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Another Idea for Reading Proverbs

Proverbs 1:1

A productive yet often overlooked strategy for reading the Book of Proverbs is to read more than one verse at a time. Some proverbs are meant to be read with other proverbs. As it is with words, so it is with these compact sayings: proverbs are known by the company they keep. We all too easily lose sight of the fact that Proverbs is a book, and it is meant to be read as a book. Although we no longer have the social setting that gave rise to any individual proverb, each proverb has a literary setting—a context which can aid greatly in interpreting and understanding each short saying. Hence, the teachings from the parents to their son in Proverbs 1—9, with their emphasis on the fear of the Lord as wisdom's beginning, and the close link between wisdom and life, establish the context for reading the short, pithy sayings in the second part of the book. Context is key to understanding the compact wisdom of these chapters.

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