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328 PSALM 1 AND WISDOM B AIM (1) The aim of this article is to find out whether Psalm 1 can be typified as a wisdom psalm. The aim is not to indicate whether there are wisdom aspects in the psalm, since these are obvious. Wisdom aspects as such do not make a psalm a wisdom psalm. (2) To reach this aim the problem will be approached from a linguistic viewpoint. Previous research on wisdom psalms will be examined and a set of criteria will be formulated. (3) This set of criteri a will be based on the hypothesis that a wisdom psalm was created in a specific wisdom milieu, traces of which are still visible in the psalm. One can expect that aspects of form and content typical of wisdom must be recognisable in a wisdom psalm. 'We may assume that these texts have absorbed words and expressions which were current specifically in wisdom literature. Therefore, by identifying phraseology and terminology, character- istic of wisdom literature, it should be possible to identify "wisdom psalms'" (Hurvitz 1988:41). (4) Only then can it be applied to Psalm 1. C A PROBLEM OF DEFINrnON In the endeavour to find wisdom criteria, it is important first to have a clear view of what is meant by wisdom literature. By simply saying that it consists of the wisdom books, namely Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Ben Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon, is not satisfactory. A possible point of departure is to discern what wisdom as such is - which is a difficult task. As wisdom deals with day-to-day life in its rich variety, a definition of wisdom is in danger of being too wide and therefore unsuitable. Von Rad (1958:415) sees wisdom as 'ein ganz praktisches, auf Erfahrung gegrun- detes Wissen von den Gesetzen des Lebens und der Welt'. This wide interpretation of wisdom is even clearer in von Rad's following statement: 'Weisheit hatte es mit dem ganzen Leben zu tun und hatte sich auf allen Lebensgebieten zu betatigen' (1958:426). On the other hand it is also true that wisdom defined as eudemonistic, humanistic, international or non-historical, is equally unusable, as it is in a certain OLD TESTAMENT ESSAYS 8 (1995), 327-339 329 sense too narrow (cf Crenshaw 1969:131). Crenshaw's definition of wisdom is equally unsuitable. According to him wisdom is 'the quest for selfunderstanding in terms of relationships with things, people and the Creator' (1969:132). Such a view ofwisdom is both too'wide and too narrow: It is too wide because 'self-understand- ing' is an embracing and generaI term with the consequence that there is literature outside wisdom literature, which can erroneously be included as wisdom. There is, for example, the well-known Psalm 8, in which the poet attempts to understand himself in terms of God and the creation. Psalm 139, in which the poet sees himself as someone who can never escape from God, is another case in point. Both these two psalms deal with 'self-understanding' without necessarily being wisdom literature. On the other hand, Crenshaw's definition is too narrow, as there definitely is wisdom that has nothing in common with 'self-understanding', as is noticeable from the experiential wisdom: 'Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.' (Pr 25:15); 'Anyone who is among the living has hope - even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!' (Ec 9:4). The fact that the wisdom movement was so widespread in the Ancient Near East, and that it was an integraI part of so many aspects of life, requires a definition that reflects this nearly all-encompassing character of wisdom (Loader 1984-1985: 23). One can consequently define wisdom as the conscious reflection of the Ancient Near Eastem sages on the world order (Schmid 1966:17-22; 115-118) and their endea- vours to live in harmony with it to ensure a prosperous life (Loader 1984-1985:23). This definition focuses on the content of wisdom. But, because of the fact that wisdom literature in the Old Testament consists to a great extent of poetry, one should expect that stylistic or formai aspects should also be important in this litera- ture. Consequently the premise of this investigation cannot only be aspects concern- ing content but also aspects concerning [orm. Criteria of [orm and content that are characteristic of the generaI acknowledged wisdom books will be used to evaluate Psalm 1 for its wisdom qualities. D AN OVERVIEW OF TRE WISDOM PSALM RESEARCH Before a set of criteria can be reached to recognize a wisdom psalm, an overview of the research in this field is pertinent.
