Proverbs

Additional Review Questions

Chapter 1

What is wisdom?
Compare and contrast IQ with EI? Which does Biblical wisdom require?
What ideas are associated with wisdom and why?
How do we read Proverbs different from the way we read Romans?
Who is this book not addressed to? Why? How do we define him?

Chapter 2

Who is the implied reader?
Who accompanies you on the path?
What describes the first 9 chapters of Proverbs?
What three environments of life do the Proverbs cover?

Proverbs 1

Review Questions
1. Why is Proverbs for everyone? How?
2. Why do we need a book on wisdom?
  - What are the sources of wisdom?
  - How do we know which is the best source of wisdom?
3. Who is the threat of 1:10-19?
  - What is the warning?
  - What is the attraction?
  - How does Solomon argue against the offer?
  - Would you use Solomon’s argument?
4. What is the call of wisdom?
  - Why do fools reject wisdom?
  - Why does wisdom mock fools?
  - What principle does this show?
Further Reflection
1. How do you plan to approach studying Proverbs?
2. Which source of wisdom do you find most helpful? Why?
3. What (not who) are your sin triggers?
4. How have you seen the just effects of folly?

Proverbs 2

Review Questions
1. How would you outline this chapter?
2. How does one obtain wisdom? (1-9)
  - How do you reconcile vv.4-6?
  - Is wisdom the product of search or the gift of the LORD?
  - Explain some of the similes of the search.
  - How does Solomon explain the way the LORD shows His wisdom? (7-8)
3. What is the result of wisdom? (10-22)
  - What does wisdom change in your heart?
  - Who is the first person wisdom delivers you from?
    - What is their character? (words, walk, delights, and ways)
  - Who is the second person wisdom delivers you from?
    - What is their character? (words, walk, delights, and ways)
  - What is the connection between wisdom and covenant?

Further Reflection
1. What are some ways you can pursue wisdom?
2. What habits help you form wisdom?
3. What danger of folly from chapter 2 frightens you most?
4. What benefit of wisdom from chapter 2 attracts you most

Proverbs 3

Review Questions
1. How would you outline this chapter?
  - What phrase helps you find the seams?
2. Who is the speaker of the first discourse?
  - What unifies this discourse?
  - What is its structure?
  - How are the first parts connected?
  - How are the second parts connected?
  - What did you learn from this discourse?
3. How is the introduction to the second discourse related to its substance?
  - What are the benefits of wisdom?
  - How is she connected to creation?
  - How is she connected to providence?
4. How is the third discourse structured?
  - What is our duty to wisdom?
  - What is our duty to our neighbor?
  - What is our duty to holiness?
Further Reflection
1. How do you lean on your own understanding rather than conforming to the wisdom of God?
2. Why is God’s wisdom always preferable to any other? What are some examples?
3. How does wisdom require us to see our neighbor?

Chapter 3

Is there a third option besides wisdom and folly? Why or why not?
Contact the characters of lady wisdom and the foolish woman?
Who do they speak to? Why?
How does the locations of their houses reveal who they represent?
What does it mean to dine with either woman?

Chapter 9

How does the concept of “mystery” help us understand the Old Testament in light of the New Testament?
What is Lady Wisdom’s connection to the creation of the world? How does this illumine our understanding of her identity?
How is Jesus connected to wisdom in the New Testament? Is there warrant to see Him as the fulfillment of the personification of wisdom in Proverbs? If so, in what way? What role does the genre of Proverbs play in our interpretations?
What are the idols of folly in our day?
How is Jesus seen in the second part of the book of Proverbs?

Chapter 11

How ought women to read the proverbs directed to young men? What is the biblical warrant for this adjustment?
Why are some women called “strange” or “foreign” in Proverbs?
- What are their attractions?
- What arguments does Solomon use to urge his readers to avoid them?
- What are the defenses against temptation?
How is marriage a defense against the “strange woman”?
What is the purpose of Proverbs 31:10-31?
- Why does proverbs use military language?
- What is her character?
How would we use proverbs describe the problematic husband?
How does faithfulness in marriage reflect our commitment to wisdom?

