b 1MD 
 
 GNOMIC LITERATURE 
 
 in Bible and Apocrypha 
 
 With Special Reference to 
 
 the Gnomic Fragments and Their Bearing on 
 
 the Proverb Collections 
 
 Submitted to the 
 
 Graduate School of the University of Penns/lvania 
 
 in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the 
 
 degree of Doctor of Philosophy 
 
 by Gerson B. Levi. 
 
 Chicago, 1910 
 
EXCHANGE 
 
GNOMIC LITERATURE 
 
 in Bible and Apocrypha 
 
 With Special Reference to 
 
 the Gnomic Fragments and Their Bearing on 
 
 the Proverb Collections 
 
 Submitted to the 
 
 Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania 
 
 in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the 
 
 degree of Doctor of Philosophy 
 
 by Gerson B. Levi. 
 
 Chicago, 1910 
 
1>V 
 
 
Introduction 
 
 The fragments of the Massoretic text of the Bible, that 
 are gnomic in character, though some of them have been 
 incidentally noted by the commentators, have never been 
 collected. The attempt is here made, therefore, to gather 
 as many as could be recognized and accounted gnomic. 
 When the mass is collected and examined, it serves, it is 
 believed, to make a new historical background for the larger 
 canonical and post-canonical books of the gnomic series. 
 Being in many cases the products of popular speech, and 
 dealing with subjects and in terms unused by the literary 
 men poets, prophets and pragmatic historians these 
 fragments possess a vocabulary comparatively rich in 
 hapax legomena. The comparative study of these frag- 
 ments will, moreover, prove that the dates for the begin- 
 nings of literary activity in old Israel must be placed further 
 back, as against the current notion and tendency to bring 
 down and to postpone the rise of the literary craft. At 
 least, the discussion of the passages in Amos, in particular, 
 and the fragments and quotations in Hosea is aimed to 
 show that the gnomic literature must be presumed to have 
 been in a flourishing condition and to have been possessed 
 of forms, hitherto assumed to have been late in origin, 
 before the day of the earliest literary prophets. Besides a 
 preprophetic prophetic school there was also a preprophetic 
 gnomic school and the literary prophets drew materials and 
 forms from both schools. The form that by the com- 
 mentators is everywhere made prima facie evidence of 
 lateness of composition is here shown to be, of necessity, one 
 
 of the very early forms. 
 
 J-* 
 
 7 
 
 52355 
 
/, rTfce ;att.emrjt< has /been 'made, further, from the study of 
 'the' fragments extant, to establish the presence of a litera- 
 ture to some extent heretical. Because it was heretical it 
 was antagonized and later destroyed by the victorious 
 school of the prophets. Nevertheless, some traces still 
 remain to speak of the wide influence that these sayings 
 of the popular phrase makers had upon the people. Through 
 this examination, it is hoped that some gaps left by the 
 study of the independent groups of proverbs as found in 
 the Wisdom Literature will be filled up, and the knowledge 
 of the old masters the wise men be increased. 
 
 There still remains the pleasant task of acknowledging 
 my indebtedness to Professor Morris Jastrow, Jr., for the 
 many helpful suggestions given both as to the method and 
 the materials of the work. 
 
 GERSON B. LEVI. 
 
1. Extent of the Literature 
 
 Two whole books, one in the canon proper and one in 
 the Apocrypha, are given over to the literature of proverbs, 
 maxims and wise sayings. But the literature is far more 
 extensive than even this would indicate. For scattered 
 throughout the Bible, there are snatches and frequently 
 quite large selections of such gnomic material. Such selec- 
 tions we should naturally expect to find first of all in the 
 division of the so-called Wisdom Literature. The Book of 
 Ecclesiastes falls quite often from the plane of the Cynic 
 Philosopher either to quote or to coin a proverb 1, 15; 2, 
 14; 3,1-8; 4,2-3; 5,2:6:9; 6, 9-12 j* 1 7,1-13; 8:9,16-18; 
 10, 1-13; 10, 18:20b; etc. Job has a number of such pas- 
 sages 2, 4;* 8 5, 5-6; 5, 19-23; 5, 7; 14, 6-10; 14, 18-19; 
 15,20-35; 12,5-7; 12,11-25; 34,3; 18,5-20; 20,5; 27, 
 14-23; 14, 28; 31, 40. But besides these, which occur in 
 groups and are to be found in the Wisdom Books, there are 
 fragments to be found in the historical, poetic and prophetic 
 sections. They are perhaps for this reason even more impor- 
 tant for our study. 
 
 Under the heading *?VQ , (compare the Arabic mthl "simili- 
 tude" and the Assyrian "mashalu" = "to be like"* 3 and 
 "tamshilu" = "a likeness"* 4 and see Isaiah 46, 5 'iTonfj >o$ 
 ijteom I'trm "To whom will you liken me and making 
 equal compare me," and Isaiah 14, 10 n^afw wte "Thou art 
 become like one of us") we find in the Bible proverbs in the 
 real sense of the word. "The fathers have eaten sour grapes 
 and the teeth of the children stand on edge " IDS 1^2* man 
 njinpn nmn JBM Ezekiel 18, 2. This proverb is taken 
 from the mouth of the people. Popular theology, it would 
 
 9 
 
seem, jxacqgnizfejd-.thp condition of hereditary taint and made 
 the'a^sump'tibn^hmthe'sins of the fathers weighed heavily 
 upon the shoulders of the children. The notion was repug- 
 nant to Ezekiel, who enforces, on the contrary, the principle 
 that man shall suffer for his own misdeeds alone and be 
 rewarded for his own merits. It is to be noted that this 
 proverb has a history. Jeremiah, too, deals with it, (31, 28) 
 although he knows it in a slightly different form.* 5 He 
 also finds it necessary to combat its perverted theology. 
 In the Midrash Rabba, Vayikra, Tazria, 15, 5 * 6 the proverb 
 is brought into connection with a similar statement in 
 Lamentations 3, 5 "Our fathers sinned and are no more, 
 but we must bear their iniquities." In Jeremiah, the prov- 
 erb is introduced by the phrase mjr nato K 1 ? which might 
 best be rendered "people will no longer say." The popular 
 origin of the proverb will be even clearer when the negative 
 form of the introduction is changed to the positive. It then 
 becomes a parallel to 1 Sam 19, 24 nom p by. In Ezekiel, 
 it is introduced by the longer formula rw D^tsno DD*? na 
 mn ^twon "Why do you make this proverb?" One other 
 proverb is introduced in this double style. The story of 
 Saul's stay with the prophet Samuel at Ramah gave rise 
 according to one version, in 1 Sam 19, 24, to the proverb 
 01*1333 ^IMW DJin "Is Saul also among the prophets?" But 
 in 1 Sam 10, 12 the proverb is given in connection with an 
 earlier event in the life of Saul, and a more circumstantial 
 attempt is made to give an explanation to a proverb which 
 lay back of both versions and had already, at the time of 
 the compiler of the book, as .we have it before us, become 
 dark.* 7 Whatever the later application, the proverb must 
 have had its origin in the feeling of incongruity in Saul's 
 companionship with the prophets. The difference in the 
 mind of the later writer acted to the disadvantage of Saul, 
 because the proverb in his day could not help being tinged 
 with the newer value and dignity of the prophetic school 
 
 10 
 
and the rejection of the king by that school. So while the 
 proverb originally expressed surprise that a man like Saul 
 should be found in the company of wandering enthusiasts, 
 it later expressed surprise that Saul should have been found 
 worthy of companionship with the seers. In 1 Sam 10, 12, 
 the proverb is introduced by 'JPO'? nrpn ]2 ty " Therefore it 
 became a proverb." 
 
 In the prophetic literature the following are to be noted. 
 Beginning with Isaiah, we have in 1, 3 what is evidently an 
 old proverb vtya DUK nim inip IIP jn> "The ox knoweth 
 his master and the ass his owner's crib." What follows is 
 given by the prophet as a contrast and is his own elabora- 
 tion of the theme of the proverb. Jeremiah has a long 
 development of the same theme* 8 but there it is not worked 
 out in the nature of a proverb. Perhaps the short phrases 
 .vmj vpa ,rwpoa rortoa ,0133 naw "As a hut in a vineyard," 
 "as a lodge in a cucumber field," "as a fenced city" should 
 be added to the list of proverbial phrases. Isaiah 10, 15 
 IIP 30 ty YIB> an fnjfp DK n nmn ty in^n i Ken n" Shall the axe 
 boast itself over him that heweth therewith, or shall the 
 saw magnify itself against him that swingeth it." Here too 
 the continuation is an amplification of the intention of the 
 proverb, but in the prophet's style. 22, 13 for the sake 
 of the later proverbial use mo3 ina :> nnan ^K" eat and 
 drink for tomorrow we die," ought to be included. Isaiah 
 28, 14ff has been generally misunderstood. The Septuagint 
 :9 translates mn nyn '^B>O \^ 'IWK by avdpes rc^Xt^t/xewt, /cat 
 apxoj>res roO | XaoO rourou. The Targum has the same rendering 
 inn xay ^IB^ I'jnan p-Qj Duhm* 10 has" Darum hort das 
 wort Jahves, ihr Manner des Spottes, Beherrscher dieses 
 Volkes da, das in Jerusalem ist" Marti* 11 renders the verse 
 in the same way keeping thevidea of the rulers and the 
 scoffers. Cheyne* 12 has the following note "Jehovah pro- 
 nounces judgment. He addresses not the king who is 
 passed over in silence in most of the Hezekian discourses of 
 
 11 
 
Isaiah but the rulers, the politicians. These are designated 
 men of scorn. The title scoffers seems to be given in Prov- 
 erbs to those who opposed or despised the counsels of the 
 wise men and broke through the restraints of law and 
 religion." Dillman* 13 renders "Manner des Spottes" and 
 "die Beherrscher des Volkes." Orelli* 14 translates "ihr 
 Spottbeflissenen, ihr Herrscher dieses Volkes." Hitzig* 15 has 
 this rendering "Darum so hort das Wort Jahves ihr 
 Spottredner, Herrscher dieses Volkes." These are therefore 
 unanimous in regarding teo as a form of ^tpo "to rule." 
 But when the phrase is so rendered it is out of harmony 
 with the preceding section with which it is in every other 
 way to be connected. There has not been a single word 
 concerning the rulers in the previous verse. Furthermore 
 the connection has been lost just through this rendering. 
 The prophet has been speaking of the fact that they who 
 should have given the people advice were spiritually unsound 
 and incapable of correct judgment. Priest and prophet are 
 drunk. What they said was all wrong. They mock the 
 true prophet's teaching, jeer at his language i^> w ip<j ip. 
 Now comes his answer to them. In this answer "Moshele 
 ha'am" can only mean "Those who make proverbs for the 
 people." That the root tea can be, and as a matter of fact, 
 actually is, used in this sense, the introductory formula to 
 the proverb in Ezekiel 18, 2 shows. By this rendering of 
 "Moshele ha'am" the difficulties with the "anshe lazon" 
 are also removed, for that also stands in some technical 
 sense. If we accept the interpretation of the commentators 
 above quoted, we have in the text a combination of "men 
 of scorn " and "rulers of the people " and while of course any 
 two things can be connected by and, it is hard to say just 
 what class or classes this combination covers. But with 
 the rendering above suggested, we are prepared to see that 
 the prophet is here using ]i& in a secondary sense and is 
 depending upon the ingenuity of the hearers or readers to 
 
 12 
 
fathom his meaning. The basic notion 'of pjfl is, we must 
 presume, perfectly familiar to his hearers. The associa- 
 tions with other terms for proverbs are also familiar. He 
 therefore uses part intentionally not in the sense of scorn 
 or scoffing, but in the sense of wrong proverbial philosophy. 
 The opposition between the wise man and the px^ w is 
 indicated by Proverbs 29, 8 where the meaning has again 
 been missed and the translation "men of scorn" given 
 instead of "unwise advisers." Frankenberg* 1 6 has "Spotter 
 verse tzen die Stadt in Aufruhr." Wildeboer* 17 translates 
 "Manner des Spottes" refers to Isaiah 28, 14 but makes no 
 further use of the reference and allows the phrase to stand 
 as it is. Toy* 18 renders "Unscrupulous men kindle discord 
 in the city." But there is in none of the interpretations a 
 proper antithesis between the term px 1 ? nw$ and theo'Dm 
 ' ' wise men ' ' of the second part of the verse. Further, the op- 
 position between the product of theWise men noon and the 
 product of the opposite type of man p^ is given in Proverbs 
 1, 21-22. * 19 The prophet has amplified the original state- 
 ment in Isaiah 28, 14ff as he did in 1, 3 and 10, 15 "Ye 
 have said 'We have made a covenant with death (that is 
 that it should not touch us) and with sheol we have made a 
 pact'." This they can say but they would hardly end "We 
 have made a lie our refuge and in falsehood have we found 
 our hiding place." That is the prophet's mocking continua- 
 tion of their "wisdom." 
 
 Isaiah 28, 20 has this proverb jnntwia J<'*fr is? '- 
 wrnnB m* nrcBm "Perhaps a proverbial expression for a state 
 of painful uneasiness" Cheyne* 20 and a similar statement 
 of Duhm* 21 attest the conceded proverbial character of 
 the verse. Radak, too, recognized the general proverbial 
 character and gave it the same interpretation. The Targum 
 goes its own way and is worthless here as a check on the 
 text. Cheyne looks upon the verse as an interpolation 
 because of the Aramaism, but the proverbs drawn from the 
 
 13 
 
popular speech would be apt to be tinged with this Aramaism 
 and the proverb can therefore be a genuine and integral part 
 of the text. It does look as if the wrnrra should be read 
 Mjnno. In the only other passage where the word rDDO 
 occurs the verb that goes with it is the one formed from the 
 same root. That change sets aside all the difficulties natural 
 with the renderings to gather oneself together or with the 
 necessity or forced comparison with root Tia (Duhm). The 
 Septuagint goes its own way and gives no hint as to the 
 Hebrew text that it had. 
 
 Isaiah 28, 23-29 is a gnomic section recognizable both 
 by the subject matter as well as by style and the use of 
 nann and nsy words familiar to the gnomic writers. Tushi- 
 yah is found only twice outside the Wisdom Literature: 
 in this passage and in Micah 6, 9.* 22 Ezah, however, is 
 more frequently found.* 23 Isaiah 32, particularly verses 
 6-8 "For the worthless person ever speaketh villainy and 
 his heart will work injustice" is most certainly gnomic. 
 Isaiah 33, 13-16 is a parallel to Psalm 15.* 24 Isaiah 37, 3 
 "for the children are come to the birth, and there is not 
 strength to bring forth" is proverbial in character and can 
 be used to indicate any process carried almost to completion 
 and then failing of final accomplishment. The theme of 
 Isaiah 40, 12-16 is a favorite one of the Wisdom School. It 
 is paralleled by Job 38, 5 and by Proverbs 4, Iff. Isaiah 
 45, 9-10 is a parallel to 10, 15 "Shall the clay say to the 
 potter 'what doest thou' and thy work 'he has no hands'." 
 The next verse is probably a continuation of the proverb. 
 49, 15 "Can a woman forget her babe;" 66, 8 "Can a 
 land be born in one day, or can a nation be born in one 
 instant" are both proverbs. 49, 24 int? ONI mp^D IIIJIB np>n 
 nte pns requires a slight change of text. pn* in b 
 has no parallel for such a usage and besides the explanation 
 of the proverb given by the prophet himself (consisting of 
 an assertion answering the question in the affirmative and 
 
 14 
 
using all the words of the question with the one exception 
 of pns) demands that we read pnp instead of pns .* 25 
 
 Jeremiah 8, 22 "Is there no balm in Gilead" might be 
 included for the sake of the fact that later it became a 
 proverbial phrase. Jeremiah 8, 7 has already been referred 
 to as an artificial working out and development of a pro- 
 verbial theme. Back of the phrases in both Isaiah and 
 Jeremiah there is the observed natural sagacity of animals 
 in finding their way to and in recognizing their home. 
 Jeremiah 9, 22-23 is decidedly gnomic. "Let not the wise 
 man boast* 26 of his wisdom, and let not the strong man 
 boast of his strength, nor let the rich man boast of his 
 wealth. Only in this let him who would boast in under- 
 standing and knowing me." How gnomic this is can be seen 
 from the naturalness with which the elaborated passage 
 fits into the Genizah Gnomic Fragments.* 27 13, 23 "Can 
 the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots " is 
 a proverb with an immediate application "so can you, 
 taught to do evil, not do good." 17, 5-8 has gnomic material 
 having some affinities with Ps I.* 28 18, 6 has the figure of 
 the clay in the hands of the potter. 18, 14 a proverb of 
 natural phenomena "Doth the snow of Lebanon ever quit 
 the rock of the field, or do the far-coming cold flowing waters 
 ever fail." Perhaps the short phrases "as Tabor among the 
 hills " and as " Carmel out of the sea " should be included.* 2 s 
 23, 28 inn n pn 1 ? no "What hath the straw to do with 
 the corn" is clearly proverbial. Jeremiah 48, 43 a state- 
 ment of general destruction nsi nnsi ins is to be compared 
 with Isaiah 24, 17-18, which seems to come first in time, and 
 Lamentations 3, 47 where only the first two are used and 
 two others substituted for the third. Amos 5, 18 has the 
 succession but has the details given more elaborately. See 
 also for a similar thought in Job 8, 15 K 1 ?! irpa ty MJBM 
 Dip* K^ n pm' IBJP . Jeremiah 49, 9 "If the gleaners had 
 come to thee, would they not have left gleanings, if spoilers 
 
 15 
 
of the night, would they not destroy (only) to their fill" 
 is taken from Obadiah 5. 
 
 In Ezekiel 11,3 there is evidently a proverb. & onoinn 
 wan urum von K*n f ona maa mpa . The intention is 
 clear though all the details are not. The men of Jerusalem 
 are speaking of themselves as being the flesh in the pot 
 a figure indicating the city. But whether safety or absolute 
 hopelessness of escape is indicated can be argued.* 30 The 
 same figure of the pot, this time in the longer form of the 
 allegory, is to be found in Ezekiel 24, 3ff . What the prophet 
 expressly calls a "mashal " is given in 12, 22 nnm Do>n iaiK 
 nm ^a "The days are lengthening (in the sense 'time is 
 passing ') and every vision is lost (in the sense of ' not being 
 realized ')." This is a popular saying quoted by Ezekiel for 
 the express purpose of contradiction. The first mashal 
 reads jun te inm non in* a two membered saying. 
 The answer to it is intended naturally to preserve the same 
 structure of a two membered saying, but as the text stands 
 it fails to preserve such structure. To establish this Ewald* 31 
 reads nnjn basing the emendation on Isaiah 28, 21. Cornill* 82 
 has K31 "and it shall come to pass." Bertholet* 33 suggests 
 im "it shall prevail and shall hasten on." Kretzchmar* 84 
 has inoi . The objection to all of these proposed emenda- 
 tions is that they all of them refer to the actual fulfillment 
 of the prophecy. About an actual fulfillment there cannot 
 be any question. When the prophecies shall have been ful- 
 filled there will not be any room for doubt. If the people 
 were willing to wait for that test, these emendations would 
 describe and satisfy the conditions. But that is not the feel- 
 ing of the people. What they question is this. The time is 
 passing by and in this lengthening of the days, the prophe- 
 cies have, so to speak, lost effect and slipped up on the way. 
 The prophet insists that such is not the case. They are 
 still in force. I read therefore nojn For the possibility 
 of such a use of "amad" see Ps. 102, 27 where the other 
 
 16 
 
word "abad" is actually used as its opposite nnm mm non 
 iiojrn and compare Jer. 32, 14 0121 D'O nojp ijna^ Isaiah 
 66, 22 DrjnT W P = to endure and see also Ps. 33, 11 
 noyn D^y^ mn nxy and Ps. 33, 9 noyn msr Kin. We read 
 therefore inn te iojn oon imp. Ezekiel 16, 44 nnn riDK2 
 "as the mother is, so is the daughter" is called amashalin 
 the text. 
 
 Hosea 4, 11 ^ np anvm pn nut """Whoredom and 
 wine and new wine steal away the heart" is undoubtedly a 
 proverb.* 35 & is used here in the wisdom-literature sense. 
 See Job 8, 10; 9, 4; 12, 3; 12, 24; Pro 6, 32.* 36 Hosea 
 4, Ib pKa oin^K PKI ion pm no* IK '2 if not an actual 
 quotation is rightly called by Harper* 37 a "remnant of 
 proverbial literature." Hosea 4, 14d 153^1 ji3 K^ Djn is per- 
 haps the second half of a regular proverb.* 38 The stem 
 LET is found only here and in Proverbs 10, 8. 10. The 
 verse here in Hosea hangs together very loosely and the 
 ending is clearly not a part of the general structure of the 
 sentence. It is therefore to be looked upon as a quotation. 
 Perhaps Hosea 6, 3 B> -!p7O2 u^ DB>;s2 Kin IKXIQ psa inv2 
 PK mi ought to be included as ought also 6, 4b jjyr oncm 
 -tfm D'2tyo ^t23T ipa. Hosea 6, 6 has relationships with pas- 
 sages in the Proverbial Literature and in the historical 
 books "For kindness have I desired and not sacrifice and 
 the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." (Of 
 the theological imputations more, when the concepts of 
 the Proverbial literature are dealt with) . Hosea 8,7a "For 
 they sow the wind and a whirlwind shall they reap" is a 
 proverb. Similar is the sentiment expressed in Hosea 10, 13 
 "Ye have plowed evil, iniquity shall ye reap, ye shall eat 
 the fruit of lying." Hosea 10, 12 has something of the 
 personal tone of the wise man teaching. Hosea 14, 10 is 
 another gnomic passage "Who is wise and will understand 
 these things, understanding them that he may know them, 
 for the ways of the Lord are right, the righteous shall walk 
 
 17 
 
in them and the transgressors shall stumble through them." 
 Finally we have Hosea 13, 2 "Of them it is said 'They 
 sacrifice men and kiss calves'." 
 
 Amos has a number of passages which ought to be con- 
 sidered besides the three-four-numbered passages which will 
 come up for consideration later. Amos 3, 3 "Will two go 
 together except they have appointed a time." The Septua- 
 gint* 39 suggests the reading ijnu instead of the present 
 Hebrew text of njna. This is followed by Marti* 40 who 
 gives the reason that two orientals would not walk together 
 unless they knew each other. But this reason would oper- 
 ate even more in case we read with the present Hebrew 
 text njna. Besides that, njna is the more difficult reading 
 and ought not to be set aside too lightly. Amos 3, 4 
 "Will the lion roar in the forest and yet have no prey, will 
 the young lion give forth his voice from his cave except 
 that he have caught." 3, 5 "Can a bird fall in a snare 
 upon the earth when there is no gin set for him, is ever a 
 snare taken up from the ground when it hath caught 
 nothing." 3, 6 "Will a trumpet be blown in a city and 
 the people not be afraid, will there be evil in a city and the 
 Lord have not done it." The structure of this sentence is 
 not as parallelistic as was the structure of the other two. 
 We propose the change of vowels and read njn from the root 
 j^n "to shake, to quake" then "an earthquake." The 
 guttural would be responsbile for the change of vowel. The 
 formation would be the same as mo from 210 . Amos 5, 18 
 " A s a man fleeing from a lion and a bear meets him and he 
 comes into the house and leans his hand against the wall and 
 a snake bites him " is the complete form of what in Jeremiah 
 was given first in short and then in longer form see Jere- 
 miah 48, 43. Amos 6, 12 "Can horses run on the flinty 
 rock or can a man plow the sea with oxen?" This of course 
 accepts the emendation* 41 of breaking babekarim into two 
 words babakar yam. Amos 6, 13 "Who say 'is it not by 
 
 18 
 
our own strength that we have taken ourselves horns'," i.e. 
 our supremacy is the fruit of the labor of our own hands, is 
 hardly a proverb. It is merely a popular claim. 
 
 Micah 2, 4 has a passage that is in the text called a 
 mashal, but from the contents it borders very closely on 
 the dirge and from the structure of it, it appears to be a 
 Kinah.* 42 "We are wasted, the portion of my people he 
 hath changed, how hath he removed it from me, instead 
 of restoring he hath divided my fields." 
 
 Habakuk 1, 14 n ^10 rt 8*212 has affinities with Prov- 
 erbs 6, 6 ^tnoi -)t2iB> psp r6 pn IIP* Habakuk 2, 6 Here 
 the use of mashal falls in line with the use of it made in 
 Isaiah 14, not as a proverb but as a taunting speech. 
 
 Jonah 4, 10 in* nM pi mn rM PB> is undoubtedly a 
 quotation from some proverb which had to deal with the 
 shortness and uncertainty of human life. 
 
 Haggai 1, 6 is only distantly gnomic but the last member 
 aipa "ins ^x nsnafD "isntwam sounds like a proverb. 
 
