THE RHETORIC OF THE FATHER:
A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE FATHER/SON
LECTURES IN PROVERBS 1-9
A Dissertation
Presented to
the Faculties of The IliffSchool of Theology and
The University of Denver (Colorado Seminary)
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
by
Glenn D. Pemberton
June 1999
Denver, Colorado
© Glenn David Pemberton 1999
used with permission
ABSTRACT
Proverbs 1-9 contains 10 instructions/lectures in which a "father" addresses
his "son(s)." These lectures are in many respects similar. They address a "son" or
"sons," urge the son(s) to listen, not forget or guard the father's teaching, and affirm
the value of this teaching. However, a curious diversity (which scholars have yet to
explain adequately) exists within these lectures. Despite their similarities, the appeals
and the argumentation of the lectures reflect differences in the father's rhetorical
objectives and strategies.
This dissertation uses rhetorical criticism to address the diversity within these
ten lectures. Analysis of the artistic proofs (logos, pathos, and ethos) of each lecture
reveals that the ten lectures may be classified into three groups or subsets on the basis
of their rhetoric: 1) calls to apprenticeship (1:8-19, 2:1-22, 4:1-9, 4:10-19), 2) calls
to remember and obey (3:1-12, 3:21-35, 4:20-27), and 3) warnings against illicit
sexual relations (5:1-23, 6:20-35, 7:1-27). Further, although the lectures of each
subset possess common features that distinguish them as a group, each lecture also
possesses unique features that distinguish it from other group members. One may
conclude that Proverbs 1-9 contain three distinct subsets of lectures with diverse
members, ten lectures with ten different rhetorical strategies. Put simply, the ten
lectures are a remarkable rhetorical anthology.
Scholars generally have assumed that these speeches were written, collected,
and edited to address important issues in the life of the community. This dissertation
proposes another option, namely, rhetorical education. The ten lectures provide
rhetorical models for different needs or situations. This hypothesis is congruent with
long standing theories regarding the composition of Proverbs 1-9 (the lectures are the
original core of these chapters) and the purpose of this composition (youth
education). The ten lectures of Proverbs 1-9 not only demonstrate the presence of
formal rhetorical interests in ancient Israel, but these lectures formed a book devised,
in part, to serve the purposes of rhetorical education.
THE ILIFFSCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
AND
THE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER (COLORADO SEMINARY)
Upon the recommendation of the Director
of the Joint PH.D. Program this dissertation
is hereby accepted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
______
Dr. David L. Petersen
Dissertation Advisor
______
Dr. Larry Kent Graham
Director, Joint Ph.D. Program
______
Date
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF TABLESviii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1
A.Proverbs 1-9 as Rhetoric 1
B.The Interpretive Web: Research on Proverbs 1-9 4
1.Form-Critical Studies 4
2.Traditio-Historical Studies 12
3.Studies of the Women of Proverbs 1-9 16
4.Literary Critical Studies 20
5.Rhetorical Analyses 29
C.Summary 36
CHAPTER TWO: RHETORICAL CRITICISM 38
A.A Brief Survey of the Emergence of Rhetoric in the Ancient West 39
B.Rhetorical Criticism in Biblical Studies 46
1.Early History to the Demise of Rhetoric in Twentieth
Century Biblical Studies 46
2.The Reemergence of Rhetoric in Late Twentieth Century
Biblical Studies 52
ii
3.Rhetorical Methods in Twentieth Century Biblical Studies 55
a.The "Rhetorical Criticism" of James Muilenburg:
The Definition of Rhetoric 56
b.The "New Rhetoric" of the Postmodern Bible:
Rhetoric as Cultural Criticism 60
c.The "Socio-Rhetorical Criticism" of Vernon Robbins:
Rhetoric and Methodological Pluralism 63
d.The "Classical Rhetoric" of George Kennedy:
