Victor H. Matthews > Quotes

“Therefore, sometimes they use language to describe an ideal behavior, for example: Securing loans to outsiders with collateral causes trouble (Prov 11:15). Other times they use language to describe practical behavior: Be sure to secure loans to outsiders with collateral (Prov 20:16). They expect the wise to know when to make loans and accept collateral, and when not to make loans and accept collateral. People in post-Enlightenment cultures find such contradicting advice in the same book of the Bible to be a symptom of reckless decision making and a culture with a failed values system. They want Proverbs to teach people to make loans secured with collateral, or teach them not to, but not both. They have no tolerance for ambiguity or inconsistency”
― Victor H. Matthews, Old Testament Parallels: Laws and Stories from the Ancient Near East