 The Book of Psalms stands on the borderland of many 
 varieties of composition. It passes from the lyrical to the 
 historical and to the didactic. It is to be expected therefore 
 that it should be rich in proverbial material. 7,15 
 "Behold he travaileth with iniquity, hath conceived wrong 
 and hath begotten falsehood." The subject matter of 
 this proverb is handled frequently and with the same applica- 
 tion. See Hosea 8, 7; 10, 13 as well as Job 15, 35 tey mn 
 none psn DJEII JIK rtn The next two verses (Psalms 7, 16-17) 
 are undoubtedly proverbs. Maimonides in his commentary 
 to the Pirke Aboth "The Chapters of the Fathers" 
 explains (Chapter 2 paragraph 6) verse 16 by the Rabbinic 
 saying "Bemidah sheadam moded modedin lo" "As a 
 man measures they measure unto him." This saying is 
 quoted also in the Seder Eliyahu Zuta (Friedmann edition, 
 page 170). For the same notion see Ben Sira 27, 25-27. 
 A similar notion is found in Ps. 9, 16 ipy nn3 
 
 19 
 
it nana and in 35, 8 nsto JOB lent inani 
 See also Proverbs 26, 27 aitrn I^K p W:n ^IB n nn ma 
 See also EC 10, 8 *ru i33 nj PBI ^BI la you iflin. The 
 rabbinic saying is paralleled by the New Testament Mat. 
 7, 2. For quotations other than these see Perle (Ozar 
 Leshon Hachamim, Warsaw 1900 p, 86, no. 1245). Psalms 
 18, 25-28 has a gnomic passage paralleled by 2 Sam 22, 
 25-27 with the difference of a few minor text changes. 
 30, 10 -jno* num icy T"*n and 6, 6 ^iniya 713? nioa in 3 
 f? mr '0 and 88, 11-13 "Wilt thou display thy wonders 
 to the dead, shall the departed arise and thank thee. Shall 
 thy wonders be acknowledged in the darkness, and thy 
 righteousness in the land of forgetfulness. Shall they kind- 
 ness be related in the grave, thy faithfulness in the place of 
 corruption" belong to a proverbial notion which must have 
 gone the rounds and must have been worked up into longer 
 or shorter forms, but all with the same thought "Can the 
 dead speak." Ps. 32, 8-10 is clearly gnomic in character, 
 as is to be seen from the introductory verbs -piM -^otp*. 
 Briggs* 48 has this to say of the passage, it is "in accord- 
 ance with the legal attitude of mind subsequent to Nehe- 
 miah." But there is here no legal implication at all. Askile- 
 clah is distinctively a gnomic word. It is a denominative 
 from Sechel. For the gnomic use of sechel compare Prov- 
 erbs 21, 11 njn rip* DDH^ ^aww and Ps. 94, 8 DJH onjD wn 
 i^awi 'no D^DDI. Ehrlich* 44 would change eni into beni. 
 This would of course carry out even still further the gnomic 
 character of the passage. But despite the inviting emenda- 
 tion, since the acceptance of the Septuagint* 45 reading 
 makes sense possible, eni will have to be retained. Moreover 
 the LXX reading is supported by Proverbs 16,30 itrjr n*p. 
 The last three words -J^K anp ^i look like a gloss. Ps. 33 
 is gnomic. So also is Ps. 34. In this Psalm verses 12-15 are 
 highly interesting. Here the Psalmist intentionally passes 
 over to the style of the "Moshel meshalim" or the "Meth- 
 
 20 
 
aken meshalim" and calls out as the proverbialist, address- 
 ing his hearers, real or imaginary, as sons "banim" and 
 gives them instruction exactly as the book of Proverbs 
 pictures. Baethgen* 46 "Die Gemeinde redet ihre Kinder 
 d.i. angehorigen an. Ebenso spricht die personificierte 
 Weisheit Pro 8, 32" misses the mark. The relationship 
 between the literature of Proverbs and of Psalms is even 
 closer than Duhm's* 47 "errinert an die Proverbien wie so 
 manches andere in Ps. 25; 34." The selection gives a sug- 
 gestion as to the methods of the teachers not indicated as 
 clearly in the confessedly Proverbial books. It certainly 
 looks as if the answer to the 13th verse would be looked for 
 eagerly by the listeners, and it is equally as certain that they 
 did not expect the answer that really was given. Talmud 
 Babli, Abodah Zarah 19b has this purposely enigmatic 
 style heightened by making the speaker disguise the fact 
 that it is a quotation that he is about to give. Therefore 
 it has the question "Who desires life" in Aramaic. The 
 answer is the quotation from the Psalms.* 48 The same 
 indication of the relationship of personal interest between 
 teacher and pupil is given in Ps 32, 8. Ps 37 is also gnomic 
 but note the proverb in verse 16 Dyan jiono pns^ tapo ma 
 Din . The text here, however requires some emendation.* 49 
 The personal relationship is to be seen again in verse 
 35 when the didactic element comes strongly forward. The 
 same didactic spirit is to be seen in Psalm 50, 16-21. Here 
 God himself is the teacher. A terse saying part way across 
 the borders of proverbland is to be found in Ps 69, 5 
 "Those who hate me for no reason are more numerous than 
 the 'hair of my head'." Psalm 78 is another didactic Psalm. 
 In the preface the writer promises to speak "meshalim" 
 and "hidoth." Dip IJD nnn HJPIK ,B tooa nnnuK. That 
 hiidoth was used in a rather diluted sense is clear from this 
 passage. It gradually fell into a class with mashal and 
 melizah and all of the phrases melted down finally into 
 
 21 
 
meaning a didactic poem. This is the case also in Psalm 
 49, 5 limn ii323 nnns *:TN ^vtf) PIBK. Ps. 90, 10 "The 
 days of our years are seventy years and if with strength are 
 eighty years" has passed into a proverb. Ps. 89, 49 
 "What man will live and not see death who will deliver his 
 soul from death (from Sheol) Selah" if not in itself a prov- 
 erb could easily be made into one. Ps. 94, 8-10 onjna ua 
 rtn w 1211 DK jw Kfo UK yaun ;^stwi no D^'Dm Dp 
 ;njn DTK noten HOP Kto ona 10 n ;i:i are undoubtedly prov- 
 erbs. The last couplet is not complete. There is no author- 
 ity for the emendation but it does look as if it ought to be 
 completed by a statement like pn u^n. It is to be noticed 
 that the introduction to this little proverbial section is to be 
 found in the preceding verse (8) and there the form of 
 "Taskilu" is used the form which was taken by Briggs* 50 
 as the unfailing sign of the legalistic period of Nehemiah. 
 Ps 111 and 112 are gnomic Psalms and belong together. 
 They have parallelisms in the construction, have phrases 
 in common (ifi may and verses 111, 3 and 112, 3). Ps. 
 105, 106 and 107 belong to the didactic class. Notice 
 particularly in Ps. 107, 43 the appeal to the wise men 
 "Mi hacham veyishmor eleh." Perhaps 118, 22 "The 
 stone which the builders rejected hath become the corner 
 stone" ought to be included for the sake of its gnomic 
 possibilities. The same might be said of verses 8 and 9 
 "It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in man. It 
 is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in princes." 
 Ps 132, 4 " If I shall allow my eyes to sleep and mine eye- 
 lids slumber" is probably a quotation from Proverbs 6, 4 
 "Do not give sleep to thine eyes and slumber to thine eye- 
 lids." (See Baethgen* 51 "Fur den David in den Mund 
 gelegten Schwur verwendet der Dichter hier ein Citat aus 
 Pro 6, 4.") Ps 119 is alphabetic and gnomic as is Ps. 145. 
 Song of Songs 8, 6ff has a proverbial passage "For 
 strong as death is love, worse than death is its pain. The 
 
 22 
 
mighty waters cannot quench it and rivers cannot flood it 
 away. If a man should give all the wealth of his house for 
 love they would scorn him."* 52 
 
 In the historical books of the Bible the following are to 
 be noted. Joshua 6, 26 "With his first born shall he lay 
 the foundations and with his youngest shall he set up the 
 gates." The verse is doubtless an old remnant.* 55 It 
 must have come from an old collection akin perhaps to the 
 " sefer hayashar " as later quoted in Joshua itself. The say- 
 ing is assumed by the narrator of Kings 1:16, 34. It had 
 become a proverbial statement of the costliness of the 
 rebuilding of Jericho. But back of this there is the attempt 
 to explain what quite possibly happened in the building of 
 the city the immuring of a human victim.* 54 
 
 Judges 9, 2b "and ye shall remember that 'I am your 
 flesh and blood' " hints at the existence of a proverb which 
 parallels the English formula " Blood is thicker than water." 
 Another short proverb is given in Judges 8, 21 "As the 
 man is, so is his strength." Here the reason for a definite 
 line of action is given by the apt quotation of a proverb. 
 The form of this one is the same as the very short one of 
 Ezekiel 1, 16, 44 where the presence of a proverb is indicated 
 however by the word "mashal." The closing statement of 
 Judges (also Judges 17, 6) could easily pass over into a 
 proverb. See Talmud Babli Sotah 47b where the phrase 
 has clearly become a proverbial idiom . ' ' When ' every-man- 
 did-what-was-right-in-his-own-eyes' multiplied, the humble 
 (in the sense of the undeserving) were exalted and the exalted 
 (deserving) were humbled." The riddle in Judges 14 is usu- 
 ally counted among the proverbs or in the mashal literature, 
 but the answer of Samson "If you had not plowed with my 
 heifer you would not have discovered my riddle" ought 
 also be included. It was so recognized by the ancient 
 Jewish commentators. Kimhi (in loco) says "al derech 
 mashal." Rashi (in loco) has "mashal hu." For Judges 
 
 23 
 
12, 3 i era >B>S: naiKi" I took my life in my hands," compare 
 Job 13, 14 " Why should I carry my flesh in my teeth and 
 why should I place my life in my hands" and 1 Sam. 19, 5 
 "And he put his life into his hand and he smote the Philis- 
 tine." 
 
 1 Sam 24, 13 David quotes an old proverb "mashal 
 kadmoni" from the wicked proceedeth wickedness." 1 
 Sam 15, 22 "Behold to obey is better than to sacrifice 
 and to attend is more acceptable than the fat of rams" has 
 many relatives in the literature acknowledged proverbial. 
 Proverbs 21, 3 "To exercise righteousness and justice is 
 more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice" and Sira 34, 20 
 "The Lord is not pleased with the offerings of the wicked , 
 neither is he pacified for sin by the multitudes of sacrifices" 
 and Hosea 6, 6 "For kindness have I desired and not sacri- 
 fices, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings" 
 have the same notion. 1 Sam 15, 23 "The sin of witchcraft 
 is rebellion, and idolatry and image worship is stubbornness." 
 1 Sam 26, 20 has two proverbial expressions. The first is 
 found also in 1 Sam 24, 15 ("After whom is the King of 
 Israel gone forth, whom art thou pursuing, after a dead dog, 
 after a flea"). The second "as one hunts the partridge on 
 the hills" is found only here.* 55 For the use of tfz in the 
 derogatory sense see 2 Sam 9, 8 "What is thy servant that 
 thou hast turned toward a dead dog as myself" and 16, 9 
 "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the King." Of 
 1 Sam 25, 25 Kin p 10*2 "He is as his name, "later usage has 
 made a proverb. The LXX helps us to complete the prov- 
 erb of 1 Sam 16, 7. As the Massoretic text stands it is not 
 complete. The LXX* 56 seems to have had before it a 
 Hebrew text which read run* HKV DIKH rum it*n rt 2. 1 Sam 
 14, 6 "For there is not hindrance unto the Lord to save 
 by many or by few" has its parallel, though it is possible 
 that this passage inspired the one in 1 Mac. 3, 18 "It is no 
 hard matter for many to be shut up in the hands of the few, 
 
 24 
 
and with the God of Heaven it is all one, to deliver with a 
 great multitude, or a small company" and in 2 Mac 15,27 
 "calleth upon the Lord that worketh wonders, knowing 
 that victory cometh not by arms but even as it seemeth 
 good to Him. He giveth it to such as are worthy." The 
 noun -myo occurs only here, as far as the canonical books 
 are concerned. In a passage in Ben Sira evidently 
 influenced by this one it occurs again, see Ben Sira 39, 18 
 injnwrt iiaryD PKI. 1 Sam 3, 20 "From Dan to Beer 
 Sheba" is surely a proverbial phrase. 
 
 2 Sam 5, 8 Here there is a lame attempt to connect 
 a priestly provision, tradition of which is still current in 
 the later Halachah (see Mishnah Hagigah 1, 1 the form of 
 the Mishnah showing that it belongs to a very early period 
 in the development of the Halachah "All are obliged to 
 appear i.e. at the festival time in Jerusalem except the 
 deaf, the blind, the mentally deficient, the minor, the lame, 
 the sick, the aged, etc.) as to who shall and who shall not 
 come into the temple, with the taking of the hill from the 
 Jebusites.* 37 The explanation is omitted in 1 Ch 11, 6. 
 2 Sam 14, 14, I render as follows: (a) is a proverb "We shall 
 all of us die" (referring not to Absalom nor to Ammon but 
 to David himself). "We are as water thrown upon the 
 ground." The next phrase vti DT^K KB> H^T is an amplifica- 
 tion of the first statement "Not one will escape death." 
 The conclusion therefore is a natural one. "Therefore let 
 the king devise plans so that the exile be not driven away 
 farther. 2 Sam 19, 4 may be a proverb "As people ashamed, 
 steal away when they fly from the battle." Of the ancient 
 saying in 2 Sam 20, 18 quoted by a woman described as a 
 hachamah the proverbial value is slight though it is inter- 
 esting as pointing to Abel as a seat of early Jewish tradition. 
 
 1 Kings 20, 1 1 has the terse reply " Let not the man who 
 puts on [his armor] boast as he who has taken it off."* 68 
 1 Kings 12, 10 is evidently a proverb. The double assonance 
 
 25 
 
nay aep points to the same fact. When the king 
 himself speaks, his language is not in the laconic style of 
 the proverb. 2 Kings 21, 13 the figure of drying and then 
 turning over again to dry more thoroughly might also be 
 included. 1 K. 14, 15 D'oa rupn *m' 1^*2 is a little more 
 than a simile. 
 
 In later times the intimate acquaintance with the 
 Hebrew text of the Bible made proverbs of passages not 
 really originally intended as such. For example, Deut 14, 14 
 U'Q^ my te nm could from its position in the dietary laws, 
 never have been intended as a proverb, yet it is used as the 
 equivalent of the English " Birds of a feather flock together" 
 or in the words of Ben Sira 27, 9 pan wo^ ipy ^ " Birds 
 of a feather nest together" (quoted in Talmud Babli Baba 
 Kama 92b) and wo ann laan te "every beast loveth his 
 like." Emanuel of Rome (See Mahbereth Emanuel, p 46 
 Lemberg Edition) has a poem in which the answer to a 
 series of questions is given by a Biblical quotation rhyming 
 with the question." 1*3* '^B oy Ten ato KSO: yna "Why 
 is so and so found continually in the company of such and 
 such his neighbor?" and the answer is " UB^ yny $a." 
 So the saying in Genesis "It is not good for man to be 
 alone became a proverb. Likewise "the skin of the teeth" 
 of Job 19, 20. So Zechariah 4, 6 "not by strength nor 
 by might but by my spirit" is already half way towards 
 the boundary of proverbland. The same can be said of 
 Zechariah 10, 3 "Upon the shepherds was mine anger 
 kindled and upon the rams shall I visit (my wrath)." 
 Habakuk 2, 4 "And the righteous man shall live by his 
 faith " is near the border. Ps. 69, 5, already quoted, belongs 
 to this class. 
 
 The fable has two representatives in Biblical Literature, 
 of which the longer one in Judges 9, 8-15 is carried out to a 
 length which shows that this form of composition must 
 have been cultivated and must have been thoroughly 
 
 26 
 
intelligible to the ordinary audience. The other one in 2 
 Kings 14 is shorter but none the less pointed in its applica- 
 tion. It is to be noted that both of these are tree fables. 
 Of animal fables there is none in the Bible. In the Rabbinic 
 literature, however, they are plentiful. Rabbi Meir was an 
 adept at this kind of composition and tradition has it that 
 he wrote 300 fox fables. In the time of Rabbi Johanan the 
 references to only three of that number were extant.* 59 
 Jochanan Ben Zaccai a pupil of Hillel the great Halachic 
 authority also composed fables.* 60 
 
 Only one example of the riddle is to be found in the Bible. 
 But from the example there given and from the circum- 
 stances there related, it is safe to assume that riddles were 
 a common method of furnishing entertainment to guests 
 assembled at feasts or weddings. (Judges 14, 14). The 
 hidoth of the Queen of Sheba are not given in 1 Kings 19, 
 1=2 Ch 9, 1, but the later writings have not allowed the 
 chance to go by without claiming to give some of them.* 61 
 
 Of parables, and the parable is also included in the term 
 mashal, there are a number of examples. One is pronounced 
 by Nathan the prophet against David (2 Sam 12, 1-6) and 
 through its lesson David is led to pass judgment upon his 
 own actions. The second is given by a wise woman of 
 Tekoa (2 Sam 14, 5-7). A third is found in 1 Kings 20, 
 39-40, the figure this time being drawn from military usages. 
 A fourth, Isaiah 5, 1-6, is the parable of the vineyard and 
 the disappointed hopes of the owner and lastly we have 
 Isaiah 27, 24-28 also drawn from agricultural life. It is 
 worthy of remark that of the five parables extant, three are 
 drawn from agricultural conditions, the fourth from land 
 inheritance customs, which touch therefore on the same 
 general agricultural state as the first three, and the fifth is 
 from war. The parable develops in later literature and 
 becomes very frequent, when the pages of the Midrash have 
 very often the opening sentence "nan "inn no^ too." 
 
 27 
 
But whereas the Biblical parable is, as already indicated, 
 seen to be founded on the simplest circumstances of agri- 
 cultural life and upon the early conditions which include the 
 "Goel" conceptions, those of the Midrash are to a large 
 extent products of and expressive of conditions as they were 
 in the days of Roman suzerainty and supremacy. The par- 
 ables there speak, therefore, of kings, of palaces, of landed 
 proprietors, of retinues and imperial pomp. They know of 
 the intrigue of palace, of favorite and of extensive building 
 operations. (See for this Ziegler, Die Koenigsgleichnisse des 
 Midrasch beleuchtet durch die Kaiserzeit, Breslau 1903.) 
 
 Besides meaning proverb, parable and fable, "mashal" 
 is used in the Bible to indicate a sharp, jeering, taunting 
 speech. The person thus addressed becomes in himself a 
 "mashal" an object lesson, a warning to others and a 
 fitting subject for the moralists. "He hath made me a 
 proverb among the people" Job 17, 6. In this sense the 
 speech directed by the prophet against Babylon is called a 
 "Mashal" Isaiah 14, 4ff. So Micah 2, 4 and Ezekiel 14, 8 
 where hvo is used in combination with mx, Jeremiah 24, 9 
 here the combination is even stronger "a disgrace, a byword, 
 and a curse," and Deut 28, 37 "Thou shalt become a desola- 
 tion, a byword and a proverb among all the nations;" 
 1 Kings 9, 7 "And Israel shall become a byword and a 
 proverb in all the nations;" 2 Ch 7, 20; Ps. 40, 5; 78, 2. 
 
 But the term " mashal " is applied also to poetic composi- 
 tions without reference to proverb, maxim or gnomic saying 
 at all. Thus for example, the speeches of Balaam are 
 expressly called, each one, a mashal Numbers 23, 7. 18: 
 24, 315. 20. 21. 23. In the same way the old selections con- 
 cerning the destruction of Moab Numbers 21, 27-30 are 
 called mashal. Didactic Psalms are called mashal, Ps 78, 2. 
 
 The metaphor continued and developed passes over into 
 the allegory, and this, too, is indicated by the term Mashal. 
 Ezekiel 17, 3-10, 24, 3ff ; Ps 80, 9-10 and many others. 
 
 28 
 
So far the attempt has been made to gather the frag- 
 ments of gnomic character, to show the extent of the 
 proverbial literature of the Bible and for the sake of com- 
 pleteness to show the other forms of the mashal and the 
 mn even though only distantly related to our main pre- 
 occupation the proverb. In the Apocrypha, we have 
 naturally the book of Ben Sira, which is by far the largest 
 book in the literature of proverbs. The Wisdom of Solomon 
 cannot be included as a whole, for although it is a member of 
 the wisdom class, its style is not such as would entitle it 
 to be called gnomic. Chapters 10-19 are really an attempt 
 to give an outline of the history of the Jewish people, 
 particularly of the stay in Egypt and the deliverance from 
 that land and to explain why the Egyptians were sent 
 certain plagues. This section is in reality a sort of Greek 
 Midrash. But even the first part cannot enter into the dis- 
 cussion and detailed analysis. For while it has reminiscences 
 of Hebrew constructions the style, despite frequent parallel- 
 isms, is a Greek one. 
 
 Besides these two books, there are a few fragments that 
 ought to be collected and mentioned. First is the fragment 
 in Tobit 12, 6-11 an example of didactic gnomic literature 
 with a particular person addressed, and not an assumed 
 audience. The dependence of this passage on the canonical 
 books is evident. Tobit 12, 6 " It is good to praise God and 
 exalt his name and honorably to show forth the works of 
 God " depends on Ps. 92, 2-3. Verse 7 " It is good to keep 
 close the secret of the king, but it is honorable to reveal the 
 works of God" has phraseology suggesting the vocabulary 
 of Amos 3, 7 and Ps 25, 14. Verse 7b "Do that which is 
 good and no evil shall touch you" is suggested by Psalm 
 91, 7. Verse 8b "A little with righteousness is better than 
 much with unrighteousness follows Ps 37, 16 and incidentally 
 corroborates the emendation proposed of changing " hamon " 
 into "hon" and suggests further Proverbs 15, 16. Verse 9 
 
 29 
 
"For alms doth deliver from death'' is a copy of Proverbs 
 11, 14 besides giving the technical interpretation to "zeda- 
 kah" of charity, and Ps. 79, 9. Tobit has another gnomic 
 passage 4, 3-21, in its conception modelled upon frequent 
 canonical usage the patriarchs blessing their children, 
 David blessing and charging Solomon. This passage in 
 Tobit however insists far more upon the general religious 
 and ethical principles than does the passage in 1 Kings 2. 
 It becomes in this a forerunner of the extensive ante- 
 mortem instructions as well as of the "ethical will" litera- 
 ture of the middle ages.* 62 
 
 Baruch* 63 has a few verses on the praise of wisdom that 
 ought to be classed with the gnomic 3, 29-35. Wisdom he 
 there identifies with the Torah. The same dependence on 
 the canonical books is here to be seen, though in general 
 the style is a Greek style, particularly in the latter half of 
 the book from Chapter 3, 9 on. Verses 29-30 are almost 
 repetitions of Deut 3, 11-13 but what was said in Deut- 
 eronomy concerning the commandment of the Lord is here 
 said about wisdom personified. "Who hath gone up into 
 heaven and taken her, and brought her down from the 
 clouds? Who hath gone over the sea, and found her and 
 will bring her for pure gold?" 
 
 1 Esdras* 64 3 has the account of the battle of the wits. 
 In response to the query "What is the strongest thing in 
 the world?" one answers "Wine," another "the King" 
 and the third answers "Woman," and above all "Truth." 
 The reasons for each answer are given in long gnomic pas- 
 sages Chapters 3, 4 and the whole selection ends with 
 a praise of truth. 
 
 1 Mac* 65 2, 51-63 has another passage like this one in 
 Tobith, the charge of the father to his sons. The contents 
 of this, moreover, can be compared with a similar praise of 
 the fathers, the section of the o^iy man raw in Ben Sira, 
 Chapters 44-50. 2 Mac concludes with a comparison between 
 
 30 
 
good wine and good speech somewhat gnomic in character ; 
 perhaps 2 Mac 2, 32 "It is a foolish thing to make a long 
 prologue and to be short in the story" ought to be included 
 as a proverb. 
 
 As has already been indicated, the proverb and the gno- 
 mic saying do not stop with the Bible and the Apocrypha, 
 but continue straight on down through Jewish Literature. 
 We have first to notice the Pirke Aboth "The Chapters 
 of the Fathers" of the Jewish Church* 66 . It is a part of 
 the Mishnah although it has interpolations and additions 
 of a later date, since the sayings of men are given who came 
 some time after Rabbi Jehudah. The sixth Chapter is 
 even later. The Aboth of Rabbi Nathan* 67 forms a sort of 
 Gemara to the Pirke Aboth. Of Talmudic treatises 
 Derech Eretz and Derech eretz Zuta contain proverbs. The 
 number proverbs are collected in the Pirke Derabbenu 
 Hakkadosh.* 68 The proverbs scattered throughout the 
 Talmud have been collected in more or less complete form 
 by various writers. Dukes, Blumenlese* 69 has good com- 
 parisons with the Midrashic and middle age literature but 
 it cannot lay any claim to completeness. Schuhl "Sen- 
 tences et Proverbes du Talmud et du Midrasch," Paris 
 1878, has comparisons with the classic authors. There is 
 a book Millin Derabanan* 70 Perle, Sefer Ozar Leshon 
 Hachamim, Warsaw 1900, has by far the most complete 
 collection, though some of the quotations introduced can 
 be called gnomic only by a very broad interpretation of 
 the word. The Mibhar Hapeninim* 71 comes into the litera- 
 ture through the Arabic. For other collections of the 
 Middle Ages see Dukes Blumenlese, 54-56. 
 
 Not all the forms under the term mashal can properly 
 enter into the discussion. It is evident that some fall far 
 outside the subject. It is intended therefore to limit the 
 discussion to the proverbs and maxims, and of the literature 
 outside of the Bible and the Apocrypha it is proposed to make 
 only use for the sake of comparison. 
 