330 PSALM 1 ANO WISOOM 1 Hermann Gunkel In his comprehensive work on the psalms, Einleitung in die Psalmen: Die Gattungen der religiàsen Lyrik Israels of 1933 which was concluded after his death by Joachim Begrich, Gunkel pays attention to the so-called 'Weisheitsdichtung' in the Book of PsaIms (1975 [1933]:381-397). He is cautious to set the 'Weisheitsdichtung' in the psaIter on par with the other Gattungen like the hymn and the individuaI lament. The 'Weisheitsdichtung' in the Book of Psalms according to him, consists of the following psalms: 1,37,49, 73, 91, 112 and 128. He states that there are certain forrn-critical (form) and thematic (content) attributes typical of the Old Testament and the wisdom literature of the Ancient Near East, which can be used to identify the 'Weisheitsdichtung' in the Psalter. Regarding form he mentions the folIowing: the address of a father to a son, wisdom vocabulary such as il1JJn,il"n, il",", ;lIm, the comparison, question and answer, numerical sayings and the ",I/k{-formula. Aspects of content include the fear of the Lord and retribution. 2 Sigmund Mowinckel For Sigmund Mowinckel almost alI the psalms in the PsaIter are cuItic in nature (1960:205). According to him there are, however, a few psalms that do not fit in with this cuItic Sitz im Leben. He maintains that these psalms originated from a private background. He calIs them didactic 'psalms' (his inverted commas), which is an indication of his embarrassment with these psalms as they are non-cultic (1950/ 51:205). This learned psalmography as Mowinckel chooses to calI it, as he shies away from the term wisdom psalms, has a religious and a didactic aim: The religious nature is evident in the thanksgiving and praise towards Yahweh and the didactic aim is evident in the urge to direct young people towards wisdom (1962: 109). The criteria according to which Mowinckel recognises these non-cultic psalms, pertain to form and contento Unfortunately he is vague as to what he understands under these two terms. He includes Psalm 1 in the didactic psalms. 3 Gerhard von Rad For von Rad, like Mowinckel, the problem of psalm exegesis does not lie with the cultic psalms, but with the non-culti c psalms. According to von Rad we do not have OLO TESTAMENT ESSAYS 8 (1995),327-339 331 specific criteria at our disposal to detect these non-cultic psalms. The identification of these psalms rests upon a 'generaI impression' of didactic quality of a dominant theological reflection (1970:70-71). He calIs these poems Gebete practised by the sages. It has a double character, namely that of prayer to God and instruction to pupils (Schuldichtung) with prayer as the dominant aspect. These Gebete are a re- use by the wisdom teacher of existing Psalmgattungen. According to him Psalm 1 is the re-use of the Gattung torah psalms (von Rad 1970:71). 4 James L Crenshaw Crenshaw is sceptical of the efforts of researchers to find wisdom influences in the literature outside the books of Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. In bis introduction to Old Testament wisdom (1981:39-41,184) and in two of his articles (1967:49; 1969: 142), he attempts to put a stop to this trend. 'This trend has caught on so widely that the entire Hebrew canon is in danger of being swalIowed' (1981:41). He sees these efforts as a futile 'widening of the net' (1981:41; see also 185). It is interesting to noti ce tbat twelve years earlier he believed stylistic and ideological aspects, typical of the wisdom literature, to be useful for finding wisdom influences in other litera- ture (1969:132). An important aspect against whicb he warns and whicb is also relevant here, is that tbe so-called 'common cultural stock' cannot be used as a distinctive criterium. Because of the fact that wisdom is rooted in everyday life, it is understandable tbat a common vocabulary will exist for the prophet, sage and priest (1967:44; 1969:133). Although he apparently avoids using the term 'wisdom psalms', he does not deny the influence of the psalms. An example is the so-called 'torah meditation' of Psalm 1 wbich concerns the prosperity of those who reflect on the law (1981:181- 183). 5 R B Y Scott According to Scott there is a vagueness among scholars on the issue of which psalms can be classified as wisdom psalms. He points out, however, that there is generai unanimity among researchers on the wisdom quality of Psalms 1, 37, 49 and 112. He examined these four psalms and determined formai and thematic criteria that
