Tyndale Bulletin 28 (1977) 3-28.

THE TYNDALE BIBLICAL THEOLOGY LECTURE, 1977*

THE FEAR OF THE LORD AS THE 'PRINCIPLE'

OF WISDOM

By HENRI BLOCHER

After decades of comparative neglect, Old Testament

wisdom literature has come into vogue. In the
"prolegomenon" of a recent symposium, James L. Crenshaw
observes, with a smile, that "Wisdom's shade tree has
suddenly become a haven for many, and the excitement of
new discovery fills the air"; he hastens to add: "So too, do the
excesses of exuberant converts".1
So long as the recital of God's saving actions monopolized
attention,2 and the idea of general revelation was looked upon
with suspicion, wisdom could not receive its share. But a
change in theological climate cannot solve all the problems;
especially it cannot annul the obvious difference between the
teaching of the wise and the main discourse of the Covenant,
election, and messianic hope. On the contrary, the difference
is all the more evident when Israel's wisdom is in the lime-light
alongside Israel's faith. In fact, there is a running debate on
the relationship of the former to the latter, or on the
integration of wisdom in the religion of the Old Testament.
Typically, Albert de Pury deals with the relationship between
wisdom and revelation as with the relationship between the
non-specific and what is claimed to be highly specific.3 Horst
D. Preuss has raised a powerful protest against Von Rad's
praise of wisdom, and has made himself the champion of the
* Delivered at Tyndale House, Cambridge, on 8th July, 1977.
1
James L. Crenshaw (ed.), Studies in Ancient Israelite Wisdom Ktav, New York
(1976) 2.
2
Ibid, 1; similarly R. B. Y. Scott, 'The Study of the Wisdom Literature'
Interpretation 24(1970) 21.
3
‘Sagesse et révélation dans l'Ancien Testament’, Revue de Théologie et de
Philosophie third series 27 (1977) 3.
4 TYNDALE BULLETIN

view that wisdom remained pagan at heart, essentially alien to

true faith in the LORD, under a very superficial
"Jahwesierung".4
The saying "The fear of the LORD is the principle of
wisdom" can hardly escape notice as a link between wisdom
and a main religious theme. Most scholars agree to consider it
as such, whether they see it as the expression of an essential
solidarity,5 or as the mark of the first stage in a process of
theologization,6 the instrument with which wisdom was
definitely "exorcized",7 or, with Preuss, a vain and deceiving
tag, a Gothic porch added to a Romanesque church, which
can mask but cannot change its real character.8 A closer
examination of the saying would therefore seem opportune.
Even apart from its relevance to present debates, the
oft-quoted apophthegm would deserve special study. Many
writers call it the motto,9 or the keyword,10 of wisdom
writings. Even W. Zimmerli, although his whole emphasis
falls on the alleged anthropocentric nature of wisdom,
acknowledges it to be "doubtless the highest maxim, the
queen of all the rules of direction. "11 G. von Rad boldly voices
his conviction that it is both Israel's entire theory of
knowledge "in a nutshell", and "Israel's most special
possession."12 Structural analysis of the Book of Proverbs can
buttress a high valuation of the importance of the maxim: it is
found near the beginning and near the/end of the first booklet,
4
‘Alttestamentliche Weisheit in christlicher Theologie?’ in Questions disputées
d'Ancien Testament Bibl. Ephem. Th. Lovan. 23, Leuven University Press & J.
Duculot, Gembloux (1974) 165-181. This work recapitulates earlier ones.
5
E.g. Frank Michaeli, 'La Sagesse et la crainte de Dieu' Hokhma 2 (1976) 40.
6
J. L. Crenshaw, op. cit. 24.
7
The word is used by Raymond Tournay, Proverbes 1-9, premiere synthese
theologique de la "tradition des Sages" ' Concilium 20 (1966) 54.
8
Preuss, art. cit. 176.
9
E.g. Derek Kidner, The Proverbs TOTC Tyndale Press, London (1964) 59.
Also Berend Gemser, Sprüche Salomos HAT J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck)
Tübingen (1937) 13; R. B. Y. Scott, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes (Anchor Bible)
Doubleday, New York (1965) 36.
10
Berend Gemser, 'The Spiritual Structure of Biblical Aphoristic Wisdom', in
Crenshaw (ed.), op. cit. 219 (reprinted from Gemser's collected essays Adhuc
loquitur, E. J. Brill, Leiden (1968).
11
'The Place and Limit of the Wisdom in the Framework of the Old Testament
Theology' in Crenshaw (ed.), op. cit. 319 (reprinted from SJT 17(1964); German
original in Les Sagesses du Proche-Orient ancien, Presses Universitaires de France,
Paris (1963) 121-136, quoted 127.
12
Wisdom in Israel ET by James D. Martin, SCM Press, London (1972) 67f.
THE FEAR OF THE LORD AS THE 'PRINCIPLE' OF WISDOM 5

ch. 1-9, thus forming an inclusio; moreover, the virtuous

woman in the last poem probably stands as a personification of
the fear of the LORD (she is said to be ‫יראת יהוה‬
Pr. 31:30, the feminine participle construct has the same form
as the noun) and thus a subtle inclusio is found again, with
Dame Wisdom at the beginning of the book.13 It is not by
chance that a parallel association with the fear of the Lord
occurs in the other two wisdom writings of the Old Testament:
with Becker, it is possible to maintain that Job 28:28, "The fear
of the Lord, that is wisdom", far from being an unfortunate
addition, is genuine, indeed "the proper goal of the poem",14
with Becker also one can plead that Ecclesiastes 12:13 is in
harmony with the very personal diction of Qoheleth, and with
his spiritual world, that he himself has left it in the epilogue as a
key for the understanding of his work." At least as we have
them, all three wisdom books stand witnesses to that thought,
the fear of the LORD as the principle of wisdom.
Our study will follow a very simple route. It will first focus
our attention on the words and notions used in the aphorism,
considered separately. Then it will try to ascertain its meaning
in the places where it is found. We shall briefly meditate on its
bearing and connections in the wider contexts of the "wisdom
movement" and of Old Testament thought, before casting a
glance on possible reflections and counterparts in the New
Testament.
One point of method, only, need not detain us long. We
encounter the saying in forms which are not strictly identical.
What are we to do with this diversity? The phrasing which we
13
Joachim Becker, Gottesfurcht im Alien Testament, Analecta Biblica Pontifical
Biblical Institute, Rome (1965) 211. Becker relies specially on Patrick W. Skehan, 'A
Single Editor for the Whole Book of Proverbs' in Crenshaw (ed.), op. cit. 329-340
(rep. from CBQ Monograph series 1, 15-26), by whose reckonings Prov. 1:7 is the
seventh line from the start and 9:10 the seventh line before last in these chapters
(330).
14
Op. cit. 245: "scheint v.28 vielmehr das eigentliche Ziel des Gedichtes zu sein."
Otto Procksch also had given a favourable verdict: Theologie des Alten Testaments C.
Bertelsmann, Gütersloh (1950) 477. Becker remarks that v.27 would not make a
satisfactory conclusion; the prosaic introductory formula of v.28 allows the saying to
stand out in sharper relief. Contra: most critics; e.g. von Rad, op. cit. 149.
15
Op. cit. 254f. Becker mentions on the same side Wildeboer and Zapletal. He
writes: "Er selbst (Qohelet) hat im Epilog einen Schüssel zum Verständnis seiner oft
verwirrende Äusserungen hinterlassen" (255). The use of the article, ‫האלהים‬,
is typical. Contra: "all critics", Louis Derousseaux claims, La Crainte de Dieu dans
l'Ancien Testament, Lectio divina, Cerf, Paris (1970) 343.
6 TYNDALE BULLETIN

have been using is an acceptable translation of Psalm 111:10a.

In Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10 it is slightly altered: "knowledge" for
"wisdom" in the first case; "beginning" rather than
"principle" in the second. Job 28:28 simply equates "fear"
and "wisdom", and Ecclesiastes 12:13 keeps the thought of
wisdom implicit. Proverbs 15:33 is nearer to the "main" form
of the maxim, with the word ‫מוסר‬, education, training,
discipline, instead of "principle". We shall take these various
statements, especially those in Proverbs and Psalm 111, as
variants of the same saying, presumably with the same
meaning. Privilege will go to likeness over against differences.
We shall appreciate nuances as facets of the one truth implied.
Permission so to do comes from the stylistic habits of the
sages. They were wont to pile up quasi-synonyms, so that,
according to Günther Wanke's judgement, "precise
differentiation of the terms is barely possible and probably
not intended."16 Lévêque speaks of their "congenital
imprecision": their effort was "to silhouette things rather than
to define notions."17 Some have labelled their use of
parallelism "stereometric": they constantly chiselled the
various faces of the same thought.18 Repetition, and
repetition in other words, served the authority of a
‫משל‬: it was not only a means of emphasis, and a part in the
ceremonial of dignified speech,19 but it suggested the
statement to be a definitive conclusion, and a full account of
reality — from whatever angle you look at it, so it stands. We
shall interpret accordingly.

I
The "fear of the LORD", ‫יראת יהוה‬, is the stablest
element in the saying. In Job 28:28, if it is not a case of the
‫ קרי‬creeping into the written text,20 ‫ אדני‬replaces the divine
16
S. v. φοβέω κτλ (O.T.) TDNT IX ET by G. W. Bromiley, Eerdmans,
Grand Rapids (1974) 202.
17
'Le Contrepoint théologique apporté par la réflexion sapientiale' in Questions
disputées, op. cit. 185.
18
G. von Rad, op. cit. 13, 27. On parallelism as a universal feature of oral (folk)
wisdom, see A. Barucq, Proverbes (Livre des)' Dictionnaire de la Bible, Supplément
VIII fasc. 47 (1972) 1414.
19
G. von Rad, op. cit. 54.
20
It is possible according to Becker, op. cit. 246 (100 mss read in ‫)יהוה‬.
THE FEAR OF THE LORD AS THE 'PRINCIPLE' OF WISDOM 7

name because Job and his friends are not Israelites. Only in
Ecclesiastes is the wording different, but then, the text can be
considered as more than a variant.
The theme of the fear of the LORD, or of God,21 has been
thoroughly scrutinized by several scholars in recent years,
especially in the major monographs of J. Becker22 and L.
Derousseaux,23 who builds on the work of Becker and Plath.
The later studies have broken the rule of Rudolf Otto's
mysterium tremendum et fascinosum,24 and they have shown
conclusively that words deriving from the same root (here
‫ )ירא‬cannot always be given the same semantic breadth. So
the participle ‫ נורא‬does mean "terrible" but the noun
‫ יראה‬never means "terror"; it is used in a weaker moral or
religious sense; Derousseaux would acknowledge only once
(Ex. 20:20) the meaning "sacred fear" to it.25
Apart from references to "sacred fear", Becker
distinguishes three main meanings: moral (the fear of God is
upright behaviour); cultic (the fear of God is the proper form
of worship); legal (nomistisch — the fear of God is the
observance of the law). Very decidedly, he puts the fear of the
Lord in wisdom writings in the moral category.26 One can
argue for an ethical understanding of the fear of the LORD
from the general tenor of wisdom admonitions, and from the
parallelism between ‫ חכם‬and ‫צדיק‬, or the antithesis
between to ‫ חכם‬and ‫רשע‬.27 Thus the "righteous man" is
mentioned just before the second occurrence of our saying in
Proverbs (9:9). In Job 28:28, the parallel phrase is the ethical
"turning from evil"; in Psalm 111:10, the practice of the
‫ פקדים‬of verse 7 ("them");28 in Ecclesiastes 12:13,
obedience to the commandments.
21
The change of divine name does not affect significantly the use of the phrase: H.
A. Brongers, 'La Crainte du Seigneur (Jir'at Jhwh, Jir'at 'Elohim)' OTS V (1948) 163
n.11.
22
Op. cit. (supra n.13).
23
Op. cit. (supra n.15).
24
See especially Derousseaux, ibid. 20f, 360ff, et passim.
25
Ibid. 168 (cf. 99).
26
Op. cit. 210, 261. The LXX often changed the meaning into a legal one
(238-241).
27
M. Saebo, s. v. ‫חכם‬, Theologisches HandwOrterbuch zum Alien Testament I
Ernst Jenni and Claus Westermann (ed.), Chr. Kaiser & Theologischer Verlag,
München & Zürich (1971) 562, 564f.
28
With Becker, op. cit. 270f, it is wiser to keep the MT (against LXX, Syr., Vulg.,
‫ה‬
ָ ‫)עֹשֶׂי‬. For Becker, however, the conception of Ps. 111 is "nomistich" (263, 270).
8 TYNDALE BULLETIN

Categorization, however can become a snare if one

maintains it too rigidly. Becker's distinctions may be too
clear-cut, especially as they are based on current, but
questionable, source-criticism hypotheses.29 Instead of
"cultic" fear Derousseaux prefers to speak of "Covenant
fear" (mostly in Deuteronomy) with the connotations of
Covenant devotion and loyalty.30 Wanke questions the
division between cultic and legal fear.31 In comments on
particular texts, stronger and deeper meanings of fear are
perceived. In Joshua 24, fearing YHWH means unconditional
submission to him and rejection of other gods, as well as
moral and cultic obedience.32 In the story of Abraham's
testing, Genesis 22, the fear of God is neither conformity to
moral law, nor terror before the unknown tremendum,
Muslims call Abraham the Muslim, the text of the Bible show
in him the model of true Godfearers!33 Derousseaux expresses
well how ‫ ירא‬goes beyond ‫ עבד‬and ‫ אהב‬with the recognition
of the absolute sovereignty of YHWH.34 Transitions can be
found, as in Exodus 20:20, between sacred fear and moral
obedience. Becker himself affirms that the numinous
element, although weakened, can always be revived,35 and
that prophets deliberately used that possibility (Je. 5 :22; 10:7;
Is. 57:11).36 He relativizes his own divisions in acknowledging,
that the fear of God always retains the character of that
unconditional reverence and submission which is typical of
the Old Testament.37 In many cases a mediating meaning will
be appropriate, with the emphasis on taking God seriously, in
29
Derousseaux, op. cit. 10 n.23, thinks Becker's distinctions are too clear-cut.
However he relies on source analysis even more than Becker in his attempt at
reconstruction of a history of the fear of God; in spite of the brilliancy of the work,
one remains sceptical.
30
Loc. cit. and 100f.
31
Art. cit. 201.
32
Derousseaux, op. cit. 191f.
33
Ibid. 174-178.
34
Ibid. 220, 256.
35
Op. cit. 80 (but Brongers is ill-inspired when he says, op. cit. 158: "il reste
toujours quelque chose de sinistre"!).
36
Ibid. 82f.
37
Ibid. 81: ". . . unbedingter Ehrfurcht and Unterwüftigkeit gegenüber Gott, de
dem Alten Testament eigen ist."
THE FEAR OF THE LORD AS THE PRINCIPLE' OF WISDOM 9

his commands, and threats, and promises.38

In wisdom literature, also, the ethical sense is too narrow.
G. Fohrer finds that fear of the LORD in wisdom teaching
"always denotes piety. It does not mean terror but religious
awe . . .".39 R. N. Whybray stresses its relationship to
religious education, and would include in it "obedience,
loyalty, worship, sacrifice and love" — it is Yahwism!40 A. M.
Dubarle sees humility as a basic component of that fear, a
recognition of the distance between the Creator and his
creature, opposed to pride and mingled with trust.41 Surely
the association of fear and humility in Proverbs 15:33 is far
from accidental. In Proverbs 22:4, we would take ‫יראת יהוה‬
as an apposition to ‫ענוה‬.42 Several times it is opposed to the
attitude of the despisers, ‫בזה‬: 13:13; 14:2; and even 1:7, the
first expression of the motto! In Proverbs 9:10, the parallel
clause, knowledge of the Holy One (‫)קדשים‬, since God's
holiness is his transcendence, could also suggest humility
before him: it is knowledge, or acknowledgement, of the
distance which separates man from the Lord. In Psalm 111:10,
the association with the ‫ נורא‬of verse 9 shows that the
element of sacred fear before the Holy One was also felt.43
The whole theme of the discourse in Job 28 is man's inability
to reach out to the Creator's wisdom; the last verse opposes to
man's vain efforts towards the knowledge of Elohim a wisdom
born of humility.44 As to Ecclesiastes, many writers have felt
the power of his sense of God's transcendence, near to
numinous dread in 3:14;45 although Franz Delitzsch'

