We begin with a series of proverbs on the Fool, followed by characteristics of the Sluggard. The last one-third of the chapter is on the individual who is divisive, a malicious gossip.
Proverbs 26:1, Snow and honor
Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
honor is not fitting for a fool.
One unnatural event (snow in summer), another unusual and undesired event (rain at harvest) are compared with the irrationality of giving honor to a fool. (Yet, of course, giving honor to a fool is not uncommon, in my experience.)
A slightly different but similar proverb is Proverbs 19:10.
Proverbs 26:12, Undeserved curses
Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow,
an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
An undeserved curse has no power. (Don't be ruled by superstitions that claim they do!) An undeserved curse is like a darting swallow, flitting everywhere but finding no rest.
Proverbs 26:3, A rod on the back
A whip for the horse,
a halter for the donkey,
and a rod for the backs of fools!
A fool should be disciplined, like any other unruly beast. (In the ANE, a whipping was an acceptable punishment.)
In Psalm 32:8-9 YHWH instructs David and promises to counsel him with love. He adds, "Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you." A stubborn person, one with no understanding, like the fool of Proverbs, has begun to stoop towards animal behavior. Sometimes, like Asaph of Psalm 73:22, I have identified with this; I have admitted to God, "I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you."
Proverbs 26:4-5, On answering a fool
Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
or you will be like him yourself.
Answer a fool according to his folly,
or he will be wise in his own eyes.
The apparently conflicting proverbs display the difficulty in dealing with a fool. On one hand, answering a fool is to stoop to his level. But occasionally confrontation may be necessary.
Proverbs 26:6, A fool as messenger
Like cutting off one's feet or drinking violence
is the sending of a message by the hand of a fool.
It is silly to send messages by a fool, who may accidentally, or deliberately, corrupt the message. On the other hand, a wise messenger is rewarding, see 25:13.
Proverbs 26:7, Lame man's legs
Like a lame man's legs that hang limp
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
A fool doesn't know what a proverb means or when it should be applied, and so it is useless to him. Just like the legs of a paralyzed man.
Proverbs 26:8, Stone in a sling
Like tying a stone in a sling
is the giving of honor to a fool.
Just as in verse 1, a fool should not receive honor. Here that honor is compared with a stone in a sling. Some commentators emphasize the image of tying up a stone in a sling so that it cannot move, a ridiculous action when the whole point of a sling is to propel the stone. Other commentators view the first line differently and argue that giving honor to fool is like giving him a slingshot -- he will only use the honor to hurt others. The first viewpoint is preferred by Alter and Kidner and I like that argument.
Proverbs 26:9, Drunkard with thornbush
Like a thornbush in a drunkard's hand
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
A drunk stumbling around in the deserts of Palestine is likely to put his hand on a thornbush. (This is certainly true in west Texas!) A painful thornbush in the hand of a drunkard is like a useless proverb voiced by a fool who does not understand. See verse 7.
Proverbs 26:10, Archer shooting at random
Like an archer who wounds at random
is he who hires a fool or any passer-by.
Hiring a fool for an errand is likely shooting arrows randomly. Sometimes they do damage.
Proverbs 26:11, A dog's vomit
As a dog returns to its vomit,
so a fool repeats his folly.
This vivid metaphor points out that the fool does stupid things and then, refusing to learn, does them again. This proverb is quoted in the New Testament, in 2 Peter 2:22.
Proverbs 26:12, Worse than a fool
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Even worse than a fool is someone who sees himself as wise and ignores all evidence to the contrary. This is a warning to those of us who feel we can identify others who are fools... but don't believe we are!
Proverbs 29:20 has a similar comparison, equating "worse than a fool" with someone who speaks in haste. The subtle implication in these verses is that being a fool is so bad that it is used as a comparison for other bad behavior.
Closely related to the fool is the "sluggard", the lazy person who refuses to work. The next four verses focus on that individual.
Proverbs 26:13, A lion in the streets!
The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the road,
a fierce lion roaming the streets!"
This proverb repeats 22:13. The point is that the sluggard always has some excuse.
Proverbs 26:14, Swinging door
As a door turns on its hinges,
so a sluggard turns on his bed.
In this vivid image we see a door swinging back and forth on its hinges, going nowhere, just like the fool turning over in his bed, sleeping for a time, then turning over again, going nowhere.
Proverbs 26:15, Hand in dish
The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
This proverb repeats 19:24. The comical image is of one so lazy he cannot even lift his food to his mouth. Ouch!
Proverbs 26:16, Too wise
The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
than seven men who answer discreetly.
As Kidner points out, this proverb might alert us to the fact that the sluggard won't be reading these passages about sluggards. They don't recognize themselves in this list!
Among the Fools and Sluggards are those who are deceitful gossips, who love to inflict their opinions into spaces where they are not welcome. (In today's technological world, some of these are internet
trolls....) The rest of this chapter looks at those people,
Proverbs 26:17, Grabbing at ears
Like one who seizes a dog by the ears
is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.
The rest of this chapter looks at these people who cause division and speak maliciously. Here we have a passer-by who foolishly tries to intervene in a quarrel he does not understand. Recall that in the culture of the ANE, dogs were semi-feral and detested as annoyances. So grabbing the ears of a wild dog is definitely not a good idea. You will get bit.
Proverbs 26:18-19, Deception with a shrug
Like a madman shooting firebrands or deadly arrows
is a man who deceives his neighbor and says, "I was only joking!"
Some deceive their neighbors and then deflect any responsibility. "It was only a joke," is an answer often given when the deception backfires.
Proverbs 26:20-21, Escalation, de-escalation
Without wood a fire goes out;
without gossip a quarrel dies down.
As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire,
so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
A quarrelsome man, a gossip, an internet troll, likes to escalate the conflict when a wise person will step in with smooth words and try to de-escalate the quarrel.
Proverbs 26:22, Words hurt
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they go down to a man's inmost parts.
The words of a gossip can sting and stay with a person. Much more than the gossip can know.
This proverb repeats 18:8.
Proverbs 26:23-26, Malicious lips
Like a coating of glaze over earthenware
are fervent lips with an evil heart.
A malicious man disguises himself with his lips,
but in his heart he harbors deceit.
Though his speech is charming, do not believe him,
for seven abominations fill his heart.
His malice may be concealed by deception,
but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
A person may sound fervent and caring, but that may merely be fake glittery glaze over a dull clay surface. The malicious person is deceitful but charming. He will smile, wave the flag, have smooth talk, all the while working an agenda you cannot see. It will take a great deal to expose them.
Proverbs 26:27, Boomerang
If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it;
if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.
The evil person may (will?) eventually be caught in their own traps. (Oh, if only I can live to see that?) A similar passage is in 28:10. (See also Psalm 7:15.)
Proverbs 26:28, Lie turns to hate
A lying tongue hates those it hurts,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.
The proverb expands a bit on the damage done by lies. Whatever the original motive, the lying tongue eventually leads to the liar hating the victim. As Alter points out, it is not uncommon for the victimizer to eventually despise the victim; an example of this in a sexual crime occurs in 2 Samuel 13 where Amnon rapes Tamar and then decides that he hates her.
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