Proverbs

by Irving Jensen

The wisdom of Proverbs sometimes comforts and sometimes confuses. It contains some of our most cherished verses, as well as odd metaphors, and strange pronouncements that can feel cold or even cruel. What we need is a guide—someone who can explain the confusing bits and bring familiar passages to life. This is what the best preachers do, but you don’t have to wait until Sunday’s sermon. Encounter the beautiful depth of Proverbs through an enlightening verse-by-verse commentary from Irving Jensen that’s both straightforward and insightful. You’ll You don’t have to go to seminary to encounter God in exciting, new ways through His Word. Discover how much more enjoyable your personal study will be with understandable, quality Bible commentary for everyday life.

Genres: Religion, Christian

144 pages, Paperback

Published March 5, 2019

About the author

IRVING L. JENSEN (B.A., Wagner College; S.T.B., Biblical Seminary; Th.D., Northwestern Theological Seminary), was professor and chairman of the department of Bible at Bryan College, Dayton, Tennessee, and the author of numerous books, including the entire Bible Self-Study Series; Jensen's Survey of the Old Testament; Jensen's Survey of the New Testament; Jensen's Bible Study Charts; Acts: An Inductive Study; Independent Bible Study; and How to Profit from Bible Reading.

Reviews

[Diane Estrella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I was expecting as this was my first "commentary" I've read. I guess I thought there'd be more explaining of the actual Scripture verses that maybe held a deeper meaning or another meaning that the "average" reader may not know about. This book was basically a chapter by chapter, verse by verse, breakdown of the mechanics of the Proverbs such as the following example:

Chapter 14

a. The opening proverb begins with words similar to the first phrase of chapter 13:

A Wise son (13:1)
The wise woman (14:1)

b. There are twenty-eight specific proverbs, and seven general. The general proverbs are verses 11, 12, 18, 24, 32, 33, 34; all others are specific.... (page 84)

It was very dry reading and not overly enlightening. There were a few interesting tidbits strewn throughout, but unfortunately, most of it was skimmed over and boring. Sorry.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Moody Publishers and was under no obligation to post a review.

[Laura Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so excited to receive this book for review. I have not checked out this commentary yet, and I was able to get the book of the Bible that I am creating a study on! How awesome is that?!

What I liked immediately about this commentary is that it is written in a way that anyone can understand. Many times, commentaries are written for other scholars. This can be a major turnoff for those that are new to the faith or unfamiliar with the scholarly vocabulary.

The commentary also has helpful charts and illustrations throughout. This is important for the book of Proverbs in order to understand the literary uses. An image is almost always easier to understand than written word when describing how a manuscript is organized.

This is not a commentary that gets in-depth. It is more than a study Bible, but not a full out, in-depth analysis of the scriptures. This is great for those who want to better understand the scripture they are reading, but aren’t too worried about knowing everything there is to know about it.

It is also nice that the author takes time to give reference to New Testament usages of Proverbs. He also includes the instances in the New Testament that have the same concept as that being described in Proverbs. This helps the reader know how influential the Old Testament was to the New Testament writers.

Proverbs is a book of instruction for the believer. It gives a logical, very applicable way to live your life in accordance with God’s word. It is a book of wisdom. This commentary does a good job of bringing this aspect of Proverbs to the reader. I recommend it for those looking to go beyond a study Bible, but don’t have the time/desire to go seminary in-depth.

[Samantha Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a Christian that should really do better in terms of reading her bible and pondering scripture. Books Proverbs- Everyday Bible Commentary is good supplemental material to have on hand. Though now you can Google every scripture you come across that doesn't make sense to the lazy forget everything we may or may not have learned in Sunday school Christian, there is much value in the focused study of the books of the bible. I've been told that if you are going to start anywhere, start with proverbs, its dripping with wisdom and transformative food for thought. This book adds a great deal of color and though my husband (who is a bible nerd) did find some interpretations a reach, I found it to be a good starting point for someone like me who is finally trying, after having "reading and studying the bible more' on the bottom of every New Year's to do list.

This book gives historical context, themes, settings, and expanded insights. I found it added value and was worth the read for a lazy Christian like myself, that is in bible study debt.

ARC provided by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

[Jeanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The constant preoccupation of the book is with the elemental antagonisms of obedience versus rebellion, industry versus laziness, prudence versus presumption and so on. These are so presented as to put before the reader a clear-cut choice, leaving him no ground for wretched compromise or vacillating indecision.

Not only a study on the book of Proverbs but a study on the workings of the book. The contrast of good evil and key words throughout the book. Wisdom is the essence of God. It is his holiness and our search for wisdom is the search for Him.

The book of Proverbs points to the central truth that righteousness is the key to successful living. This is not successful in the way of prosperity but a well lived life. Doing the right thing, with the right motives. What to do and what to stay away from. Even our thinking can change who we are. "So a man thinks so is he" .

There is a progression on the text that gives new appreciation to the word of God which in turn will be worship of God. A satisfaction that only he can give.

A Special Thank you to Moody Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a commentary on Proverbs. The author started by providing an overview of Proverbs by looking at key themes, main topics, background and setting, and an outline. He followed this by working verse by verse through each section, explaining what Solomon was saying. The author didn't provide any insights that I haven't already gotten just from reading Proverbs in my Study Bible. Sometimes, his interpretation of the verse didn't agree with what I've read elsewhere. He occasionally speculated about things not necessary to understanding the verses, and I often found myself disagreeing with what he proposed. I was disappointed that I didn't really get much out of this. However, it was easy to follow what the author was saying.

I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Vnunez-Ms_luv2read · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice addition when reading/studying the Bible. Clear and very easy to read. Will help with your Bible study. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on my review.

[Zacarias Rivera, Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This commentary on Proverbs is succinct and accessible. Jensen addresses the major literary techniques and provides a number of graphs to help the reader look at the scope of the entire book.

[Alycia Canfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Proverbs is a go to book for me. I read a chapter everyday anyways but to have this hand little proverb broken down verse by verse is wonderful. Simon wrote Proverbs as lessons or rules if you may so that you can learn something new every time you go in.

[Shannon Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great companion to have as you study the book of Proverbs.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Lotus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a lot of information about Proverbs. It not only takes you through a study of the actual book, but also teaches you about it's purpose and authorship. This book could easily be a great tool for study, but I would not recommend it to the beginner.

If you are going to pick up this book I suggest carving out a significant amount of time to go through it. You will want to break it up into daily readings, but still expect those daily readings to be around an hour of time. Prepare yourself to use this book as a textbook material to really get to know the book of Proverbs.

This book is easy to understand, but it does throw a lot of information at you. It is a great tool if you are prepared to put in the time and effort.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.