Scripture Commentaries

How to Read a Proverb
Irene Nowell, OSB

Originally published in God’s Word Today
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The book of Proverbs has been called an exercise book. These proverbs have been given us to probe and play with so that we might learn how to find the wisdom in the biblical proverb and the wisdom in our own daily experience. Here are some “exercises” to help us use the proverbs to our best advantage. Play with them!

A and what’s more B. Most biblical proverbs are two-line snippets of poetry. Usually in Hebrew poetry the second line somehow echoes or reinforces the first line. But there is almost always added meaning. Look at Prov 10:5: “A child who gathers in summer is prudent, but a child who sleeps in harvest brings shame.” The elements of line A are echoed in line B: gathering/sleeping child; summer/harvest; prudent/shame. Where is the added meaning? We might expect line B to say that the sleeper is foolish (the opposite of prudent in line A), but it says the sleeper brings shame. Who is shamed? Child, parents, village? If we go back to line A could we conclude that the gatherer, besides being prudent, also brings honor (the opposite of shame in line B)? Always look for more!

New last lines. Take any proverb and add your own last line. This exercise is often given to children who come up with great answers. “Strike while the . . . bug is close.” “Don’t bite the hand that . . . looks dirty.” “A penny saved is . . . not much.” Try this with biblical proverbs. How would you finish this proverb: “Don’t make friends with hotheads”? Compare your last line with Prov 22:24-25.

Like and unlike. Many proverbs are comparisons: “This is like that.” For example: “Like a moth in clothing or a maggot in wood, sorrow gnaws at the human heart” (Prov 25:20). Write your own line B for that proverb or any proverb beginning with “like.” What is like a moth or maggot? You can do the same thing with “better than” proverbs (see, for example, Prov 25:24).

Create your own. The best way to really “get into” proverbs is to create your own. Remember, a proverb is characterized by “shortness, sense, and salt”!
Above all, have fun!