Fox, M. V. Proverbs 1-9. ABC, 18A. Doubleday, 2000 (474 pp.). Clear and insightful commentary on the first nine chapters by a well-known Jewish scholar with a sensitive understanding of how proverbs work as a literary form of communication. Provides a fresh translation with textual notes and comments and proceeds section by section, verse by verse, with intermittent excursuses. An introduction covers the usual categories (authorship, dating, genre, place in canon, internal divisions, etc.) but also includes numerous helpful discussions explaining points of interest such as the delimitation of poetic units, technical terms used throughout the commentary, other genres of wisdom, and the variety of Hebrew words related to wisdom and folly. Four exegetical-theological essays at the end of the volume round out the contribution and enhance its usefulness. No commentary is ever complete, but Fox is especially thorough, making his contribution a go-to resource for students and specialists alike. The second of two installments (chs. 10-31) is due out in the near future.

Garrett, D. A. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs. NAC, 14. Broadman, 1993 (448 pp.; 19-252). A clearly written and somewhat helpful work by an evangelical scholar, who works well within the constraints of the NAC series. With nearly 50 pages devoted to Introduction (some of the finest contributions actually appear here) and the full NIV text reproduced throughout the body of the commentary (a questionable decision in our judgment relative to economy), those who do the page math will quickly see that space for extended discussion is limited. Serious “generalist” readers, including Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders, will find this a helpful companion; but those looking for more detailed discussion on interpretive points will find that lacking except in some of the footnotes, where short technical notes are stashed.

Kidner, D. Proverbs. TOTC. InterVarsity, 1964 (192 pp.). Given that Fox (above) spent over twice as many (bigger) pages on the first nine chapters alone, Kidner’s work is at least compressed. Its more “pearls-on-a-string” approach to individual proverbs and sayings can create a somewhat random feel for the presentation which is less clear than Van Leeuwen’s (below) on the way the book participates in the Bible’s worldview. However, Kidner is sensitive to compositional unity at a number of levels as the informative introduction makes clear, discussing, among other things, the relationship between the units of the book as well as the relationship between wisdom and law, prophecy, and the New Testament. He is also sensitive to the communicative function of irregularities and asymmetries (a particular strength of Fox). Several subject studies (e.g., on ‘wisdom’, ‘the sluggard’, ‘the family’, ‘the friend’) round out the contribution.sensitive to compositional unity at a number of levels as the informative introduction makes clear, discussing, among other things, the relationship between the units of the book as well as the relationship between wisdom and law, prophecy, and the New Testament. He is also sensitive to the communicative function of irregularities and asymmetries (a particular strength of Fox). Several subject studies (e.g., on ‘wisdom’, ‘the sluggard’, ‘the family’, ‘the friend’) round out the contribution.

Murphy, R. E. Proverbs. WBC, 22. Word, 1998 (305 pp.). Obviously not as extensive as Fox (above), but comparable depth level. Following a more restrained Introduction than some (only 12 pp.), Murphy proceeds through the book section by section (10 in all, as he sees it) in a manner familiar to users of this series: translation, notes, form/structure/setting, comment (verse-by-verse exposition), and explanation (theological and pastoral reflections). Some of Murphy’s best contributions show up in nine excursuses sprinkled throughout the discussion, including fear of the Lord, speech, wealth and poverty, retribution, theology, woman wisdom and woman folly, and international wisdom.

Perdue, L. G. Proverbs. Interpretation. John Knox, 2000 (289 pp.). Sees the book arranged into eight collections. Sensitive to the way each collection provides a context for the interpretation of individual proverbs as well as a compositional structure for the book as a whole. Includes an extensive introductory section, geared slightly toward an ecclesial context which renders it well-suited for preaching and teaching more so than research. Entries include wisdom as knowledge, as discipline, as order, as moral instruction. Perdue also discusses the social locations of wisdom in the family, royal court, and school, as well as the language and rhetoric of wisdom literature. In keeping with the style of the Interpretation series, no translation is offered, and the commentary after chs. 1-9 proceeds by passage along thematic or compositional lines (a great improvement over older “pebbles-on-a-beach” approaches) covering (possible) date and provenance, literary structure and interpretation, brief conclusions, and a theological reflection section for each.

Van Leeuwen, R. C. “Proverbs.” NIB, 5. Abingdon, 1997 (875 pp.; 17-264). Perhaps the most helpful commentary for viewing Proverbs as a canonically-contexted work which presents a worldview in which YHWH is seen as the creator who creates in wisdom. Begins with the book as a whole and assumes that “it and the OT are the primary, though not only, literary context for theological interpretation” (p. 27). Within that literary context, then, Van Leeuwen sees chs. 1-9 as creating a cosmic context for interpreting chs. 10-29, with chs. 1-9 and 31:1-31 (esp. vv. 10-31) enveloping the whole collection. In this way, the undue separation of nature and culture, typical in the modern West, is collapsed in the partnership of an explicitly (chs. 1-9) and implicitly (chs. 10-29) theological worldview. The format of the NIB is exceptionally easy to use with only two major sections, commentary and reflections, for each passage, alongside the full text of NIV and NRSV (see critical note under Garrett above).