What it Means to "Train Up a Child"

Recently, I chaired a panel discussion on the topic of parenting at River Church FMC, where I serve as Family Ministries Director. We called it “Train Up a Child,” the first words of Proverbs 22:6 in the King James Version, which is followed by both ESV and NASB.[1]

The verse reads in full as follows:

Train up a child in the way he should go:

and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (KJV)

But the translations are not real clear on how to understand the Hebrew text behind these words (ḥănōk lanna‘ar).

NAB	NRSV	NIV (2011)
Train the young in the way they should go; even when old, they will not swerve from it	Train children the right way, and when old, they will not stray.	Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

The verse seems simple enough, right? But, when we start asking questions, it becomes less clear as to exactly what this adage is suggesting.

What does it mean to “train” a child?

An athlete trains by engaging in certain exercises that helps them reach their highest potential in performance. A soldier trains through physical and mental exercises, using their weapons, and mastering their specific skill—whether it’s flying a jet, driving a tank, or programming a computer. A musician trains by repeatedly rehearsing key strokes and finger placement, practicing the most difficult measures until they’re second nature.

But, what does it mean to train a child?

The Hebrew root behind verb “train” is ḥnk (חנךְ). Of the 49 times in which the root appears, 18 refers to the palate (ḥēk; חֵךְ), 15 pertains to the personal name Enoch (ḥănôk; חְַנוֹךְ), and twice with reference to the toponym Enoch (ḥănôk; חְַנוֹךְ). Of the remaining 14 uses, it is used as verb only five times, including Prov 22:6. In each of the other four instances, it clearly refers to a dedication. In fact it is the same word from which we get the word Hanukah, or Feast of Dedication. It is this sense of dedication, whether altars (Num 7:10, 2 Chron 7:9), walls (Neh 12:27), or the temple (Ps 30:1) that accounts for eight of the remaining nine occurrence of the root. The final occurrence is found in Gen 14:14, when Lot was taken captive by a coalition of kings. His uncle Abram led a group of ḥānîk (חָנִיךְ) men. Most translations say these men were “trained,” but since each of these men were born in Abram’s house, perhaps “dedicated” fits better. Moreover, Cain’s son Enoch was named after a city. It seems more likely that the city would be called “dedicated” rather than “trained.”

ḥēk; חֵךְ	ḥănôk; חְַנוֹךְ	ḥănukkâ חְַנֻכָּה	ḥānak חָנַךְ (verb)	ḥănōkî חְַנֹכִי	ḥānîk חָנִיךְ
palate 18x	Enoch (PN) 15x Enoch (TP) 2x	Dedication 8x	dedicate 4x ? 1x	Hanochite 1x	? 1x

In other words, it’s unclear what the training in Prov. 22:6 entails, and whether it’s training at all. Perhaps what the proverb has in mind is not a particular regiment, but a commitment on the part of the parents to present this child before the Lord as a dedication.

In what way should the child go?

There are three basic interpretations of the training of the child.

1. The training should be based on the child’s nature and personality; that is, according to the child’s way.[2]
2. The training should be in a matter appropriate for a child; that is, according to societal norms for child-rearing.^[3]
3. The training should be done the according to a specific method; that is, according to God’s way of doing things.[4]

Of these three options, interpretation #3 seems to fit best with the overall theme of Proverbs. The book opens with an outline for the collection’s purpose:

²For learning about wisdom and instruction,
   for understanding words of insight,³for gaining instruction in wise dealing,
   righteousness, justice, and equity;⁴to teach shrewdness to the simple,
   knowledge and prudence to the young—⁵let the wise also hear and gain in learning,
   and the discerning acquire skill,⁶to understand a proverb and a figure,
   the words of the wise and their riddles.⁷The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
   fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Moreover, the book is set out as a set of instructions for wise living, passed down from instructor to student, from parent to child.

[source: Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii 

Collection (Library of Congress), WikiCommons]

So, in the scope of the book of Proverbs it seems that the parents are dedicating themselves to the faithful teaching of the fear of the Lord.

What does Prov 22:6 promise?

Too often I have heard various proverbs cited as promised from God. But that’s not how proverbs operate. Proverbs are common expressions used to express a universal truth in broad, but memorable strokes. Proverbs are sometimes contradictory, like Prov. 26:4–5.

⁴Do not answer fools according to their folly,
  or you will be a fool yourself.⁵Answer fools according to their folly,
  or they will be wise in their own eyes.

So, it takes wisdom to know when to apply proverbs to various situation. Proverbs are based on observation and experience. They are not legal guarantees from God. 

If parents dedicate themselves to raising children who fear the Lord, experience shows that these children will likely continue to walk with God throughout life. The book of Proverbs is a guidebook for providing the best opportunities to succeed in doing that, but it doesn’t guarantee it.

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[1] The similarity between KJV, ESV and NRSV are unsurprising due to their shared pedigree. For a helpful chart of the English Bible family tree, see https://findingrightwords.wordpress.com/2016/05/26/english-bible-chart-2-0/.

[2] This view was promulgated as early as the 9^th century CE by a the Jewish scholar Saadia.

^[3] Duane A. Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, The New American Commentary 14 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1993), 187–188. See also Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament. vol 6 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 324. “The instruction of youth, the education of youth, ought to be conformed to the nature of youth; the matter of instruction, the manner of instruction, ought to regulate itself according to the stage of life, and its peculiarities; the method ought to be arranged according to the degree of development which the mental and bodily life of the youth has arrived at.”

[4] See, for example, W. McKane, Proverbs: A New Approach, Old Testament Library (London, SCM, 1970), 564. “There is only one right way – the way of life – and the educational discipline which directs young men along this way is uniform.”