Western Rhetorical Theory and non-Western Texts 65
4.Summary 74
C.Rhetorical Method for Analysis of the Ten Lectures 75
1.Text and Translation 75
2.The Limits of the Rhetorical Unit 76
3.Analysis of the Artistic Proofs 77
a.Logos 78
b.Ethos 80
c.Pathos 81
4.Summary & Conclusions 81
D.Summary: Rhetorical Criticism 82
CHAPTER THREE: RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF GROUP I: THE CALLS TO
APPRENTICESHIP 84
A.Proverbs 1:8-19 87
1.Text and Translation 87
2.The Limits of the Rhetorical Unit 89
3.Analysis of the Artistic Proofs 91
iii
a.Logos 91
b.Ethos 104
c.Pathos 107
4. Summary & Conclusions 108
B.Proverbs 2:1-22 109
1.Text and Translation 109
2.The Limits of the Rhetorical Unit 111
3.Analysis of the Artistic Proofs 112
a.Logos 113
b.Ethos 122
c.Pathos 125
4.Summary & Conclusions 130
C.Proverbs 4:1-9 132
1.Text and Translation 132
2.The Limits of the Rhetorical Unit 133
3.Analysis of the Artistic Proofs 134
a.Logos 135
b.Ethos 140
c.Pathos 142
4.Summary & Conclusions 145
D.Proverbs 4:10-19 147
1.Text and Translation 147
iv
2.The Limits of the Rhetorical Unit 148
3.Analysis of the Artistic Proofs 148
a.Logos 149
b.Ethos 153
c.Pathos 154
4.Summary & Conclusions 155
E. Conclusions: The Rhetoric of the Calls to Apprenticeship 156
CHAPTER FOUR: RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF GROUP II: THE CALLS
TO REMEMBER AND OBEY 158
A.Proverbs 3:1-12 159
1.Text and Translation 159
2.The Limits of the Rhetorical Unit 160
3.Analysis of the Artistic Proofs 161
a.Logos 161
b.Ethos 166
c.Pathos 168
4.Summary & Conclusions 170
B.Proverbs 3:21-35 171
1.Text and Translation 171
2.The Limits of the Rhetorical Unit 173
3.Analysis of the Artistic Proofs 176
a.Logos 176
b.Ethos 185
v
c.Pathos 189
4.Summary & Conclusions 190
C.Proverbs 4:20-27 192
1.Text and Translation 192
2.The Limits of the Rhetorical Unit 193
3.Analysis of the Artistic Proofs 194
a.Logos 195
b.Ethos 202
c.Pathos 204
4.Summary & Conclusions 205
D.Conclusions: The Rhetoric of the Calls to Remember and Obey 207
CHAPTER FIVE: RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF GROUP III: WARNINGS
AGAINST ILLICIT SEXUAL RELATIONS 212
AProverbs 5:1-23 213
1.Text and Translation 213
2.The Limits of the Rhetorical Unit 215
3.Analysis of the Artistic Proofs 218
a.Logos 219
b.Ethos 231
c.Pathos 232
4.Summary & Conclusions 233
B.Proverbs 6:20-35 234
1.Text and Translation 234
vi
2.The Limits of the Rhetorical Unit 237
3.Analysis of the Artistic Proofs 238
a.Logos 239
b.Ethos 246
c.Pathos 250
4.Summary & Conclusions 252
C.Proverbs 7:1-27 254
1.Text and Translation 254
2.The Limits of the Rhetorical Unit 256
3.Analysis of the Artistic Proofs 257
a.Logos 258
b. Ethos 270
c.Pathos 272
4.Summary & Conclusions 274
D.Conclusions: The Rhetoric of the Warnings Against Illicit
Sexual Relations 275
CHAPTER SIX: THE RHETORIC OF THE FATHER 278
A.Summary: The Father's Rhetoric in Proverbs 1-9 280
1.Rhetorical Subsets in the Ten Lectures 280
2.Rhetorical Variety with the Subsets of Lectures 285
B.Implications of Rhetorical Variety within Subsets 291
C.Areas for Further Research 295
BIBLIOGRAPHY 300
vii
LIST OF TABLES
TablePage
1.Concurrence of Verbs in the Propositions of the Ten Lectures 86
2.The Rhetoric of the Father: A Comparison of Subsets 282
3.The Rhetoric of Subset I: The Calls to Apprenticeship 286
4.The Rhetoric of Subset II: The Calls to Remember and Obey 288
5.The Rhetoric of Subset III: The Warnings Against Illicit Sexual
Relations 290
viii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ABAnchor Bible
ACWAncient Christian Writers
AJPAmerican Journal of Philology
AJSLAmerican Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures
ANETJ.B. Pritchard (ed.), Ancient Near Eastern Texts
AOATAlter Orient and Altes Testament
ATAbhAlttestamentliche Abhandlungen
ATDDas Alte Testament Deutsch
AVEnglish Authorized Version (King James)
AzThArbeiten zur Theologie
BAGDW. Bauer, W.F. Arndt, F.W. Gingrich, and F.W. Danker, Greek-English
Lexicon of the New Testament.
