Posts Tagged: the depth and nuances of proverbs

“The Quest for Knowledge and the Depth of Proverbs”

On November 18, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

I used to read through the biblical book of Proverbs rapidly. I thought of Proverbs as a nice little book with nice little sayings that were easy to understand and not very deep.  I was so wrong.  Many of these proverbs are much more profound and nuanced than I had dreamt.  Working through them in Hebrew has invited me to slow down and savor them.  Perhaps a lack of depth and nuance in the Bible, (or, for that matter, in my days or in any person that I meet) is simply the result of my not slowing down enough.  Perhaps I should omit the word “Perhaps” from the preceding sentence.

Take Proverbs 15:14 for example.

“The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,

but the mouths of fools feed on folly.” (Proverbs 15:14, English Standard Version)

Does this proverb seem to you to be straightforward?  Slow down and think again!

For one thing, notice that one of the characteristics of the person who has understanding is that she/he puts her/his heart into it.  Be careful here, however.  The Hebrew root (lbb) doesn’t necessarily suggest “emotions” or “love” as our word “heart” does.  More often, the Hebrew word that we translate with our word “heart” suggests what we mean by mind or thought.  Probably our saying, “Get your head in the game!” is closer to what the Hebrew root lbb means than is our saying, “Put your heart into it!”

A second thing to note about the first part of this verse is that the root of the Hebrew word bqš is often translated “seek.”  Some nuances about the meaning of this root are “to strive after something, be busy, be concerned.”  So, this kind of seeking knowledge isn’t as simple as googling a topic in which you have a mild interest!  No, there is an intensity about this kind of seeking.

But wait a minute!  This proverb indicates that it is those who have understanding who seek knowledge.  Isn’t that more than a little strange?  If they already have understanding, why do they have to seek knowledge?

Apparently, for the author of this proverb, the quest for knowledge has no boundary.  And those who have an understanding heart know that.  We may not like it, but there it is.  The person with an understanding heart doesn’t know everything.  He/she doesn’t know what he/she doesn’t know.  But the person with an understanding heart does know this: We are all beginners, and the quest for knowledge is a process, not being zapped by some easy miracle.

Since I’ve used so many words to unpack a proverb (which is only eight words long in Hebrew!), we’ll save the fool for tomorrow.

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