Journal of the Evangelical
Theological Society 35.4
(December 1992) 433-444
MOTIVATION AND ANTITHETIC PARALLELISM
IN PROVERBS 10-15
TED HILDEBRANDT*
Motivation is a critical issue for
employers, administrators, teachers
and
parents. It is also a key topic in the
book of Proverbs. This paper will
attempt to
make contributions to proverbial motivation studies in several
areas. A methodology will be developed for digging
out the deep semantic
motivational structures buried in the sentence literature (Proverbs 10-
15). By applying this
method of analysis to the sentence literature, a rich
diversity of
motivational forces will be exposed even though there is a
dearth of
explicit motive clauses. Eight
deep-structure categories will pro-
vide an
initial framework for categorizing and understanding the underly-
ing thought structure of the proverbial
sentences. It will be suggested that
"approach/avoidance"
motivation theory may provide a psycholinguistic
reason for
the sages' frequent selection of antithetic parallelism as a me-
dium to express their instruction. A dialogue will be initiated between
proverbial
motivation study and the vast literature on the psychology of
motivation that
lies untapped by Biblical scholars. Such
an integration
may yield
fresh insights into a Biblical theory of motivation that may be of
use to
educators, employers and parents.
Hopefully such a theory will al-
low us
to expose the motivating forces that should and do drive us as we
pursue God
and others (Prov 16:2).
I.
BACKGROUND: OT MOTIVE CLAUSE STUDY
Gemser in 1953
first isolated the motive clause as a grammatically sub-
ordinate
clause usually introduced by a particle (ki; le- plus
infinitive;
lema'an;
pen-) that provides motivation for a command (Law: Exod
20:7;
Deut 22:19;
Prophets: Amos 5:4-5; Isa 34:5-8; Jer
4:6-8; Writings: Pss
2:11; 3:7;
95:3-7; Prov 3:1-2).
After surveying the ancient Near Eastern
law
codes, Gemser concludes that motive clauses were
unique to Israel.1
While the
absoluteness of his original conclusion has been tempered by
the
dissertations of Sonsino and Utti,
they confirm a wide frequency gap
between the
motives of Biblical law (30% are motivated; 375 of 1,238 com-
mands) and the ancient law codes (only 5%-6%
are motivated).2
* Ted
Hildebrandt is professor of Biblical studies and philosophy at
1B. Gemser,
"The Importance of the Motive Clause in Old Testament Law. (VTSup 1; Lei-
den:
Brill, 1953) 52, 62.
2 R. Sonsino,
Motive Clauses in Hebrew Law: Biblical Forms and Near Eastern Parallels
(Chico:
Scholars, 1980) 153, 172-173,221; R. Utti, The Motive Clause in Old Testament Law
(dissertation;
434 JOURNAL OF THE EVANGELICAL
THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
The motive clause is usually viewed as a
later addition to the admoni-
tion (cf. Prov
22:28; 23:10-11).3 Sonsino, following Kitchen's advice, rejects
the idea
of unilinear evolution from smaller, literary units
to those larger
and more
complex.4 He does affirm,
however, that motive clauses are used
more
frequently in the later Biblical law codes than in earlier codes (Book
of the
Covenant = 17%; Deuteronomy = 50%; Holiness Code = 51%).5 Postel
harnesses this
developmental pattern in Proverbs and concludes that the
substantially higher percentage of motive clauses in Proverbs 1-9 dates
the
collection later than Proverbs 10-22.6 But Sonsino wisely
notes that
content may
also have a marked effect on the frequency of motivation (78%
of the
law is cultic [27% motivated]; 12% treats civil matters [29% moti-
vated]; 8%
is ethical/humanitarian [53% motivated]).7 Since wisdom is
largely of
an ethical/humanitarian nature the frequent use of motive
clauses is
not surprising, especially given wisdom's didactic Sitz
im Leben.
The
differences in form and content between the instructions (Proverbs 1-
9) and brief, pungent sentences (Proverbs 10-22) may better
account for
the
difference in the frequency of motive clauses than the date.
