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IOH5;liN
J-:9
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.t:7
D'7:6l
En
2;13
148:
13
THE
PSALMS
Let
them
all
pr
aisethen
am
e
of
Y
ah
weh,
forhis
nam
eandnoot
her
is-sublime, tra
nsce
n
ding
eart
h
an
d
heave
nin
maje
sty,
rais
ing
the
fo
rtu
nesof"his
peo
ple,
10
the
pra
isesof
the
devout,of
Israe
l,
thepeop
le
dea
rtohim.
930
13
14
INTRODUCTfON
TO
f
40:9Jdt16:I H7:7;150A
6H:25:
K l
:
~
Is61;4:
oz.
4-5
IS2::\Nc4:1()·12
2Mi5:27
ws
3:H
,.Zc9:13-16
2;J
1)11
3:53
2S0;5
149;3
2S6:5
xv
5:IJ
PSALM
149
Songoftriumph"
Alleluia!SingYa
hwe
hanewsong,letthe
con
g
regatio
nofthefai
thful
singhis
pr
aise!LetIsraelrejoiceinhis
ma
ker,and
Zio
n's
children
exultintheirK
ing;
letth
em
da
nce
inpraise
of
hisname, playingto
him
on
stringsa
nd
dr
ums!
For
Yahwe
hhasbeenki
nd
tohispeople, conferring
victo
ryonuswhoareweak; the
faith
fulexultintri
umph,
prostrateb
efor
e
God
/,
the
yac
cla
imhim
with
panegyrics
on
t
heir
lips,
and
atwo-e
dg
ed
swo
rdintheir
han
dstoex
act
vengea
nce
on
the
pagan
s,toinflictpuni
shmen
tuntheheathen, to
shackl
e
the
irkingswithchains andtheir
noble
swithfetters, to
execute
the
p
reorda
inedsentence."
Thusgl
or
iouslyarethc
fait
hf
ul
rew
arded!
P
SA
LM
150
Final
chorusof
praise
-Alleluia!PraiseGodinhisTe
mp
le
on
earth,praisehiminhiste
mp
lein
heaven
,praisehim
for
hismightyac
hieve
ment
s,
pra
isehimforhist
ran
sce
nde
ntg
reatnes
s!Praise
him
withblastsofthctr
umpet
,
prai
sehimwithlyre
and
harp,praisehimwith
drum
s
anddan
cing,praise
himwith
stri
ngs
and
reed
s,
pra
isehimwithclashingcy
mba
ls,
pra
isehimwithclangingcymbals' Leteverythingthatb
reathe
s
prai
seYahweh! Alleluia!
h.LiL
'ruisiuu
ahornf
or'.
night.Cf.Ho7:14:Ps4:4;63:6.
l
49
:1
.
nt
is
na
tiona
l
hymn
10(
11\.
...
totheeschntoloaicalc.
A
llusion
to
the'
Or
acles
aga
instthe
Nat
ions'
future.
c
r,
Is
(II
:2r.when
Israel
will
hethein
strum
entinthe
prophe
tic
book
s.
ofdivine
iusucc.
d.
Z..:9:1.-1
fl.
150
a.Amoreelaborate
doxology
thant
hose
con-
b.
Lit.
'ontheircouches',
i.c..
f
rom
theplaceeludingthe
first
fourbooksofthePsalter,
41:1.\: where
t
hcvlie
nro
strtueinworship.d.95:6:Jdt6:IR:72:18-20:F9:51;106:
41-::
this
oneinvitesevery
mu
sicalor
it
mnymean:
praisethat
do
cs
not
cease,
even
at
instr
umen
t
and
every
livingbeing
to
pra
ise
Yahweh.
THE
PROVERBS
TheBook
of
Proverbsisthemostrepresentativework
of
Israelitewisdomliter
atur
e,cf.In
trod
uctiontoWisdomBooks.Thebodyofthe
book
ismadeupoftwocollections:
10-22:16,
called'TheproverbsofSo
lomon'
(375
aphorisms)andch.