38 An instance of this is the opposition of the fear of God and the fear of man; in 1
Samuel 15:24 ‫ ירא את‬is used, instead of ‫ירא מן‬, which would be expected,
in order to bring out the contrast fear of God/fear of man more forcibly
(Derousseaux, op. cit. 144f). In Je. 26:19 the "fear" of Hezekiah seems rather to
mean his taking God's word seriously than his respect of morals (Becker, op. cit.
207ff) or his faithfulness to the Covenant-God (Derousseaux, op. cit. 254).
39
Georg Fohrer, s. v. σοφία, σοφός (O.T.), TDNT VII ET by G. W.
Bromiley, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids (1971) 487.
40
Wisdom in Proverbs. The Concept of Wisdom in Proverbs 1-9, SBT 45, SCM
Press, London (1965) 96.
41
Les Sages d'Israel, Lectio divina Cerf, Paris (1946) 45, cf. 57f.
42
With Becker, op. cit. 224.
43
Ibid. 272. Becker further argues that verses 9c and 10a must go together in the
acrostic.
44
A similar thought can be found in Job 37:24 if one follows LXX and Syr. and
reads ‫ לו יראו‬instead of MT ‫( לא יראה‬so Fohrer, art. cit. 487).
45
E.g., recently, H.-P. Stähli, s. v. ‫ ירא‬Theologisches Handwörterbuch zum
A.T. 1776, referring to 12:13; J. L. Crenshaw, op. cit. 29. Even H. D. Preuss admits:
"Gottesfurcht bleibt als letzter Halt", op. cit. 170.
10 TYNDALE BULLETIN

statement is hyperbolic, that Ecclesiastes is "The Song of

Songs of the fear of God",46 the epilogue statement, if seen in
the light of the whole book, must also recall man's utter
dependence on God and his need to submit to God.
In another direction also, it may be necessary to go beyond
the simple moral sense. In Proverbs 1-9, according to
Derousseaux, the fear of YHWH takes on a more intellectual
meaning, as a gift which illuminates man's intelligence.47 This
may be compared with the more objective meaning which is
found in Job 15:4 where ‫( יראה‬parallel to ‫ )שיחה‬almost
stands for the theology of Job's friends!48 In Psalm 19:10 the
meaning is certainly objective: the law as it determines man's
right attitude before God, and so probably also in Psalm
34:12.49 Becker would accept an objective meaning for Psalm
111:10, fear being a metonymy for law.50 It must be
remembered that just as fides quâ and fides quae creditur
cannot ultimately be separated (for fides quâ without fides
quae would vanish totally), the subjective and objective
meanings cannot ultimately be severed from each other.

II
The concept of ‫ —חכמה‬with ‫ דעת‬as a quasi-synonym—
stands out also as a typical Old Testament theme. As a central
and unifying concept, it has no equivalent in the intellectual
traditions of Egypt or Mesopotamia.51 In spite of the
abundant research of the last decades, it is not so easy to
define as might be thought.52 On the lower meanings of the
word, or the word-group, however, there seems to be
effortless agreement. Wisdom is skill, expertise, or
46
In his Commentary of 1875, 190, as quoted by B. J. Oosterhoff, De Vreze des
Heren in het Oude Testament, Kemink, Utrecht (1949) 98.
47
Op. cit. 324: "la crainte de Yahvé a une acception plus intellectuelle: elle
conduit peut-être à la sagesse, mais elle est surtout un don qui vient de Yahvé, pour
éclairer l'intelligence." Becker admits "von einem intellektualisierenden' Zug der
Jahwefurcht in Spr 1-9 zu sprechen", op. cit. 217.
48
Derousseaux, op. cit. 333.
49
Oosterhoff, op. cit. 76.
50
Op. cit. 267. Contra: Oosterhoff, loc. cit.
51
M. Saebo, art. cit. 564 ("Wohl anders . . .").
52
R. N. Whybray, The Intellectual Tradition in the Old Testament, BZAW 135,
W. de Gruyter, Berlin & New York (1974)3 (n.3: Crenshaw criticized von Rad for
giving too broad a definition, but Crenshaw's is too narrow).
IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD AS THE 'PRINCIPLE' OF WISDOM 11

competence. Above all, wisdom is the king's requirement: the

ability to govern the people, to judge and to plan. His
counsellors ought to be wise, although it is still a matter of
controversy, in spite of Jeremiah 18:18, whether there existed
a class of men professionally or institutionally called "the
wise."53 All will also grant that higher ‫ חכמה‬was viewed first
as a matter of κυβερνήσις, of steersmanship in life, to use
the LXX translation of Proverbs 1:5b.
The main question for our inquiry is this: was wisdom only
practical? Was it restricted to counsels for life-management,
laws of success and rules of behaviour? Or did a theoretical
element interfere? The contents of so many chapters in the
Book of Proverbs would lend credibility to the idea of a purely
utilitarian ‫חכמה‬: "with the σοφία of the Greeks", says
Oosterhoff, "it had nothing to do."54 Upon closer
examination, however, one has to ease the narrow coat of a
purely practical concept of wisdom — lest it become a strait-
jacket! With Michaeli, one has to allow also for a "didactic
notion", and a "theological" one.55 Several considerations
support this broader view. As Fohrer perceives, "the impulse
towards academic wisdom was there from the outset, as may
be seen from the ancient notes on Solomon's wisdom;"56
Solomon's Onomastica, his lists which he established in
botanic and zoological realms according to 1 Kings 4:33, show
that there was also an effort towards encyclopedic
classification.57 Furthermore, even practical advice entails a
"theoretical" confidence in cosmic order; Preuss, who dislikes
the trait, stresses that wisdom, already in isolated proverbs,
has a powerful tendency to system, he even says: to dogma.58
In Proverbs 1-9, wisdom interprets itself, emphatically, as the
53
The book quoted in the foregoing note is an attempt to show that this common
opinion is groundless.
54
Op. cit. 85 ("niets te maken"). Fohrer, at first, opposes it to a "theoretical
mastery of questions of life and the universe", art. cit. 476.
55
Art. cit. 41f. Fohrer distinguishes a greater number of "layers", art. cit. 480ff.
56
Art. cit. 488, cf. 481.
57
Muller, s. v. ‫הכם‬, TheologischesWörterbuch zum Alten Testament II, fasc. 8,
Johannes Botterweck & Helmer Ringgren (ed.), W. Kolhammer, Stuttgart — Berlin
— Köln — Mainz (1976) 932. John F. Priest, 'Where is Wisdom to be Placed?' in
Crenshaw (ed.), op. cit. 287 (rep. from Journal of Bible and Religion 31 (1963)
275-282), reacts against Scott's scepticism about Solomonic origins.
58
Art. cit. 169: "Weisheit hat damit per se den Drang zum System in sich. zum
Dogma, und der Zug zu Systematisierung ist keineswegs in ihr erst ein zweiter oder
gar ein die ursprüngliche Weisheit entstellender Schritt."
12 TYNDALE BULLETIN

source of harmony and the principle of coherence in God's

work of creation (3:19f; 8:22-31), and this association is also
found in prophets (Is. 40:12ff; Je. 10:12). Now the one-time
critical dogma that creation was a late development of Exodus
faith no longer stands unchallenged; powerful rebuttal has
come from Hans Heinrich Schmid and others.59 Wisdom can
hardly be separated from a world-view, a view of the world
shaped by belief in creation. The great discourse in Job 28
rebukes the ambitions of a very speculative kind of wisdom:
this is proof that the word ‫ חכמה‬can be used for an endeavour
mainly theoretical; the alternative in verse 28 need not be
confined to the ethical sphere: the emphasis is on modesty.
Proverbs 1:6 may suggest another aspect of wisdom to
provide hermeneutical and logical nimbleness, ability to think
straight through paradoxes and symbolism. One may
compare such an aim with those intellectual gymnastics which
the writer to the Hebrews wanted to promote (Heb. 5:14),
and which, in spite of the mention of good and evil, seem to
correspond to his interpretation of Melchizedek. Wisdom, or
‫( דעת‬if there is a nuance, it may be a greater emphasis on
what lies beyond the practical), cannot be confined to morals
in Proverbs 1. Moreover, the very maxim in 1:7, together with
the praises in the following chapters, demonstrate an
elaborate reflexion on the nature and status of wisdom:60 we
are far from a simple string of practical counsels for daily
life.61 We may safely conclude that Old Testament ‫דעת‬
‫ חכמה‬also satisfied man's impulse to think and to know —
without the fateful division between θεωρία and
πρᾶξις which we inherited from the Greeks.

