The Tree of Life: Biblical Wisdom Literature
The Tree of Life: An Examination of Biblical Wisdom Literature was written by Roland Murphy and seems to be highly recommended (with your usual caveats) as an introduction to wisdom literature. Part of the reason I wanted to read this book was because Murphy also covers Ben Sira and Wisdom of Solomon, and I wanted to sink my teeth into these books (I plan to read them when I get to chapters 5 and 6).
People have said that Murphy’s take on Wisdom was very much influenced by von Rad and that it might be a good idea to read him first (I don’t know if this is really accurate). Well, I am not going to do that because I plan to read von Rad’s two volumes of his Old Testament theology (which I already own) and interact with him in the near future. Right now, I would like to see what Murphy has to say about wisdom literature and try to summarize his thoughts. I will probably concentrate on things that caught my attention and helped me think a little more clearly about this subject. This is not going to be a thorough review or a summary, but it might contain a little of both. I might comment on his arguments where necessary or read a separate article in his bibliography to supplement my reading. I will probably cover a couple of chapters at a time, but it will depend on the depth of the chapters in view. Here I will cover his first chapter.
Murphy points out that one of the things that set the wisdom books apart from other books in the bible is “the absence of what one normally considers as typically Israelite or Jewish” (1). Despite the lack of concern with “salvation history,” the wisdom books are clearly associated with Solomon. He quotes 1 Kings 5:9-14 (en. 4:29 34):
And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, 30 so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 32 He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. 33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. 34 And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
Here we see that Solomon’s wisdom is compared with that of Egypt and it is because of his reputation that the wisdom books are ascribed to him. Murphy says that “today no serious scholar accepts Solomonic authorship for these works or for the Song of Songs” (2). A point that I am sure some will object.
The sages. Here he seeks to answer the question of who the sages were. He recognizes the special role of the sages, but wisdom probably had its beginnings with the family and tribe rather than in any type of school associated with court and temple. He also raises the question of education in Israel as the sage seems to be identified as a scribe (Jer. 8:8).
The language and literary forms. This part of the introduction was very helpful. Here he talks about parallelism, paronomasia and forms. He seems to favor the definition of parallelism of the type “if A, then more so B” (I recommend Jame Kugel’s book, “The Idea of Biblical Poetry”). As for paronomasia (word play), he gave a perfect example in Ecclesiastes 7:1 which I had encountered before:
“which is marked by alliteration, assonance, and chiasm in a taut line of four words” (6). Another remark that I found to be quite fascinating was that the sages “had in mind an aesthetic of words” when they referred to “pleasing speech” (Prov. 16:21) and “pleasant words” (16:24, Ecc. 12:10) and “not the content that would suit the pleasure of all” (6). I think content matters a lot, but I am inclined to agree that there is something about the literary artistry in composing the wisdom sayings and poems that we should not ignore.
His section on forms was the longest starting with the fact that it is hard to define what “mashal” (proverb) really is as the term is used far too widely in the bible to be used as a literary term. He says that the two most frequent literary genres in wisdom literature are the “saying” and the “admonition.” You could have a saying that is the fruit of experience as in Prov. 13:12:
(Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.)
Or you could have a didactic saying like Proverbs 14:31:
(He who oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is kind to the needy honors him.)
An example of an admonition (which can be positive or negative) would be:
(Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate; for the LORD will plead their cause and despoil of life those who despoil them. [Prov. 22:22-23])
There is also what he calls “wisdom poems” which are exemplified in Proverbs 1-9, the speeches of Job and also throughout Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon. Since these poems show a tendency that the sages had of alphabetizing, he uses psalm 34, a wisdom psalm, as an illustration of an acrostic poem. Psalm 34 turns out to be quite interesting because it not only follows the alphabet, but it uses a pe at the end instead of a waw. The result is that the letters at the beginning, the middle and then end spell ‘lp, the first letter of the alphabet but also a verb that can mean “learn” or “teach.” See verses 2, 12, 23 (en. 1, 11, 22):
Notice how verse 12 uses the verb lmd which means “to teach.”
He then talks about the truth claim of a saying. He talks about the “performance” of a proverb: “the proverb performs when it is in line with the context from which it arises” (11). I think this is a very good way to put it because one of the things that I keep hearing from people who deal with the book of Proverbs is that for you to gain wisdom from Proverbs requires that you be wise enough to know when to apply it. In other words, it takes wisdom to know how a proverb performs.
There is also what the sages would perceive as the mystery of God. Yahweh was completely unpredictable. “True wisdom never lost sight of its own limitations.” (11)
(The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. [Prov. 16:9])
(A man’s steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way? [Prov. 20:24])
This idea is quite strong with Qohelet specially when he talks about the “work of God.” “This sense of limitation is a warning that the proverbs are not to be interpreted in a dogmatic fashion” (12).
He finishes this chapter talking about the danger with the pursuit of wisdom:
(Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. [Prov 26:12])
“One must be aware of thinking one has attained [wisdom]. The reason for this is not merely human weakness and the uncertainty of human judgment, but the Lord. In the last resort, the mystery of divine wisdom confronted Israel. Hence one is warned to trust in the Lord” (12).
(Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not rely on your own understanding. [Prov. 3:5])
Bibliography
Murphy, Roland E. The Tree of Life: An Exploration of Biblical Literature. Grand Rapids, Michigan: W. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2002.
