《Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures – Proverbs (Vol. 1)》

Gary Everett received his Master of Divinity (1992) and Doctor of Ministry (2015) degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He served as pastor for five years and taught in Bible college for ten years.

Since 1997, Gary has worked as the station manager of Lighthouse Television, located in Kampala, Uganda, an affiliate of Trinity Broadcasting Network. The station is owned by Calvary Cathedral International in Fort Worth, Texas, and the chairman of the board and president of Lighthouse Television is Dr. Robert B. Nichols.

Gary served seven years as the director of the Joyce Meyer Ministries outreach in Uganda. He now serves as the international director Andrew Wommack Ministries Uganda.

Study Notes is also available along with his sermons and teachings on his website www.geverett.org.

Gary was married to Menchu in 1996. They have four children, three of whom were born and raised in Uganda.

All Scripture quotations in English are taken from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. Some words have been emphasized by the author of this commentary using bold or italics.

All Old Testament Scripture quotations in the Hebrew text are taken from Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia: With Westminster Hebrew Morphology, electronic ed, Stuttgart; Glenside PA: German Bible Society, Westminster Seminary, 1996, c 1925, morphology c 1991, in Libronix Digital Library System, v 21c [CD-ROM] Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp, 2000-2004.

All New Testament Scripture quotations in the Greek text are taken from Greek New Testament, Fourth Revised Edition (with Morphology), eds. Kurt Aland, Matthew Black, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M. Metzger, M. Robinson, and Allen Wikgren, Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft (United Bible Societies), c 1966, 1993, 2006, in Libronix Digital Library System, v 21c [CD-ROM] Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp, 2000-2004.

All Hebrew and Greek text for word studies are taken from James Strong in The New Strong"s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, c 1996, 1997, in Libronix Digital Library System, v 21c [CD-ROM] Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp, 2000-2004.

The Crucifixion image on the book cover was created by the author's daughter Victoria Everett in 2012.

Gary H. Everett, 1981-2013

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form without prior permission of the author.

As we journey through this life, we will have times of ecstasy when we are caught up in worship and we will have times of trials when we cry out to God for deliverance. The Psalm of David show us how to worship the Lord during such times. However, most of our days are given to simple routines and decisions that determine our future well-being. We must then look to the book of Proverbs for a pattern of how to worship the Lord during such uneventful day-to-day lifestyles.

The Proverbs of Solomon are like golden nuggets for our daily lives. How often we have read these chapters looking for insights to improve our social behavior. We have read a proverb or two a day, even a chapter per day, in an effort to become better Christians. We have chuckled at times when we read about the fool, recalling the time we saw this person at work or in town, or we groan inside when we remember how we behaved in such an undignified manner. We have prayed for God's grace to mold us and shape us like the wise man in the book of Proverb, but how many of us have really dug into this three thousand-year-old treasure chest and examined these treasures piece by piece; perhaps because it would take a lot of time and much discipline?

Let us take some time to examine this book and allow it to change our lives forever. First, we will put on an academic hat and lay a framework for wisdom literature. We will look at the theme and structure of this great book. Once we find our bearings within its pages, we will be ready to put on our spiritual hat and dig into these proverbs. As we examine them piece by piece, we will begin to see how divinely God has orchestrated these sayings, as well as divinely ordering our live, which we now see as a journey upon which we have embarked in order to find a place of peace and rest in the Lord. So come, let us go on a journey called "The Path of Wisdom"!

1] Someone may associate these three categories with Hermann Gunkel's well-known three-fold approach to form criticism when categorizing the genre found within the book of Psalm: (1) "a common setting in life," (2) "thoughts and mood," (3) "literary forms." In addition, the Word Biblical Commentary uses "Form/Structure/Setting" preceding each commentary section. Although such similarities were not intentional, but rather coincidental, the author was aware of them and found encouragement from them when assigning the three-fold scheme of historical setting, literary style, and theological framework to his introductory material. See Hermann Gunkel, The Psalm: A Form-Critical Introduction, trans. Thomas M. Horner, in Biblical Series, vol 19, ed. John Reumann (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Fortress Press, 1967), 10; see also Word Biblical Commentary, eds. Bruce M. Metzger, David A. Hubbard, and Glenn W. Barker (Dallas, Texas: Word Incorporated, 1989-2007).

2] J. Hampton Keathley, III, "Introduction and Historical Setting for Elijah," (Bible.org) [on-line]; accessed 23May 2012; available from http://bible.org/seriespage/introduction-and-historical-setting-elijah; Internet.