BDBF. Brown, S.R. Driver, and C.A. Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of
the Old Testament
BETLBibliotheca ephemeridum theologicarum lovaniensium
BHSBiblia hebraica stuttgartensia
BibBiblica
BNBiblische Notizen
BTBBiblical Theology Bulletin
ix
BZAWBeihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenshaft
CADThe Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of
Chicago
CBQCatholic Biblical Quarterly
CBQMSCatholic Biblical Monograph -- Monograph Series
ConBOTConiectanea biblica, Old Testament
DSBDaily Study Bible
ExpTimExpository Times
FATForschungen zum Alten Testament
FOTLForms of the Old Testament Literature
GBSGuides to Biblical Scholarship
GKCGesenius' Hebrew Grammar, ed. E. Kautzsch, trans. A.E. Cowley
HARHebrew Annual Review
HSHebrew Studies
HUCAHebrewUnionCollege Annual
ICCInternational Critical Commentary
IntInterpretation
ITCInternational Theological Commentary
JBJerusalem Bible
JBLJournal of Biblical Literature
JETSJournal of the Evangelical Theological Society
JNESJournal of Near Eastern Studies
JNSLJournal of Northwest Semitic Languages
x
JQRJewish Quarterly Review
JSOTJournal for the Study of the Old Testament
JSOTSupJournal for the Study of the Old Testament - Supplement Series
JSSJournal of Semitic Studies
JTSJournal of Theological Studies
KBL. Koehler and W. Baumgartner, Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti libros
KBWZentrales Komitee des Kommunistischen Bundes Westdeutschland
KHCKurzer Hand-Commentar zum Alten Testament
LCLLoeb Classical Library
LDLectio divina
LXXSeptuagint
MTMassoretic Text
NCBNew Century Bible
NIBNew Interpreter's Bible
NIVNew International Version
NJVNew Jewish Version (Tanakh, 1985)
NRSVNew Revised Standard Version
OBOOrbis biblicus et orientalis
OLPOrientalia lovaniensia periodica
OTEOld Testament Essays
OTGOld Testament Guides
OTLOld Testament Library
xi
PEQPalestine Exploration Quarterly
RBRevue biblique
REBRevised English Bible
ResQRestoration Quarterly
RSVRevised Standard Version
SBFLAStudii Biblici Franciscani liber annus
SBLDSSociety of Biblical Literature - Dissertation Series
SBLWAWSociety of Biblical Literature - Writings from the Ancient World
SBSStuttgarter Bibelstudien
SBTStudies in Biblical Theology
SJOTScandinavian Journal of the Old Testament
TynOTCTyndale Old Testament Commentaries
VTVetus Testamentum
VTSupVetus Testamentum, Supplements
WMANTWissenschaftliche Monographien zum Alten and Neuen Testament
ZAHZeitschrift fur Althebraistik
ZAWZeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
ZTKZeitschrift fur Theologie und Kirche
xii
Chapter One
INTRODUCTION
Proverbs 1-9 as Rhetoric
Proverbs 1-9 is composed, almost exclusively, of speeches. Following a brief
introduction (1:1-7), these chapters consist of ten lectures by a "father" to his "son(s)."
The delimitation of these lectures is debated, but may tentatively be defined as 1:8-19,
2:1-22, 3:1-12, 3:21-35, 4:1-9, 4:10-19, 4:20-27, 5:1-23, 6:20-35, and 7:1-27.
