De la División de Poderes
Artículo 49. El Supremo Poder del Estado se divide para su ejercicio en Legislativo,
III. Los partidos políticos son entidades de interés público que tienen como fin
This section explores the ecological potential of water and water-related phenomena as pointed out in the wisdom poem of Proverbs 3:19-20. The researcher will first explore general literary matters before retrieving ecological wisdom regarding life- giving and life-threatening potential of water and water-related phenomena in this text. I am not going to explore the theme of wisdom and creation here as this will be one of the main sections in the next chapter of this thesis, especially in the analysis of Sirach 24.
4.3.2.2 General literary considerations
4.3.2.2.1 The Masoretic Text of Proverbs 3:19-20
19
ה ֵָּׁ֗והִֽ י
ׇ
הֵ֥ ָּׁמ כָּׁח ב
ׇ
ץ ר ִָּׁ֑א־ד סִָּֽׁי
ׇ
ןֵ֥ נו כ
ׇ
םִי ֵ֗ מ ְָּׁ֝ש
ׇ
׃הִָּֽׁנוב תִב
20
ו ת ע ד ִ֭ ב
תו ֹ֣ מו ה ת
ׇ
וע ִָּׁ֑ק בִנ
ׇ
םי ִֵ֗קָּׁח ש ְ֝ו
ׇ
׃לִֽ ָּׁט־ופֲע רִי
4.3.2.2.2 Translation of Proverbs 3:19-20Proverbs 3:19-20 does not contain major textual variants. The researcher has therefore opted for the translation of the NRSV. However, unlike the NRSV, the Hebrew word
~yIm;ªv'
(v.19) will not be translated ‘heaven’ but ‘sky’. The reasons for this rendition will be given in the eco-theological analysis of the text. The translation of the text will appear as below:19
The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the sky; 20by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.
4.3.2.2.3 Position of Proverbs 3:19-20 in Proverbs 1-9
Proverbs 3:19-20 is part of the first section of the book of Proverbs, Proverbs 1-9, setting forth a number of father-son (teacher-disciple) teachings. In its immediate context, Proverbs 3:19-20 fits in the first text about creation theology in the book of Proverbs, namely Proverbs 3:13-20. This wisdom poem has three strophes: the first strophe (Pr 3:13-17) portrays the happiness (יׇ רׇ שׇ א) that comes to those who find Wisdom. The second (Pr 3:18) personifies Wisdom as a tree of life, a major symbol of fertility in the Ancient Near East.317 The last strophe depicts Wisdom’s role in creation (Pr 3:19-20).
Therefore, the praise of Wisdom culminates in Proverbs 3:19-20 where YHWH uses Wisdom to create and sustain the world. This strophe, which is rhetorically different from verses 13-18, wants to underline that YHWH used his Wisdom in both securing the earth from the life-threatening chaos waters and in supplying the life-giving water that fertilises the cosmos (Perdue 2007:51). The rhetorical structure of Proverbs 3:19- 20 is seen in the following section.
4.3.2.2.4 Structure of Proverbs 3:19-20
Biblical scholars agree that Proverbs 3:19-20 evolved as an independent unit in origin, but came to be placed in its current position in order to underline the means and merit of Wisdom’s efficacy.318 In this sense, the unit presents its striking rhetorical structure as follows:
A YHWH by Wisdom (הׇ מׇ כׇ ח) founded (ד ) the earth ( ׇ אׇ סׇ י ץ ), v.19a ׇ ר B Establishing (ן נוֹכ) the sky (םִׇיׇ מׇ ש) by understanding (הׇָּׁנובׇ ת), v.19b
Aʹ By his (YHWH) knowledge (ת ) the deeps (ׇ עׇ ד תוֹמוֹהׇ ת) burst open (ע ), v.20a ׇ קׇ ב Bʹ And the clouds (םיִׇקׇ חׇ ש) drop (ופֲׇעׇ רִׇי) dew ( ׇָּׁטל ), v.20b
Figure 9: Rhetorical structure of Proverbs 3:19-20
317
Perdue convincingly noted that the description of Woman Wisdom here and later in Proverbs 8-9 borrows from Ancient Near Eastern goddesses (mostly Ma’at or Isis) who personify justice and the created order (2007:50).
318 See von Rad, G 1972. Wisdom in Israel. (Trans. Martin, J D). London: SCM, p.151f; Whybray, R N 1994b.
The Composition of the Book of Proverbs. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press (JSOTSup 168), p37; Brown, W
P 1999. The Ethos of the Cosmos: The Genesis of Moral Imagination in the Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan/Cambridge, U K: W B Eerdmans, p.284 note 48.
