%0 Journal Article
%T POVERTY IN THE BOOK OF PROVERBS: LOOKING FROM ABOVE?
%A Eben Scheffler
%J Scriptura
%D 2013
%I Stellenbosch University
%R 10.7833/111-1-30
%X Employing the thoughts of French philosopher Henri Bergson (1859-1941), the question is asked if the wisdom perspective(s) in the Old Testament regarding poverty were essentially made from a stance of basic self-interest, which (despite some positive admonitions to help the poor) fails to really engage in the latterĄ¯s plight. To locate the wisdom perspective(s) on poverty as one among many in the Bible, attention is briefly given to the latter. Various and diverse wisdom per-spectives are also indicated especially in the book of Proverbs (reflecting BergsonĄ¯s basic view). However, it is argued that the book also contains some proverbs which can be interpreted as going beyond a stance of pure self-interest. Some conclusions are drawn in view of present-day poverty eradication.   doi: 10.7833/111-1-30
%K Wisdom Literature
%K Proverbs
%K Philosophy
%K Poverty
%U http://scriptura.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/30