The Makers and Teachers of Judaism Part 20

The history of the book of Proverbs is therefore reasonably clear. Its original nucleus was probably a small group of popular proverbs that had been transmitted orally from the days before the final destruction of Jerusalem. These, together with proverbs which first became current during the Persian period, were collected some time in the days following the work of Nehemiah. To these was added in the Greek period the smaller appendices in 22:17-24:34. Possibly the same editor joined to them the large collection found in 25-29. He or some wise man in the Greek period prefixed the elaborate introduction in chapters 1-9. To the whole was added the appendices in chapters 30 and 31. It is probable that by the middle of the Greek period, or at least before 200 B.C., the book of Proverbs was complete in its present form.

III. The Wise in Israel's Early History. Long before 2000 B.C. the scribes of ancient Egypt were busy collecting "the words of counsel of the men of olden time." Many of these ancient maxims still survive. The best-known is that which bears the t.i.tle "The Wisdom of Ptah-hotep." The desire to preserve and transmit the results of practical experience is the common motive that underlies the work of the wise. It is that which inspires the teachers of all ages. The ancients were keenly alive to the importance of instruction and training. All that is significant in the civilizations of the past is, in a sense, the result of this teaching motif.

In early Israel there were many men and women famous for their ability to give wise counsel. In his stormy career Joab, David's valiant commander, frequently profited by the counsel of certain wise women (Sections LIII:8-11 LIX:35). David's friend Hushai, by his wily counsel at the time of Absalom's rebellion, saved the king's life. The narrative in II Samuel declares that the counsel of Ahithophel was esteemed almost as highly as the divine oracle. For his keen insight and acute decisions, as well as for his witty utterances, Solomon gained a reputation which made him in the thought of later generations the father of all wisdom literature. In a significant pa.s.sage found in Jeremiah 18:18 the three cla.s.ses of Israel's teachers are brought into sharp contrast. In urging that the prophet be put to death his foes declared: "Teaching will not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet."

From references in Isaiah and Jeremiah it is evident that before the final destruction of the Hebrew state the counsel of the wise was chiefly political and secular, and often not in accord with the higher ideals of the great pre-exilic prophets.

IV. Their Prominence in the Greek Period. The transformation of the wise into religious as well as secular teachers apparently came after the destruction of Jerusalem. It was the result of a variety of forces which have already been studied. The destruction of the Hebrew state and the resulting prominence of the individual led the wise to turn their attention from questions of political to those of personal import. The result is that the word "Israel" is found nowhere in the book of Proverbs.

The teachings there found are both individual and universal and apply to Gentile as well as Jew, to the present as well as the past. The gradual disappearance of the prophets during the latter part of the Persian period, and the fact that the priests ever devoted themselves more and more to the ritual and less to teaching, left a great need in the life of Judaism which called to the front the wise. At the same time the problems of the individual became more and more complex and insistent. Especially was this true during the Greek period when h.e.l.lenic civilization, with its corrupting influences, swept over Palestine and the lands of the dispersion. It was a period when the principles enunciated by the earlier prophets had been in general adopted by the Jewish race. The task, however, of interpreting these principles simply and practically into the every-day life of the people was left to these lovers and teachers of men, the wise. The evidence of the voluminous writings of Ben Sira, as well as of the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, makes it quite clear that it was during the Greek period, and possibly in part under the intellectual stimulus of Greek thought, that the wise attained their greatest prominence and influence.

V. The Aims of the Wise. The aims of the wise are in part defined in the remarkable preface to the book of Proverbs, which was intended primarily to describe the purpose of the collection of proverbs which embodies their teachings. Four distinct cla.s.ses commanded their attention: (1) The ignorant, those who were unacquainted with the moral, religious, and practical heritage received from preceding generations. (2) The inexperienced, those who had not yet learned in the school of life the art of adjusting themselves successfully to their environment. (3) The scoffers, who openly rejected the counsel of the sages. And (4) the disciples who were eager to learn and profit by the teachings of the wise.

The definite aims of the wise must be inferred from their teachings. They were concerned with the development of the individual, not the nation.

Their first aim was to instruct the ignorant in the fundamental moral and religious principles already laid down by earlier priests and prophets.

In the words of the preface to the book of Proverbs they taught,

That men may learn wisdom and instruction, May understand intelligent discourses, May receive instruction in wise dealing, In justice, judgment, and equity.

Their second aim was to point out the pitfalls that lay in the path of the inexperienced, and to save them from moral wreck by inspiring within them right ideals and ambitions. This aim is also well stated in the preface to the book of Proverbs:

That discretion may be given to the inexperienced, To the youth knowledge and a purpose.

The third aim of the wise was to educate the receptive and all who came to them in the att.i.tude of disciples. This aim corresponded very closely to that of the modern educator. Again the preface to the book of Proverbs clearly expresses this educational ideal:

That the wise man may hear and increase in learning, And the intelligent man may receive counsel.

That he may understand a proverb and parable, The words of the wise and their riddles.

The wise, therefore, sought not merely to instruct, but to educate; that is, to develop sane, happy, and efficient men and women. They sought to train those who would have not only knowledge and experience, but also the ability to apply these successfully in the varied relations of life.

Above all, they endeavored to educate not parts of a man, but the whole man. Hence their interest and the subjects that they treat are as broad as human experience.

The wise were keenly alive to the importance of youthful education.

The proverb:

Train up a child in the way in which he should go, And even when he is old he will not depart from it,

voices the fundamental principle upon which all effective education is based. They recognized that in the plastic days of childhood and youth ideals and character and efficiency could best be developed, and that education was not the work of a moment, but a gradual, progressive development.

