RANDALL J.

HESKETT

Proverbs 23:13-14 Lecturer in Hebrew and Old Testament

Toronto School of Theology

For years individuals have appealed to the biblical book of Proverbs as a warrant for
spanking their children. They often say, "The Bible says, cSpare the rod and spoil the child.' "
Yet they are unaware that this specific adage does not appear in the Bible. A couple whom I
will call "Elmer and Connie" live by what I call a pre-critical or sub-modern understanding
of scripture. Elmer, although he has a Ph.D. in education and serves as minister of educa-
tion in a church, cites the true biblical proverbs as his warrant for spanking: "Do not with-
hold discipline from your son; if you beat him with a rod, he will not die" (Prov 23:13).
Elmer and Connie take this passage at face value. Using a half-inch thick dowel that is three
feet long, they "spank" their children quite severely. In their desire to follow "the word of
God," they "beat" their children to prove their love to them according to their reading of
another proverb: "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth
him betimes" (Prov 13:24 KJV).

When one of their children disobeys them, they make the child lie face down on their
bed with hands spread out wide. They then proceed to strike the child three to ten times
(depending on the seriousness of the offense) with their rod of correction. After they pun-
ish the child, they ask, "Have you had enough?" Then the parents make the youngster "pray
to Jesus and ask him for forgiveness." Elmer and Connie apparently do not see repentance
as a matter of the heart that beating cannot bring about.

Although this couple serves as an extreme example, it is sad that many people assert
their right to spank their children because "the Bible" offers a warrant to do so. Yet they do
not understand how to read the proverbs wisely. They interpret the Bible literalistically
without hearing its literal sense, whereby the text is held together by its subject matter,
namely the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What should be the Christian response to people who use corporal punishment
because they believe that the Bible says "beat your children"? How may we read the
proverbs wisely in order that their meaning may inculcate wisdom rather than folly? First, I
do not think that it helps to clean up the biblical text, as some do, and thus deny that the
rod was a tool for spanking but merely served as a "rod of measurement." A preponderance
of biblical proverbs clearly imply that the rod was used for beating (Prov 10:13; 13:24; 14:3;
23:13,14; 26:3). If we deny the pitfalls in the biblical text, we will never advance in this dis-
cussion because denial serves as one of the strongest adversaries of healing and catharsis.
182 Interpretation APRIL 2 0 0 1

Second, if one chooses to read the text literalistically, he or she must realize that Prov
23:13 states, "Do not withhold discipline from your son . . . " (author's translation) but it
never mentions daughters. Therefore such literalism can only claim this form of punish-
ment for sons but must at least spare daughters from the pain of spanking.

Third, the Hebrew word for discipline (musar) best translates as instruction or educa-
tion. The opening verses of Proverbs clearly lay out its purpose: "For learning about wis-
dom and instruction (musar), for understanding words of insight, for gaining instruction
(musar) in wise dealing, righteousness, justice, and equity; to teach shrewdness to the sim-
ple, knowledge and prudence to the young." The aim here is to inculcate instruction in wise
behavior. The main purpose of discipline should be to instruct or teach our children how to
be wise, just, and fair—not to punish them.

Fourth, we must understand that, although the biblical book of Proverbs has become
Christian and Jewish scripture, we cannot read these proverbs as God's unique revelation to
Israel, for such wisdom functions cross-culturally. Proverbs 30 was borrowed from Agur the
son of Jakeh and chapter 31 from King Lemuel. Ecclesiastes 12:9 tells us that Solomon is a
collector of proverbs which he weighed out, studied, and arranged. Israel borrows from and
shares its wisdom with other nations. This creates a purposeful and necessary discourse.
Although Israel's wisdom is open to the scrutiny of other nations, certain cultic materials
that spoke of YHWH's unique relationship with Israel have been bracketed out (e.g., the
giving of the law at Sinai, mention of slavery in Egypt, the exodus, God's covenant with
Israel, and the election of Israel as God's chosen people). Wisdom serves as a legitimate
enterprise in a manner of discourse which did not explicitly use language peculiar to the
Torah and the Prophets.