25-29,
introduced
by
'The
followingalsoareproverbsofSo
lomon
,
tra
nscribedbythemen
of
Hezek
iah'
(128
aphorisms).Appendiceshavebeenaddedtoeach
of
thesetwocollections:tothefirst,'sayingsofthesages'
(22:17-24:22)
and
'T
hefollowingalsoare
taken
fromthesages'
(24:23-34);
tothesecond,
'th
esayings
of
Agur
'
(30:1-14),
followedbynumericalproverbs
(30:15-33)
and
'the
sayings
of
Lemuel'
(31:1-9).
The
wholeisprecededbyal
ong
in
trod
uction,ch,
1-9,
inwhichafathercommendswisdomtohis
son
andinwhichWisdomherselfintervenes.The
book
closeswithan
alphabeticalpoem
inpraiseoftheidealwife,
31:10-31.
The
order
inwhichthecentralsectionsare
arra
ngedis
of
littleimportance:itdiffersinthe
Gr
eekBible,andthemaximsinsidethevarioussectionsare jux
tapo
sedwithoutconcernforlogicalsequence.The
book
isthereforeacollectionofcollections,withintheframeworkofaprologue
and
epilogue.Itreflectsa
hint
of
literarydevelopment,outlinedinthegeneral
Introd
u
ction
totheWisdomBooks.
The
twomaincollectionsshowthe
mashal
inits
most
primitiveform
and
consistexclusivelyofbriefaphorisms,usuallyofasingle couplet.Inthe
append
ices,however,theformismoreela
bor
ate;the
short
numerical
poems
of
30:15-33,
cf.
6:16-19,
addthecharmofariddlingm
anne
rtotheiredifying
matter
,adevicealready
pra
ctisedinearliertimes,cf.Am
I.
Theprologue,ch.
1-9,
consistsofalongdisc
our
se
interrupted
bytwoexhorta tionsfromWisdompersonified;theepilogue,
31:10-31,
isa'le
arne
d'composition.Thisevolution
of
formcorresp
ond
stosuccessiveperiodsofliteraryactivity. Theearliestsectionsarethetwogreatcollections,ch.
10-22
and
25-29.
TheseareattributedtoSolomonwho,accordingtoIK5:
12,
wastheauthor
of
'three
thou
sand
pro
verbs'andwhowasalwaysconsideredtohavebeenthegreatest sage
of
Israel.Theimpersonalaccentoftheproverbsmakesitimpossiblefor ustoassignany
particular
maximtotheking,butthereisnoreasonto
doubt
thatthiscollectionasawhole
dat
esfromhistime:themaxims
of
thesecondcollectionwerealreadyanci
ent
when'themenofHezekiah'collected them,in
about
700
B.C.Thesetwocollectionsf
orm
thecoreofthebook
and
giveititsfull
name
,'theproverbsof
Solomon'
,
1:1.
Thesub-titlesofthesmaller sectionshowever
show
tha
tthistitleisnottobetakentooliterally,
embr
acing,asitdoes,the
aphorism
s
of
anonymoussages,
22:17-24:34,
andthesayings
of
AgurandLemuel,
30:
J
-31
:9.EvenifthenamesofthesetwoA
rabian
sages
~
0.
IX:
iii
<n
s
 
are
fi
ctitiou
s
and
didnot
belongto
rea
l
people
,
theytest
ifytoarespect
for
thewisdomof
other
l
and
s,cf.Introduct
ion
to
Wis
domBo
ok
s.Clear
proofof
thisrespectistobef
oun
din
some
ofthe
'sa
yings
of
thes
age
s',22:
17-23:
II,
which
arebasedonthe
Egyptian
maximsofArn
enemophis,
comm
itted
towriting
at
the
beginning
of
thefirstmille
nni
umB
.C.
