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Participatory Bible Study

Interpreting Wisdom

This essay covers wisdom literature, including Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Job, and some other sections of the Bible. My essasy on interpreting poetry, parables, and stories may also be helpful in understanding wisdom literature. It is part of the Participatory Study Method.

Basics of Interpreting Wisdom Literature

The Biblical wisdom literature takes a different approach to knowledge of God than do either the prophetic or the historical books. In the books of history, we are presented with an interpretation of God's actions in the history of the community and what that says about God and his relationship to the world. The prophetic books instead claim to present a message from God, i.e. we get God's message as it was presented at a particular time and place.

The approach of wisdom literature is somewhat different. It reflects the experience both of the community and of the individual provided through years of experience and reflection. Wisdom still comes from God, in the wisdom books no less than in any other Biblical literature, but the process is one of education, reflection, and growth.

For example, at the beginning of Ecclesiastes we read:

I, Qoheleth, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I applied my mind to seek and to discover wisdom about everything that is done under the heavens, what a nasty business it is that God has given human beings with which to be occupied. -- Ecclesiastes 1:12-13

This passage comes near the beginning of the book, in about the position we might expect to find the propehtic call, and the statement that a prophetic writer was getting his message from God. It is clear from wisdom literature that the ultimate source is God, as can even be seen in the two verses I quoted, but experience and reflection are a much more important component here.

Look also at the first few verses of Proverbs 1 (Proberbs 1:1-6) and notice words like instruction, teach, learning, acquiring skill, and so forth. But none of this changes the ultimate #1 rule: "The fear of YHWH is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." -- Proverbs 1:7

Wisdom books are thus asking you to learn from the collected experience of the community and of acknowledged people of wisdom. In addition, it builds most clearly the connection between God's creation and our learning from it (Proverbs 8:22-31; Psalm 19).

You will find wisdom literature primarily in Ecclesiastes, Proberbs, and Job, but you will also find examples scattered through the Bible, especially in the Psalms.

Proverbs

Proverbs provide some special problems for interpretation. A proverb is a short, pithy saying that conveys some general truth. They key here is short. While you can expect many miracles in the inspiration of the Bible, there is no miracle performed to make a short saying convey the same information as a long one.

Because of this there are some keys to using proverbs:

1. Look for a single central message. A proverb is generally intended to make one point.
2. Don't expect the proverb to be applicable in all circumstances. One of the things that allows a proverb to be short is the omission of the details of circumstances and all the exceptions.
3. Be sure you hear precisely what the proverb says. There is very little context to help you correct your understanding.

Compare the following two proverbs in the English language:

Too many cooks spoil the broth.

Many hands make light work.

They appear contradictory, don't they? But can you think of times when either one would be applicable, but of course not the other?

Now look at Proverbs 26:4-5:

Don't answer a fool according to his foolishness,
lest you become a fool yourself just like him.

Answer a fool according to his foolishness,
Lest he become wise in his own eyes.

Aha! A contradiction in the Bible!

But wait! These are proverbs, and they are not intended to apply universally. Can you think of circumstances in which each of these proverbs might apply? Sometimes someone is speaking foolishly, and all that is necessary is for somebody to point this out, preventing others from being led astray, and sometimes even correcting the foolish individual. At other times, someone may confuse a willingness to debate with them as respect for their position. Which one do you use in any particular circumstances? That's what wisdom is about!

I like the metaphor of the toolkit here. We could get hung up on the apparent contradiction between these two verses, but instead, we can look at each verse as a tool. In construction, when you need to cut a specific size piece out of a board, you need a saw. Now when you go to your toolkit, and see there a hammer and a saw, you don't discard the toolkit because it is inconsistent. You don't discard the hammer because it is not necessary. Rather, you select the saw, because it is applicable to your situation at the moment.

Similarly Jesus, in talking about forgiveness, gave a set of tools, not a single answer. In Matthew 18:15-20, he gave instructions for reproving a brother who sins against you, including going to the congregation to get a judgment. But then in Matthew 18:21-22, he essentially demands endless forgiveness, with no mention of reproof. Depending on what translation you're using, the instruction is to forgive either 77 times or 490 times. In either case, if you've kept count up to that number of times, there's something really weak about your forgiveness!

Here a study of proverbs can help us understand the rest of the Bible. We develop wisdom to determine when the process of reproof is the best to apply to a situation, and when absolute and simple forgiveness is the correct response. This shows us again why we cannot ignore any portion of the Bible.

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiates has given interpreters a great deal of difficulty. Many people try to alleviate its apparent cynicism by some very creative ways of interpreting. But all of these schemes tend to play games with the actual text of the book. It was clearly written by a discouraged man.

It will help to recognize what I said in the introduction. Wisdom literature is about the process of learning, of how we come to understanding. While it is argued whether Solomon had anything to do with writing the book, it is clear that his experience is in view. Ask yourself this: How would you write if you had spent your life like Solomon did, come to the end of it, and realized things were about to fall apart (the kingdom split right after Solomon's death), and that you had wasted your life, in spite of having the ability to live wisely?

In the Bible God has given us many experiences that we can place alongside our own experience to come to better understand how we can relate to God in all circumstances. Ecclesiastes is one of those books; difficult, but very encouraging in the right time and place.

Other Wisdom Literature

Many Psalms are regarded as wisdom literature, especially ones that refer to the creation, such as Psalm 19 or Psalm 104. For information on understanding and applying these passages, see Interpreting Poetry.