Proverbs for guidance

22/3/2017

“Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold” (Proverbs 3:13, 14).

A dissertation for a doctorate in theology by Dr Gerrit Heino on the wisdom of Proverbs for guidance, was completed at Unisa last year.

Dr Heino is joining Mukhanyo on 18 April and will be involved mainly on the educational side. In his doctorate he contributed to a Christian point of view on guidance based on Old Testament wisdom literature in general and the book of Proverbs in particular. Some of the main topics discussed are:

A conceptual framework about guidance in ancient Israel is developed in order to gain insight into the wisdom teachers and their students.
The mutual influence of wisdom and theology and how wisdom theology relates to the theology of the Old Testament.
The image of God and the image of human wisdom that teachers have.
Solomon and the men of Hezekiah, Agur and Lemuel are the collectors of proverbs in the book of Proverbs. This wisdom initiated a social change in ancient Israel.
For whom and with what purpose Proverbs was written.
Texts in Chapters 6 and 7 shed light on guidance, including the ‘fear of JHWH’ texts, ‘life’ texts, verbs that characterise the process that leads to a ‘living life’ and also assignments for the father/teacher (and as such the guide).

(His dissertation can be made available by e-mail.)

Dr Heino and his wife José are from Holland and worked in North West province from 1986 to 1991 where he was headmaster of the Boitha High School in Kraaipan. After his return to Holland he lectured in a number of fields, including mathematics, education (teacher training), pastoral work and theology. His wife is a medical doctor and they hope to do voluntary work for a number of years in SA before they retire. Their three adult sons hope to be able to visit them every now and then.

Proverbs for guidance

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