Глава 9

1–11. Divine Wisdom as the organizer of the Kingdom of God on earth. 12–18. The opposite of this is the activity of wickedness, personified in the image of a harlot. Proverbs 9:1. Wisdom built herself a house, hewed out its seven pillars, Proverbs 9:2. she slaughtered the sacrifice, dissolved her wine and prepared a meal for herself; Proverbs 9:3. sent her servants to proclaim from the heights of the city: If in ch. VIII spoke about the participation of Wisdom in the work of peacemaking and God's providence (Proverbs 8:27–31), and people were generally called to obey Wisdom, here in ch. IX it is said - under the image of the house founded by Wisdom (v. 1) - about the establishment by the Hypostatic Wisdom of the Kingdom of God or the Church among people for their spiritual nourishment, enlightenment and sanctification, and all people are deliberately invited to this house of Wisdom for the meal prepared by Her. Divine wisdom - this great artist or builder (Proverbs 8:30) from the moment of the beginning of peace - in historical times founded Her great house on earth (ibid. Proverbs 8:34), which, of course, together is the house of God (Ps 83:11). The House of the Wisdom of God is, obviously, the Kingdom of God or the Church, the foundation of which was laid by the Divine Economy in paradise; this Kingdom of God, then in a variety of sacred biblical events and persons, theocratic institutions and institutions, under the guidance of the Law and the Prophets, was revealed throughout the Old Testament until the appearance of Christ the Savior, when it was replaced by the New Testament Church or the New Testament Kingdom of God (1 Tim. 3.15; Heb. 3.6; Rev. 3.12). The House of Wisdom is based on seven pillars (v. 1), that is, according to the general biblical meaning of the number 7 in the sense of completeness, completeness, perfection (Gen. 4.24; Ps. 11.7; Mt. 18.21–22). The Kingdom of God or the Church, through the Wisdom of God, is equipped with many different gifts and endowments - everything that is needed for its improvement, prosperity and glory. The interpretation of the number of seven pillars in its exact meaning has mostly resulted in unsuccessful experiments; this is the ancient Jewish interpretation - in the sense of the 7 heavens from which the Torah descended and was given to people (Midr. S. 25), even less in the sense of the 7 liberal arts (Heidenheim) or the 7 first chapters of the book of Proverbs (Hitzig), and finally, the 7 properties of the highest wisdom according to the number of Jacob (James 3.17). The only thing worthy of attention is the Christian-church interpretation of the seven pillars in the sense of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (Isa. 11.2–3, sn. Rev. 1.4, 12, 3.1, 4.5), then the seven sacraments, etc. The blessings of the kingdom of God, founded by Wisdom, are depicted here (v. 2) under the image of the meal prepared by Her of the meat of the peace offering (Heb.: tebah, LXX: θύματα, Vulg.: victimas) and wine dissolved - with water or spices (cf. Isa 5.22; Proverbs 23.30), just as in the Gospel the Lord depicted the blessings of the Kingdom God on earth and the Kingdom of Heaven under the image of the table (Matthew 22.1; lines Lk 14.16; lines Lk 22.30). More specifically, in the light of the New Testament, this meal of Wisdom can be understood as the Eucharist or the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ. Wisdom calls people to this Divine meal through the servants sent by Her (v. 3), just as in the Gospel parables about those invited to the royal supper, guests are invited through the king’s servants (Matthew 22.1 ff.; Luke 14.16 ff.). By these slave-heralds we must understand all those ever sent by God and His Wisdom - preachers of the truth of God for the creation of a Divine theocracy among people, in the Old Testament - prophets, in the New Testament - apostles (Isaiah 52.7; Rom 10.15-18). Proverbs 9:4. “Whoever is unreasonable, come here!” And she said to the feeble-minded: Proverbs 9:5. “Come, eat my bread and drink the wine that I have mixed; Proverbs 9:6. leave foolishness, and live and walk in the way of reason.” The people to whom the call of the messengers of Wisdom is addressed are called here (vv. 4, 6) foolish or feeble-minded - not in the absolute sense, but in the relative sense - in the sense of lack of knowledge of higher truths and, most importantly, moral instability and lack of character (v. 6, cf. Proverbs 7.7, 19.25, 21.11). Such people, of whom there are especially many among young men, are still accessible to learning and pedagogical influence (cf. Ps 18.8, 119.130). And during the planting of Christianity, it was precisely such people, simple in mind and heart, who turned out to be especially receptive to the preaching of the Gospel (Matthew 11.25; Luke 10.21; 1 Cor. 1.27). That is why Wisdom calls them to her spiritual meal (v. 5), into the light of true understanding and piety. Proverbs 9:7. He who teaches a blasphemer will gain disgrace for himself, and he who reproaches the wicked will bring shame upon himself. Proverbs 9:8. Do not reprove the blasphemer, lest he hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you; Proverbs 9:9. give instruction to a wise man, and he will be even wiser; teach the truthful, and he will increase knowledge. Here an introductory remark is made, with the purpose of limiting the circle of people to whom the preaching of the messengers of Wisdom is addressed: it is pointless and in vain to teach wisdom to people who contemptuously