Contrary to the absence of motive clauses
in ancient Near Eastern le-
gal
materials, the use of motivational support is characteristic of the
dom literature throughout the ancient Near
East (Sumerian [Instruction
of Suruppak], Akkadian [Counsels of
Wisdom], Ugaritic [Instructions of
Sube-Awilum], Egyptian [Ptahhotep, Ani, etc.)).8 Gemser suggests that
there is
an intrinsic connection between the law and wisdom based on mo-
tive clauses (Exod
23:7 [cf. Prov 17:15]; Lev 19:35 [cf. Prov 11:1]). The le-
gal/wisdom
nexus is also found in the Bantu tribes of
proverbial
wisdom to clinch arguments in legal courtroom settings.9 Son-
sino highlights several distinctions in the
form of legal, as opposed to
dom, motive clauses (wisdom uses ‘al + second person, legal uses lo';
wisdom uses
nonrepetitive format [contrast Lev 19:20]; wisdom
uses parti-
cles to connect motives).10
II. MOTIVE CLASSIFICATION
Gemser
classifies the motive clauses into four categories: (1) explana-
tory character (Deut 20:5-8; 22:24, 26; Prov 19:25, 27; 22:6), (2) ethical
3W. Zimmerli,
"Concerning the Structure of Old Testament Wisdom," Studies in
Ancient Isra-
elite Wisdom (ed.
J. Crenshaw;
tion of the Motive Clause in Proverbs 10-29 (dissertation;
4Sonsino, Motive 98-99,
193; P. Nel, "Authority in the Wisdom
Admonitions," ZAW 93
(1981) 419.
5Sonsino, Motive 98-99.
6Postel, Form 138;
contra C. Kayatz, Studien
zu Proverbien 1-9
(WMANT 22; Neukirchen-
Vluyn: Neukirchener,
1966) 135.
7Sonsino, Motive 99,
222-223.
8Ibid. 153, 168-170.
9Gemser, "Importance"
64-65; cr. Sonsino, Motive 28-29, 36; T.
Hildebrandt, Proverbial
Poetry: Its Settings and Syntax (dissertation; Grace Theological Seminary, 1985) 89-91; cf. ap-
propriate cautions by J. Crenshaw, "Method in
Determining Wisdom Influence upon 'Historical'
Literature,"
Studies (ed. Crenshaw) 481-494.
10Sonsino, Motive
28, 171.
MOTIVATION
AND ANTITHETIC PARALLELISM IN PROVERBS 10-15 435
content
(Deut 5:14-15; 19:21), (3) cultic/theological (Deut 17:1; 22:5; Prov
20:22;
22:24-25), and (4) historical (Lev 19:33-34; Deut 5:15).11 It is in-
teresting that neither the ancient Near Eastern
legal codes nor Biblical
wisdom
employs motives using historical events.12
Sonsino
isolates numerous motivational forces:
(1) human dignity (Deut
25:3), (2)
compassion (Exod 22:26), (3) imitating God (20:11),
(4) social value
(Lev 21:9),
(5) special status of actor (21:7), (6) short value judgment
(20:17), and (7) characterization of prohibition (11:41, "it
is loathsome").
These draw
from four orientations: (1) God's
authority (Lev 19:3, 30), (2) al-
lusions to historical experiences (Exod 22:20; Deut 23:8), (3) fear of punish-
ment (Exod
30:20-21), and (4) promise of well-being (20:12; Deut 5:16).13
Postel sets up
a typology of motive content more fitting for wisdom
(T =
Theological; E = Explanatory; C = Consequential) with motive valences
(P =
Promissory; D = Dissuasive).14 The presence of promissory motives in
Proverbs
warns that the often-cited statement "a proverb is not a promise"
is
rather simplistic and an inadequate explanation of the consequentially
directed
proverbial statements (Prov 3:1-2,5-6,9-10; cf. Deut
8:1). Postel
connects his
"consequential" category with von Rad's
"act-consequence" (or-
der) relationship, supporting it as the
center of wisdom literature.15
In Proverbs the distribution of motive
clauses is concentrated largely in
the
instructions (Proverbs 1-9; 22:17-24:22; 31:1-9) as opposed to the sen-
tences (10:1-22:16; chaps. 25-29). Admonitions are much more frequent in
the
instructions (Proverbs 1-9 = 39) than in the sayings (Proverbs 10-22 =
13 [e.g.