 31 
 
2. Form of the Gnomic Saying 
 
 Examination of the fragments as found in the historical 
 and poetical books of the Bible will show that the proverbs 
 were in many cases devoid of the parallelistic structure that 
 characterizes the set proverb of the wisdom books. The 
 proverb quoted as a "mashal kadmoni" in 1 Sam 24, 13 is a 
 simple statement pan SJP Dj;ana. The retort of 1 Kings 
 20, 11 is also of this simple nature nnsDs -mn Wnn ^K. 
 Similarly void of the parallelistic structure is the quotation 
 from popular theology in Jeremiah and Ezekiel concern- 
 ing sin and heredity wnpn aaan JBM IDS rtam ma*. 
 Similarly 1 Sam 25, 25 Kin 12 iiaaa, and 1 Kings 12, 
 10 '3 ijfioo my ijap and Habakukl,14 n teio K^ anana, 
 Isaiah 22, 13 mw nno a man ^aa ; Ezekiel 16, 44 
 nns noxr, Judges 8, 21 irmaJ anna. That the com- 
 pleter form existed, 1 Sam 16, 7 Qi^yb nxv QIKH 'a 
 n^ 1 ? run' mnn ought to prove. The fragments in the proph- 
 ets could not help being cast into the poetic mold, and 
 therefore most of the proverbs found in the prophetic books 
 have the parallelistic structure characteristic of the other 
 portions of the writings. So Isaiah 28, 20; 66, 8; 49, 24; 
 45, 9-10; 40, 12-16; 33, 13-16; 32, 6-8; 10, 15; 1, 3; 
 Jeremiah 49, 9; 18,14; 17,5-8; 9,22-23; 8,7; Amos 6, 12; 
 3,6; 3,5; 3,4; 3,3; Hosea 6, 3; 4, 14; (here from the con- 
 text we have assumed that we have the b of a proverb of 
 two members) 13, 3; 14, 10; 10, 12-13; 8, 7; 6, 6; 6, 4b. 
 That the quotations in Ecclesiastes should have the 
 parallelistic form is to be expected. The quotations in 
 Psalms have the same structure as the work itself, therefore 
 are parallelistic. With the aid of these fragments, then, 
 
 32 
 
the history of the proverb can be reconstructed. The prov- 
 erb began as a simple statement, a pithy observation, and 
 survived in such a form in later times either in the quota- 
 tions from the mouth of the people, or as sayings whose 
 proverbial force was recognized and therefore were allowed 
 to stand as they were. But the poetical form of the rest of 
 Hebrew writing seized upon the proverb and made it con- 
 form to the law of parallelism. When we get to the book 
 of Proverbs, we have that structure highly developed, 
 largely in the form of sentences composed of two members, 
 that are compared affirmatively with each other with or 
 without the sign of the connection, but often also anti- 
 thetically placed. This structure of the Proverb exists out- 
 side of the wisdom books. As already pointed out, it is 
 found also in the Prophets. Further it is found also in 
 Ben Sira who modelled his style closely upon Proverbs. 
 It is found moreover, in the gnomic fragments of the 
 Genizah* 72 and of the three quotations of the still unidenti- 
 fied Eliezer Ben Irai, quoted by Saadia (see Harkawy, 
 Zikkaron Larishonin pp 176, 178), one of which however is 
 really a quotation from Ben Sira, two have this structure, 
 one an antithetic parallelism and the other a comparison. 
 At times when the relationship between the two members 
 is that of comparison, it may not even be indicated, the two 
 statements being placed side by side. Thus, for example, 
 Proverbs 25, 11 HJBIK ty in im eps m'3!W3n am Tien 
 "Apples of gold in figures of silver a word spoken in 
 proper manner." Compare with this Ben Sira 26, 18 which 
 was most probably also put in this form " Golden pillars 
 upon sockets of silver fair feet with a constant heart." 
 The Greek version inserts "kai." Similarly Proverbs 25, 12 
 nyoi v inn ty D2n maio ons ton nnt OTJ "An earring of gold 
 and a pendant of fine gold a wise reprover to an ear that 
 listeneth." Similarly Proverbs 25, 14 p* DWI nni DRW 
 ipt? nnoa ^toino MK Clouds and wind without rain 
 a man that vaunteth falsely of a gift." 
 
 33 
 
The distich grows into a tristich, common outside of 
 Chapters 10-22 of Proverbs, for example, Pro 25, 8; 13, 20; 
 27, 10; 28, 10; or even into a tetrastich 26, 18.19. 24.25, 
 and even a pentastich 25, 6-7. At times the proverb will 
 grow to the length of proverbs 27, 23-27 or 24, 30-34. 
 
 A common form of the proverb in the fragments is the 
 interrogative. Amos has it in 3, 4; 3, 3; 3, 5-6; 6, 12. 
 Habakuk 3, 8. Jeremiah 18. 14; Isaiah 10, 15; 28, 24-25; 
 40,12-16; 45,9-10. 49,15; 49,24; 66,8. Job has a number 
 of such passages 6, 5-6; 7, 1; 8, 11. 12, 11. So has the 
 Psalms 30, 10, 88, 11-13; 94, 9-10; 89, 49. 
 
 So far the inner structure. The sequence with which 
 one proverb will follow another is, at least, in Proverbs, 
 generally arbitrary. One proverb has slight or no connec- 
 tion with the next in thought. Some of the deviations in the 
 text of the Septuagint are thus accounted for. Sometimes a 
 catch word will suggest the following proverb. Perhaps it 
 may be said that the subject matter will suggest the succeed- 
 ing proverb without there being any strict logical connection. 
 For example "king" suggests the order or better the placing 
 of 16, 12-15 after verse 10. The notion of righteousness 
 suggested the order of 11, 4-10. 
 
 If Bickell (Kritische Bearbeitung d. Proverbien W. Z. 
 K. M. 1891) be correct, the letter of the alphabet suggested 
 the order of some of the verses. Thus in Chapter 11, 
 verses 9-12 begin with B, in 20, 7-9 we have D, in 20, 24-26 
 we have again o , in 22-24 we have p, in 22, 26-28 * , in 18, 
 20-22 o once more, in 15, 12-14 ^. However, it is quite 
 possible that this is purely accidental. One might as well 
 argue that in the old alphabet the n preceded the ^ , because 
 of a three-fold repetition of that order in 16, 17-18, 20-21, 
 22-23. If such a principle had obtained and had been con- 
 sciously adopted by the compiler and carried out, we would 
 expect to find more of it, and what is more important, in 
 the face of the fact that alphabetic progression in composi- 
 
 34 
 
tion was known we would be right in expecting in a conscious 
 arrangement, which this theory implies, to see something 
 more than a mere grouping of the same letters. We should 
 see a progression in the alphabetic order. But nowheres 
 under the conditions named is the next letter an advance 
 in the alphabetic order upon the letter of the group. It is 
 therefore necessary to assume that the succession of verses 
 with the same initial letter is unconscious on the part of the 
 compiler. 
 
 We do find proverbs alphabetically connected in Prov- 
 erbs. (Pro 33, 10-31) and in the gnomic Psalms 37, where 
 the alphabet is given in alternate verses. The c is missing 
 but it is easily restored by dropping the initial i in 39. 
 The y can be restored by the suggested LXX reading 
 (notw D ( 7ii? i ? D^IJT see Baethgen Com. in Loco). The alpha- 
 betic form is found also in Ps 25, 34, 111, 112, 119, 145. 
 Ps. 34 misses the vav. Ps 25 begins with the aleph (the 
 superscription, of course, can be omitted. In the second 
 verse the beth can be taken from the ia. nte is by the 
 Septuagint connected with verse 1, and while a transposi- 
 tion of the two words would still give the desired 3, the 
 versions do not assume such a transposition. In Psalm 110, 
 there are eight verses to each letter. Bickell had already 
 forseen that Ben Sira 51 should be an alphabetic poem and 
 attempted with this underlying thought a reconstruction 
 according to the versions. By the discovery of the original 
 Hebrew text, this restoration is, of course, set aside but his 
 thesis is proven correct. The Alphabets of Sira* 73 will 
 naturally suggest themselves but these are of late date 
 that is some of the proverbs are old but the alphabetic form 
 and outline date from the tenth century and cannot there- 
 fore enter into the discussion here. 
 
 Besides the grouping of the proverbs under the alpha- 
 betic headings, there existed another method and in the 
 discussion of this method the forms that we can find still 
 
 35 
 
lingering in the prophetic writings will be of great value. 
 The form referred to is found in Pro 6, 16-19. The LXX has 
 destroyed the form here by an ignorant misreading of both 
 consonants and vowels of shesh, which it made over into sas 
 and by misreading jnan , into IIBM .* 74 The form is further 
 found in Chapter 30 where statements are arranged under 
 numerical headings "two things have I asked of thee"- 
 "four things are comely in their going" 29-31; four wise 
 animals; four things the earth cannot bear 21-23; four 
 things that are marvelous 18-20; four things that are 
 insatiable 15-16; and seven things which are an abomina- 
 tion. Ps 62, 12 Qinta^ T iy 12 'nynty it DTK? DTI^N in nn 
 is cast into the mold of the number proverb but it is hardly 
 to be considered a proverb. The same can be said of Job 
 33, 14 "For once doth the Lord speak and a second time 
 and man will not see it" and of Job 40, 5 "One thing have 
 I said and I shall not add." In Job 33, 29 tys> ,-^K te in 
 -in ay ante Dopfi *?K there is the use of the numbers to indi- 
 cate an indefinite quantity not at all parallel to the usage 
 in Proverbs 30. The same use, to show indefinite number, 
 underlies Isaiah 17, 6 naran nymx ,on;n; nete D3* 2 Kings 
 9, 32 D'DtiD rtffte D'JtrMicah 5, 4 DTK 2'W njoan njm njntr 
 Hosea 6, 2 i*Dipi IBM ten ma D'ovo i3m. The passages 
 in Amos will be considered later. 
 
 To these there should be added the "two" proverbs 
 which have by all commentators been neglected, but which, 
 for a reason later to be given, ought to be included and 
 especially noted Proverbs 27, 3 "A stone hath heaviness 
 and sand weight, but a fool's vexing is heavier than both" 
 29, 13 "The poor man and the man of exactions meet 
 together, the Lord enlighteneth the eyes of both of them;" 
 
 24, 22 "who knoweth the ruin of both of them;" 
 
 20, 12 "The ear that heareth and the eye that seeth, the 
 Lord hath made both of them;" 17, 15 "He who declareth 
 the wicked innocent and he that condemneth the righteous, 
 
 36 
 
yea, both of them are equally abominable to the Lord." 
 20, 10 "Diverse weight and diverse measures are both of 
 them an abomination unto the Lord." Ecclesiastes 4, 2-3 
 "Therefore praised I the dead, that are already dead more 
 than the living that are still alive, and as happier than 
 both of them, him who hath not yet come into being;" 
 Ben Sira 40, 18-26, but for obvious reasons these are of 
 secondary value since they may be consciously modelled 
 on the form as found in Proverbs; Deut. 23, 19 "Thou 
 shalt not bring the gift of a harlot and the price of a dog 
 (male prostitute) into the house of the Lord for any vow. 
 For both of these are abomination unto the Lord thy God." 
 This last however, belongs here only because of the form. 
 Proverbial value it has none. 
 
 The number proverb is found also in Ben Sira.* 76 There 
 are three kinds of men that multiply sin and bring forth 
 wrath 23, 16; in three things is wisdom beautified 25, 1; 
 three sorts of men wisdom hates 25, 2; ten things wisdom 
 judges happy 25, 7; four things wisdom feareth 26, 5; 
 three things anger wisdom 26, 28 ; four kinds of vicissitudes 
 that appear in man's life 37, 18; three nations that are 
 abhorrent 50, 25-26. 
 
 It is important to note that many of these number 
 proverbs are progressive: that is, they start with one 
 number, make a statement and then add one more to the 
 number and intensify the original assertion. Proverbs 30, 2 1 
 under three things the earth trembleth and four she cannot 
 bear; 30, 15 there are three things that are never satisfied 
 and four which will not say 'plenty'; 30, 29 there are 
 three things which have a stately step and four which are 
 comely in their going; 30, 18 there are three things which 
 are too wonderful for me and four that I do not know. In 
 Ben Sira, we have 26, 5 there be three things that grieve 
 my heart and of the fourth I am sore afraid ; 26, 28 there 
 are two things that grieve my heart and the third makes me 
 
 37 
 
angry; 50, 25 two nations the heart abhorreth and the 
 third is no people. The order " three and four" is the most 
 common, occurring as it does five times. 
 
 But the number proverb has not reached its longest 
 development in Proverbs and Ben Sira. It is found very 
 frequently in later Hebrew literature. The fifth chapter of 
 the "Chapter of the Fathers" contains many statements 
 cast into this form, though some of them can hardly be 
 called proverbial. In the number ten we have the "ten 
 words of creation," the ten generations between Adam and 
 Noah, and between Noah and Abraham, the ten trials of 
 Abraham, the ten plagues. Of the number seven we have 
 the seven qualities that characterize the wise man and the 
 fool; the seven punishments meted out for seven specified 
 sins. Of four, there are the four kinds of men classified by 
 their attitude towards property rights, four kinds of minds, 
 four kinds, or better, degrees of charity, four kinds of stu- 
 dents. Of three, the three characteristics that mark the 
 disciple of Abraham, and the three distinguishing the 
 follower of Balaam. A collection of number proverbs seems 
 to lie back of all of these. The section dealing with all this 
 is not written in the general style of the Pirke Aboth which 
 started out to be a record of the sayings of individual teachers. 
 These are set down without regard to the authors, but are 
 entered by numerical arrangement. A collection of number 
 proverbs is to be found in the Pirke Derabbenu Hakkadosh 
 (numbers 3 to 12). Dr. L. Grunhut in the Sefer Halikutim 
 Jerusalem 1903. More are to be found in the nnso rwto 
 cmnsi of Schonblum and in the third volume of the Beth 
 Talmud, Vienna 1883. 
 
 A comparison of a number proverb running through the 
 various sources will reveal a very interesting and important 
 fact. The Pirke Derabbenu Hakkadosh (edition Schonblum) 
 has under the number five (p. 18) the following proverb: 
 onm CINJO ipt ito WJM ntu ^i inteio njnn IK ntwsn 
 
 38 
 
:m'tni n>oy8 jw IK ont? IWK n en^oni Dins insn 
 "Five the mind cannot tolerate a poor man who is proud, 
 a rich man who is a robber, an old man who is adulterous, 
 the communal leader who lords it over the community 
 and a man who divorces his wife two or three times and 
 takes her back again." 
 
 It is quite evident that the proverb must have been 
 originally concerned with the distinction between the rich 
 and the poor and the qualities which are incongruous in each. 
 Then out of the general notion of incongruity of actual 
 quality and station with its supposed quality there arose 
 the third. But the fifth member in this number proverb is 
 assurredly out of place, while the fourth member no longer 
 preserves the short concise statement into which the first 
 three members are put. The fifth is even more clumsy in 
 this respect. Now tracing the proverb backwards through 
 the authorities, we find that in Tal. Bab. Pesachim 113b,* 76 
 the proverb is actually given as a number four proverb and 
 the section that in the Schonblum edition makes it a proverb 
 of five members is here given as a separate statement with 
 the introduction formula "veyesh omerim" = "and some 
 say." But the fourth member is clumsy and as seen does 
 not correspond in style to the construction of the first three. 
 A comparison with Sira 25, 2 shows that this awkward 
 fourth was a later addition, and the proverb therefore 
 appears as an original three-membered proverb. The one 
 in Pesachim is evidently a quotation from Ben Sira, though 
 no acknowledgment is there made of the source (the fact 
 of the quotation is already noted by Reifman Haasif Vol 3). 
 We cannot go further back and trace it to a two-numbered 
 proverb. But this must have been its original form. Then 
 it would have been thoroughly homogeneous. How the 
 transition from a two-numbered proverb to one of the three 
 class could be made is shown by the series in Ben Sira 40, 
 18-26 and in the similar forms given above in Proverbs, 
 
 39 
 
Ecclesiastes and Deut. These have been by the commenta- 
 tors neglected, but in them we have the transition from the 
 two to the three. In them the third member could be 
 drawn from an entirely different sphere than the one to 
 which the first two belonged as for example "A child and 
 a city establish a name, but finding wisdom is better than 
 both" in Sira 40. Or this one in Proverbs "A stone hath 
 heaviness and sand hath weight, but a fool's vexing is 
 heavier than both of them." The original form of the 
 proverb in Sira would by this have been "A poor man who 
 is proud and a rich man who is a robber are intolerable, 
 but worse than both is an old man who is adulterous. ' ' That 
 would satisfy all the demands of homogeneity of construction. 
 It is quite true that the number proverb is far more 
 plentiful in later literature than in Proverbs and Sira. 
 Nevertheless the contention that a proverb thrown into 
 the number form is by that fact to be assumed of late origin 
 as is generally assumed seems to me to be unwarranted. 
 Wildeboer* 77 "Cap 30 und 31 gehoren wahrscheinlich zu 
 den jiingsten stucken. Darauf weisen die Zahlenspriiche 
 und das Alphabetische Lied am Schluss 30, 10-31." Franken- 
 berg in his commentary* 78 to Proverbs 6, 16 has this to say 
 concerning the number form "Bereits in der altesten 
 prophetischen Literatur, bei Amos, auftretend, sind sie 
 doch erst in der Spruchliteratur-Proverbien und Sirach 
 eine gelaufige liter. Kunstgattung geworden." Toy* 7 
 referring to Pro 30, llff, says "the artificial tetradic form is 
 probably late." He puts this section as late as 200 B. C. 
 [See his article Proverbs in J. EJ "The fact that similar 
 numerical proverbs were popular in the early Rabbinical 
 period gives a certain support to the view that this collection 
 is of late origin, "see Cheyne, Job and Solomon p. 153, New 
 York, 1887. But the one date, or better era, which is not in 
 doubt, and about which criticism can give no other opinion, 
 the time of the prophecy of Amos, makes it necessary for us 
 
 40 
 
to assume that the literary form of the number proverb 
 must, contrary to the opinion of Toy, Frankenberg and 
 Wildeboer and Cheyne antedate the reign of Hezekiah. 
 Arguing therefore purely from the standpoint of form and 
 that the number form, the collection of the number proverbs 
 in Proverbs 30, instead of being exilic need not be later than 
 the collection of the proverbs made by or under the direc- 
 tion of King Hezekiah. It must have been in existence 
 much earlier. And for this reason. We have in Amos a 
 usage of numbering which it is possible to assume, as 
 Frankenberg does, is the origin of the number proverb and to 
 explain as being an imperfect and rudimentary form of a later 
 highly developed artistic one. Or it is possible to explain 
 Amos, as does Nowack* 80 that "drei und vier dienen dazu 
 eine unbestimmte vielheit zum Ausdruck zu bringen," or 
 as Konig* 81 "wegen einer unbegrentzten und deshalb 
 erschreckenden Reihe von Vergehen." But it is more to 
 the point to say that Amos has his expression modelled 
 after a current number system of proverb writing. Other- 
 wise we could not understand Amos at all. His usage is 
 quite different from the usage in Isaiah 17, 6 or 2 Kings 
 9, 32, Micah 5, 4 or Hosea 6, 2 above quoted. There the 
 indefinite use of the numerals can be, and is, granted, and 
 there the grammatical explanation will cover the case. 
 But in Amos we have not a grammatical difficulty to 
 explain or a question of lexicography to decide. His "for 
 
 three transgressions and for four" without the 
 
 counting, or without any attempt at counting presupposes 
 a mold which Amos had ready to hand. His phrase was 
 dependant for its intelligibility and effectiveness upon the 
 fact that the people were, through some source or another, 
 acquainted with that numbered proverb form of expression 
 and would in their minds pass over the three and dwell on 
 the fourth which in the proverb style was the most weighty 
 and important. Such a form is given to us in the proverbial 
 
 41 
 
literature in Pro. 30 and as has been shown above, the 
 three-four proverb is the commonest form of the numbered- 
 progressive proverb. That Amos wrote not without having 
 literary models before him in his work is conceded. But 
 these models have so far been limited to the literary pro- 
 ductions of the prophetic classes. Harper* 82 speaks "of the 
 prophetic technique and nomenclature which Amos found 
 in existence." Davidson* 83 says "In Amos, the oldest 
 literary prophet, we find a religious nomenclature already 
 complete." "Nothing is more clear than that he had 
 predecessors in this work, who had developed in no small 
 degree a technical nomenclature of prophecy." Harper* 84 
 says of Amos' materials "Prophetic formulas which as 
 employed by Amos show long and technical usage." But 
 Amos had more than this. If the reasoning above given is 
 valid, Amos had the proverbial technique as well. And 
 this possession is substantiated by a further critical examina- 
 tion of the text of both Amos and Hosea. The quotations 
 above given from the books of these prophets show that 
 they had a popular proverbial literature and technique to 
 draw from. Wildeboer* 85 speaking of the artistic forms of 
 the proverbs, in an argument for the lateness says that 
 popular proverbs "zeichnen sich gewohnlich durch kiirze 
 und Einfachheit aus." But the fragments collected show 
 that that period of beginnings must be put very far back. 
 Hosea 4, 14b, in fact, presupposes a written document 
 quoted by the prophet. The number proverb, therefore, 
 instead of being late in the development of Hebrew litera- 
 ture is made by this study to date at least from the end of 
 the ninth century. It demands that time be given for the 
 spread of the knowledge of the form so that when Amos 
 uses it in a skeleton outline, it would be recognized at once. 
 At any rate the very latest limit for the dating of the 
 appearance of the number proverb is fixed by the appearance 
 of Amos as the heir to the literary, prophetic and proverbial 
 
 craft of the earlier days. 
 
 42 
 
So far we have made the attempt to establish the possi- 
 bility of a numbered proverb text being comparatively old. 
 The one argument that might at first militate against the 
 assuming of Prov. 30 as possibly old is the presence of 
 "Alkum" in the numbered proverb in 30, 29-31 and of 
 "Miz" in the section immediately following upon the 
 genuinely numbered series. For while in section verse 23 
 there is no attempt at numbering we have here as well as 
 in verses 11-14 virtually numbered proverbs. The argu- 
 ment then is, that these words being late testify that the 
 sections in which they occur are late. We would set this 
 argument aside, as being in the last analysis of very little 
 or of no value. The question of vocabulary is of the least 
 original decisive value in criticism. It is legitimately to be 
 used only when it is employed as corroborative and con- 
 tributory evidence. It cannot be legitimately used as start- 
 ing point for an argument of dating, unless through other 
 sources the dating has been established. Once a date has 
 been fixed, then the study of the vocabulary is in order. 
 It can never operate in the other direction. Of the least 
 value moreover, as a help for dating is a word which is 
 claimed to be Aramaic. The word confessedly Aramaic 
 may have come late into the language, it is true. It may 
 date, say from the Talmudic period for that matter. But 
 on the other hand, it may be as early as the first wanderings 
 of the early Hebraic Palestinian immigrants who came via 
 many languages and especially through the language of the 
 Syrian districts into "the land of the fathers." Ancient 
 peoples also had international intercourse and many words 
 were carried backwards and forwards along the lines of 
 commercial relationship or of hostile and predatory incur- 
 sions as well as in the border intermingling of blood. To seek 
 to use Aramaic words as a means of dating without more 
 ado is evidently impossible and may lead to absurd con- 
 clusions. It is no dating at all.* 86 Moreover, we have 
 
 43 
 
words in the so called later Hebrew that undoubtedly 
 existed in earlier writings that were lost, or existed in the 
 popular speech alone and were not called on to do duty in 
 the written speech, because they were not needed. There 
 was no occasion for them. As a matter of fact when we 
 come to the popular proverbs, we do come across words 
 that are found nowhere else. That is the case with " Mazor " 
 "hindrance," 1 Sam 25, 14. Parosh "flea" occurs only 
 in the popular saying 1 Sam 25, 14. Now it would be 
 obviously inconclusive to draw deductions as to dating of 
 the text or of the invasion of the flea in Palestinian house- 
 holds from this fact. It simply means that there was no 
 occasion in literature of prophetic monition to mention the 
 parosh, while popular speech preserved it. The "alukah 
 of Chapter 31 Proverbs has the same history and interpreta- 
 tion. Maza owes its existence and survival in literature to 
 the popular proverb in Isaiah 28, 20. And if the reading 
 " mehithcanes " be maintained* 87 the Aramaism involved 
 would be quite natural in a popular speech. "Masor" 
 owes its survival to the proverb in Isaiah 10, 15. The word 
 for little finger occurs only in the proverbs of 1 Kings 12, 10. 
 Habarburoth comes from the proverb in Jeremiah 13, 23. 
 The root kahah is almost wholly a contribution of the popu- 
 lar proverb of Jeremiah and Ezekiel (31, 29 and 18, 2 
 respectively). It occurs elsewhere only in Ecclesiastes 
 which approaches the conversational style and which for a 
 reason to be given later, we consider in the same class with 
 the popular proverbs of this type. The form helech " travel- 
 ler," is found only in the parable in 2 Sam 12,4. The very 
 expressive figure "to extinguish the burning coal" meaning 
 by that to destroy life is also a phrase of the popular proverb 
 series (2 Sam 14, 7). The Stem LET is found only in a 
 quotation in Hosea and in a verse in Proverbs. It is follow- 
 ing the same line of thought, and for the same reason that 
 we have words in Proverbs that occur nowhere else. It is 
 
 44 
 
not a question primarily of dating or of time at all. And if 
 there is nothing else to show dating the vocabulary solely 
 should not be relied upon to establish it. It simply means 
 that the book strikes a vein that others have not been called 
 on to dig for. It implies that the proverb writer drew on an 
 entirely different field of observation ; other things came to 
 his vision, than let us say, came to the writer of Leviticus, 
 and therefore the vocabulary had to be different in a meas- 
 sure. So the "ant" "nemalah" is found only in Proverbs. 
 Bearing in mind that we have in the Biblical Hebrew no word 
 for the commonest things and operations for example, there 
 is no word for " needle "in Biblical Hebrew, though it is found 
 in so-called later Hebrew; that spinning was an ordinary 
 operation, that the verb is found " mta " so is the word for 
 the thing that is spun mtso but there is no word for "spindle ;" 
 that there is no word for "loom;" that some of the words 
 indicating tradesmen that are found in the Mishnah must 
 be survivals of the old days, we can understand how much of 
 a vocabulary existed without being registered in Biblical 
 Literature. It is not surprising then that the popular 
 fragments should have rescued a few from oblivion. 
 
 In short, the material at hand for the exact determina- 
 tion of dating through vocabulary is entirely too inadequate 
 to give us the right to declare arbitrarily the line when the 
 Biblical and the "late" meet and where the separation 
 begins. As a matter of reason, much of what is called late 
 Hebrew or marked in the lexicons as Neo-Hebrew or 
 Mishnic with an implication of lateness of origin would 
 really be found in early Hebrew if we had the complete 
 vocabulary of early days though now is unfortunately 
 only registered in the literature that we have in the late 
 sources. It remains therefore, as previously stated that the 
 number proverb is presupposed by the number formula 
 of Amos and must have been developed long enough before 
 his time to allow of its being used as he uses it, in outline, 
 and the vocabulary argument is of no avail. 
 
 45 
 
It still remains to show why, if the form of the number 
 proverb is early, it was used so frequently in later times as 
 to make it look like a late form of the proverb. This is to 
 be accounted for by the following reasons. First, it is the 
 simplest and most convenient way of adding to a proverb. 
 When additions are made, instead of the shortest one drop- 
 ping away, all of the lengths ran on in literature as separate 
 and independent proverbs. This was shown when a proverb 
 begins as a three numbered proverb in Sira and has a 
 number added in a later source without the fact of the 
 quotation being mentioned, without taking the original 
 three numbered from the literature. Then a fifth number 
 is added and we have three proverbs to take care of and 
 tabulate instead of the last one only. Secondly, when 
 literary style was no more marked by the rhythm and 
 parallelism of Proverbs and Ben Sira and others under the 
 spell of the Biblical writers, grouping was done in general 
 by numbers. The alphabetic grouping was of course available. 
 But by its very nature, it was available for longer extracts 
 only. Grouping under the same letter is, as was stated 
 above, contrary to the theory of Bickell,* 88 to be regarded 
 as accidental. Besides alphabetic grouping demanded a 
 certain amount of ingenuity and literary skill, and this 
 was not always forthcoming. One of the most popular of 
 books the Pirke Aboth, had a section of number statements. 
 Now this book became very early a part of the liturgy. 
 This brought it very close to the lives of the people. With 
 this there came as a natural result a familiarity with the 
 number formula. Lastly, what added still more to the 
 growth of the number proverb was that the Halachah, for 
 mnemonic reasons, has adopted the same plan of grouping 
 (see Frankel, Darche Hamishnah, page 297, rule 40 note 2; 
 also page 287, rule 28 and note). Under this guidance of 
 Halachic grouping, the older number proverb degenerated 
 into a jumble of things held together by the number. Thus 
 
 46 
 
the number proverbs in Aboth and to a greater degree even, 
 the proverbs in Aboth of Rabbi Nathan became mere 
 lexicographical lists. This very ease of composition brought 
 about the decay of the number proverb. 
 
