — |^ am-;; read, with (§, ^m;-. — 24. |^ irp; read nxx (cf. Jer. 20^). — 1§ DN1 may be retained, or we may read N^i ((§ ovdi). — Before second "n insert ^ (Qere). — 27. Omit |§ qro cn^*^ (as gloss) with <3, whose depa- irbvTuv represents |§ nn;;j (Jag.) rather than n>2. — The first f'wiyi' of (g appears to be assimilation of the Heb. expression (on*^) to the following phrase, in which fiwr;j' = i'«n (|i^ d^m). XXVIII. 1. The courage of a good conscience. The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are as bold as a lion. Antithetic, ternary. ^^A/= confident, secure (11^^ 31" Ju. 18"). A bad conscience suspects accusers everywhere. * Cf. the standing expression in OT. : a land flowing with milk and honey (Ex. 333 Ez. 206 a/.) ; cf. also Eurip., Bacch., 142 ; Ovid, Alei. i, iii. For modern cus- toms in Arabia and Palestine see Robinson, Bib. Res., i. 571 al. ; Palmer, Desert 0/ the Exodus, p. 239 al. ; Thomson, Land and Book, I. xxii al. t With this paragraph cf. those passages of the Avesta (as Fargard 3) in which similar prominence is given to the culture of cattle. XXVII. 26-XXVIII. 3 495 2. The first cl. reads : By the transgression of a land many are its princes, that is, unstable government (a rapid succession of rulers) is a result of social corruption. Rapid change of rulers may, however, be an accident of the political situation. Possibly we should read : by etc. many are its enemies (or, misfortunes).— The second line is lit. : but by intelligent {and) instructed men right lasts long, or, by men intelligent {and) cognizant of right it (the existing status) lasts long; the second translation (in which the verb is taken as indefinite) is not probable. To understand right (in the first transl.) as = "jurisdiction, political authority" (De.) is a somewhat forced interpretation. Still less natural is RV.'s rendering, state (= existing status), from the sense "place, basis," which the Heb. word sometimes has. Instead of men we may write man (De.), the meaning then being that by a single intelligent man political order will be maintained. — Grk., with dif- ferent text : by the sin of ungodly men disputes arise, but a clever man will extinguish them, which is intelligible, but disputes are said in Pr. to arise from the nature of the wicked, not from their sin — the disputes are themselves sin.— If the expression knozuing right be omitted (as gloss on intelligent), we may read : by a man (or, by men) of insight it [the land] is made stable (= is estab- lished) (cf. 29*) ; or, ii days be inserted : by a man of intelligence its existence is prolonged. ^Th^ text puts "intelligence" as antith- esis of "transgression"; this may be understood in accordance with the point of view of Pr., which makes moral error the result of ignorance. — The general sense of the couplet appears to be that^l•loral ignorance and transgression is responsible for political distress or disorder (so the Heb.), or, perh., that quarrels and law- suits are the work of bad men (so the Grk.), and that order, or peace, is maintained by a broad intelhgence which recognizes the claims of the moral law. It is possible, however, that the two lines of the couplet do not belong together. 3. Oppression of the poor. A <■ wicked ruler > who oppresses the poor Is a beating rain which leaves no food. Virtual comparison, ternary or quaternary-ternary. The Heb. reads : a poor man and an oppressor of the poor, a beating rain 496 PROVERBS and 710 bread, that is, a poor man who oppresses etc. is etc. But in Pr. (or in OT.) a poor man is not conceived of as an oppressor of the poor, is not thought of as being in position to oppress ; nor does it add to the distress of the poor that their oppressor is one of their own class. — Grlc. : a bold (or, courageous) man by wick- edness oppresses (or, accuses) the poor, whence we might read : a wicked man who oppresses etc. By the change of a vowel the sense is obtained : a ruler (lit. a man, a chief) wJio etc.,* but it is doubtful whether this is an allowable Heb. construction.f The reading here adopted, which is suggested by v.^% is obtained by a couple of simple changes of the text. 4. Attitude of faithful and faithless toward the wicked. Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, But those who observe the law are zealous against them. Antithetic, ternary, or quaternary-ternary. The special interpreta- tion of the couplet depends on the meaning given to the word law. If this means the " law of Yahweh," the national code, then the reference is probably not only to the general fact therein announced, but particularly to the condition of things in the Greek period when many Jews did give up the national religion and attach themselves to foreign rulers and magnates, who are often in the Psalms referred to as the "wicked," and Reuss is sub- stantially right in translating : the apostates praise the heathen. If this be the correct interpretation, the couplet forms the only refer- ence in Prov. to such apostasy (cf. \p up''' WS. 2-5). — li law be taken to be the instruction of the wise (3^ 4" 7- 28'-^) the couplet will mean that he who refuses this instruction does thus in effect endorse the wicked, while he who gives heed to it will in effect oppose them. This precise form of expression is not elsewhere employed by the sages in speaking of their own instruction, but the idea is found throughout the Book, particularly in chs. 1-9. — The sense "law in general" does not accord with the wexh forsake, which impHes a body of instruction with which the man stands in * Hitz. De. Bi. Str. Wild. al. t It occurs elsewhere only in the title chief priest (2 K. 25I8 al.) ; in Ez. 38^ the construction is different, Rosh being a proper name. XXVIII. 3-6 497 special relation ; for the general idea of law the appropriate verb would be " transgress." The second interpretation seems to be the more probable. — The interpretation: they who praise the wicked forsake the law (De.) is not a natural rendering of the Hebrew. 5. Piety comprehends justice. Wicked men do not understand justice, But they who seek Yahweh understand it completely. Antithetic, ternary-quaternary. To "seek Yahweh" is to inquire of him in order to learn his will in any given case. It was the technical expression for inquiry at an oracle (2 S. 21^ al.), and so came to signify dependence on and devotion to the will of God. — Understand it completely is lit. understand all, the reference being io justice (in dealings with men). It is only, says the prov- erb, from the divine will (here = the divine law) ih^X Justice (here = right in general) can be known. — The couplet has a national tone rare in Proverbs. XXVIII. 1. ?^ •'Dj with sing, noun, and D'lpns with sing, verb; O, sing., ^ei^7ei and biKaios. — 2. For |^ nn".;' we should perhaps read nni* or n-rns (cf. Dt. 31^''). (§^ read DV^n and D3-i; (gi", for pj T'IN-' jd yn;, KOLTacr^icrei avrds, = iD>ni (Lag.). The reading of '^ is not probable; that of •' is better, but not satisfactory. — Bi. omits "^ns'i (as repetition out of the two preceding words), and for ]2 yTi reads ipyT,. Dys. : an nx i>m\ We may perh. read : npjjn pn mN3i or mcyi 'd mxi. — 3. |^ ch 135; (5 dvdpeios 4v acre^eiais; read yi'T 131, and omit the 1 before pr>'; Dys. rp i3i; Frank, yzn 133. — J^ orh |\si; (5 Kai a.vw((>e\-qs, on which see Lag. 6. Honest poverty better than dishonest wealth. Better is a poor man whose life is upright Than one whose conduct is base, though he be rich. Antithetic comparison, ternary. A variation of 19^ on which see note. Lit. who walks in his perfectncss and 07ie crooked of ways. — The Heb. has the dual, two ways, which is commonly inter- preted as referring to the good way and the bad way, between which the man has to choose ; but this representation (appropri- ate in BS. 2'^) is here inappropriate — the expression crooked iti ways is a common one for "dishonest, base" ; a change of vowels gives the plu. Cf. v.'** below. 2K 498 PROVERBS 7. Profligacy is unwise. He who obeys instruction is a wise son, He who consorts with profligates brings disgrace on his father. Implicit antithesis, ternary-quaternary. Cf. lo^ 13^ 17^^ 1^13.26 23*" 2 7^\ Obeys, lit. keeps, observes. The instruction meant is that of the father and teacher, not the national law (cf. v.'