Proverbs 4

Review Questions
1. How would you outline of chapter 4?
  - What language helps identify the parts?
  - What are the topics of the sections?
2. What is the message of the first section?
  - Why does the writer credit his father?
  - What is passed down through the generations?
  - How does one gain wisdom?
  - How is one to treat wisdom?
3. What is the message of the second section?
  - How is the choice presented?
  - What is the advantage of wisdom?
  - What is the character of folly?
  - How is the way of the wicked different from the way of the righteous?
4. What is the message of the third section?
  - What benefit does wisdom convey to us?
  - What are the parts that wisdom affects? How?
Further Reflection
1. What habits can we develop to learn wisdom?
2. How does the description of folly help us to understand the unbelieving world?
3. Which part described in the third section do you struggle with most? Why?

Proverbs 5

Review Questions
1. How would you outline this chapter?
2. What aspects of the strange woman does Solomon discuss? Why?
3. What choice does Solomon present before his readers?
  - What are the consequences of following the strange woman?
  - Why does Solomon put words into his readers’s mouth?
4. What is the “antidote” to the temptations of the strange woman?
  - Why is Solomon so graphic?
  - How does Solomon play with the word/concept “intoxication”?
5. What is Solomon’s final argument against the strange woman? Why not start with this argument?
Further Reflection
1. Does a direct gender swap work for this chapter? Does Solomon’s warning only apply to men?
2. What is the greatest challenge to sexual morality? (believers and unbelievers)
3. How can/should we encourage obedience to the seventh commandment?

Proverbs 6

Review Questions
1. How would you outline this chapter? How would you categorize the subdivisions?
2. How does Solomon differ from his normal opening in v.1? Why?
  - What is the problem?
  - What is the remedy?
  - This is this so important?
3. Why does Solomon use an insect example?
  - What is the danger?
  - What is the excuse?
4. How is the wicked person described?
  - Why the increase from 6 to 7?
  - What is the unifying figure in the 7?
5. What is Solomon’s focus? Why address this to young potential courtiers?
  - How is adultery worse than fornication?
  - What are the consequences?
Further Reflection
1. Does vv.1-5 restrict generosity?
2. Which of the seven represent Respectable Sins?
3. Considering the cost, why is adultery so popular?

Proverbs 7

Review Questions
1. How many discourses are in this chapter? How would you outline it?
2. What is unique about this introduction? Why? How does it affect the rest of the speech?
3. Why does Solomon present himself as an eyewitness in this discourse? How is the simple one describes? Why?
4. What is the character of the strange woman? What is her argument?
5. How is the victim described? What is the warning of the conclusion?
Further Reflection
1. How does this chapter fit between chapters 6 and 8?
2. How does sin lie to us?

Proverbs 8

Review Questions
1. How would you outline this chapter?
2. How is Lady Wisdom different from the “strange woman”? Who does she call to? Why?
3. How are her words different from the “strange woman”?
  - Why is wisdom better than riches?
  - How is this important in this chapter?
4. What is “the fear of the LORD”? Why is it important?
  - Why does wisdom connect to riches?
  - What is the connection between riches and wisdom?
5. How is wisdom connected to God creating the world?
6. How is a man blessed by wisdom? What is the consequence of abandoning wisdom?
Further Reflection
1. How have you heard the call of wisdom?
2. What sins do you hate?
3. Why is wisdom connected with marriage?

Proverbs 9

Review Questions
1. How would you outline this chapter? What is the main point or question of this chapter?
2. What are wisdom’s 7 pillars? How is Wisdom different from the foolish woman?
  - Who do they address?
  - What so they offer?
  - What is their effect on those who join them?
3. How are the scorner and wise different? Why does Solomon make this argument at this point of the book?
4. What is the beginning of wisdom?
  - Why is it the beginning of wisdom?
  - Why does Solomon emphasize the individual benefit of wisdom?
Further Reflection
1. Why do we find ourselves choosing folly?
2. How do we receive correction? Why don’t we like admitting we are wrong?
3. What does it mean to take responsibility for our wisdom or lack thereof?

