I have been delinquent in completing my series on Proverbs. I will do six more parts to complete this series. In part 8, we began looking at literary clues in specific contexts in Proverbs. With this post, we will finish looking at these clues in explicit settings.

B. Other Literary Clues

1. One-Line Sayings & the Use of a “Punch-Word”

This type of one-line saying, built on the model of contrastive parallelism, may show a certain emphasis through the use of a ???punch-word??? (Alter, The Art of Biblical Poetry, p. 168). An example of this is seen in Proverbs 11:1.

A-false balance is-an-abomination to-the-LORD.

But-a-just weight is-His-delight.

In Hebrew this proverb takes seven words, four in the first line and three in the second. I have hyphenated the terms to reflect which expressions were one word in the Hebrew text. The antithesis of ???a-false balance??? is ???but-a-just weight.??? The two Hebrew terms, ???an-abominations to-the-LORD,??? are compressed into a significant one-word counterpart with ???His-delight.??? Both of these latter expressions are strong theological descriptions of that which is an abhorrence and a pleasure in God???s sight. The counterpart of ???an-abomination to-the-LORD??? is the theological punch-word ???His-pleasure??? (ibid.). This compressed punch-word is a theologically satisfying emphasis of this one-verse unit. In contrast to that which is abominable in His sight, this verse affirms that God???s pleasure is found not only in worship but even in the marketplace.

2. One-Line Sayings & the Parallelism of Specification or Intensification

Other one-line sayings, built on the parallelism of specification or intensification, may reflect a ???consequentiality.??? This type of proverb shows that certain types of activity generally lead to certain types of consequences. This is to say, it reflects that God has created and governs the world and man in such a way that certain consequences are generally the result of specific actions. ???Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it??? (Prov 22:6). God has designed life in such a way that when parents seriously instruct their children according to a godly pattern, the consequence is that they generally share the same godly patterns as their parents. In a modified manner, we see another example in 21:31, ???The horse is prepared for battle, but victory belongs to the LORD.??? The first part of the verse focuses on preparing the horse for battle. The last half moves to the conclusion of the battle. The last half is unexpected in that we have a new figure introduced into a proverbial equation, ???the LORD??? (ibid., pp. 172???73). This is to say, we do not have a strict cause-and-effect relationship between the first half of the verse and the second. However, from the sage???s vantage point, God is the ultimate cause for everything in life.

3. One-Line Sayings & the Riddle Format

One-line sayings may also reflect a type of riddle format. The riddle format not only includes a riddle, but it may also include a perplexing statement or an image. The pattern of this format will have a riddle, perplexing statement, or image introduced in the first half of a verse with the second half explaining it. A perplexing and shocking image is used in Proverbs 11:22, ???As a ring of gold in a swine???s snout, so is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.??? The image in the first half of the verse would have been repulsive and ludicrous to a Jew. How foolish it is to think that a gold ring could beautify a pig. The second half makes the point. An undiscerning and ungodly beautiful woman is comparable to the same attempt to beautify a repulsive pig. Another example is 17:12, ???Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, rather than a fool in his folly.??? A fool in his folly is a greater danger than meeting a bear that has been robbed of her cubs (ibid., pp. 176???78). As Alden has said, ???Consider meeting a fool with a knife, or gun, or even behind the wheel of a car; a mother bear could be less dangerous??? (Proverbs, p. 134).

With our next post on Proverbs, we will look at the fifth principle for interpreting Proverbs.

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Proverbs, Theology, Wisdom literature