*-'). Wise is lit. intelligent. On profligates ( = spendthrifts, rioters) see 23^°- *^ The text assumes that he who heeds instruction will not associate with profligates, and that a wise son brings joy to his father. The first line may also be translated : a wise son obeys instruction ; the antithesis of wise will then be profligate. The two lines belong perhaps to different couplets. 8. Against demanding interest on loans. He who adds to his wealth by taking interest and increase Gathers it for him who is kind to the poor. Single sentence, quaternary-ternary. In the OT. legislation the taking of interest is regarded as oppressive and is strictly prohib- ited between IsraeUtes (Ex. 2 2-^'2-*> Dt. 23^3(20) l^^^ 25^^, cf. Ez. 18* \^ 15^)) though allowed in transactions with foreigners (Dt. 2 220(21)^ * ; the law was, however, frequently violated (Ez. 22^^^ Neh. 5^"). Later, when the dispersion of the Jews forced them into commercial life, its provisions were made more stringent (^Bab. Mes. v.). — The objection to charging interest was based on the fact that loans were made to poor men to supply the necessaries of hfe, not to be employed productively ; to demand interest was to take advantage of a fellowman's distress, the antith- esis being kindness to the poor.-\ The OT. rule was thus ethically good, except in so far as it excluded foreigners from its benefit. The punishment of the interest-taker here announced is loss of * This interpretation of Dt. 23^0 is denied, but on insufficient grounds, by Rab- binowicz in the Introd. to his transl. of Baba Afesla {Legist, civ. du Thalmud, Vol. 3). t Charging interest was from early times common in Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and evidently in Israel also ; it was a natural condition of lending money and other property. In Greece and Rome it was regulated by law. The opposition to it came from the moralists (as Plato, Arist., Demosthenes), not from the people, and no prohibition of it (in Israel, for example) was effective. See Wilkinson, A?ic. Egypt.; Erman, Egypt; Smith, Diet, of Grk. and Rom. Antiq.^ XXVIII. 7-IO 499 wealth, which comes through social laws and divine retribution ; the wealth, by these same laws, falls to the benevolent man (14''' 19^^ 22'^). Cf. BS. 3^--^*'. Whether there was any difference of meaning between the terms interest and increase is not clear,* RV. retains the word usury in its old sense of interest. 9. The prayer of a bad man is futile. He who refuses to listen to instruction, His prayer is an abomination. Single sentence, quaternary-binary (or, binary). Cf. 15*-" Isa. i^^ BS. 35^^'^^. Lit. he who turns aside his ear from hearing: the reference is to the instruction of the teacher or parent. On abom- ination see note on 3^^. — In second line the Heb. has : also (or, even^ his prayer etc. \ the " prayer " is, doubtless, merely a peti- tion for some physical gift, and the also probably = " on the other hand," the couplet expressing an antithesis, or a relation of reciprocity : " if a man, on his part, is deaf to instruction, then God, on his part, is deaf to prayer." Cf. ./^ 182-26126.27). 10. Malice rebounds on itself. He who seduces the upright to evil Will fall into his own pit. [] Single sentence, ternary-binary (in the emended text). Lit. into an evil way, that is, probably (as in 8^'^) into morally bad con- duct. The OT. assumes that good men may go astray (Ez. 3^" al.). For second line cf. 26-^ — The first line is sometimes rendered: he who misleads the Jipright into misfortune ; but it is doubtful whether, if leading into unwise investments and the like were meant, the statement would be restricted to the upright (cf. BS. 37^). Elsewhere (5-^ 19^ 20^ Job 6-^ ^ 119^° al.) the verb seduce, lead astray, is used in a moral sense. — The Heb. adds : And the perfect will inherit (or, possess) good, which may be a gloss on this couplet (a reminiscence of such passages as 2-^ i/' ^ 7^- ^- "■ ^2. ^9^ ^ * A distinction is perh. made in Lev. 253', interest referring to loans of money, increase to loans of food, but the variation of terms may be merely rhetorical. In Dt. 2319(20) the former appears to be used as a general term for interest, and the latter is so employed in Bab. Mes. v. i. Cf. Fleisch. in De., Wild. Litt. des A T, J 7, Now. Arch., \ 66. 500 PROVERBS to bring out the other side of the picture, or perhaps the half of a new couplet, of which the other line has disappeared. 11. A self -conceited ricli man. A rich man may think himself wise, But an intelligent poor man will probe him thoroughly. Single sentence involving antithesis, ternary. Lit. : a rich man may be (or, is) wise in his own eyes ; probe thoroughly = search out. Rich men, the proverb holds, being financially successful, are inclined to have great confidence in themselves (cf. i8"), but wisdom does not always go with wealth. Here, as elsewhere, the sage takes a defensive attitude for the poor against the rich — doubtless from the conviction that the former need help (cf. Eccl. 12. Contrasted administrations of righteous and wicked. — The text is uncertain. Heb. : when the righteous rejoice, great is the glory, but when the wicked arise, men are sought out (or, searched). Antithetic. Rejoice is explained as = triumph, equiv- alent to arise, that is, '•' come into power," and are sought out as = 7mist be sought out, = hide themsehes, or, «;•.y — greedy (cf. Isa. 29** \\i \of); we should perhaps read robbed of her whelps, as in i f-. — The refer- ence in a poor people may be to any financially poor community, or there may be special allusion to the later Jewish communities. 16. Folly of oppression. — Lit.: A prince (or, O prince) devoid of understanding and a great oppressor — he who hates unrighteous gain tvill prolong his days. The first line may also be read : a prince etc. is a great oppressor, but the natural form 502 PROVERBS would be : a prince who is an oppressor is devoid of intelligence. The word prince should probably be omitted as the gloss of a scribe who interpreted this couplet by the preceding. We should probably read : he who is oppressive is lacking in intelligence, he who hates unjust gaiii will live long. The live long, = "be happy," forms an implicit contrast to lacking in intelligence, — " knows not what is good for him." 17. Lit. : A man oppressed by the blood of a person flees (or, must flee) to a (or, the) pit — let them not seize him (or, support or maintain him). The words yield no sense. The term oppressed cannot mean conscience-stricken (De.) — elsewhere in OT. it always refers to external acts ; nor is it a natural expres- sion for "weighted with guilt." The pit is not the grave (De. Frank.) — a man cannot be said to " flee to the grave." The criminal referred to is hardly the grinding, destructive oppressor of the poor (Frank., see note on i") — if such an one should be " fleeing to the grave " it would be quite unnecessary to forbid men to help him. Possibly there is some reference to the lex talionis : " if a man charged with homicide flee to a city, let no one seize (or, protect) him." The sentence (which is prose) perh. belonged in a lawbook, and was here inserted by mistake. 18. Profit in integrity. He who lives blamelessly will be kept in safety, But a man of vicious life will fall []. Antithetic, ternary (in the text as emended). Lit. he ivho zvalks, and one crooked of ivays. The second line reads in the Heb. : but one crooked {^= false, evil) in two ways will fall in 07ie. The dual two ways is improbable (see note on v.^ above), but if it be retained, the statement that a man doubly false is sure to fall in one way or another seems an unnatural and improbable mode of expression. The sense at once, suddenly, for the word above ren- dered /;/ one is doubtful, and here not appropriate. Lagarde emends : into a pit. This is possible, but it is better to omit the word, and' thus gain the simple and sufficient contrast of be kept iji safety (lit. be rescued) and fall ; the in one (of the ways) appears to be a gloss on the tiuo ways of the Heb. text. — The XXVIII. I6-2I 503 reward and punishment are to be referred to God. On blame- lessly, lit. blameless, perfect, see notes on i'- 2-', and on vicious (or, evil'), = crooked, see 2^^. 15. 