Author: Administrador

In many ways, the message in this text of Proverbs is quite simple: wisdom is better than foolishness. The same point gets echoed in the New Testament text for today, when Ephesians 5:15 counsels, “Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise.” However, while Ephesians clearly states such advice, Proverbs … Continue reading “Proverbs 9:1-6 Commentary by Sara Koenig”

Wisdom has built her house… Proverbs 9 continues what might be called the “Acts of Wisdom” begun in Proverbs chapter 8. Wisdom is presented as an independent and autonomous female entity, introduced in chapter 1. She is personified in terms of her agency or personhood and even appears to have a (physical) person. Wisdom is … Continue reading “Proverbs 9:1-6 Commentary by Wil Gafney”

This four-week summer series highlights three biblical books — Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon — that garner little attention in the Revised Common Lectionary and in most mainline churches’ preaching.1 And it is easy to see why. Proverbs is not scintillating reading to most modern readers. Ecclesiastes seems a “downer” sort of a book. … Continue reading “4-week preaching series on O.T. Wisdom and Poetry]

Proverbs 9:1-6

Proverbs 9:1-6 Commentary by Scott Shauf”

[This is Week 2 of a 4-week preaching series on O.T. Wisdom and Poetry] Week 2 (July 19, 2015) Preaching text: Proverbs 8:1-11, 22-36 The text this second week moves from considering the fear of the LORD to describing the figure of Woman Wisdom. This personification of wisdom in Proverbs 8 serves as the counterpoint … Continue reading “Proverbs 8:1-11, 22-36 Commentary by Kathryn M. Schifferdecker”

A Facebook friend recently posted an article on parenting entitled, “Good Parents, Bad Results: 8 Ways Science Shows that Mom and Dad Go Wrong When Disciplining Their Kids.” As a mother of a five-year-old, I quickly clicked on the link to learn what motivates children to behave. Apparently yelling, reasoning with, and punishing children have … Continue reading “Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 Commentary by Amy Erickson”

What is the connection between wisdom and joy? In the text appointed for today, Wisdom is personified as female, and in her humanity finds all knowledge, insight, and truth. Wisdom is also portrayed as delighting God and in human beings. How we are to interpret this portrayal, often referred to as “Lady Wisdom” or “Woman … Continue reading “Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 Commentary by Elizabeth Webb”

On this Holy Trinity Sunday, the Ode to Wisdom in Proverbs 8 offers congregations the opportunity to think of Wisdom in terms of what Samuel Terrien poetically has called, “the mediatrix of God’s presence,” and in particular the role she played in what came to be understood as the second person of the Trinity (Elusive … Continue reading “Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 Commentary by Juliana Claassens”

This is the first time that Wisdom, personified as a woman, speaks in the book of Proverbs (see 8:1-36; 9:1-6). As the first speech, it carries particular importance because it sets the stage for what follows. By the end of chapter 1 — after the superscription (1:1), prologue (1:2-6), and motto (1:7) of the book … Continue reading “Proverbs 1:20-33 Commentary by Brent A. Strawn”

Wisdom is introduced to the reader as a female character in Proverbs 1:20 and the following verses. But her introduction is really in the opening lines of the book; the proverbs attributed to Solomon are for the purpose of learning about Wisdom. (The lack of capital letters in Hebrew leads to confusion about where to … Continue reading “Proverbs 1:20-33 Commentary by Wil Gafney”

The pericope introduces the enigmatic Woman Wisdom, a figure who is — at the least — a literary personification of a wisdom that permeates the creation. We also encounter her in chapter 8 where she declares herself the first of the LORD’s creation and present before the cosmos itself (Proverbs 8:22-31). In chapter 9, she … Continue reading “Proverbs 1:20-33 Commentary by Walter C. Bouzard”