332 PSALM 1 ANO WISOOM can be used as keys to unlock the rest of the psalter for wisdom psalms (1971:193, 197-198). The formai criteria that he distinguishes are: (1) These four psalms were addressed to men and not to God; (2) wisdom vocabulary; (3) stylistic forms such as proverbs, similes, illustrations from nature, precepts and rhetorical questions and (4) the teacher's call for attention and the alphabetic acrostic formo He also mentions the following themes: (1) the contrast between the righteous and the wicked; (2) reward and retribution; (3) the behaviour and qualities of the righteous that stimulate admiration and imitation; (4) the study of the written law of Yahweh; (5) the merit of righteousness; (6) the endorsement and call to personal trust in Yahweh; and (7) the search to understand problems concerning faith. 6 J Kenneth Kuntz Kuntz uses rhetorical (form) and thematic (content) wisdom criteria to determine wisdom psalms. In ascending order of importance he mentions the following rheto- rical criteria (1977:224-225): (1) The 'better' -saying; (2) the numerical saying; (3) admonition towards 'sons'; (4) rhetorical questions; (5) the simile; (6) the "'IIh\- formula. He also mentions the following four thematic elements: (1) the fear of the Lord and the veneration of the law; (2) contrast between the righteous and the wicked; (3) retribution; and (4) different kinds of advice on everyday conduct. According to this, Psalm 1 is one of the psalms that he sees as a wisdom psalm (1974:210; 1977:225). 7 R N Whybray According to Whybray there existed an intellectual tradition in Israel that was the product of an educated class. According to him form and content are necessary to determine wisdom influence in the Old Testament (1974:71-74). The influence of this intellectual tradition is evident in some of the psalms and can also be seen in Psalm 1 (1974:154). 8 Roland E Murpby According to Murphy, the main reason for the diversity of opinion among scholars on the psalms that can be classed as wisdom psalms is the lack of acceptable criteria OLO TESTAMENT ESSAYS 8 (1995), 327-339 333 for the demarcation of these psalms (1962: 156-159). He thinks one should apply two aspects to specify a psalm as a wisdom psalm. These are style and contento The stylistic elements, typical of Old Testament wisdom include "'IIh\-formulas; 'better' sayings; numerical sayings; the address of a teacher to a 'sori'; alphabetical structure; simple comparisons; admonitions. Aspects of content include the contrast between the P"'~and Wl'; the two ways; retribution; practical advice about conduct and the fear of the Lord (1962:159-160). After he has applied these to the Psalter he comes to the conclusion that Psalm 1 is one of the psalms in the Psalter that can be classified as a wisdom psalm (1962:161). E WISOOM CRITERIA From the selected research overview above it is clear that the wisdom criteria gene- rally consist of aspects of form as well as aspects of content. On this ali the researchers, except von Rad and Crenshaw, are unanimous. Gunkel, Scott, Kuntz and Murphy go into the details as to what they under- stand as criteria of contents, while Mowinckel and Whybray merely mention that the criteria should pertain to form and content. AlI these aspects do not have to appear in the same psalm, but the appearance of several of these criteria strengthen the argument that we are dealing with a wisdom psalm. The principle for the determination of a wisdom psalm is the con- fluence of the testimony of multiple aspects of form and content that appear in combination. Only then can a psalm be labelled a wisdom psalm. The following can serve as criteria: Formai criteria * The "'IIh\-formula (Gunkel, Kuntz, Murphy) the 'better' proverb (Kuntz, Murphy) the alphabetic structure (Gunkel, Scott, Murphy) the numerical saying (Gunkel, Kuntz, Murphy) the 'son' formula (Gunkel, Scott, Kuntz, Murphy) the rhetorical question (Gunkel, Scott, Kuntz) the admonition (Mahnspruch) (Scott, Kuntz, Murphy) the comparison (Gunkel, Scott, Kuntz, Murphy) * * * * * *