LEADERSHIP IN THE BOOK OF PROVERBS by GIDEON OMONIYI BAKARE A Thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Theology and Religion College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham September 2017 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ‘The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever else you get, get insight’ (Prov. 4:7). Unless otherwise specified, all Bible quotations in English are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). DECLARATION I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the regulations of the University of Birmingham. The work is original, except where indicated by special reference in the text, and no part of the dissertation has been submitted for any academic award. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author. Signed................................................. Date..................................................... ABSTRACT This dissertation suggests that, while the book of Proverbs is sometimes difficult to interpret and its redaction history is clearly complex, it has much to say on the important area of leadership. To test this hypothesis, it applies four steps as its theoretical framework, and these later become part of the contributions of this study. First, its exploration of leadership in the Ancient Near East (ANE) shows that the ANE offers a good background to leadership in ancient Israel. Second, its survey of the scholarly debates on leadership in Proverbs reveals that the question of how Proverbs fosters leadership has been hugely neglected. The previous discussion has centred on the settings that produced the proverbs and the impact of ANE materials on Proverbs. Third, this enquiry maintains that poetics is an important tool for biblical exegesis and that it can help us to understand the possible meanings of the text. Its contribution lies with the use of exegetical analysis to demonstrate how Proverbs fosters aspects of leadership through the close analysis of poetic devices such as parallelisms, metaphors and imagery. The thesis conducts a detailed exploration of some verses that are judged to contain sayings that are relevant to the theme of leadership in Proverbs, demonstrating their complexity. It proposes a reading strategy of classifying the leadership texts in Proverbs into themes relating to the status, code of conduct, personality, skills and actions of leaders and the community’s response to leaders. Fourth, it critically summarises the results of my exegetical findings in Proverbs and their implications for the biblical scholars surveyed, as well as for contemporary leadership scholars. The thesis concludes with the application of my exegetical findings to one aspect of leadership in Proverbs to Christian leadership in Nigeria. DEDICATION I dedicate this research to the glory of God and to those who are seeking good governance within and outside the Church in all the nations of the world. I dedicate this work to the memory of Elder Joel Omomeji Bakare who was called to glory on 28 May 2013. You were an outstanding father and guardian. You have made a remarkable impact on my life. May your gentle soul rest in peace. I also dedicate this work to my father (Elder Joseph Bakare). You insisted I must carry on with my education at a point when I almost gave up earlier in life. Finally, I dedicate it to my beloved wife and friend (Mrs. Faith Omowumi Bakare). You are lˆyAj_tRvEa (a capable woman). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS One of the greatest pleasures of finishing a dissertation like this is the opportunity it provides to thank publicly the people who contributed their time, patience and expertise in enabling it to be better produced than could otherwise have been hoped for. I thank Almighty God who helped me to successfully complete this PhD. Unto him are glory, honour and praise (amen). I am fortunate in having Rev. Dr. Knut Martin Heim (a fine scholar and teacher) as my supervisor. I have had many wonderful teachers throughout my academic journey in the field of theology, but Dr. Heim surpasses them all. He has rekindled my interest in the Hebrew language and the study of biblical wisdom. I have benefited enormously from our ongoing conversations and supervision sessions. I am very grateful to Dr. Andrew Davies who graciously accepted to guide me through the corrections in the absence of Dr. Heim. He has invested so much in me to ensure that I make the necessary improvements. I would like to thank Professor Nicola Slee (my research mentor) for her regular pastoral support as well as the entire staff and faculty of Queens Foundation Birmingham. I gratefully acknowledge the occasional research funding for books that I received from the University of Birmingham. It may be small, but it helped me to purchase some valuable resources for my research. I thank the University of Birmingham main library staff and Mr. Michael Gale (the librarian at Queens Foundation Birmingham), who were unfailingly kind and supportive with books all the way. I also thank Dr. Emmanuel Tukasi and Rev. Dr. Karen Durant-McSweeney who graciously agreed to help proofread my work. I am deeply indebted to my wife (Faith Omowumi Bakare) who supported my study from the beginning to the end. The sacrifices you made so that I could succeed in my doctoral studies were expressions of a love at which I marvel all the time. You are a woman of inestimable value. It is no exaggeration to say that I could not have finished this study without your help. To Faith I am forever grateful. Special thanks also go to my beloved children (Esther Ini- Oluwa and Daniel Anu-Oluwa) for their understanding with daddy during the course. Finally, I would like to acknowledge Elder & Mrs. Joseph Bakare (my parents), Mr. & Mrs. S.S. Ajayi (my parent in-laws), Elder & Mrs. Joshua Olatayo Bakare, Pastor Adebola & Dr. Ore Oni, Dr. & Mrs. Dag Lawale, Dr. Yaya Obuzua, Dr. Femi Ilesanmi, Rev. John Ibidokun, Pastor & Mrs. Joseph Adeyemo, the pastors, elders and members of Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) East Ham and Lewisham London United Kingdom, my siblings, relations, family friends and all the people who helped me through this research journey. It is impossible to mention your names one by one. Thank you ever so much. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1 1.1. Background to Study .................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Statement of Problem ................................................................................................... 1 1.3. The Aim of the Study ................................................................................................... 3 1.4. Scope of Study .............................................................................................................. 3 1.5. Outline of Thesis .......................................................................................................... 4 1.6. Definition of Terms ...................................................................................................... 5 1.6.1. Leader (s) or Leadership ......................................................................................... 5 1.6.2. Wisdom ................................................................................................................... 6 1.6.3. Proverb .................................................................................................................... 7 1.7. Leadership in an African Context ................................................................................ 8 1.8. Contemporary Leadership Theories in an African Context ....................................... 12 1.8.1. The Leader’s Personality ....................................................................................... 13 1.8.2. The Leader’s Skills ............................................................................................... 14 1.8.3. The Leader’s Actions ............................................................................................ 15 1.8.4. Leadership Theories in Africa ............................................................................... 18 1.9. Research Questions .................................................................................................... 18 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH ............................................................... 20 2.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 20 2.2. An Integrative Approach ............................................................................................ 20 2.3. Methods for Exegesis ................................................................................................. 24 2.3.1. The World Behind the Text ..................................................................................