Each book of the Holy Scriptures is cloaked within a unique historical setting. An examination of this setting is useful in the interpretation of the book because it provides the context of the passage of Scripture under examination. The section on the historical setting of the book of Proverbs will provide a discussion on its title, historical background, authorship, date and place of writing, recipients, and occasion. This discussion supports the Jewish tradition that Solomon was the primary author of the book of Proverbs , writing during his reign as king over Israel.

I. The Title

The superscription for the book of Proverbs is found in its opening verse. In fact, all three of Solomon's works have opening verses as titles with his name included in it.

Numerous other Old Testament books have similar superscriptions. These titles were either placed there by the author himself or edited later by someone like Samuel the prophet, or Hezekiah the king, or Ezra the scribe, when these books were compiled and organized into the Old Testament Scriptures. Note how most of these books begin with the phrases "the word of," "the burden of," or "the vision of."

Some of the writers of the New Testament also followed this Hebrew pattern.

Throughout the centuries, both Jews and Christians have tended to title these books by shortening its superscription. This has resulted in a number of titles for the book of Proverbs.

3] Eusebius writes, "…the Proverbs of Song of Solomon , Me-loth; Ecclesiastes , Koelth; the Song of Songs (not, as some suppose, Songs of Songs), Sir Hassirim…" Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 6251-2, trans. Arthur C. McGiffert under the title The Church History of Eusebius, in A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, A New Series, vol 1, eds. Henry Wace and Philip Schaff (Oxford: Parker and Company, c 1890, 1905), 272-3.

4] C. F. Keil, and F. Delitzsch, Proverbs , in Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database (Seattle, WA: Hendrickson Publishers Inc, 1996), in P.C. Study Bible, v 31 [CD-ROM] (Seattle, WA: Biblesoft Inc, 1993-2000), "Introduction."

B. The Hebrew Title "Mashal" - The first word that occurs in the Hebrew text of the book of Proverbs is "mashal" ( מָשָׁל) (H 4912), meaning, "similitude, parable" (Gesenius), "byword, like, parable, proverb" (Strong). This Hebrew word is derived from the word root ( מָשַׁל) (H 4910), which means, "to make like, to rule" (Gesenius). The Masoretic title is ( שלמה משלי) "Proverbs of Song of Solomon ," and it can be abbreviated to ( משל). 5] Thus, the title ( משלי) can be found in the standard work Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. 6]

5] Crawford H. Toy, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Proverbs, in The International Critical Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, eds. Charles A. Briggs, Samuel R. Driver, and Alfred Plummer (New York: Charles Scriber's Sons, 1899), v.

6] Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, eds. A. Alt, O. Eifelt, P. Kahle, and R. Kittle (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelstiftung, c 1967-77).

C. The Modern English Title "Proverbs" - Today's English bibles use the title " Proverbs ," which is derived from two Latin words, " Proverbs ," meaning "instead of," and "verba," meaning "words"; thus, it means that a proverb is a short statement given in the place of a lengthy statement. The English title "Proverbs" finds it origin in the Greek title " παροιμίαι" found in the LXX, which means, "a parable, proverb" (Strong). Philo (20 B.C - A.D 50) also called the book by its Greek name παροιμίαι. 7] This Greek title παροιμίαι was known by Melito, bishop of Sardis (d. c 190). 8] The Latin Vulgate (A.D 400) uses the title "Liber Proverbiorum, quem Hebræi Misle appellant," translated as "the Book of Proverbs , which the Hebrews call Misle." 9] Today's English bibles follow the Vulgate by using the title "Proverbs."

7] Henry B. Swete, An Introduction to Old Testament in Greek (Cambridge: University Press, 1902), 215; Herbert E. Ryle, Philo and Holy Scripture (London: Macmillan and Company, 1895), xxviii.

8] Eusebius writes, "‘I learned accurately the books of the Old Testament, and send them to thee as written below. Their names are as follows: Of Moses, five books: Genesis ,, Exodus ,, Numbers ,, Leviticus , Deuteronomy; Jesus Nave, Judges , Ruth; of Kings, four books; of Chronicles, two; the Psalm of David; the Proverbs of Song of Solomon , Wisdom also, Ecclesiastes ,, Song of Solomon , Job; of Prophets, Isaiah , Jeremiah; of the twelve prophets, one book; Daniel ,, Ezekiel , Esdras. From which also I have made the extracts, dividing them into six books.' Such are the words of Melito." Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 42614 trans. Arthur C. McGiffert under the title The Church History of Eusebius, in A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, A New Series, vol 1, eds. Henry Wace and Philip Schaff, (Oxford: Parker and Company, c 1890, 1905), 206.