14:7; 16:3; 19:18; 20:18-19; 22:6]).16 Postel notes
that 13 of the 17
motive
clauses in Proverbs 10-22 are in admonitions and only 4 are in
nonadmonitional sentences (13:14; 14:27; 15:24; 16:12).17 He further dif-
ferentiates between the instructions and proverbial
sentences by noting
differences in
the content of the motive clauses. A
clear contrast emerges in
the
frequency of motive clauses in the instructions (77.5% in 22:17-24:22) as
opposed to
the sentences (5.3% in Proverbs 10-22; 12% in Proverbs 25-29).
Postel
observes that the motive clauses in the instructions (22:17-24:22) are
heavily
theological and those in Proverbs 25-29 are heavily consequential
while
those in Proverbs 10-22 are evenly distributed.18
III. NEED FOR DEEP-STRUCTURE MOTIVE ANALYSIS
Several lines of evidence caution against
concluding that because the sen-
tences contain few motive clauses they are
merely empirical observations
11Gemser,
"Importance" 55-56; Postel, Form
144, 151-157.
12Sonsino, Motive
172; Postel, Form 146.
13Sonsino, Motive
105-108; cf. Utti, Motive 92.
14Postel, Form 58; P. Nel, The Structure and
Ethos of the Wisdom Admonitions in Proverbs
(Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1982) 28,
46-48.
15Cf. the ma'at concept; Postel, Form 72-73; G. von Rad,
Wisdom in Israel (
ingdon, 1972) 196; cf. F. Wicker, F. Lambert, F.
Richardson and J. Kahler, "Categorical Goal
Hierarchies
and Classification of Human Motives," Journal of Personality 52/3
(1984) 285-305.
16Nel, Structure 65-66,
has a handy listing of all admonitions in Proverbs.
17Postel, Form 58,
90-93.
18Ibid. 137,
170.
436 JOURNAL OF THE EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY
with
little attempt to motivate (energize and direct choices). (1) There seems
to be a
clear relationship between admonitions and sentences in some of
the
"duplicate" proverbs in which the same content is formatted as an ad-
monition
(22:22-23; 27:11 with explicit motive clause) and as a sentence
(14:31; 10:1
without explicit motive clause but clearly motivational in in-
tent).19 Zimmerli recognizes
the sentential deep-structure motivation when
he
writes concerning the admonition/saying connection that the admonition
makes
"explicit the implication, already lying hidden within the saying."20
(2) A naive
reading of the sentences in Proverbs 10-15 (e.g. 10:1, 4, 5) reveals
that many
of the sentences go beyond mere empirical observation to being
motivationally directive. Thus one must
be careful to dissociate the broad
deep-structure category of motivation from Gemser's
grammatical motive
clause. This distinction is critical. When looking at motivation in the sen-
tences it is imperative to penetrate below the
surface motive clauses in order
to
isolate how the sages actually motivated.
A deep-structure analysis may
provide a
link between the sentence (Aussage) and
admonition (Mahnwort)
genres. (3) Postel notes
that "the to'eba [abomination] clause, so
frequent in
Old
Testament legislation, does not occur in the motive clauses of Prov-
erbs."21 Yet such
"abomination sayings" are found in the sentences but not in
explicit
motive clauses (11:1, 20; 12:22; 15:8, 9; 17:15; 20:10).22 A deep-
structure
analysis would uncover the motivational intent of these abomina-
tion sayings, while Postel's
surface motive clause analysis has missed the
connection. (4) After a deep-structure analysis was
performed on the sen-
tences, many of the same motivational themes
arose that occurred in the ex-
plicit motive clauses of Proverbs 1-9. This provides some verification for the
proposed
methodology.
IV. METHODOLOGY
Raymond Van Leeuwen
has insightfully harnessed the deep-structure
binary
analysis of Dundes by breaking the proverbial
sentence into a topic
and
comment (e.g. topic: "A wise son"; comment: "brings his father
joy"
[Prov 10:la]).23 The semantic relationship between the
topic and comment
is
specified below. A couple of examples
will illustrate the method. First,
the line
is broken up into topic/comment and then the semantic deep-
structure
relationship and valences (+/-) between the topic and comment
are
identified:
19Ibid. 28; Nel, Structure 29.
