We continue on in the third section of the Tanakh with the Book of Proverbs. But that’s actually a poor English translation for the Hebrew Mashal, which means something more akin to “instructions for life”. The structure indicates that there wasn’t an intent, in general, for short, pithy, catchy phrases that one could stick on your refrigerator, but those phrases were part of an explanation for an approach to some life task. Or so say the scholars on the topic. We shall find out together. We begin with Solomon, for some 22 pages, and then move on to others.
- God, in the form of Wisdom, offers guidance along the path of life. There are constant temptations to stray from that path, mostly from those who seek to bring you down to whatever level they occupy. Pay no attention to them and follow the call of Wisdom, and God will protect you along your life’s journey.
- This feels like a restatement of Proverb 1 – listen to wisdom and it will lead you to stay on the righteous path, protect you from the evil around you, and you will come to know, fear, and appreciate God.
- While this passage starts with the same as the previous two – seek out and trust in Wisdom, in God – it goes further and directs the listener to treat others well and fairly, even if they are immoral or unethical or even intentionally wicked. In many ways this proverb is a precursor to the later Christian “turn the other cheek”, though more active in its exhortation to do the right thing, regardless of what others are doing around you.
- Another repetition, this time exhorting a son to listen to his father, who will tell him to not follow evil ways and to listen to Wisdom and follow her guidance. Not addressed is how one knows that any given father is going to actually guide his children in that manner. Not all fathers are, or were, on righteous paths.
- We’re getting into the nitty gritty now. While the overall admonition of following Wisdom remains, the focus in this proverb is on wicked, forbidden women, who may be temptresses and tempting, but whose souls are rooted in the depths of Sheol (sort of, Jewish Hell). Find a good woman to be your wife and stay on the path of right.
- Similar to yesterday, but instead of being seduced by the wiles of a witchy woman, in today’s proverbial story, you’ve been conned by what sounds like a gang leader of con artists. The recommendation extraction process is to approach this snake oil salesman, beg forgiveness for leaving him after promising to work with him, accept the consequences, and get your life back on the path of righteousness. He will, of course, understand and accept your decision completely… yeah.
- A vision of a man being seduced by a wayward wife whose husband is away. If he acquiesces, it’s a path to Sheol. If he’s wise, he will have wrapped himself with tefillin allowing him to see her for what she is and avoid her wicked wiles. There is, just as in much of the Talmud, a lot of time spent on warning young men away from young women.
- Wisdom cries out from the hilltops, reminding all that she was one of God’s first creations (I don’t remember that from the creation story) and has been with him since Day One. Further, that what she speaks is always true and always more valuable than wealth.
- Scoffers and simpletons need to stop scoffing and being simple. These seem to be very different categories. One is a behavioral choice, even if an ingrained one, the other a mental condition, which perhaps can be partially relieved by applied study, but probably not overcome. Yet, Wisdom demands it of each of them.
- Well, finally, we get to the proverbial proverbs… Thirty-two of them to be exact. All attributed to Solomon. Lovely two-line fortune cookie witticisms like: “He who lives blamelessly lives safely, But he who walks a crooked path will be found out.” and “A wise son brings joy to his father; A dull son is his mother’s sorrow.” Most of them relate to righteousness, in some form or another.
- More fortune cookie style wisdom. While not only related to commerce, a good percentage of this chapter’s list of proverbs is devoted to God’s displeasure at the way some men might conduct business. Many of these are admonitions to, basically, treat customers and trade partners with respect and fairness.
- More of the same, mostly relating to the motives of the wicked, the shiftless, the unworthy. But the final stanza has given translators fits for centuries now. It usually gets translated something like following the path of righteousness will lead to eternal life. But the Hebrew actually says that righteousness leads, more or less, to permanent un-death. You might imagine why religious leaders might not want the concept of eternal un-death to be bandied about.
- I have the feeling these are going to be so wide ranging that they’ll be difficult to really summarize. A few select fortunes from today can be summarized in modern parlance as: A wise man knows when to keep his mouth shut. A good parent knows when to discipline their child and when not to. Slow and steady wins the race.
- More wide ranging stuff. I think my favorite is the one that forces you to think through a trade-off… You need oxen to till your fields. On the other hand, if you don’t have oxen, you don’t need to worry about cleaning their stalls. I guess it all comes down to how you feel about cow patties.
- Today’s selection of proverbs mostly relate to speaking and I’d sum them up as a combination of “know when to speak and when to shut up”, much of the latter coming down to “if you have nothing good to say, don’t say anything”. Sorry Alice.