The
imita
tion
isbyno
means
slavish
,
an
dbearswitnesstothe
orig
inalityoftheIsraelitesages.Thenucleusof
the
book
,ch.10-29,
may
t
herefore
safelybe
dated
inthepre-exilic
period
:
the
d
at
e
of
ch.30-31isuncertain.Thepro
logue,
ch.1-9,is
certainlylate
r:it
has
literaryaffinitieswith
pos
t-exilicwritingssuggestingthefifth
centu
ryas
the
date
of
itscomposition,whichis
also
pre
sum
ablywhenthewholeb
ook
was
givenitsdefinitiveform. Since,then,thebo
ok
representsseveral
centuri
es
of
though
tonthep
artof
thesages,
dev
e
lop
ments
of
doc
trinearediscernibleinit.Inthetwopri
mitive
collec
tions
the
domin
anttoneisthatofh
um
an,
worl
dlywis
dom,
disco
ncert
ingtotheC
hris
tianre
ader
,
thoug
hevenhereonepr
ove
rbine
ver
ysevenisreligious intheme.Thisreligiouste
ach
ingisn
ot
specu
lat
ivebutpr
actic
al:
God
reward
str
uth
,c
har
ity,
pur
ity
of
he
ar
t,
humilit
y,
and
punishestheircontraryvices.
Thesou
rce
andthesum
of
all
the
sevirtuesiswi
sdom
,
tha
tis
to
saythefear
of
God
,15:16,33:16:6:22:4,in
whom
alo
ne
man
mustputhistrust,20:22,29:25.The
ope
ningc
hap
ters
offer
thesame
principles
of
hum
anandsacredwi
sdom;
theye
mp
has
isevices
of
whichtheearliersages
donot
speak,suchas
adult
ery
,
2:
161'
;5:2f,15
1'.
Theepilogue,too,b
ear
s
witne
sstoagreaterresp
ect
f
or
wo
men
.
Moreimportant
still,theprologueoffersthefirst
exa
mpleofalogicallyo
rdered
doct
rineofwisdom,its
worth
anditsfunctionasg
uide
andcont
roller
of
behavi
ou
r.Thespea
ker
isW
isdo
mherself:shesings
herown
praiseand
exp
lainsherre
lat
ion
shipwith
God
,inwh
om
shehas
beenfro
malle
tern
ityandw
hom
sheassistedwhenhemadethew
or
ld,8:22
-30.
Thisisthe
earl
iest
of
all
thetexts
(listedinIntroductiontoWisdom
Boo
ks)todealwithW
isdomperson
ified.Theteaching
of
theBookofProverbshas
und
oubt
edlybeenfartranscended bythat
of
Christ,theWis
do
m
of
God
:
even
so,severalmaxims
ant
icipatethe moral
teachin
gofthegospel.Itshouldalsobere
mem
beredt
hat
truereligion
can
only
deve
lop
onthefoundationsofhumandecency:whilethefreq
uent
usc
of
thebook(fo
urteen
quotations
and
abouttw
enty
allu
sion
s)madeby
theNew
Testament,
co
mmandstherespect
of
Christiansforthesethoughts
of
the
an
cient
sages
of
Isr
ael.
A
COMME
NDATIONOFWISDOM
s
0..
Nb16:33-1 Ps55:153:22:4:9 Si6:24.29
~
6
:
2
0
Ps34:11
009:1
722:17
9:10:15:33 D(4:6
Jb
2 H
: 2
~
IPs111:10Si1:14
Ps
1:1
Ps64:5
.Ps10:8Si11:32
PROVERBS
HE
forlearningwhatwisdomanddisciplineare, forunderstandingwordsofdeepmeaning, foracquiringanenlightenedattitudeofmind -virtue,justiceandfairdealing: forteachingsound
jud
gementtotheignorant, andknowledgeandsensetotheyoung; forperceivingthemeaningofproverbsandobscuresayings, thesayingsofthesagesandtheirriddles. Letthewiselistenandhewilllearnyetmore, andthemanofdiscernmentwillacquiretheartofguidance. TitleandpurposeofthebooklITheproverbsofSolomonsonofDavid,kingofIsrael: ThefearofYahwehisthebeginningofknowledge;" fools
spurn
wi
sdom
anddiscipline.
a.The
'fear
ofYahweh'intheBibleisanproxl-to
Go
d.Wisdom,beingitsproduct,isessentially
mate
lvw
hat
wecallthevirtueofreligion.
or
devo
tionreligious.