Chapter 4

Review Questions
1. What is a proverb?
  - What are the elements of proverbs?
  - How are they true?
2. What is parallelism?
  - What are the different types of parallelism?
  - What is an echo?
  - What is the parallelism of opposites?
  - What is a “better than” parallelism?
3. How does imagery enrich parallelism?
4. What is an acrostic? Where is it in Proverbs?
5. How helpful is alliteration in Hebrew for us?
6. What is numerical parallelism?

Chapter 5

Review Questions
1. How does the author describe the truth of a proverb?
2. What is an example of a modern proverb?
3. How do we understand the truth of Proverbs 26:4-5?
4. If proverbs provide wisdom, how does it take wisdom to make a proverb profitable?
5. What are the four ways that the proverbs teach wisdom?
6. How should we think of proverbs in ways that do not wander into moral relativism?

Chapter 7

Review Questions
1. What is the common assumption between Job and his three friends?
  - How do they differ in their application?
  - Does Elihu add anything to the discussion?
  - What does the LORD say about wisdom to Job?
  - What does the book say about wisdom?
  - What does the book say about suffering?
2. How does Ecclesiastes speak to the idea of prosperity in the world?
3. How do Job and Ecclesiastes teach us to read Proverbs?

Chapter 8

Review Questions
1. How does the story of Joseph demonstrate wisdom? How does it govern our application of the proverbs?
2. How does the story of Daniel demonstrate wisdom? What does it tell us about the proverbs?

Chapter 10

Review Questions
1. Why do the proverbs appear in a seemingly random order? How might this help us study the book?
2. What are the benefits to a systematic study of the topics of the proverbs? What are the dangers?
3. When did the use of money appear in Israel? How is that relevant to the study of proverbs?
4. How did the author go about the process of studying the themes? Do you find any problems with this process?
5. In the seven categories the author lists, would you put them in this order? Why or why not?
  - God blesses the righteous with wealth
    - Does all the scripture the author quotes support this topic’s thesis?
    - How might you re-word the topic?
    - What scripture outside Proverbs supports this topic?
  - Foolish behavior leads to poverty
    - What attribute most often demonstrates folly that leads to poverty?
    - What others do Proverbs mention?
    - How do we see these traits in our society?
  - The wealth of fools will not last
    - Where is the topic discussed outside Proverbs?
    - How is this topic different from the one preceding it?
  - Poverty is the result of injustice and oppression
    - Does all the scripture the author quotes support this topic’s thesis?
    - How might you re-word the topic?
    - How do the wise apply this topic?
  - Those with money must be generous
    - Does all the scripture the author quotes support this topic’s thesis?
    - How might you re-word the topic?
    - What forms does generosity take?
  - Wisdom is better than wealth
    - What is the crucial point of this topic?
  - Wealth has limited value
    - Where does wealth prove ineffective?
    - How does wealth produce problems?

Chapter 12

Review Questions
1. Why are words important?
2. How do words reveal the heart? Where does this idea appear in the NT?
3. What is truth? What does it mean to tell the truth? Why is truth-telling wise?
4. What are the categories of false words?
  - What is scoffing? Why is it deadly?
  - What is lying? How does it harm people?
  - What is a foolish argument?
  - What is the difference between insult and slander?
  - What is gossip? Why is it deadly?
  - How are flattery and bragging similar? What is a “humble brag”? Why are flattery and bragging deadly?
5. What are the characteristics of wise words? When is silence golden?
6. What are some of the consequences of foolish words?
7. How does Jesus add to the wisdom of Proverbs on the topic of the tongue?

Proverbs 10

Review Questions
1. How would you outline this chapter? What is the main point or question of this chapter?
2. For each proverb answer the following:
  1. What is the subject of this proverb?
  2. What kind of parallelism appears here? What does that tell you about the subject?
  3. When should we apply this proverb? When should we not?
  4. How ought we live different if we apply this proverb rightly?

Proverbs 11-31

Categories: Sunday School

Proverbs

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