NSBT 04: Hear, My Son

Teaching and Learning in Proverbs 1 - 9.Even a cursory
reading of the book of Proverbs reveals that it is dominated by the subject of
education, or personal formation. The voice of the teacher addressing his
pupils resounds from its pages. A wide array of topics is presented, and
frequent exhortations challenge the learner to hear and heed the teacher's
instruction. This material, however, comes for the most part without
recognizable order or sequence. Much of Proverbs consists of apparently random
collections of maxims. As readers, we see many individual pieces, but the
puzzle as a whole remains unclear.

In Hear, My Son, Estes synthesizes the teachings of the first nine chapters of Proverbs into a
systematic statement of the theory of education and personal formation that
lies behind the text. Working from the Hebrew text and building upon an
extensive analysis of exegetical works, Estes organizes his study of Proverbs
1--9 into seven categories typical of pedagogical discussion: worldview, values
for education, goals for education, curriculum for education, the process of
instruction, the role of the teacher, and the role of the learner.

His
work agrees with but also transcends the original purpose of the text by
revealing the foundational theory of intellectual and moral formation embedded
in this important section of Scripure. It also has valuable things to say about
constructing a bibilically informed philosophy of education today. (=
0830826041 / 9780830826049)'It is the holistic vision of
'instruction' [...] that occupies the attention of Estes. His work not only
illumines some important chapters of the Old Testament, but serves as a
salutary reminder for the people of God today to keep certain fundamental
priorities clear.' - D.A. CarsonSeries: New Studies in Biblical Theology, volume 4.