Texts in Conversation
Proverbs emphasizes a positive reflection on discipline, using the image of the rod to stress correction as a sign of devotion. Sirach takes this further, presenting discipline itself as a form of wisdom that shapes character and understanding.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Proverbs 13:24
Hebrew Bible
22 A good person leaves an inheritance for his grandchildren, but the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous. 23 Abundant food may come from the field of the poor, but it is swept away by injustice. 24 The one who spares his rod hates his child, but the one who loves his child is diligent in disciplining him. 25 The righteous has enough food to satisfy his appetite, but the belly of the wicked will be empty.
Date: 600–201 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Sirach 22:6
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
4 A prudent daughter will inherit a husband of her own. She who brings shame is the grief of her father. 5 She who is arrogant brings shame on father and husband. She will be despised by both of them. 6 Ill-timed conversation is like music in mourning, but whipping and correction are wisdom in every season. 9 He who teaches a fool is like one who glues potsherds together, even like one who wakes a sleeper out of a deep sleep. 10 He who teaches a fool is as one who teaches a man who slumbers. In the end he will say, “What is it?”
Date: 195–180 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... “My son/child, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments” – this is how Proverbs 3 begins with the first verse. In verse 11, “my son/ child” is addressed, anew. The Hebrew text uses the word מוסר in verse 11a ... where it means “to instruct.” There are just as few evidences of it in the Nifal with the meaning of “to let oneself be instructed / taught.” The majority of the evidences of the verb are in the Piel, where it mainly means “to chasten, to rebuke.” The meaning of “to instruct, to educate” is found three times, as is the meaning of “to guide.” Köhler/Baumgartner mainly translate the noun מוסר with “chastisement / discipline” (as in Proverbs 3:11), and in some passages, they translate with “admonition / warning.” In this context, physical chastisement plays an important role: “Those who spare the rod hate their children, but those who love them are diligent to discipline them” (Proverbs 13:24). “Discipline your children while there is hope; do not set your heart on their destruction” (Proverbs 19:18). “Folly is bound up in the heart of a boy, but the rod of discipline drives it far away” (Proverbs 22:15). In Proverbs 23:13, it similarly says: “Do not withhold discipline from your children; if you beat them with a rod, they will not die. If you beat them with the rod, you will save their lives from Sheol” (Compare Proverbs 29:1, 17). In Sirach 22:6, a rigorous education is linked to wisdom: “A whipping and discipline are wisdom at any time” (compare Sirach 30:1f.; Psalms of Solomon 3:2; 13:9) ..."
Wolfgang Kraus, “'Whom the Lord Loveth He Chasteneth': About the Adoption of Prov 3:11f. in Hebr 12:5f,” in Septuagint, Sages, and Scripture: Studies in Honour of Johann Cook, ed. Randall X. Gauthier, Gideon R. Kotze, and Gert J. Steyn, VTSup 172 (Leiden: Brill, 2016), 323–335.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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