The above structure presents itself as an alternating parallelism319 in Hebrew poetry. Its poetry is made in the way that lines 1 and 3 relate, as do 2 and 4, to communicate the author’s message (Willis 1987:49). In Proverbs 3:19-20, A relates to A′ in the sense that the secured earth and the deeps belong to the lower sphere of the created order, while B and B′ concern the upper sphere of the created order. Hence, the תוֹמוֹהׇ ת may now burst forth its water without turning the created order into chaos because they act according to God’s ׇ דת , or design of the world.ׇ ע 320 Likewise, the skies may send forth its water into dew toward earth via the clouds to fertilize the earth.
However, AA′ implies also the life-threatening quality of water (תוֹמוֹהׇ ת) from which the earth is secured. Likewise, the establishment of the sky (םִׇיׇ מׇָּׁש) by understanding implies also the vault that is set to hold above-waters preventing them from collapsing and turning the created order into chaos.
4.3.2.3 Eco-theological reading of Proverbs 3:19-20 4.3.2.3.1 Life-giving quality of water in Proverbs 3:19-20
In verse 19, the Hebrew expression ה ָּׁמ כָּׁח ב (by Wisdom) would be understood as God’s attribute, but it could also be read as a quality immanent in creation in the sense that ‘Creation was raised by God to a state of wisdom or understanding’ (von Rad 1972:155). This is in agreement with Psalm 104:24 hymning ‘You have made all your works in Wisdom’, and Sirach 1:9 stating that God has ‘poured Wisdom out upon all his works’.
The three Hebrew words for Wisdom (הׇָּׁמׇ כׇָּׁח, הׇ נובׇ ת, ת ) want to underline that there is ׇ עׇ ד Wisdom in the limitation of the unruly life-threatening water from which earth is secured (AA’ vv.19a & 20a) and in the falling of the life-giving water from the sky (םִׇיׇ מׇָּׁש) to the earth via the clouds (BB’ vv.19b & 20b). In Proverbs 3:19, the earth and
319
For different forms of alternating parallelism in biblical poetry, see Willis, J T 1987. Alternating (ABA'B') Parallelism in the Old Testament, in Follis, E R (ed), Directions in Biblical Hebrew Poetry, 49-76. Sheffield: JSOT Press.
320 The word ת should be understood as ׇ עׇ ד הׇָּׁמׇ כׇָּׁח or even the Egyptian Ma’at in the sense of world order. Verse 20
thus identifies 'knowledge' (ת ), which in these chapters is frequently synonymous with wisdom (see Whybray, ׇ עׇ ד R N 1994b. The Composition of the Book of Proverbs. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press (JSOTSup 168), p37.
skies are securely established, and even the life-threatening deeps ‘burst open’ (v.20a) only at YHWH’s ׇ דת (knowledge) to fertilise the earth. ׇ ע
Contrary to Genesis 7:11 using the verb ע to describe the beginning of a disastrous ׇ קׇָּׁב flood, Proverbs 3:20a attributes a positive aspect to the cosmic deluge by underscoring the restorative and life-giving role of the waters (תוֹמוֹהׇ ת) in favour of the earth (Brown 1999:284, see note 49). Probably the sage is implying here Genesis 2:4b where the mist from the subterranean deeps burst open to fertilise the land. YHWH refreshes and revitalizes earth by the life-giving water from both the deeps (v.20a) and dew drops (v.20b). This verse patently juxtaposes the beneficent water flowing from the sky with the released depths, each working for life on earth (Waltke 2004:262).
The word םיִׇק חׇ ש (v.20b) means clouds that give water in form of dew or rain (see our comments on Job 36:28). The Hebrew word used here for the falling of dew on earth is ופֲׇעׇ רִׇי. In Elihu’s speech in Job 36:28, ופֲׇעׇ רִׇי signifies ‘to pour down’, while in Psalm 65:12 it means to flow. In this sense, the verb does not merely refer to the dripping of dew ( ׇל ), but that YHWH regularly waters the earth. In Canaan’s rainless summer, the ט land was almost dependent on dew. That is why the pair ‘rain and dew’ usually occur together in many parts of the Bible (see Appendix A).
4.3.2.3.2 Life-threatening potential of water in Proverbs 3:19-20
The Hebrew verbs ד (to establish) the earth ( ׇ אׇ סׇָּׁי ץ ) and וֹכׇ ר ן (to secure) the sky (ׇ נ םִׇיׇ מׇ ש) imply driving the waters off the earth and keeping them in limits that they must not cross. These Hebrew verbs present God as the ultimate architect who lays down a strong foundation and secures a building of walls and pillars, and supports the sky with a roof constructed over the cosmic sea to hold the waters back (Perdue 2007:51). The text denotes the common cosmogonic ideas of the time in which the earth was conceived as a mass resting on an ocean (Ps 24:2; 136:6), and as having foundations and supported by pillars beneath the ocean (in Sheol) (Is 51:33; Job 9:6; Am9:2-3).321 Likewise, above the earth, the sky was thought of as a material expanse (ׇ עי ) fixed in ִׇקׇ ר
321
For more details, see Frymer-Kensky, T S 1987. Biblical Cosmology, in O’Connor, M P & Freedman, D N (eds), Backgrounds for the Bible, 231-240. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns (see p.233f).