- A series of proverbs mostly in the vein of God putting temptations, tests, and people with bad motives in front of you to see if you maintain your faith in him, or fall prey to them. Stay the course is, of course, the message!
- Another series, of course, with a general theme that leans towards – if you are seeking good relations with someone, you speak appropriately, treat them with respect, and, respect their privacy, secrets, and even faults. If your approach is to look for what’s wrong with someone, to nitpick, in a relationship, you may as well forget it, because no one’s going to put up with that for long.
- A couple that stood out today. Being around people may be important, but being around your closest friend(s) is more important. And, the first witness always sounds credible until he’s questioned or the second witness gives his account.
- There’s a lot of haste makes waste sort of proverbs in today’s batch. The problem with this book is that each page is basically two to three dozen two-line witty cookie fortunes. They’re not really organized in any way, they don’t follow on each other, it’s like a bunch of guys sat around spouting out every advice quip they’d ever heard, or could think of… oh wait… kind of like the Talmudic rabbis did to create the Talmud. Though at least that got organized by theme.
- More random platitudes, a few on paying attention to what’s going on around you, a few on who to trust and who not to. Look, I’m not disparaging the individual bits of advice, but this is just scattershot stuff that I’m not sure if people are expected to remember, or embroider on a pillow.
- Can you tell I find these pages upon pages of quips to be a bit annoying? Really, just give me one a day, instead of 2-3 dozen. A lot today on whatever the Jewish equivalent of karma is (it does exist, it’s called middah k’neged middah, which translates to measure for measure). Be wicked, cheat/con someone, lie to someone, and it will come back to bite you on the ass.
- Today’s pearls of wisdom include that rich or poor, everyone’s equal in God’s eyes, but, it’s better to have a good reputation than it is to have money, and, if you live a life of humility you’ll have both wealth and honor. I’m not sure these all jibe with each other.
- Finally. We have something of a real theme to today’s proverbs. Be aware of whose table you’re sitting at for a meal. Is the person offering you food and drink one of good or bad intentions? Is the meal a bribe? Is the meal meant to coerce you? Is the meal poisonous? Be aware of your surroundings, and the person or people who are creating them.
- I think I have a favorite proverb now. “Giving a straightforward reply is like giving a kiss.” Now, how to work that into conversation.
- A bunch of stuff related to kings, of which, the standout is sort of “God conceals, the king reveals”, which was then adopted as a sort of motto by King Hezekiah. Kind of interesting in that it makes it sound like kings are more important than God. We also learn that taking your clothes off on a cold day gives you much the same sensation as pouring vinegar on baking soda. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt all fizzy in that situation, but it is an interesting analogy.
- Oh, we have some fun ones today. Sparrows flit, swallows fly, and gratuitous curses backfire. Yes, yes, that all makes sense together… right? I do, however, like the admonition that getting yourself involved in an argument that is none of your business is akin to grabbing a stray dog by the ears.
- Most of today’s proverbs revolve around friendship contrasted with kinship, and boil down to that while blood relatives may be your biological family, it’s often your friends who are your day to day family, and to whom it is best to turn when in need. There’s also a whole passage on the sort of people who are constantly upset and complaining about things that seem foolish to others, are carrying a heavy burden. Though not stated, is there an implication that maybe they just need a friend.
- The more educated and aware of the wider world a person is, the more likely they are to follow the path of righteousness, say the proverbs. That said, I am left wondering why the ultra-Orthodox of my faith are so insular in their educational practices, in particular for women, but really, for all?
- An interesting mystery that different historians and religious leaders have interpreted in their own ways and for their own reasons over the centuries. There is a proverb about pampering a slave leading to… something. The Hebrew word used is non-existent in the language, occurs nowhere else in scriptural writings, and related combinations of root letters don’t fit the context. Most have interpreted it as leading to some sort of negative result – dismay, ruin, a bad end, an uppity slave. What was Solomon’s intent? Or is this just a scribal error?
- An interruption, or perhaps the end of, Solomon’s words of wisdom, as Proverbs switches to a meandering declaration by Agur, an oracle, expounding to a pair of young men on the mysteries of the natural world, and his own lack of understanding. He gives no advice, he makes no predictions, he simply lists, in a quartet of verses, a selection of four different animals in each verse whose behavior he is at a loss to comprehend their prowess and success.
- Today, and I believe the end of Proverbs, we have Lemuel, who is repeating the words of wisdom his mother gave him. They boil down to: don’t drink, drunkards never become anyone important; and don’t whore around, find yourself a good wife who will take care of you, your household, and your family.