 In the hands of the unskilled in literary art, to whom 
 henceforth it appealed, it degenerated into a bulky, un- 
 wieldy list of qualities, of men and things. It passed 
 beyond the limits of literary art. Hence the gnomic frag- 
 ments discovered by Schechter in the Genizah* 89 have not 
 a single example of what was in former times the most 
 popular mold for the Proverb. The Musar Haskel of Hai 
 Gaon has but one example (Hai Gaon Edition Weiss p. 73). 
 When it does appear in the literature of the middle ages, it 
 can be traced directly to the Arabic influence. For this 
 reason the Mibhar Hapeninim abounds in the number 
 proverb. (See Mibhar Hapeninim ed. Dessau, Berlin 1842, 
 pp. 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 22, 25, etc.) For the number proverbs in 
 Arabic Literature see Freytag Arabum Proverbia Vol. 3 
 pp. 56-63 for three-numbered proverbs; 64-65 eight- 
 numbered proverbs; p. 65 two-numbered proverb; p. 76 
 an involved three-numbered; p. 343 two-numbered, also 
 p. 347, 618 the three numbered proverb attributed to 
 Abu-Bekr, also a four-numbered one p. 624, 608 and 609 
 proverbs attributed to Mohammed. At all events the root 
 of the number proverb in Jewish literature extends into 
 the pre-exilic period ; it flourishes through the exilic and post 
 exilic period until by its own weight it fell. 
 
 Of course, when the age of the completion of the Biblical 
 canon was passed, a new element entered. How that new 
 element will operate is best seen in Ben Sira, the Hebrew 
 text of which we now have, to a large extent at hand. So 
 strongly had the language and the turn of expression of the 
 Bible imprinted themselves upon the people that he who 
 would write, perforce, based his plans upon them. In the 
 case of Sira it included the antithetic, the parallelistic and 
 
 47 
 
the rhythmic structure of Proverbs, e. g. tmty TDTJ 3K nna 
 JNU twun DK nVbpi "a father's blessing will give foundation 
 to a root, but a mother's curse will pluck up the plant, 3, 9; 
 or 6, 15 on the value of a friend jim vno PK WICK nmiri 
 iraitt^ 'rpB'O "Priceless is a faithful friend and his goodness 
 is beyond weighing." Or this one on haste in prayer 
 nyrn ^N npnsai n^sna ispnn to "Be not too short in prayer 
 and do not neglect almsgiving." 
 
 Ben Sira makes one advance on Proverbs. He arranges 
 his material under a system of thought progression for 
 example 3, 1-16, duties of children to parents and the 
 rewards attendant upon the fulfillment of these duties 
 4, 1-10, duties to the poor 6, 5-17, on friendship, true and 
 false 9, 1-9 conduct towards women, etc., etc. Naturally 
 then, Sira will have longer proverbs than those ordinarily 
 found in the canonical books. Here is one covering eight 
 members (it is the one quoted by Saadia from the otherwise 
 unknown Eliezer ben Iraai, Sefer Hgalui, p. 178, and that 
 it was popular is attested by its being quoted frequently, 
 see Schechter Jewish Quarterly Review Vol. 3 p. 690, 
 698-699 and attributed to Ben Sira in each case though with 
 slight changes in the text). "Things too wonderful for 
 thee search thou not. That which is hidden from thee seek 
 thou not. Thou art not permitted to think thereon. Thou 
 hast no concern with the secret things. Into that which is 
 beyond thee intrude thou not, for thou hast been showed 
 that which is too great for thee. For many are the thoughts 
 of the sons of men, and wicked thoughts lead them astray." 
 With the thought compare Ps. 131, 1, "O Lord, my heart is 
 not lofty, neither are mine eyes exalted, and I have had 
 no concern with the things too great and too wonderful for 
 me" and Deut. 29, 28 "The secret things belong to the 
 Lord our God, but the revealed things to ourselves and to 
 our children," etc., and in the Mibhar Hapeninim, Sha'ar 
 Hayihud "They said to the wise man 'What is the creator?' 
 
 48 
 
He answered, 'Speech concerning that of which it is 
 impossible to have conception is folly, and discussion con- 
 cerning that which thought cannot attain is sin '. " There is 
 a similar thought in Jehudah Hallevi ed. Harkawy, Vol 2, 
 p. 106, ''Search his ways and his deeds, but to Him do 
 not stretch forth thy hand." 
 
 The influence of the diction of the Bible is very great 
 upon Ben Sira. With him we have already the Paitanic 
 style which grew so bulky and mechanical in later days. 
 This Paitanic style takes from the Bible verses and parts of 
 verses, sometimes uses them bodily without change, some- 
 times changes the form of the verb or makes some other 
 slight modification in the expression, combines verses, and 
 out of the mass makes a new composition. It can readily 
 be seen that this practice is possible and of advantage only 
 when the Bible and the Biblical turn of thought remained 
 part of the most intimate intellectual possessions of both 
 the writer and the reader. Its popularity would depend on 
 the depth of knowledge of Biblical matters that the reader 
 possessed and on his ability to understand hints and 
 allusions to the canonical text. A splendid example of the 
 style is to be found in the Mahbereth Emanuel, pp. 44-50 
 in which every question is aptly answered by a quotation 
 from the Bible. A few examples will show how far Ben Sira 
 was influenced by the Bible text. It can be seen even in the 
 English text by comparison of 2, 16 with 2 Sam 24, 14, but 
 far more clearly in the Hebrew text. Beginning with the 
 first few lines of the extant Hebrew text, we find that 3, 8b 
 is founded on Deut 28, 2. There is some alteration in the 
 form of and order of the words, but the expression is the 
 same. So 3, 29b is founded on Pro. 2, 2. But is Daniel 4, 24 
 a quotation of Ben Sira 3, 30? Ben Sira 6, 6 is founded on 
 Pro. 11, 4; 6, 14 pn tms ixsioi and reference to Proverbs 
 8, 35 shows what little change that is fromnm X*D IKXIO. 
 Incidentally this proves the integrity of the Hebrew text 
 
 49 
 
as against the LXX "exodoi mou exodoi zoes." 6, 31 is 
 based on Pro. 4, 9. There is no need to multiply examples 
 (see notes in the Wisdom of Ben Sira, Schechter and 
 Taylor, pp. 13-25 on the text covered by the edition and 
 also of Neubauer's text. For the remainedr of the text see 
 Strack, Ben Sira and Smend, Wesiheit d, Jesus Sirach). 
 The dependence however, is not completely indicated in 
 any of the editions. Ben Sira well deserves the praise that 
 his grandson, who translated the grandfather's Hebrew 
 text into Greek, gives him. In speaking of the preparation 
 that his grandfather brought to the work, he says, "My 
 grandfather Jesus who had given himself to the study of the 
 law, of the prophets, and other books of our fathers, and had 
 gotten thereby good judgment, was drawn on also, himself 
 to write something pertaining to learning and wisdom." 
 To this indebtedness to those who went before him, and in 
 whose footsteps he walked, a faithful follower, he himself 
 confesses. "I awaked," he writes, "last of all, as one who 
 gathereth after the grape gatherers. By the blessing of the 
 Lord, I profitted and filled my vine press like a gatherer of 
 grapes." 23, 16. His wide acquaintance with the Bible and 
 the influence this acquaintance had upon his style is shown 
 by the fact that he draws upon the historical, prophetic 
 and poetical books alike. 
 
 Whenever 1 Mac departs from the narrative style and 
 desires a poetic form to cover some song of praise or exhorta- 
 tion, it also falls into the Biblical style. See 1 Mac 1, 26-28: 
 39-40: 2, 7-13: 3, 3-8, 9: 2, 44; 3, 45; 7, 19 (17) "The 
 flesh of thy saints have they cast out, and their blood have 
 they shed around Jerusalem, and there was none to bury 
 them" is an abbreviated quotation of Psalms 79, 2-3. 
 9, 20-21 where the Kinah measure seems to be preserved; 
 9, 41 and 14, 6-15. 
 
 That the Bible was not forgotten among gnomic writers 
 in Israel after Ben Sira is amply proven by the unknown 
 
 50 
 
writer of the Genizah fragments above quoted. On page 
 5 line 14 page 6 line 1 we have an amplification of Jeremiah 
 9, 22, 23. The dependence of 9, 18 nna' a no roan upon 
 ano naa> anirt mar Pro. 20, 3 is evident, and DB>BJ ]tma 
 is assuredly founded upon Isaiah 55, 2 naavj isn 
 Compare the phrases in the two proverbs of this gnomic 
 writer with the passage in Ps. 16, 11 
 
 nsi mo'yia lat i 'n iapao noan 'am 
 'n JB ninoa> IIJDHM 'n TIT njna 'amx 
 
 The author will even take up a difficulty in idiom page 
 8 line 5 trwn ^>a ma 'n nm roam njn *no from Ecclesiastes 
 12, 13. Here is a combination of Ps. 115, 5 and Isaiah 44, 8 
 onn^ ^atwiD nro 'a IKI ^i on^ Dajr. But the acquaintance 
 with the Scriptures does not prevent a neat turn and an 
 excellent antithesis, on page 12 line 2 jijn nrrry D^'oa a^ 
 onn^ D'o:n This might be compared with a similar turn 
 in Sira 21, 26 "The heart of fools is in their mouth, but the 
 mouth of the wise is in their heart." There might here be a 
 dependence of the gnomic writer upon Ben Sira. 
 
 The attempt has been made to show that the proverb 
 as it is found in the canonical books, devoted to wisdom 
 literature, is but a section of a larger stream, currents of 
 which are still to be found in the other books of the Bible ; 
 that the form of the proverb is the result of long work and 
 literary effort, is built upon the foundation of a popular 
 saying without the parallelistic mold, and gradually 
 acquires the poetic form which is already completed by the 
 time of the Proverbs, that this form is handed down through 
 Ben Sira and to later writers, is lost in the writings of the 
 Talmudic Literature and its allied branches but appears 
 again in fragments ; Saadia is witness to the fact that such 
 books were written and to show their relationship to the 
 Biblical books they were written or better, supplied with the 
 marks of Biblical books; that the alphabetic proverb is found 
 rarely in proverbs and just as rarely in Ben Sira (the Alpha- 
 
 51 
 
bet of Ben Sira being a much later work) hence as far as 
 gnomic literature is concerned, the alphabetic form is found 
 chiefly in the gnomic Psalms in the canon ; that the number 
 proverb dates from early times and must be assumed to 
 antedate the earliest of the literary prophets, part of whose 
 literary technique it must be assumed to have formed, or 
 his style would not be explained ; that this, from ease of com- 
 position and special adaptability to additions, and under 
 the spell of the Halacha with its methodology and also under 
 the promptings of the popular book of Pirke Aboth, became 
 the most common form of the proverb, but because of its 
 own weight, the form became non-literary and impossible 
 from the literary standpoint, until from Arabic sources it 
 regained some currency; finally that the style of Proverbs 
 and the expressions of the Biblical books in general domi- 
 nated and determined the form, the phraseology and the 
 style of Ben Sira and the later gnomic writers. 
 
3. Authors of the Gnomic Literature 
 
 Passages such as Proverbs 24, 23 "These also are the 
 words of the wise men" and in the general introduction to 
 Proverbs Pro. 1, 6 "The words of the wise men and their 
 dark sayings;" Pro. 22, 17 "Incline thine ears and hear 
 the words of the wise men;" Sira 3, 24 "A wise heart will 
 understand the proverbs of the wise men" (although it 
 would not be conclusive, in the absence of other evidence, 
 to deduce anything of this kind from Ben Sira because of 
 the established fact that he copies Biblical phraseology and 
 there his words do not carry the force of an original state- 
 ment and wise men might in Ben Sira mean nothing more 
 than wise man) point to the fact that in the gnomic litera- 
 ture we have to deal (besides with the few names that have 
 been handed down to us in a more or less, usually less, 
 recognizable shape) with a class.* 90 The honor in which the 
 wise men were held as a class is shown by Ben Sira 38 , 33 , where 
 after describing a number of occupations and summing up 
 their values to the community he says, "Without these a 
 city cannot be inhabited," but" these shall not be sought for 
 in public counsel, nor sit high in the congregation, they 
 shall not sit in the judge's seat, nor understand the sentence 
 of judgment, they cannot declare judgment and they shall 
 not be found where parables are spoken." The same high 
 praise is expressed in almost identical phrases and divisions 
 in Jeremiah 18, 18 "For the law will not be lost from the 
 priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the 
 prophet." Ezekiel 7, 26 has the same division, "But 
 they will seek vision from the prophet, and the law shall be 
 lost from the priest and counsel from the elders." It is to 
 
 53 
 
be noted that for the " Ijachamim " of Jeremiah we find the 
 "Zekenim" in Ezekiel. Such a parallel with a difference is 
 full of significance. The "Hacham" is placed in some 
 relationship with the judge and the lawgiver. This relation- 
 ship while in Comparative Semitics is recognized at the 
 roots, is usually overlooked later on. This has led to 
 difficulties when they might have been easily avoided. 
 Dei teronomy 16, 19 is a case in point. D'osn I^JMIJP nnwi s 
 D'piix nn rtoi. The Hacham in this case is surely none 
 else than the judge, pn* is to be taken in the same sense. 
 1 1 does not deal with the person to be j udged . This interpre- 
 tation of p ns as the ' ' j ust ' ' as indeed it is usually interpreted 
 does not harmonize with the general intent of the passage, 
 which aims at insuring justice by preserving the incorrupti- 
 bility of the j udges. 1 1 therefore describes the effect of bribery 
 upon the judges. Therefore the pns or the crn is the righteous 
 judge. What he gives is variously indicated as nosn or ESTO. 
 See Ps. 37, 30 uetrrs "irrn UIB^I riosn run* pns B Proverbs 
 21, 15 can be interpreted only in this way. Toy* 91 maker it 
 mean "The execution of justice is a joy to the righteous, 
 but the destruction to the evil man." But bribery was the 
 immediately preceding thought. It ought to be understood 
 as "It is a joy to the righteous to do justice and to bring 
 destruction upon those who work evil." Jeremiah has the 
 sense of the administration of justice involved "Behold 
 days are coming, saith the Lord, and I shall raise unto 
 David a righteous sprout, he shall reign, and he shall 
 prosper, he will do justice and righteousness in the land," 
 Jer. 23, 5. That pn* is used in the legal sense is of course 
 nothing new but then it is by the commentators limited to 
 the litigants as in 1 Kings 8, 32 "Thou in heaven wilt 
 hear and thou wilt do judgment, and thou wilt. judge thy 
 servant to condemn the guilty and to put the evil of his 
 way upon his head and to acquit the innocent (pm pn*r6i 
 is the Hebrew) and give him according to his righteousness." 
 
 54 
 
But in a passage as Zephaniah 3, 5, it is hard to maintain 
 the passive meaning of "the right." Nowack* 92 misses the 
 force of the passage when he renders it "Jahve ist gerecht 
 in ihrer Mitte." I propose the rendering in line with the 
 argument above "The Lord is judge in her midst, he will 
 not do iniquity, morning after morning doth he bring his 
 justice to the light of day." Further, in Zephaniah 3, 3-4 
 we have the divisions of three classes as we had them in 
 Ezekiel and Jeremiah, but in the place of the D'osn of the 
 one and D'JpT of the other Zephaniah has a substitution full 
 of significance, of the DBB. Proverbs 29, 2 should be con- 
 sidered in this connection, ^waai ,Dj?n MOBM D'pns niaia 
 oy HJK jrty") The LXX reading* 93 here is a divergent one. 
 In the first place it must have had the plural instead of the 
 singular Ha'am. That however, is inconsequential. The 
 rendering of the first two words is according to them "when 
 the righteous are praised." But that destroys the parallel- 
 ism. Toy* 94 emends into "birdoth" when the righteous 
 rule. But the integrity of the reading "birvoth" is main- 
 tained by the reading in Pro. 29, 16 niyen mm and by the 
 use of the root in the sense of "govern" in Proverbs 28, 28. 
 The verse ought to be rendered as follows: "When righteous 
 judges rule, the people rejoice, but when the wicked judge 
 rules, the people sigh." That pen is used in this sense of 
 wicked judge, a judge amenable to bribe taking, is clear 
 from the passage in Proverbs 17, 23 which verifies at the 
 same time the use of pns as judge of course with the implica- 
 tion a righteous judge "The wicked judge will take a 
 bribe from the bosom to pervert the ways of justice" 
 astyo nimn mtart^ npi pan pno in&>. So, to return to Exodus 
 23, 8 and Deuteronomy 16, 19, we have in both members of 
 the verse a legal terminology involved, but completely 
 concerned with the judge and not with the litigants. The 
 nsn and the pns are thus to be taken in the sense of "judge." 
 Besides, the use of nan in this sense is warranted by Jeremiah 
 
 55 
 
50, 35 "A sword over the Chaldeans saith the Lord, and 
 to the inhabitants of Babylon, to its rulers and to its ' wise '." 
 In Jeremiah 51, 57 the hacham is placed in a long list of the 
 officers, rulers and governors. The judge idea is present in 
 the Arabic, but finds only these few traces in the Hebrew. 
 Later Hebrew of course makes use of the word to mark the 
 learned man, learned in the law, and thus through the 
 identification of the Torah with Hochmah, the original 
 meaning of hacham is restored. Following this suggestion, 
 hochmah is first of all the utterance of a judge, a judgment 
 in other words. Gradually it came to be used in the wider 
 sense exactly as it has been developed in English where 
 judgment indicates besides the judicial notion, a clean, 
 clear cut statement on the issues of life made by a man of 
 experience and wisdom. The parallelism that existed be- 
 tween the Hacahmim and the zekenim (compare the pas- 
 sages above quoted, and then with the shofetim) implies 
 the same history. They were, therefore, the men who were 
 taught by experience, and because of this knowledge gained 
 in the school of life, they gained authority among the 
 people. Taught by life, they gave their wisdom to others who 
 would live wisely. This is the attitude throughout in 
 Proverbs. It is the kindly guiding hand of the old leading 
 the young, holding them as a father would his son, address- 
 ing them as such, warning them of the pitfalls, dangers and 
 temptations. That is the attitude seen also in the gnomic 
 Psalms (32, 8-9; 34; 94, 8 and elsewhere). If the priest 
 taught from ceremonial law, and the prophet from the 
 direct preachment of his "Word" or " Burden" or "Vision," 
 the wise man was satisfied to preach from his own homely 
 experience. See for this Proverbs 24, 30-34 and Job 5, 2ff. 
 His philosophy was practical philosophy. His school was 
 life. His reward was a certain practical success in life's 
 endeavors. "Do not forsake the talk of the wise men and 
 in their sayings spread thyself, for from them wilt thou gain 
 
 56 
 
instruction to stand before rulers" advises Ben Sira 8, 8-9. 
 "Do not disdain to hear from the elders that which they 
 heard from their fathers, for from them wilt thou gain the 
 understanding to make the proper answer when it is needed." 
 It is conceivable that the wise man should have been able to 
 reach some of the people whom the others, priest and 
 prophet, could not reach. That the method of the wise man, 
 frequently with the personal element strongly expressed, 
 was a popular one is shown by the fact of the imitation of his 
 style by the Psalmist Ps. 37. That the wise men were not 
 opposed to the prophet it is hardly necessary to say. The 
 Genizah fragments have this verse* 95 >s DKa* ate oijiaa & 
 D'zian owns rrnnn. The Talmud is even more generous 
 in its praise of the wise men. See Talmud Babli Baba 
 Bathra 12a.* 96 What the prophets thought of the wise men 
 has been shown above. The wise men are equally generous 
 in their praise of Prophecy. "When there is no vision, then 
 do the people become unruly " Proverbs 29, 18. This much 
 is certain, Sira studied his prophets assiduously, and even 
 if he had not said it, his language would have betrayed it. 
 The other class, the priestly class, inasfar as it was the 
 representative of the sacrificial system, was outside the 
 ken of the wise men. Still the wise men did not condemn 
 sacrifice. The most that they would say is that obedience 
 is better than sacrifice. Proverbs 21, 3 "The doing of 
 justice is preferrable to sacrifice." The other passages 
 quoted by Cheyne* 97 Proverbs 15, 8; 21, 27; 16, 6 cannot 
 be made to state even this comparison between righteousness 
 and sacrifice. All they state is that sacrifices cannot be 
 used to cover up iniquity. This attitude was not peculiar, 
 however to the gnomic school. We find similar statements 
 in the prophets Hosea 6, 6; Micah 6, 7-8; Amos 5, 24; 
 and 1 Sam 15, 22. The enthusiastic love of the priest that 
 Ben Sira has is well brought out in his section on the "Praise 
 of the Fathers" when he speaks of the ceremonial system 
 
 57 
 
and the sacrifices. See also Ben Sira 7, 29-31 ins -p 1 ? ^aa 
 aiTjw K^/ imo nan itriy mrw TIIKO ^aa tynpn I'jna rwi ^x 
 nnm nama np^n jni ina vim ^N nnr. This position is in 
 harmony with the prophetic school and would only dis- 
 agree with a distorted and mercenary priestly system. Other 
 complaints can be brought against it, and the prophets 
 and the gnomic writers are not silent on this, but it is not 
 necessary that the priestly system, was iniquitous per se. 
 At time such an iniquitous state of affairs did exist among 
 some of the priests, the priesthood was bought and sold, 
 but then it was due to wrong doing on the part of the 
 individual. The wise men would not lay the blame upon 
 the priestly idea. 
 
 That the historical backgound to the proverbial litera- 
 ture is to be enlarged was clear from the passages in Amos, 
 where the deduction was made that we must assume a 
 finished form of the proverb including the technique of the 
 number proverb before the time of the earliest of the literary 
 prophets, or else the form of Amos could not be understood. 
 This was made even clearer by the fact that in Hosea and 
 Amos we have the remnants of Proverbs. Hosea quotes 
 what seems to be the second half of a proverb.* 98 The 
 historical background must be enlarged in one more particu- 
 lar. The other classes with whom we had to deal and with 
 whom the wise men are frequently mentioned had their 
 false counterparts. There were the prophets of the Lord, 
 the true prophets, and there were the prophets of falsehood. 
 There were the priests of the Lord and there were the priests 
 of the various forms of worship antagonistic to the Jahveh 
 worship. See on this particularly the extended attack on 
 the false prophets in Jeremiah 23. The misreading of Isaiah 
 28, 14 and of Proverbs 29, 8 but more particularly of the 
 Isaiah passage, is responsible for the fact that a whole 
 series of sayings has not been put in proper light. 
 Isaiah uses the term "Moshele ha'am" in the text evidently 
 
 58 
 
to indicate a counterpart of the "Hacham" just as the 
 " neviai hasheker " are the counterparts of the " neviai Jahve. 
 By "anshe lazon" he understands the phrase makers. 
 There is therefore a school of the real wise men, with the 
 Mishle Hachamim (see Hebrew text of Ben Sira 3, 29) and 
 a school of the false wise men. These latter are the moshele 
 ha'am. It is to be assumed from the nature of the case 
 that the false wise men would ally themselves naturally 
 with the false priests and the false prophets ; they are there- 
 fore mentioned in conjunction with them by Isaiah. It is 
 natural too, that in the victory of the prophetic school, all 
 literature antagonistic to that school should have been 
 suppressed. Whatever of the literature of these moshele 
 ha'am remains, exists only in fragments. They are found 
 only when quoted by the prophets and by them combatted. 
 But the fragments are numerous enough to make it worth 
 while to collect them. Koheleth can be looked on as the larg- 
 est fragment of the Moshele ha'am school to which a hacham 
 unable tc give longer answer simply added the ending 
 "as long as all is in doubt, the best thing is to come back to 
 the fear of the Lord. This is the end of all things." It is 
 on this theory that we can explain the later fortunes of the 
 book. It was not granted ready admission into the canon. 
 Unconsciously there lingered in many minds some reminis- 
 cence as to its heretical origin. For this reason while its 
 conclusion, the work of a hacham was satisfactory and 
 actually procured its admission into the canon, the book 
 was felt to be out of alignment with the rest of the litera- 
 ture. The sign of holiness, making the hands impure, 
 ritually, was not given to it without discussion.* 99 During 
 the same period of questioning and examination for admis- 
 sion into the canon, two other books Ben Laana and Ben 
 Tagla were kept out.* 100 
 
 Furthermore, this contention against the uniform and 
 arbitrary rendering of "anshe lazon" by "men of scorn" 
 
 59 
 
will be supported by the examination of the passages in 
 which words of this root accur. This examination, moreover, 
 will place lez in the proper light as well. It begins with the 
 sense of making phrases, that is in the good sense, then as 
 frequently happens (just as rhetorician was used in the good 
 and bad sense and as sophist was a term of blame only later) 
 the lez becomes the adherent of the popular philosophy, the 
 theologian and the unwise wise man. From that he easily 
 passes over into the company of the wicked. That we have 
 the intermediate step, the popular phrase maker, rather 
 than scoffer and scorner, has been overlooked. 
 