I.
PRO
LOGUEThesagespeaks:avoidbadcompany Listen,myson,toyourfather'sinstruction, donotrejectyourmother'steaching: theywillbeacrownofgracefor
your
head,acircletforyourneck.
10
Myson,ifsinnerstrytoseduceyou, donotgiveway.
II
Iftheysay,'Comewithus: thereisb
lood
tobehadifwelieinwaitforit, ifweplananambushforthe
innocent;
12
wecanswallowthemalive,likeSheol, aliveandwholelikethosewhogodowntothePit.
13
Weshallfindtreasuresofeverysort, weshallfillourhouseswithplunder;
14
throwinyourlotwithus: onepursebetweenusall.'
15
Myson,donotfollowthemintheirway, keepyourstepsoutoftheirpath
93
2
NTR
OD
UCTION
TOPR
OVE
RBS
II
I
~
I
If
I
~
I
 
(f)
~
(f)
Vl
(J:
iii
28:26
US
DtS:I;
30:16
IK
3:14
-I.-fO;
9:Jl
Dl4;40;8:3 Ne9:29
s:
1:20
=b:21,=7:3
I>t
6:6-9
S ~
S:6Jr
17:I
.»
Rm12:17 Lk2;52Ps37:510:30Ps52:5Ps27:9.29 Ml5:4
Ex
20:14
10:23
5:2-20;6:2
4-7:
27Si
9:1];
23:22Ps141:5
Ws9
:10...Si1
:1'"
Dn2:21... Jm
1:5A
3:5
b.
l.c
.
anotherman'swife.Thisfirstsec
tion
ofProthelasttoheadded
to
thecollection,often
warn
s
agai
nstadultery,
2
:
1
6
~
1
9
:
5:2-23:6:24-7:27.Adultery isid
entif
ied,2:17.with
apo
s
tasy
fromthecovenantof
God
.
cr.
also5:15+;it
lead
s10S
hcul.
2
:1
~
:
5:5,6;7:26-27.Inthesenassaacsthereisonlyoneallusion
to
prostitution.6;26.whichtheolderproverbsidentify withadultery.cf.23:27;31:3.cf.29:3.sim:cbothcorrupt kingsand
rob
warriorsoftheirvigour. mind.vv.
3
~
4 ,
anda
willin
gness
10
learn
from
thetea
chin
gofo
ne's
elders.
vv.
1
~
2
,
etc.
PROVER
BS
Hekeepshishelpforhonestmen, heistheshieldofthosewhosewaysarehonourable; hestandsg
uar
doverthepathsofjustice, hekeepswatchonthewayofhisdevotedones. Thenyouwillunderstandwhatvirtueis,justice,andfairdealing, allpathsthatleadtohappiness. Whenwisdomcomesintoyourheart andknowledgeisadelighttoyou, thenprudencewillbetheretowatchoveryou, anddiscernmentbe
your
guardiantokeepyoufromthewaythatisevil, fromthemanwhosespeechisdeceitful, fromthosewholeavethepathsofhonesty towalkthe
road
sof
dar
kness:menwhofindtheirjoyin
doing
wrong,andtheirdelightindeceitfulness, whose
track
saretwisted, andthepathsthattheytreadcrooked. Keepingyoualsofromthealienwoman," fromthestranger,withherwheedlingwords; shehasleftthepartnerofheryoungerdays, shehasforgottenthecovenantofGod; towardsdeathherhouseisdeclining, downtotheShadesherpathsgo. Ofthosewhogotohernotonereturns, theyneverregainthepathsoflife. Soyouwillpursuethewayofgoodmen, persistinginthepathsofthevirtuous.