Primary education, however, they intrusted to parents, and in many proverbs emphasized the responsibility which every parent owed to his child. They also counselled parents regarding the training of their children. The maxims:

The rod of correction gives wisdom, But a child left to himself brings disgrace to his mother.

Chastise your son while there is still hope, And set not your heart on his destruction.

He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him chastises him,

express their appreciation of the importance of discipline in the early training of the child. It is not clear at what age the wise took up the instruction of the young. Possibly it was at about the age of twelve, when the individual pa.s.sed from childhood to adolescence, with its increasing dangers and possibilities. Many of their teachings are especially adapted to the problems of this tempestuous period.

VI. The Methods of the Wise. In attaining their aims the wise men of Israel employed a variety of methods. Proverbs such as,

Every purpose is established by counsel, And by wise guidance make thou war,

suggest that, as in the days before the exile, they were still active in connection with the civic, social, and national life of the people, and that by influencing public policies they conserved the moral welfare of the individual as well as the state. Many references to "wisdom's voice crying aloud in the public places" suggest that, like the earlier prophets, the wise men at times taught in public, in the market-places, in the open s.p.a.ces within the city gates, or wherever men were gathered together. They appear also to have taught in private, by wise counsel delivering the individual disciple who resorted to them from the perils that beset his path, or aiding him by prudent advice in solving successfully his individual problems.

In 6:32-37 Ben Sira has given a vivid sketch of the schools of the wise, which are clearly the forerunners of the later rabbinical schools:

My son, if you wish, you will be instructed, And if you pay attention, you will become prudent.

If you are willing to hear, you will receive, And if you listen attentively, you will be wise.

Stand in the a.s.sembly of the elders, And whoever is wise, stick close to him.

Be willing to listen to every discourse, And let no illuminating proverbs escape you.

If you see a man of insight, hasten to him, And let your foot wear out his threshold.

Let your mind dwell upon the law of the Most High, And meditate continually on his commands.

Thus he will enlighten your mind, And teach you the wisdom you desire.

It requires little imagination to picture these ancient prototypes of our modern universities. Like all Oriental teachers, the wise doubtless sat cross-legged, with their disciples in a circle about them. They trusted largely to question and answer, and poured out from their own and their inherited experience wise maxims such as would guide the simple and inexperienced and develop efficient manhood.

VIII. Their Important Teachings. In the opening chapters of Proverbs the wise describe the character and value of that wisdom which represents their teaching as a whole. In chapters 8 and 9 "Wisdom" is personified.

Inasmuch as the Hebrew word for "wisdom" is feminine, it is spoken of as a woman. Chapter 9 describes, in a form intended to arrest the attention of the most inattentive, the feast that Wisdom offers to her guests. This is contrasted with Folly's banquet, and the consequences to those who partic.i.p.ated in these rival banquets are clearly presented.

In the practical teachings of the wise no question that vitally concerned the individual man was considered beneath their attention. Like the wise modern teacher they made no distinction between the religious and the secular. Everything that influenced man's acts and ideals possessed for them profound religious import. While the proverbial epigrammatic form of their teaching was not conducive to a logical or complete treatment of their theme, yet in a series of concise, dramatic maxims they dealt with almost every phase of man's domestic, economic, legal, and social life.

They presented clearly man's duty to animals, to himself, to his fellow-men, and to G.o.d. If utilitarian motives were urged in the great majority of cases, it is because they sought to reach their pupils on their own level. Although their ideals sometimes fell below those of the great prophets, and especially those of the Great Teacher of Nazareth, the importance of their work in establis.h.i.+ng individual standards of right and wrong, in keeping alive in concrete form the principles of the earlier prophets, and in preparing their race for the crises through which it was soon to pa.s.s cannot be overestimated. As effective teachers of the individual they have an intensely practical and significant message for all men in the stream of life to-day as well as in the past.

Section CVI. THE DIFFERENT CURRENTS OF THOUGHT IN JUDAISM DURING THE GREEK PERIOD

[Sidenote: Ps. 19:7-14]

The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of Jehovah is trustworthy, making wise the simple, The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart, The commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of Jehovah is clean, enduring forever, The judgments of Jehovah are true and altogether just, They are of more value than gold, yea, than much fine gold, Sweeter than honey and the droppings from the honey-comb.

By them is thy servant warned; in keeping them is great reward.

Who can discern his errors; cleanse thou me from secret faults, Also from the presumptuous restrain thy servant; let them not have dominion over me.

Then shall I be perfect and cleared from great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth be acceptable and the meditation of my heart, In thy sight, O Jehovah, my Rock and my Redeemer.

[Sidenote: Ps. 46:1-3]

Jehovah is our refuge and strength, An ever present help in trouble.

Therefore we fear not, though the earth be moved, And though the mountains totter into the heart of the sea; The seas roar, their waters foam, Mountains shake with the swelling of its stream.

Jehovah of hosts is with us, The G.o.d of Jacob is our refuge.

[Sidenote: Ps. 46:4-7]

His brooks make glad the city of Jehovah, The holy dwelling place of the Most High.

Jehovah is in the midst of her, she cannot totter; Jehovah will help her at the turn of the morn.

Nations raged, kingdoms tottered, When he uttered his voice the earth melted.

Jehovah of hosts is with us, The G.o.d of Jacob is our refuge.

[Sidenote: Ps. 46:8-11]

Come, behold the works of Jehovah, What desolations he hath made in the earth.

He is about to make wars to cease unto the end of the earth.

The bow he breaketh, and dasheth the spear in pieces; He burneth the chariots with fire.

Be still, and know that I am Jehovah; I shall be exalted among the nations, I shall be exalted on the earth.

Jehovah of hosts is with us, The G.o.d of Jacob is our refuge.