III
The third important word of our maxim in Proverbs 1:7 and
Psalm 111:10, is ‫ראשית‬, a word of moderately frequent use.
With somewhat puzzling laxity, many writers seem happy to
leave its precise meaning in the "motto" of wisdom literature
59
ZThK 70 (1973) 1-19, as quoted and approved by Crenshaw, op. cit. 27, who
quotes also Ludwig. Similarly, J. F. Priest, art. cit. 286, arguing from the Song of
Deborah, Gen. 14:22, Pr. 14:31 and 20:12.
60
Zimmerli, 'Place and Limit . . .' op. cit., 322.
61
Fohrer, art. cit. 482: "a comprehensive theological system is thus forged."
THE FEAR OF THE LORD AS THE 'PRINCIPLE' OF WISDOM 13

quite uncertain. Brongers, already, mentioned the common

translation, but added that the word means also "the chief or
essential part, what comprises everything";62 H. Renard
offered either "perfection" or "beginning".63 Still recently,
Saebo has "beginning" or "sum",64 and Andre Caquot
hesitantly favours "culmination".65
Lexicographers (and Bible translators generally) seem to
show more reserve and generally prefer the simple sense
"beginning": so, without other comment, the Brown-Driver-
Briggs and Koehler-Baumgartner Lexicons. The Gesenius-
Buhl Lexicons allows as a possibility "best part or fruit";66
Zorell prefers "initium, principium" (even "primus gradus")
but he admits that "aliquid ... primarium, praecellens,
optima pars" may be the meaning in our texts.67 A survey of
Old Testament usage makes it difficult to give to the word
‫ ראשית‬the meaning of "sum" or "totality", of "crown" or
"culmination": no clear instance can be adduced; Daniel
11:41, the ‫ ראשהת‬of the ‫בני עמון‬, does not require the
meaning "sum" ("first fruits" or "best part" would well
enough fit the text) and ‫ ראשית‬might be amended to
‫שארית‬.68 It was a faulty method which C. F. Burney followed
in a famous article, when he transferred to ‫ ראשית‬the various
meanings of ‫;ראש‬69 Willer correctly observes that they
correspond only in the areas of time and value.70 One may
grant him that "abstractly used" ‫ ראשית‬may take on the
meaning of "Inbegriff ', substance or essence,71 as in
Jeremiah 49:35 (the substance of the power of Elam); yet the
62
Art. cit. 167: "la chose principale, l'essentiel, ce qui renferme tout,"
63
H. Renard, Le Livre des Proverbes, in La Sainte Bible VIA. Clamer (ed.),
Letouzey & Ané, Paris (1943) 44.
64
Saebo, art. cit. 565: Anfang oder Summe.
65
André Caquot, 'Sur la sagesse israëlite', Positions Luthériennes 24 (1976) 139:
"pent-être . . . le comble de la sagesse".
66
G-B, s. v. : "doch ist hier auch: bester Teil, Hauptsache od(er) edelste Frucht,
möglich."
67
Franciscus Zorell, Lexicon hebraicum et aramaicum Veteris Testarnenti,
Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome (1965) s. v.
68
G-B and KB.
69
‘Christ as the APXH of Creation' JTh S 27 (1926) 175f; the argument that aram.
resh stands for both hebrew words may be relevant to Pauline exegesis (Burney's
interest), but not to that of Prov.
70
Müller, s. v. ‫ראש‬, Theologisches Handwörterbuch zum Alten Testament II
(1976) 709.
71
Ibid. 710f.
14 TYNDALE BULLETIN

primary meaning is what comes first, in a temporal sequence

or in appreciation (the best thing, as Am. 6:6 "the best oil");
with the additional technical sense of the first fruits offering
(Ex. 23:19, etc.).
What is the most likely sense in the maxim? Can it be that
fear of the LORD is the first-fruits, or the "best fruit"
produced by wisdom72? In favour of this rendering one can
point only to Proverbs 2:1-5, where understanding of the fear
of the LORD will reward those who seek wisdom. Yet, even
in this passage, knowledge-and-fear of the LORD is the end
of the search and could be the beginning of wisdom, or, more
probably its essence. And no variant of our saying puts the
fear of the LORD in the situation of the goal to be attained
through wisdom; it can hardly be the meaning in Psalm 111
and Proverbs! Three main possibilities are left: (a) beginning;
(b) chief or choicest part; (c) substance, or essence. In favour
of the first of these three, many writers wield a formidable
argument: the parallel word in Proverbs 9:10 is the non-
ambiguous ‫תחלה‬, beginning; in spite of Loretz, it is difficult
not to interpret 1:7 and 9:10 in the same way;73 so do, e.g.,
Oosterhoff, von Rad, Becker, Michaa.74 The second
interpretation, chief part (NEB mg) or choicest part, would
well agree with the preceding verses in Proverbs 1, as well as
with current usage of ‫ ;ראשית‬but it lacks support from the
variants (especially 9:10), and nowhere do we see wisdom
divided into "parts". The last understanding can appeal to
Job 28:28, where fear is wisdom, and to the frequent
synonymity between the two terms in Proverbs 1-9.75
However, it involves a rarer use of the word, and it interprets
the more precise by the less precise.
The arguments in favour of the first of the three renderings
definitely prevail. Yet "beginning" lacks the value-
connotation of ‫ראשית‬. Furthermore, it can be
72
B. Gemser in Crenshaw (ed.), op. cit. 219, combines "basic principle" and
"best fruit".
73
O. Loretz, 'Il meglio della sapienza è il timore di Jahvè' Bibbia e Oriente 2
(1960) 211 understands that the fear of the LORD is better than all the advantages
mentioned in Pr. 1:2-6; in 9:10 he supplies already: already at the beginning is the
fear of the LORD decisive ("già all'inizio della sapienza it timore di Jahvè a una parte
determinante").
74
Oosterhoff, op. cit. 85; von Rad, op. cit. 66; Becker, op. cit. 214f; Michaëli, art.
cit. 42.
75
E.g. 1:29. See Becker, op. cit. 219, 223; Wanke, art. cit. 202.
THE FEAR OF THE LORD AS THE 'PRINCIPLE' OF WISDOM 15

misinterpreted as only the "first step", "primus gradus"

(Zorell), which one can leave behind. The synonymity of fear
of the LORD and wisdom (Job 28:28) excludes this. So does
also Proverbs 15:3, where ‫ מוסר‬confirms that the saying is
concerned with access to wisdom, but shows that fear of the
LORD is a permanent determination. When wisdom is in
question, priority is likely to be logical as much as
chronological. The best translation would seem to be,
therefore, principle (with the nuance that separates
principium from initium). Many scholars in fact adopt it, with
Kidner, who explains ‫" ראשית‬the first and controlling
principle",76 or they come very near to it, as Wanke who
speaks of a "kernel-motive" in the thinking of a systematic
whole.77 "Principle" can suit also Proverbs 4:7, which we
would translate: "The ‫ראשית‬-principle of wisdom is: Get
wisdom"; the acknowledgement of one's need of wisdom and
the willingness to renounce everything for its sake may not be
a far cry from the fear of the LORD, as the principle of
wisdom.