its place by God (Gn 1:6; Is 20:22) and supported by pillars (Job 26:11) so that the water above should not meet the water below and turn creation into chaos.322
The word םִׇיׇ מׇ ש (sky) etymologically means ‘what relates to water’.323 In this sense, in the Ancient Near East, the solidity of the dome ( ִׇקׇ עי ) and the blue colour of the sky ר (םִׇיׇ מׇ ש) were assumed as tightly holding the upper-waters back, and thus preventing the cosmic sea to break up and overwhelm the created order.324 Just as Genesis 1, Proverbs 3:20a is aware of the unruly waters in specific limits within the created order. By the verbs to ‘secure and establish’, the sage implies that in wisdom God protects his creation from being overwhelmed by the life-threatening chaos waters. In this sense, by ת , the channels were cleft open to permit some water to come up from ׇ עׇ ד the great cosmic ocean into springs on the earth (Emerton 1966:127).
In verse 20a, תוֹמוֹהׇ ת burst open according to God’s ת which is a life-giving action. It ׇ עׇ ד should be known, however, that תוֹמוֹהׇ ת normally refers to the primeval deep with life- threatening potential. It is linguistically the equivalent of Tiamat, the Akkadian chaos monster threatening to devour gods. The verb ע (v.20a) may thus infer the mythical ׇ קׇ ב image of Marduk ‘splitting open’ the chaos monster to protect the world from being flooded by chaos (Perdue 2007:51). םוֹהׇ ת or תוֹמוֹהׇ ת was a dangerous place, symbolised by the chaos monster living in its depths.
In this sense, Proverbs 3:20a states that תוֹמוֹהׇ ת is kept in check to act according to God’s ׇ דת (v.20a) by letting some water flow within designed channels to the land, ׇ ע and thus diminishing the volume of its water. Otherwise, תוֹמוֹהׇ ת would uncontrollably send forth its life-threatening water against the created order. This once occurred during the flood (Gn 7:11; 8:2). תוֹמוֹהׇ ת both poured down waters through the windows of the vault (above limit of water) and flowed up through the springs: all the springs of the great deep (הׇ בׇ רׇ םוֹהׇ תׇ תׇ נׇ יׇ עׇ מ־לׇ כ) were cleft open (ועׇ קׇ בִׇנ) and the waters rushed up turning creation into chaos.
322 The function of the ִׇקׇ עי (or ר םִׇיׇ מׇ ש) is to separate the waters from waters (literally: םִׇי מ לׇםִׇיׇ מׇןיׇ בׇליִׇדׇ בׇ מ, Gn 1:6b). 323 The point is that generally, the words denoting sky in the Semitic languages are all spelled by prefixing sh to
the words meaning water (Van Wolde 1998:24).
324 The word םִׇיׇ מׇ ש in Hebrew or Aramaic and shamu in Akkadian could therefore be seen as a term combining
‘of/one of which’(ש) and ‘waters’ ( ׇ מם ) assuming that the sky is ‘one of the waters/of the waters’ (Kee ִׇי 2012:187).
Proverbs 3:20a implies that if the waters are not kept in their appointed place, they are potentially life-threatening. In this sense, the expression ועׇ קׇ בִׇנׇתוֹמוֹהׇ ת (the deeps burst open) in Proverbs 3:20a probably refers to the creation of channels for this water since verse 19 presumes the original act of creation in Genesis 1:1-2 (Emerton 1966:125). God’s act of wisdom does not annihilate life-threatening waters of תוֹמוֹהׇ ת, but creates channels so that some water can flow from the deep into the springs on the land.
4.3.2.3.3 Eco-theological synthesis
It is fascinating to see that the text contains both the idea of water as the enemy of the created order (life-threatening quality) and the idea that water plays a major role in the sustenance of life in the created order (life-giving quality). The text is in accordance with the principle of the intrinsic worth of water. For Proverbs 3:19-20, water is life- giving when it flows within fixed limits (i.e. according to wisdom/principle that God used to establish the created order).
Water will then flow from the ground (below) and the dew from the clouds (above) to fertilise the land. However, the primeval deeps (life-threatening waters) continue to flow upwards and are held back by the sky preventing them from overrunning the created order. It is by wisdom, the principle of the created order, that creation is maintained in order.
4.3.3 Water and water-related phenomena in Proverbs 8:22-31