A Study of Proverbs by Chad Sychtysz

Everybody quotes Proverbs. Almost nobody teaches it straight through.

A Study of Proverbs is a 149-page workbook by Chad Sychtysz covering all thirty-one chapters in twenty study sections.

How This Study Helps

Most of Proverbs is plain on a first reading. The trouble is its shape. From chapter 10 on, it's a collection of two-line sayings with no thread between them, and a class that reads straight through covers a lot of ground and remembers very little.

Sychtysz teaches the book the way it's built. Chapters 1-9, a father's counsel to his son, are studied in sequence as the connected argument they are. The middle collection is gathered by subject: family, work and laziness, honesty, fools, how we treat people, the tongue, and pride. The four shorter collections at the end each get their own treatment, and underneath it all runs the book's own claim that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

What's Inside

An eleven-page introduction explains Hebrew parallelism, the place of Proverbs in wisdom literature, and the personification of Wisdom against the "strange woman." Then six sections:

• A Father's Counsel to His Son (1:1-9:18), studied in sequence
• Contrast of the Wise and Fools (10:1-22:16), gathered by topic
• Words of a Teacher to His Pupil (22:17-24:34)
• Uncategorized Instructions and Similitudes (25:1-29:27)
• The Proverbs of Agur (30:1-33)
• The Proverbs of King Lemuel (31:1-31), including the excellent wife

Format & Features

A 6 x 9 paperback. Every section closes with discussion questions, spaced for writing, that are meant to be argued about rather than simply answered. Endnotes carry the supporting detail, a full source list closes the book, and Scripture quotations are from the NASB. It is also available as a PDF eBook, with an individual-use version and a class-use license for churches.

Who It's For

Adult Bible class teachers who want a quarter of practical Old Testament material and a way through the middle of Proverbs that a class can follow. Preachers looking for series material on speech, work, money, or family. Parents who tell their kids to read a chapter a day and want to work through it themselves.

Common Questions

Can I use it to teach a class?
Yes. Its 20 sections fill about two quarters of weekly classes. Order a workbook for each student, or buy the class-use PDF license to print copies for your class.

Should we read Proverbs before starting?
Sychtysz recommends reading it straight through once first, so the class starts with the whole shape of the book in mind.

What are the eBook options?
The individual-use PDF is for one reader. The class-use PDF license lets a church print or share copies for a whole class.

More Old Testament Studies by Chad Sychtysz

A Study of the Book of Psalms, A Study of Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon, A Study of Isaiah, A Study of Jeremiah and Lamentations, A Study of Ezekiel, A Study of Daniel, and A Study of the Minor Prophets.

About the Author

Chad Sychtysz has preached the gospel since 1994, serving churches in Alaska and Washington state. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and has written more than twenty-five books and workbooks on the Bible, including the Quick Study Commentary and Personal Study series on the New Testament. He lives in Billings, Montana.

Product Details

• Author: Chad Sychtysz
• Publisher: Spiritbuilding Publishers
• Sections: 20, plus a full introduction
• Translation: NASB
• Pages: 149
• Size: 6 x 9 inches
• Format: Paperback; PDF eBook (individual or class use)
• ISBN: 9781964805931