The Proverbs

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The Proverbs

• ILLC 8th Grade Sunday School

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The Proverbs

• Vocabulary
• Proverb A saying that conveys a specific truth
  in a pointed, meaningful way. A proverb is drawn
  from much experience.
• The Hebrew word for proverb means parallel,
  similar or a comparison.
• Knowledge- is the apprehension of truth in ones
  mind.
• Wisdom The application of truth to ones life.

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The Proverbs

• Three main points of our lesson
• We will learn who authored the Proverbs.
• We will learn some of the background for Proverbs
• We will become familiar with the content of some
  of the Proverbs and how they apply to our lives.

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The Proverbs

• The Book of Proverbs is classified as one of the
  Books of Poetry.
• The other Books of Poetry are Job, Psalms,
  Eccelesiates, and the Song of Solomon.
• As Psalms is the worship and hymn book of the Old
  Testament, Proverbs is its teachers manual.
  Proverbs are maxims which can easily be
  memorized, and thus used as advice for daily
  living.

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The Proverbs

• Who was the author of Proverbs?
• The Book of Proverbs was largely composed and
  complied by king Solomon.
• Chapters 1-24 Complied by Solomon
• Chapters 25-29 King Hezekiahs scribes copied
  the material in these chapters from Solomons
  repertory of proverbs.
• Chapter 30 Composed by Agur
• Chapter 31 Composed by Lemuel
• How many proverbs did Solomon write?
• 1 Kings 432 And he spake three thousand
  proverbs and his songs were a thousand and five

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The Proverbs

• When was Proverbs written? Before the death of
  Solomon in 931. They were edited by Hezekiahs
  scribes in about 700 BC.
• To whom was Proverbs written?
• To the wise man vs 15
• To his son verse 18, 21
• The book tells a story, it is a picture of a
  young man starting out in life.

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The Proverbs

• Why was Proverbs written?
• To give a young person a sound foundation from
  which to make wise decisions in life.
• To provide a listing of time honored truths which
  can serve as a guide in life.

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The Proverbs

• Why was it written? (continued)
• Historical purpose It served as a kind of
  teachers manual for the wise men of Israel. The
  proverbs are easy to memorize and provide
  guidance for life.
• Doctrinal purpose True wisdom is based in the
  fear of God.
• Christological purpose Christ is presented in
  the Proverbs as the Wisdom for which the wise man
  aspires.

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The Proverbs

• The Structure of the Proverbs
• Literary form Couplets Two clauses of the
  couplets are generally related to each other by
  parallelism.
• Several kinds of parallelism are used in the
  Proverbs. Four of them are
• Synonymous Parallelism
• Antithetic Parallelism
• Synthetic Parallelism
• Emblematic Parallelism

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The Proverbs

• Synonymous Parallelism
• Here the second clause restates what is given in
  the first clause.
• Example Judgments are prepared for scorners,
• and stripes for the back of fools Proverb 1929

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The Proverbs

• Antithetic (contrast) Parallelism
• Here a truth, which is stated in the first
  clause, is made stronger in the second clause by
  contrast with an opposite truth.
• Example The light of the righteous rejoiceth,
• But the lamp of the wicked shall be put out
  Proverbs 139

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The Proverbs

• Synthetic Parallelism
• Here the second clause develops the thought of
  the first.
• Example The terror of a king is as the roaring
  of a lion
• He that provoketh him to anger sinneth against
  his own will Proverbs 202

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The Proverbs

• Emblematic Parallelism
• Here the first line is an emblem, illustration,
  type or example drawn from nature or daily life.
• Example A man that beareth false witness
  against his neighbor is a maul, and a sword, and
  a sharp arrow 2518

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The Proverbs

• General Outline of the Book of Proverbs
• I. Wisdom and Folly Contrasted (Chapters 1-9)
• II. Proverbs of Solomon, Written and Set in Order
  by Himself (Chapters 10-24)
• III. Proverbs of Solomon, Set in Order by Men of
  Hezekiah, (Chapter 25-29)
• IV. Oracle of Agur, (Chapter 30)
• V. Proverbs of a Mother to Lemuel, (Chapter 31)

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The Proverbs

• A summary of each chapter
• Words to the wise
• Chapter 1 Wisdom respects God and parents. It
  rebukes sins and evil.
• Chapter 2 It rewards its seekers morally.
• Chapter 3 It rewards is seekers physically.

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The Proverbs

• Chapter 4 It redirects ones life from evil.
• Chapter 5 It rejects sensuality.
• Chapter 6 It reactivates the slothful. It
  represses the desires of lust.
• Chapter 7 It resists the evil woman
• Chapter 8 It rejoices in God who begat it.
• Chapter 9 It reproves the righteous who use it.

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The Proverbs

• Word of the Wise
• Chapter 10 It is riches from God.
• Chapter 11 It is the righteousness of life.
• Chapter 12 It is righteousness in its language
• Chapter 13 It has regard for reproof.

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The Proverbs

• Chapter 14 It is the road of reward
• Chapter 15 It exhibits regulation of the tongue
• Chapter 16 It rests in the purpose of God.
• Chapter 17 It refrains from strife.
• Chapter 18 It finds refuge in God
• Chapter 19 It responds to poverty by giving.
• Chapter 20/21 It responds to poverty by working.

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The Proverbs

• Chapter 22 It provides a reward to the poor.
• Chapter 22b Wisdom is pleasant.
• Chapter 23 Wisdom is worthwhile.
• Chapter 24 Wisdom is prosperous.

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The Proverbs

• Wisdom from the wise
• Chapter 25-29 Words from Solomon
• Chapter 26-27 The fool
• Chapter 28 The wicked
• Chapter 29 The stubborn

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The Proverbs

• Words from Agur and Lemuel
• Chapter 30 Truth and things
• Chapter 31 Wine and women

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The Proverbs

• Read Proverbs 18
• What are the two parts of the couplet or
  parallelism?
• 1. My, son, hear the instruction of thy father,
• 2. And forsake not the law of thy mother.
• How do we apply it in our life?
• Students answer.
• Bonus What kind of parallelism do you think it
  is?
• I think it is a synthetic parallelism in that the
  two parts are put together to form a whole idea.

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The Proverbs

• Review Questions
• Who wrote and/or complied most of the Proverbs?
• Solomon
• How many proverbs did Solomon write?
• 3000
• To whom was it written?
• Wise man or son.

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The Proverbs

• What does the Hebrew word for proverb mean?
• Parallel, similar, or comparison
• How can we apply the book of Proverbs in our life
  as a Christian?