FROM THE HEBREW · PROVERBS 22:6
“Train up a child”: what Proverbs 22:6 says in Hebrew
Parents quote it as a promise. The Hebrew is more interesting: a word related to Hanukkah, and a phrase that may mean the child’s own way.
Key Hebrew words
Chanoch: the word behind Hanukkah
The verse opens with חֲנֹךְ, from the root חנך. Elsewhere in the Bible this root means to dedicate or inaugurate: a man who has built a new house “and hath not dedicated it” (Deuteronomy 20:5), or Solomon’s dedication of the Temple (1 Kings 8:63). The festival of Hanukkah takes its name from the rededication of the Temple. In Genesis 14:14 Abram’s chanichav are his “trained men,” ready for battle.
So “train up” is about a beginning: setting a young person on a path they will keep walking.
“In the way he should go,” or “according to his way”?
The English “in the way he should go” is an interpretation. The Hebrew עַל־פִּי דַרְכּוֹ literally says “according to his way.” Whose way, and which way? That is exactly where the commentators differ.
What the classical commentators say
Ibn Ezra: chanoch means “teach,” like Abram’s chanichav, men trained in the tools of war.
Metzudat Zion: the word means “beginning something that one will continue in,” as in Deuteronomy 20, a house not yet dedicated.
Rashi reads the verse as a warning that cuts both ways: whatever you teach the youth and train him in, “whether for good or for bad,” even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Metzudat David: begin and accustom the youth, in his young years, to walk in the service of God “according to the way of his understanding, whether little or much.”
Malbim (19th c.) finds two instructions. First, train early, because habits formed in youth leave a strong and lasting imprint. Second, train “according to his way,” because each person is suited by nature to something different, in thinking and in doing. You can see it in what the young person is drawn to. Educate toward that, and he will not leave it even in old age, “but not if you train him toward something against his nature.”
Is Proverbs 22:6 a promise?
Proverbs are observations about how life usually works, not guarantees. Rashi’s reading shows this clearly: the verse describes the power of early habit, for good or bad. It is advice about how deep early education goes, not a promise that every child will turn out a certain way.
Who is the na’ar?
The word נַעַר (na’ar) covers a wide age range. It is used of the infant Moses in the basket (Exodus 2:6) and of Joseph at seventeen (Genesis 37:2). So the verse is not only about small children. It describes anyone at the beginning of their path, the stage of life when a direction is first set.
So what does it mean today?
Read in Hebrew, Proverbs 22:6 is about dedication and fit. Start early, because beginnings shape a life. And start from who this child is, because, as Malbim says, a path that suits a person’s nature is the one they keep walking when they are old.
Frequently asked questions
What does “train up a child” mean in Hebrew?
The verb is chanoch (חֲנֹךְ), from a root meaning to dedicate, inaugurate or train. It is the root of Hanukkah. Metzudat Zion defines it as beginning something one will continue in.
What does “in the way he should go” mean in Hebrew?
The Hebrew al pi darko (עַל־פִּי דַרְכּוֹ) literally means “according to his way.” Malbim reads it as according to the child’s nature and aptitude; Metzudat David, according to his level of understanding.
Is Proverbs 22:6 a promise?
Proverbs describe how life generally works rather than guarantees. Rashi reads the verse as an observation that early training lasts, whether for good or for bad.
How is Proverbs 22:6 related to Hanukkah?
Both come from the Hebrew root חנך, to dedicate. Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the Temple; chanoch in Proverbs is dedicating a young person to a path.
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Sources: Hebrew text from the Masoretic text; English from The Holy Scriptures according to the Masoretic Text (Jewish Publication Society, 1917, public domain). Commentaries (Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Radak, Metzudat David, Metzudat Zion, Malbim and others) quoted from their Hebrew originals, in our own translation. Lexical notes from Brown-Driver-Briggs and Strong’s.