Archive for the ‘Proverbs’ Category

  • E100-45: Proverbs 16:1 – 18:24: What are proverbs or what is Proverbs?

    Feb 25, 14 • E100, ProverbsComments Off on E100-45: Proverbs 16:1 – 18:24: What are proverbs or what is Proverbs?
    E100-45: Proverbs 16:1 – 18:24: What are proverbs or what is Proverbs?

    Proverbs are pithy sayings. Short, thought-provoking, often using vivid imagery proverbs work by making you think. But they are often used as a source of quick simple answers. The book of Proverbs is a collkection of loads of such sayings with a long preface and short epilogue that encourage young men to meditate on this [&hellip...

  • Genres of Poetry in Scripture

    Sep 25, 13 • 1 Samuel, Deuteronomy, Ecclesiastes/Qohelet, Genesis, Genre, Isaiah, Job, Judges, Numbers, Prophets, ProverbsComments Off on Genres of Poetry in Scripture
    Genres of Poetry in Scripture

    This podcast may benefit from a set of notes, either as an alternative to the audio/screencast or as a reminder (since has a high information content). It is also longer and less fun than most, so if you like miss it out unless later in the series you need to come back to it for [&hellip...

  • When Bible passages contradict each other

    May 2, 13 • Ezra, Isaiah, Proverbs, ReadingComments Off on When Bible passages contradict each other
    When Bible passages contradict each other

    The flat out contradictions in Scripture make Bible readers jumpy.Conservatives seek to defend the “integrity” of Scripture by denying that there is any (even the slightest) disagreement, those on the other side delight in the “proof” that the Bible is merely a collection of venerable ancient texts of no relevance today. Both responses are dead [&hellip...

  • Proverbs as a gendered text: Proverbs 31:10ff.

    Sep 6, 11 • Gender, Proverbs4 Comments
    Proverbs as a gendered text: Proverbs 31:10ff.

    The poem in Prov 31:10ff. has been read in various ways, by men and by women, as an oppressive and as a liberating text. I will suggest two clues to making sense of the poem. The first is to read it in the context of the book of Proverbs (and not as an isolated poem), and [&hellip...

  • Proverbs as a gendered text

    Sep 3, 11 • Gender, Proverbs3 Comments
    Proverbs as a gendered text

    While it is quite clear that Proverbs is a gendered text, the way it speaks of women is interesting. For a text coming from an ancient patriarchal society human women who serve as aspirational models are a surprise. No doubt any real Feminist would instantly switch into “pedestal” mode, but I think it’s worth pausing [&hellip...

  • Humour in the Bible: book 20 Proverbs

    Jul 12, 11 • Humour, ProverbsComments Off on Humour in the Bible: book 20 Proverbs
    Humour in the Bible: book 20 Proverbs

    There certainly should certainly be humour in Proverbs, after all the books says: A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. (Proverbs 17:22) And sure enough when I went humour-hunting Google quickly fitted me up with Hershey H. Friedman, he used to be Bernard H. Stern Professor of Humor [&hellip...

  • E100-44: Proverbs 1:1 – 4:27: Where is wisdom to be found?

    Jun 17, 10 • E100, ProverbsComments Off on E100-44: Proverbs 1:1 – 4:27: Where is wisdom to be found?
    E100-44: Proverbs 1:1 – 4:27: Where is wisdom to be found?

    Most of Proverbs contains collections of proverbs (pithy sayings about life) but the book has a nine chapter prologue and a half chapter epilogue. The epilogue is a poem describing an ideal(ised) wife. The prologue seeks to motivate the student (a young male – notice all the “my son” language) to follow his mother’s advice [&hellip...

  • E100 Week 9: Psalms and Proverbs

    Jun 13, 10 • E100, Genre, Proverbs, PsalmsComments Off on E100 Week 9: Psalms and Proverbs
    E100 Week 9: Psalms and Proverbs

    This week’s 5 is a somewhat artificial collection, putting together two different things. Yet both Psalms and Proverbs work differently from the narrative/history and prophecy that comprise the bulk of the Old Testament, and both are used a lot by Christians along with Genesis and Isaiah (while most of the Old Testament lies unread the [&hellip...

  • Jesus as fulfilment of Scripture: Slavery and Spanking

    Jesus as fulfilment of Scripture: Slavery and Spanking

    This ‘cast continues the theme of Jesus as the “fulfilment” of Scripture, looking at one topic that’s been settled for decades, and another that’s as hot as today’s headlines. (At least here in NZ where a bill to criminalise parents spanking children is set to become law...