The Book of Proverbs and Virtue Ethics

263 Pages·1.639 MB·English

by  Arthur Jan Keefer

The Book of Proverbs and Virtue Ethics
Inthisbook,ArthurJanKeeferoffersanewinterpretationofthebook
of Proverbs from the standpoint of virtue ethics. Using an innovative
method that bridges philosophy and biblical studies, he argues that
much of the instruction within Proverbs meets the criteria for moral
andtheologicalvirtueassetoutinAristotle’sNicomacheanEthicsand
theworksofSt.ThomasAquinas.Keeferpresentsthemoralthoughtof
Proverbs in its social, historical, and theological contexts. He shows
how these contexts shed light on the conceptualization of virtue, the
virtues that are promoted and omitted, and the characteristics that
makeProverbsadistinctivemoraltradition.Ingivingundividedatten-
tion to biblical virtue, this volume opens the way for new avenues of
study in biblical ethics, including law, narrative, and other aspects of
biblicalinstructionandwisdom.
Arthur Jan Keefer is a schoolmaster and chaplain at Eton College,
where he teaches theology, philosophy and religion. He is also the
author of Proverbs 1–9 as an Introduction to the Book of Proverbs
(BloomsburyT&TClark,2020),alongwithnumerousjournalarticles,
and is coeditor of The Cambridge Companion to Biblical Wisdom
Literature(forthcoming).

The Book of Proverbs and
Virtue Ethics
Integrating the Biblical and Philosophical
Traditions
ARTHUR JAN KEEFER
EtonCollege
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title:ThebookofProverbsandvirtueethics:integratingthebiblicalandphilosophical
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subjects:lcsh:Bible.Proverbs–Criticism,interpretation,etc.|Aristotle.Nicomachean
ethics.|Thomas,Aquinas,Saint,1225?–1274.|Virtue.|Ethics.
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For my parents

Contents
List of Tables page viii
Preface ix
Note on Texts and Translation xi
List of Abbreviations xii
1 Introduction 1
2 Views of Virtue in Philosophy 14
3 Moral Virtues inProverbs 42
4 Honor,Shame, Humility, and Pride 93
5 Courage, Work, Speech, and Friendship 120
6 Theological Virtues in Proverbs 158
7 Moral Agents and the Presentation of Virtue 201
Bibliography 222
Index of AncientSources 231
Index of Authorsand Topics 244
vii
Tables
3.1 Aristotle’smoral virtues page 50
3.2 Moral virtuesin Proverbs 59
3.3 Passages for moral virtuesin Proverbs 60
3.4 The virtueof liberality 70
4.1 Comparison of proverbialand Aristotelian virtues 97
6.1 Theological virtues 167
viii
Preface
This book began as a side project during my doctoral studies at the
University of Cambridge and soon became much more than that. It
resulted inan accretion of disciplines – classical studies and some histor-
icaltheology,inadditiontomynativebiblicalstudies–thatcanproduce
results which are more problematic than productive. Disciplines can
clash, and there is a high risk of anachronism and exegetical contortion
when attempting to bridge ideas from various times or cultures, all of
whichisfurthercomplicatedwhentheseideasseemtobethepropertyof
modern, segregated, academic disciplines. But, as a part of a long-
standing relationship between the Bible and philosophy, something has
broughteachoftheseintereststogether,andthatthingisvirtue.Theword
itselfmaysoundfashionable,andthesamecouldbesaidofseveralothers
found in the book’s title – “virtue ethics” and the “integration” of
multiple disciplines. But be assured that this subject is not a fad, if not
chiefly because theologians and biblical scholars from antiquity, and
increasingly so in the modern period, have been adamant that biblical
andphilosophicalmaterialswerenotalwaysatoddsbutevensometimes
in harmony. For if there is something artificial about interdisciplinary
work, there iscertainlynothing modern about it.
I owe special thanks to Drs. Richard Oosterhoff and Jon Thompson
for introducing me to several good books, without which the current
project would have been unimaginable. Beatrice Rehl, at Cambridge
University Press, received a draft of this work with serious consideration
andhasnotceasedtobeencouraging.Essentialalsoweretwoanonymous
and conscientious reviewers, who improved my argument in several
places,andtheeffortsofEricChristianson,whohelpedwithmanystages
ix