IV
The ground-work being laid with the study of the three main
constituents of the maxim, we may hope to understand their
combination. While avoiding ungraceful eclecticism, we
should not exclude a priori ramifications in the meaning
intended by the inspired teachers of wisdom.
"The fear of the LORD is the ‫ ראשׁים‬of wisdom" could be
an ironic dart flung at the ungodly: those who lack the fear of
God are ignorant of the very ABC of wisdom; they lie below
beginning-level! Such was apparently, Calvin's
interpretation.78 It would agree with the deriding of the fools,
in Proverbs 1:7b, who despise education (cf. 9:7, 8 before
76
Kidner, op. cit. 59. Vulg. has principium. Several French versions have
"principe": Bible du Rabbinat francais, Bible de Jérusalem. Traduction
Oecuménique de la Bible. Müller, s. v ‫ חכם‬art. cit. (n.57) 938 accepts principium.
Scott, op. cit. 33: the first principle (37: he comments: "the necessary premise").
Wanke, loc. cit. n.68, uses "principle".
77
Muller, s. v. ‫ראש‬, art. cit. (n.70)712: it serves "dem systematischen Erfassen
eines Ganzen von einem Kernmotiv her." Arthur Weiser, Die Psalmen, ATD (1950)
465 uses "Grundlage"; A. Barucq, Le Livre des Proverbes, Sources Bibliques,
Gabalda, Paris (1964) 49, "base".
78
In his Commentary on the Psalms, on Ps. 111:10.
16 TYNDALE BULLETIN

9:10). However, it would imply the meaning "primus gradus"

for ‫ראשית‬, which is unlikely. The saying, also, seems to play
a more positive part. Let us remember, only, that one can
hear polemical overtones:79 the sharp antithesis between true
wisdom and its opposite, which is peculiar to Biblical
wisdom,80 is very present in the background.
"The fear of the LORD is the principle of wisdom" could
restrict wisdom to moral obedience, at least subordinate
knowledge to ethical character: to be wise is to do good.
Obviously this interpretation is the first to present itself if one
gives to the fear of God and to wisdom essentially ethical
meanings. In the two "critical" works of Job and Ecclesiastes,
it would be in harmony with the context: more ambitious
forms of wisdom are but feeding on the wind; man-sized
wisdom is turning from evil, obeying the commandments.
However, in Psalm 111 the recollection of the terrible works
of God (in verse 9) would suggest a deeper meaning. The
moral interpretation seems too short in the three instances
Proverbs (1:7; 9:10; 15:33). It would involve the meaning
"sum", or at least, "substance", for ‫ראשים‬, whereas
"principle" is to be preferred. Our investigation has also led
us to give broader significations to ‫ חכמה‬and
‫יראת יהוה‬. Ethics do come into play, but only in so far as
they are inseparable from religion.
"The fear of the LORD is the principle of wisdom" might
well invite the wise to modesty, to the confession of the limits
they cannot trespass: wisdom acknowledges human lowness.
The saying would parallel the μηδὲν ἄγαν of the Greeks
and their warnings against ὕβρις: The Old Testament has
no word which corresponds precisely to ὕβρις, but it has
many to stigmatize pride, arrogance, insolence.81 If the
"motto" of wisdom is there to humble the would-be wise, it
again agrees with the context in Job and Ecclesiastes: man is
not the measure, but he is measured, under the unsearchable
mystery (‫ )חקר‬of Eloah (Job 11:7);82 just as the sea, man is
79
Von Rad, op. cit. 67.
80
Barucq, Proverbes 34.
81
On the whole theme, see Paul Humbert, ‘Démesure et chute dans l'Ancien
Testament', in Maqqél shaqédh, Hommage à Wilhelm Vischer, Causse — Graille
Castelnau, Montpellier (1960) 63-82.
82
J. Lévêque, art. cit. 188.
THE FEAR OF THE LORD AS THE 'PRINCIPLE' OF WISDOM 17

limited by the divine ‫;חק‬83 God is in heaven, man is merely

man (Ec. 5:2). This interpretation takes into account the
parallelism between fear of God and humility in Proverbs
15:33 and 22:4, and its opposition to a scornful attitude; in
Proverbs 1:7, Becker would have "fear" correspond to
"fool", and "beginning" to "despise";84 this is strained, but
since ‫ אויל‬used here has the note of insolence,85 both the
noun and the verb describe that attitude of heart which is the
opposite of the fear of the LORD, the opposite of humility.
Other passages in Proverbs recommend not to be wise "in
one's own eyes" (3:7; 28:26), and 21:30 reminds man of his
nothingness before God: "There is no wisdom, no
discernment, no counsel, in the presence of the LORD",
which Kidner brilliantly paraphrases: no true synthesis,
analysis or policy.86
In view of the importance of that theme, it is wiser not to
speak of an erôs of knowledge in Biblical  ‫ חכמה‬as Von Rad
does.87 On the other hand, one never meets the Socratic
irony: knowledge is knowledge of one's ignorance,88 and
much less the docta ignorantia of later mystiicism. The
aphorism of Proverbs 1:7 and variants is basically positive, in
association with discourses which praise all the advantages of
wisdom. One surmises that the call to humility is but one side
of the coin, corresponding only to the more negative aspects
of the fear of the LORD.
"The fear of the LORD is the principle of wisdom"
underlines that wisdom has a religious foundation:89 man can
know reality in truth, and thus steer his course in life, only if
he proceeds in the knowledge of God, and acknowledges his
absolute lordship. This interpretation agrees best with the
more probable meaning of the three parts of the saying,
especially with the fuller meaning of ‫יראת יהוה‬: positive
devotion to God as well as negative renunciation of pride. The
83
Ibid. 196.
84
Op. cit. 215f.
85
As Kidner shows, op. cit. 41.
86
Ibid. 146.
87
Von Rad, op. cit. 309f. He refers to 1 Kings 5:9 but the "breadth of heart" given
Solomon is simply vast knowledge described in hyperbolic terms (and a gift from
God).
88
Von Rad, 'La sagesse en Israël' Revue Théologique de Louvain 2 (1971) 74f
comes very near to it: "he only is truly wise who does not believe himself to be wise."
89
Thus Lévêque, art. cit. 198.
18 TYNDALE BULLETIN

LXX translation of Proverbs 22:4 would summarize it:

γενέα σοφίας φόβος Κυρίου Proverbs 3:5-7 would be
the fullest commentary in the book: the principle of wisdom is
the renouncing of autonomy, and trusting acknowledgement
of the LORD at every step of one's practical or intellectual
progress. Thus understood, the saying explains the emphasis
on wisdom as a gift of God, something coming from him,90 as
in Solomon's case, and according to Proverbs 2:6. One can
even go one step further and speak, with Kidner, of a
dependence on revelation.91 Such a phrase fits the inspiration
claims of Elihu,92 the general context of Psalm 111, and the
description of wisdom as a quasi-prophetess in Proverbs 1-9.
In that light, "fear of the LORD" may have an objective
aspect, and wisdom an all-embracing character, intellectual as
well as practical.
Several writers concur in this understanding. Gerhard von
Rad sees that the Old Testament ignores our modern tension
between faith and thought, reason and revelation;93 that
knowledge for the inspired sages never functioned in an
autonomous way;94 that wisdom was a "form of Yahwism",95
or "rooted in faith."96 Jean Lévêque stresses that a right
attitude before God is necessary for a sound appraisal of
reality;97 the wise did not develop a "neutral” or independant
psychology or sociology: their reflexion about man was of
faith.98 Frank Michaëli reaches similar conclusions, and he
notes how they contrast with the modern mind.99 We would
follow them.
J. Becker discerns with perspicacity that the writer of
Proverbs 1 and 9 does not wish to compare wisdom and fear of
God: to put the one above the other;100 he believes, however,
90
Becker says: "etwas von Gott stammendes", op. cit. 219; cf. Fohrer, art. cit.
489.
91
Op. cit. 59 (synthesis 38).
92
Von Rad, Wisdom 56.
93
Ibid. 61.
94
Ibid. 68.
95
Ibid. 307.
96
'La Sagesse . . .' art. cit. 71.
97
Art. cit. 187: "Seule une juste attitude devant Dieu permet une saine
appréciation du réel."
98
Ibid. 194: "un element essentiel demeure constant, c'est que la réflexion sur
l'homme constitue une démarche de la foi."
99
Art. cit. 43.
100
Op. cit. 217.
THE FEAR OF THE LORD AS THE 'PRINCIPLE' OF WISDOM 19

that he uses the saying to commend wisdom, not the fear of

God, whereas in Job 28 and in Psalm 111 it is the reverse,
there is a concern to commend the fear of the LORD.101 Is the
idea of commendation (‘Empfehlung’) so helpful here? The
saying in Proverbs is a foundational and programmatic thesis,
on the principle of wisdom. In Job, the emphasis is more
critical: it opposes one kind of wisdom to another. And in the
Psalm, the well-known maxim is quoted in the spirit of praise:
the psalmist marvels at the fullness of the LORD'S benefits,
that his revelation reverently received makes one truly wise.

