Proverbs (John Goldingay) A Review.

PROVERBS: Commentaries for Christian Formation. By John Goldingay. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2023. Xvii + 477 pages.

Many years ago, back when I was a youth minister, I would gather with a group of students at the high school during lunch. I would bring with me copies of the Book of Proverbs (The Living Bible). We would read a selection each time and then discuss it focusing on its message for their lives. (This was long ago and this was a rural high school where I had free access to the school). The idea behind using Proverbs in such a context is that many of them offer practical wisdom for a flourishing life. I don’t think it had any bearing on my choice of Scriptures to use with my youth group, but I also took a class on the Book of Proverbs in college, though I don't remember much from the class (it's not Dr. Rhee's fault, it's just too long ago). In the intervening years, I've preached from Proverbs a handful of times. That is in large part because I generally use the Revised Common Lectionary to guide my choices of text, and it only offers seven occasions over three years on which Proverbs is offered as a possible text.

In many ways what we find in the Book of Proverbs is foreign to us. Some of its wise sayings are problematic because they suggest God blesses the rich, while the poor get what they deserve. It is, scholars tell us, a form of retribution dogma. Nevertheless, it does offer interesting perspectives on the nature of wisdom, how wisdom relates to God, and how we might live virtuous lives. We might find the idea of the seductive woman/whore distasteful, but the author(s) of Proverbs wants us to see the contrast between Wisdom, which is personified in feminine terms with its opposite. On the positive side, Proverbs us with a form of natural theology that values nature as an expression of God's creative impulses. In other words, there are many riches to be discovered in this book of wisdom.

While the lectionary may not offer many opportunities to preach from this book, it can still be studied by groups and individuals. This commentary on Proverbs is authored by John Goldingay, the David Allan Hubbard Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, and is part of the Commentaries for Christian Formation series from Eerdmans. The purpose of this commentary series is to provide a resource for faith formation. While that would include preaching (and you don't have to limit yourself to the lectionary), it also includes other forms of teaching and study, with a focus on application. The series editors note that the commentaries in this series seek to serve “the church by showing how sound theological exegesis can underwrite preaching and teaching, which in turn forms believers in the faith.” (p. xiii).

Goldingay’s commentary includes exegesis of the text but it's not a technical commentary. This fact is revealed from the beginning in that the Introduction is less than twenty pages in length. Goldingay acknowledges that discerning the authorship of Proverbs, as well as the dating of its composition is difficult to determine. Nevertheless, this need not keep us from finding value in the text. The commentary includes both Goldingay's translation and exposition of the text. The message it brings to us focuses on living faithfully by abiding by God's wisdom. It is practical rather than theoretical. As such it offers contrasting visions of living a smart and skilled life as opposed to declining to learn (gain wisdom) and thus becoming wise, such that one ends up being an idiot whose life doesn't work out well.

Regarding the composition of the book, Goldingay sees it divided into three parts. Part One runs from Proverbs 1:1 to 9:18 and speaks of the nature and importance of wisdom and an exhortation to attend to wisdom. This is Proverbs A, which contains passages attributed to Solomon, passages that often contrast wisdom and stupidity. The second part, Proverbs B, runs from 10:1-22:16. For the most part this section is composed of brief one-sentence/one-verse sayings that are concrete in nature, such as “Yahweh will not let a faithful person be hungry, but the craving of the faithless will repel” (Prov. 10:3) or “The light of faithful people, it will be happy, but the lamp of faithless people, it will go out (13:9). It is likely the proverbs found in this section represent what most people think of when they think of a proverb, a short pithy statement. Proverbs C, which features the “Words of the Wise,” includes both one-line sayings and longer ones (Proverbs 22:17-31:31). Goldingay notes that there is more humor in the sayings in this section, which includes the famed Proverbs 31. That would be the proverbial description of the good wife who is really superwoman. Goldingay does a nice job expositing this passage, such that we can relax and not assume that this is a possible life of a woman, despite what some preachers might suggest. But remember that throughout the Book of Proverbs, the author(s) seek to contrast the wise woman from the stupid one and this passage highlights the attributes of the wise woman.

The concluding chapter of Goldingay’s Proverbs commentary summarizes the message of Proverbs focusing on its role in teaching the virtuous life. Throughout this book of wisdom, the key to a virtuous life is faithfulness. That teaching on virtue often involves hyperbole, as seen in the description of the resourceful woman of Proverbs 31. But, as he writes: "The hyperbolic or cartoon nature of Proverbs works against people inferring that everyone is either wise or stupid, good or bad. But everyone is open to the possibility of moving one way or the other. People do not have moral characters fixed in one or other position." (p. 428). Proverbs is designed to push us toward a moral or virtuous life, and Goldingay does an excellent job of helping us discern how best to interpret this message.

If you are a preacher or a teacher and seek to share the theological and practical message of Proverbs, then Goldingay’s Proverbs commentary should prove to be quite valuable. It is rooted in sound scholarship, while attempts are made throughout to connect this ancient book with the modern world. One should look for other volumes in the series as time passes.