20Zimmerli,
"Structure" 183. Nel also mentions
the need for a meaning-based analysis of
the
motive clauses rather than merely a grammatical approach.
21Postel, Form
146.
22von Rad, Wisdom 115; R. Murphy, Wisdom Literature
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981) 69.
23R. Van Leeuwen,
Context and Meaning in Proverbs 25-27 (Atlanta: Scholars, 1988) 48-
52; C.
Fontaine, Traditional Sayings in the Old Testament: A Contextual Study (
mond, 1982) 34-38; A. Dundes,
"On the Structure of the Proverb," Analytic Essays in Folklore
(ed. Dundes; The Hague/Paris:
Mouton, 1975) 103-118.
MOTIVATION
AND ANTITHETIC PARALLELISM IN PROVERBS 10-15 437
Topic Comment
Prov 10:1
A wise
son (+ character) brings joy to his father (+ consequence);
a
foolish son (- character) is a grief to his mother (- consequence).
+ Character --> + Consequence (10:1a)
(CS) ++
- Character --> - Consequence (10:1b) (CS) --
It should be
clear from Postel's categories listed above that the conse-
quence, while not in a Gemserian
motive clause, acts as a motivation
drawing the
son to be wise and driving him from becoming foolish. Its mo-
tivational force is unleashed by exposing the son to
the emotive conse-
quences, whether joy or sorrow, that his
character will have on his parents
(expectational aspect of
motivation).
Topic Comment Prov
11:5
He who puts
up security for will
surely suffer (- consequence);
another (- act)
whoever
refuses to strike hands is
safe (+ consequence).
in pledge (+ act)
-
Act --> -Consequence (11:15a)
(AS)--
+ Act --> + Consequence (11:15b) (AS)++
In Prov 11:15 there is no motive clause, and yet its clear motivational in-
tent is
to avoid suffering harm (11:15a) and to maintain one's safety
(11:15b). In the Appendix
there is a semantic classification of the types of
deep-structure motives used in the sentence literature. Many of the mo-
tives used in the explicit motive clauses of
Proverbs 1-9 are reiterated,
confirming our
hypothesis that the sentences are motivational in charac-
ter even though an explicit motive clause has
not been employed.
V. DEEP-STRUCTURE CLASSIFICATION RESULTS
In specifying the relationship between
the topic and comment, most of
the
sentences fit into one of the following eight categories:24
Frequency Examples
Character Consequence (CS) (152)
10:2b, 3a, 6a
Act (CA) (70) 10:12a,
14a
Evaluation (CE) (16)
10:20a; 11:1a
Character Consequence (CS) (152)
supra
Act (AS) (62) 10:17a,
19a
Item (IS)
(12) 13:2a,
8a
24R. B. Y. Scott, Proverbs
(Garden City: Doubleday, 1965) 5-7; J. Berezov, Single-Line
Proverbs: A
Study of the Sayings Collected in Proverbs 10-22:16 and 25-29 (dissertation;
Fontaine, Traditional
66-68.
438 JOURNAL OF THE EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY
Item Evaluation (IE) (7) 10:15a;
13:19a
Act (AE)
(13) 11:30b; 12:1a
Character
(CE) (16) supra
Appearance Reality (PR) (4)
13:7; 14:13
While von Rad and others have emphasized the Act -->Consequence connec-
tion (62 found in Proverbs 10-15) as wisdom's
core, the statistics reveal
that
other frameworks may be more central (e.g. Character -->Consequence
[152] or Character -->Act [70]). Thus the first major hypothesis of this
paper
is that
Character -->Consequence is closer than Act -->Consequence to the
central core
of the proverbial sentences.25
VI. THE MOTIVATION FOR ANTITHETIC PARALLELISM
Looking at the list of motives, we may
suggest another hypothesis. The
binary valencing of the motivational items that Postel has labeled "promis-
sory" and "dissuasive" might
better be coordinated with modern motivation
literature
(promissory-->approach motivation; dissuasive-->avoidance mo-
tivation).26 This binary valencing, as Van Leeuwen and pareimologists
Dundes and
Milner have noted, is descriptive of proverbial literature
cross-culturally.27
Many of the proverbial sentences are beautifully bal-
anced with an approach motivation drawing
("brings joy to a father,"
10:1a) and
an avoidance motivation driving away ("is a grief to his
mother,"
10:1b).