Interspersed within these lectures are five interludes (1:20-33, 3:13-20, 6:1-19, 8:1-36,
and 9:1-18),1 three of which are speeches by woman wisdom.2 Further, four of the ten
father/son lectures cite speeches made by other persons or groups.3
Proverbs 1-9, however, is not only composed of speeches; these speeches
express vital concern for persuasive speech, i.e., rhetoric. On the one hand, each of
the ten father/son lectures attempts to persuade the reader to accept the father's counsel
and to pursue wisdom (e.g., 1:8, 4:10-11, 7:1-4).4 To this end, the father/rhetor
employs diverse rhetorical devices and strategies. On the other hand, the lectures
______
1The terminology of "lectures" and "interludes" is adopted from Michael Fox ("Ideas of
Wisdom in Proverbs 1-9," JBL 116 [1997], 613-619).
21:20-33, 8:1-36, 9:1-12 (expanded by the speech of woman folly in vv. 13-18).
3The speech of the sinners (1:10-14), the speech of the father's father (4:3-9), the speech
of the foolish son (5:12-14), and the speech of the adulteress (7:10-21).
4See also 2:1-11, 3:1-2, 3:21-23, 4:1-2, 4:20-22, 5:1-2, 6:20-22.
1
2
caution the reader about the seductive rhetoric of the opposition. This warning occurs
in five of the ten father/son lectures (e.g., 5:3, 6::3-24, 7:13,21).5 So, interest in
rhetoric, both that of the father and the opposition, abounds in the ten lectures.
Several scholars (e.g., Aletti, Yee, Newsom, and Crenshaw; see below) have
noted the rhetorical nature and concern of Proverbs 1-9. There is, however, a lacuna
in present research. Although Proverbs 1-9 contains ten lectures, a sustained analysis
of these lectures as lectures, i.e., as rhetoric, does not exist. This dissertation seeks to
fill this lacuna by offering a fresh investigation of the ten father/son lectures from the
perspective of rhetorical criticism. More specifically, rhetorical analysis of the lectures
offers two types of contributions to present scholarship.
First, rhetorical analysis will contribute a new perspective and, thus, new
insights on old interpretive problems in the ten lectures of Proverbs 1-9. Several
interpretive cruxes continue to plague the study of these texts, e.g., the delimitation of
the lectures, the identity of the strange/foreign woman, the presence of textual
allusions, and the relationship denoted by the vocative ynib; ("my son"). Rhetorical
analysis will offer fresh testimony on these and other issues that may break present the
scholarly impasses. In addition, this dissertation will consider the rhetorical
implications of these interpretive problems and their proposed solutions.
Second and more significant, a rhetorical analysis that focuses on how each of
the ten lectures attempts to persuade its audience promises to uncover new data about
the ten lectures and the practice of rhetoric in ancient Israel. For example, rhetorical
______
5 See also 1:10-19 and 2:16.
3
analysis will reveal that there are three types of lectures in Proverbs 1-9 (calls to
apprenticeship, calls to remember and obey, and warnings against illicit sexual
relations) and that the individual members of each subset employ different rhetorical
strategies. The implications of this finding may seem minimal, but, in fact, they reach
from revisions in our understanding of the lectures and the purpose of this collection
to the existence of self-conscious rhetorical reflection and, perhaps, rhetorical
education in ancient Israel.
Such rhetorical analysis of the ten lectures requires two preliminary steps.
First, it will be helpful to situate this dissertation within the history of scholarship on
Proverbs 1-9. Biblical criticism is a methodological jungle in which theoretical vines
are intricately interwoven and often intergrown. Any attempt to untangle a singly pure
methodological vine is impossible and detrimental to both the strength of the web and
the individual method. Therefore, in the remainder of this chapter, I will define the
relationship of my rhetorical analysis of the ten lectures to the existing interpretive
web of Proverbs 1-9. Second, the ambiguity of the term "rhetorical criticism"
demands clarification. While pursuit of one method alone is impossible, the lack of
methodological clarity and delimitation threatens confusion and dilution of focus.
Thus, in the second chapter I will define my rhetorical method and distinguish my
practice from other similarly titled methods. These first two chapters will be followed
by a sustained rhetorical analysis of the ten lectures. A summary and synthesis of the
contributions of this study, as well as proposals for further investigation, will comprise
the final chapter.
