The proverbs of Solomon . . .
To understand a proverb and a figure,
The words of the wise and their riddles.
Proverbs 1:6
In a day when men and women are often little more than large boys and girls, any attention span is an anachronism, and anything that can’t be Googled is too much trouble to learn, Solomon informs us that understanding requires more than we’re used to investing. He exhorts us, if we desire true knowledge and wisdom, to roll up our sleeves and get ready to sweat.
The word here is a form of the noun [Hebrew word translated “riddle”] (hîdâ). Occurring seventeen times, the term’s meanings range from “riddle” (Judg. 14:12–19, where Samuel does a turn as “the riddler”) to enigmas and hard questions (1 Kings 10:1; Psa. 78:2). It signifies “difficult speech requiring interpretation.”
Here the idea is probably enigma, meaning a hard word that must be pondered because it defies easy unraveling. Kidner says that the term is used of “anything enigmatic, which needs interpreting.” And notes that
The secondary purpose of Proverbs is to introduce the reader to a style of teaching that provokes his thought, getting under his skin by thrusts of wit, paradox, common sense and teasing symbolism, in preference to the preacher’s tactic of frontal assault.Solomon knows that there is not only one way of communication. This approach—communicating by riddles and obscure sayings—is expressly designed to demand and provoke thought and reflection.
This need for such writing is great. Communication is being “dumbed down” by increasing degrees. Simper and simpler versions of the Bible . . . are coming out. People are impatient of anything requiring thought, concentration, focus, effort. Folks rush to churches featuring interpretive dance, snazzy musical entertainment, dancing bears and skits—and stay away in droves from the rational, systematic, demanding exposition of the Word of God.
At the same time, attentions spans lessen. People become accustomed to the flip-flip-flip of movie camera angles. Anything taking longer than five minutes of concentrated thought wears us out and quickly loses our attention.
Against all this, Solomon says, “Here is something knotty. Here is something you cannot have without hard thought. Here is something you will have to ponder, consider—even untangle. Slow down, stop. Fix your attention on this!”
And so we should. Only so will we reap the promised sevenfold reward.
—Dan Phillips, God’s Wisdom in Proverbs (Kress Biblical Resources, 2011), 62–63.
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