9] Biblia Sacra Juxta Vulgatae, edition ocata, ed. Aoisius Claudius Fillion (Paris: Librairie Letouzey et Ane, 1887), 661; see W. J. Deane, S. T. Taylor-Taswell, Walter F. Adeney, T. Whitelaw, R. A. Redford, and B. C. Caffin, Proverbs ,, Ecclesiastes ,, Song of Solomon , in The Pulpit Commentary, vol 9, ed. H. D. M. Spence and Joseph Exell (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 1950), in Ages Digital Library, v 10 [CD-ROM] (Rio, WI: Ages Software, Inc, 2001), "Introduction to Proverbs."

10] Clement writes, "For it is better for you that ye should occupy a humble but honourable place in the flock of Christ, than that, being highly exalted, ye should be cast out from the hope of His people. For thus speaketh all-virtuous Wisdom: ‘Behold, I will bring forth to you the words of My Spirit, and I will teach you My speech...' (First Epistle to the Corinthians )

11] Justin Martyr writes, "And it is written in the book of Wisdom: ‘If I should tell you daily events, I would be mindful to enumerate them from the beginning. The Lord created me the beginning of His ways for His works. From everlasting He established me in the beginning, before He formed the earth, and before He made the depths, and before the springs of waters came forth, before the mountains were settled; He begets me before all the hills." (Dialogue of Justin 129)

12] Eusebius writes, "And not only Hebrews , but also Irenaeus and the whole company of the ancients, called the Proverbs of Solomon All-virtuous Wisdom." (Ecclesiastical History 4228)

13] See Ecclesiastical History 426.

14] The Constitutions of the Apostles reads, "For, says Hebrews , ‘Woe to him by whom My name is blasphemed among the Gentiles;' and lest, if thy husband be a Christian, he be forced, from his knowledge of the Scriptures, to say that which is written in the book of Wisdom: ‘It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.'" (Constitutions of the Holy Apostles 110), and again, "For let us learn what the sacred word says in the book of Wisdom: "My Song of Solomon , keep my words, and hide my commandments with thee. Say unto Wisdom of Solomon , Thou art my sister; and make understanding familiar with thee: that she may keep thee from the strange and wicked woman, in case such a one accost thee with sweet words…" (Constitutions of the Holy Apostles 17)

15] Dionysius of Alexandria, Catena in Jobum Cap 28. See Dionysius of Alexandria, Exercpta Quaedan ex Niceta Catena Patrum in Jobum, in Reliquiae Sacrae, vol 4, ed. Martinus Josephus Routh (Oxonius: 1846), 439-447; Moses Stuart, Critical History and Defence of the Old Testament Canon, ed. Peter Lorimer (London: William Tegg and Co, 1849), 226.

16] Gregory Nazianzen writes, "The divine Song of Solomon , in his instructive Wisdom of Solomon , I mean his Proverbs , praises the woman who looks to her household and loves her husband." (Oration VIII: Funeral Oration on His Sister Gorgonia 9).

17] Otto Zckler cites Tosephoth to Baba Bathra f 14b. See Otto Zckler, The Proverbs of Song of Solomon , ed. and trans. Charles A. Aiken, in Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, ed. Philip Schaff (New York: Scribner, Armstrong and Co, 1875), 23.

18] Crawford H. Toy, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Proverbs (New York: Charles Scriber's Sons, 1899), v. For example, Methodius writes, "And in the Book of Wisdom of Solomon , a book full of all virtue, the Holy Spirit, now openly drawing His hearers to continence and chastity, sings on this wise, "Better it is to have no children, and to have virtue, for the memorial thereof is immortal; because it is known with God and with men. When it is present men take example at it; and when it is gone they desire it: it weareth a crown and triumpheth for ever, having gotten the victory, striving for undefiled rewards." (The Banquet of Ten Virgins: Discourse I.—Marcella 3) (see Wisdom of Solomon 41-2), and Methodius writes, "And those artificers who, to the destruction of men, make images in human form, not perceiving and knowing their own Maker, are blamed by the Word, which says, in the Book of Wisdom of Solomon , a book full of all virtue,14 "his heart is ashes, his hope is more vile than earth, and his life of less value than clay; forasmuch as he knew not his Maker, and Him that inspired into him an active soul, and breathed in a living spirit;" (The Banquet of Ten Virgins: Discourse II.—Theophila.7) (see Wisdom of Solomon 1510-11) See Methodius, Fathers of the Third Century, in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol 6, eds. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe (Buffalo, New York: The Christian Literature Company, 1886), in Libronix Digital Library System, v 21c [CD-ROM] Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp, 2000-2004.

In the historical background, we will look at (A) the widespread use of wisdom literature in the ancient world, and (B) wisdom literature as a form of divine guidance for the Jews under the Old Covenant.