V
If the aphorism of Proverbs 1:7 means that wisdom depends
on a religious motive, what is the function of the saying in a
larger context? Our interpretation opens the door to a fairly
common historical construction: according to many scholars,
the older form of wisdom was secular, or of pagan origin; it
was later nationalized and a yahwistic stamp was put on it,
especially by means of our saying.102 W. McKane emphasizes
the newness of the religious ‫ מוסר‬and the influence of
prophets.103 Whybray speaks rather contemptuously of the
"well-known cliché" which pointed to a "new way" for
obtaining wisdom,104 and testified "to the new 'orthodox
status' of the wisdom teacher and his school."105 Alphonse
Maillot traces back the origin of the problem to the duality of
El and YHWH, and he seems to deplore that, progressively,
and in Proverbs 1:7 especially, a confusion was made between
the two.106 For such writers, the fear of the LORD can hardly
be called the actual principle of Old Testament wisdom: the
maxim borders on wishful thinking, if not deceitful
advertisement.
Scholarly opinion, however, has increasingly recognized
the frailty of this historical hypothesis. Crenshaw concludes
101
Ibid. 213, 217, 246, 273.
102
A representative statement in Fohrer, art. cit. 483. Gemser, Sprüche, op. cit.
13, feels there is an apologetic "tendenz" in the saying of Prov. 1:7.
103
Proverbs. A New Approach, OTL, SCM Press, London (1970) 264, 368.
104
The Intellectual Tradition 9.
105
Wisdom in Proverbs 98.
106
Alphonse Maillot, 'La Sagesse dans l'Ancien Testament' Etudes Théologiques
et Religieuses 51 (1976) 340ff.
20 TYNDALE BULLETIN

that it is "neither possible to write a chronological history of

the development of wisdom literature, nor to place each of the
forms within its proper setting."107 Since W. F. Albright
broke the spell — "While Proverbs may contain a very high
proportion of matter originating outside of Israel, it is
saturated with Israelite theism and morality"108 several
writers have shown that even the "earliest" parts or strata of
the Book of Proverbs presuppose the faith in YHWH, that
even there God is not, to borrow F. D. Kidner's phrase, "an
afterthought",109 and that much interchange must have taken
place between priests, prophets and wise men.110 We would
point to Isaiah 29:13-14, as a further confirmation; the
prophet rebukes both a hypocritical fear of him (taught by the
precept of men) and a wisdom which God will confound:
these verses show that in Isaiah's century the fear of the
LORD and wisdom had been joined together long enough for
hypocritical corruption to take place.
One word may be added concerning the original character
of Old Testament religion and wisdom, for this is the
underlying issue in the debate. We find it surprising that the
faithful of the LORD, with all their loathing of idolatry and
their consciousness of Covenant-privilege, included in their
wisdom books the words of Agur and Lemuel, or were
hospitable to the influence of Amen-em-ope. Yet our very
surprise should be taken as a monitory symptom: is our
approach in accord with theirs? Advocates and critics look
first of all to differences in language and logic for possible
proof that the contents of the Old Testament were unique in
the Near-Eastern setting. The whole method of Horst D.
Preuss is a review of allegedly original features: in each case
he shows that there are analogies outside of Israel, and
therefore he concludes that Old Testament wisdom remained
pagan at bottom.111 Similarly, Albert de Pury finds nothing
107
Op. cit. 22.
108
Wisdom in Israel and in the Ancient Near-East (presented to H. H. Rowley)
VTSupp13, M. Noth & D. Winton Thomas (ed.), E. J. Brill, Leiden (1955) 13.
109
Op. cit. 32.
110
So Barucq, in his commentary, op. cit. 23ff, and art. in DBS 1408,1412,1440
Carl Keller in Maqqél shaqédh 95 n.21; J. F. Priest, op. cit. 284 (forceful); D. A.
Hubbard, 'The Wisdom Movement and Israel's Covenant Faith' TB 17 (1966) 3-3
(esp. 18); Lévêque, art. cit. 187 (emphatic).
111
Art. cit. 171ff.
THE FEAR OF THE LORD AS THE 'PRINCIPLE' OF WISDOM 21

really specific in Israel's faith except the jealousy of

YHWH.112 But should the comparative approach reign
supreme? It is significant indeed that none can quote a saying
"The fear of Marduk (or Baal or Râ) is the principle of
wisdom"; yet the men of the Bible would not have been
embarrassed by such a saying, they would have denounced
and rejected it because Marduk is no god, Marduk is a
Nothing! In other words, the uniqueness of truth among
human errors and demonic lies is truth — it may not be
obvious in its expression (cf. 2 Cor. 11:13 f.). Untruth is not
just something else than truth: it is truth corrupted, and
sometimes so with subtlety. In this light, the existence of
scattered similarities to Biblical truths in the ancient Near-
East could be considered as glimpses of God's original
revelation, with no damage done to uniqueness, and
Godfearing teachers of wisdom in Israel could assimilate
insights which Egyptians had gained by God's common grace,
just as their fathers had spoiled these Egyptians' riches. The
weakness of the comparative approach is that it tends to take
the field of phenomena as the ultimate reference for
judgement. But Veritas index sui et falsi! Reverent reference
to the LORD first is the principle of wisdom! When one
abides by this principle, he can appreciate (and there is
plentiful evidence for him then to canvass!) how darkened
and distorted the truth of God has been in nations deprived of
special revelation.113
Inner inconsistencies would raise real difficulties. Is the fear
of the LORD principle for wisdom only in wisdom writings?
Distinct echoes may be heard in the Law and the Prophets
that suggest that wisdom per se was not thought to be alien to
true Torâ religion and prophetic faith. Since Lindblom's
study,114 numerous contacts have been recognized between
prophets and the wisdom movement. A. de Pury underlines
the use by 8th century prophets not only of sapiential
112
Art cit. 40ff.
113
Barucq, Proverbes 37, stresses that Proverbs have their own "physiognomy".
Derousseaux. op. cit. 41f, 65, arrives at conclusions on the fear of the gods in Egypt
13 and Mesopotamia which imply a long distance from the Old Testament.
114
Johannes Lindblom, 'Wisdom in the Old Testament Prophets' in VTSuppl 3,
192-204.
22 TYNDALE BULLETIN

techniques, but of sapiential ideas of right and wrong.115

Hosea's emphasis on knowledge make the last verse of the
book a fitting addition, if it be an addition. Isaiah's interest in
wisdom is such that many follow Fichtner in supposing that
Isaiah belonged to the class of the wise when he was called to
the prophetic ministry.116 His preaching would well illustrate
the motto of Proverbs: he repeatedly thunders against the
"wisdom" born of pride, of those who are wise in their own
eyes (5:21; 19:11ff; 29:4; cf. 47:10ff), and having noted, with
some irony, that God, too, is wise (31:2), he binds wisdom
and knowledge to the fear of the LORD (33:6): even for the
coming Son of David, whose 'delight' or 'inspiration'
‫ הריחו‬will be in the fear of the LORD (11:2f).117 The whole
passage, Isaiah 8:10ff reads as a commentary on the principle
of true wisdom: the counsel of man shall not stand, but to fear
God means, for his disciples (‫ )למדי‬to go to the divine
instruction (‫ )תורה‬and thus to receive light at last. The
wisdom call of Isaiah 50:10 is written in the same spirit, while
it conjoins the fear of the LORD and obedience to his
Servant.118 Jeremiah in his polemics against the ruling class
Jerusalem had the opportunity also to criticize their worldly
wisdom (8:8f); his great passage 9:23f 'Let not the wise man
glory in his wisdom, but in this, That he understands and
knows me, that I am the LORD', can be taken as an expanded
form of the wisdom motto.119 When one turns to the Law, one
thinks first of Deuteronomy 4:6 (cf. 29:29) where the body
God's directions for his people receives the name of wisdom
it will be your wisdom in the sight of the nations; the mention
of the nations reminds us of the international character of
wisdom: it is when the law of God is developed in the form of
wisdom that it can be appreciated as universal truth and norm.
115
Art cit. 35f (see his n.6).
116
Johannes Fichtner, 'Isaiah Among the Wise' in Crenshaw (ed.), op. cit.
429-438 (transl. from ThLZ 74 (1949) 75-80). Crenshaw, Ibid. 10, indicates J.
William Whedbee and Joseph Jensen as recent supporters. Robert Martin-Achard
was an earlier one, ‘Sagesse de Dieu et sagesse humaine chez Esaie in Maqqél
shaqédh’, 137f; he notes that E. Sellin had already made the suggestion in 1935.
Becker, op. cit. 258f, is not inimical to the suggestion, and cites R. T. Anderson, JBL
79 (1960) 57f.
117
On this passage, see Derousseaux, op. cit. 273.
118
On this passage, see Becker, op. cit. 256f.
119
Von Rad, Wisdom 103, favours its authenticity.
THE FEAR OF THE LORD AS THE PRINCIPLE' OF WISDOM 23