It is interesting that Kersovec's
monograph on antithesis failed to treat
antithesis in
the proverbial sentences. Although he
acknowledges that
Proverbs
contains "the greatest number of antithetic parallelisms," he de-
murs that they are "neither stimulating
nor rewarding."28 Why should the
sages in
producing wisdom literature show such a preference for antithetic
structures (90%
of Proverbs 10-15; cf. also Psalms 1, 73)?29 Several hy-
potheses may be suggested. Atkinson and the
massive literature on the
psychology of
motivation conclude that there is an additive relationship
between
approach and avoidance motivation.30
This paper contends that
antithesis
provides a perfect psycholinguistic structure for doubling the
motivational potency of the sentences by combining in an additive sense
25Cf. Berezov,
Single-Line 84; J. Gladson, Retributive
Paradoxes in Proverbs 10-29 (disser-
tation;
26J. Atkinson and D. Birch, An Introduction to Motivation (
1978) 239,
288-289.
27Van Leeuwen,
Context 48; Fontaine, Traditional 34-36; G. Milner,
"Quadripartite Struc-
tures, Proverbium
14 (1969) 379-383.
28J. Kersovec,
Antithetic Structure in Biblical Hebrew Poetry (Leiden:
Brill, 1984) 17.
29U. Skladny,
Die altesten Spruchsammlungen
in
Ruprecht, 1962) 68; Berezov, Single-Line 84.
30Atkinson and Birch, Introduction
50-52.
MOTIVATION
AND ANTITHETIC PARALLELISM IN PROVERBS 10-15
439
approach and
avoidance motivations (10:1, 3, 5; 142/184 = 77% of Proverbs
10-15 are
approach/avoidance type). Rather than
being nonmotivationally
oriented
because the sentences lack surface motive clauses, the deep-
structure
analysis suggests that the sage's use of antithetic structure is
extremely
potent motivationally.
VII. PROVERBS AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MOTIVATION
The final area of discussion involves the
nature of motivation in Prov-
erbs in light of the vast literature on the
psychology of motivation.31 A
brief
browsing of the Appendix reveals the wide range of ways in which
the
sage/father motivates his student/son. It is interesting, for example,
how well
Bandura's social learning theory of modeling fits the
sage's ap-
proach: attention processes ("Listen, my
son") --> + retention processes ("do
not
forget") --> + motor reproduction processes (Proverbs 5 and 7 walk the
son
through the situation with the admonition "do this") and motivational
processes
(abundance of motive clauses in Proverbs 1-9).32
VIII. APPROACHES TO MOTIVATION
Motivational studies treat the initiation,
intensity, direction and per-
sistence of behavior.33 Motivational theory has gone far beyond naive
he-
donism (pleasure/pain as motivators) through Hullian drive reduction
theory
(drive x habit) to the more cognitive value x expectancy (incentive)
theories,
including achievement, attribution, and intrinsic motivational
theories.34
Proverbs does
not ignore the basic motivational drives (hunger,
10:3b;
13:25; 15:15b, 17a; harm, 10:7b, 15b, 16b, 29b, 31b; death, 10:21b,
27b; 11:3b,
19b; 13:9b). Indeed Maslow's
hierarchy of needs and motiva-
tion in Proverbs intersects at many points.35 Heider noted that
man has
two
basic needs: to understand his world, and to control it.36 Both of these
are
employed motivationally in Proverbs.
Proverbs, however, goes beyond drives to
tap the student's cognitive
evaluations. Proverbs affirms man's ability to choose and
unleashes a
31D. McClelland, Human
Motivation (Glenview: Scott, Foresman, 1985); B.
Weiner, Human
Motivation (New York: Holt, 1980); J. Houston, Motivation
(New York: Macmillan, 1985); At-
kinson and Birch, Introduction.
32Cf. Houston, Motivation
334; A. Bandura, Social Learning Theory (
Prentice-Hall, 1977) 23.