For
thelandwillbeforhonestmentolivein theinnocentwillhaveitfortheirhome; whilethewickedwillbecutofffromtheland,
and
thefaithlessrootedoutofit. aequirewisdom Myson,donotforgetmyteaching, letyourhe
art
keepmyprinciples, forthesewillgiveyoulengthierdays, longery
ear
soflife,andgreaterhappiness. Letkindlinessandloyaltyneverleaveyou: tiethemround
your
neck, writethemonthetabletofyourheart. Soshallyouenjoyfavourandgoodrepute inthesightofGodandmall. TrustwholeheartedlyinYahweh, putnofaithinyourownperception:
b.Themeaningis.apparently.thatasthebird avoidsthenet
if
it
hasseenthe
hunterspr
ead
it.
sothe
y
outhdul
yadmonished
will
knowhowtoa
void
the
pitf
allsoflife. e.
Lit.
'Suchistheend'G
reek
;'Suchisthe
way
'Hebr. d.'inthestreets'Greek;'
out
side'Hebr. e.Wis
dom
pers
oni
fied.cf',8:2
2+.
actslikea pr
oph
et.cf.Jr5:I;7:2.walkingthroughthestreetsand urgingherdo
ctr
ineonthepe
op
le.2a.Allwis
dom
cernes
from
God.
v,
6.
but
thedispositionsnee
ded
forreceivingit
are
anenquiring
22
935
211120IX
Howto
13
17
IS
16
II
13121410
IS
19201625
17
2326
22
28272421313029
32
33
934
ROVERBS
:16
(fortheirfeethastentoevil, theyarcquicktoshed
bloodj;
thenetisalwaysspreadinvain ifthebirdiswatching." Itisfortheirownbloodthesemenlieinwait, theirownselvestheylieinambushfor. Tothiscome'allmenwhoareafterdishonestgain, whichrobsoftheirlivesallthosewhotakeitfortheirown. Wisdomspeaks:awarningtotheheedlessWisdomcalls
aloud
inthestreets," sheraiseshervoice'inthepublic
square
s;shecallsoutatthestreetcorners, shedelivershermessageatthecitygates,
'You
ignorantpeople,howmuchlongerwillyouclingto yourignorance? Howmuchlongerwillmockersrevelintheirmocking andfoolsholdknowledgecontemptible? Payattentiontomywarning: nowIwillpour
out
my
heart
toyou,andtell
you
whatIhavetosay. SinceIhavecalled
and
youhaverefusedme, sinceIhavebeckonedandnoonehastakennotice, sinceyouhaveignoredallmyadvice andrejectedallmywarnings, I,formypart,willlaughatyourdistress, Iwilljeeratyouwhencalamitycomes, whencalamitybearsdownonyoulikeas
torm
and
yourdistresslikeawhirlwind, whendisaster
and
anguishbear
down
onyou.
Then
theyshallcalltome,butIwill
not
answer,theyshallseekmeeagerlyandshallnotfindme. Theydespisedknowledge, theyhadnoloveforthefearofYahweh, theywouldtakenoadvicef
rom
me,andspurnedallmywarnings: sotheymusteatthefruitsoftheirowncourses, andchokethemselveswiththeirownscheming. Fortheerrorsoftheign
orant
leadtotheirdeath, andthecomplacencyoffoolsworkstheirownruin; butwhoeverlistenstomemaylivesecure, hewillhavequiet,f
ear
ingnomischance.' Wisdom,asafeguardagainstbadcompany
2
Myson,ifyoutakemywordstoheart," ifyousetstorebymycommandments, tuningy
our
eartowisdom, andapplyingyourhearttotruth: yes,ifyourpleaisforclearperception, ifyoucryoutfordiscernment, ifyoulookforitasifitweresilver,
and
searchforitasforburiedtreasure, youwillthenunderstandwhatthefearofYahwehis, anddiscovertheknowledgeof
God
.ForYahwehhimselfisgiverofwi
sdom
,fromhism
outh
issueknowledge
and
discernment.
XI
·]
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