But even before, in Genesis 2-3, sapiential motifs appear,120

although discreetly. The Paradise story, with its constant play
on words, shows a high degree of literary ‫חכמה‬. In view of the
identification of the Tree of Life with wisdom in Proverbs, one
can see in the trees of Genesis the antithesis of the false
wisdom of autonomy and the true wisdom which leads to life,
in dependence on God. And one could cite also the biography
of Joseph, the Godfearing (Gn. 42:18) Model of the wise, to
confirm that the maxim of Proverbs 1 spreads its roots and
branches in various parts of the Old Testament.
As it is with texts, so with themes. The role of the fear of the
Lord in wisdom is intimately connected with main tenets of
Old Testament faith. It agrees with its anthropology, with its
unified view of the inner man and its concentration in the heart
(cf. Pr. 4:23): if the heart both thinks and wills, and is man's
religious organ, how could thought function independantly?
A real autonomy of reason would require a real division
between man's faculties; in fact there is no such thing as
"reason" but only men, or hearts, reasoning — and as they
make moral choices and commit themselves ultimately, so
they are able to reason.121 More radically: it flows as a
necessary consequence from creational monotheism. We
already noted the solidarity between wisdom and belief in
creation, which need not be considered late in Israel.122 If the
whole of reality comes from one wise and sovereign Lord,
who has ordered all things, reality is all of one piece; nothing is
independent of God, and nothing can be truly interpreted
independently of God. This conviction was so strong, as
Lévêque notes, that even when they faced the reality of evil,
the wise resisted the temptation to attribute it to a mythical,
uncreated power, a power able to cross God's purpose.123
One can even go further and relate to radical monotheism the
so-called "secular" aspect of wisdom: it could not surface with
120
Already Dubarle, op. cit. 57; Luis Alonso-Schökel, ‘Sapiential and Covenant
Themes in Genesis’ in Crenshaw (ed.), op. cit. 468-480, esp. 472f (transl. from
Biblica 43 (1962) 295-315); Pury, art. cit.21.
121
Muller, s. v. ‫חכם‬, ThWAT 929, stresses the link between heart and wisdom
(Ex. 28:3; 1 Ki. 3:12; Job 9:4; 37:24; Pr. 10:8; 16:21, 23;18:15; Ec. 8:5).
122
Cf. n.59. On this topic, A. de Pury, art. cit. 45, observes: "La révélation de
Yahvé n'a donc nullement entrainé une régression de la réflexion sapientiale ou
‘philosophique’. Au contraire, elle a stimulé cette réflexion au point de l'amener à
des formulations 'impensables' en Egypte ou en Mésopotamie."
123
Art. cit. 191. Cf. von Rad, Wisdom 72f.
24 TYNDALE BULLETIN

a pan-sacral mentality,124 for it requires a clear distinction

between Creator and creature, the fear of the LORD is the
principle of demythologisation! And if cosmic law is not
ἀνάγκη or even Ma' at,125 if it is created order which a free
Deity disposed, then one can understand how man, the image
of God, can refuse or distort it. The distance between God
and the world reflects itself in the freedom of man, and
therefore in the possibility of two wisdoms. Pagan thought,
with its latent pantheism, has been unable to set out the
antithesis which is so decisive in Proverbs126 between folly and
wisdom, between conceited destructive wisdom and that
wisdom which the fear of the LORD teaches. The urgency in
the motto comes from the existence of two rival appeals
(Prov. 9) — so that we can say that the fear of the LORD
(monotheism) explains why the fear of the LORD must be the
principle of wisdom.
The function of wisdom in the harmony of the Old
Testament, Levéque expresses with the musical term
counterpoint.127 It blends to the canto fermo which celebrates
Covenant and redemption the other melody of God's
origination of being and man's daily life. Paul Beauchamp
uses the tools of structural analysis to show that prophecy and
wisdom are correlative: the former corresponding to "now"
and the latter to "always".128 We can comment that this very
duality is based on creational monotheism: God upholds
constantly the order of his creation (always) but remains free
to intervene when and where it pleases him (now); as soon as
one truth is denied, the other is totally altered. The queen of
wise maxims expresses the vital bond between the two.
124
This is von Rad's insistence, Wisdom 58f; for him the secular outlook was the
novelty of David's and Solomon's reigns. Crenshaw, op. cit. 17ff, rightly questions
the idea that pan-sacralism was the case in Saul's time and before.
125
According to Ernst Würthwein, 'Egyptian Wisdom and the Old Testament' in
Crenshaw (ed.), op. cit., 113-133 (transl. from German original, Marburg, 1960),
Ma'at as cosmic order is absolute, unchangeable, superior to the gods themselves.
Has von Rad sufficiently distinguished between world order and divine Word? In
Wisdom 156, they seem too closely identified; here Preuss' protest may be heard.
126
The contrast fool/wise is a Biblical originality (Barucq, Proverbes 34); one may
note also that whereas the tree of life is a common symbol, no clear correspondence
for the tree of knowledge, and for the antithesis of the two trees, has hitherto been
found in tales of origins.
127
Art. cit. 191, 199f, and in the title.
128
‘L'Analyse structurale et l'exégèse' VTSuppl 22 (1971) 124, 126f.
THE FEAR OF THE LORD AS THE 'PRINCIPLE' OF WISDOM 25

VI
The Old Testament is patent in the New Biblical theology
cannot be satisfied with the exposition of a Theme in the Old
Testament. Beyond the enrichment of wisdom reflexion on
the fear of the LORD in Ecclesiasticus — the emphasis is on
the Tora in which both wisdom and fear coincide —129 what
becomes of the motto of Proverbs in the message of Jesus and
the apostles?
Although it was eclipsed for a long time by the kerygma of
Atonement and the Resurrection, and by the more frequent
titles given to Jesus, the theme of wisdom has been attracting
attention increasingly also in New Testament studies. Andre
Feuillet, the φιλο-σοφός among New Testament scholars,
has shown its presence and influence especially in the Gospels
and in Paul's epistles.130 Jesus taught after the pattern of the
sages: he stood unsurpassed in the art of ‫ משלים‬and
techniques of argument; his wisdom should have been
recognised as greater than that of Solomon, the typical son of
David, prince of peace (Mt. 12:42; Lk. 11 :31).131Far more, he
suggested a mysterious oneness of himself and wisdom (Mt.
129
Derousseaux, op. cit. 334ff.
130
‘Jésus et la Sagesse divine dans les Evangiles synoptiques', RB 62 (1955)
161-196; Le Discours sur le Pain de Vie, Foi vivante 47 Desclée de Brouwer, Paris
(1967), rep. from Nouvelle Revue Théologique (1960) and Etudes johanniques,
Desclée de Brouwer, Paris (1962); Le Christ, Sagesse de Dieu d'après les épîtres
pauliniennes, Etudes Bibliques, Gabalda, Paris (1966). A. van Roon, 'The Relation
Between Christ and the Wisdom of God According to Paul' NovT 16 (1974) 207-239
launches on a ruthless critique of Feuillet's thesis; we have found him more
convincing on 1 Cor. 2:9 and 1 Cor. 10:1ff than on other passages; his attempt to
explain Paul's language in 1 Cor. 8:6 and Col. 1:15ff only by the use of Ps. 33 and 89,
with no reference implied to Pr. 8 and later sapiential developments of Pr. 8, is not
satisfactory (these sets of references do not exclude each other); van Roon's article is
a useful reminder that there is no need to ransack non-canonical writings for parallels
when there are better ones in the Old Testament. On wisdom themes in the New
Testament, one can cite: Francois-Marie Braun, 'Saint Jean, la Sagesse et l'histoire'
Neotestamentica et Patristica, Freundesgabe O. Cullmann, NovTSuppl 6 (1962)
123-133; Henry R. Moeller, 'Wisdom Motifs and John's Gospel' Bulletin of the
Evangelical Theological Society (1963) 92-100; P.-E. Bonnard, La Sagesse en
personne annoncee et venue: Jesus-Christ, Lectio divina, Cerf. Paris (1966); J. A.
Kirk, 'The Meaning of Wisdom in James', NTS 16 (1969) 24-38.
131
See already Dubarle, op. cit. 237ff; Hubbard, art. cit. 28f; recently Martin
Hengel, The Son of God: The Origin of Christology and the History of Jewish-
Hellenistic Religion ET by John Bowden, SCM Press, London (1976) 74f; Hengel
suggests that Jesus' logia were collected just as Solomon's sayings, and that this may
well be the solution of the "riddle" of Q (75 n.132).
26 TYNDALE BULLETIN

11:19; Lk. 7:35), and this near identification sheds much light
on several aspects of his ministry.132 Briefly summarized: just
as wisdom in Proverbs 1-9 (and elaborations of this in Ecclus.
24 and 51 and Wisd. Sol. 7-9), Jesus sends forth messengers
(Lk. 11:49; Mt. 23:34); just as wisdom, Jesus invites men to
his banquet, (and in John 6, the food they are to assimilate is
himself); just as wisdom, Jesus meets with scorn and
opposition from sinners; just as wisdom, Jesus commends
himself, and promises life to those who come to him;133 just as
wisdom, Jesus enjoys the fullest intimacy with God, and
knows him as only can a beloved child (Mt. 11 :27; Lk. 10:22).
In Paul's epistles, one can detect more than traces of a
"wisdom christology": Christ Jesus "has become for us
Wisdom from God" (1 Cor. 1:30); as Feuillet has shown,
references are numerous in the Corinthian correspondence134
and when Paul had to counteract false doctrines of wisdom
(Col.). Christ's part in creation (1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:15 ff.) Paul
affirmed on the basis of Proverbs 8:22ff.: Christ is the
‫ ראשית‬of God's work, as also the Johannine writings testify
(Christ the ἀρχή), Jn. 1:1ff; Rev. 3:14) and the Epistle to the
Hebrews (1:3, echoing especially Wisd. Sol. 7). Main themes
of Old Testament wisdom shine forth in the New Testament
— what about its motto?
There is no distinct quotation or allusion to the saying of
Proverbs 1:7 in the literature of the New Testament. The fear
of God is far from being absent, and mainly denotes piety,135
sometimes with overtones of "sacred dread" (2 Cor. 5:11), yet
it is nowhere called the principle of wisdom. Could it be that
Christianity has no more use for the maxim?
This impression soon vanishes when one notes that the very
texts are quoted which we considered to be perfect parallels of
our maxim in prophetical books. In his discussion of wisdom
(1 Cor. 1-2), Paul uses precisely Isaiah 29:14 and Jeremiah
132
Ulrich Wilckens, s. v. σοφία κτλ (N.T.), TDNT VII 515, grants that
the idea Jesus = the Wisdom of God is "relatively early".
133
Wilckens, ibid. 516, states that the yoke metaphor in Matt. 11:30 is for the
concept of union with wisdom; Michael Maher, 'Take my Yoke upon You (Matt.
xi.29)' NTS 22 (1975-1976) 97-103, rather stresses the authority of the New Moses.
134
The main proof-text for Wilckens, ibid. 518 n.376 would be 1 Cor. 10:1-5. But
see van Roon, art. cit. 228ff.
135
Horst Balz, s. v. φοβέω κτλ (N.T.), ThDNT IX op. cit. 208-217.
THE FEAR OF THE LORD AS THE PRINCIPLE' OF WISDOM 27

9:22f (1 Cor. 1:19, 30).136 The general theme of God humbling

the proud and exalting the lowly (Mt. 23:12; Lk. 1:51f, 14:11;
18:14; James 4:6,10; 1 Pet. 5:5f) is brought to bear on the
subject of knowledge in the major wisdom passage of
Matthew (11). True wisdom escapes the self-confident wise,
God has hidden it from them, but it comes by revelation to the
νήπιοι, who submit to the yoke of their humble teacher (vv.
25, 27, 29f). Feuillet claims that νήπιος is a wisdom term; it
is used in several texts of the Greek Old Testament,137 and the
most interesting instance is Psalm 19:9 (LXX 18:8) where the
testimony of the LORD, parallel to the fear of the LORD, is
called σοφίζουσα νήπια. The babes of Matthew 11 can
be identified with those who fear the LORD in the Book of
Proverbs, and so are not wise in their own eyes. The substance
of the Old Testament maxim is there, and one could also point
to John 8:31f (cf. 7:17) where Jesus promises the knowledge
of truth upon condition of discipleship, or to the passages
where Paul insists on the renewal of the mind, especially in its
spirit, its basic disposition and motive (Rom. 12:2; Eph.
4:23), always with the antithesis of the two wisdoms in the
background.138
Why, then, is not the fear of the LORD mentioned?
Derousseaux has seen that, generally speaking, Old
Testament fear becomes New Testament faith. Several
writers, whom we quoted, naturally slid to using the word
"faith" in their explication of the wisdom saying. They should
not be blamed. Coming to Christ, taking his yoke, receiving
the Spirit which is from God, this is the equivalent of fearing
the LORD, and it can be summarized in the word "faith". We
suggest that fear can be translated faith because the critical
element of "fear" belongs also to faith as soon as the Lord of
faith is come down from heaven, a humble-hearted man and
obedient unto death: when faith is in Christ and in him
crucified, it pours contempt on human pride and it involves
the denial of worldly wisdom. When wisdom, also, is not only
136
Feuillet, Le Christ, Sagesse ch. I and II.
137
Feuillet, Le Discours sur le Pain 85 n.105, gives many references, but among
them only Pr. 1:32; Ps. 19:9 (LXX 18:8); 116:6 and 119:130 (LXX 118:130) have the
word νήπιος.
138
It is present also in James (3:13ff), although the treatment is less
"theological"; the warning against hybris is not forgotten either (4:6,10; cf. 4:13ff).
28 TYNDALE BULLETIN

personified but is come in person, such is the concentration in

him that faith becomes the all-inclusive word. This is how, in
the New Testament, the fear of the Lord, — which, being
interpreted, is faith in Christ, remains the principle of
wisdom.

Conclusions close, but they may sometimes open. Ours will

open a vista in another field of inquiry and raise the question:
how has this message of the fear of the LORD, of faith as the
principle of wisdom, been received in the Christian Church
We may suggest that the Augustinian tradition earnestly tried
to honour it. Saint Augustine used a mis-translation of Isaiah
7:9 as he read: 'If you will not believe, you shall not
understand', but he did not miss Isaiah's meaning. Saint
Anselm followed in his train and his motto, fides quaerens
intellectum, answers faithfully to the motto of the wise. Calvin
opened his Institutes with the famous thesis that binds
together the knowledge of God and the knowledge of man; of
Calvin's theology we can say: its inspiration was in the fear of
the LORD. And in our day, neo-calvinistic thought has
exposed the fallacy of a would-be autonomous reason; it has
shown the need of a Biblical ground-motive or determination
for a sound world-view and rightful ethics.139
Whatever be the appraisal of these trends, the subject is
relevant to the study of Biblical Theology. A. Barucq warns
the modern scribes, his colleagues in Biblical scholarship, lest
they deserve the LORD's rebuke in Jeremiah 8:8.140 The fear
of the LORD is the principle of exegetical and theological
wisdom. May only that which is faithful to this principle, in
our contribution, be retained.
139
We are thinking especially of the work of Herman Dooyeweerd and Comel
Van Til (in spite of their later disagreements).
140
A. Barucq, "Proverbs" DBS 1441. F. Michaëli, art. cit. 44 questions the
concept of "scientific objectivity" in the light of the maxim. Even von Rad, Wisdom
301, notes the problem of the scholar's world-view being alien to that of the text.