Biblical Hermeneutics

PRINCIPLES OF BIBLICAL HERMENETICS ; M. M. NINAN
While the wisdom books, particularly Ecclesiastes, note that punishment may follow from
poor choices, the laws of goodness and rightness are God's and should be followed because
they are ordained good by God. Wisdom is represented as the result of human reflection, and
thus as the guide in all the affairs of life but predetermination of good remains God's
prerogative (in Wisd. of Sol. and in parts of Prov. and Ecclus., but not in Eccles.). The wisdom
texts emphasize human powers as bestowed directly by God; it is identified with the fear of
God (Job 28:28; Prov. 1:7; Eccles. 15:I ff.), an extension of which is obedience to the Jewish
law (Ecclus. 24:23).
There are instances in the book of Proverbs where Wisdom is personified as a female. Female
imagery begins the book of Proverbs in Chapters 1-9 and also ends the book in chapter 31.
“The Lord by wisdom (Hokhmah) founded the earth; by understanding (tevunah) He
established the heavens. By His knowledge (be-da’ato) the depths are broken up” (Prov.
3:19—20). “Depths” refers to the sea. “Wisdom” is the fear of the Lord; as you read, “Behold,
the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom (hokhmah); and to depart from evil is understanding
(binah) (Job 28:28). “Knowledge” (da’at) means one who recognizes his Creator (ha-makkir
el bore'o); as you see in the verse, “Because there is no...knowledge (da’at) of God in the
land” (Hos. 4:1), and as it says, “that he understands and knows (ve-yado’a) Me (Jer.
9:23).12
In Proverbs 9:1-6 she is depicted as a figure with a home inviting those in need of wisdom to
enter. She says "Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Lay aside
immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight."
In Proverbs 8:15-21, she not only identifies herself as the divine companion, but also as the
source of order in society and success in life.
Some have interpreted Wisdom as a companion to the divine, an abstraction, an extension to
the divine, or a Goddess. Further information about the nature of Wisdom is found in
Proverbs 8:22-30. In these verses "wisdom speaks of herself as having been created before
anything else and as Yahweh's companion and even assistant at the creation of the ordered
world." It has also been argued that personifying Wisdom as a woman adds a mythical
nature to proverbs. This would line up with the ancient Near Eastern view that every male
deity had a female counterpart.
• Poetry: Psalms, Song of Solomon, Lamentation
These are the prose and rhyme books such as Psalms, Song of Solomon, and Lamentations.
Poetry is found mostly in the Old Testament and is similar to modern poetry. Since it was
written in Hebrew, it does not translate into English very well as Poetry. The Hebrew Poetry is
also based on parallelisms, rhythm, or various types of sound mixings, as is our music. A
significant amount of Israel's literature is poetic in form. The book of Lamentations is a set of
five poetic laments over the destruction of Jerusalem. A high percentage of the Latter
Prophets is poetry. Even narrative literature occasionally contains poetic inclusions, such as
the Blessing of Jacob (Genesis 49), the Song of the Sea (Exodus 15), and David's dirge on
the death of Saul and Jonathan (2 Samuel 1). Hebrew poetry is based on a tempo of stanzas
and phrases re-told differently called “synonymous parallelism”, conveying the same ideas
and meaning in contrasting or similar ways. Some called “synthetic parallelism,” also have
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