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How to Read the Biblical Book of Proverbs: In paragraphs
"Knowledge" in Proverbs means "firsthand, intimate experience of what God wants done"; and "wisdom" means "you are able to judge what God wants done"; and "instruction" means "the rigorous discipline of acting according to God's Will."
As a great-grandchild of the historic Reformation, Seerveld's Bible reading is one that assumes "the Bible be read as sacred Scripture." This we do in the communion of the saints, living and dead, carefully trusting the text will lead the community of faith enough to find definite direction in "the entire manner of service which God requires of us."
Such a trusting experience is crankled by practically all Proverbs commentators. They treat the text like a collection of individual sayings, loose from any defined context - a kind of anthology of nuggets of wisdom arranged in apparently random fashion for our benefit and admonition. The assumed contextlessness of the sayings collected, however, easily makes their interpretation arbitrary, truistic, or opaque.
Udo Skladny helped set the record straight, arguing that the earliest original calling of biblical proverbial wisdom is for people to respect and follow the Lord's order for everyday life, which is first of all ordering to be trusted and obeyed truly as the Lord God's will, full of blessing. So too, Ray Van Leeuwen argues: "If the text presents us with larger, unified blocks of proverbial material, the exegete possesses a much surer basis for interpretation than if only a random accretion of isolated proverbs exists." Here precisely lies the underlying thesis of this book: Expect poetic paragraphs within Proverbs, because the artful comparisons and oblique riddles are rooted historically and professionally in the office of wise leaders recounted in the Bible and have been written down by God-breathed educated literary scribes. Finding the poetic parameters in Proverbs so as to discern the unified paragraphs will open up this book of sayings (also for good preaching).
Book Details
- Publisher: Dordt College Press
- Publish Date: Jun 3rd, 2020
- Pages: 202
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 9.00in - 6.00in - 0.46in - 0.67lb
- EAN: 9781940567242
- Categories: • Biblical Studies - Old Testament - Poetry & Wisdom Literatur• Biblical Commentary - Old Testament - Poetry & Wisdom Litera
Praise for this book
Rooted in solid scholarship, written in arresting and fresh prose and inspired by a childlike trust in the Scriptures, these meditations on the biblical book of Proverbs will stir your heart to hear the voice of God in startlingly new and yet bracingly edifying ways. It is rare indeed to hear Scripture opened up and illuminated with such a combination of scholarly virtuosity, cultural immediacy and faith-full receptivity. // Al Wolters, Professor of Religion and Theology/Classical Languages, Emeritus // Redeemer University College
Reading Cal Seerveld on biblical wisdom is like taking a rocket ship to another world - strange territory, until we start to see our world from its point of view. Cal's prose is rocket fuel - How I loved to hear him talk! Cal studied Old Testament with the greatest scholars of his generation, but it's his biblical insight that surprises and rewards us again and again. Take, for example, "full-bodied knowledge" as a translation for the Hebrew דָּ֑עַת (Proverbs 1:7). That just nails it. I'm not envious, honestly, just thankful! // Ray VanLeeuwen, Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies // Eastern University
Proverbs provides rich biblical guidance and nourishment for today shaped by Seerveld's unparalleled gifts for fresh translation, gentle correctives to strengthen Bible reading habits, continual interweavings from the entire canon of Scripture, and prophetic commentary that addresses the contemporary context. These sparkling and illuminating meditations give sound sustenance for personal reflection and group conversation, as well as lifelong guidance for reading the good book. // Syd Hielema, Project Director // Connections II Project, CRCNA
We once had a chapel speaker who, most unusually for our protestant community, asked us to close our eyes. He then read several portions of the Book of Revelation out loud and then invited us to open our eyes again. For the first time, many of us saw what John was talking about. Calvin Seerveld has in effect done this for us in this beautiful set of meditations on the Book of Proverbs. Everyone, from professionals to laypersons, ought to read this book. It will bring great profit. // William Edgar, Professor of Apologetics // Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia