Courage – Prophetic Moral Strength 245In the Old Testament, courage, derived from ‘leb’, or heart, is under-
stood as a virtue enabling humans to undertake difficult tasks, to con-
front danger, endure suffering and fatigue, and to overcome cowardice
and fear. Consequently, courage is a basic value that characterizes a
hero. It is not to be confused with audacity or recklessness, for which the
motive behind the action would be desire to impress or pride, and not
dealing with one’s fear. Also, on the moral plane, courage is driven by a
sense of justice, respect for what is right, and the fear of God. It is only
reckoned to be of worth when it is placed at the service of others, with-
out self-interest. It is a value typical of the morality of the prophets who
remained faithful to God in their prophetic mission.
In a digression here, I note that in the New Testament, courage is not
the virtue of Stoicism but a demonstration of faith in Jesus Christ. It
sees, whenever there is opposition, the possibility of overcoming it. Here
are some verbs used in the New Testament that see courage as a value
indicating affiliation, or perseverance. In 1 Corinthians 16: 8-9 the verb
used is ‘epimeô’. Also the verb ‘tharreô sees courage as an expression
of confidence (2 Corinthians 5: 6,8). However, in 2 Corinthians 10: 1- 2
that Greek word is translated as ‘boldness’. The Greek word ‘tharseô’
has a more emotional connotation and is rendered as ‘take heart’ (Mat-
thew 9: 2,22), ‘cheer up’ (Mark 10: 49), and ‘take courage’ (Acts 23:
11). To sum up, in the vocabulary of the Bible, courage is a source of
patience, steadfastness, character, and loyalty to God.
Among the Yoruba people in Nigeria and Benin in West Africa, and
among other peoples in Africa, courage is seen as a basic virtue in men.
It is a masculine trait. Expressions or exhortations such as ‘Be a man’ or
‘Play the man’ are used to encourage people to be courageous, and con-
tain the ideas of strength, mental determination, a strong morality, con-
fidence, the ability to confront opposition, danger and difficult situa-
tions, or to perform difficult tasks or to defend a cause. On the scale of
values in a Yoruba context, fear, weakness and lack of courage are gen-