8 The disciple is exhorted to heed parental guidance. Youths are in the greatest need of admonition—the passions are strong, self-confidence is growing, and group acceptance is important—but the experience of real life has not yet tempered them. “My son,” the customary form of address for a disciple, derives from the idea that parents are responsible for moral instruction (4:3–4; cf. Dt 6:7). Here the disciple is to respond (šemaʿ; “Listen” [NIV], with the attitude of “taking heed to”) to “discipline” (mûsār; “instruction,” NIV), which is normally the father’s responsibility (except in Pr 31:1, where it is the warning of the mother).
The son is also to follow his “mother’s teaching.” Tôrâ (“teaching”) may be cognate to a verb meaning “to point, direct” (cf. BDB, 434–35), so that the idea of teaching can be illustrated as pointing in the right direction (see Ge 46:28). At any rate, in Proverbs this instruction is for ordering the life (see also 6:20; 31:26).[1]
1:8 The first seven chapters are largely addressed to “My son”; the expression occurs about 15 times. In these chapters, we hear the heartbeat of a parent who wants the best in life for his child. By heeding this parental advice, a young person will avoid life’s booby traps and develop expertise in practical, everyday affairs.
How much we owe to the influence of godly parents, and especially godly mothers! Henry Bosch reminds us:
Many great men of the past have been richly blessed by what they learned at their mother’s knee. Consider Moses, Samuel, and Timothy. The maternal care and godly influence experienced by these spiritual leaders bore rich fruit in their lives. Think too of Augustine, John Newton, and the zealous Wesley brothers. Their names would probably never have lighted the pages of history if it hadn’t been for the godly women who raised them in homes where the law of love and Christian witness was their daily guide and inspiration.[2]
1:8. The words my son (and “my sons”) are used frequently in the first nine chapters and four times in 22:17–24:34. They probably refer to Solomon’s own son(s), not to students of a sage, because of the reference to their mother in 1:8. (For more information on this matter see “Addressees” in the Introduction.) Listen is commanded several times (4:1, 10, 20; 5:1, 7; 7:24; 8:32; 19:20; 22:17; 23:19, 22). Teaching renders the Hebrew word tôrâh, usually translated “Law.” When used, as here, with a specific person (e.g., mother) it is translated “teaching” (cf. 3:1; 4:2; 6:20; 13:14). Since parents in ideal Jewish homes taught their children God’s Law (cf. Deut. 6:4–7), the same word (tôrâh) was used both for the Law and for instruction in it.[3]
1:8my son. On the address to a particular son, see the discussion of “concreteness” in Introduction: Literary Features. your father’s instruction … your mother’s teaching. Coming directly after the prologue (vv. 1–7), this verse begins the first section by indicating that the training in wisdom referred to in Proverbs includes instruction in the home by father and mother (see also 6:20; 23:22; 31:26; cf. Ex. 20:12).
1:8 Listening to parents is one aspect of honoring them, which is an abiding principle (Ex. 20:12; Eph. 6:1–3). Within the church we are now to have specifically Christian instruction of children (Eph. 6:4). The archetype for this obedient listening is found in the relation of the Son of God to the Father (John 8:28–29).[4]
1:8My child, may you keep your father’s instruction The wisdom of Proverbs is presented as a father teaching his son (2:1; 3:1; 4:10; 5:1; 6:20). Passed down through generations (4:3–4), these teachings resemble the commands of the law (Deut 6:7).[5]
1:8 The teaching in chapters 1–9 is regularly presented as instruction from a parent to a child, and this shows that obedience is one important aspect of honoring one’s father and mother (Ex 20:12; Lv 19:3; Dt 5:16). Proverbs sees parents as agents through which God’s wisdom comes to a child. These exhortations presuppose that the parents’ instruction reflects God’s truth.[6]
1:8 On instruction, see “discipline” in note at v. 2. Teaching implies a person of authority passing on moral guidelines; in other contexts the same word means “law” (28:4, 7, 9; cp. Dt 4:44). The reader should not make too much of the pairing of instruction with the father and teaching with the mother. Splitting them is merely an aspect of Hebrew poetry (Pr 4:3; 6:20; 19:26; 23:22; 30:11, 17). Both parents participated in this homeschooling.[7]
[1] Ross, A. P. (2008). Proverbs. In T. Longman III, Garland David E. (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Proverbs–Isaiah (Revised Edition) (Vol. 6, p. 51). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[2] MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) (pp. 792–793). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[3] Buzzell, S. S. (1985). Proverbs. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 908). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 1136). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[5] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Pr 1:8). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[6] Cabal, T., Brand, C. O., Clendenen, E. R., Copan, P., Moreland, J. P., & Powell, D. (2007). The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith (p. 920). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Stabnow, D. K. (2017). Proverbs. In E. A. Blum & T. Wax (Eds.), CSB Study Bible: Notes (p. 954). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
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