33Houston, Motivation
6-7; Atkinson and Birch, Introduction.
34For Hullian
theory cf. Atkinson and Birch, Introduction 47, 15-16;
192-209; for
value expectancy theory cf.
duction 75; for achievement motivation cr.
McClelland, Human; for attribution theory cf.
Weiner, Human;
for intrinsic motivation cr.
Determination
in Human Behavior (New
York: Plenum, 1985); M. Lepper and D. Greene, The
Hidden Costs
of Reward: New Perspectives on the Psychology of Human Motivation (Hillsdale:
Erlbaum, 1978).
35Houston, Motivation
215-216.
36Ibid. 255.
440 JOURNAL OF THE EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY
whole
cluster of motivational incentives-not only rousing personal drives
but also
social concerns (friendships, 14:20; honor/disgrace, 12:8; 14:18;
15:33;
status, 12:24; blessing/curse, 11:26; 14:17b, 21b, 22b), altruistic con-
cern for others (10:21a; 12:18; 15:4) and
theological motivations (14:2;
14:31; cf.
Appendix).37
Gordon is correct that the ultimate motive is life
(8:32-36).38 Self-preservation,
the desire for well-being and the avoidance
of harm
underlie much proverbial motivation.
Rather than demeaning
such
motivational forces by labeling them as adolescent or crassly egocen-
tric, such "worldly" motivations
need to be embraced as having been uti-
lized in Proverbs, the law (Deuteronomy 28;
Leviticus 26), and even the
NT (cf. Austgen's demonstration of such "worldly"
motivation in the
Pauline
epistles: 1 Tim 5:23; Titus 2:5; cf. Matt 6:33; Acts 16:3).39
IX. COGNITIVE MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS
Atkinson's “value x expectancy” theory may
be summarized by the for-
mula Ms x Ps x Ins ([individual's motive for
success = Ms] x [probability of
success
(task difficulty) = Ps] x [incentive = Ins]).40 When
the Mf> Ms (mo-
tive to avoid failure > motive to achieve
success) a person will attempt to
avoid
failure. On the other hand when the Ms
> Mf a person will strive for
success. Motivational theorists have discovered an
inverted U-shaped
curve
relating optimal arousal level, task difficulty, and risk levels.41 If
tasks are
too easy (Ps high) or impossible (Ps too low) motivation will be
minimal, but
if the task is mid-range the motivational challenge will be
maximized. Wisdom is both challenging and costly (Prov 4:7-8). She is
not,
however, unattainable but graciously offers herself to those who will
pursue her
(1:20-33; 9:1-5). In order to shape
character, wisdom digitizes
reality into
discreet, well-defined choices. This
helps the son to recognize
more
easily characterological patterns of behavior, making
choices more
accessible although
by no means easily attained.
The proverbial sentences use
approach/approach incentives (better-
than
proverbs: Prov 22:1, 4), avoidance/approach (most
antithetic sen-
tences: 10:1, 3, 5), and avoidance/avoidance
(22:16; 21:27; cf. Atkinson's
concept of
"negaction" or inhibitory motivation).42 Through the use of an-
tithetic parallelism the sages maximize the
motivational forces by pre-
senting the negative and positive consequences of
both wisdom and folly.
Thus the
approach motivation draws the son to the desired wise choice
(10:la), while the avoidance motivation in the next line drives
the son
away from
the corresponding foolish choice (10:1b).
37R. N. Gordon,
"Motivation in Proverbs," Biblical Theology 25 (1975) 55-56.
38Ibid. 54.
39R.
Austgen, Natural Motivation in the Pauline
Epistles (
Dame, 1966).
40Atkinson
and Birch, Introduction 94-96;
41Atkinson
and Birch, Introduction 65, 106;
42Atkinson
and Birch, Introduction 50-53.
MOTIVATION
AND ANTITHETIC PARALLELISM IN PROVERBS 10-15 441
X. ATTRIBUTION THEORY MOTIVATION
Weiner and others have stressed the
importance of attribution theory
in
motivational studies.43 The
basic premise of the theory is that man is
motivated to
seek causes.44 This aspect of
motivational theory is sensitive
to the
personal attributions made after a task success or failure (why I
succeeded/failed = ability, effort, luck, task difficulty).45 It is noted that
success for
males leads to effort attributions while they favor ability
praise as
informational. Females, on the other
hand, make ability attribu-
tions more naturally but they prefer effort
praise, perceiving ability praise
as
controlling.46 Thus, some
tasks are ego-involving (resulting in attribu-
tions about ability, feeling controlled and
high personal risk), while others
are
merely task-involving (attributions made about task difficulty, more
informational, less risky).47
Though Proverbs relates many tasks to
character (10:3, 5) and hence is
ego-involving, one must clearly note that the sentences' third-person style
is more
informationally directive, leaving the choice to the
son. These
choices
result in character attributions and consequences (10:5, 18, 23, 32;
11:12-13;
cf. Appendix, evaluations section). By
teaching these proverbial
sentences the
sage builds an attributional set into his
student. When the
student
engages in a particular behavior, having internalized the evalua-
tive wisdom grid, he will be able to reward
himself by evaluating his
choices as
wise or foolish.48
Proverbs also builds the son's internal
locus of control.49 He must choose.
The outside
forces do not determine his character.
Thus the father avoids
a
learned helplessness response where the son gives up because the situa-
tion has a locus of control beyond his
ability.50 This internal
control builds
the
son's self-esteem, which is critical to all forms of motivation as the son
realizes he
must take charge of his world through making responsible
43Weiner, Human 275-277.
44Houston, Motivation
254-255.
45Ibid. 256.
46R. Koestner,
M. Zuckerman and J. Koestner, "Attributional Focus of Praise and Chil-
dren's Intrinsic Motivation: The Moderating Role
of Gender," Personality and Social Bulletin
15/1 (1989)
61-72; C. Dweck, "Motivational Processes
Affecting Learning," American Psycholo-
gist
41/10 (1986) 10-43; C. Sansone, "A Question of
Competence: The Effects of Competence
and Task
Feedback on Intrinsic Interest," Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology 51/5
(1986)
918-931.
47S. Harter, "A Model of
Mastery Motivation in Children: Individual Differences and Devel-
opmental Change," Aspects of the
Development of Competence: The
Child
Psychology 14 (ed. W.
A. Collins; Hillsdale: Erlbaum, 1981) 252; Koestner,
"Attribu-
tional" 384.
48Sansone,
"Question" 918.
49Atkinson and Birch, Introduction
140; B. Earn, "Intrinsic Motivation as a Function of Ex-
trinsic Financial Rewards and Subjects' Locus of
Control," Journal of Personality 50/3 (1982)
360-363; D. Tzuriel and H. C. Haywood, "Locus of Control and Child
Rearing Practices in In-
trinsically Motivated and Extrinsically Motivated
Children," Psychological Reports 57 (1985)
888; J. Condry, "Enemies of Exploration: Self-Initiated Versus
Other-Initiated Learning," Jour-
nal of Personality and Social Psychology 35/7 (1977) 459-477.
50Houston, Motivation
276.
442 JOURNAL OF THE EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY
choices. The
ultimate results/consequences, however, must be released in
the fear
of the Lord, whose ways are beyond calculation (1:7; 21:31; 20:24).
XI. EXTRINSIC/INTRINSIC MOTIVATION
Deci has
championed the notion of the possible undermining effects of ex-
trinsic motivation.51 It has been found that if a child is paid
money (extrinsic
reward) to
engage in a particular behavior (puzzles) he will make the mental
attribution that
he is doing the puzzles not because they are enjoyable but
because he
is being paid (overjustification).52 Once the payments stop, the
behavior will
be quickly extinguished. But if the
child does a puzzle without
pay, he
will tell himself that the reason he is doing it is because it is inter-
esting.
This intrinsic motivation leads to greater creativity and persis-
tence.53 At the core of intrinsic motivation is a
feeling of self-determination
and
autonomy. Some of this seems to be
developmental since young children
are more
intrinsically motivated than adolescents.54
Superficially, Proverbs appears to be
extrinsic in its motivational orien-
tation (10:3).
