Rels 240E Old Testament Book Study: Proverbs
Summer 2012
Ivan D. V. De Silva and Guest Lecturer Dr. Bruce K.
Waltke
Practical Leadership through the Wisdom of Proverbs
EMAIL: ivandster@gmail.com
PHONE: (604) 516-9416
COURSE DATES: August 20-24, 2012
LOCATION: TWU
COURSE DESCRIPTION & PURPOSE
The Book of Proverbs functioned as a primary document to teach the young in Israel how
to enter into and take leadership of their community. Through a dazzling variety of
methods such as impassioned homilies, urgent exhortations and short pithy aphorisms, to
name a few, the book seeks to develop the character of an individual from raw youth into
a godly, wise and righteous leader. And though the book was finally finished over twenty
three hundred years ago, its power, influence and relevance continue unabated. A simple
exercise to demonstrate the book's continuing relevancy is to note how many of its
sayings could be written beside the headlines of our newspapers.
However, the importance of Proverbs does not end with its functional role of developing
godly leaders. Along with the books of Job and Ecclesiastes, Proverbs belongs to a
unique section of the Christian Bible commonly referred to as Wisdom Literature. While
wisdom literature, as a genre, was not unique to Israel and could be found in all the major
cultures of the OT period, Israel's wisdom literature stands apart from all others in a
number of important ways.
In this course we will be seeking to accomplish the following three objectives: 1. to
introduce the student to wisdom literature as a major literary genre of the Bible; 2. to
enable the student to become a literate reader of the book of Proverbs by understanding
its history, literary character, structure and theology; 3. to empower the student to
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interpret the book of Proverbs wisely and in accordance with the book's own purpose, so
that the student may internalize the wisdom of the book and be transformed into the kind
of character the Book desires to create.
Throughout the course, the instructor will be emphasizing the place of the book of
Proverbs in the canon as well as the relevance of the book for the church and society in
the twenty first century. To this end we will be applying the wisdom of the book to
specific areas of life such as speech and communication; money and wealth; marriage
and family; justice and law.
There is pre reading required for this course.
ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS:
Before the Course:

Read the Book of Proverbs at least twice before the start of the course.

Prior to the start of the course, the student must read section VII of the
Introduction in Bruce Waltke’s commentary on Proverbs titled, ‘THEOLOGY’
(Volume 1, pages 63-133) and be prepared to write a short quiz on its contents on
the first day of class. The quiz will be a multiple choice, short answer, and fill in
the blank.
During the Course:

There will be a quiz at the start of each day that covers the material taught the
previous day. E.g. the quiz on the first day will cover the material in the
Introduction of the course text as described above, while the quiz on Tuesday will
cover the material taught on Monday, etc. The final quiz, covering the material
taught on Friday, will be emailed to the students on Saturday August 25 and will
be due on Monday August 27. (Each quiz is worth 10% for a total of 60%).
After the Course:

Each student will write a 10 page research paper commenting on the meaning of
Prov 31:1-9. A guide to how the paper ought to be written and what resources the
student should consult will be provided during the class. The paper will be due
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approximately one month (midnight September 23) after the end of the course
(40%)
Note Carefully: each student must write their own paper. While it is expected
that students will collaborate on the subject, they are not permitted to copy
each others’ work. I carefully analyze each paper for evidence of copying. If
copying is detected the student will loose the assigned mark and may receive
a letter grade of fail for the course.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
1. A good translation of the English Bible, preferably the TNIV, NRSV or NIV
2. Waltke, Bruce K. The Book of Proverbs. 2 Vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004
RECOMMENDED TEXTS:
The published literature on the book of Proverbs is vast and expanding. For a recent list
of commentaries, monographs and articles on Proverbs, the student is directed to consult
the bibliography in Waltke's commentary. Below are a few of the books on Proverbs that
the instructor recommends for the undergraduate student.

Aitken, K.T. Proverbs. The Daily Study Bible Series. Westminster and Edinburgh: Saint
Andres, 1986.

