Proverbs
Wisdom can be taught and learned, as the instructions in Proverbs 1–9 make clear, and when utilized as strategies for dealing with typical and recurring situations in life, such as those suggested in Proverbs 10–31, they ensure both moral integrity and material prosperity. The motivation for obedience to proverbial truth is the transcendent authority of God, who is the source and substance of the knowledge towards which wisdom aspires. The most important lesson to be learned is itself therefore reducible to a single certainty that informs all of the wisdom sayings in Proverbs: “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord; the knowledge of the holy one is understanding” (Prov 9:10; cf. 1:7). This essay addresses five major interpretive issues in Proverbs: (1) composition history, (2) literary forms, (3) socio-political context, (4) moral reasoning and ethical conduct, and (5) thematic coherence.