Arround 40 people from all accross Romania met for four dream days in Brasov, for a course with professor Willem A.VanGemeren, drector of the Doctor of Philosophy in Theological Studies program and professor of Old Testament and Semitic languages at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.
Professor VanGemeren made an unusual journey in the book of Proverbs, taking the participants verse by verse into discovering the misteries of this book.
The teaching time, the discussions and small groups workshops, the Q&A time and the informal moments during the breaks have shown a man fascinated about wisdom, eager to share any available moment to teach those arround how to discover and practce it.
Trully, although small, a remarcable event among those organized by BIG in 2010.
During a break prof.VanGemeren kindly ofered us a brief interview. You can read it here.
Next you can read several testimonies from this event:
Emmy Cira – Alba Iulia: “I came here because I am very interested in studying the Scriptures, specially the Old Testament, hoping to get help in teaching the young generation. After these days, the concept of wisdom became clear to me, the importance of getting closer to God and, also, our responsibility for taking this to the next generations.”
Diana Tudorescu – Bra?ov: “I was attracted by the theme of this conference, because I haven’t heard about an event organized on the subject of wisdom, inspired from Proverbs. I believe everyone is leaving this conference enriched. The way of teaching, the atmosphere created by the lector, the interpretations given to the Word and the light brought to this subject made me understand I have made an excellent choice”.
Cristian Pan? – Ploie?ti – “I was attracted by the expertise of the speaker, and because of my growing interest in the book of Proverbs. Aside from a deeper understanding of the book, I was powerfully challenged by what I’ve heard here. It is a truly new thinking…although, thousands of years old!”
In the end, a few words about the main speaker:
Willem A. VanGemeren is director of the Doctor of Philosophy in Theological Studies program and professor of Old Testament and Semitic languages at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He has taught at Trinity since 1992.
Dr. VanGemeren came to Trinity from Reformed Theological Seminary, where he taught Old Testament for fourteen years and served as chair of their Old Testament department for eight years. Dr. VanGemeren has also taught at Geneva College, the University of Wisconsin, and Westminster Theological Seminary. In addition to his teaching experience, Dr. VanGemeren has preached in many Reformed churches over a twenty-year period.
Dr. VanGemeren received the diploma from Christelijk Lyceum in Holland, the diploma from Moody Bible Institute, the Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from the University of Illinois, the Bachelor of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the Master of Arts and the Doctor of Philosophy in Hebrew and Old Testament from the University of Wisconsin. He has also studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel.
Dr. VanGemeren’s areas of expertise include Old Testament, Hebrew, Old Testament theology, poetry, and the book of Isaiah. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Evangelical Theological Society, and the Institute for Biblical Research.
Dr. VanGemeren’s published works include contributions to such works as The Bible Almanac, Expository Dictionary of the Old Testament, Evangelical Commentary on the Bible, Baker’s Encyclopedia of the Bible, Continuity and Discontinuity, and Layman’s Bible Handbook. He is the author of The Progress of Redemption: The Story of Salvation from Creation to the New Jerusalem, Interpreting the Prophetic Word, and a commentary on the book of Psalms for the Expositor’s Bible Commentary. In 1997 Dr. VanGemeren was honored by Zondervan Publishing House for his service as senior editor of the five-volume work The New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology (NIDOTT). He also coedited Studies in Old Testament Biblical Theology.
Dr. VanGemeren and his wife, Evona, reside in Libertyville, Illinois. They have three children.