The notions of self-determination are highlighted, however,
as each
sentence presents the student with a choice whereby he is able to
determine his own
character and consequences. While
Proverbs utilizes
the
potency of extrinsic rewards (e.g. wealth/poverty), it highlights such
intrinsic
benefits of character development as that its own reward is more
valuable than
rubies (4:7; 31:10; cf. evaluation section in the Appendix).
Indeed,
wisdom itself is used as a motivating goal (11:2b; 13:20a; 14:6-7,
18, 23;
15:33). Again the point is to build
informational Gestalts for mak-
ing self-attributions rather than to control,
which will result in resentment
and lack
of internalization.55
Some have empirically established that
the impact of others-oriented
motivation
leads to more empathic and altruistic behavior.56 Proverbs
clearly
employs this type of motivational strategy (10:21; 12:18; 13:22;
14:25; 15:4;
cf. Appendix).
XII. MOTIVATION AND EMOTION
Lastly, the bond between emotions and
motivation links the affective do-
main with
values motivation at the levels of the individual (10:28a; 12:20b;
15:23a),
others (10:1; 11:10; 15:30a) and even for Yahweh (11:1, 20; 12:2,22;
51Deci and Ryan, Intrinsic; Lepper and Greene, Hidden; Condry,
"Enemies."
52M. Lepper, D.
Greene and R. Nisbett, "Undermining Children's
Intrinsic Interest with
Extrinsic
Reward," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 28/1 (1973)
129-130.
53T. Amabile,
"Motivation and Creativity: Effects of Motivational Orientation on
Creative
Writers,"
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 48/2 (1985) 393-399.
54Harter,
"Model" 237.
55M. L. Hoffman, "Parent Discipline and
the Child's Moral Development," Journal of Per-
sonality and Social Psychology 5 (1967) 45-57.
56L. Kuczynski,
"Reasoning, Prohibitions, and Motivations for Compliance," Developmental
Psychology 19/1 (1983) 126-128.
MOTIVATION
AND ANTITHETIC PARALLELISM IN PROVERBS 10-15 443
15:8-9, 26)
Emotional anticipation is a key factor in the motivation of be-
havior.
The connection of values motivation and affective responses warns
against a
cognitive belittling of the emotions.
Wisdom also includes such re-
sponses as desirable and functional in
motivational contexts.57
XIII. CONCLUDING SUMMARY
This paper has proposed a methodology for
exposing the motivational
forces
hidden in the sentence literature deep structures that often lack ex-
plicit Gemserian
motive clauses. It has been suggested
that rather than
seeing act
--> + consequence as the core of the proverbial sentences, charac-
ter --> + consequence may be closer to its
center.
A motivationally based explanation was
given for the sages' frequent
use of
antithetic parallelisms. This poetic
structure often unleashes a pow-
erful motivation combination: approach (10:1a)
+ avoidance (10:1b).
While the discussion of the psychology of
motivation and proverbial
motivation has
merely been introduced, it is hoped that it will be found to
be a
fertile frontier for further exploration.
Drive reduction, cognitive ex-
pectancies, characterological
attributions, and intrinsic/extrinsic motiva-
tional strategies, as well as the nexus between
emotion and motivation,
provide rich
areas for further study.
Much of the motivation literature reveals
the need for a value-based
motivational theory that can promote moral/faith development.58 Proverbs
presents a
value-based motivation that includes a rich variety of intrinsic
and
extrinsic motivations including personal this-worldly, altruistic/socio-
logical and
theological motives. Indeed, both God
and the teachers/sages of
57
nition," Psychological Review 74
(1967) 29-39; I. J. Roseman, "Cognitive
Determinants of Emo-
tion: A Structural Theory," Review of
Personality and Social Psychology 5 (1984); N. L. Stein
and L.
J. Levine, "Making Sense Out of Emotion: the Representation and Use of
Goal-
Structured
Knowledge," Psychological and Biological Approaches to Emotion (ed.
Stein, B. Lev-
enthal and T. Trabasso;
Hillsdale: Erlbaum, 1990) 45-73.
58 L. Kohlberg, Essays on Moral
Development: The Philosophy of Moral Development (New
tian Belief (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1985); J. Fowler, Stages of Faith (
1981); C. Dystra and S. Parks, Faith Development and Fowler (
tion, 1986).
444 JOURNAL OF THE EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY