Ethos of God’s wisdom and pedagogy of parental teaching in the book of Рroverbs 4:1-9

author: Andrii Yatsyshyn

 Abstract.

Relevance of the research and problem statement. The Bible provides a number of pedagogical recommendations in the context of educational processes in the family. Behind the voice of parental instruction in Prov. 4:1-9 lies the voice of God’s wisdom. There is a need for an analysis of the texts of Prov. 4:1-9, in order to fully appreciate the pedagogy of divinely inspired literature.

Analysis of recent research and publications. Pan in his dissertation analyses the text of Prov. 4:1-9 indirectly. Pinto applies the approach of Greco-Roman rhetoric to the analysis of the metaphors of Prov. 4:1-9. Pemberton focuses on three techniques of rhetoric (logos, ethos, and pathos). The analysis of publications shows that there is interest in the pedagogy of parental discourse in Prov. 4:1-9, although there is a lack of systematic study of this text.

Research task. The article aims to determine the literary and situational context of the pericope. The analysis of the pragmatic, syntactic and semantic components of the pedagogical discourse of Prov. 4:1-9 will contribute to the outline of the structure of the passage, the cohesion and internal coherence of the text. The analysis of the linguistic components of Prov. 4:1-9 is an complementary tool for mastering the pedagogical strategy of the text, which culminates in the promise of a magnificent diadem and crown of glory.

Main material presentation. The pedagogical perspective of parental instruction in Proverbs 4:1-9 is an integral part of the first part of the book of Proverbs. The progressive development of the poetics of pedagogical discourse is introduced by the first textual sequence in Prov. 4:1-3. Prov. 4:4-9 is the second textual section, which in an intense way calls for the acquisition of wisdom. In the text of Prov. 4:1-9 there is a double pedagogical ethos - of the father and of wisdom. The syntactic, semantic and pragmatic components of the passage has been considered in order to fully assess the communicative strategy of the text and its related didactic and pedagogical components.

Conclusions. The analysis of the pedagogy of the parental discourse in Prov. 4:1-9 allowed us to trace the argumentation of the text within the organic connection between poetry and pedagogy.  The theoretical conclusions of the article can become a starting point for a synoptic study of the network of parental instruction and the principles of its pedagogy in comparison with other parental instructions.

Keywords: Bible, Proverbs, ethos, wisdom, parental teaching, structure, pedagogical discourse. 

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