 Lazon itself occurs three times. Pro. 1, 22 "How long, 
 ye simpletons, will ye love folly and ye lezim love lazon and 
 ye fools hate wisdom." It is hard not to see that the lez 
 and his love, lazon, found in the company of the simpleton 
 and the fool is the man who has a perverted hochmah. 
 Therefore is he the one frequently addressed by Hochmah 
 Proverbs 29, 8 "Men of false wisdom overturn a city, but 
 the wise men turn away wrath" has the opposition again 
 between the false popular wisdom and the real wisdom 
 strongly expressed. In the passage in Isaiah 28, 14 the 
 same opposition is expressed. The prophet had spoken. 
 From his answer to the anshe lazon it is to be judged that 
 his prophecy was cast into short phrases which the popular 
 phrase makers took up. They therefore speak of "zav 
 lazav and kav lakav." To this they added their own phrase 
 about their security. On this Isaiah tells them to stop this 
 phrase making. This is the interpretation to be put on 
 "Al titlozazu." It does not mean "do not scorn." It is 
 almost technical in force . ' ' Do not continue making phrases 
 as you have been doing about your security, etc. Make 
 no more of your proverbs, but hear the real teaching." 
 He ends the chapter then with a gnomic passage which in 
 this interpretation becomes an integral part of the prophecy. 
 The style of the section 28, 23-29 is of course different from 
 
 60 
 
the rest of the chapter. It cannot help but be different. 
 It is intentionally put into the Hochma style to teach the 
 Anshe lazon the folly of their wisdom. So far lazon has not 
 been found in the sense of scorn. That rendering gives a 
 faulty and inadequate understanding of the case in all three 
 passages. 
 
 The verb is used in a good sense in many of the passages. 
 So Meliz is an interpreter a neutral sense, at least, in 
 2Ch 32, 31 ; Isaiah 43, 27; Genesis 42, 43. The use in Job 
 33, 23 is a decidedly good use of the word. In Proverbs 
 9, 12 in a rather connected extract, for wisdom is there 
 represented as addressing her audience, we have nosn DN 
 Kn inn'? ns^i ^ noun Frankenberg* 101 renders "Wenn du 
 weise bist, bist du's dir zu Nutze, and wenn du ein Spot- 
 ter bist, hast du's allein zu tragen." Toy* 108 has "If 
 thou art wise thou art wise for thyself, and if thou art a 
 scoffer thou alone must bear the consequences." Wilde- 
 boer* 103 translates "Bist du ein Spotter." Now the con- 
 text must be taken into consideration in this passage. We 
 have here a picture in two sections. Wisdom personified 
 speaks, and tries to influence her hearers. Folly, too, is per- 
 sonified. In verse 12 (whether 7-12 belongs originally to 
 Hochmah and is a part of her address or was later slipped in 
 or a transition is immaterial to the argument* 104 ) we have the 
 statement on the part of wisdom or on the part of the 
 interpolator, that the choice must be made and the con- 
 sequences, good or bad, come naturally. But the choice 
 lies between wisdom and lazon. There is here exactly the 
 same opposition that there was in Isaiah 28, 14ff. The 
 other passages in which the verb is used can be allowed to 
 stand as "scorn" passages. These are Proverbs 14, 9; 
 19, 28; 3, 34; Ps. 119, 51; Hosea 7, 5; the verse in Job 
 16, 20 is doubtful but it is most likely used in a bad sense of 
 the word " My friends have misunderstood (misinterpreted) 
 me" therefore Job turns to God. 
 
 61 
 
The word lez is found in the company of the kesil and 
 the pethi as already noted in Proverbs 1, 22. The same 
 companionship is given him in Pro. 19, 25 as also in 21, 11. 
 In these proverbs the lez is the man who has turned from 
 the real wisdom of the wise and has found something else 
 for himself, which he, indeed, calls and thinks wisdom, but 
 which will speedily prove itself unreliable and worthless. 
 Therefore the special invitation comes to him to come and 
 learn the real wisdom Pro. 1, 22. Isaiah has an important 
 passage, important for the understanding of the real posi- 
 tion and character of the lez. Beginning at chapter 29, 
 verse 9 and interpreting in accordance with the interpreta- 
 tion that we have given 28, 14, we have the picture of the 
 delusion of the people. The prophet calls them drunk but 
 not with wine. They have been misguided. The day will 
 come when the wisdom of the wise men will be brought to 
 naught. Then will true wisdom come to its own. Ariz 
 (29, 20) is here used not in the sense of the tyrant but in 
 the sense in which we find it in the gnomic literature as a 
 parallel to the wicked man. See Job 15, 20; 27, 13. The 
 wise men are blamed for their utterances and upon examina- 
 tion these are seen to be of the same character as those 
 attributed to the Moshele ha'am and the anshe lazon in 
 Isaiah 28, 14. The lez is in Isaiah 29, 20 the singular of 
 anshe lazon. In this interpretation the im DTK 'H'tano so 
 vexing to the commentators* 1 5 becomes clear. They have 
 misled the people by their sayings. 
 
 Yayin personified as a teacher and called a lez is another 
 such proof. The fantasies of the drunk bear the same 
 relationship to the calm reasoning of the sober, as this false 
 wisdom bears to the real wisdom. Other passages can be 
 allowed to stand as they are. They are entered here for 
 the sake of completeness Pro. 22, 10; 21, 24; 19, 29; 3, 
 34; 9, 7; 13, 1; 15, 12; 14, 6. 
 
 Melizah is in both of the cases where it occurs used in the 
 technical meaning. In Proverbs 1, 6 it is used as something 
 
 62 
 
well classed with wisdom, the mashal, the hidah, etc. The 
 LXX it is true renders it by "skoteinon logon" (edition 
 Swete) but that is hardly correct. The rendering is caused 
 by the propinquity of melizah to Ijidoth in the text. In 
 Habakuk 2, 6 it is used for a taunting speech, exactly 
 as mashal was used. Now it is hard to assume such a 
 technical meaning in one part of the root, in melizah and 
 then not find it in other words of the same root. As a matter 
 of fact, by our assumption, we have found in all of the words 
 of the root the same technical indication. When used 
 technically it is in the sense of the false wisdom, the empty 
 phrase maker, the opponent of the wise man, the popular 
 theology as against the real religious doctrine. That opens 
 up a whole field of possibilities but unfortunately, the 
 literature owing to its very nature it was doomed, in the 
 ascendency of the prophetic school, to destruction, and such 
 indications as are found, are found in hints and in fragments. 
 
 It is fortunate, therefore, that a number of the prophets 
 make it their practice to sum up for contradiction, or for 
 the same purpose actually give, the saying of the popular 
 phrase makers. Introduced by nnoiim or non or by some 
 other such indication, we have a short chapter of the say- 
 ings of the false wise men. Such quotations from the hereti- 
 cal literature of the day, or if that is too strong, from the 
 heretics of the day are as follows: 
 
 First of all would be the phrase quoted both by Ezekiel and 
 Jeremiah "The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the 
 teeth of the children stand on edge." That, it seems, was 
 a stock phrase of the heretical wise men. The force of this 
 proverb acted both ways. That the other side of the proverb 
 was not quoted here is supplied by the long argument that 
 Ezekiel feels called upon to make proving or at least con- 
 tending that the children of fche righteous cannot live by 
 the righteousness of the parents. When put objectively 
 this will remind of the principal theory that the prophets had 
 
 63 
 
to combat. The temple is there. God must be with his 
 people therefore. No danger can as a consequence do more 
 than threaten. That is one of the Dtioixn in Amos 9, 10 
 "By the sword shall die all those sinners of my people who 
 say ' the evil cannot approach and come to us'." If Ezekiel 
 11, 3 is interpreted to mean that the people said they were 
 safe, even as the pot protects the flesh in it from the flames 
 then we have another passage of similar intent there. So 
 also Micah 3, 11 "Its chiefs judge for a bribe, its priests 
 teach for a price, and her prophets divine for silver, and still 
 they lean on God and say 'Is not God in our midst, evil 
 cannot come to us'." On this thought the classic example 
 is Jeremiah 7, 4. mm tein 11016 ipwi nrr ^K DS"? intann ^K 
 iron mm ten mm ten. Giesebrecht* 106 takes the nn in 
 the plural because the writer cannot help but think of 
 mm mastwa in the plural. But it looks as if the nan 
 should be construed with a "sheker" left out because of 
 the "sheker" earlier in the sentence. The omission is of 
 course older than the LXX. Jeremiah says "Temple of the 
 Lord, Temple of the Lord, Temple of the Lord" "They 
 (the prophets) are false."* 107 Giesebrecht's interpretation 
 would be a clumsy way of saying the temple stands. In the 
 Moshele Ha'am verse Isaiah 28, 14 we have an amplified 
 form of the popular mashal. It is here to be supposed that 
 Isaiah continues their saying and carries it out to an 
 absurdity. "Ye have said 'we have made a covenant with 
 death and with Sheol have we made an agreement. The 
 storm, when it passes shall not come to us, for (and this is 
 the prophet's addition) we have made lying our refuge and 
 in falsehood shall we find shelter'." Ezekiel 12, 22 has 
 another quotation from the heretical literature "The days 
 are passing and the prophecy is failing," given by Ezekiel 
 because he answers it in the counter proverb. Another such 
 remnant is found in Isaiah 9, 9 "Bricks fall, we shall 
 build of hewn stone, sycamore trees are cut down, we 
 
 64 
 
shall put cedars in their place." Haggai 1, 2 "The people 
 have said ' The time has not come the time for the temple 
 of the Lord to be rebuilt." The LXX* 108 leaves out the 
 first "time." That makes smoother reading, but is hardly 
 necessary. The necessity of answering popular proverbs 
 influences Malachi to such an extent, that it becomes a 
 characteristic of his style. (1, 2; 1, 7; 1, 12; 3, 7; 3, 8; 3, 
 13-14.) 
 
 It still remains to be said that women took part in the 
 development of the gnomic literature. From one of the 
 authorities in Proverbs we have the direct statement that 
 his mother taught him what he was about to utter (31, 1). 
 The phrase IOK imD> iv* means more than the ordinary 
 statement "the instruction of the mother" which in such 
 case means the instruction in the art of living and not in 
 the art of writing proverbs, which here, however, it undoubt- 
 edly means. That women practiced the composition of 
 parables and the like, we know from 2 Sam 20, 18; 14, 6-7. 
 
 At the head of the whole school, not however in time, 
 stands Solomon. Psalmody looks back in similar fashion 
 to David. This was merely a matter of accepted tradition. 
 By the same authority of tradition eschatology groups 
 itself around Enoch. While Ben Sira is explicit in his praise 
 of Solomon (47, 17) mpsn D*J? nx'^oi mn ^B>O vtpi the 
 Midrash seeks to establish a parallel between Solomon and 
 David.* 109 "David composed proverbs, so did Solomon." 
 To reward Solomon for the loss of his title to sole proverb 
 writer the Midrash as does the Bible makes him as well 
 as David, a writer of Psalms. The passage in the Bible 
 concerning the Solomonic authorship of proverbs, reads as 
 follows (1 Kings 5, 12ff) "And he spoke three thousand 
 proverbs concerning the trees from the cedar that is in the 
 Lebanon even the hyssop that springe th up out of the wall. 
 He spoke concerning the beasts and concerning the creeping 
 things and concerning the fishes." It is fair to assume that 
 
 65 
 
even in the mind of the recorder of this tradition, the 
 proverbs, here referred to, if indeed a reference is made to 
 Proverbs, were spoken and not written down. How this 
 kind of a tradition could be amplified is readily seen from 
 the Haggadic legend that Solomon spoke TO* 122 all the 
 creatures and not OF. This form of the tradition passed 
 over into other literatures.* 11 The text of 1 Kings above 
 quoted however, does not give more than a vague statement 
 of Solomon's wisdom and cannot be made to cover the Book 
 of Proverbs, even by the most liberal interpretation. The 
 in* hyssop is not even mentioned in the Book of Proverbs. 
 Neither, strange to say, is the rm cedar. The others in 
 this list of the extent of Solomon's reach are less definite 
 but the words n and BDI do not occur in the book. It 
 cannot be assumed therefore that the man was giving a 
 brief summary of the book, when he mentions things that 
 do not occur there at all. With direct reference to the Book 
 of Proverbs eliminated, what can the passage mean? 
 Nothing more than a rather extended acquaintance with 
 trees, the habits of animals and the like and the knowledge 
 was as far as we know only spoken and never written 
 down.* 111 
 
 By its own records, Proverbs has different layers. There 
 is the collection of the sayings of Solomon made in the time 
 of Hezekiah. Besides this we know from its own confession 
 other compositions not of Solomonic authorship were added 
 to the collection. Chapter 24, 33 we read D'O^rrt n^N DJJ 
 "These also are the sayings of the wise men." The "also" 
 points back to 22, 17-24, a section characterized by the 
 direct address from the speaker to the listener. Then we 
 have by the same testimony, Chapters 30 and 31 writings 
 of Agur the son of Yakeh and Lemuel respectively. How 
 far the authorship of Chapter 30 is to be attributed to one 
 author is not clear. It is possible that the number section 
 is a distinct section. Both of the names are in the Haggadic 
 
Literature taken as disguises for Solomon himself. This is 
 in line with the tradition of assigning all of the literature 
 of proverbial character to Solomon. The same is done in 
 the case of Koheleth, though there the reference to the fact 
 that the author speaks of himself as being king in Jerusalem 
 led to the identification. The interpretations of the Hag- 
 gadah, however, were in all these cases, for homiletic pur- 
 poses.* 112 Modern guesses have not gone beyond the 
 conjectural stage. There is not enough material for decision 
 in an> case and Agur and Lemuel remain unsolved and 
 unidentified. 
 
 Of the other book in the proverbial literature, we have 
 a continuous biography. Written in Hebrew, by Simon 
 the son of Jesus, son of Eliezer, son of Sira (so the name is 
 given in the Hebrew text 50. 27 a and in 51, 30 (3) although 
 51, 30 (2) has Simon the son of Jesus called Ben Sira. In 
 like form is the name given in Saadia's Sefer Hagalui, 
 ed. Harkawy p. 150, line 10-11, but simply Ben Sira p. 162, 
 line 7, and Bar Sira 162, line 18 and page 176, line 16 in both 
 of which cases Harkawy makes the note that without doubt 
 this is a mistake of the scribe for Jesus the son of Sira) it 
 was translated into Greek by his grandson who came to 
 Egypt in the 39th year of the reign of Euergetes, and since 
 only the second of that name reigned that long (170-116 
 B. C.) he must have come to Egypt in 132 B. C. This date 
 helps us moreover to identify the Simon of whom Ben Sira 
 speaks so enthusiastically in his praise of the Fathers. 
 There were two of that name but it can only be the second 
 to whom Ben Sira refers. Ben Sira flourished therefore 
 about 190-170. The Hebrew text was in time lost, though 
 snatches of it are preserved in current literature, in the 
 Talmud.* 113 Saadia (Sefer Hagalui, edition Harkawy) 
 has seven quotations and an eighth one which he wrongly 
 ascribes to another, an otherwise unknown author, Eliezer 
 be Irai, the author of a book which he describes as being 
 
 67 
 
similar to the Book of Ecclesiastes n'r* "IBD^ nann nosn IBD 
 What the style of the book was, is in one particular given us. 
 Saadia says it was provided with the marks and the char- 
 acters of the Biblical books. It must have been another 
 one of the gnomic literature modelled closely upon Biblical 
 models. The few quotations of the book verify this. In 
 1896 the first fragment of the Hebrew text of Ben Sira was 
 identified and through additions from various sources a 
 goodly portion of the Hebrew text of Ben Sira has been 
 brought to the light of day. 
 
 Sira comes closer to his hearers, or better to his readers, 
 than any of the writers of the Bible or the Apocrypha, with 
 the possible exception of the sorrowing Jeremiah. Sira was 
 born in Jerusalem (Ben Sira 50, 27) . The accusation before the 
 king, 5 1,6 (Greek version* 1 14 /3cunXet Sia/SoXi) y\ucr<rris ad'iKov 
 does not materialize in the Hebrew text. Thus the political 
 troubles are removed. He travelled in the pursuit of wisdom 
 34, 11. It may be that on such travels, he came across men 
 of the Greek thought and particularly of the Stoic school. 
 It is therefore quite likely that the verse referring to the 
 five senses is genuine. That the Greek does not have it 
 does not brand it as spurious. 16, 16 is also held spurious, 
 for a similar reason, but a corruption rco adajjLavTi can 
 only be understood if we presuppose an original Hebrew 
 reading "livnai adam" which the translator misread very 
 ignorantly as Avnai odem hence "stones of adamant." 
 For another notice of the five senses see Gnomic fragments 
 of the Genizah (Jewish Quarterly Review, vol. 16, pp. 
 425-442) page 6, line 15 ff. "The light of the eyes and the 
 hearing of the ears, the smell of the nose and feeling of the 
 hands, the tasting of the palate and walking of the feet; 
 all of these are given to all the living things, but above all 
 of these is the speech of the lips, that is found only in 
 man."* On his travels too he seems to have made the 
 acquaintance of the Greek banquet. Of this he learned 
 
to speak with favor and he takes the opportunity to praise 
 it very frequently. Nor was he overanxious that the ban- 
 quet should be marked by heavy and pedantic talk. In 
 friendly fashion, he tells the old man who is to sit at the 
 head of the table to "be one of the boys." Sira however, 
 knew the canon too well not to emphasize the dangers of 
 too much wine (Proverbs passim, Hosea 4, 11. Isaiah 5, 11. 
 21. See also gnomic fragment of Genizah "Wine enters, 
 sense ceparts." Compare this with the later proverb of 
 Tanhmma, Shemini, "Nichnas yayin yasa sod." A quality 
 of Ben Sira, which ought to be noted is his pride in his 
 people's history. He uses it for illustrative purposes more 
 than any other writer. In this he has placed himself in 
 debt to the gnomic Psalmist. These showed him how to 
 write history pragmatically, a quality handed on likewise 
 to the wisdom of Solomon. Ben Sira glories in the "Law." 
 His delight is in its study. The highest praise is given to 
 the scribe of the Law. These are indication of the early 
 rise of the Talmudic spirit of the study of the law for the 
 sake of the law. 
 
 Here ought to be added a notice of two other names that 
 are mentioned in close association with the early gnomic 
 literature early in the sense that they belong somewheres 
 soon before the completion of the canon. In the discussion 
 of the "Sefarim Hizonim," the book of Ben Tagla and the 
 book of Ben Laana are mentioned in connection with Ben 
 Sira. There are no quotations extant from either book, 
 so the contents are mere conjecture.* 116 
 
 69 
 
4. Sources 
 
 Following in the main tne outline mapped out by Koenig 
 (Stilistik, Rhetorik Poetik, Leipzig 1900, pp. 83-84) but 
 adding the material gained from the study of the fragments, 
 the following are the chief sources whence the material of 
 the gnomic lietrature is drawn. Koenig traces some of the 
 proverbs to the world of minerals, e. g. Sira 23, 14-15 "What 
 is heavier than lead, sand and salt and a mass of iron is 
 harder to bear with than a man without understanding." 
 Many of the examples which he enters in this class are only 
 secondarily appropriate here. They should be entered in a 
 class by themselves under the heading of the arts, coming 
 properly therefore as a subdivision of the section man, or 
 the fourth division in his system. In the class of the inani- 
 mate nature, Koenig fails to count the nature source 
 which is abundant in the fragments. Natural phenomena 
 are frequently drawn on by the fragments in the prophets. 
 Hosea 6, 4b "and your kindness is as the cloud of the morn- 
 ing and as the dew which disappears in the morning." 
 Hosea 6, 3 also draws on the same source. Hosea 8, 7 
 "They sow the wind and reap a whirlwind." Hosea 10, 13 
 "Ye have plowed evil, wickedness shall ye reap." See for 
 this also Ps 7, 15. Hosea 13, 3 has as sources the natural 
 phenomena of cloud, dew, chaff driven before the wind and 
 smoke. Note also in the proverb in Job 5, 6. "For iniquity 
 rises not from the ground and from the earth wrong doth 
 not spring up." Job 14, 6-10 not altogether wholly gnomic 
 is near enough. It too has the natural phenomena in mind. 
 Job 5, 7 "Sparks wing their way upward." Add also Jere- 
 miah 18, 14. 
 
 70 
 
Proceeding to the next class, that of the vegetable 
 world we meet proverbs found in the books of the Bible 
 other than the distinctively gnomic books. The proverb 
 of the sour grapes Jer. 31, 29. the relation of the straw to 
 the corn Jer. 23, 28. the two fables, the one of Judges 9, 
 8-15 of the vine and olive and the fig and the bramble and 
 the other paiable in 2 Kings, 14 of the thistle of Lebanon. 
 Besides the examples given by Koenig there ought to be 
 added the section in the praise of wisdom in Sira 24, 12-17. 
 Job 8, 11, "Can the bulrush shoot up without the mire, can 
 the meadow grass grow up without the water?" 
 
 From the animal kingdom material is drawn for the 
 following: Jer 13, 23 "Can the Ethiopian change his skin 
 or the leopard his spots?"; the saying in EC. 9, 4 "Better 
 is a live dog than a dead lion." The bee gives a proverb to 
 Ben Sira 11,3 Proverbs does not mention it but where the 
 Hebrew has the ant the Greek readers had inserted for 
 them in the Septuagint after 6, 8 one on the bee. The flea 
 is mentioned in the popular saying 1 Sam 24, 15. The 
 partridge is the source of another 1 Sam 26, 20. Amos 3, 4 
 has the lion and the young lion. Amos 3, 5 has the bird 
 but without close definition. Amos 5, 18 has the lion, the 
 bear and the snake Habakuk 1, 14 has "keremes lo moshel 
 bo." Job 6, 5-6 has the wild ass and the ox. Isaiah 1, 3 
 "The ox knoweth his master and the ass his master's crib' ' 
 Jeremiah 8, 7 has a list of birds the stork, the turtle dove, 
 and two others. The gregarious habits of animals Ben Sira 
 strikes off in 13, 15-17 and in 27, 9 "Birds of a feather flock 
 together. As already indicated, the last is preserved in a 
 quotation in Bab Kam. 92b where it is actually quoted as 
 being from the Ketubim (See Schechter J . Q. R. Vol 3 p 690) . 
 Curious is the combination which the Yalkut gives pn^ no 
 nun nn (Jer) (Sira) ft non^ OIK pi ]iw v*rt epy ^3 where 
 we have the combination of Jeremiah and Sira introduced 
 by "hakatuv omer" a phrase limited to introduce Bible 
 
 71 
 
quotations (ib. 699). A similar Talmudic proverb reads 
 uo mm* ijstt K?K mjrn ^SK vnrn ifa wrtf K^ "Not without 
 reason does the starling go to the raven, they are of a class " or 
 in the opposite form ire Kim* N^N vnt 'TXK my iSn *? Ber. 
 Rab. 65. See also Tanfruma Vayera im'Ki Kinnw 3J^ sip 
 and the Yalkut Toledoth near end *nt* rtpn ^tm ^"co 
 ni*n wp a:i Further proverbs are furnished by the 
 eagle, Ezekiel 17, 3-10 since the selection is called 
 expressly in the text, a mashal, by the serpent, Sira 25, 15 
 by the scorpion 26, 7 dragon 25, 16 wolf 13, 18 dog Pro 26, 11 
 and 1 Sam 24, 15 ox Pro 14, 1. 
 
 The proverbs drawn from the life of man can best be 
 handled as far as the social relationships are concerned when 
 we deal with the general concepts as well as those drawn 
 from the religious concepts. The proverbs coming from 
 the arts and crafts can be entered here. Such are Proverbs 
 25, 11 "Apples of gold in figures of silver a word spoken in 
 proper manner" and its parallel in Ben Sira 26, 18 "Golden 
 pillars upon sockets of silver, fair feet with a constant heart." 
 So also Ben Sira 2, 5 "For gold is tried in the fire" and Pro 
 27, 17 "Iron is hardened by iron" to which might be added 
 Pro 27, 21 "The firing pot for silver and the furnace for 
 gold, a man proved according to his praise and its counter- 
 part in Sira 28, 5 "The furnace proves the potters vessel, 
 the trial of a man is his discourse." Sira 32, 6 "a seal ring 
 of carbuncle set in gold" also Proverbs 26, 24 "Like silver 
 dross laid over an earthen vessel." These are, wherever 
 given, by Koenig, entered in the mineral class. But the 
 writer is not interested so much in the mineral part of it as 
 he is in the art side. Therefore they are entered here in the 
 fourth division. 
 
 72 
 
5. Concepts 
 
 Beginning with the Concept of God, we find that Sira 
 and ^roverbs agree in the main points. In Chap 42, 15 
 Ben Sira gives the praise of the Creator. We have here 
 emphasized the unity of God "From everlasting is he one." 
 He lives and endures forever 23,9. "Through His word of 
 command all things were formed," reading in 42, 15c with 
 the text and the marginal reading njm 1'vyo Dnto no INI 
 compare with this Ps 33, 6 itryj D'O 'n ima This form of 
 the thought is quite frequent in Hebrew Literature. The 
 Baruch Sheamar prayer in the liturgy "Blessed is He 
 who spoke and the world came into being. Blessed is He 
 who made the creation" (jvfftoa has, in the phrasing of 
 the later literature, become a technical term indicating 
 creation. The word is then used even with the b prefixed. 
 This of course arose from the position of bereshith as the 
 first word in the Bible and as the first word of the creation 
 account. A similar use is to be seen in another part of the 
 liturgy. " In his goodness he reneweth every day the work 
 of bereshith." How old this usage is can be seen from Sira 
 15, 14 Hebrew text "Elohim mibereshith bara adam.") 
 The fifth chapter of the Pirke Aboth "By ten words was 
 the world created"; and references in the oldest strata of 
 Rabbinic literature, Sifiri, Vayhi Binsoa, amply prove this. 
 In addition see also Tanfruma, Vayakhel 8 (page 131 of 
 the Warsaw ed) also Aboth de Rabbi Nathan 27, 1 and 38, 
 12 at end, also Seder Eliyahu Zuta where the phrasing pf 
 the Baruch Sheamar prayer is given, also Erubin 13b, 
 Sanhedrin 19, Shemoth Rab 25, etc. To Him belongs 
 the knowledge of the deepest and the highest (verse 18) 
 
 73 
 
of the past and of the future ni'p:i me^n Nothing can be 
 added to Him, and nothing can be taken away from Him. 
 His wisdom is His own and He needs no instructor. This 
 idea is paralleled by Is. 40, 14. "With whom did He take 
 counsel and who gave Him understanding." The fragments 
 of the gnomic literature scattered through the canon give 
 the same estimate. 1 Sam 14, 6 "For there is nothing 
 to prevent the Lord from saving through many or through 
 few." God sees all "For not as man sees does the Lord 
 see for man sees according to the outward seeming, but 
 God sees to the heart" 1 Sam 16, 7. Sira's description of 
 nature, sun, moon, stars, rainbow, snow, lightning, cloud, 
 thunder through which he seeks to show the great power 
 of God, though beautiful, stands below Job in artistic merit. 
 The phrase which at first sounds pantheistic 43, 27 im ppi 
 ten KMT "And the end of the matter, He is the all," is 
 hardly so. The very next phrase denies the identification. 
 It means rather that all qualities are His and therefore sums 
 up the attempt to give all the attributes since no other ade- 
 quate praise of God is possible. There is another such 
 passage in a later didactic poem the Shir Hayyihud, the 
 song of the Unity. In the canto for the third day of the 
 week, there occur the following lines ^n rs* K*>QI ten amo 
 tea nn ten nimi w^hich might be rendered in the following 
 pantheistic sense "Thou surroundest the all and fillest 
 the all and when the all exists thou art in the all." That 
 to the later writers this possibility suggested itself is proven 
 by the fact that the lines have been attacked for what was 
 to them an evident pantheism. But the border line is far 
 off. The pantheistic phraseology had not yet reached 
 such perfection. By kol the writer does not mean the "All" 
 at all. He has reference to some such Biblical phrase as 
 the "Male kol haaretz kevodo" the whole earth is full 
 of his glory. Isaiah 6, 3. 
 