Most striking, this cross-cultural borrowing is illustrated by the fact that the charge to
the fathers in Prov 23:13 ("Do not withhold discipline from your son; though you beat him
with a rod he will not die ..." [author's translation]) lies within a body of material (Prov
22:17-24:22) that has been taken from the wisdom of Amen-em-opet. Israel has borrowed
this proverb from Egypt. Furthermore, the Aramaic papyri found at Elephantine provide
the words of the Assyrian sage, Ahiqar, which are similar to Prov 23:13-14: "Withhold not
the rod from your son or else you will not be able to save him." Likewise, the
Mesopotamian Sun God Samas punishes evil doers with a rod. Essentially, Israel,
Mesopotamia, and Egypt all share the same proverbs because wisdom operates as a middle
discourse through which nations can talk with and learn from one another. Proverbs
23:13-14 functions within this cross-cultural dialogue.

The phenomenon of inflicting pain functioned in the ancient Near East under the
rubric that suffering trains one. Today, we say "no pain, no gain." If such proverbs are bor-
rowed cross-culturally, we must also understand their function cross-culturally. We need to
read them under the scrutiny of cross-cultural dialogue and interdisciplinary study. These
proverbs, many of which were written over 3,000 years ago, are not static. They are not
dead but alive. Their meaning and application change as humanity changes within the
dynamic relationship of which wisdom functions as a middle discourse.
THE C H I L D Interpretation 183

One biblical proverb advises that all who lack understanding should get a rod on their
back (Prov 10:13). Until the 19th century, criminals were beaten in public to shame them,
and correctional officers in prisons were permitted to beat prisoners as recently as the 20th
century. Our penal systems have come to the realization that it is inhumane and unwise to
use this kind of punishment on prisoners. If we must spare hardened criminals such shame,
then why not spare our children?

The spirit of Proverbs exalts parental authority and instruction of the child. To ignore
this aspect of wisdom denies its entire purpose. Yet such disregard seems to be a symptom
of present-day society. The repercussions in our society have been painful. Reacting to their
own upbringing, many parents today offer too little or no discipline. I often hear parents
make threats to their children which they do not reinforce: "I'm going to count to three."
Usually when three comes, the child anticipates "four" and "five." The redundant counting
of these powerless parents merely creates an opportunity for the child to filibuster around
his or her parent's summons to authority. This extreme, which is the opposite of Elmer and
Connie, also neglects the objective of the proverb. While Prov 23:13 warns "Do not with-
hold discipline from your children," v. 14 suggests a positive result of the rod: "You will save
their lives from Sheol." Moreover, the admonition of the proverb, "Those who spare the rod
hate their children" (Prov 13:24), clearly warns us that a lack of discipline does not commu-
nicate love.

Christians read the proverbs within the framework of God's unique message revealed
in the gospel. Within Christian scripture, these proverbs must be set in relationship with
God's acts of grace in Jesus Christ. Instead of the punishment of the evil doer, God's
response to sin is grace through faith in Jesus Christ. If one wants to hear the proverb as
Christian scripture, she or he cannot separate it from its revealed subject matter, namely,
the gospel of Jesus Christ. Instead of feeling compelled to punish our children, we need to
have an attitude that aims at "training," "instructing," or "educating" them within a climate
of love, acceptance, and forgiveness. When we encounter passages that seem abusive at face
value, we must allow the text to judge the text and see how it measures up to its revealed
subject matter. How does the proverb meet the demands of the gospel? If we hear the text
as abusive or exploitative, then we have not heard its literal sense. For the literal sense does
not exist apart from the good news.

We live in a society that often teaches revenge and retribution for unruly behavior. Out
of this mind-set, people often punish their children. Punishment, however, must never be
equated with discipline. True discipline teaches children how to live lives that are rich and
full. Training and instruction should be our aim, not punishment. When children enter a
new stage of asserting their independence, parents often struggle to find an effective means
of discipline. Those who resort to spanking frequently find that it demoralizes and angers
their children. The fear of a spanking does not instill goodness in a child but the terror of
being hit. This is not a reflection of the good news. While children can test their parents'
patience, we must never lose sight of the gospel and the role that it plays in discipline.
Children, too, deserve to be liberated by the good news and not held hostage to what their
184 Interpretation APRIL 2 0 0 1

parents consider to be "the word of God." Though liberation theologies support the libera-
tion of the oppressed by the oppressed, children like those of Elmer and Connie cannot
champion their own cause but need concerned adults as advocates. Since we cannot
overemphasize wisdom's attempts to inculcate instruction and education in the lives of our
children, we must read and apply these proverbs wisely, so that our children may grow in
wisdom, health, and wholeness.
 ^ s
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