(Part 1)

JBTM Daniel I. Block
72
which to determine and secure his/her way through life.
(d) The source and foundation of the order in the universe is God himself.
Wise persons stand back and observe and listen to life as it unfolds around them, both in
human experience and in the phenomena of nature. Based on their observations, they draw
conclusions about the order in life. By definition wise persons recognize that order and
arrange their lives accordingly—which explains why they prosper, that is, they succeed in
the tasks to which they set their mind and hands. On the other hand, fools are unconcerned
about that order and therefore have no interest in modifying their lives in accordance with
that order—which explains why their lives are chaotic and futile.
However, it would be a mistake to understand the diminished grounding of ethic on
the covenant as atheistic or even deistic. Israelite and ancient non-Israelites all viewed life
from theological perspectives. This perspective is reflected in the watchword of Hebrew
wisdom:
The fear of YHWH is the first principle of knowledge (daʿat);
fools despise wisdom (ḥokmâ) and discipline (mûsār).
Variations of this theme occur in Job 28:28; Ps 111:10; Prov 1:7; 9:10; 15:33. This motto
contains in a nutshell Israelite theory of knowledge. But what is this “fear of YHWH”?
The Hebrew word, yārēʾ is capable of a wide range of meanings: “fright, dread, reverence,
trusting awe.” Indeed, it is not only occasionally associated directly either with heʾĕmîn
(“to believe,” Exod 14:31) or bāṭaḥ (“to trust”), but may actually substitute for these
words. In Gen 22 YHWH tested the faith of Abraham by demanding that he sacrifice Isaac
(v. 1), but when the divine envoy assessed Abraham’s response he declared, “Now I know
that you fear (yārēʾ) God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from
me” (v. 12). Here the word means something like “trusting awe” or “awed trust.”
Deuteronomy reinforces this interpretation in two ways. First, in 10:12–13, in catechetical
form Moses asks an extremely important question: “And now, Israel, what does YHWH
your God require of you.” He follows this up with a fivefold answer (one item for each
finger on one’s hand (Fig. 1): 3
To fear YHWH your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve YHWH your God with
all your heart and all your being, and to keep YHWH’s commands and statutes which I am
commanding you today, for your own good.
³Compare the Decalogue, which consists of ten principles of covenant relationship, one for each
digit on both hands.