1^ 21; (5 \vKo%, apparently = Aram, an or ^Nt. For J^ ppu'we should perh. read Vi'^r. — 16. Omit J£J -i^jj (as gloss) and the 1 before 1^, and insert 1 before ide) of appetite (lit. soul^ ; cf. Isa. 5^* Hab. 2^* — Prosper, lit. be made fat; see 11^' 13* 15^°- — To "trust in one's self" (one's heart, intellect) is (according to the parallelism) to follow the untrained suggestions of the mind (passion, selfishness, dishonesty), or, to rely wholly on one's own mental resources, opposed to which is living in accordance with the instruction of ethical wisdom. — Will be saved, that is, in any emergency where true insight into life is * On the similar phrase wide of heart, = proud, see note on 21"*. De.'s state- ment that nefesh (soul) = the "natural heart," and led (heart) = the "spiritual heart," is without support in OT. 5o6 PROVERBS required. — The lines appear to be dislocated : v.^'^"- ^^^ form a nat- ural couplet ; v.-^''-'^'' have lost their correspondents. 27. Kindness to the poor. He who gives to the poor will not lack, But he who disregards them will have many a curse. Antithetic, ternary. Similar exhortations to liberahty and kind- ness are found in ii-^-^s 1421 jg^' 22^ BS. 4* f- 2(f ; cf. t,^^^-^,— Disregards, lit. hides his eyes, so as not to see distress. — The curse is uttered by the poor ; cf. BS. 4^ in which it is said that such curse will be heard by God. Cf. note on 26". 28. Wicked government. When the wicked are in power men hide themselves, And when they perish the righteous increase. Antithetic, ternary (or, quaternary-ternary). Are in poiver is ht. rise. Increase, that is, in numbers, being free from oppression. See note on v.^- above. The reference is to political administra- tion in the City and the State, perhaps especially to the later for- tunes of the Jews. Cf. notes on 11^" 29--^®. — The interpretation of increase as = become mighty is hardly allowable (in 29- the text must be changed), and its emendation to rule is not appropriate ; cf. 29". 20. In explanation of (S Lag. refers to I I'^i 19^-8. — 21. ?l? a^j^; (^^"■^■■Kpba- uira diKalui', and Saitl. S^ had apparently tt. d8iK0}v, whence Bi. reads ■'jo a"V-\; but it seems more probable that the insertion is interpretation, after 18^; cf. Dt. i^^. — 22. Bi. omits ft^ 'd, but his rendering: /le knows not — want conies, is doubtful. — 23. |^ ''!)ns!; (@ 65oi>s perh. = imx3 (Lag.), a some- what unnatural locution; Kamp. Wild, inx; Frank, suggests that pj may be an Aramaic form, = inx. The word is better omitted as gloss or dittogram. — 24. If we omit "^ >rfl |''N lat*^ then following Nin is, on rhythmical grounds, better omitted. Bi. makes a couplet of the v., omitting iDN'i as dittogram, and writing ^: j'tr'o px ipsi pjn Su — a division rhythmically and syntactically good, if ■> be retained. XXIX. 1-3. Peril of persistence in sin. Value of probity. 1. He who, being often reproved, persists in wrong-doing Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. 2. When the righteous < rule,' the people rejoice, When the wicked govern, the people groan. XXVIII. 26-XXIX. 5 507 3. A man who loves wisdom rejoices his father, He who keeps company with harlots wastes his substance. 1. Single sentence, ternary. Lit. : a man of reproofs who har- dens (or, stiffens) his neck tuill suddenly be broken to pieces etc. ; cf. 6^' 13'^ 15^". Stiffening the neck, in obstinate persistence, is the opposite of bending the neck, in token of submission. — The term suddenly may refer to the law of divine intervention ; more probably it signifies that the man, secure in his obstinacy, does not foresee misfortune. The reproof comes from human teachers and judges. — 2. Antithetic, ternary (or, quaternary-ternary). The Heb. has : ivhen the righteous increase, the suggestion being that they then have control of affairs (so Saad. RV. marg.) ; the change of a letter gives the reading rule, which is required by the govern of second line. Cf. n^o" 28^--^*. — 3. Antithetic, quater- nary-ternary. On first line cf. 10^ 23^^-'* 27"; on second line cf. 5^"'. Licentiousness is put as the opposite of wisdom, as in 2^"^^ ^1-3 ^23. 24 gi. w — Yxi second line the predicate wastes etc. (instead of the precise antithesis grieves his father) states that which causes the father sorrow. 4, 5. Royal administration. Malicious cajolery. 4. A king by justice gives stability to a land, But he whose exactions are excessive ruins it. 5. A man who cajoles his neighbor Spreads a net for his steps. 4. Antithetic, ternary (or, quaternary-ternary). Gives stability, lit. establishes {^causes to stand) ; stability involves prosperity. In second line lit. a man of exactions ; cf a man of reproofs in v.^ — Everywhere else in OT. the word here rendered exactions denotes ritual offerings (2 S. i^^ Isa. 40^"), which in the Israelitish law were of the nature of imposts or taxes (Dt. 12® Ex. 25^ Ez. 44^° 45^^^^ Lev. 7" Nu. 5^ Mai. 3^'') ; here the term is employed in the non- ritual sense. The royal exactions might be legal taxes or demands for " voluntary " gifts ; probably all sorts of demands for money are meant. Cf. v.".* — 5. Single sentence, ternary. Cf. 2^® 'f * On the method of collecting taxes in Egypt in the middle of the third century B.C. see the great Greek papyrus discovered by Petrie, and published by Grenfell and Mahaffy (cf. Recent Research in Bible -Lands). 508 PROVERBS 26"** 28^1 His neighbor — any person. The word flatter in first line (RV.) does not exactly represent the Heb. term, which sug- gests guile and seduction. 6. Security and happiness of probity. — Antithetic, ternary. Heb. : /;/ the transgression of a bad man is a snare, but the good man is joyful and glad. In first line the Syr. has the simpler form : the bad ma?i is snared in (or, by) his sin. The implica- tion is that the righteous has no fear of snares, and may therefore be lighthearted ; the text does not warrant the interpretation that he rejoices because the sinner has fallen into the snare and been destroyed. — A more satisfactory form is perh. given by reading path for transgression, and may rufi for is joyful. 7. The cause of the poor. — Heb. : the good man regards the rights of the poor, the bad man does not tmderstand knowledge. Antithetic. Good = righteous. Regards is lit. knows, = " has sympathetic knowledge of," " considers favorably " ; see note on 12^°, and cf. i// i^ 37'^ ; this pregnant sense of the verb belongs par- ticularly to the later language.* Rights = cause (properly the legal judgment, the justice due) ; see 20* 31^" Jer. 5-^ 'i3, in thought. Read 'ij'in. — 13. J^ a-'DiP ti'Ni C~i; (5 Saj'to-ToO /cat xP^^4>'^^'^°^ (^s if = rbKO'i, Lag.). The sense of stem ~\~^ appears to be press, repress, oppress (so Aram. Arab.) ; of. "IP. — 16. ?^ n3-\3; read mm. — 18. p? frn; @ ^^tjytjttjs ^«?^^, perhaps free rendering of |^, possibly = r''^pn-, which, however, is elsewhere (except in Job 37^^) represented by Kv^ipvt]ai.% or Kv^epvQais. — S^ST avoid the state- ment of |§ (which probably seemed to them disparaging to an age that had no visions), and substitute, from v.i^, 7uAen the uncked increase (Pink.). — We XXIX. i6-i9, 21 513 sVould perhaps read rh.n^; ^^n //.. (r,ot r.H>) hardly suits.-l^ may have i:: inLncL by the n.n of v.o. For 1, ... Frank -S.--. ^ po-bK n.^ will be scattered, which, however, is hardly suitable. O" .^^^^J^^ ^^^ Ges. r/.... ar.d note on i'^^; the sense pensh may perh. be alhed with the sense free ; of. Arab. /-id. 19. The training of servants. Not by words must a servant be taught, For he understands, but does not obey. Single sentence, ternary. The servant, so the proverb intinnates like the son (v.-), must be trained by the ^-^-^^^^'jfj'^' guide him - he is not quite a rational bemg. On servant (prop- erly slave) see note on 1 1- Tat.ght = corrected, set right, chsct- pined (9^ X9- 39^ cf. 31^). ^- -^ ^^^-^ '\ ''"-^rZZ answer. -GvK interpreting: a stubborn servant. The render in- that servant ^vill not amend upon admonition who, under- standing, will yet give no answer (Hodgson) misses the pomt of the couplet. Cf. Ben-Sira's detailed instructions for the manage- ment of servants (BS. 33'^^0- 21 The couplet seems to belong with v.- Heb. : he who delicately brings up his servant from a child, in the end he will be The subject of second line may be the subject {Jie) or ihe object ^servant) of first line. In the end = at the conclusion of this mode of procedure -it denotes the outcome of the exper- u.ent, not necessarily the end of life. The omitted word, which occurs only here, has been rendered refractory (Lat.), unthankful (Ew.),.^;^ i^^^^.^^.-), young gentleman (Luth.) etc.; it is prob- ably an error of text. De. : he [the master] will finally become a nursery, that is, his house will be overrun by the children of his pampered servant. - Grk. : he who from a child lives luxuriously will be a servant, and in the end will come to grief Some such reading as this for second cl. should probably be adopted though it is not clear whether it is the master or the servant or the child that comes to grief. 20, 22, 23. Of passion and pride. 20. Seest thou a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him. 2L 514 PROVERBS 22. An irascible man stirs up strife, And a passionate man is the cause of much wrong. 23. A man's pride will bring him low, But he who is of a lowly spirit will obtain honor. 20. Condition and consequence, ternary. The rendering affairs, business (RV. marg.) instead oi words is possible — the general sense is the same : haste is destructive of reflection ; cf. 10*. — For second line see note on 26^". Cf. BS. 9^^ Jas. i^^. — 22. Syn- onymous, ternary. Irascible man, lit. man cf anger = one given to anger (not an aiigry man, which expresses a merely temporary feeling), = passionate (lit. possessor of wratli). The predicate of second cl. is lit. great (or, abounding) in transgression, that is, causing sin in himself and others by occasioning and fomenting quarrels. Cf. 15^^ 141^-29 16^2 22^'' al. — 23. Antithetic, ternary. See notes on n^ 13'" 15^ i6^**-^^ — The paronomasia low . . . /o7i>/y is found in the Hebrew. 24. Partnership in theft. He who is partner with a thief is enemy to himself — He hears the curse and discloses nothing. Single sentence, quaternary-ternary. Is partner with, lit. walks with, that is, probably, belongs to a gang of thieves (see 1'°"^^). The case contemplated (if the text be correct) may be that of a theft in which the guilty person is unknown — a curse is pro- nounced on the unknown thief — the man in question hears it, but is afraid to say anything, and the curse, which has objective or magic power (see note on 26-), strikes him; cf. Ju. 17^.* As an oath involved a curse (the vengeance of the deity being invoked against the violator of the oath), the word here used may also mean oath (as in Gen. 24^^ i K. 8'^^ Ez. 17^^) ; in Dt. 2gi4(i3). 19(18) jj^g term is equivalent to covenant (a curse being pro- nounced against a delinquent). The case described in Lev. 5^ is apparently that of a witness in court who, having heard the curse uttered on an unknown offender, fails to tell what he knows, and thus hinders the execution of justice ; he is acquitted on present- ing an offering. — The couplet is otherwise explained as referring * See Moore, Judges. XXIX. 20, 22-27 515 to the accomplice in a theft who is called into court as witness, has an oath administered to him (RV. ]ie heareth the adjufaiion) , and perjures himself. But in that case the connection between the two lines is not clear. Partnership with a thief does not nec- essarily or usually involve being summoned as witness, it does involve moral injury to the man whether he is forced into perjury or not, and the perjury does not bring physical injury unless it is discovered ; moreover, the verb hears is not the natural expres- sion for taking an oath — we should rather expect : he swears to tell the truth, yet discloses nothing. Hitzig, therefore, interprets : " he is really partner with a thief who, being called on to testify, says nothing." Possibly second line is corrupt, or out of place. — The proverb may be aimed at men in high places who employed inferiors in acts of robbery or peculation, and shielded them in legal inquiries. 25-27. Of piety and probity. 25. The fear of man brings a snare, But he who trusts in Yahweh is safe. 26. Many seek the ruler's favor, But every man's case is decided by Yahweh. 27. The righteous abhor the vicious, The wicked abhor the upright. 25. Antithetic, ternary. Fear of man = regulatibn of one's con- duct by the opinion or attitude of morally untrained men, fearing to speak truth and do right lest it should provoke enmity. Brings a snare = involves in misfortune. J/e is safe (lit. set on high in a safe place, cf. 18^°" \\i 2o'(-') who trusts for protection in God, and does his duty. Cf. 10-' 12^ al. — 26. Antithetic, ter- nary, or, ternary-binary. Cf. 16-"-". Favor vs, lit. face; cf. i// 27^ and Pr. 6''^ xj/ 10" 16". The face showed the disposition or temper of mind, and the term is equivalent in Heb. to presence. The proverb deplores immoral (cringing or corrupt) reliance on human (especially political) power — God decides every man's destiny. — 27. Antithetic, ternary. Lit.: the abomination of the righteous is etc., and the abomination of the wicked is etc. On abomination see note on f- ; vicious, lit. man 0/ iniguitv; upright, Ut. upright of way. Cf. 8' 15" 24''. 5l6 PROVERBS 21. 1^ Jijc, ttTT. Xe7., is usually taken as = pj scion, offspring, a sense possible but not probable; Berth. 's emendation |n2 does not afford a satisfac- torily definite antithesis; jix (cf. 25^3 27I8 30I") would be better — the sing, form of this word is found in 30^'' Keth., in the other instances the plur. The choice of a air. \ey., = son, instead of p, would be strange; the word is probably a miswriting. (@ 65vv7)dr}. Secondary title (?) . Lit.: inspired utterance of the man to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ukal, in which most of the older interpreters see the names of two ancient sages, some suggesting that Ukal might be the Calcol of i K. 4'^[5"]. The names were sometimes interpreted as significant, Ithiel (Neh. 11") as = "signs (= pre- cepts) of God," or " with me is God," or " there is a God," Ukal as = " I can " (that is, " I can maintain my obedience to God "), the reference being to Solomon or to some other man or men. — Very early, however, there were attempts to get rid of the proper names and explain the sentence as an expression of thought introductory to what follows. Grk. : these things says the man to those who trust in God, and I cease ; Aq. : to Ethiel, and do thou finish ; Th. : to Ethiel, and I shall be able ; Lat. para- phrases : tlie vision spoken by the man with whom God is, and who, because God abides 7vith him, is strengthened. In 1 669 Coc- ceius (Koch) in his Lexicon proposed to translate the words fol- lowing the word man : I have labored on account of God, and I have obtained, and this form of rendering, which found little favor at the time, has been almost universally adopted, though with vari- ations, by modern expositors. The clause (after the word man^ is translated : I have zvcaried myself about God (or, O God), I have wearied myself about God (or, O God), and I have pined away (or, am co7isumed ox faint, or, have finished) ; or, with the insertion of the negative : / have wearied myself etc., and have 520 PROVERBS not succeeded (or, prevailed, lit. am noi aide). In all such inter- pretations, if the letters of the present Heb. text be retained unchanged, the Vocative, O God, must be adopted ; the render- ing about God is unwarranted. The expressions have pined away, or am faint, or am at an end (that is, of my powers) are somewhat forced ; the form with the negative (Bick.) is better. Apart from these differences of construction the sen- tence, thus emended, expresses Agur's complete failure in his effort to comprehend God's nature and mode of procedure. This confession of ignorance (agnosticism) may be a reverent acknowl- edgment of the transcendence of God (cf Job ii^"^"), or it may be an expression of purely philosophic doubt ; see notes on v.^"^. — None of these emendations, however, can be considered satis- factory. In the first place, the jnan cannot stand isolated, but must be followed by a descriptive phrase, as in Nu. 24'^-^-^^-^'' 2 S. 23^*; and Bickell accordingly changes the text and renders: utterance of the man who has wearied himself about God: I have wearied myself etc. ; but this repetition is unnatural and improb- able. It is more likely that the second of these expressions is erroneous scribal repetition of the first, or a corruption of some other word. In the next place, the word utterance, which is the technical term for the message of the prophet or the chant of the 'seer, is here out of place as definition of a philosophical dictum. It is understood by some as an ironical designation (by Agur or an editor) of the doubt expressed in v.^"^ : " behold the exalted effusion of the champion" ; but such irony is extremely improb- able. Probably a descriptive expression originally followed the name Agur Ben- Yakeh (cf. 31^) or some statement the ground of which is introduced by the for of v.", but the text appears to be corrupt beyond possibility of restoration. Fortunately the sense of the following verses is independent of this clause. 2-4. Agur's dictum. 2. I am stupid, beneath man's level, Have not human intelligence. * The text of A> 361(2) js corrupt ; see Ols. Cheyne, and Wellh. in Haupt's Sacred Books. XXX. 1-4 521 3- I have not learned wisdom, I do not comprehend the Holy One. 4. Who has ascended to heaven and descended, Gathered the wind in his fist, Bound the waters in a garment, Fixed the boundaries of the earth? What is his name, and what his son's name? Surely thou knowest. 2, 3. Synonymous, ternary. The Heb. begins the v. \vith/ ^•"d the second half appears to be based on Job 13*"'°. — The word God is in the Heb. the sing, form {Elo^h, plu. Elohi?n), found in Prov. only here, often in Job, elsewhere rare, always in postexilian writings, except Dt. 32'^^^^ Hab. i" Isa. 44* (and in the two last passages, and perhaps in the first, it is not a proper name, but a common noun) ; in xp i8'^" the name is Ya/iweh. — The adj. in v.^ may be renilQrtd pure, purified, like a metal, morally perfect, a perfect guide, or tried, trustworthy, XXX. 4-6 523 so that his promise may be relied on. — Rebuke = reprove, correct, set righi; see 3'- 9'** 15^' al. — The passage is by some regarded as the editor's reply to x^gur's preceding sceptical utterance, by others as Agur's reply to the sceptical opinion quoted by him. But the expressions are too general for a formal reply ; in a polemic we should expect a more specific reference to what pre- cedes. V.-^ assert that God is incomprehensible ; v.^- " declare that God's word is pure, final, and complete, and that he pro- tects those who trust him. The paragraph may have been here inserted by the editor to relieve the negative tone of v.-"^, but hardly to refute the assertion of the latter. — The stress is here laid on the completeness of God's words, and the paragraph is aimed at certain persons who wished to add to them. The tvords are the written revelation, that is, the Law, and probably the Prophets, and also the Psalms, since one of these is quoted. The threefold division of the Jewish Scriptures (Law, Prophets, Writings) is first expressly mentioned in the Preface to Ben-Sira (B.C. 132), and this paragraph may have been written not far from that time. It is difficult to say what additions are referred to. In the preceding paragraph (v.""^) there is no indication of inten- tion to add to the written word ; rather, if any modification of the word is suggested, it is a subtraction (see notes above), but our sage, in quoting from Deut., omits the injunction take vot from it, as if he had only additions in mind. These are more probably doctrinal than ritual, and more probably religious than philosoph- ical. Possibly the allusion is to the new doctrines of resurrection and immortality, which began to take shape among the Jews in the second century B.C. The writer, in that case, belonged to the conservative party. The authority of the written word was univer- sally recognized ; but the progressive party (afterward known as the Pharisees) adopted suggestions from Persian and Greek thought, and thus made additions to the teaching of Law, Proph- ets, and Psalms. Koheleth (Eccl. (f) combats the doctrine of immortality; Daniel (ch. 12) affirms resurrection of Israelites, but says nothing of immortality proper ; Wisd. of Solomon (ch. 3) accepts this latter doctrine, but says nothing of resurrection. The two ideas were not established without a struggle. Omitting y}^-'^^-'^^-^^-'^^ the remainder of the chapter consists of 524 PROVERBS proverbs in which groups of two or four things are named (as in gi6-i9^_ This numerical arrangement is found as early as the eighth century b.c. (Am. 1^-2"), and appears several times in late poetry {ij/ 62"^^-' Job 5^^ ;^;^^^ 40'), but is most fully employed in this chapter. It is probably a very ancient form of the Heb. mashal or stanza, in which it was useful as an aid to memory. The peculiarity of enumeration seems to be merely a mode of expressing indefiniteness {= three or four), in accordance with the mashalic principle of parallelism (heightening). — Cf. BS. 23^" 25^ 26*, and the Kalevala. 7-9. A prayer for preservation from the temptations of poverty and riches. 7. Two things I ask of thee, Deny me them not before I die : 8. Deceit and lying put far from me, Poverty and riches give me not — Provide me with the food I need — 9. Lest I be full and deny thee, And say : " Who is Yahweh? " Or be needy and steal. And profane the name of my God. The form of the stanza is not symmetrical. Of the two things mentioned in the petition, namely, deceit and financial extremes, only the latter is referred to in v." ; the poet, perhaps, thought the reason for the prayer against lying too obvious to need mention. The third line of v.^ looks like a gloss ; it is involved in the second line. In vJ we might expect, in accordance with the norm of sev- eral following stanzas, the enumeration one . . . two (De.). Also the expression before I die is somewhat strange. The similar expression in \p 2,g^^^^^^ involves the meaning : " I am soon to die ; grant me relief from my present suffering that I may taste some happiness before I die and lose the possibility of enjoyment." Here, however, the situation is different : the petitioner asks not for cessation of suffering, but for a lifelong provision ; in the Ps. the relief might be deferred till death, here the petition involves life, so that the before I die is unnecessary, and, as it involves the present, the setting a future limit is inappropriate. The couplet should perhaps read : one thi?ig J ask of thee, two things deny me XXX. 6-IO 525 not ,■ the norm one . . . two is perhaps, however, intentionally departed from ; cf. v."'" below. — The insertion of O Yahweh after of thee (Bick.) is appropriate but not necessary. Deceit (RV. vanity) is synonym of lyitig (lit. 7vord of falsehood) ; see i/' 24* 144* ". Provide me, lit. cause me to secure. The food I need, lit. the bread of my determined (that is, proper) portion; Reuss : my sufficient bread ; De. not so well : the bread allotted me (by God) — llie bread is of coiuoc allotted by God, but what the petitioner desires is that necessary provision which avoids extremes.* Deny {thee) : because a man of independent means is apt to forget that all comes from God. The use of the national name Yahiveh would seem unfavorable to the supposition that v.