 The gnomic Psalms have involved in them a statement 
 of revelation. These Psalms have placed God in the posi- 
 
 74 
 
tion of the hiacham of the proverbs. So in Ps 50, 15-20 we 
 have God himself instructing the wicked and reproving 
 them. In the revelation of God to man, Sira and Proverbs 
 differ markedly. Both of them talk of wisdom and both 
 of them personify it. The praise of wisdom is to be found 
 in longer or shorter extracts in every "Wisdom book." 
 Proverbs can say of it that wisdom was with the Creator 
 "when yet there were no depths," "before the mountains 
 were yet sunk down," "when he prepared the heaven" and 
 "happy is the man that findeth me" for "he findeth life 
 and obtaineth favor from the Lord" (8 passim). Job 28, 
 20-28 also has a description of wisdom. But neither Job 
 nor Proverbs take the step which Sira takes. Wisdom by 
 him is regarded not in the sense of teaching or instruction 
 or of empirical knowledge, for that Proverbs has also, but 
 in the sense of the later Jewish development the law of 
 Moses, or even of the Torah in the later sense. With Sira, 
 other books of the Apocrypha share this notion. Baruch 
 has the equation "Wisdom is the Torah." To the other 
 nations God did not give knowledge, only to Jacob did he 
 show the way of wisdom. (3, 29 35) This is the position 
 of Sira throughout. In chapter 24, in the description of 
 wisdom, parallel to Proverbs 8 and 9, Wisdom is made to 
 say "So the creator of all things gave me a commandment 
 and He that made me caused my tabernacle to rest and said 
 'Let thy dwelling be in Jacob and thine inheritance in 
 Israel.' He created me in the beginning" (the Hebrew 
 text must have had here not merosh or me'olam, but the 
 almost technical mibereshith, compare a similar use in 
 Sira 15, 14 hence the possibility of saying mibereshith) 
 "before the world" (for the thought compare Ber. Rab, 1.1 
 where Proverbs is interpreted in the same style.) "And I 
 shall never fail. Likewise in the city of Jerusalem was my 
 power and I took root in an honorable people, even in the 
 portion of the Lord's inheritance" (compare Deut 31, 9). 
 
 75 
 
But far more explicit is this "All these things are the 
 covenant of the Most High God, even the law which Moses 
 commanded for an heritage unto the congregation of 
 Jacob." In Proverbs, the name Moses does not occur. 
 
 After this statement of Sira, his doctrine of the immor- 
 tality of Israel is clear. "The days of Israel cannot be 
 numbered" 37, 25 (compare this Shir Hashirim Rab. 
 "Yisrael en lahem betelah o'amim") Sira's identification 
 of the Law with Wisdom shows itself clearly in the section 
 devoted to the praise of the fathers. Here he reviews the 
 course of Jewish history very briefly (for another passage 
 in praise of the fathers see 1 Mac 2 51-63 but there the 
 author has an entirely different aim. There the writer is 
 interested in showing the reward of righteousness and obedi- 
 ence to the law of God, etc., as exemplified in the lives of 
 the fathers) but dwells lovingly upon Aaron, 44, 6 describing 
 his vestments, the offerings and his consecration. He even 
 looks upon the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram as a rebellion 
 against Aaron. With similar loving touch, he describes 
 the High Priest Simon. His description is the type of those 
 given in the middle ages by the poets of the liturgy, in the 
 ritual of the Day of Atonement, when the description of 
 the services at the temple on that day forms an important 
 part of the services. The love of the ceremonial side of 
 religion is already here to be seen. This is the beginning. 
 His day was already productive of the beginnings of the 
 later Talmudic ramifications. For such a beginning see 
 his saying "He that washeth himself after touching a 
 dead body, if he touch it again what availeth his washing" 
 34, 25. But there are indications in Sira of that other 
 side the study of the law is becoming, what it did actually 
 become later, study for the pure love of the law (39, 1-5). 
 
 The breach of the law, according to Sira (and man has the 
 power to choose, 15, 11-17), the forsaking of wisdom, accord- 
 ing to Proverbs (hence sinner = fool and sin = folly, kesil, 
 
 76 
 
iveleth and kesiluth are found only in gnomic literature, evil 
 is found only four times outside of the gnomic books, other- 
 wise it also is limited to them) constitutes a sin. Since this 
 is ultimately connected with the thought that God is right- 
 eous and just, the result of sin is ever the same, and both 
 Sira and the Proverbs as well as the gnomic Psalms have 
 the same outlook. The righteous man insures happiness 
 to huTiself and even to his children after him Pro 20, 7 
 "He who walketh with integrity is a righteous man, happy 
 his children after him." He is delivered from distress, 
 Pro 11, 8 also Job 5, 19. "The righteousness of the upright 
 will save them Pro. 11, 6. The fruit of righteousness is a 
 tree of life 11,30. Behold the righteous man is recompensed 
 on earth 11, 31. The gift of the Lord remaineth with the 
 godly and his favor bringeth prosperity forever" Sira 11,7. 
 Conversely, sin and wickedness lead to punishment and 
 death; see Pro. 11 passim and the extensive description of 
 the misfortune befalling the wicked in Job 15, 20-35 as 
 well as Chapter 12. Even if for a time punishment be 
 delayed, it must come. Ps 27, 12 Pro 24. 19-20. " Fret not 
 thyself because of the evildoers, nor be thou envious of the 
 wicked for there will be no future for the evil man." "The 
 lamp of the wicked will be quenched." However, there is a 
 recognition of the possibility of a return through repentance, 
 followed by forgiveness by God, for he is merciful. Sira 
 28, 2; 2, 11; and Pro 1, 20-33. In this repentance, in the 
 gnomic writers sacrifice takes little part. For this see 
 Ecc. 4, 17 "And it is nearer (to the thing pleasing to God) 
 to listen than to bring the sacrifice of fools,"* 121 1 Sam 
 15, 22 "Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, to attend 
 better than the fat of rams," Amos 5, 24; Micah 6, 7-8. 
 Note also at the end of Job 28 which was throughout a 
 gnomic section, the saying "And he hath said to man 
 'Behold the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom and turning 
 from evil, that is understanding'." Similarly we should 
 
 77 
 
not be misled by the misfortunes of the righteous, for in 
 the first place, it can only be temporary Pro 24, 16 "For 
 seven times the righteous man may fall but rise, but the 
 wicked shall stumble because of their evil" and Psalms 
 "Even if he should fall he will not be swept away, for the 
 Lord will support his hand." The schemes of the wicked, 
 devised against the righteous react on themselves. Ps 7, 
 15-18. In the second place we have introduced by Proverbs 
 the very striking thought 3, 11-12 "Because whomsoever 
 the Lord loveth he admonisheth and as a father he delight- 
 eth in his son." Compare with this Ps 34. 20 Job 5, 17. All 
 such trials are intended to refine and to polish for "Gold is 
 tried in the fire and acceptable men in the furnace of 
 adversity" Sira 2, 5. That raison d'etre for adversity and 
 suffering is quite common in later Jewish Literature and 
 covers both individual and communal suffering. See 
 Menatioth 5b "The olive yields its oil only under pressure, 
 so Israel gains his good powers through suffering." See also 
 Berachoth 5 "Three gifts God gave to Israel and all of them 
 through suffering." For this suffering the Talmudic 
 writers have the phrase "Yissurin shel ahabah." As for 
 the direct connection between suffering and sin see Aboth 
 Chap 5 paragraph 11. 
 
 One important point should be noted Proverbs does 
 not know of an immortality. Sayings that death was the 
 end all were too common not to have had their effect. 
 Ps 30, 10; 6, 6; 88, 11-13; 89, 49; all point in the one 
 direction. But neither does Sira know of an immortality. 
 In Chapter 41 Sira had a splendid opportunity of introduc- 
 ing the thought. He speaks there of the bitterness of death 
 to the man living at ease, in prosperity and happiness. 
 But he gives no hint as to his belief in this matter. The 
 most that he will concede is the immortality of Israel, and 
 that, as can be seen, is a different kind of immortality. 
 See Sira 37, 25 IBDD ]K o> Sn* oy im D>I ISD BK nn 
 
 78 
 
Yet in the other wisdom book of the Apocrypha, the Wisdom 
 of Solomon, the belief is given in unmistakable terms, for 
 example, 2, 23 "For God hath created man to be immortal, 
 and made him to be an image of his own eternity" 2 Mac 
 7, 14 and 14, 46 have statements of the immortality, more, 
 in the latter passage there is even included the resurrection 
 of the body. Sira seems to have antedated the burning 
 question which was one of the dividing lines between 
 Pharisee and Saducee, but by the time of the Second Mac, 
 that is, towards the end of the first century B. C. the 
 position was already an established one. At any rate the 
 thought of the Wisdom of Solomon and of 2 Mac gives a 
 turn to the old theological question ft jni ;>ns "For though 
 they may be punished in the sight of man, yet is their hope 
 full of immortality 3, 4 a thought frequently paralleled 
 in later Rabbinic Literature. 
 
 The religious tone of Ben Sira is invigorating. Compared 
 with it, Proverbs is even secular. Never does Proverbs turn 
 into a real prayer. W T e have the petition in Pro 30, 7-9, 
 but Sira prays and knows how to pray. He is anxious 
 moreover that the God whom he worships, should be 
 recognized by all the nations around. "Let them know 
 Thee as we have known Thee that there is no God but only 
 Thou, O God." 36, 1-5. This is typical of the whole spirit 
 of the day. The proselytizing tendency (see Schiirer Ges 
 des Jud. Volkes, Edition 3, Leipzig 1898, Vol 3, pp. 1-135) 
 gave rise to this verse of Ben Sira. The attitude that he 
 assumes man must take toward God is well pointed out in 
 34, 20 "Whoso bringeth an offering of the goods of the poor 
 doeth as one that killeth the son before the father's eye" 
 a clear expression of the social righteousness which brings 
 the prophets and the proverb writers to the same ideal. 
 The liturgical forms of both Church and Synagogue, in 
 their insistence on the fatherly relationship of God and the 
 necessity of social bond and union are therefore not without 
 
 more ancient models. 
 
 79 
 
With this thought of the brotherhood of man, we can 
 easily pass on to the duties that one man owes another. 
 Both Proverbs and Sira teach kindness, especially to the 
 defenseless, the widow, the orphaned and the poor. Indeed 
 in Sira, Charity has already the term by which it is called 
 in later Rabinnic literature sedakah 3, 30 where it scarcely 
 means simply righteousness as is seen by the following verse 
 in Chapter 4. The term is already on the border line, 
 so much so that the Rabbis interpret it here too to mean 
 charity. (Pro, 14, 34 Bab Bathra 13b; Pro. 10, 2 
 Rosh Hash. 16b) but in that case it may be looked upon as 
 a projection backwards into the writings of the past of 
 the thought of the later writer. For only in later times 
 did that element of the root notion of sadak gain emphasis. 
 "Do not distress the poor for the cry of the poor shall be 
 heard" Sira 4, 6. Forgiveness is taught in the way of an 
 imitatio dei. Sira 28, 2 "Forgive thy neighbor the hurt 
 he hath done thee, so shall thy sins also be forgiven when 
 thou prayest. One man beareth hatred against another, 
 and doth he seek pardon from the Lord? He showeth no 
 mercy to a man which is like himself, and doth he ask for- 
 givness for his sins?" Qualities which make it impossible 
 for men to live together in peace and harmony are con- 
 demned backbiting Sira 28, 2; Pro 11, 3; and compare 
 Leviticus 19, 16 pride Sira 10, 7 and 12; Pro 8, 13; 
 humility is commended Sira 3, 18 ; Pro 3, 34. In both books 
 licentiousness and unchastity are dealt with in strong 
 disapproving terms. Both books presuppose monogamy. 
 
 As for the position of women, Pro 31 places it very high, 
 though there are some passages which do not deal kindly 
 with the troublesome woman.* 11 Sira has the same 
 view. In general the Rabbis have a more exalted opinion 
 of womankind. With children Sira recommends harshness. 
 The daughter gives the greatest anxiety hence Sira 7, 
 24-25 (see 69a). The child must be handled with vigor 
 
 80 
 
or else he will bring trouble to the parents. Sira 29, 1. 
 The care and honoring of parents are enjoined Sira 3. 
 
 The social conditions in the proverbial literature vary. 
 The conditions drawn from the fragments in the literature 
 point to very early conditions. The parables certainly 
 belong to conditions attendant upon agricultural life, 
 with war which is possible of course at any period. But as 
 we proceed we find the arts and crafts opening out. Ps 118, 
 22 has a builders proverb "The stone which the builders 
 have rejected hath become the corner stone." Isaiah 
 45, 9-10 has the pottery industry in mind. "Shall the clay 
 say to the potter what doest thou and thy work if he has 
 no hands." Jeremiah 18, 6 "We are as the clay in the hands 
 of the potter." Isaiah has the carpenter. The general con- 
 dition of the hired man is referred to in Job 7, 1-2. Haggai 
 1, 6 "He who does gain anything will be as one gaining 
 (or putting his wage) into a bag with holes." Agriculture of 
 course gives its quota. Amos 6, 12 "Will horses run upon 
 the rock, or will a man plow the sea with oxen." Job 31, 40 
 refers to the unreliability of crops. The same notion is 
 turned by Isaiah 5, 2, 4 to good account in portraying the 
 meagre returns from the Lord's vineyard. Job 8, 11 "Can 
 the bulrush shoot upward without mire, can the meadow 
 grass grow up without water" has the same agricultural 
 source. In Isaiah 28, 23-29 again agricultural conditions. 
 The riddle of Samson Judges 14, 18, " If ye had not plowed 
 with my heifer, etc.," ought to be included. The vintage 
 gives the proverb to Obadiah 5 as well as to Jeremiah 49, 9 
 Sira takes a derogatory view of trades and is therefore 
 decidedly inferior to the thought of the Talmudic authori- 
 ties who extolled manual labor and made it obligatory upon 
 every man to teach his son an honest trade. The commercial 
 life, that through Greek spirit was coming into Palestine 
 he condemns, 31, 15. But in this respect he agrees with the 
 spirit of the pentateuchal legislation and with the attitude 
 
 81 
 
of the Rabbis. D'snia minoa ninon ^z N^I (Aboth and see 
 also Sira 38, 24.) See Genizah Fragments J. I. R. Vol. 16, 
 page 13, line 18 7 n IJSD npr VK inean IWIBI lain nno 
 As for the political conditions the two canonical books 
 are about the same. In both books we read of a king who 
 is theoretically always wise. Sira 10. Him the Lord has 
 chosen to rule over his people and when he is righteous the 
 land will prosper. As the king, so the people Pro 29, 12. 
 But there are indications that the theoretically perfect king 
 was in actuality rather faulty and there are little remarks 
 here and there which go to show that administration was 
 not always running smoothly. "An unwise king destroyeth 
 his people" Sira 10, 3. Sometimes through the poverty 
 of the land, the representatives of the majesty and the 
 might of the king went hungry. Sira 26, 28. Of the learned 
 classes, Sira knows the scribe and the physician. Despite 
 the fact that he says "He who runneth before his maker 
 let him fall into the hand of the physician" 38, 15, * 118 he 
 can still say "Honor the physician with the priest and give 
 him his portion as it is commanded thee. "* 1 1 9 The hostility 
 to the physician is expressed in another one of the gnomic 
 books in the Aboth di Rabbi Nathan.* 120 The man who 
 meets with most favor in his eyes is the man who gives his 
 mind to the study of the Law of the Most High, 39, 1. 
 His duty it is lehagdil Torah ulhaadirah "to increase 
 the Law and to glorify it." 
 
 82 
 
Notes 
 
 1. It is possible that here the author is quoting an old 
 proverb and providing it with a running commentary. 
 
 2. "Skin for skin" and perhaps also the rest of the 
 verse (although that might be regarded as an explanation of 
 the short saying which had lost its original force and there- 
 fore the author felt the explanation necessary) must have 
 been used originally in a sense parallel to Exodus 21, 24-25 
 "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth." 
 
 3. See Delitzsch, Assyrisches Handworterbuch, Leip- 
 zig, 1896 p 431. 
 
 4. Id. p. 432. 
 
 5. Jeremiah 31, 28. na'fipn D JBM noa rts* nnn 
 Ezekiel 18, 2 rtf>npn D'Jin 'itm ioa I^DX> nn The LXX 
 Ed. Swete, Cambridge 1899) does not make any distinc- 
 tions and renders both alike, with the exception of the 
 rendering for ru>npn where the Hebrew is the same in Jere- 
 miah and Ezekiel. Jr. 31, 29. 'Ot warepes e<f>ayov 6/z0a/ca /cat 
 01 odovres T&P riwuv ^dLaaav Ezekiel has instead of 
 
 6. jm nainpn Dja jn IDS I^K* mn wft Kip 
 
 7. 1 Sam 19, 24 has the mere statement of the proverb 
 as arising out of Saul's presence among the "sons of the 
 prophets." 1 Sam 10, 12 on the other hand is an attempted 
 explanation as to the reason and origin of the proverb. 
 The starting point for the understanding of the proverb 
 is to be found in the acknowledged surprise at finding Saul 
 in his present company. One or the other, Saul or his 
 prophetic associates, is of a distinctly inferior rank and the 
 difference is recognized by the people. But which one* 
 
 83 
 
Saul or the prophets, is the inferior? The LXX by its 
 rendering K.O.I ris warrip avrov for the Massoretic text 
 nn3K ' leans to the side of the prophets. Saul is not so 
 much superior, if at all, "for who is his father." So the 
 Syr. and Vulg, render. 
 
 Smith, International Critical Commentary, Samuel, 
 New York, 1899, pp 70-71 does not give a definite decision 
 on this point. He thinks that the LXX reading gives 
 little help, but leans to the opinion that the surprise is 
 expressed because Saul, the son of a well to do man should 
 be found in the company of the wandering prophets. 
 
 Budde, Kurzer Hand Kommentar zum Alten Testament 
 Tubingen. 1902. in loco, does not accept the LXX, Syr 
 and Vulgate rendering. " Wahrscheinlicher ist die umge- 
 kehrte auffassung-Saul als Kind guter Eltern sollte sich 
 doch mit solch hergelaufenen Leu ten abgeben." 
 
 Klosterman, Kurzgef aster Kommentar. Nordlingen, 
 1897, in loco, is too far fetched in his attempt to see the 
 popular etymology for naj as being n IK. 
 
 Driver, Notes to the Hebrew Text of the Books of Sam- 
 uel, Oxford 1890, follows the Hebrew "who is their father" 
 i.e. is their father more likely than Kish to have had a son 
 a prophet. Prophetic inspiration is no hereditary inspira- 
 tion. 
 
 The commentators do not allow for the fact that there 
 might have been, as there probably was, an earlier and a 
 later interpretation. The earlier would have spoken against 
 the prophets, who at that time were at their very beginnings 
 and had no actual accomplishments recorded to their 
 credit. The later account would have felt that Saul was 
 hardly worthy of the companionship of the prophets. 
 
 8. Jeremiah 8, 7. 
 
 9. The Old Testament in Greek According to the 
 Septuagint, Swete, Cambridge 1899. 
 
 10. Duhm, Das Buch Jesaia, Handkommentar zum 
 Alten Testament, Gottingen 1902. 
 
 84 
 
11. Marti, Kurzer Hand Kommentar Tubingen, 1900, 
 in loco. 
 
 12. Cheyne, The Prophecies of Isaiah. London 1884, 
 in loco. 
 
 13. Dillman, Der Prophet Isaiah, Leipzig, 1890, in loco. 
 
 14. Orelli, Kurzgef aster Kommentar, Munich 1891. 
 
 15. Hitzig, Die Prophetischen Biicher des Alten 
 Testament, Leipzig, 1854. 
 
 16. Die Spriiche, Hand Kommentar zum Alten 
 Testament, Gottingen 1898. 
 
 17. Die Spriiche erklart. Kurzer Handkommentar. 
 Freiburg, 1897. 
 
 18. Toy, Proverbs, International Critical Commentary, 
 New York, 1899. 
 
 .njn 
 
 20. Cheyne, Prophecies of Isaiah, London 1884. 
 
 21. Duhm. Das Buch Jesaia, K. H. zum Alten Testa- 
 ment, Gottingen 1902. 
 
 22. The rptznn passages are the following: 
 Proverbs 2, 7; 18, 1; 3, 21; 8, 14. 
 
 Job5, 12; 6,13; 11,6; 12,16; 26,3; 30,22. 
 
 23. The nsy passages are more numerous. It occurs 
 87 times in all, 29 of this number being found in Proverbs, 
 Job and Psalms. 
 
 24. The parallelism can be seen by comparison of the 
 columns 
 
 Isaiah 33. 
 
 npio 13^ iwi 10 
 >n im mpix iSn 
 
 DKQ 
 
 Psalms 15. 
 
 VSD 
 
 inn 
 
 .14 
 
 .15a 
 15b 
 
 .16 
 
 oon "fin 
 now 
 
 nm pi 
 in: A 
 
 : >o nsim njn 
 nna wan o nnp 
 
 2. 
 
 85 
 
Duhm, above quoted, denies the parallelism and takes 15b 
 as an interpolation, but the parallelism exists outside of 15b. 
 
 25. The LXX has for pm adiKcos but that mani- 
 festly cannot be the rendering for pm. 
 
 Cheyne, "Can the prey be taken from the mighty one, or 
 the captive of the terrible one escape." The prophecies of 
 Isaiah, London 1884. Hitzig keeps the reading pnx. 
 Orelli has "statt pns lies nach Syr. Vulg. mit vielen 
 anderen pny." 
 
 Dillman-Most of the commentators have interpreted the 
 naj to be the Chaldean; in that case pns cannot be inter- 
 preted, for while it may mean "victor," it always implies, 
 besides, the notion of "right," therefore they must neces- 
 sarily change pns to pnp. Dillman (as does Marti, K. 
 Hk zum A. T.) takes iiu to refer to God and then pn* 
 could stand as the Massoretic text has it. But against 
 Dillman it can be urged that if iiaji and pnx mean God, 
 the next verse cannot be interpreted. From God it would be 
 supposed that nothing could possibly escape. But the 
 answer to the question "can the prey be taken from the 
 mighty one" is that the prey will actually escape. iin; 
 and pns must therefore refer, at least, to some human 
 being, from whom escape may be possible but hardly likely. 
 The qualities of this human are emphasized to be such 
 that one would hardly expect that what he was seized should 
 ever be able to escape his clutches and actually regain 
 freedom. The 13 and the w are in place in the text and are 
 of importance, besides. You would not expect that such 
 and such would happen but, '2, it does happen. 
 
 Duhm, Das Buch Jesaia Hk. zum Alten Testament 
 Gottingen 1902, adopts the reading piy. 
 
 26. Duhm, Das Buch Jeremia, Kurzer hand kommentar 
 Tubingen 1901, in loco. "9, 22-23 ist ein harmlos unbedeu- 
 tender spruch." 
 
 Hitzig, Der Prophet Jeremia, 2nd Ed. Leipzig 1866 
 calls attention to the recurrences of the three ideals non 
 
npnx in Ps. 33, 5. But that all points to the gnomic 
 origin of the section in Jeremiah. That does not mean 
 necessarily that the Prophet borrowed the passage bodily, 
 or even that he had some text before him which he altered 
 slightly in order to make it fit the purposes for which he 
 intended it. It only implies the presence of a literature, 
 with distinctive vocabulary and terminology. Part of that 
 literature to be sure was only in the making. It was still 
 in the speech of the folk. But part of it must most assuredly 
 have been written. Giesebricht, Das Buch Jeremia, 
 Gottingen 1894, in loco "cine Gnome." Because of its 
 gnomic character it of course necessarily falls out of align- 
 ment with the rest of the chapter in Jeremiah. But that 
 does not argue against its authenticity as a part of Jere- 
 miah's writing. It fits in with the opinions of Jeremiah as 
 well as anywhere else. Comparison with Isaiah 60, 18 
 and the use of the root there ( nSin) shows that ^n was used 
 of the "war cry," the "cry of victory." Marti Kurzer Hk 
 in loco has " Ruhm," " weil sie den Heiden Einlass gewahren, 
 die mit ihren Gaben den Ruhm der Stadt bezeugen" but 
 this does not carry out the figure of war in the verse implied. 
 Of course there is no doubt that n'Jnn later means praise and 
 that therefore "Renown," Cheyne, Prophecies of Isaiah, 
 in loco, is correct as far as it goes. But 1 Kings 20, 11 also 
 points the way to the military use of the word ^nrp . This 
 interpretation is strengthened by the use of njnaM in Isaiah 
 60, 18. That is undoubtedly a military phrase, see Isaiah 
 26, 1; 52, 7; 59, 17. Ps. 118, 15 where njne is used with 
 run *ip Ex. 15, 2; 14, 13; 2Ch. 20, 17 etc. 
 