4
The Interpretive Web:
Research on Proverbs 1-9
Scholars writing in the twentieth century have attempted to understand four
features of Proverbs 1-9: its forms, the source(s) of its traditions, its striking references
to women, and literary concerns (e.g., unity and style). It is beyond the limits of this
study to present an exhaustive summary of this secondary literature.6 This survey is
limited to studies that provide significant stimuli or contributions to the rhetorical
analysis of the ten lectures. My goal is to situate this study within the existing
interpretive web of Proverbs 1-9. To this end, the four traditional categories of study
plus the recent emergence of rhetorical interest in Proverbs 1-9 provide the framework
for this discussion.7
Form-Critical Studies
Several scholars have utilized form-critical methodology to interpret Proverbs
1-9 within its ancient Near Eastern (especially Egyptian) setting.8 The most significant
______
6 For a more comprehensive history of research, see Bernhard Lang, Die Weisheitliche
Lehrrede. Eine Untersuchung von Spruche 1-7, SBS, vol. 54 (Stuttgart: KBW, 1972), 11.26;
C. Westermann, Forschungsgeschichte zur Weisheitsliteratur 1950-1990, AzTh, vol. 71
(Stuttgart: Calwer Verlag, 1991); and Roger N. Whybray, The Book of Proverbs: A Survey of
Modern Study (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1995).
7 Admittedly, some studies may be placed in multiple categories, e.g., I will discuss Christi
Maier's monograph (Die 'Fremde Frau' in Proverbien 1-9: Eine Exegetische and
Sozialgeschichtliche Studie, OBO, vol. 144 [Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1995])
under both Tradition History and The Women of Proverbs 1-9. The use of these five
categories is simply a heuristic device for presenting diverse material.
8Christa Kayatz, Studien zu Proverbien 1-9: Eine form- und motivgeschichtliche
Untersuchung unter Einbeziehung agyptischen Vergleichsmaterials, WMANT, vol. 22
(Netherlands: Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1966); Franz-Josef Steiert, Die Weisheit Israels: ein
Fremdkorper im Alten Testament? Eine Untersuchung zum Buch der Spruch auf dem
Hintergrund der agyptischen Weisheitslehren (Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 1990).
5
of these studies for rhetorical criticism are the works of Roger N. Whybray and
William McKane. Although Whybray's initial work preceded McKane's commentary
on Proverbs by several years, it is advantageous to begin with McKane's research
because his work established the foundation on which Whybray constructs his
arguments.
McKane's chief contribution to the study of Proverbs 1-9 is his clear distinction
between the instruction genre and the sentence literature.9 Prior to McKane's
commentary, many scholars argued that the longer instructions had evolved from the
sentence literature and, therefore, Proverbs 1-9 belonged to the latest stage of the
development of the book of Proverbs.10 According to McKane, the discovery of
comparative wisdom texts has overturned this form-critical consensus. These ancient
Near Eastern wisdom texts demonstrate that the longer units of Proverbs 1-9 are not
the result of formal evolution from the sentence literature, but an adaptation of an
international genre of instruction.
McKane established his thesis by extensive study of both Egyptian and
Babylonian-Assyrian instructions.11 He documented the existence of an international
genre "with definable formal characteristics which can be described in syntactical "
______
9William McKane, Proverbs, OTL (London: SCM Press, 1970).
10For example, J. Schmidt, Studien zur Stilistik der alttestamentlichen Spruchliteratur,
ATAbh 13/1, Munster: Aschendorfsche Verlag, 1936; Walther Zimmerli, "Concerning the
Structure of Old Testament Wisdom," trans. Brian W. Kovacs, in Studies in Ancient Israelite
Wisdom, ed. J.L. Crenshaw (New York: KTAV, 1976), 175-207.
11Ibid., 51-182.
6
terms.”12 For example, the instruction form utilizes the imperative to exhort and gives
reasons why its commands should be obeyed, typically contained in subordinate
clauses (e.g., motive clauses with "for/because" as well as final and consecutive
clauses). McKane then demonstrated a formal correspondence between this
international instruction genre and texts in Proverbs. He concluded
that the formal structure of 1-9, 22.17-24.22 and 31.1-9 is that of an
international Instruction genre, and that it is not the consequence of a process
of form-critical evolution involving the agglomeration of wisdom sentences.
The Instruction is a separate genre from the wisdom sentence and the form-
critical argument for the lateness of these sections of the book of Proverbs,