^- * are by the same author. — Profane, lit. lay hold of, that is, not use disrespectfully (by venting discontent on God, reproaching him with his apparent injustice), but bring into disrepute (by stealing) ; cf. Ez. 36-". To profane is to make common (the opposite of sacred, holy), to cause (a divine person or a sacred thing) to be considered unworthy of reverence. — We might expect the prayer : " teach me to use both poverty and riches aright " ; but the writer's experience and observation have appar- ently impressed him with the dangers of both. 10. Against speaking ill of a servant. Defame not a servant to his master, Lest he curse thee, and thou be held guilty. Single sentence, ternary-binary. Defune, lit. wag the tongue against, gossip about. If the defamation be false, the act is slander (so \\i loi^) ; here it seems better to adopt the more gen- eral sense, since slander is always a crime, and a special prohibi- tion in the case of a servant was not necessary. The proverb forbids meddling in other men's household arrangements. — The ground of the warning is the punishment that will fall on the med- dler. The aggrieved servant will curse his traducer, and the curse will certainly affect the latter; see note on 26I The verb be held guilty (or, be guilty) is a common technical term of the later ritual (Lev. 4" Nu.'s'' al, and cf. ^\l s^"*"' 3421-22(22.23)) . jt occurs * Cf. the Tov kn<.o(?) a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And vultures will eat it. 530 PROVERBS A quatrain, both couplets synonymous, the first ternary, the sec- ond binary, or ternary-binary. Tliis serious quatrain, out of place in a string of satirical and descriptive tetrads, naturally attaches itself to v.", to which it was perhaps added as commentary or admonition. — The eye is named as the organ of the expression of feeling (cf. Job i6^ Ez. 28'^). The reading old age is from the Grk. ; the word of the Heb. text, now commonly rendered obedi- ence, is doubtful in form and meaning, and this sense is here hardly appropriate — the proper object of scorns is the person of the mother. The raven and the vulture (so, and not eagle, the Heb. is probably to be rendered) picked out the eyes and ate the flesh not of the living, but of the dead (i S. 17*^ i K. 14" Jer. 16^ Ez. 29' 39^^).* Disobedient children are to die violent deaths, their bodies are to lie unburied and be food for birds, they will be honored with no funeral rites, and their position in Sheol will therefore be an inferior one. The verse is an expression of the high estimation in which regard for parental authority was held (cf. 23^^ Ex. 20^^). — Valley is the bed of a water-course, or a depression through which a winter stream runs (Arab. wady). Vultures is Ht. sons of the vulture, that is, not "young vultures" (RV. young eagles), but " members of the species vulture," hke " sons of the prophets," = members of prophetic guilds, and " sons of the Elohim," — beings of the Elohim class. — The verse is by some regarded as a polemic against Agur's alleged repudia- tion (v.^"^) of parental instruction ; but of this there is no hint in the text. 18, 19. Four mysterious things. 18. Three things are beyond my ken, And four I do not understand : 19. The way of the vulture in the air; The way of a serpent over a rock; The vv'ay of a ship on the high sea; And the way of a man with a woman. The first couplet is quaternary-ternary, the others are ternary. — Beyond ?ny ken, lit. too wotidetful for me, or wonderful beyond me. * Cf. /tiad i. 4. 5 and the imprecations es KopaKa's, pdw is xopaKa?, Geier refers to Arist. /lisf. Animal, c. i, and Epictetus : ravetis destroy the eyes of the dead, flat- terers the souls and eyes of the living. XXX. I7-20 531 -It is held by many expositors (Mercer a/.) that the character- istic intended hi the four things is that they leave no trace behmd ; on the tracelessness of a ship and a bird see the fine passage m Wisd of Sol (5^""). This characteristic holds of the three first cases', but hardly of the fourth ; and as to the second, there would be no reason for particularizing the serpent, since no trace is left on a rock by the passage of any animal. The pohu is rather the wonderfulness of the things named (Geier). The soanng flight of a crreat bird (Job Z9''''), the mysterious movement of the serpen , performed without feet (Gen. 3"),* the path of the ship through the trackless deep (WS. 14^"^),! and the procreation of a human being U iW'-'' Eccl. n^ excite the admiradon of the wn er. Apparendv no religious sentiment is involved ; the stanza is rather a lesson in natural history and physics. -On v.Uure see note on v.". On the high sea is Ut. in the heart of the sea ; C 2j^ Woman, ^ro^crXy young woman (Gen. 24^ Ex. 2« Isa. 7 ^ 68- Cant. 1^ 6«), married (as in Isa.), or unmarried (as in Gen. t.x. yp and probably in Cant.). X 20 To the last line of vP an annotator has added a prose explanation : So is the way of an adulteress : she eats and zvipcs her mouth, and says: - 1 have done nothing wrong. The .«/.- and wipes her mouth is a humorous figurative expression of the woman's non-moral indifference. The annotation misses the point of the aphorism : the latter is concerned with the wonderful- ness of the act, the former with the supposed moral carelessness of one of the actors ; the gloss assumes that the young woman is unchaste. On adulteress (lit. adulterous tuoman) and wrong ct notes on 6'''^-^^ lo'-^^ — The v. is regarded as a gloss by Hitz. De. Reuss, Strack, Frank, al. 12 On the Mas. change of nx. to n.. (as if from s.^ see Ge:g Urschrift, p 410 -15. The section so^^-^^ stands in (g next after 24^; the order m ^is better. ^ .^,, i.or. ^^ ^ s,ck to ; ^f- Ass. .7^/.. (De.) -me o an rnimal.-?^ 3n an- @ d7a^^ obey seems to be proved by Ass. aku (De. IVbc/i.), but the noun nnpi is doubtful. It was not understood by the medieval Jew. commentators (who generally render it collection or weakness) , and was not read by any extant Anc. Vrs. (5 (and so SC Rashi) yrjpas, = njpr; IL partum. The rendering obedience appears to have been first proposed by Abu'l Walid (c. A.c. 1000), from Arab. ipi, but is here inappropriate. Read njpT. Bi. further inserts na''i:' before as. — 19. f^ n::Sp; (g ev ye6T7jTt, = rnSyj (Lag.). — 20. J^ nnnn-i nis; (5 airovi\j/aix^i'r] = |^. — Bi. omits '^; but the whole v. is a gloss. 21-23. Four intolerable things. 21. Under three things the earth totters, And under four it cannot bear up : 22. A servant when he becomes a king; A fool when he is prosperous; 23. An unwooed woman when she (at last) finds a husband; A maidservant when she is heir to her mistress. The couplets are apparently ternary. The tone seems to be humorous or whimsical : the earth is said to ^o^fer (or, tremble) under the intolerable burden of the characters named. The expression may be taken (but less probably) to mean that by the changes of fortune here described the moral order of society is subverted. The cases cited are all of persons of relatively infe- rior position who come into power, and the intimation appears to be that they are then excessively pretentious, arrogant, and dis- agreeable ; it is hardly probable that the writer was so bitter a conservative that he viewed with horror any departure from estab- lished rules. The examples are taken equally from the two sexes. — The rendering y<7;', on account of, instead oi under, is weak and not quite accurate. The word servant (or, slave) may denote an officer of high rank (like Zimri, i K. 16^), who, however, is far beneath a king ; such sudden elevations have always been com- mon in Oriental lands (for example, the Mamluk [that is. Slave] dynasty of Egypt) ; see notes on 11^^ 19^". — The Vtxvc^fool (Heb. XXX. 21-23 533 nabal) means, in the early narrative literature, a person of low grade, socially (2 S. 3'^''), or intellectually (ly'--'), perhaps also (cf. I S. 25^) a boorish person ; in Prophetic writings its signifi- cation is religious and ethical (Dt. 32^ Ez. 13'' Isa. 32^-®), in the devotional literature it is used in the sense of "ungodly" (i// iV al.) ; here, as elsewhere in the Wisdom books (Job 2'" 30*), it appears to be employed in the intellectual sense. Is prosperous, lit. is filled (or, satisfied^ with bread, = is wealthy. — Unwooed, lit. hated, that is, the object of dislike, or, not liked, not beloved (and so, nearly, not attractive) ; the term is used of an unloved wife in Gen. 29^^-^ Dt. 2i^^*'^-; here it means x\o\. odious (RV.), but simply unattractive, unsought, and describes a woman who has long remained unmarried, and has felt the disgrace of her position (Hitzig). The couplet supposes a society in which a woman's personal attractiveness entered into her chances of mar- riage, in which, that is, there was freedom of choice to the man ; this appears to have been the case in old, pre-monarchical, Israel (Gen. 29^*^ Ju. 14^"^ I S. 25^^), and in the Greek period, doubtless, considerable freedom existed.