Bridges, Charles. An Exposition of Proverbs. Evansville: Sovereign Grace Book Club,
1959

Fox, Michael V. Proverbs 1-9. Anchor Bible. New York: Doubleday, 2000.

___________. Proverbs 10-31. Anchor Yale Bible. New Haven: Yale University Press,
2009.

Garrett, Duane A. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs. New American Commentary.
Nashville: Broadman, 1993.

Longman, Tremper, III. How To Read Proverbs. Downer’s Grove, Ill.: Inter Varsity
Press, 2002
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
McKane, William. Proverbs: A New Approach. Old Testament Library. Philadelphia:
Westminster Press, 1970.

Murphy, Roland E. Proverbs. Word Biblical Commentary 22. Nashville: Thomas Nelson,
1998

Ross, Allen P. Proverbs in The Expositor's Bible Commentary. Edited by F. Gaebelein.
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991.

Van Leeuwen, Raymond. Proverbs in The New Interpreter's Bible Vol 5, pp. 19-264.
Nashville: Abingdon, 1997.

Waltke, Bruce K. The Book of Proverbs (2 volumes). The New International
Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids.: Eerdmans, 2004.

Whybray, R.N. Wisdom in Proverbs: The Concept of Wisdom in Proverbs 1-9. London:
SCM, 1965.

Whybray, R.N. The Book of Proverbs. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1972.
GRADING SYSTEM
A: Outstanding, excellent work
B: Good, Competent work
C: Adequate, reasonably satisfactory work
D: Minimally acceptable work
F: Inadequate work
Letter Grade
%
Grade Point
A+
90-100
4.3
A
85-89
4.0
A-
80-84
3.7
B+
77-79
3.3
B
73-76
3.0
B-
70-72
2.7
C+
67-69
2.3
C
63-66
2.0
C-
60-62
1.7
D+
57-59
1.3
D
53-56
1.0
D-
50-52
.7
F
Below 50
0
Academic Integrity and Avoiding Plagiarism at TWU
As Christian scholars pursuing higher education, academic integrity is a core value of the entire TWU
community. Students are invited into this scholarly culture and required to abide by the principles of
sound academic scholarship at TWU. This includes, but is not limited to, avoiding all forms of
plagiarism and cheating in scholarly work. TWU has a strict policy on plagiarism (see academic
calendar, pp. 37-38). Learning what constitutes plagiarism and avoiding it is the student's
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responsibility. An excellent resource describing plagiarism and how to avoid it has been prepared by
TWU Librarian William Badke and is freely available for download (PPT file) or used as flash (self
running) tutorials of varying lengths from:



http://www.acts.twu.ca/lbr/plagiarism.ppt
http://www.acts.twu.ca/lbr/Plagiarism.swf (14 minute flash tutorial)
http://www.acts.twu.ca/lbr/Plagiarism_Short.swf (8 minute flash tutorial)
PROPOSED LECTURE SCHEDULE:
Day 1
Introduction to Course and Quiz
Ivan De Silva
Lecture 1:
Introduction to Proverbs
Lecture 2:Proverbs 1:8-19
Stay Away from Criminal Gangs!
Day 2
Special Guest Lecturer Dr. Bruce Waltke
Bruce Waltke
1. The Meaning of Righteousness in Proverbs
2. The Wisdom of Work
Day 3
Lecture 3: Prov. 1:20-33
Wisdom’s Call to the Simpletons
Ivan De Silva
Lecture 4: Prov. 2:1-22
A Father’s Advise to Safeguard his Child
Day 3 Contd.
Lecture 5: Prov. 3:1-12
Does the Book Promise Health, Wealth and
Prosperity?
Lecture 6: Prov. 5, 6, 7
Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery
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Day 4
Ivan De Silva
Lecture 7:
Proverbs and the Power of Wise Speech
Lecture 8:
The Wise Home
Lecture 9: Prov. 4: 1-26
The Value of Wisdom
Lecture 10:
Acquiring Wealth the Wise Way
Day 5
Ivan De Silva
Lecture 11:
The Wise Leader
Lecture 12: Prov. 31:10-31
The Valiant Wife
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