mock the truth, who are hateful towards it and its preachers (cf. Matthew 7.6). Instead of wasting words uselessly and unsafely on admonishing a blasphemer, the preacher should better turn his attention to the wise, that is, at least striving for wisdom, to whom the preaching of wisdom will always bring significant benefit (cf. Matthew 13.12). It is clear, however, that the specified limitation, Art. 7–8, has only a relative and conditional meaning: they are not instilled with an absolute prohibition to teach the wicked the truth, but only with caution in dealing with detractors of the truth. Love, the highest principle of true life, obliges all possessors of truth to spread goodness and truth everywhere, caring for the salvation of all, following the example of God Himself, who wants the salvation of all, not excluding sinners (Eze 18.32, 33.11; 2 Pet 3.9; 2 Tim 2.4). Proverbs 9:10. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding; Proverbs 9:11. because through me your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you. The speech of Wisdom ends with an indication of the main foundation on which the serious search for wisdom is based (v. 10) - and the gracious fruits or saving consequences of true wisdom for those who acquire it (v. 11). The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God (10a, sn. Proverbs 1.7) and reverent knowledge of God: “the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (10b). (This translation should, according to the law of parallelism, be preferred to the Greek LXX: Βουλὴ αγίων σύνεσίς, slav.: “council of the holy minds.” One could rather accept the translation of the Vulg.: scientia sanctorum prudentia); LXX, glory. at the end of Art. 10 have the addition: τὸ γάρ γνῶναι νόμον διανοίας ἐστίν ἀγαθῆς ; glory: “understand the law of thought is good.” This addition is absent in many Greek codes (23, 68, 106, 109, 248, 252, 295 in Golm., in Ald. Alex., in Clement Alexander), and is not present in the Vulgate: apparently, it is a later gloss, although it corresponds to the context of speech. Art. 11 represents one of the frequent promises of longevity in the Book of Proverbs for fulfilling the lessons of wisdom (fn. Proverbs 3.2, 16, 21, 4.10, 15, 10.27). The considered section of Proverbs 9.1–11 is read in churches as parimia on the feasts of the Mother of God, since here the Hypostatic Wisdom is depicted not in Her eternal existence, but in the state of incarnation; the thought of the incarnation of the Son of God is inseparable from the thought of the Mother of God, who served as the instrument for the incarnation of the Son of God (see Bishop Vissarion, pp. 103–104). Proverbs 9:12. [My son!] if you are wise, then you are wise for yourself [and for your neighbors]; and if you are violent, then you will endure it alone. Proverbs 9:12a. –[He who is established in a lie feeds the winds, he chases the flying birds:– Proverbs 9:12b. -for he has left the paths of his vineyard and wanders in the paths of his field; Proverbs 9:12c. -passes through a waterless desert and a land doomed to thirst; collects barrenness with his hands.] As an incentive to fulfill the instructions of wisdom and to avoid (depicted below) the temptations of madness and debauchery, the Wise One points out here that the beneficial consequences of wisdom are valid only for the one who holds wisdom, and not for God (a thought similar to that expressed in Job 22.2-3), and not for others. LXX, glorious, however, adds: καί τοῖς πλησίον, “and to your sincere.” In addition, LXX also has a three-line addition to Art. 12, also available in Syria. and Arabic translations, as well as in Slavic. and Russian synod. (in the latter, these additions are enclosed in parentheses). Apparently, these are later glosses, although they have signs of origin from the Hebrew original, transferred here from other places in the book. Proverbs and other sacred books. Proverbs 9:13. A woman who is reckless, loud, stupid and ignorant Proverbs 9:14. he sits on a chair at the door of his house, in the high places of the city, Proverbs 9:15. to call those who pass along the road, going straight on their paths: Proverbs 9:16. “who is stupid, come here!” and she said to the feeble-minded: Proverbs 9:17. “Stolen waters are sweet, and hidden bread is pleasant.” Proverbs 9:18. And he does not know that the dead are there, and that in the depths of the underworld they are called by her. Proverbs 9:18a. –[But you jump back, don’t hesitate in place, don’t let your gaze stop on her;– Proverbs 9:18b. -for in this way you will pass through strange water.- Proverbs 9:18c. “Stay away from strange water, and do not drink from strange springs,” Proverbs 9:18d. – so that you may live a long time and have more years of life.] To enhance the impression of the admonitions of Wisdom, the temptations of foolishness coming from a dissolute wife are depicted here in detail. In appearance, the call of the latter resembles the call of wisdom, but the wife’s dissolute impudence, recklessness and similar negative qualities (vv. 13–17), and mainly the disastrous end of those who are carried away by her temptations (vv. 18, fn. Proverbs 7.27), should, according to the thought of the Wise One, once and for all protect his disciple from all hobbies of lewdness and madness, no matter how great the temptation and temptation to follow them may be at times. - At the end of Art. 18 LXX has an addition that has the character of a later gloss (it is not in the Complutension edition). You might be interested in: