Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
In the post about the easy yoke, we learned that a yoke was essentially a Rabbi’s teaching, of what was prohibited and what was allowed. Jesus had his own yoke and he said it was easy. The process of ascertaining what things where to be prohibited, was the act of binding. To “bind” something, was […]
Jesus said that his yoke was easy; that his burden was light. What exactly does that mean? From a simple perspective, we understand a yoke to be a means to harness a draft animal in order to pull a load. Therefore, an easy yoke, one with a light burden, would be something that was not […]
If “wisdom” is the theme of Proverbs, then “path” may be the context. There are good paths and evil paths, straight paths and crooked paths. There are the paths of the righteous and paths of the wicked. For those who are wise and make good decisions, there is the right path, the path of life, […]
Among all the reoccurring words in Proverbs, it is “wisdom” that is the most prominent—mentioned 54 times. Wisdom, in fact, is the central theme of the book, effectively summarizing its focus and purpose. The dictionary defines wisdom as “the ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; insight; common sense; good judgment.” […]
The word “quarrelsome” is almost exclusive to the book of Proverbs, occurring six times there and only two other times in the rest of the Bible. Quarrelsome means “given to quarreling, contentious, belligerent”; some of its synonyms are argumentative, fractious, and petulant. Five of the six occurrences relate to a quarrelsome wife—she is undesirable and […]
The word “folly” occurs 23 times in Proverbs and only 16 times in the rest of the Bible. The dictionary defines folly as “a lack of good sense, understanding, or foresight; an act of foolishness; or a costly undertaking having an absurd or ruinous outcome.” I think that is exactly what Solomon had in mind […]
The word “simple” is found 14 times in Proverbs and only six other times in the entire Bible. The dictionary defines a simple person as a “simpleton” or a “fool.” However, the way “simple” is used in Proverbs seems to go beyond merely being a fool or a simpleton (that is, lacking common sense), but […]
In contrast to the sluggard, is the prudent person. The word “prudent” also predominates the book of Proverbs with 10 appearances, contrasted to only two in the rest of the Bible. “Prudent” means “wise in handling practical matters; exercising good judgment or common sense; careful in regard to one’s own interests or conduct.” It seems […]
There are several words that appear with disproportionate frequency in the book of Proverbs—and with minimal representation in the rest of the Bible. They are: Plus, there are some additional words that appear with surprising regularity in Proverbs: In upcoming posts, we will look at each of these words. [The 1984 NIV version of the […]
The book of Proverbs in the Bible has 31 chapters. I see them organized as follows: So there are essentially three segments to Proverbs: In the next few weeks, we will look at the book of Proverbs in greater detail.