 27. Genizah Fragments Jewish Quarterly Review 
 Vol. 16; of the Ms. p. 5 line 14ff. 
 
 inosn ana DTK Wnn to nrn iBa DTK Wnn to 
 
 '"3 Wnnrto moa^ DN 'a innBtro nona Wnn to 
 
 iom npnx ma^ imiu nss DIK ttnn to 
 
 tou m* npisa T nwy mars DTK ^nrv to 
 
 87 
 
(jmn) tevna on D'IIBTIJ n3 "2 
 
 TBV noto Ton nuD7i ns* nx 1*1327 DN 2 
 
 7SO 1TO 
 
 28. Ps 1,3. Jeremiah 17, 8. 
 
 mo U79 7j? ?int* yy3 mm 
 
 inya ]n ins on 
 
 mm 
 
 29. Carmel, by its location, striking and impressive, 
 would easily lend itself to figurative usages. The precipi- 
 tous break at the sea accented its height. Tabor also was 
 marked out by its location on the northern face of the plain 
 of Esdraelon, for the poet's figures. See Smith, Historical 
 Geography of Palestine, New York, 1903, Tenth Ed. pp 340. 
 "Carmel is visible not only from the hills of Samaria, from 
 Jaffa, from Tyre, from Hermon, from the hills of Naphtali, 
 but also from the hills behind Gadara, East of the Jordan 
 and from many other points in Gilead." For Tabor see 
 page 417. 
 
 30. The LXX (Swete B) reads ot \eyovres Ovxl irpoffd 
 drcos o'iKadojJLrjVTai ai ol/ctdt ; avrrj e0r> 6 XejSrys ij/zets de ra Kpea 
 Kretzschmar, Handkommentar zum Alten Testament, 
 Gottingen, 1900, renders the passage as follows "Die da 
 sprechen 'Sollten wir uns nicht den Tochtern der Stadt 
 Jerusalem (geschlechtlich) nahen?' 1st sie doch der Topf 
 und wir das Fleisch?" His commentary starts with b. 
 The pot is the city, those who live in it are secure and safe 
 from the flames. There is also a certain implied superiority 
 over those who were carried away into exile. He therefore 
 suggests that the full statement of the second half was, by 
 comparison with Ezekiel 24, 10 unain rnon "ncri "non vyn 
 itwn K. suggests mp in the sexual sense and takes D>na as an 
 abbreviation for D^BHV w. 
 
 Smend, Der Prophet Ezechiel, Leipzig, 1880, also makes 
 b the starting point of the commentary "die jedenfalls die 
 
1 versh. motivirt" and, as Kretzschmar, makes it imply 
 security on the part of those who are in the city. 
 
 Ewald reads with the Septuagint, but he does not con- 
 sider necessary the change of **> into Sn. Smend, because 
 the rendering of Ewald does not agree with Ezekiel 24, 
 renders, "It is not yet at the building stage we have much 
 to suher from the fires of war. " 
 
 Hitzig, Der Prophet Ezechiel, Leipzig 1847, says that 
 the 16 cannot equal nSi. The leaders are thinking of making 
 war, and therefore insist that the proper time for building 
 is not the present. 
 
 Orelli, Das Buch Ezechiel Munich 1896, takes it as a 
 statement of the war party. We have the war to think 
 about first. 
 
 Bertholet, Das Buch Hezekiel, Freiburg, 1897, agrees 
 with Cornill who follows the LXX, reading m: anpo nSn 
 
 The houses have been rebuilt are we not safe? 
 Of the Jewish commentators Rashi, takes b as implying 
 security. 
 
 72 i^iaa in; TJ; von 10 Kjm itran PKP Dt?3 naran unam von nn 
 
 The first part he understands as being elliptical 
 nua K^> on*? Bnrft JK DTD m:a :D>ioa:n nan ima anpa K 1 ? 
 oamr? ny nrn ij;n ID n^a K 1 ? a o^na nai D'na 
 
 Kimhi agrees with Rashi in assuming the first part 
 elliptical. The rendering of Kretzschmar of aip in the sexual 
 sense is too far fetched to be of any value here. Nor is it 
 necessary to clog the interpretation by assuming that once 
 a prophet uses a certain figure he has to develop it in exactly 
 the same fashion in every other chapter of the book. It 
 is mechanical to say that the phrase here must coincide 
 with the other pot passage in Ezekiel 24. The key to the 
 interpretation lies in verse 7. The prophet's answer would 
 be without point if we could not assume that the men of 
 
Jerusalem have been saying all along that they could -ot 
 be removed from the city. Jerusalem is now to remain and 
 those who live in it are safe. Ezekiel's answer is the only 
 permanent ones are those whom you have slain in the city. 
 The living shall be carried forth. Hence 3b must be taken 
 to indicate fancied security on the part of those who would 
 begin designs for the rebuilding and refortifying of Jerusalem 
 3a we read in accordance with the LXX with i6n. 
 
 31. Ewald Propheten, 2nd Edition, Vol 2. Gottingen 
 1868. 
 
 32. Cornill, Der Prophet Ezekiel, 1886. 
 
 33. Bernholet, Das Buch Hezekiel, Freiburg, 1889. 
 
 34. Kretzschmar, Handkommentar zum Alten Testa- 
 ment, Gottingen 1900. 
 
 35. Harper, Amos and Hosea, International Critical 
 Commentary, New York, 1905. "The prophet introduces 
 the new strophe with one of the many wise sayings which 
 were familiar to him, moral sayings which constituted the 
 stock in trade of the wise men who sat at the gate. Other 
 examples of the use of the wisdom sayings may be found in 
 4, Ib, 14d; 6, 4b; 8, 7a; 10, 12f; 14, 9." 
 
 36. Harper, above quoted. 
 
 37. Nowack Die Kleine Propheten, Handkommentar 
 zum Alten Testament. The LXX Ed. Swete, B. rearranges 
 the last phrase of the verse. It reads KCU o Xaos o vvviuv 
 avpTT\KeTo pera Tropvrjs. What it did seems to be to have taken 
 the HJT DM of the next verse, read it n:t DJ? and added it to 14d. 
 
 Nowack takes it as a fragment, occurring elsewhere and 
 inserted here, but he does not indicate the only possible 
 source for such a statement-proverbial literature. 
 
 Harper, Amos and Hosea, International Critical Com- 
 mentary, renders "Yea, a people stupid and falling to ruin" 
 but the ID K^> is relative and aa^ is the main verb. 
 
 Gardner's emendation (A. J. S. L.Vol 18, p 79) DBK:O DJM 
 nan 1 ?' is mere conjecture. 
 
 90 
 
This much must be granted. taa^ 1*31 ^ njn does not 
 go with the preceding assertions made in the verse. It is 
 evidently aa addition. It might possibly be the second 
 half of 4, 11 and the complete proverb would then read 
 .en^t pni K^ ojn a 1 ? np' anvm ]n ma? 
 
 39. Swete Ed. B. 
 
 40. Marti, Kurzer Hk 1903. 
 
 41. Michaelis, Deutsche Ubersetzung des Alten Testa- 
 ment, 1872. 
 
 Emendation accepted by Nowack, Harper and Marti. 
 
 42. Konig Stylistik, Poetik und Rhetorik, Leipzig, 1900. 
 Budde Z. A. T. W. 1882, 6ff. 
 
 See also Hebrew text of Ben Sira 38, 16b. 
 
 43. Briggs, Psalms, International Critical Commentary, 
 New York, 1906. 
 
 44. Ehrlich. 
 
 45. eTrioTTjpoco em (7e Tovs 6<f>6a\iJLovs fM)v "Dasselbe 
 Wort haben sie fur nsy Proverbs 16, 30. " (Baethgen Psalms, 
 Hk zum Alten Testament). They therefore read nsy ]K. 
 
 46. Baethgen, Psalms, Hk. zum A. T. in loco. 
 
 47. Duhm, Kurzer Hk. zum A. T. in loco. 
 
 48. inxi i2 n 'j?a i*a n jr^ IHO TMD^K '21 tnso 
 D^n rsnn tr^xn ' in*? IOK "n fi an n'^ ODK n^a^^ KD^JT ^ia 
 
 See also Yalkut Shimoni, Paragraph 720 at end. See 
 also Vayikra Rab. 16, 2. 
 
 49. Baethgen quotes Krochmal. The emendation of 
 lieno into jino as suggested by Krochmal is confirmed by 
 comparison with Tobit 12, 8b. See page 22 of the text. 
 
 50. See note 43. 
 
 51. Baethgen Psalms, in loco. 
 
 52. The LXX agrees with the Massoretic text except 
 in that it evidently read mnar6e> 0Xo7es avr?7S. Furthermore 
 it has TOP iravrafiiov for in 'a ]in te n. Did it have the reading 
 before it of itrs: ^2 n? The text as the Hebrew now has it 
 
 91 
 
seems to be confirmed by Pro. 6, 30-31 where we have the 
 same inn' and in '3 jin ^o n- 
 
 mmm>B> Budde (Kurzer Hk. Freiburg, 1898, in loco) 
 quotes Bickell as suggesting mmm>t? iip nnm>B>; Ewald, 
 Hitzig, Olshausen Kamphausen suggest the simple reduplica- 
 tion mnm>tj> rvwnto. This naturally would account for the 
 present condition of the text. The scribe left out one of the 
 words that, to his eye, were absolutely alike. The m ending 
 of the second is by these commentators taken to be the 
 divine element. They render "Brandes Flammen sind 
 ihre Flammen" that is, the lightning, just as mm ^p is 
 the thunder. 
 
 Ibn Ezra has this comment DK mioon ea* 1*3 np^no 
 :^>K nn las DB>n n^noi DTK? KTP nnpm Dint? TN nnx r6o ton 
 
 He takes the word as being two words and the m he 
 also takes as the divine element. Another Hebrew com- 
 mentator, Mezudath Zion, also takes the m as the divine 
 element and adds that it is here used as it is in PP'TSNO Jer. 
 2, 31 to denote intensity. Other words with similar ending 
 m^SNQ mnmia (see Gesenius Diet. s. v.) are treated in the 
 same way. But it is hard to maintain any such interpreta- 
 tion in the face of a name like npnp3 where we have exactly 
 the same formation. It is much preferable to take m away 
 from any relationship with the n* of God's name and simply 
 look upon it as an emphatic ending. See Jastrow, Journal 
 of Biblical Literature, 1894 pp 19ff. 101-127. The crux of 
 the question is in the occurrence of the ending jah in 
 Assyrian names. Delitzsch looks upon it as a personal 
 prefix and not as a divine element. (The Lutheran Church 
 Review 14, 196-201.) See also Clay the Amurru, the Home 
 of the Northern Semites, Philadelphia, 1909, pp 202 ff. 
 
 53. See Steuernagel in Hk zum A. T. Joshua page 175. 
 
 54. Trumbull, The Threshhold Covenant, pp. 22, 
 51, 55. 
 
 Strack, Der Blutaberglaube, p 68. 
 
 92 
 
55. 1 Sam, 26, 20. in* BMJHB rm trpn^ tonon -pa K!M *= 
 :onni Kiipn tpv -iB^a 
 
 1 Sam 24, 15. cpn nn new SKIV ito KS' o nnn 
 : nnx trjns n-njj no 3*73 nn 
 
 The LXX inserts in 1 Sam 26, 20 UPSJ after ppn^. It 
 reads on %e\rj\vdev 6 /3a<n\i>s I<rpari\ ^yrelv ^vxw MOU and it 
 leaves out the in* anjns nn. In support of the LXX is the 
 argument against the double comparison involved in the 
 Massoretic text the king pursues after David as a flee, as 
 one hunts the partridge on the mountains. With tpfij 
 moreover the rw would be in place. The LXX to 1 Sam 
 24, 15 has both the dog and the flea proverb. 
 
 The nn enjns of 1 Sam 26, 20 is an insertion in the nature 
 of a reminiscence of the scribe or reader of 1 Sam 24, 15. 
 Klosterman's insertion of itws in the text makes the figure 
 complete, but the figure can stand without it. See Budde, 
 Die Biicher Samuel, Kurzer Hk. Tubingen 1902. Driver, 
 Notes to the Hebrew Text of the Books of Samuel, Kloster- 
 man, Die Bucher Samuelis and der Konige. Kurzgef aster 
 Kommentar, Nordlingen, 1887. Smith, Samuel, Inter- 
 national Critical Commentary, New York 1899. 
 
 56. LXX Swete B. on ovx ws e/i/3Xe^crat a^pco7ros, 
 6 0eos. 
 
 57. DUui-vuKi Dit30it2i ittpi net* tmno fin n^ma ian 
 oi tptm n^inm KOI cm iann ommtyo n^'Nty onnyi 
 
 58. nnfioa ijn ^nrr ^K while it is possible with Kittel, 
 Hk zum A. T. in loco, to limit the -un to the putting on of 
 the sword (see the full expression in 1 Sam. 17, 39; 25, 13 
 and Ps. 45, 4) it is preferable to regard it in the more general 
 sense. Girding up the loins was the preparatory stage to 
 labor, battle or to the march. The loosening of the girdle, 
 or the opening of it, would be the sign that the battle, 
 march or task of any kind was over and accomplished. 
 
 Wnn cannot be disassociated from the Aramaic K^n or 
 the Assyrian alalu, to shout for joy. Here it means "to 
 
sing the chant of victory." In other words, "Let not the 
 man who is just girding up his loins, to enter the battle, 
 set up the song of victory as can one who has already loosened 
 his girdle." In the sense of singing the ^n to oneself it 
 comes to mean simply to boast. See Jeremiah 9, 22-23. 
 Proverbs 20, 14; 25, 14. Psalms 52, 3. Pro. 27, 1 Jeremiah 
 49, 4. Ps 97, 7. 
 
 59. Talmud Babli. Sanhedrin 38b. 
 
 mn rpDi'sa -PKO '-i BMVT mn '2 pm> M V*n 
 
 K'JN ifi ]i* um VKO 13*1^ rt in 
 
 60. Talmud Babli Succah 28a and Baba Bathra 134a. 
 In both passages the reference is particularly directed 
 towards the nfyn m^o as it was in the case of Rabbi Meir. 
 
 61. See Yalkut Shimoni to 2 Chron. 9, 1. paragraph 
 1085. 
 
 62. See Zunz, Zur Geschichte und Literatur 122ff. 
 See also the letter of Maimonides to his son (ni^an nn^K 
 nmtwii Warsaw 1877 p 2 ff.) and also the opening chapter 
 of the Pirl^e Derabbenu Hakkadosh. 
 
 63. Kautzsch edition. Die Apokryphen und Pseudepi- 
 graphen des Alten Testament, Tubingen 1900. For litera- 
 ture see Schiirer Geschichte des Jiidischen Volkes in ZA 
 Jesu Christu 3rd Edition Leipzig 1898. 3rd Vol. p 344. 
 
 64. Die Apokryphen und Pseudepigraphen des A. T. 
 1900. 
 
 65. Ibid. 
 
 66. Charles Taylor. Sayings of the Jewish Fathers. 
 2nd Edition Cambridge 1899. 
 
 67. S. Schechter, Aboth de Rabbi Nathan. Vienna 
 1887. 
 
 68. Nos 3-12 in the Sefer Hallikutim edited by Dr. 
 L. Griinhut, Jerusalem 1903. There are more in the n^p 
 D>nnsi D'TtiD edited by Schonblum and in the 3rd Vol of 
 the Beth Talmud, Vienna 1883. 
 
 94 
 
69. Leopold Dukes, Rabbinische Blumenlese, Leipzig 
 1844. 
 
 70. pm pte ifiD Lublin 1898. 
 
 71. njjan inao isc Das Buch Mibhar Hapeninim des 
 Rabb! Jedaja ben Abraham Bederaschi Penini, Text by 
 Dessau and German translation by Hirsch Lowinsohn. 
 Berlin 1842. 
 
 72. See Genizah Fragments. S. Schechter, Jewish 
 Quarterly Review, Vol. 16 pp 425-442. In a later note 
 (see page 776 of the same volume) Schechter makes cor- 
 rections of nporn into nnana on page 443 and IED into 1133 
 on line 10 of page 434. Both of these were typographical 
 errors. The Ms. has the correct reading in both cases. 
 Through the courtesy and kindness of Dr. Schechter I was 
 allowed to examine the manuscript and have noted the 
 following corrections to the printed text. Of these cor- 
 rections some are typographical errors, some are misread- 
 ings of the Ms and others deal with conjectures which on 
 further examination of the Ms cannot be allowed or do not 
 seem probable. 
 
 The Ms has 14 pages and I therefore refer to the Ms 
 numbering 1 to 14. 
 
 Page 1. Line 2. It is rather clear that the text of a is 
 nom niKno iua nor is the sp of nun invisible. 
 
 3b. rnwi is clear. The last word is perhaps r6>ax. The 
 upper stroke of the h is still to be seen and the vowel above 
 (the Ms. is provided with the superlinear accents) is v. 
 The context suggests the reading n^an. 
 
 4b. So much is readable D(oan..../no)n 
 
 5b. All that is visible is the first word 
 
 6b. The first three letters are most probably vrh and 
 not vnb. 
 
 7b. The reading is m....K a*n. The K belongs to the 
 second word. 
 
 lOb. b starts in from the margin. There is a space 
 where a word might have been written. The top layer 
 
 95 
 
of the paper is gone. It is, therefore, to be inferred that 
 the scribe had made a mistake, erased the word and then 
 found that he could not write on the rough surface that 
 the erasure had caused. He, therefore, began a little way 
 in from the margin. 
 
 12a. Schechter reads IKUW but the Ms. has no i and the 
 vowels call for >K:B>. 
 
 12b. The reading ]a is not possible. The last letter 
 was evidently an D and the vowel of the syllable was v. 
 Read D2m. 
 
 15a. Very faint. Read 'n anx norn sn 
 
 16b. Read (mum) Jtti (DWK 11321) 
 
 17b. 11321 is clear at the beginning of the line 
 
 18b. Read n'nan rftsK oonp 11121 
 
 18a. There is no i before nD2n. 
 
 Page 2. 3a. The first word was probably rann 
 
 5b. Read ^Tun 31133 mprp K^I 
 
 16a. The text is as follows DTtfK onp D^oon D>2n 
 Schechter suggests reading onon but the first letter is 
 decidedly a n. 
 
 17a. Read n?i2i y*33 nnfo mri* 
 
 Page 4. Line la. The last word is most likely DIJIIJ 
 and not D'Ji2J. 
 
 18 First word is mm not mm. 
 
 Page 6. Line Ib. The middle word is blotted and rubbed 
 but it was most probably ynn . See the passage in Jeremiah 
 8, 22-23 of which this is an elaboration. 
 
 3a. Schechter has the wrong division of words. Read 
 hw DIK npiS3 '2 instead of tev tniwi P^^^ 12 
 
 8b. The last word is njn not nyi. 
 
 12a. D'D3 not DIBO. 
 
 Page 7. Line 2a. Schechter reads D>SQJ onytr nt^on '3 
 ^33 but the text ought to be D*KSD3 nnytr ntron '2 
 
 Page 8. Line 2b. The Ms reads D>KSBJ 13 norm. On 
 line three the scribe made a mistake and marked it by put- 
 
 96 
 
ting dots ov^r the letters, enn. The margin has the word 
 rwvr. It is possible therefore that 2b read rwna nosm 
 
 lOb. The last word is 
 
 Pa&e 9. Line 3a. Read 'n njn mo* n'jnn 
 
 Page 10. Line Ib. Ms reads is not '.PPS. 
 
 Page 11. Line 5b. Ms reads D'^wso but this is a mistake 
 for D'^rtpo. See 6a. 
 
 12a. Read tps:n. 
 
 19a. nip rma and not rnpn ma. 
 
 Page 12. Line 6b. The last part is abraded. The Ms 
 has ttfo ty Qiaj^oi Schechter's conjecture of BSWS is satisfac- 
 tory but the vowel of the last word still visible was v hence 
 pis is unsatisfactory. Read crn. 
 
 lib. See Ezekiel 23, 35. The line ought to end with n 
 Read'*' Y?B iu nn. 
 
 Page 13. Line 18a. Read ina^n IDHOI lain nmo 
 
 Page 14. Line 1. This line was constructed as was 
 18 on page 13. uin rmo opened the line, ntrjp DK can be 
 read in b. The line ended most probably with & BM. 
 
 2a. The fragment of the D and the pn show continua- 
 tion of the construction. 
 
 2b. mpn ^K perhaps with the same ending of i 5 ? &M. 
 
 3b. npi' K^>. 
 
 4b. Probably 
 
 5b. Perhaps I 
 
 6b. The Ms. has na^i hence the D can be safely con- 
 jectured. 
 
 9a. IBSJ njrn^ D"IK nn The ny are to be seen in the Ms. 
 The point of the *> still is visible and the phrase is found in 
 line 12. 
 
 9b. rrti to be seen in the Ms. The vowels however are 
 clear and would point to a reading jsnnrm. 
 
 lla. The Ms. reads nto not am. 
 
 lib. The Ms. has lotaoo. The word can be easily 
 
 supplied D>jiEt20O. 
 
 97 
 
17b. The last word is n 
 
 16b. The last word, or what is left of it, is 2. We want 
 a word therefore ending in i and in which the x would 
 have a short o. The word was most probably 121*. 
 
 73. Cowley and Neubauer, the original Hebrew of a 
 Portion of Ecclesisaticus. Introduction p 28, 29. 
 
 Dukes Blumenlese (above quoted) pages 31, 32, 67-84. 
 See literature in Jewish Encyclopedia Vol 2 p. 681 
 at end of article Ben Sira Alphabets of. 
 
 74. LXX Swete B reads on xcup6i iraaiv ols /utrei 6 
 deos awrpijSerai 6e 81* aKadapaiav ^ux*?s. 
 
 75. Editions of and Commentaries to Ben Sira. 
 Cowley and Neubauer. 
 
 The Original Hebrew of a Portion of Ecclesiasticus, 
 Oxford 1897. 
 
 Schechter and Taylor, The Wisdom of Ben Sira, Cam- 
 bridge 1899. 
 
 Hebraische Text des Buches Ecclesiasticus. 
 
 Peters, Freiburg, 1902. Die Weisheit Jesus Sirach, 
 Smend, Berlin 1906. 
 
 See Literature in Smend above quoted pp XII-XIII. 
 
 76. ]pn *nao VPJM n*u to in tit* in'hiD njnn PN 
 truan SIN DTOIK vn Djna iia^sn ^ riN^no DJISJI 
 
 Immediately following this one there is another with a 
 double nnoiH n. 
 
 n innnm p^uinm D'2?in in I'bK nt n m p3i 
 : ^nnntr o'oan n^o^n *i DOIDIK B>M maim 
 
 77. Wildeboer, Kurzer Kommentar zum A. T. Proverbs, 
 Introduction p XIII. 
 
 78. Frankenberg H. K. zum A. T. in loco. 
 
 79. Toy, Proverbs, International Critical Commentary. 
 Introduction page XXX and with special reference to Pro. 
 30, 11. 
 
 80. Die Kleine Propheten, Nowack, HK zum A. T. 
 
 81. Konig, Stylistik, Poetik und Rhetorik. Leipzig 
 
 1900. page 163. 
 
 98 
 
82. Harper Amos and Hosea in the International 
 Critical Commentary. 
 
 83. Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible. Vol. 4 page 109. 
 
 84. Harper, Amos and Hosea, above quoted. 
 
 85. WiMaboer, Proverbs, above quoted, Introduction 
 page XII. 
 
 86. See article, Languages of the Old Testament, 
 Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 3. page 34 a, b and 
 literature there cited. 
 
 87. See page 6 of text. 
 
 88. See reference on page 27 of text. 
 
 89. See note 72. 
 
 90. See Cheyne Job and Solomon page 1 1 8 ff , New York 
 1887. Toy, Proverbs, Introduction page XX. 
 
 91 . Toy, Proverbs in loco. 
 
 92. Nowack, Die Kleine Propheten, Hk zum A. T. in 
 loco. 
 
 93. LXX Ed. Swete B. 67/cw/xta^o/xcVw^ Swcata?? 
 eixfrpavdrjaovrai Xaot apxbvrcov de aae(3&v arevovaiv avftpes. 
 
 94. Toy, Proverbs, in loco. 
 
 95. Jewish Quarterly Review, Genizah Fragments, 
 Vol. 16, page 433 line 6. 
 
 96. Talmud Babli Baba Bathra 12a s|ny osm IO'DK IOK 
 
 97. Cheyne, Job and Solomon, above quoted. 
 
 98. Hosea 4, 14d. 
 
 99. See Mishnah Yadayim Chapter 3. Mishnah 5. 
 
 100. See later Note 116. 
 
 101. Frankenberg Proverbs Hk zum Alten Testament, 
 in loco. 
 
 102. Toy Proverbs, International Critical Commentary 
 in loco. 
 
 103. Wildeboer, Proverbs Kurzer Hand K. 
 
 104. Toy Proverbs page 192. 
 
 105. Revised Version "that make a man an offender 
 in a cause" or marginal reading "make men to offend by 
 
 99 
 
their words." Marti, Jesaia Kurzer Hk, in loco, "sie sind 
 DTK wane die Leute schuldig hinstellend im, also die 
 Denuncianten ; man kann sich nur fragen, ob im heissen 
 soll'mit Worten, mit geschickter Verleumdung, oder nicht: 
 um eines Wortes Willen." But opposed to this is that 
 't:nn is not used in this sense of denounce or condemn. 
 For the proper use of the Hiphil see 1 Kings 14, 16; 16, 13; 
 15,30; 15,26,34; 16,26; 22,53. 2 Kings 3, 3; 10,29,31; 
 13, 2, 11; 14, 24; 15, 9, 18, 24, 28; 23, 15; 21, 16; 13, 6; 
 17,21; Nehemiahl3,26; Jer32,35; Eccl.5,5; Deut.24,4; 
 1 Kings 16, 2; 21,22; 2 Kings 21, 11; Exodus 23, 36. 
 
 Duhm Isaiah Hand K. renders im "with words" and 
 interprets the whole phrase to mean "Menschen schuldig 
 zu machen, als schuldig hinzustellen." Duhm therefore 
 takes >K't:ntt 'j^ano but for this as noted above there is no 
 parallel. 
 
 Dillman, Der Prophet Jesaia, Leipzig, 1890 sets aside 
 the interpretation "die Leute schuldig sprechen in einer 
 Rechtasche" also the interpretation " verurtheilen um 
 eines Wortes Willen" and "die Leute verleiten mit Worten 
 zu siindigen." He also maintains that Kitsnn cannot equal 
 
 Cheyne Prophecies of Isaiah, in loco is open to the same 
 objection of misinterpretation of weno. 
 
