Proverbs 1:8-36

B. Instruction for Young People 1:8-8:36

The two ways (paths, worldviews) introduced in Proverbs 1:7 stretch out before the reader (cf. Matthew 7:13-14). In this section Solomon spoke to his son, guiding him into God’s way. "My son" was and is a customary way of addressing a disciple.

"It derives from the idea that parents are primarily responsible for moral instruction (Proverbs 4:3-4; Deuteronomy 6:7)." [Note: Ross, p. 907.]

The frequent recurrence of the phrase "my son" in this part of Proverbs indicates that the instruction specially suited a young person. This person’s life lay in front of him, and he faced major decisions that would set the course of his life from then on. Though the whole Book of Proverbs gives help to youths, chapters 1-7 address them specifically and can be of particular benefit to them.

The instruction that follows was originally the type of counsel a courtier father gave his son or sons in his home. This seems to have been a traditional form of ancient Near Eastern education, especially among the ruling classes. This instruction did not replace a formal education but supplemented it. [Note: William Kelly Simpson, ed., The Literature of Egypt, p. 54; cf. pp. 178-79.]

In Egypt, for example, "The authors of the [wisdom] ’teachings’ do not present themselves as priests and prophets. They appear as aged officials at the end of active and successful careers, desirous to let their children profit by their experience." [Note: Henri Frankfort, Ancient Egyptian Religion, p. 60. Cf. James B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, p. 12.]

Earlier, Akkadian officials evidently practiced the same custom.

"The advice given in the section ’My son’ can have had relevance for very few people. . . . This suggests that we are to construe the text as being in the form of admonitions of some worthy to his son who will succeed him as vizier to the ruler." [Note: Lambert, p. 96.]

Other evidence exists that it was common throughout the ancient Near East for high officials to pass on this special instruction to their heirs. In Proverbs, we have the record of what Solomon told his son Rehoboam, and probably also his other sons.

". . . the Book of Proverbs has a definite masculine focus because in the ancient Jewish society daughters usually weren’t educated for the affairs of life. Most of them were kept secluded and prepared for marriage and motherhood. For the most part, when you read ’man’ in Proverbs, interpret it generically and read ’person,’ whether male or female. Proverbs isn’t a sexist book, but it was written in the context of a strongly male-oriented society." [Note: Wiersbe, p. 172, n. 1.]

In the teaching that follows, there is advice for many situations a king would encounter and have to deal with effectively. These matters included the administration of justice, leadership, behavior, as well as urban and agricultural concerns. Consequently, there seems to be no reason to take these references to "my son" as anything other than what they appear at face value to be (cf. Genesis 18:19; Exodus 12:24; Deuteronomy 4:9-11).

In some parts of the ancient world, the mother shared the duty of instructing the son with the father (cf. Proverbs 1:8; Proverbs 4:3; Proverbs 6:20; Proverbs 31:1; Proverbs 31:26). [Note: Kidner did a subject study on the family in Proverbs. See pp. 49-52.]

"Here the father and mother are placed on exactly the same footing as teachers of their children. . . . The phraseology of these sentences corresponds almost exactly to that of their Egyptian counterparts . . . and this throws into greater relief the one feature which is entirely unique in them: the mention of the mother. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that this feature is an example of the adaptation of the Egyptian tradition to the peculiar situation in which the Israelite instructions were composed: a domestic situation in which the father and mother together shared the responsibility for the education of the child." [Note: R. N. Whybray, Wisdom in Proverbs, p. 42.]

Archaeologists have found most of the documents that contain extrabiblical instruction of the "my son" type in excavated scribal schools. This suggests that even though the teaching took place in the home, the teachers preserved their instructions in writing, with a view to sharing them with people outside the family circle. This suggests that what we have in Proverbs is not atypical. Probably when Solomon recorded his counsel to his son, he adapted it to a more general reading audience, namely: all the people of Israel. Eventually all people profited from it.

"The principles articulated throughout the book are as helpful for living the Christian life as they were for providing guidance to the ancient theocratic community of Israel." [Note: Eugene H. Merrill, in The Old Testament Explorer, p. 482.]