* — The term hated is by some (Dathe ^/.) understood to mean divorced (Dt. 24^"*). But the word never has this sense. Hatred (that is, dislike) on the part of the husband was, under the law, a ground of divorce, but the divorced woman is never called simply one hated (not in Isa. 60'^). Moreover, a divorced woman was not necessarily /^ri-(7«a ingrata to others than her former husband ; the law allowed her to marry again, and such a second marriage would be looked on not as subversive of order or offensive to the common sense of propri- ety, but as natural and proper. Grk. a hated woman, if she obtain a good husband appears to understand the term as = dis- liked. — Is heir to, that is, inherits property, and herself becomes a mistress. The verb may mean supplants, that is, gains the favor of the husband, and thus becomes the real mistress of the house- hold. Between these two senses of the verb it is not easy to choose, but both give the same general meaning for the clause. — In the OT. law the next of kin inherits, usually the son (Dt. 21'', cf. Gen. 21'"), and (in the late legislation, Nu. 27^''), if there were * Cf. Moore, Judges, on Ju. j^^^- ; Now. Arch, f 27. 534 PROVERBS no son, the daughter ; in late times a man or woman may have had the legal right to bequeath property at pleasure (cf. Job 42^^). In the present case, if the rendering is heir to be correct, the property- holder is a woman, a case not contemplated in the OT. legislation (in Nu. 27^^ the heiress must marry a man of her own tribe, who then becomes the owner of the property), nor do we know what the property-rights of Israelitish women were in the fourth, third, and second centuries B.C. ; in the Roman law a woman could make a will, and this freedom had not improbably crept into Jewish society. See note on 1 7-.* 24-28. Four things little but wise. 24. Four things there are, small in the earth, But yet exceedingly clever : 25. Ants — a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in summer; 26. Shaphans — a people not mighty, But they make their houses in the rocks; 27. Locusts — they have no king, But they march all in ranks; 28. Lizards — one may be grasped in the hands, Yet are they in kings' palaces. Ternary. Small animals which show contrivance and skill. The proverb is simply descriptive of the habits of the animals, a bit of natural history, without expressed reference to human life, but per- haps with the implied suggestion that success is not confined to bigness; cf. Aristotle, Hist. Anim., cap. i. — 24. The number four alone is given, not the sequence three . . . four ; the varia- tion is possibly purely rhetorical, the predicates in the two lines being antithetic, not, as in v.^^- ^^- -^- -^, synonymous. — Exceedingly clever, lit. wise, endowed with wisdom; Grk. : wiser than the wise. — 25. See note on d^. The word people, here and in next v., appears to refer to the industrial organization of the animals in question. The intimation is that ants lay up in the summer their food for the winter. — 26. The shaphan, as is now agreed by nat- uralists, is the Syrian hyrax, a small pachyderm, which lives in crevices of rocks. t This habit (mentioned here and in strong drink, 5. Lest, drinking, they forget the law, And disregard the rights of the suffering. 6. Give strong drink to him who is perishing, Wine to him who is in bitter distress, 7. That, drinking, he may forget his poverty, And think of his misery no more. 8. Let thy decisions be > true,' Uphold the rights of all who i suffer > ; 9. Pronounce thy judgments with equity, Maintain the cause of the poor and the needy. 2. If the text be correct, the repetition expresses earnestness, and the ivhat refers to the content of the advice, = " what shall I say to thee?" But the form of expression is strange and doubt- ful ; possibly, taking a suggestion from the Grk., we should read : * See DiUm. on Gen. 2514, De. Paradies, p. 302, Ptol. 5, 19, 2. 540 PROVERBS give heed, my son, to my sayings, and observe my words (see 5^ 7^ al., and cf. Frank.) ; the speaker will then be the sage. — The word for so?i is Aram. On vows in general see 7^^* 20^ Eccl. 5*^^^ i/' 50", and, in connection with prayer for a son, i S. i". — 3. Synonymous, ternary. Second line lit. : nor thy ways so as (or, in order) to destroy kings ; the change of a vowel gives the reading those who destroy, as the parallelism suggests {women = destroyers of kings) ; tliat which destroyeth (RV.) is not allowed by the Heb. ; Targ. : to daughters of kings ; Syr. : to the food of kings (against luxurious eating). Ways may be freely rendered by heajt, or the text may be changed to gain this sense, or, by another emendation, to read love. Strength apparently = vi- rility, not luealth. The couplet seems to be directed against such debauchery as is described in chs. 2. 5. 6. 7. 9. — 4. First hne lit. : be it 710 1 to {=far be it from) kings, Lemuel, be it not to kings to drink wine ; the repetition be it nat to kings, though rhe- torically intelligible as emphatic, mars the rhythm, and is proba- bly a scribal error, and the Lemuel also appears to be repetition of a part of the preceding word. The text is, however, doubtful ; one Grk. reading is : do everything prudently, drink wine pru- dently. — Second line lit. : 7ior for rulers where (or, or) strong drink, in which where is probably scribal error for a verb mean- ing ynix (Isa. 5^-), or one meaning drifik, iiidulge in (Isa. 56^^). On wine and strong drink see notes on 9- 20^ — 5. Synonymous, ternary. The reason for the preceding warning. The verbs in the Heb. are sing. ; the connection (the plu. subjects in v.*) favors the plu. The laiu is the civil law of the land. On suffer- ing (or, poor, or, lowly) see note on 3^*. Dis7-egard (RV. per- vert) is lit. change. — 6, 7. Synonymous, ternary. Two proper occasions for the use of alcoholic drinks : bodily suffering (from hunger and want) and mental distress. In v.®** lit. : to those who are bitter of soul. The quatrain is symmetrical — v.*'" is explained by v.^% and v.*"" by v.^*". V.'' is parallel to v.^. — 8. Synonymous, ternary. Lit. : open thy mouth for the dumb. The term dumb, if it were the right reading, would obviously not refer to physical incapacity of speech (for the man, in that case, would depend not on the king, but on his nearest friend or his legal representa- tive), but would mean (as is commonly understood) "one who. XXXI. 2-9 541 from poverty, or timidity, or some such cause, is unable to defend himself, by pleading, against his oppressor." This sense is, how- ever, inappropriate : the Oriental man or woman when wronged, is anything but -dumb" (see, for ex., i K. 3 • 2 K. 6 )- the king is always accessible ; and the parallelism suggests a term synonymous with the equity of v.- (v.- is parallel to v - and v to v »^) Read : open thy month in truth (cf. 20^ 29 ./^ 45 M > .,, ^;,,^/, ^ a,,ith faithful regard for justice." Another emenda- tion (Bick.) reads for the widow, but this, though smiple and attractive, does not so well accord with the parallelism. All who suffer is an emendation (Dys.) of the Heb. all the sons of the passin,-by, interpreted (but without ground) to mean those who disappear, = those who are perishing (Ew. De. al.), or those who are left behind, = left desolate (RV.), and this is taken to mean orphans (Noyes, Bick. Frank.) and other persons destitute of protectors. -9. Synonymous, ternary. Lit.: open thy mouth, judge justly, and judge the poor and the^ neecly. On equity see note on i^ on poor and needy, notes on f*' 14'^ XXXI. In <@ the section 31^-^ stands just before M 2$; the date and cause of the dislocation are unknown.-l. (S had i^D n-^d S?< ^nV >.?. (Jag.) — 2 The plus of (S is mainly rhetorical expansion, though np.ro^e.s may -nb3 -3 m l^^n; (5 ® those who do not pervert judgment, free rendering from the connection, the Tense dumb seeming improbable; S: tke ..ord of truth, based. Lag. suggest on a Grk. reading X6y^ dX.^er (a corruption of ^07. XaX<,) -possibly represents Heb. nL.-Something like this latter should be read as par lei to P! p.. in v.«. Bi. n:.^s.-|i! H ^^^ better n', as m v.^-1^ T^n >p. 542 PROVERBS read, with Dys., ^"?n '2 (see Jer. 6'^ Eccl. 6^). — 9. Before |^ \dsv we may insert i or "7. 10-31. The ideal housewife. — This description, the Alpha- betic Ode or " Golden ABC " of the perfect wife, is notable both for what it includes and for what it omits. She is the indus- trious, sagacious business manager of the house, a kindhearted mistress, the trusted friend of husband and children, honored in her own person for what she does — a picture not romantic, but also not " Philistine." On the other hand, nothing is said of intel- lectual interests or pursuits. Nor is religion mentioned (see note on v.^°) ; this is due (as in ch. 30, Esth. Cant.) to the fact that the author is concerned with something else. The husband takes no part in the domestic administration — he is occupied with public affairs (v.'^).* — The alphabetic structure is complete, twenty-two letters (as in if/ 119). This arrangement (found in the Pss. and other late writings), mnemonically useful, is often rhetorically bad, inducing an unnatural diction and order of couplets (see, for ex., V.-'). The rhythmical norm is ternary. 10. A good wife who can find? Far above the worth of corals is her worth. 11. To her her husband trusts, And has no lack of gain. 12. She does him good and not harm All the days of his life. 13. She gathers wool and flax, And works it up as she will. 14. She is like the ships of the merchant, From afar she brings her food. 15. She '••ises while it is still night. And gives food to her household. [] 16. She examines a field and buys it. With her earnings she plants a vineyard. 17. She girds herself with strength, Makes her arms strong (for work). 18. She perceives that her profit is good: Iler lamp goes not out at night. * Cf., for Egypt, life, Wilkinson, ,-/«<:. ££■., cli. 8, Art. S^ypt. Lit, in Lib. of World's Best Lit., and for Grk. and Rom., Becker, Ckar. and Callus. XXXI. IO-I2 543 19- She lays her hand on the distatT, Her hand grasps the spindle. 20. She stretches out her hand to the poor, Extends her hand to the needy. 21 a. She fears not snow for her household, 22 a. Coverlets she makes her. 22 b. Her clothing is linen and purple, 21 /). Her household are clad in scarlet. 23. Her husband is distinguished in the council. When he sits among the elders of the land. 24. She makes linen cloth and sells it, Girdles she delivers to the merchant. 25. Strength and honor are her clothing, She laughs at the time to come. 26. Her speech is full of wisdom, And kindly instruction is on her tongue. 27. She looks well to the ways of her household, She eats not the bread of idleness. 28. Her children congratulate her, And her husband praises her (saying) : 29. " Many women do well. But thou excellest them all." 30. Beauty is deceitful, and comeliness is transitory, A woman <■ of intelligence,' she will have praise. 31. Give her credit for what her hands have wrought! Let her works praise her among the people ! 10-12. First stanza : praise in general terms. — 10. On the ren- dering good wife see note on \2^ ; on corals, note on 3'^. Tlie sense is: "a good wife is not easily found, but, when she is found, she is of inestimable value." — 11. Lit. : the mind (Ut. heart) of her husband ; the reference is not to the husband's affection, but to his confidence in her capacity as manager of household affairs, — The second line is ambigugus — lit. spoil (or, outcome) is not lacking, in which we may supply to her (Grk.), or to him (Lit.), "or to the household (E\v.) ; probably, from the connection, to him, as representative of the househoUl. — ^z!*^// everywhere else in OT. means "booty taken in war" ; the more general sense acquisition, gain appears in the verb {KM. pull Oui) in Ru. 2^". The military term came to be employed in a peaceful sense. — 12. The good 544 PROVERBS and har7n refer, according to the connection, to the general (more particularly, the financial) prosperity of the household. — 13-15. Second stanza : the industrial pursuits of the household. — 13. Gathers, lit. seeks. On wool and flax as industrial prod- ucts see Hos. 2^-^^''-"^ Jos. 2^ Dt. 22"; the preparation of cloths and garments from this material was the work of women.* — Sec- ond line lit. : and she works m (or, according to) the pleasure of her hands — she works up the raw material into such forms (of garments, girdles etc.) as seems to her best. The interpretation tmth her hands'' pleasure, — willingly, cheerfully, diligently (Ew. RV. ^/.), involving a personification of the hands, is unnatural (it is not supported by t// 78''-). Hitzig's rendering : she -ivorks in the business of her hands (cf. Isa. 58"' Eccl. 3^-^'' al.) is allowable, but the statement has no special connection with first line. — 14. She does not rely solely on local supplies, but from all quarters pro- vides maintenance for her household. — 15. In the Heb. the v. is a triplet, but it seems probable that the third line and portio7is to her niaidetis is a gloss, a repetition or explanation of second Hne. Portion, from the parallelism, =food (30* Gen. 47" Ez. 16"'^), not "appointed work" (RV. task). Bickell omits first line, but it would then be hard to account for its presence in the text. — Food, as in i/' III' (cf. Mai. 3^" Job 24') ; the Heb. word usually means prey. — 16-18. Third stanza : the housewife's financial enterprise. — 16. Examines (RV. considers) (see 30'^-) = reflects on, that is, examines from a business point of view. — Buys, lit^ takes, gets possession of (see Neh. 5^) . One might almost say : "she speculates in land" (Frank.). Bick., not so well: Consid- ers . . . in order to buy it. — Plants is the reading of the Heb. margin; the text has : [considers] /Vii?//a;///;/^ ^ etc. Her earn- ifigs is lit. : the fruit of her hands. — The culture of the vine was, and is, an important industry in Palestine (see 24^" Ju. 9-^ Neh. 5^ al.). — 17. Lit.: she girds her loins with strength, that is, proba- bly, not strongly (Grk.), but, by a figure, with strength as a girdle ; the gathering up the robe with a girdle was a necessary prepara- tion for serious work (2 K. 4-^). — The expression for work. * See Schroder, De vestitii Mul. Hebr. ; Hartmann, Die Hebraerin etc.; H. Weiss, Kostumkunde ; Palmer, Desert of the Exodus, p. 74. XXXI. 12-21 545 added above, is obviously implied. — 18. The verb here rendered perceives means generally taste, physically (i S. 14-^ Job 12" al.), and so, by natural transference from the physical to the intellect- ual (like Lat. sentire), perceive ; the transition of meaning is vis- ible in i/f 34*<"* : taste (= find out by trial) and see (= become convinced) that Yahwch is good. So here the housewife learns by trial that her work is bringing pecuniary profit, and this state- ment is repeated and expanded in second line, the meaning of which is not : "she is indefatigable in work," but (Wild.) : "her house is prosperous." In a well-ordered house the lamp burned all night as a sign of life (see note on 13^) ; its extinction marked calamity (Jer. 25^" Job i8«).* — 19, 20, 21a, 22a. Fourth stanza : her provision for her household and for the poor. — 19. Lays on is lit. stretches out to. The translation on the distaff is inferred from the connection. The Anc. Vrss. (except, perh., Targ.) understand the expression as adverbial: Grk. to useful things; Lat. to strong things ; Aq. Sym. Th. Syr. strenuously. — 20. This couplet belongs, by its contents, with v.^- ^*^ ; it was placed here perh. because the phrase stretches occurs in v.^''. — 21. On the occurrence of snow in Palestine see notes on 25'^ 26^ — As the text is arranged the reading of the Heb. (v.-"") are clothed in scarlet is improbable. The connection calls for the mention of some warm sort of clothing ; a scarlet robe, though made of wool- len material, was not necessarily warm enough for winter — and, if it were, it is unlikely that the writer would use this term instead of saying direcdy that the clothing was warm.f If the Heb. order of lines be retained, we might change the text so as to get the meaning warmly. But it is easier to change the order of lines as above. According to this arrangement the coverlets (v.^-*) are the protection against the cold, and the colored gar- ments come together in one couplet. — Lat. (followed by AV. marg.) improbably: clothed in double garments. — 22a. Qn cover- lets see note on 7'^ * Cf. Now., Arch., p. 144 ; Benzinger, Arch., p. 124. t Scarlet robes were articles of luxury and magnificence (Ex. 25* 2 S. i24 Jer. 430, cf. Lam. 4^). On the cochineal insect, from which the coloring matter was obtained, cf. Rawl., Phoen., ch. 8. 546 PROVERBS The section 3ii''-3i stands in (5 next after |t? 29. — 16. K T-iJ; read Q nro:. Ei. retains K, and omits the connective - in |^ ini v. — 18. The K """', poeti- cal form (Isa. 16^ Lam. 2^), may be retained; Q gives the usual form .T^'*^. — 19. 1^ T '^"''?;