 The reference is here undoubtedly to the DJWI teo again, 
 who have misled the people by their word word being used 
 in the technical sense, every phrase being called a in, 
 for the proverbs are often called ciEsn nm, D'QDPI teo being a 
 much later phrase, see Ben Sira Hebrew text 3, 29 Neither 
 has the second phrase any relationship with judicial mat- 
 ters. They lay snares for the reprover at the gate is the 
 same thought as mrtnn of Is. 28, 22. It is the mocking 
 derision of and the picking of flaws in the phrases of the 
 prophet that is here referred to. 
 
 106. Giesebricht, Jeremias Hand K zum A. T. in loco. 
 
 100 
 
107. The Hebrew text woiilcl' be^Vf mW fen Vhm ^ 
 
 non ipw mm 
 
 108. LXX Ed. Swete. B. 
 
 109. Midrash Shir hashirim 1,1. 
 
 1 lO. See Die Salomo Sage in der Semitischen Literatur, 
 Georg Salzberger Berlin Nikolassee, 1907. Koran, Suras 
 21, 27, 34, 38. See also Literature in Jewish Encyclopedia, 
 Vol 11 page 444, 446. 
 
 111. The numbers as given in the text are vague. The 
 LXX (Swete) has five thousand instead of the three thous- 
 and. The counting would presume a copy of some book 
 whose proverbs could be counted, but the whole form of the 
 passage is against this. The numbers are therefore used to 
 indicate indefinite rather than definite number. See Kittel, 
 Die Biicher der Konige, Handkommentar zum A. T. 
 Gottingen 1900. Benzinger, Kurzer hand kommentar 
 zum A. T. 
 
 112. See Yalkut Shimoni, in loco. 
 
 113. Schechter, Jewish Quarterly Review, Vol 3 
 pages 682 ff . 
 
 Neubauer and Cowley , Original Hebrew of Ecclesiasticus, 
 Introduction; Reifman, Haasif, Vol III. 
 
 114. The Greek text of Ben Sira 51,6 reads as follows: 
 /3acrtXet diaj36\r] 7X0x7(7775 adiKov. The Greek 6a is the 
 Hebrew 5c. Greek has 5a, b. 6a, b, c. The Hebrew has 
 5abc, 6ab. For the Greek, as above given, the Hebrew has 
 naifc titt6- 'sm for which see Strack who prefers to Jeremiah 
 9, 7. But the better reference is Ps 120, where the other 
 parallels are found ip instr and noitt jiffS 
 
 115. rjjpta^ n'v tptfai D'SK nm D'JTK njporroi D'iiy na 
 nm n^N fy inn D'MSD D"n tyih o^s n^;n "pirn inn 
 
 The author is here concerned with the praise of 
 That, he says, is the distinctive property of man. The 
 function of the five senses (the author adds a sixth motion) 
 
 101 
 
are shared by all creatures, but speech, the means by which 
 norn is transmitted is given to man alone. On this see 
 further on page 7 line 2 on ^jnn D>NSJ nnyt? ntron ; 
 norn TH KSDJ rt 0*71231 
 
 For njpa^ Schechter proposes to read ncj^. See Genesis 
 29, 30. 
 
 116. See Zunz Gottesdienstliche Vortraege page 320. 
 See also note by D. Kaufman in the Revue des Etudes 
 Juives Vol 4 page 161 and Perles, Revue des Etudes Juives 
 Vol 3, pages 116-118 and Joel, Blicke in die Religions- 
 geschichte zum Anfang de Zweiten Christlichen Jahrhun- 
 derts Breslau and Leipzig 1880. page 74. 
 
 The Jerushalmi passge (Talmud Jerushalmi Sanhedrin 
 28a) reads as follows concerning the Dmn onso, 
 KVD p nsD lus Dvaunnn onsca toipn *IK "IDIK K3pp n 
 mipn -|^m IKSO innr:^ nnso ^31 oi>on nso ^nw :ruj^ p 
 
 In the discussion on the same topic in the Babli (San- 
 hedrin lOOb) and touching upon the same Mishnah, it is 
 to be noticed that Ben Sira is mentioned and Ben Laanah 
 is not. The omission is to be accounted for by the possibility 
 that between the time of the two Talmuds Ben Laanah had 
 lost vogue and was no more a vital subject of discussion 
 or illustration. At any rate it would go to show that Ben 
 Laanah whether that be the name of a book or of an author 
 was an early writer or book. 
 
 The passage in which Ben Tagla is mentioned is in 
 Koheleth Rabba to 12, 12 and reads as follows: 
 n''ro nm inn iina di2Dn tev nino "nmn aa none imn" 
 : n^n in ISDI KVD p IBD p:o irpn 01:20 Kin no-ino cnsc 
 
 Joel above cited thinks that Ben Tagla was an apoca- 
 lyptic book rts and assumes that Ben Laanah was of the 
 same nature but the fact that wherever the books are men- 
 tioned it is in connection with Ben Sira, whose character is 
 too well denned as a proverbial book, militates against any 
 
 102 
 
apocalyptic theory. Furst (See Jewish Encyclopedia 
 article, Ben Tagla, Ginzberg,) says that Laanah is Apollonius 
 of Thyanv, and that Tagla is Empedocles. This attempted 
 identification however is too remote. Equally remote and 
 improbable is the identification suggested by Linderman 
 (See Kaufman, above quoted) with Eusebius and Jerome. 
 Perles regards trtjjn p as a mistake for xtyn p and would 
 see in it the "fox parables." 
 
 In the n:*^> p he sees the njj^n nso the washers books 
 He reads the text therefore KVD p I^VQ 
 m^troa D'N^n ni^erac- But unless we have in the last 
 two real actually current books alluded to, instead of a class 
 of books, as Perles interpretation would make both, the 
 examples (and both are quoted as examples) would not 
 be parallels with Ben Sira. And if D'tyiff m^troo refer to a 
 class, there could not be any real valid objection to them. 
 See above on the D'^jntr m^tro of Rabbi Meir and of Jochanan 
 Ben Zaccai. 
 
 See also note by D. Kaufman in Revue des Etudes 
 Juives 4, 161 containing a quotation cited by Steinschneider 
 (Hebr. Bibli. VIII, 65.) as being from the mipn ip of 
 Messer Leon, commenting on the passage in Sanhedrin and 
 Ben Laana as follows: 
 mn 'won D'^nrn nnn ow Dnson oni* irp*o >JKT rwjp nso 1^2 
 
 In the absence of more extended mention of either Ben 
 Tagla or Ben Laanah in the sources, and in the further 
 absence of any quotation from either, all that can be 
 warrantably inferred is that from the fashion in which they 
 are mentioned and from the context they must refer to 
 actual books and cannot be merely terms for a class of writ- 
 ings; furthermore they must have been early proverbial 
 collections, hence their appearance with Ben Sira, that they 
 were at one time on the brink of being admitted into the 
 canon, but failing in this they were lost so that the Talmud 
 Babli does not even mention them. 
 
 103 
 
117. See (a) Proverbs 12, 4; 18, 22; 19, 14; 30, 20ff; 
 5, 15-20; 11, 16; 31, 10-31; 
 
 (b) Proverbs 2, 16-19; 5, 2-14; 5, 20ff; 6, 24; 7, 5ff; 
 11,22; 19,13; 21,9; 25,24; 22,14; 23,7; 
 
 BenSira9, 1-9; 12,14; 19,2; 25,8; 25,13,17-24; 26, 
 1-2; 7,23. 
 
 118. Stracktextof BenSira38, 15. many JB$ KBIH itr* 
 
 See Smend Die Weisheit des Jesus ben Sirach, Berlin, 
 1906, p. 342. 
 
 Cf. Soferim 15 Halachah 10. o^rpji? DM&natt me 
 
 119. Strack text 38, 1. to p^n IDK tu ins IJB* nen jn 
 iem onn nan njn rnKtwa KB" -p DNOI sn carp ^?K nno 
 : a!nn anna 'js^i 
 
 120. aiai -isiDi i^ in T^NI nn ^ij;'? p^n on*? PK 
 
 See also the following note in Pesikta Rabbati, Ed. 
 Friedmann page 42b mne mse^ mns )v*v nnsn n 1 ? S IOK 
 
 The note reads as follows : K^T K^in nax n^-na n^ 'i 
 
 mna nn^ nnma^ n^ns 
 See also Kiddushin 82a inn inann latra IBIK min 
 mta ,ononpn pjscn inva pii 
 
 The phrase concerning the physician is not of the lan- 
 guage and style of the rest of the passage and is evidently 
 a quotation most likely a popular saying. 
 
 121. Hebrew Text: rnr D'^Dan nno JMQB^ anp : i but 
 see Kittel, Biblia Hebraica, Leipzig, 1906 and the note that 
 the Syriac had m^Dan- nit. 
 
 LXX (Swete B) reads /cat eyyvs TOV aKovtw virep 56jua T&V 
 a<j>povui> 6vala <rov it therefore points to a text which had the 
 same consonants but it read different vowels and had nn. The 
 Massoretic reading however is better. Barton, Ecclesiastes, 
 International Ciritcal Com. New York 1908. has "and to 
 draw near to obey is better than that fools .should give 
 
 104 
 
sacrifice." This construction of anp used as an infinitive 
 subject is maintained by Nowack, Hand Kommentar in 
 loco. Wildeboer, Kurzer Hand Kommentar, in loco, has 
 the imperative continued through to snp "aber man 
 iibersetzt besser mit De Jong unter anderung in unpi 'Hiite 
 deinen Fuss, so wirst du dem gehorsamsein naher kommen 
 als wenn die Thoren Schlachtopfer bringen." Graetz, 
 Koheleth, Leipzig 1871, in loco takes nnp as an adjective. 
 Volck, Kurzgefaster Kommentar zum A. T. Nordlingen 
 1889 in loco, takes it as an infinitive absolute and subject 
 of the clause as does also Hitzig Der Prediger Salomo's 
 Leipzig 1847. The rendering of nnp as an infinitive has 
 against it that a ma must be inserted. The second rendering 
 cannot be maintained seeing that J-QT D^'DSPI nn jnB^ nnpi 
 is most probably an old selection quoted by the author. 
 We take nnp therefore as an adjective in the sense of mta 
 or "near" "pleasing" i. e. to God. Who are the D^'DS? 
 Jastrow suggests they are the priests. But that is a modern 
 application and is too harsh a description of the priestly 
 class even for the sceptical writer of Koheleth. The 
 sacrifice is of course a literal sacrifice; the D^'DD are those, 
 then, who imagine that through sacrifices alone can they be 
 accounted righteous. 
 
 122. Note a similar tradition concerning Hillel in 
 Treatise Soferim 16, 9. as follows: 
 
 i^'SN ID 1 ? *6tr o^orn nm nry to ^n ty iity no* 
 n^vyi D>sy nrpa> m^pm nijn^i onn nrpt* 
 onw nn menai 
 
 105 
 
Index of Passages in the Bible and 
 Apocrypha Quoted or Discussed 
 
 Genesis Page 
 
 2,18 19 
 
 42,43 55 
 
 Exodus 
 
 23,8 49 
 
 Leviticus 
 
 19,16 75 
 
 Numbers 
 
 21,27-30 21 
 
 23,7-8 21 
 
 24,3, 15,20, 21, 23.... 21 
 
 Deut. 
 
 3,11-13 23 
 
 14,14 18 
 
 16,19 48,49 
 
 23,19 30 
 
 28,2 43 
 
 28,37 21 
 
 29,28 42 
 
 31,9 70 
 
 Joshua 
 6,26. 
 
 ..15 
 
 Judges 
 
 8,21 15,25 
 
 9, 2b 15 
 
 9,8-15 19,65 
 
 12,3 16 
 
 14,14 16,20 
 
 14,18 76 
 
 17,6 16 
 
 21,25 16 
 
 I Samuel Page 
 
 3,20 17 
 
 10,12 2,3 
 
 14,6 17,68 
 
 15,22 16,51,72 
 
 15,23 16 
 
 16,7 17,25,69 
 
 19,5 16 
 
 19,24 2 
 
 24,13 16,25 
 
 24,14 43 
 
 24,15 16,37,66,67 
 
 25,25 17,25 
 
 26,20 16,66 
 
 II Samuel 
 
 5,8 7 
 
 9,8 17 
 
 12,1-6 20 
 
 12,4 .38 
 
 14,5-7 20,38,59 
 
 14,14 18 
 
 15,6-7 59 
 
 19,4 18 
 
 20,18 18,59 
 
 22,25-27 12 
 
 I Kings 
 
 2 23 
 
 5, 12ff.. 60 
 
 8,32 48 
 
 9,7 21 
 
 12,10 18,25,38 
 
 14,15 18 
 
 16,34 15 
 
 20,11 18,25 
 
 20,31-40 20 
 
 106 
 
II Kings Page 
 
 9,32 .29,35 
 
 14,9 19,65 
 
 19,1 20 
 
 21,13 18 
 
 Isaiah 
 
 1,3 3,25,66,5 
 
 5,1-6 20,76 
 
 5,11 63 
 
 5,21 63 
 
 6,3 69 
 
 9,9 59 
 
 10, 15. . . .3, 5, 6, 38, 27, 
 
 76,25 
 
 14,10 1,11 
 
 14 21 
 
 17,6 29,35 
 
 22,13 3,25 
 
 24,17-18 7 
 
 27,24-28 20 
 
 28, 14. .. .3,5,52,54,55, 
 
 56,58 
 
 28,20 5,25,37 
 
 28,21 8 
 
 28,23-29 6,55,76 
 
 28,24-25 27 
 
 29,9ff 56 
 
 29,20 56 
 
 32,6-8 6,25 
 
 33,13-16 6,25 
 
 37,3 6 
 
 40,12-16 6,25,27 
 
 40,14 68 
 
 43,27 55 
 
 44,8 45 
 
 45,9-10 6,25,27 
 
 49,15 6,27 
 
 49,24 6,25,27 
 
 55,2 45 
 
 66,8 6,25,27 
 
 66,2.. ..9 
 
 Jeremiah Page 
 
 7,4 58 
 
 8,7 7,25,66 
 
 8,22 7 
 
 9,22-23 7,25,44 
 
 13,23 7,38,66 
 
 17,5-8.... 7,25 
 
 18,6 7,76 
 
 18,14 7,25,27,65 
 
 18,18 47 
 
 23,5 48 
 
 23,28 7,65 
 
 23 52 
 
 24,9 21 
 
 31, 28.... 2, 25, 38, 58, 65 
 
 32,14 9 
 
 48,43 7,11 
 
 49,9 8,25,76 
 
 50,35 49 
 
 51,57 50 
 
 Ezekiel 
 
 7,26 47 
 
 11,3 8,58 
 
 12,22 8,59 
 
 14,8 21 
 
 16,44 9,16,25 
 
 17,3-10 ....21,67 
 
 18,2 1,4,25,58 
 
 24,33ff 8 
 
 Hosea 
 
 4,lb 9 
 
 4,11 9,63 
 
 4, 14a 9,25,36 
 
 6,2 29,35 
 
 6,3 9,25,65 
 
 6,4b 9,25,65 
 
 6,6 9,16,25,51 
 
 7,5 56 
 
 8, 7a 9,12,25,65 
 
 107 
 
Hosea Continued Page 
 
 10,13 10,12,25,65 
 
 10,12 10,25 
 
 13,2 10 
 
 13,3 25,68 
 
 14,10 10,25 
 
 Micah 
 
 2,4 11,21 
 
 3,11 58 
 
 5,4 29,32 
 
 6,7-8 51,72 
 
 6,9 6 
 
 Amos 
 
 3,3 10,25,27 
 
 3,4 10,25,27,66 
 
 3,5 10,25,27,66 
 
 3,6 10,25,27 
 
 3,7 22 
 
 5,18 8,11,66 
 
 5,24 51,72 
 
 6,12 11,25,27,76 
 
 6,13 11 
 
 9,10 58 
 
 Obadiah 
 
 5 8,76 
 
 Jonah 
 
 4,10 11 
 
 Habakkuk 
 
 1,14 11,25,66 
 
 2,4 19 
 
 2,6 11,57 
 
 3,8 27 
 
 Haggai 
 
 1,2 59 
 
 1,6 11,76 
 
 Zephaniah 
 
 3,3-4 49 
 
 3,5 48 
 
 Zechariah 
 4,6 
 
 Page 
 
 19 
 
 10,3 
 
 19 
 
 Malachi 
 1 2 
 
 59 
 
 1,7 
 
 59 
 
 1, 12 
 
 . . 59 
 
 3,7 
 
 59 
 
 3,8 
 
 59 
 
 3.13-14.. 
 
 ..59 
 
 Psalms 
 
 1 7 
 
 6,6 12,73 
 
 7,15 11,65,73 
 
 7,16-17 12 
 
 9,16 12 
 
 15 6 
 
 16,11 45 
 
 18,25-28 12 
 
 25,14 22 
 
 25,34 13,28 
 
 27,12 71 
 
 30,10 12,27,73 
 
 31,1 42 
 
 32,8-10 12,50,13 
 
 33,6 68 
 
 33,9 9 
 
 33,11 9 
 
 33,13 13 
 
 34 13,28,50 
 
 34,12-15 13 
 
 34,20 73 
 
 35,8 12 
 
 37 13,28,51 
 
 37,16 13,22 
 
 37,30 48 
 
 37,35 14 
 
 37,39 28 
 
 40,5 21 
 
 49,5 14 
 
 50,15-20 69,14 
 
 108 
 
Psalms Continued Page 
 
 62,12 ...29 
 
 69,5 14,19 
 
 78,14 14 
 
 78,2 21 
 
 79,2-3 44 
 
 79,9 22 
 
 80,9-10 21 
 
 88,11-13 12,27,73 
 
 89,49 14,27,73 
 
 90,10 14 
 
 91,7 22 
 
 92,2-3 22 
 
 94, 8-10.... 13, 14,27,50 
 
 102,27 9 
 
 105 14 
 
 106 14 
 
 107 14 
 
 107,43 15 
 
 111,3 14 
 
 112,3 14 
 
 111 14,28 
 
 112 14,28 
 
 115,5 45 
 
 118,8-9 15 
 
 119,51 56 
 
 119 15,28 
 
 132,4 15 
 
 145 15,28 
 
 Proverbs 
 
 1,6 47,57 
 
 1,21-22 5 
 
 1,22 54,56 
 
 1,20-33 72 
 
 2,2 43 
 
 3,34 56,57,75 
 
 3,11-12 73 
 
 4,1 6 
 
 4,9 43 
 
 6,4 15 
 
 6,6.. ..9 
 
 Page 
 
 6,16 34 
 
 6,16-19 29 
 
 8 70 
 
 8,13 75 
 
 8,32 13 
 
 8,35 43 
 
 9 70 
 
 9,7 57 
 
 9,12 55 
 
 10,8 9 
 
 10,10 9 
 
 11,3 75 
 
 11,4 43 
 
 11,6 72 
 
 11,8 72 
 
 11,14 22 
 
 11,4-10 47 
 
 11,9-12 27 
 
 11,30-31 72 
 
 13,1 57 
 
 13,20 26 
 
 14,1 67 
 
 14,6 57 
 
 14,9 56 
 
 14,34 75 
 
 15,12-14 27 
 
 15,8 51 
 
 15,16 22 
 
 15,12 57 
 
 16,6 51 
 
 16,12-15 27 
 
 16,17-18 27 
 
 16,20-21 27 
 
 16,22-23 27 
 
 16,30 13 
 
 17,15 29 
 
 17,23 49 
 
 18,20-22 27 
 
 19,25 56 
 
 19,28 56 
 
 19,29.. ..57 
 
 109 
 
Proverbs Continued Page 
 
 20,3 44 
 
 20,10 30 
 
 20,22-24 27 
 
 20,7-9 27 
 
 20,24-26 27 
 
 20,12 29 
 
 20,7 72 
 
 21,3 16,51 
 
 21,11 13,56 
 
 21,15 48 
 
 21,24 57 
 
 21,27 51 
 
 22,10 57 
 
 22,17 47 
 
 2,26-28 27 
 
 22,17-24 61 
 
 24,19-20 72 
 
 24,16 72 
 
 24,22 29 
 
 24,30-34 27,50 
 
 24,23 47 
 
 24,33 61 
 
 25,6-7 27 
 
 25,11 26,67 
 
 25,12 26 
 
 25,14 26 
 
 25,8 26 
 
 26,18-19 .26 
 
 26,24-25 26 
 
 26,24 67 
 
 26,11 67 
 
 26,27 12 
 
 27,3 29 
 
 27,10 26 
 
 27,17 67 
 
 27,21 67 
 
 27,23-27 27 
 
 28,10 26 
 
 28,28 49 
 
 29,2 49 
 
 29,8 52,54 
 
 Page 
 
 29,16 *9 
 
 29,12 76 
 
 29,13 29 
 
 29,18 51 
 
 30,11-14 36 
 
 30,7-9 74 
 
 30 61,34 
 
 30,15 30 
 
 30,18 30 
 
 30,10-31 34 
 
 30,21 30 
 
 30,29 30 
 
 30, Iff 34 
 
 30,29-31 29,36 
 
 30,21-23 29,36 
 
 30,18-20 29 
 
 30,15-16 29 
 
 31 34,61,75 
 
 31,1 59 
 
 33,10-31 28 
 
 Job 
 
 2,4 1 
 
 5,2ff 50 
 
 5,17 73 
 
 5,5-6 1,65 
 
 5,7 1,65 
 
 5,19 72 
 
 5,19-23 1 
 
 6,5-6 27,66 
 
 7,1 27,76 
 
 8,15 8 
 
 8,11 27,66,76 
 
 12 72 
 
 12,11 27 
 
 12,5-7 1 
 
 12,11-25 1 
 
 13,14 16 
 
 14,28 1 
 
 14,6-10 1,65 
 
 14,18-19 1 
 
 110 
 
Job Continued Page 
 
 15,20-35. .. .1,12,56,72 
 
 16,20 . . . .56 
 
 17,6 21 
 
 18,5-20 1 
 
 19,20 19 
 
 20,5 1 
 
 27,14-23 1 
 
 27,13 56 
 
 28,20-28 70 
 
 28,28 72 
 
 31,40 1,76 
 
 ?:,14 29 
 
 33,23 55 
 
 33,29 29 
 
 34,3 1 
 
 38,5 6 
 
 40,5.... 29 
 
 Song of Songs 
 8,6ff.. 
 
 15 
 
 Lamentations 
 
 3,5 2 
 
 3,47 7 
 
 Ecclesiastes 
 
 1,15 1 
 
 2,14 1 
 
 3,1-8 1 
 
 4,2-3 1,30 
 
 4,17 72 
 
 5,2 1 
 
 5,6 
 
 5,9 
 
 6,9-12 
 
 7,1-13 
 
 9,4 66 
 
 9,16-18 
 
 10,18 
 
 10,20b 
 
 10,1-13 
 
 Page 
 
 10,8 12 
 
 12,13..... 45 
 
 Daniel 
 4,24.... 
 1 Ch. 
 11,6.... 
 
 43 
 
 18 
 
 2 Ch. 
 
 7,20 21 
 
 9,1 20 
 
 32,31 55 
 
 Wisdom of Solomon 
 
 Chap. 10-19 22 
 
 2,23 73 
 
 3,4 74 
 
 Tobit 
 
 4,3-21 22-23 
 
 12,6 22 
 
 12,6-11 22 
 
 12,7 22 
 
 12, 7b 22 
 
 12, 8b 22 
 
 12,9 22 
 
 I Esdras 
 
 3ff 23 
 
 Baruch 
 
 3,29-30 23 
 
 3,29-35 23 
 
 Ben Sira 
 
 2,5 67,73 
 
 2,11 72 
 
 2,16 43 
 
 3 75 
 
 3,9 42 
 
 3,8b 43 
 
 3,1-16 42 
 
 3,18 75 
 
 3,29. 43,53 
 
 111 
 
Ben Sira Continued Page 
 
 3,24 47 
 
 3,29-35 70 
 
 3,30 43,74 
 
 4,1-10 42 
 
 4,6 75 
 
 6,5-17 42 
 
 6,6 43 
 
 6,14 43 
 
 6,15 .42 
 
 6,31 43 
 
 7,24-25 75 
 
 7,29-31 52 
 
 8,8-9 51 
 
 9,1-9 42 
 
 10,3 77 
 
 10 76 
 
 10,7 75 
 
 10,12 75 
 
 11,3 66 
 
 11,7 72 
 
 13,15-17 66 
 
 13,18 67 
 
 15,14 68,70 
 
 15,11-17 71 
 
 16,16 63 
 
 21,26 45 
 
 23,9 68 
 
 23,14-15 65 
 
 23,16 30,44 
 
 24 70 
 
 24,12-17 66 
 
 25,1 30 
 
 25,2 30 
 
 25,7 30 
 
 25,15 67 
 
 25,16 67 
 
 26,5 30 
 
 26,7 67 
 
 26,11 67 
 
 26,18 26,67 
 
 26,28 30,31,77 
 
 Page 
 
 27,9 18,66 
 
 27,25-27 12 
 
 28,2 72,75 
 
 28,5 67 
 
 28,20-28 70 
 
 29,1 75 
 
 31,15 76 
 
 32,6 67 
 
 34,11 63 
 
 34,20 16,74 
 
 34,25 71 
 
 36,1-5 74 
 
 37,18 30 
 
 37,25 70,73 
 
 38,15 77 
 
 38,24 76 
 
 38,33 47 
 
 39,1 77 
 
 39,1-5 71 
 
 40,18-26 30,33 
 
 42,15 68 
 
 42, 15c 68 
 
 43,27 69 
 
 44,6 71 
 
 Chaps. 44-50 23 
 
 47,17 . .60 
 
 50,25 31 
 
 50,27 61,63 
 
 50,25-26 30 
 
 51 28 
 
 51,16 63 
 
 51,30 61 
 
 1 Mac 
 
 1,26-28 44 
 
 1,39-40 44 
 
 2,7-13 44 
 
 2,44 44 
 
 2,51-63 23,71 
 
 3,3-8,9 44 
 
 3,18 17 
 
 112 
 
I Mac Continued Page 
 
 3,45 44 
 
 7,19 ....44 
 
 9,20-21 44 
 
 9,41 44 
 
 14,6-15 44 
 
 2 Mac Page 
 
 2,32 23 
 
 7,14 73 
 
 14,46 73 
 
 15,27 17 
 
 15,39 23 
 
 113 
 
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