Proverbs 1-9: A Study of Inner-Biblical Interpretation (review)

Abstract

Hebrew Studies 38 (1997) 167 Reviews PROVERBS 1-9: A STUDY OF INNER-BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION . By Scott L. Harris. SBL Dissertation Studies 150. Pp. xii + 193. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1996. Cloth, $49.95. In this book, Harris sets himself the formidable task of refuting the virtually universal consensus that the book of Proverbs belongs to a distinct literary tradition that has no discernible links with the central traditions of the rest of the Old Testament. In the wake of the recent emphasis on the phenomenon of intertextuality in Old Testament studies, he claims to have discovered definite allusions in certain selected passages of Proverbs 1-9 to specific non-wisdom texts, notably the story of Joseph in Genesis and the prophecies of Jeremiah. Harris' study represents the continuation in an extreme form of some recent new insights into the nature of the book of Proverbs. That book, until recently regarded by many scholars as a Fremdkorper within the Old Testament unrelated to the mainstream religious traditions of ancient Israel, has now been recognized by a growing number of scholars as basically compatible with them, even if only as setting forth an alternative or parallel theological pattern. It has even been argued recently that it is not, as has been supposed, uninterested in the historical dimension of life. Up to the present time, however, modem scholarship has hesitated to posit a direct relationship between Proverbs and other specific Old Testament texts. The three passages selected by Harris for examination in this connection are Prov 1:8-19; 1:20-33; and 6:1-19. It is not clear whether he has chosen them because he regards them as offering special opportunities to prove his thesis or because they present peculiar difficulties for it. In the course of the book, however, he points to clear links between them and other parts of chapters 1-9 and also other parts of the book. In chapter 1, Harris reviews just three modem interpretations of chapters 1-9 by Whybray, Kayatz, and McKane. These studies, published in 1965, 1966, and 1970 respectively. are castigated for their undue emphasis on the affinities of these chapters with Egyptian models. Unfortunately they are not representative of the study of the question in recent decades and do not necessarily represent the current views of those scholars themselves. In recent years there has developed a marked disinclination to postulate more than a general affinity with non-Israelite wisdom. In the same chapter, Harris proposes an approximate dating for the composition of chapters 1-9: the early post-exilic period. In their present form, they are a parental discourse warning adolescent young men against Hebrew Studies 38 (1997) 168 Reviews involvement with criminal elements and with "strange/foreign women," dangers supposed to have been particularly prevalent in the Jerusalem community of that period. This view is relatively non-controversial in the present state of Proverbs studies. A post-exilic dating is also a necessary presupposition for Harris' theories of intertextuality. In chapter 2 Harris argues that Prov 1:8-19 should be understood in terms of inner-biblical interpretation, the relevant model being Genesis 37. In this and the succeeding chapters he makes useful comments on similarities of language and terminology but relies heavily on a theory of "double-voiced discourse" propounded by M. Bakhtin on problems of Dostoevsky's poetics and M. Sternberg on general poetics. Whatever may be the validity of this thesis with regard to certain kinds of literature, it is difficult to see how it applies to Prov 1:8-19, which is a rather straightforward warning against involvement with "sinners" and contains only a single quotation of their would-be persuasive speech. Moreover, the supposed similarity between this discourse and the story of Joseph's dreams and his treatment by his brothers is not easy to discern. Chapter 3 deals in a similar way with Prov 1:20-33 and Jeremiah 7 and 20. Harris builds on the common consensus that in Prov 1:20-33 Wisdom's speech contains strong prophetic elements. He points to the use of language and rhetorical devices found in both texts, though some of these (e.g., "hear" in the...