Train Up a Child?

At Answers in Genesis, we uphold biblical authority by refuting biblical interpretations that bring into question the accuracy of Scripture—such as evolution, billions of years, and other naturalistic interpretations. But we also often receive questions about the interpretation of verses that aren’t directly related to our main mission of defending biblical creation. However, it is important that every Christian be able to weigh interpretations.

Many people believe Proverbs 22:6 contains a precious promise that if they raise their children in a Christian home, those children will end up believing in Christ, even if there is a rebellious period at some point. However, there is a minority interpretation that claims this proverb is aimed more toward providing an appropriate education for the child; and yet another that claims that, far from being a promise, it’s a warning! Who is right, and how can average Christians weigh these options and make educated decisions?

Three Interpretive Options

First, we should clearly define the interpretive options. First, there is the majority view that we will call the “promise” interpretation. This view believes the passage is correctly translated as it is in the ESV (quoted above) and in the majority of English versions. If parents raise their children diligently in the right path, the children will stay on that good path when they are older.

The second option we will term the “education” interpretation. Those holding this view would translate the passage something along the lines of, “Train up a child according to his nature, and even when he is old he will not depart from it.” This interpretation would exhort parents to “dedicate the child according to the physical and mental abilities of the developing youth”1 and consider the child’s maturity in giving education appropriate for his level of development.

The third option we will term the “warning” interpretation. Its proponents would translate the passage, “Train a child according to his own way, and even if he becomes old he will not depart from it.” They argue that it is a warning against letting a child persist in his own foolish notions, lest he completely fail to mature and walk the path of wisdom that Proverbs exhorts.

Authority of Scripture

One of the first things we should ask when examining options is: Do any of these interpretive options undermine the authority of the Bible?

One of the first things we should ask when examining options is: Do any of these interpretive options undermine the authority of the Bible? In other words, does an interpretation imply that Scripture is true, or does it imply that something else is more authoritative than Scripture? For instance, some people debate about what day Jesus was crucified, but all sides agree that the Gospels are authoritative; they simply interpret them differently. But someone who uses the swoon theory to argue that Jesus did not really rise from the dead is rejecting the authority of Scripture as an integral part of their view, so Christians can’t entertain that as a possible correct interpretation.

Answers in Genesis tends to take a position most often on issues where the authority of Scripture is at stake, like creation vs. evolution, sanctity of life, the accuracy of Scripture, and so on. We tend not to take positions on issues of interpretation that assume the authority of Scripture, like modes of baptism or particular eschatological stances (the fact of Christ’s future return, however, is a biblical authority position that we do hold!). Anyone who wants to know more about the issues Answers in Genesis takes a stance on can read our Statement of Faith or search our website.

In this particular instance, the debate is purely on how to interpret what Scripture is saying; all sides think we should believe Scripture, so a faithful Christian could come down on any side at this point.

Within the Context of Proverbs

It is important when examining a passage to understand the context it appears in. We interpret the six days of creation as plain, normal-length days because the context of historical narrative dictates that. But when David longs to hide in the shadow of God’s wings (Psalm 17:8), we don’t interpret that to mean that God has feathers, because David is speaking poetically about God’s protection.

Proverbs are a type of wisdom literature that expresses truths via general statements, sometimes including vivid imagery. Proverbs are sayings often formed with the poetic forms of parallelism. They communicate truth using broad generalities, so they speak about what is generally true, not true in every single case. Because they are things that are generally true, you can get proverbs that seem to say opposite things, like “Answer a fool according to his folly” (Proverbs 26:5) and “Answer not a fool according to his folly” (Proverbs 26:4), because depending on the situation, either could be true (note we’ve answered complaints of this being a contradiction).

Because the interpretation involves a young person, we should look at what Proverbs has to say about young people, generally. They must be disciplined and then given proper (and godly) instruction (Proverbs 10:8–9, 12:15, 15:5) in order to abandon the way of death (Proverbs 13:14, 14:12).

The proverb in question also includes a “way”—whether it refers to God’s way or the youth’s own way is one of the matters the different views disagree about. However, in Proverbs, there are only two ways—the way of the fear of the Lord, which leads to wisdom and life, and the way of the scoffer, which leads to foolishness and ultimately death.

At this point, we can dismiss the “education” interpretation. A young man’s natural inclination is precisely what needs to be (literally, sometimes) “beaten” out of him, according to Proverbs 13:24 and 29:15. Educating him according to that inclination would be even more foolish than leaving the young man to himself. Instead, the proverb is either exhorting parents to raise their child according to the way he should go so that when he is old he will not depart from it or it is warning parents of the consequences of not doing so. Which is it? We must gather more data.

Understanding Key Terms

The word for “train up” is transliterated as hanok or khanakh in the sources I have access to, and it has the sense of continual training (Genesis 14:14) but also of dedicating something like a house or an offering to the Lord (Numbers 7:10; Psalm 30:1; Nehemiah 12:27).2 Proponents of the promise and inclination interpretations may point to the obvious positive connotation of “dedication” and the intentionality involved in training. But the proponents of the warning interpretation focus more on the sense of the word meaning “initiate,” and argue that it simply means to start someone on a path.

The word for “child” can mean a boy or young man. It can be used for any age from infancy through young adulthood. The emphasis is on the relative immaturity of the individual and the need to be shaped by his parents. Both interpretations agree on this point.

“Way” can mean a road or a pattern of behavior. There is no “he should go” in the Hebrew—a more literal translation is “according to the way of his mouth.” Proponents of the “warning” interpretation point out that there is nothing in the context of the verse that suggests the way is a good or right way. The phrase for “the way of his mouth” is translated in Leviticus 24:12 as “the will of the Lord.”3 In the case of Proverbs 22:6, the warning interpretation suggests that “the way of his mouth” is the child’s foolish way. The proponents of this interpretation also suggest that the plainest interpretation is to take the referent “his” as “the child.”4 Furthermore, every use of this word in Proverbs without something specifying otherwise means “the way a person chooses.”5

Both interpretations stress continuing on the same path—whether the interpretation is a good or bad path—into old age. The “warning” may have a sense of “if he grows old,” since in Proverbs, foolish people often die early.

Historical Considerations

When we’re looking at how to interpret a proverb, we should see what believers throughout history thought about it. If the interpretation in question only arose within the past couple of generations, unless there’s a really good reason—like archaeological finds that shed important light on a passage—we should probably be wary.

The “promise” interpretation was the majority understanding throughout Christian history and still is today, so if we take the “warning” interpretation, it should be because there is strong evidence that people in the past have misunderstood the Hebrew. But people are fallible, so this should be a secondary consideration.

Primary Versus Tertiary Issues

Whether we take the promise or warning interpretation, the takeaway is the same—it is important not to abandon youths to the foolish way they are naturally inclined to go (Proverbs 1:29–32, 16:25).

Some issues of interpretation are critically important—for instance, those affecting the doctrine of the resurrection or the deity of Christ. Other issues, while still important because we want to have the best possible understanding of God’s Word, are less important because they don’t really impact doctrine. The interpretation of Proverbs 22:6 is one area where Christians can disagree.

Whether we take the promise or warning interpretation, the takeaway is the same—it is important not to abandon youths to the foolish way they are naturally inclined to go (Proverbs 1:29–32, 16:25). Rather, they must be trained to trust in God’s Word (Proverbs 2:1–12, 3:5–6, 9:10) and have faith in Christ (Romans 3:24–26). And the way they are raised will continue to have a lasting effect into adulthood (Proverbs 3:21–24, 4:10–12, 6:20–23).